A DRYING HEAT PUMP USING CARBON DIOXIDE AS WORKING FLUID

ABSTRACT

The application of carbon dioxide as working fluid in refrigeration and heat pump systems is regaining increasingly importance in view of the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) substitution problem. It is both under ecological and economical aspects an attractive alternative to the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) working fluids being in practical use. The thermophysical properties and characteristics of carbon dioxide are quite different from those of refrigerants used in conventional vapour compression cycles. Its application in conventional vapour compression refrigerating systems is limited by its critical parameters (t _c = 31.1°C and p _c = 73.8 bar). The possibility to use carbon dioxide also beyond these limits in high temperature processes, e.g., heat pumps, is given by the application of a trans-critical process. The design and construction of a commercial drying heat pump system (batch type cabinet dryer with 12 kW heating capacity and closed air circuit) using the natural working fluid carbon dioxide is shown and experimental results of investigations carried out are presented. Possible energy savings calculated theoretically are given for comparison.     

PERFORMANCE STUDY OF A RE-CIRCULATING CABINET DRYER USING A HOUSEHOLD DEHUMIDIFIER

ABSTRACT

The performance and operating characteristics of a low temperature re-circulating cabinet dryer using a dehumidifier loop were studied using alfalfa. Chopped alfalfa, initially at 70% moisture content, was dried to 10% moisture content in the dryer. Two dryer setups were used. The dryers in each case had a partitioned cabinet with trays of material on one side and a stack of one or two small household dehumidifiers on the other side. Air was re-circulated through the material from bottom to the top and back through the dehumidifiers. Two drying configurations were tested. In one, the material was left on the trays until drying was complete (batch or fixed tray drying). In the other configuration, the trays were moved from top to bottom, introducing a new tray at the top while removing an old tray from bottom. Drying air temperature ranged from 25 to 45°C. The average air velocity through the material was 0.38 m/s. Alfalfa chops dried in 5 h in the fixed tray drying and in 4 h in the moving tray drying. The specific moisture extraction rate ranged from 0.35 to 1.02 kg/kWh for batch drying and stayed at an average value of 0.50 kg/kWh for continuous/moving tray drying.     

Effect of Drying Air Temperature on Drying Kinetics Parameters and Fructan Content in Helianthus tuberosus and Cichorium intybus

Abstract

Helianthus tuberosus and Cichorium intybus tubers accumulate fructans, non-digestible fiber, which has attracted great interest recently as a functional food. In this work a mathematical model for describing the tray drying of the tubers is proposed. It was found that the drying rate in the constant drying rate period was a function of the drying air temperature. Calculated values of the effective diffusivity coefficient are of the magnitude order of 10^?9 m²/s; for both tubers the value of this parameter depends on the drying temperature. Drying affects the fructan molecular weight distribution and fructose content in H. tuberosus and C. intybus tubers. These changes are dependent on the drying air temperature.     

Dehydration of Garlic Slices by Combined Microwave-Vacuum and Air Drying

Abstract

Combination of microwave-vacuum drying and air drying was investigated as a potential mean for drying garlic slices. The sample was dried by microwave-vacuum until the moisture content reached 10% (wet basis), and then by conventional hot-air drying at the temperature of 45°C to final moisture content less than 5% (wet basis). Pungency, color, texture, and rehydration ratio of garlic slices dried by this method were evaluated and compared with those dried by freeze drying and conventional hot-air drying. The comparison showed that the quality of garlic slices dried by the current method was close to that of freeze dried garlic slices and much better than that of conventional hot-air dried ones. The lab microwave-vacuum dryer which the materials to be dried could be rotated in the cavity was developed by the authors.     

A Vacuum Drying Model for Mango Pulp

Abstract

Vacuum drying of mango pulp at varying conditions of pulp thickness (2, 3, and 4 mm) and vacuum chamber plate temperature (65, 70, and 75°C) was carried out under 30–50 mm of mercury absolute pressure. A model based on moisture diffusivity was found to give close prediction to moisture content of the pulp at different times of drying with correlation coefficient varying between 0.98–0.99 for pure mango pulp and pulp with ingredients. Color change of reconstituted pulp made from mango powder was found to depend more on pulp thickness than plate temperature. For getting low color change vacuum drying should be carried at maximum pulp thickness of 2.6 mm and vacuum chamber plate temperature of 72.3°C.     

Convective Drying with Time-Varying Heat Input: Simulation Results

Abstract

Intermittent drying aims to match the heat input rate to the drying kinetics of the material so as to avoid thermal degradation of heat-sensitive products in particular. This paper presents results of a liquid diffusion model to examine the effect of varying the rates of heat input by convection heat transfer. This is accomplished by varying the drying air velocity, varying the air temperature as well as its relative humidity over different periods of time in a sequential manner. One of the outcomes of this work is guidelines for use of a heat pump to dehumidify the drying air. While most heat pump dryers are designed to operate continuously, our results show that it is not necessary to use heat pump continuously over the entire drying period. This option saves running costs by reducing use of electrical power in the drying cycle. Furthermore, it is possible to save capital costs by utilizing a smaller heat pump for a given dry product output. Alternatively, a given heat pump system can be used to service two or more drying chambers that may dry the same or different products by simply switching the dehumidified and heated air from one chamber to the other sequentially. When the heat pump air is switched off, unsaturated ambient air maybe used to accomplish rest of the drying. It is shown that using heat pump air over only a part of the drying cycle does not increase the drying time appreciably.     

Influence of Impingement Temperature and Nozzle Geometry on Heat Transfer—Experimental and Theoretical Analysis

Abstract

Based on the earlier studies the most common empirical correlations in the literature predict the impingement heat transfer coefficients rather well at low (close to 100°C) temperatures, but get inaccurate at higher temperatures. Impingement temperatures used in paper drying applications are typically 300 to 700°C, and there has been a need to improve the existing heat transfer correlations at high temperature area. This study presents experimental results of impingement heat transfer measurements with a laboratory-scale heat transfer test rig. Five nozzle configurations were measured. The parameters varied in the investigation were nozzle-to-plate distance, nozzle open area, nozzle diameter, impingement velocity and impingement air temperature. Regression model of heat transfer was developed based on the measurement data. A correction factor including the impingement and heat receiving surface temperatures is proposed. The correction factor can be used to improve the existing correlations at large jet to heat receiving surface temperature differences.     

Thermal Processing of Particulate Solids in a Gas-Fired Pulse Combustion System

Abstract

An experimental study on thermal processing of particulate solids has been carried out on a valved pulse combustion unit. The test-bench consists of a 60 kW natural gas-fired valved (flappers) pulse combustor having a 4.63 × 10^?3 m³ combustion chamber, horizontal tailpipe with variable geometry, and a cylindrical drum. The particulate solid used is clean sand (311 µm and 2646 kg/m³), which flows within the tailpipe and the cylindrical drum located at its end. The sand flowrate was varied from 10 to 50 kg/h and it was heated from 20 to 600°C. Local pressure measurements showed clearly that the propagation of sonic waves remain stable when they are in direct contact with the sand particles. The heating time of sand particles in the pulsed system was found shorter than the one observed when operating with a conventional burner under the same conditions; this resulted in a 25.5% reduction of natural gas consumption.     

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.