DESIGN AND TESTING OF A NEW SOLAR TRAY DRYER

A novel low cost tray dryer equipped with a solar air collector, a heat storage cabinet and a solar chimney is designed and tested. The design is based on energy balances and on an hourly-averaged radiation data reduction procedure for tilted surfaces. Measurements of total solar radiation on an horizontal plane, ambient temperature and humidity, air speed, temperature and relative humidity inside the dryer as well as solids moisture loss-in-weight data are employed as a means to study the performance of the dryer. First, detailed diagnostic experiments are carried out with no drying material on the trays. Next, a number of experiments is conducted using a controlled reference material whose reproducible dehydration pattern allows comparisons among runs. Drying is also tested during night operation and under adverse weather conditions. For all the employed conditions, the material gets completely dehydrated at a satisfactory rate and with an encouraging system's efficiency.     

A Review of: “Superheated Steam Drying” by Mikhailov Yu.A. Energia,Moscow, 1967, 199 p. (in Russian)

This paper presents a general overview of Freeze-Drying (Lyophilization) and discusses the underlying principles of the process. Emphasis has been placed on the freeze-drying of biological materials and special mention has been made to the formulation of bio products prior to processing     

Review of: “Impregnation,Drying and Adhesive Coating Equipment”by Konovalov 7.1. and Koval A.M. Khimia,Moscow, 1989, 222 p. (in Russian)

Zeolites have potential to increase efficiency of medium-temperature drying in the food industry. This work concerns the comparison between conventional dryers and dryers using air dehumidified by zeolite. Steady-state mass and energy balances have been used and the work concerns drying temperatures ranging from 52 to 70°C. Process integration based on pinch analysis has been applied and nine different heat exchanger networks for energy recovery are compared. Results indicated that dryers using air dehumidifier by zeolites are 10–18% more efficient than conventional dryers.     

Drying of industrial sludge waste in a conical spouted bed dryer. Effect of air temperature and air velocity

To determine the performance of a conical spouted bed dryer for the drying of sludge waste, an experimental study of drying in a spouted bed regime was performed under different experimental conditions. The drying performance was determined based on the time evolution of solid moisture content, and the influence of operating conditions (inlet air temperature, air flow rate, and bed mass) on the drying rate of sludge waste in spouted beds of a conical geometry was analyzed.     

Industrial Experience in Pressurized Steam Drying of Beet Pulp,Sewage Sludge and Wood Chips.

ABSTRACT

Drying in superheated steam under pressure gives possibilities for pollution free drying, energy recovery. reduced drying time and a very compact drying equipment.

Products are dried i n a pressurized cellular fluid bed by super heated steam blown through the cells. Above the fluid bed dust is separated before the steam is reheated and recirculated to the cells by a fan. The evaporated water leaves the dryer as usable steam at e.g. 3 bar g, and full energy recovery is obtained. Today 14 plants have been builtor are under construction, with capacities from 2 to 40t / h water evaporation.

This technology is suited for drying of beet pulp, residues from starch production of corn or wheat. sludge. spent grain. brown coal. wood chips and bark.

The technology shows great options for integration in steam systems in various industries, whereby drying is possible without using primary energy and pollution is avoided.     

Preparation and characterization of Ag2ZnSn(S,Se)4 and its application in improvement of power conversion efficiency of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4-based solar cells

We fabricated high-quality n-type Ag₂ZnSnSe₄ (AZTSe) film with kesterite structure by using a simple solution method. A Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ (CZTSe)/AZTSe-based solar cell was designed and prepared by inserting AZTSe layer between CZTSe and CdS of the traditional CZTSe-based solar cell. Compared with the traditional device, an increase from 337 to 432 mV in open circuit voltage (V_oc) and an accompanying rise from 3.40% to 4.72% in power conversion efficiency (PCE) were observed. To well understand the PCE improvement of the CZTSe/AZTSe-based solar cells, we calculated the band alignments of CZTSe/AZTSe and CZTSe/CdS heterojunctions using first-principles calculations, demonstrating that the CZTSe/AZTSe and CZTSe/CdS interfaces have type-II and type-I band alignments, respectively. Moreover, the band offset of AZTSe/CdS is lager than the one of CZTSe/CdS. Combined with the calculation results, the mechanism of influence of the AZTSe on the PCE improvement is discussed in detail. Our conclusions show that the addition of the AZTSe layer is a potentially applicable method to obtain CZTSe-based solar cells with higher V_oc and PCE.     

De- and rehydration of Ca(OH)2 in a reactor with direct heat transfer for thermo-chemical heat storage. Part B: Validation of model

Heat storage technologies are used to improve energy efficiency of power plants and recovery of process heat. Storing thermal energy by reversible thermo-chemical reactions offers a promising option for high storage capacities especially at high temperatures. Due to its low material cost the use of the gas–solid reaction Ca(OH)₂ ? CaO + H₂O has been suggested. In Part A of this work the thermal behavior of a reactor with direct heat transfer was experimentally investigated. In this part a two-dimensional model is applied for the specified system. The experimental and simulated results during the exothermic hydration are discussed in order to confirm the validity of the model. The model is validated regarding heat transfer, integral reaction rate and maximum temperatures. In addition, an adaptation of the kinetic equation is proposed in order to take into account rate-limiting effects due to agglomeration in the powder bed.     

De- and rehydration of Ca(OH)2 in a reactor with direct heat transfer for thermo-chemical heat storage. Part A: Experimental results

Heat storage technologies are used to improve energy efficiency of power plants and recovery of process heat. Storing thermal energy by reversible thermo-chemical reactions offers a promising option for high storage capacities especially at high temperatures. Due to its low material cost the use of the reversible reaction Ca(OH)₂ ? CaO + H₂O has been suggested. This paper reports on the thermal behavior of a reactor with direct heat transfer between the gaseous reactant and the solid material. Cycling stability is confirmed and the impact of the most significant parameters such as the maximum possible enthalpy difference of the heat transfer fluid between inlet and outlet, the heat transfer, the particle reaction rate and the mass transport is derived. In the test system the particle reaction rate could be identified as the main limiting parameter.