Lyes Bennamoun

Design and simulation of a solar dryer for agriculture products

The aim of this work is to study a simple efficient and inexpensive solar batch dryer for agriculture products. During periods of low sunshine a heater is used. The establishment of heat and mass balances leads to two sets of differential equations completed by an empirical model, which represents the drying kinetics. Onion was chosen as the dried product because of its swift deterioration property. The shrinking effect has been taken into consideration. The results showed that drying is affected by the surface of the collector, the air temperature and the product characteristics. Significant improvements were registered in the results, after the heater is added.

Convective Drying of Wastewater Sludge: Introduction of Shrinkage Effect in Mathematical Modeling

Drying of two kinds of wastewater sludge was studied. The first part was an experimental work done in a discontinuous cross-flow convective dryer using 1 kg of wet material extruded in 12-mm-diameter cylinders. The results show the influence of drying air temperature for both sludges. The second part consisted of developing a drying model in order to identify the internal diffusion coefficient and the convective mass transfer coefficient from the experimental data. A comparison between fitted drying curves, well represented by Newtons model, and the analytical solutions of the equation of diffusion, applied to a finite cylinder, was made. Variations in the physical parameters, such as the mass, density, and volume of the dried product, were calculated. This allowed us to confirm that shrinkage, which is an important parameter during wastewater sludge drying, must be taken into account. The results showed that both the internal diffusion coefficient and convective mass transfer coefficient were affected by the air temperature and the origin of the sludge. The values of the diffusion coefficient changed from 42.35 × 10−9 m2 · s−1 at 160°C to 32.49 × 10−9 m2 · s−1 at 122°C for sludge A and from 33.40 × 10−9 m2 · s−1 at 140°C to 28.45 × 10−9 m2 · s−1 at 120°C for sludge B. The convective mass transfer coefficient changed from 4.52 × 10−7 m · s−1 at 158°C to 3.33 × 10−7 m · s−1 at 122°C for sludge A and from 3.44 × 10−7 m · s−1 at 140°C to 2.84 × 10−7 m2 · s−1 at 120°C for sludge B. The temperature dependency of the two coefficients was expressed using an Arrhenius-type equation and related parameters were deduced. Finally, the study showed that neglecting shrinkage phenomena resulted in an overestimation that can attain and exceed 30% for the two coefficients.

Analysis of the Shrinkage Effect on Mass Transfer During Convective Drying of Sawdust/Sludge Mixtures

Convective drying of wastewater sludges and sawdust/sludge mixtures was studied. The first part of this work was an experimental study performed in a cross-flow convective dryer using 500 g of wet material extruded through a disk with circular dies of 12 mm. The results showed that the sawdust addition has a positive impact on the drying process from a mass ratio of 2/8, on a dry basis, with observed drying rates higher than the original sludge. The second part of this work consisted of developing a drying model in order to identify the internal diffusion coefficient and convective mass transfer coefficient from the experimental data. A comparison was made between fitted drying curves, well represented by the Newtons model, and the analytical solutions of the diffusion equation applied to a finite cylinder. Variations of dimensional characteristics, such as the volume and exchange surface of the sample bed, were obtained by X-ray tomography. This technique allowed us to confirm that shrinkage, which is an important phenomenon occurring during sludge and sawdust/sludge mixture drying, must be taken into account. The results showed that both the internal diffusion coefficient and convective mass transfer coefficient were affected by mixing and sawdust addition. The internal diffusion coefficient changed from 7.77 × 10−9 m2/s for the original sludge to 7.01 × 10−9 m2/s for the mixed sludge and then increased to 8.35 × 10−9 m2/s for the mixture of a mass ratio of 4/6. The convective mass transfer coefficient changed from 9.70 × 10−8 m/s for the original sludge to 8.67 × 10−8 m/s for the mixed sludge and then increased to 12.09 × 10−8 m/s for the mixture of a mass ratio of 4/6. These results confirmed that sawdust addition was beneficial to the sludge drying process as the mass transfer efficiency between the air and material increased. Reinforcing the texture of sludge by adding sawdust can increase the drying rate and decrease the drying time, and then the heat energy supply will be reduced significantly. The study also showed that neglecting shrinkage phenomenon resulted in an overestimation for the internal diffusion coefficient for the convective drying of sludges and sawdust/sludge mixtures.

