Optimizing Solar Drying: A Critical Review of Shapes, Orientation, and Future Prospects for Hybrid Solar Dryers

This comprehensive review focuses on the performance of solar dryers, with a specific emphasis on their structural shape and orientation. Researchers have extensively examined these design parameters, often employing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to assess thermal attributes and predict temperature distribution, airflow patterns, and temperature profiles within the structures. Geographical location significantly influences solar dryer shape preferences, with the parabolic shape finding favor in tropical regions for its superior solar radiation capture and storm resistance, while even-span and Quonset shapes are popular elsewhere. Solar dryer orientation is another crucial factor, with east-west alignment consistently proving optimal due to its ability to maximize year-round solar radiation absorption and, consequently, enhance drying efficiency. Economic considerations, however, fall beyond the scope of this review, which predominantly focuses on thermal aspects. This investigation reveals diverse global preferences for solar dryer shapes and orientation, highlighting the necessity of considering geographical factors in design choices. While CFD and shape/orientation dynamics have provided valuable insights, there remains room for future research to expand into transient state simulations under various conditions, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of solar dryer performance. Such insights promise to promote sustainable and efficient drying processes, benefitting agricultural and drying applications across the globe.

Mathematical Modelling and Design of Helical Coil Heat Exchanger for Production of Hot Air for Fluidized Bed Dryer

In global industrialization, efforts have been made to increase the rate of heat transfer in heat exchanger, minimizing the size of heat exchanger to reduce cost as well as increasing the effectiveness. Helical coil heat exchanger (HCHE) has been proven to be effective in improving heat transfer due to its large surface area. In this study, HCHE was designed to provide hot air needed for fluidized bed drying processes. The HCHE design model was fabricated and evaluated to study the efficiency of the hot air output for a laboratory fluidized bed dryer. The mathematical model for estimation of the final (output) temperature of air, Taf, passing through the HCHE was developed and validated experimentally. The drying of bitter kola particulates was carried out with a drying temperature of 50C 3C and a bed height-to-bed diameter ratio (H/D) of 1.5. The time taken to dry bitter kola particulates to 0.4% moisture content was 1 hour 45 minutes. Hence, HCHE is recommended for use in the production of hot for laboratory-scale fluidized bed dryers.

Experimental Study and Thermal Modelling of Cocoa Shell Convective Drying in an Indirect Solar Dryer

The concern of the present work is the convective drying of empty cocoa shells in an indirect solar dryer. Some drying experiments, using one sample, were carried out. During the experiments, the sample is introduced in the drying chamber. Then at steady time intervals, the sample is withdrawn from the drying chamber, for a rapid weighing. After each weighing, the sample is reintroduced in the dryer. At each time interval, the ambient temperature of the drying chamber and its relative humidity γ are measured by a thermo-hygrometer. From the experimental data, a theoretical determination of the moisture evaporated from the product was performed and a good agreement was found between the theoretical and experimental values, confirmed by the value of the RMSE. Those calculations used the constants in the Nusselt number found in literature. Then those constants were evaluated again, to get new values more suitable with the experimental data. The dimensionless numbers of Nusselt, Grashof and Prandtl were calculated. That allowed the calculation of the average value of the Nusselt number. The average convective heat transfer coefficient was determined.

Heat and Mass Transfer for a Nanofluid Flow in Fluidized Bed Dryer in Presence of Induced Magnetic Field

This research entails the study of heat and mass transfer of nanofluid flow in a fluidized bed dryer used in tea drying processes in presence of induced magnetic field. A mathematical model describing the fluid flow in a Fluidized bed dryer was developed using the nonlinear partial differential equations. Due to their non-linearity, the equations were solved numerically by use of the finite difference method. The effects of physical flow parameters on velocity, temperature, concentration and magnetic induction profiles were studied and results were presented graphically. From the mathematical analysis, it was deduced that addition of silver nanoparticles into the fluid flow enhanced velocity and temperature profiles. This led to improved heat transfer in the fluidized bed dryer, hence amplifying the tea drying process. Furthermore, it was noted that induced magnetic field tends to decrease the fluid velocity, which results in uniform distribution of heat leading to efficient heat transfer between the tea particles and the fluid, thus improving the drying process. The research findings provide information to industries on ways to optimize thermal performance of fluidized bed dryers.

