HEAT PUMP DRYING OF AGRICULTURAL MATERIALS

Heat pump-assisted drying is an energy-efficient process because the heat is recoverable. However, the economic feasibility of the heat pump dryer (HPD) is debatable because high grade energy (electricity) is used. In this study, sawn rubber wood and bananas were dried in an experimental HPD. The moisture extraction rates (MER) and the specific moisture extraction rates (SMER) of wood drying and banana drying decreased rapidly with the drying time but the compressor power was relatively constant. If the final moisture content of wood is less than 10%, the maximum average MER and SMER were 2.854 kg/h and 0.572 kg/kWh, respectively. Banana drying yielded the highest average MER of 2.710 kg/h when the drying load was highest. The corresponding SMER was 0.540 kg/kWh. Economic analyses among the HPD, an electrically-heated hot air dryer and a direct-fired dryer revealed that the HPD had the lowest operating cost.     

内加热式热泵干燥装置的结构与性能分析

内加热式热泵干燥装置可提高干燥器出口空气的温度和相对湿度,增加空气从物料中吸纳水蒸气的能力。介绍了内加热式热泵干燥装置的结构和工作原理,建立了其SMER计算方程,并对干燥器进口空气温度、干燥器出口空气温度和相对湿度、除湿器出口空气温度对SMER的影响进行了计算和分析。     

Saffron Drying with a Heat Pump–Assisted Hybrid Photovoltaic–Thermal Solar Dryer

Saffron is the most expensive spice and Iran is the largest producer of this crop in the world. Saffron quality is profoundly affected by the drying method. Recent research has shown that hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar power systems are more efficient in comparison with individual photovoltaic and thermal systems. In addition, heat pump dryers are highly energy efficient. Furthermore, they are suitable for heat-sensitive crops such as saffron. Therefore, in the present study, the performance of a hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar dryer equipped with a heat pump system was considered for saffron drying, in order to obtain a high-quality product and reduce fossil fuel consumption. The effect of air mass flow rate at three levels (0.008, 0.012, and 0.016 kg/s), drying air temperature at three levels (40, 50, and 60°C), and two different dryer modes (with and without the heat pump unit) on the operating parameters of the dryer was investigated. The results of the investigation showed that total drying time and energy consumption decreased as air flow rate and drying air temperature increased. Applying a heat pump with the dryer led to a reduction in the drying time and energy consumption and an increase in electrical efficiency of the solar collector. The average total energy consumption was reduced by 33% when the dryer was equipped with a heat pump. Maximum values for electrical and thermal efficiency of the solar collector were found to be 10.8 and 28%, respectively. A maximum dryer efficiency of 72% and maximum specific moisture extraction rate (SMER) of 1.16 were obtained at an air flow rate of 0.016 kg/s and air temperature of 60°C when using the heat pump.     

热泵干燥装置的特性方程及其应用分析

以应用最广泛的封闭式热泵干燥装置为例,建立了其SMER计算方程。在此基础上,对SMER随干燥器进口空气温度、干燥器出口空气温度和蒸发器出口空气温度而变化的规律进行了计算和分析。结果表明,其他两个参数一定时,SMER随干燥器出口空气温度上升而降低,随蒸发器出口空气温度上升而增加,但当干燥器进口空气温度取适宜值时,SMER存在最大值。     

鱿鱼热泵-热风联合干燥节能研究

以热泵干燥阶段的温度、分阶段干燥的水分转换点、后期热风干燥阶段的温度为影响因素,以单位能耗除湿值（SMER）和总挥发性盐基氮值（T—VBN）两者的综合指标Y为最终评价指标进行响应面优化分析,得出了联合干燥最佳工艺参数：热泵干燥温度（X1=54．3℃）、水分转换点（X2=32．3％）和热风干燥温度（X3=43．5℃）。在最优工艺条件下比较HPD、HPD＋AD、AD三种干燥方式下的样品品质和耗能,联合干燥得到的鱿鱼干品质高于热风干燥,而且降低了干燥能耗38．67％。     

