Energy Requisite and Drying Capacity of a Superheated Steam Dryer

A.D Adewumi,J.O Ojediran,T.A Olayanju,C E Okonkwo,S.O Oladele,M Olumuyiwa

doi:10.1088/1757-899x/1107/1/012045

Abstract

This research was carried out to determine the energy requisite in terms of the specific thermal energy consumption, the specific electrical energy consumption and the drying capacity of a superheated steam dryer. The superheated stream dryer consists of a boiler housing, steam transfer pipes made of galvanized steel, super-heater made up of two (2) heater bands of 4000W (used to convert saturated steam to superheated steam), superheated chamber made of galvanized steel, the drying chamber made using stainless steel, a PID temperature controller (for regulating the temperature of superheated steam) as well as a water heater of 1500W to raise the temperature of water to saturation temperature. The result observed revealed that, drying capacity ranged from 0.1 to 0.36 kg/h, specific thermal energy consumption ranged from 9.22 to 19.99 kJ/kg and specific electrical energy consumption ranged from 15.41 to 57.17kWh/kg as influenced by temperatures of 160-180 °C, bed depths of 1 to 5 cm and tempering time of 20 and 40 minutes. Results obtained proves that drying paddy rice in a superheated steam dryer in comparison with hot air dryer has lesser energy consumption and saves operational cost.

Highlights

The drying cycle is one of the most energy-intensive process that uses thermal energy to evaporate water from wet material
The superheated stream dryer consists of a boiler housing, steam transfer pipes made of galvanized steel, super-heater made up of two (2) heater bands of 4000W, superheated chamber made of galvanized steel, the drying chamber made using stainless steel, a PID temperature controller as well as a water heater of 1500W to raise the temperature of water to saturation temperature
The results revealed that the electrical energy requirement of the dryer ranged from 15.41 to 57.14 KWh/kg at the various drying conditions

Summary

Introduction

The drying cycle is one of the most energy-intensive process that uses thermal energy to evaporate water from wet material. It is not uncommon for a drying system to consume more than 10 percent of its total production energy [1]. Nwakuba [6] noted that the energy consumption of dryers used in drying agricultural products depends primarily on the drying capacity and kind of the air-heating and air-moving equipment (as long as there's no heat loss to the wall and low efficiency), apart from drying air properties and crop variables.

Methods

Results

Conclusion