Investigation on Convective Drying of Mixtures of Sewage Sludge and Sawdust in a Fixed Bed

This work is part of a project aiming to develop a renewable fuel for gasification purposes, through convective drying of sludge/wood mixtures. The first step consists of characterizing the behavior of sawdust/sludge mixtures during the application of convective drying. The influence of the mixing step (no mixing versus 30 s at 40 rpm), as well as the sawdust : sludge ratio (1:9, 2:8, 3:7, and 4:6 on a dry basis) and the effect of drying temperature (50, 80, and 110°C) were investigated. In this study, X-ray tomography, a noninvasive imaging technique, is used to assess changes in the volume, void, and exchange surface at the beginning and the end of the drying process. Results first confirm the importance of the mixing step on the drying behavior: the drying rate of the mixed sludge is lower than that of the original sludge. Nevertheless, the addition of sawdust is shown to have a positive impact on the drying process from a mass ratio of 2:8, with drying rates higher than that of the original sludge. With increasing amounts of sawdust, the initial and final bed volumes, initial and final total exchange surfaces, and initial void fraction increase linearly, but the bed volume shrinkage and final void fraction decrease linearly.

Modeling and Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer During Convective Drying of Wastewater Sludge with Introduction of Shrinkage Phenomena

Wastewater sludge is dried in a convective dryer using air temperatures varying from 80°C to 200°C, velocities changing from 1 m · s−1 to 2 m · s−1, and humidities ranging from . The convective dryer is equipped with a camera and an infrared pyrometer to follow respectively the external surface and the temperature of the product. The experimental results show that drying kinetic can be divided into three phases: two short first phases, called adaptation and constant drying phases, and a long third phase, called falling drying rate phase. As the moisture content decreases, the camera confirms simultaneous shrinkage effect with the volume reduction of the product of about 30–45% of the initial volume. Moreover, an increase of the product temperature towards air temperature was measured with the infrared pyrometer. In a second step of this study, the experimental results are modeled and simulated using heat and mass balances applied to the product and the heated air. The drying curve is rightly expressed with fourth-degree polynomial model with a correlation coefficient that approximates the unity and with low calculated errors. An outstanding determination of the heat transfer coefficient has permitted calculating the product temperature with good agreement with experimental results. The heat transfer coefficient expressed by means of Nusselt number is presented as a function of Reynolds and Prandlt numbers, changeable with air and product characteristics taking into account shrinkage effect. Moreover, as the applied air temperatures are sufficiently high, transfer by radiation is not neglected and is introduced in the mathematical model.

Pyrolysis of corn stalk biomass briquettes in a scaled-up microwave technology

Pyrolysis of corn stalk biomass briquettes was carried out in a developed microwave (MW) reactor supplied with 2.45GHz frequency using 3kW power generator. MW power and biomass loading were the key parameters investigated in this study. Highest bio-oil, biochar, and gas yield of 19.6%, 41.1%, and 54.0% was achieved at different process condition. In terms of quality, biochar exhibited good heating value (32MJ/kg) than bio-oil (2.47MJ/kg). Bio-oil was also characterised chemically using FTIR and GC-MS method. This work may open new dimension towards development of large-scale MW pyrolysis technology.

Microwave drying of wastewater sludge: Experimental and modeling study

ABSTRACT This study investigates experimentally and using mathematical modeling the microwave drying of wastewater sludge with determination of moisture diffusivity at different drying conditions. The drying behavior was observed at different power levels (480, 840, and 1,080 W) and different initial masses (90, 120, and 150 g). The observed drying kinetics were divided into three parts: a short adaptation period, a long constant drying rate period, and a falling drying rate period. The maximum drying rate was observed during the constant rate period. Mainly, the results show that the drying rate decreases with the initial mass increase (from 0.45 kg·kg−1·min−1 for 90 g to 0.25 kg·kg−1·min−1 for 150 g) and increases with an increase in power level (from 0.15 kg·kg−1·min−1 at 480 W to 0.45 kg·kg−1·min−1 at 1,080 W). The measurement of the sample dimensions shows that shrinkage can occur and, depending on the drying conditions, it ranged between 0.42 and 0.37 of the sample initial volume. Presenting a more accurate solution of the diffusion model by incorporating shrinkage and finite dimensions of the sample is the novelty of this study. The drying conditions influenced the diffusion coefficient, which ranged from 1.53 × 10−7 to 7.67 × 10−7 m2s−1. Similar to the drying rate, the diffusion coefficient was directly proportional to the power level and inversely proportional to the initial mass. Activation energy was determined using an Arrhenius relationship of the diffusion coefficient as a function of the ratio initial mass to the power level.