Heat Pump Drying of Green Sweet Pepper

Thin-layer drying experiments under controlled conditions were conducted for green sweet pepper in heat pump dryer at 30, 35, and 40°C and hot air dryer at 45°C with relative humidities ranging from 19 to 55%. The moisture content of sweet pepper slices reduced exponentially with drying time. As the temperature increased, the drying curve exhibited a steeper slope, thus exhibiting an increase in drying rate. Drying of green sweet pepper took place mainly under the falling-rate period. The Page equation was found to be better than the Lewis equation to describe the thin-layer drying of green sweet pepper with higher coefficient of determination and lower root mean square error. Drying in heat pump dryer at 40°C took less time with higher drying rate and specific moisture extraction rate as compared to hot air drying at 45°C due to lower relative humidity of the drying air in a heat pump dryer though the drying air temperature was less. The retention of total chlorophyll content and ascorbic acid content was observed to be more in heat pump–dried samples with higher rehydration ratios and sensory scores. The quality parameters showed a declining trend with increase in drying air temperature from 30 to 45°C. Keeping in view the energy consumption and quality attributes of dehydrated products, it is proposed to dry green sweet pepper at 35°C in heat pump dryer.     

Exergoeconomic Analysis of a Heat Pump Tumbler Dryer

In this study, exergy and exergoeconomic analyses of a heat pump tumbler dryer are carried out by using actual thermodynamic and cost data. The wet cotton fabric is used as the test drying material. The results show that the specific moisture extraction rate (SMER) and evaporation rate of dryer are equal to 1.08 kg/kWh and 0.018 kg/s, respectively. Also, the respective exergetic efficiencies of the heat pump and overall system are equal to 0.07 and 0.11. A parametric study is then conducted in order to investigate the system performance and costs of the components, depending on the operating temperature and mass flow rate of air.     

Experimental research on intermittent heat pump drying with constant and time-variant intermittency ratio

The aim of this article was to estimate the effectiveness of intermittent drying with constant and time-variant intermittency ratio, compared with continuous drying. Intermittent drying was accomplished by periodically changing the heat input and air velocity. To achieve accurate control of drying temperature, a new parallel conversion controller was used. Based on the well-controlled heat pump drying system, the drying kinetics of green soybean were analyzed using seven intermittent drying profiles. The increase of intermittency ratio caused decrease of effective drying time and increase of specific moisture extraction rate (SMER). SMERs of intermittent drying were 1.21–4.94 and 0.93–5.40 times more than the continuous drying for different initial moisture content (23 and 28%), respectively. Changes of drying rate (DR) and SMER became relatively moderate when intermittent drying with time-variant intermittency ratio was used. A comprehensive evaluation parameter, based on DR and SMER, was proposed and calculated. Experimental results indicated that intermittent drying (α?=?5/6) and intermittency drying with time-variant ratio gave the best two comprehensive performances.     

Drying Kinetics and Quality of Shrimp Undergoing Different Two-Stage Drying Processes

An innovative two-stage drying concept is presented in this article. The work considered drying of shrimp using a superheated steam dryer followed by a heat pump (SSD/HPD) or a hot air dryer (SSD/AD) both from drying kinetics and dried product quality points of view. The experiments were performed using the first-stage superheated steam drying temperature of 140°C while the second-stage heat pump drying (or hot air drying) was performed at 50°C. The moisture content of shrimp at the end of the superheated steam drying stage was varied between 30 and 40% (w.b.). The effect of tempering between SSD/HPD was also investigated. Shrinkage, color, rehydration behavior, texture (toughness and hardness), and microstructure of dried shrimp were measured. The results showed that SSD/HPD dried shrimp had much lower degree of shrinkage, higher degree of rehydration, better color, less tough and softer, and more porous than single-stage SSD dried shrimp. It was also found that SSD/AD gave redder shrimp compared to shrimp dried in a single-stage superheated steam dryer. No improvement in terms of shrinkage and rehydration behavior was observed, however.     

