Simulation of deep-bed drying of Virginia peanuts to minimize energy use

Miscellaneous · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6114775

Kulasiri, G D

A deep-bed drying model simulating the drying of peanuts in a fixed bed is required for designing energy-efficient and automatically controlled dryers. A deep-red drying model consists of a thin-layer drying model to calculate the moisture release from the material and a set of mass and energy balances. An experimental setup was constructed to determine drying rates of Virginia-type peanuts under 14 different drying air conditions. Selected empirical and semi-theoretical models available for modeling thin-layer drying rates were fitted to the collected data using nonlinear regression techniques. The modified Page's model and the two-term exponential model fitted the data better than other models considered. A deep-bed drying model PEATECH based on four coupled partial differential equations consisting of four variables, air temperature, peanut temperature, air humidity, and peanut moisture content was developed. Validation of the model was accomplished by using the data collected from 36 deep-bed drying experiments conducted using three laboratory dryers during 1987, 1988, and 1989. PEATECH predicted the variables within a peanut bed with an accuracy of less than {plus minus} 6%. The energy saving potential of exhaust-air recirculation was established by conducting simulated experiments using a modified version of PEATECH.

• Research Organization: Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6114775
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
DRYERS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
FOOD INDUSTRY
PEANUTS
DRYING
AIR
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
CIRCULATING SYSTEMS
DESIGN
ENERGY BALANCE
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
EQUATIONS
EXHAUST GASES
HUMIDITY
MASS BALANCE
MOISTURE
PACKED BED
RECYCLING
SIMULATION
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
VALIDATION
EFFICIENCY
FLUIDS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
INDUSTRY
SEEDS
TESTING
WASTES
320303* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Equipment & Processes