Comparison of Energy Consumption of Cereal Grain Dryer Powered by LPG and Hard Coal in Polish Conditions

Abstract

The calculation method commonly used in the industry takes into consideration mainly fuel consumption (excluding electricity) and the amount of removed moisture which is reflected in the unit MJ·(Mg·%)−1. This is not a scientific approach because the result will change if the basic moisture is different (drying from 21% to 18% will consume less energy than drying from 18% to 15%). This paper aims to compare the energy consumption of two industrial continuous flow grain dryers powered by LPG and hard coal based on a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency calculation enriched with electricity consumption, flow measurements, and control of grain moisture. It could be useful for manufacturers who could use this method to generate more reliable data in their product datasheets, and it could also be legally regulated as an appropriate tool for calculating the energy consumption of agricultural grain dryers. According to the approach presented in this paper, the S428.CS construction powered by LPG gas had an energy consumption that was 6.14% lower than the DT2532 dryer construction, which used hard coal.

Keywords

• cereal drying
• LPG
• hard coal
• energy efficiency
• gas emission