Design of a Dryer for cereals that uses as an energy source solid biomass-electric source

Abstract

The process of drying a product at the agro-industrial level is considered one of the most important stages for the storage and conservation of food, it is also the process where there is a greater consumption of fuel and energy. To know the drying technology used in the agricultural sector in the province of Guayas, we proceeded to assess the technology and the energy consumption used. During the evaluation it was observed that the main problems are the construction being of an artisanal or empirical way. In this same sense, they use conventional fuels as the main source of energy being these; gas, diesel or firewood. Due to the lack of fuel control, 60% more than what is required is consumed, billing values ​​between $ 1000 to $ 3000 per month for gas consumption of industrial type (medium producers). On the other hand,is evident in small producers the use of  domestic LPG   for the drying of the aforementioned products , which is also not favorable for the economy of the region. From the problem previously discussed, the design of a dryer is proposed through a technological mixing where biomass is used as the main source of fuel and 10% of electrical source as a secondary source. The investigation starts from the selection of the best design alternative, then proceeds with the; theoretical calculations of each component, simulations using CFDs for the combustion process. The dryer design includes a drying chamber, combustion chamber, heat exchanger, electric heat source and gas cleaning system. It is determined that the respective error between the theoretical data and the simulated data is 1%.