Research on optimizing the drying process of Pyinkado (Xylia Xylocarpa) by vacuum infrared radiation drying method

Abstract

In this study, wood samples (Xylia Xylocarpa) with dimensions of 50 x 50 x 500 mm were dried under an absolute pressure of 0.12 - 0.217 bar at a temperature of 45 - 59°C and infrared radiation intensity of 459 - 741 W/m2 to assess their drying characteristics. The experiment planning method was used to build the equation that correlated the relationship between technological parameters of radiation intensity and drying temperature on different physicochemical properties of wood dried by the infrared vacuum drying method. The results showed that the increase of both of these conditions promoted the drying process and affected the wood quality. The more defects, the higher the radiation intensity and the higher the drying temperature was from 600 - 741 W/m2, 50 to 60°C, respectively. Therefore, to minimize wood defects and reduce drying time it was necessary to adjust the drying temperature and infrared radiation intensity. The results gave the optimal drying regime of Xylia Xylocarpa with Timin = 64.29 h and Demin = 11.6% at a drying temperature of 58.70C, infrared radiation intensity of 625.2 W/m2 and moisture content of dried wood after at 10± 1% (wb.). That contributes to finding suitable drying technology parameters, providing detailed information for businesses and researchers on the development of infrared vacuum drying technology for wood materials.