Quality enhancement of dehydrated products through the modification of solar tunnel dryer for continuous operation in rural communities

The aim o f th is study is the experimental characterization of the behaviour o f a mo rtar during convective drying. We focalise on mortar that has a rate water-cement of 0.5. The drying tests are developed in a micro-convective dryer that can use samples weighing fro m 0 to 8g. The advantage of these experiments is to reproduce the natural conditions that can be found during the treatment of the mortar-at mosphere problems. The response of the drying curve or the drying kinetic depends on the applied drying conditions. So, the temperature of the air varies fro m 60℃ to 130℃, the velocity of the air is changed fro m 2 m.s -1 to 5 m. s -1 and the relative hu midity is kept less than 1.7%. The co mparison between the experimental results and the proposed analytical solutions of the equation of diffusion represented by Ficks law, applied for a finite shape, allo ws determination o f the values of the d iffusion coefficient. It has a value of 1.71×10 -10 m 2 .s -1 at 60℃, 13.69×10 -10 m 2 .s -1 at 90℃ and 16.27×10 -10 m 2 .s -1 at 130℃. Calculation of the activation energy and the D0 constant are also possible.

Integration of Photovoltaic Cells in Solar Drying Systems

Photovoltaic (PV) cells have not been sufficiently used in drying processes in the past, particularly for solar drying, due to their high price and low efficiency. This is now changing due to the important scientific and technological recent developments in the PV field. An increase in the number of published scientific works related to the integration of PV cells is clearly visible. It is revealed that PV cells are integrated in drying systems for two essential reasons. The first relates to their use as a part of the solar collector (generally solar air collector), which permits an improvement of their low efficiency. As a result, and in most of the studied cases, the total solar collector efficiency has reached 70%. The second reason relates to the recycling of the electrical energy consumed by other drying system components such as fans. The recycled electrical energy was directly used for instant energy consumption or stored in batteries. The main application of PV cells is their use in direct- and indirect-type forced convection dryers, generally for food and herb drying. In a study case, an economic analysis has shown that payback is dependent on the ratio of the PV cell surface to the total solar collector surface, with the possibility of an optimum payback in less than one year. In another study case, an additional heat pump significantly improved the performance of the photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) solar dryer, reaching an efficiency of 70%. A proper design of solar drying plays an important role in attaining optimum results. In this case, particular care is given to the design of solar dryers with a detailed presentation of the influence of the different parameters such as the surface of the PV cell, geographical location, and materials used. For most of the presented systems, efficiency is calculated after application of the heat and mass balance for each solar dryer compound.

Potential of integrating Na2SO4 · 10H2O pellets in solar drying system

ABSTRACT In the current study, evolution of thermophysical properties of red chilli dried in a mixed mode solar dryer that integrates sodium sulfate decahydrate (Na2SO4 · 10H2O) and sodium chloride (NaCl) as thermal storage were presented. Solar drying with Na2SO4 · 10H2O reduced the drying time by 26.7 and 39%, compared to the drying time with or without NaCl. Dimensional shrinkage was gradual with a nonlinear exponential shape for the whole drying conditions. The evolution of the bulk and particle densities decreased while the porosity of the seed increased with time. The coefficient of heat and mass transfer varied from 0.0036 − 0.035 W/m2 K to 6.09 × 10−9 − 6.2 × 10−8 m/s, respectively. The thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity ranged from 0.0568 to 0.1093 W/m K, 1,072 to 2218.7 J/kg K, and 4.7 × 10−5 to 5.13 × 10−5 m2/s, respectively.