Drying Kinetics and Quality of Shrimp Undergoing Different Two-Stage Drying Processes

Abstract

An innovative two-stage drying concept is presented in this article. The work considered drying of shrimp using a superheated steam dryer followed by a heat pump (SSD/HPD) or a hot air dryer (SSD/AD) both from drying kinetics and dried product quality points of view. The experiments were performed using the first-stage superheated steam drying temperature of 140°C while the second-stage heat pump drying (or hot air drying) was performed at 50°C. The moisture content of shrimp at the end of the superheated steam drying stage was varied between 30 and 40% (w.b.). The effect of tempering between SSD/HPD was also investigated. Shrinkage, color, rehydration behavior, texture (toughness and hardness), and microstructure of dried shrimp were measured. The results showed that SSD/HPD dried shrimp had much lower degree of shrinkage, higher degree of rehydration, better color, less tough and softer, and more porous than single-stage SSD dried shrimp. It was also found that SSD/AD gave redder shrimp compared to shrimp dried in a single-stage superheated steam dryer. No improvement in terms of shrinkage and rehydration behavior was observed, however.     

MATHEMATICAL MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND SIMULATION OF HEAT PUMP FRUIT DRYER

ABSTRACT

A mathematical model of a heat pump fruit dryer was developed to study the performance of heat pump dryers. Using the moisture content of papaya glace' drying, the refrigerant temperature at the evaporator and condenser and the performance, was verified. It was found that the simulated results using closed loop heat pump dryer were close to the experimental results. The criteria for evaluating the performance were specific moisture extraction rate and drying rate. The results showed that ambient conditions affected significantly on the performance of the open loop dryer and the partially closed loop dryer. Also, the fraction of evaporator bypass air affected markedly on the performance of all heat pump dryers. In addition, it was found that specific air flow rate and drying air temperature affected significantly the performance of all heat pump dryers.     

ON THE STUDY OF TIME-VARYING TEMPERATURE DRYING—EFFECT ON DRYING KINETICS AND PRODUCT QUALITY

ABSTRACT

The ability of heat pump dryer to produce controlled transient drying conditions, in terms of temperature, humidity and air velocity, has given it an edge over other drying systems. Exploiting this characteristic, we studied and compared the effect of different temperature-time profiles on the quality of agricultural products in a tunnel heat pump dryer capable of providing up to 14.6 kW of cooling capacity. The product quality refers to the color change of the products. Samples of banana and guava were dried in batches in a two-stage heat pump dryer. The effects of the starting temperature of a selected profile and the cycle time on both drying kinetics and product quality were studied. It was observed that by employing a step change in drying air temperature with the appropriate starting temperature and cycle time, it was possible to reduce significantly the drying time to reach the desired moisture content with improved product color.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON A NOVEL CHEMICAL HEAT PUMP DRYER USING A GAS–SOLID REACTION

The authors have been studying Chemical Heat Pumps (CHP) from the viewpoints of energy saving and environmental impact. The CHP can store thermal energy in the form of chemical energy by an endothermic reaction, and release it at various temperature levels during heat demand periods by exo/endothermic reactions. The authors have proposed in an earlier study a novel chemical heat pump (CHP) system for environmentally-friendly effective utilization of thermal energy in drying as a chemical heat pump dryer (CHPD). In this exploratory study, we test the effectiveness of operating the proposed CHPDs experimentally. Basic experiments on the CHPDs such as hot dry air production for convective drying are performed on lab-scale CHPD apparatuses using gas–solid reactions in calcium oxide/calcium hydroxide reactant beds. The proposed CHPDs are found to produce hot air by CHP operation for drying. The temperature levels of the produced hot air and the reaction rates/conversions are as good as in the case of hot water supply system using basically same CHP operation. The cold heat for air dehumidification is also found to be generated/recovered by the same CHPD system. The generated heat amounts can be increased by changing the operating conditions although the heat recovery must be enhanced for practical application of CHPDs.     