Design and Development of a Parabolic Trough Solar Air Heater for a Greenhouse Dryer

Design and Development of a Parabolic Trough Solar Air Heater (PTSAH) for a Greenhouse Dryer (GD) was done to improve the dryer’s performance. The materials used for the fabrication of the PTSAH included galvanized sheets covered with aluminium foil, an absorber tube made of GI pipe painted matt black to increase heat absorbance at the focal line, mild steel square tubes, shutter plywood, and an axial fan to push air through the absorber tube. Key geometrical parameters used for the design of the PTSAH were a rim angle of 98 degrees, focal length of 0.2608 m, height of 0.3451 m, length of 2 m, and an aperture width of 1.2 m. The PTSAH’s total aperture surface area was 2.4 m2, while its absorber tube surface area was 0.1587 m2. The PTSAH was experimentally tested to establish its thermal performance. It was found that the ambient air recorded an average value of 31.1˚C and that the air heater could increase the air temperature by 45.6˚C above ambient with a thermal efficiency of 5.3%. It can, therefore, be concluded that the PTSAH can significantly improve the performance of a GD by supplying the GD with air at a higher temperature than ambient.

Review:Resuspension of wall deposits in spray dryers

Wall deposition occurs in spray dryers when dried or partially dried particles contact and adhere to the walls during operation, thus reducing the yield of product collected. Wall deposits also present a product contamination risk and a fire or explosion risk when spray drying products that oxidize exothermically, such as milk powder. Re-entrainment is the resuspension of spray dryer wall deposits into the main gas stream for collection as product. Literature suggests that the process for re-entrainment of particles from spray dryer wall deposits is strongly dependent on particle size and gas velocity.

Pilot Scale Test to Treat High Concentration Gasification Wastewater Using Catalytic Oxidation and Aerobic Biological Fluid-Bed Combination Process

The gasification wastewater is a kind of typical organic industrial wastewater with high chemical oxygen demand （COD） and ammonia nitrogen, which could not be completely degraded by the traditional physical, chemical and biological method. So it is very important to find an effective treatment process. A combination process of catalytic oxidation with noble metal catalysts and aerobic biological fluid-bed packed with the new ultrastructure biological carriers, which was developed by ourselves, was investigated to treat the gasification wastewater. The pilot scale test with 0.5 m^3/h influent flow was carried out to investigate the performance of this new combination process. The results showed that the effluent COD was 84.02 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen was 14.15 mg/L, and total phenol was 0.20 mg/L, which could completely meet the Grade I of Wastewater Discharge Standard （GB8978-1996）, when the influent average COD was 5 564 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen was 237 mg/L, and total phenol was 1 100 mg/L. The two catalytic reactors could evidently improve the wastewater biodegradability, and the value of BOD5/COD （B/C） increased from 0.23 to 0.413 in the one-stage catalytic reactor and from 0. 273 to 0.421 in two-stage catalytic reactor. The further experiment results showed that the effluent quality of this new combination process could still meet the discharge standard, when the COD loading was 8.65 kg / （m^3· d）. Most of aromatic and heterocyclic compounds were degraded effectively in this combination process.

Industrial and Small-Scale Biomass Dryers:An Overview

The quality of the drying process depends mainly on the efficient use of thermal energy.Sustainable systems based on solar energy takes a leading role in the drying of agro-products because of low operating cost.However,they are limited in use during off–sun periods.Biomass dryer is one of the simplest ways of drying because of its potential to dry products regardless of time and climate conditions.The other benefit is that crop residues could be used as fuel in these systems.However,the major limitation of the dryer is unequal drying because of poor airflow distribution in the drying medium,which can be improved by integrating some design changes in the dryer.This review analyses the two types of biomass dryers:industrial biomass dryers and small biomass dryers for food product,along with their efficiency.Further,studies on technical,sustainability and economic aspects are expected to provide a greater understanding of biomass drying.

