Drying process on biomass: Evaluation of the drying performance and energy analysis of different dryers

Abstract

The application of biomass drying can significantly lower the expenses related to handling, and the conversion procedure, which can help improve the economics of biomass conversion. This study sought to investigate the drying kinetics and energy requirement of three drying procedures ideal for dehydrating tomato waste biomass; convective hot-air drying (HAD), a combination of hot air with microwave (MW-HAD), and combined hot air with infrared (IR-HAD). The same varying temperature (60, 70 and 80 °C) range was retained for all three experimental dryers while varying the inlet air velocity (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 m/s) for HAD. The power intensity for IR-HAD and MW-HAD varied at various infrared intensities 1500, 2000, and 4000 W/m2 and microwave power of 300, 600, and 900 W. The MW-HAD exhibited the lowest significant drying time reduction of 94% and 83% lower than HAD and IR-HAD, respectively. The highest SEC (92.6 MJ/kg) was achieved by the HAD at an air velocity of 3 m/s and an air temperature of 60 °C, while the lowest SEC (3.77 MJ/kg) was noted at 900 W and 80 °C at MW-HAD drying. The current investigation recommended a hybrid HAD-MW at 900 W and 80 °C as optimum settings for biomass drying efficiency.

Keywords

• Drying methods
• Biomass
• Kinetics
• Energy
• Thermal efficiency