辅助冷凝器冷却水量对闭式热泵干燥系统性能的影响

针对目前工业生产中金属件清洗干燥工艺中常用干燥方式存在能耗高且环境不友好的现状,提出并建立了一种采用直接串联式辅助冷凝器的闭式热泵干燥系统。基于所搭建的性能测试台,实验研究了流经辅助冷凝器的冷却水量这一关键参数对系统运行工况参数、制热/制冷量、系统功耗、性能系数（COP）以及单位时间除湿量（MER）和单位能耗除湿量（SMER）等性能参数的影响。结果表明：冷却水量为30.6kg/h时,冷凝器出风温度达72.8℃;随着冷却水量的增大,系统制热/制冷量、功耗、冷凝器出风温度及MER均呈现下降趋势,COP维持在5.6左右;MER最高可达3.80kg/h,SMER最高可达1.44kg/(kW·h),MER和SMER的变化趋势相反,故生产实际中需要综合考虑冷却水量对两者的影响;另外,在实验研究工况下最大冷却水出水温度达65.2℃,可为工业生产提供可应用的热水,使能源得到充分地回收利用。研究结果可为闭式热泵干燥系统在金属件清洗干燥工艺中的应用及其节能降耗提供新的思路和参考。     

ON THE STUDY OF TIME-VARYING TEMPERATURE DRYING—EFFECT ON DRYING KINETICS AND PRODUCT QUALITY

The ability of heat pump dryer to produce controlled transient drying conditions, in terms of temperature, humidity and air velocity, has given it an edge over other drying systems. Exploiting this characteristic, we studied and compared the effect of different temperature-time profiles on the quality of agricultural products in a tunnel heat pump dryer capable of providing up to 14.6 kW of cooling capacity. The product quality refers to the color change of the products. Samples of banana and guava were dried in batches in a two-stage heat pump dryer. The effects of the starting temperature of a selected profile and the cycle time on both drying kinetics and product quality were studied. It was observed that by employing a step change in drying air temperature with the appropriate starting temperature and cycle time, it was possible to reduce significantly the drying time to reach the desired moisture content with improved product color.     

A Simulation Model for Heat Pump Dryer Plants for Fruits and Roots.

Dryer design requires food properties, drying rate and mass-heat transfer coefficients. These values change continuously during drying due to changes in food fractions, particularly the water fraction. The high energy demand and costs allied to inefficient devices, creates a great need for new processing equipment. Along these guide-lines, several heat pump drying research projects were established at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The heat pump dryer provides high quality final product as its drying conditions can be controlled. Its efficiency and non-polluting operation come from closed air-refrigerant circuits and from its ability to fully recover the latent heat of moist air as it exits the drying chamber. Most of the above features are quite the opposite of the conventional dryer characteristics. Several experiments were made on heat pump drying of fruits and roots at temperatures from -22.5 to 40°C to obtain data and correlations on thermophysical properties, specific enthalpy and rehydration. Also, tests were done on drying rate, moisture content, drying constant, effective mass diffusivity and heat and mass transfer equations. The next important phase is the development of a simulation model to predict the performance and characteristics of the heat pump dryer plant. The objectives of the present work are to develop and lo test a heat pump dryer simulation model. The simulation provides results on the characteristics of both plant and components which are integrated by heat and mass transfer equations. The program has menus with click-on icons, input and output pop-up dialogue boxes. The usual commands such as, file-open, file-save, edit-delete are available in this program simply called Hpdryer. The model contains moist air psychrometric. natural and conventional refrigerant property libraries. Ammonia is a time-tested, self-alarming and natural refrigerant. It has been used extensively in the past, and it has better thermodynamic and transport properties than halocarbons. Safety is easily attained by design and its restrictive standards have helped increase its use in several countries. There are 36 ammonia installations in Norway and in the United Kingdom, including a drying plant. Ammonia has zero Odp, zero Gwp and the recent R&D has led to viable small-sale heat pump plants. Ammonia and dichlarodifluoromethane refrigerants were used in the test cases simulated by Hpdryer madel.     