Drying of Fish Sardines in Oman Using Solar Tunnel Dryers

This paper deals with the design, construction and performance evaluation procedure of a solar tunnel dryer in drying fish. A 12 meter long and 2 meter width half-circled tunnel was designed and constructed to dry about 50-100 kg of freshly harvested fishes per batch. The half of the tunnel base was used as the flat plate air heating solar collector and the remaining half as a dryer. The drying air was forced from the collector region （north side） to the drying region （south side） of the half circled tunnel where the product is to be dried. The drying temperature could be easily raised by some 5-30 ℃ above the ambient temperature inside the tunnel at an air velocity of approximately 0.2 m/sec. The test was conducted with 51.5 kg freshly harvested sardines （hall-load） with initial moisture content of 66.5% （wet-basis） to analyze the performance of the dryer. The fishes were dried to a final average moisture content of 15.5% （wet-basis） within three days （30 hours）. It was possible to reach the moisture content level for safe storage within less than three days （30 hrs） with solar tunnel dryer and 7 days in open air natural sun drying. The improvement in the quality of fishes in terms of color, brightness, flavor, and taste and food value was distinctly recognized.

Research on Cassava Drying, Application and Promotion of the Reversible Airflow Flatbed Dryers for Sliced Cassava

The study was conducted by researchers of the Research Center for Agricultural Energy and Machinery （CAEM） of the Ho Chi Minh City Nong Lam University （NLU） with the objectives of researching on drying ways for cassava and of evaluating the adaptability of the reversible-airflow dryers in drying of cassava. The results obtained were as follows： done with thin-layer drying experiments, deep-layer drying experiments in the lab, and conducted drying experiments at the cassava dryer in actual production scale with two capacity sizes of 8 tons/batch and 16 tons/batch, that operates based on principle of reversible-airflow drying （SRA dryers）. By the means of drying experiments, the performance of the SRA dryers such as optimal drying temperature, drying time, drying airflow reversal timing, moisture content uniformity of the sliced cassava mass after finishing drying process, drying cost, etc. was defined, the optimal drying temperature was 70 ~C, the total actual drying time for finishing one batch was 25-28 hours, applicable time for drying airflow reversal was after drying 16 hours since startup, the deviation in moisture content of the cassava mass after drying was just 2%-3%, the drying costs （per one kg of dried cassava） calculated were in turns VND407/kg at the SRA-8 dryer （8 tons/batch）, and VND351/kg at the SRA-16 dryer （16 tons/batch）. Obviously, comparing with the sale price of dry cassava at present, these levels of drying cost are accounting for 7%-10%, which are suitable and acceptable. Thus, investment of the dryers for sliced cassava would be effective and contribute to bring more income for Vietnamese cassava farmers and dryer end-users.

Experimental Study of a Modified Icaro Solar Dryer: The Case of Coffee Drying

Food losses in the developing country are thought to be 50% of the fruits and vegetables grown and 25% of harvested food grain. Food preservation can reduce wastage of a harvest surplus, allow storage for food shortages, and in some cases facilitate export to high-value markets. Drying is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Drying makes produce lighter, smaller, and less likely to spoil and helps to minimize the moisture content in coffee beans as high moisture content during storage is certain to ruin the taste and appearance of coffee. This work presents the results of an experimental study of forced convection drying of coffee cherries in a modified Icaro solar dryer. The study aims to validate the numerical models developed for further research. The experimental tests envisaged also aim to determine the mass loss curves of the product by fixing or calculating its initial mass (1 kg), its initial water content (70%), the ambient temperature, the drying airflow (0.02 m3.s-1 to 0.09 m3.s-1) and the exchange coefficients. The influence of these aerothermal parameters on the drying time of a most commercialized coffee variety (Robusta) was studied. Finally, the results revealed an increase in the efficiency of the heat transfer air and a reduction in the water content of the coffee cherry from 70% to 9.87%, after 30.2 hours.

