Determination of deep bed drying rates for abattoir paunch waste using revised co-efficients for the Hukill equation

Abstract

Abattoir paunch waste offers a site-specific, viable waste-to-energy stream for the global red meat processing industry. While the literature highlights numerous end uses for dried paunch, the undried paunch, with its high initial moisture content, is considered a waste product of limited to no value. However, if the initial moisture content of paunch can be reduced in a cost-effective manner, it can become a useful biomass for industrial uses such as co-combustion, pyrolysis, or gasification. Thus, the aim of this paper is to refine the Hukill deep bed drying equation specifically for paunch waste, optimizing drying time and deep bed drying equations to enhance the re-use of paunch as a biomass. A solution to the Hukill deep-bed drying equation predicting moisture ratio as a function of bed depth and drying time has been derived, with new coefficients. This contributes to a novel fundamental understanding of paunch, informing dryer design for the global meat processing industry.