A Simulation Model for Heat Pump Dryer Plants for Fruits and Roots.

ABSTRACT

Dryer design requires food properties, drying rate and mass-heat transfer coefficients. These values change continuously during drying due to changes in food fractions, particularly the water fraction. The high energy demand and costs allied to inefficient devices, creates a great need for new processing equipment. Along these guide-lines, several heat pump drying research projects were established at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The heat pump dryer provides high quality final product as its drying conditions can be controlled. Its efficiency and non-polluting operation come from closed air-refrigerant circuits and from its ability to fully recover the latent heat of moist air as it exits the drying chamber. Most of the above features are quite the opposite of the conventional dryer characteristics. Several experiments were made on heat pump drying of fruits and roots at temperatures from -22.5 to 40°C to obtain data and correlations on thermophysical properties, specific enthalpy and rehydration. Also, tests were done on drying rate, moisture content, drying constant, effective mass diffusivity and heat and mass transfer equations. The next important phase is the development of a simulation model to predict the performance and characteristics of the heat pump dryer plant. The objectives of the present work are to develop and lo test a heat pump dryer simulation model. The simulation provides results on the characteristics of both plant and components which are integrated by heat and mass transfer equations. The program has menus with click-on icons, input and output pop-up dialogue boxes. The usual commands such as, file-open, file-save, edit-delete are available in this program simply called Hpdryer. The model contains moist air psychrometric. natural and conventional refrigerant property libraries. Ammonia is a time-tested, self-alarming and natural refrigerant. It has been used extensively in the past, and it has better thermodynamic and transport properties than halocarbons. Safety is easily attained by design and its restrictive standards have helped increase its use in several countries. There are 36 ammonia installations in Norway and in the United Kingdom, including a drying plant. Ammonia has zero Odp, zero Gwp and the recent R&D has led to viable small-sale heat pump plants. Ammonia and dichlarodifluoromethane refrigerants were used in the test cases simulated by Hpdryer madel.     

A Comparative Study on Exergetic Performance Assessment for Drying of Broccoli Florets in Three Different Drying Systems

This article deals with the exergy analysis and evaluation of broccoli in three different drying systems. The effects of drying air temperature on the exergy destruction, exergy efficiency, and exergetic improvement potential of the drying process were investigated. The exergy destruction rate for the drying chamber increased with the rise in the drying air temperature at 1.5 m/s, both in the tray and the heat pump dryer. The highest exergy efficiency value was obtained as 90.86% in the fluid bed dryer in comparison to the other two drying systems and the improvement potential rate was the highest in the heat pump dryer during drying of broccoli at the drying air temperature of 45°C and the drying air velocity of 1.0 m/s.     

内加热式热泵干燥装置的设计

内加热式热泵干燥装置通过导热加热方式提供物料中水分气化所需热能,可获得较高的能源效率和除湿能耗比。在介绍内加热式热泵干燥装置基本结构和工作过程的基础上,给出了其物料衡算、能量衡算和主要部件选型参数的计算公式,为内加热式热泵干燥装置的设计提供了较好的参考。     

COMPARISON OF TIMBER DRYING USING SOLAR ENERGY,ELECTRICAL HEATING AND DEHUMIDIFIER.

ABSTRACT

The performance of three different types of dryers for the hot air drying of sawn-limber planks are compared. These were the electric resistance dryer, solar dryer, and the dehumidifier dryer. Whilst the electric and solar dryers depended only upon hot air for drying, the dehumidifier dryer relied on hot dehumidified air. The results of investigations carried out on timber drying employing these three types of dryers in the Engineering Faculty are compiled and compared here in this paper. The results showed that the electric dryer produced the fastest drying lime and lowest moisture content, followed by dehumidifier drying. The solar dryer achieved a lower moisture content and a faster drying rate compared to natural drying, although the difference in drying times was marginal.