Experimentation of a Forced Convection Solar Dryer for Drying Sweet Potatoes at the Higher Institute of Technology of Mamou-Guinea

This study was carried out at the Mamou Higher Institute of Technology during the period from March 10 to April 15, 2022, with the aim of designing and testing a solar dryer with forced convection by drying potatoes. The dryer was designed using local materials. Its main geometric parameters are: 1) height of the drying chamber (90 cm), 2) length of the drying chamber (50 cm), 3) width of the drying chamber (43 cm), 4) surface of the racks (0.1806 m2), 5) surface of the heat accumulator (0.2537 m2). The experiment focused on the vacuum test of the dryer for two days and that of the drying of the sweet potato for three days from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The average vacuum test temperature values of the three environments are respectively accumulator (43°C), dryer chamber (41°C) and ambient environment (34°C). Four kilograms (4 kg) of boiled sweet potato were dried. The average temperatures in the accumulator and in the drying chamber during the three days of drying are respectively 33°C and 39°C. The final mass of the dried product is 1.2 kg, with a quantity of water extracted of 2 liters or 63% of the initial mass of the product. The average drying rate is 0.074 kg/h. The drying kinetics showed a decreasing rate in the absence of the heating period and the constant rate period.

基于多因素分析的烘丝机智能调控研究

烘丝过程中影响出口烟丝水分和温度的干扰因素较多,为了保障出口烟丝水分与温度的稳定性,首先基于烘丝过程的历史数据,采用相关性分析方法对影响因子进行筛选。其次,选取出口烟丝水分和出口烟丝温度为目标值,通过对各机器学习模型的对比分析选取了能够快速建模与预测的极限学习机(extreme learning machine,ELM)作为建模方法,以通过模型求解运算,得出预测值。最后,采用模拟退火(simulated annealing,SA)算法,实时优化热风风速和排潮风门开度的设定值,实现对出口烟丝水分和温度的预测和控制。实验结果表明,极限学习机模型的预测效果良好,预测当前出口水分的均方根误差为0.015,出口温度的均方根误差为0.638,误差较小,保障了烘丝机智能调控方法的调控精度。

基于TRIZ与DFSS的污泥烘干机专利规避创新设计

为解决传统专利规避设计缺乏合理的挖掘与解决问题的过程,其设计方案可能存在潜在失效模式的问题。结合TRIZ与六西格玛设计提出一种新的专利规避创新设计方法,并将其应用到污泥烘干机的专利规避创新设计当中。挖掘并分析目标专利,识别需求,进而确定规避方向,进行改进创新设计并做优化。成功对现有污泥烘干机专利进行了规避创新设计,使创新之后的污泥烘干机具有烘干效率高、节能环保、有效防粘壁、实现自动上料的优点。验证了所提出方法的可行性,为企业产品的专利规避设计提供了参考。

新型真空耙式干燥机优化设计与蒸发性能研究

针对现有耙式干燥机运行中存在的蒸汽消耗大、干燥效率不高、传热不均匀等技术难题,以及筒内残余滤渣层造成较大的物料损失,难以满足安全、环保和GMP(良好生产规范)要求等技术难点,通过查阅文献并进行大量的实验研究,设计了一种高效、节能耙式干燥机,自主提出一种轻量化的内、外筒与浆叶复合加热搅拌轴结构。该结构中心转轴、连接轴和搅拌桨叶均为空心设计,桨叶刮擦部距离筒壁间隙3~5 mm,达到了所需搅拌动力显著降低、换热面积大、传热效率高的效果,实现了不留残余物料、降低生产成本、保证人和物料的完全隔离的目的,可满足制药行业的GMP要求。实际试验研究结果表明,干化减量比例达19.9%,蒸汽单耗32.8%,能耗明显减少,说明该方法与设备具有较高的推广应用价值。

Development and Experiment of Multi- functional Wood Dehumidification Dryer

A multi functional wood dehumidification dryer has been developed recently. The dryer can carry out air dehumidification by using only one refrigeration system, in which heat supplying and moisture air are exhausted by changing the position of several air dampers. In this paper, the work principles and characteristics of the dehumidification dryer are introduced, and the testing results about the thermal engineering performance of the dehumidification dryer, as well as the experiment results of drying several species of lumbers are expounded.

