Performance investigation of a passive-cum-active dryer with a biomass-fired heater integrated with a plate heat exchanger

Abstract

Abstract In this study, a prototype of a passive-cum-active dryer with a biomass fired-heater and a plate heat exchanger was developed and tested. The developed dryer consists of a vertical plate heat exchanger, a biomass combustion chamber, and a drying chamber. It can be run in both passive and active modes. Sliced turmeric fingers were dried in the dryer in both the modes. While drying the turmeric slices from its initial moisture content of 87.62% (w.b.) to 12.78% (w.b.) in 32\xa0h, the dryer consumed 24–25.5\xa0kg of mango wood of the moisture content of 12.5% (w.b.). The thermal efficiency of the dryer was estimated from the experimental data that was found to be in the range of 4.35–4.62%. Wide varieties of biomass can be used as fuel in the developed dryer. As it runs both in the passive and active mode, the dryer is expected to be useful in remote areas where the power supply is not available or there is a frequent outage of the power supply.