5H-2谷物烘干机干燥箱多孔角状盒的设计与试验

为改善5H-2谷物烘干机的干燥性能,将原有角状盒改造为多孔角状盒。通过Fluent对多孔角状盒的干燥段气流场进行仿真分析,对比空载条件下干燥箱内部温度场变化情况,结果表明,装有多孔角状盒的干燥箱内部温度场较原有角状盒的分布更趋均匀。选择早稻‘中早35’稻谷,在5H-2谷物烘干机上安装多孔角状盒开展烘干试验,设置热风干燥温度为65℃,风速为8 m/s,干燥缓苏比为1∶2,结果装有多孔角状盒的烘干机干燥速率为0.798%/h~1.002%/h,烘干后爆腰增率为7.4%~10.2%,相比原有角状盒谷物烘干机,其干燥速率提高了12.1%~21.2%,爆腰增率降低了1.9%~5.1%。

带式烘干机风速场均匀性试验研究

物料含水率均匀性是物料品质的重要指标,与烘干机内部气流均匀性相关。烘干机结构与工艺参数对烘干机内部流场均匀性产生较大影响。使用正交试验的方法研究导流板角度(30°、40°、50°)、侧风道均流板个数(1、2、3)与循环风机频率(20 Hz、30 Hz、40 Hz)对烘干机内气流分布的影响,找到最优的因素水平,使烘干机内部风速场最均匀。研究结果表明:风机频率对上料层的风速场影响最显著;导流板角度对上料层风速场影响最不显著。导流板角度对下料层风速场影响最显著;风机频率对下料层风速场影响最不显著。当因素水平组合为导流板角度30°,均流板3个,风机频率20 Hz时,烘干机内风速场最均匀。

短管直径对短管蜂窝夹套传热性能的影响

基于某工程中1台干燥机的短管蜂窝夹套结构形式,通过将短管尺寸由Ф90 mm×5 mm逐渐增大到Ф135 mm×7.5 mm,建立了模型1~模型6共6种夹套流场计算有限元模型,模拟分析了各模型速度场和温度场分布特性,计算并对比了各模型在不同体积流量下的总传热系数。模拟数据表明,随着短管尺寸的增大,夹套流体域内最大流速呈持续递减趋势。随着短管尺寸的增大,夹套流体域内温度场均匀性先升后降,模型5温度场分布均匀性最佳,总传热系数最大。随着体积流量的增加,夹套总传热系数持续增大。随着短管直径的增大,夹套总传热系数先升后降,模型5总传热系数最大。综合分析表明,在一定范围内增大短管的直径,能够强化夹套传热效果。

碳化钨涂层盘管的制备及寿命预测

针对冶金行业蒸汽干燥机内部盘管冲蚀磨损问题,使用超音速喷涂工艺制备碳化钨涂层盘管提高盘管的使用寿命。通过显微金相检测与拉伸试验获取盘管表面状况与结合强度。基于FLUENT建立了计入壁面硬度实验值的盘管冲蚀模型,通过仿真云图与现场磨损图片进行比对,验证了数值仿真模型的合理性与真实性。将模型与冲蚀率做统一量纲化处理后,对盘管冲蚀磨损寿命进行预测。结果表明,超音速喷涂备至涂层盘管金相观测孔隙率小于0.1%,厚度大于90 um,表面硬度大于1000 HV,结合强度大于70 MPa,喷涂工艺可靠性较好;仿真结果表明,盘管冲蚀率在35°入射角附近达到最大,最大值为1.92×10^(-7) kg/(m^(2)·s);冲蚀率预测盘管极限工况使用寿命达36718750 s,较喷涂前提高约145%~167%;预测正常工况寿命41592920 s,较喷涂前提高约154%~177%。