Performance evaluation of portable solar powered/heated dryer with auxiliary biomass heater
2021
Anon.
A. 1.18 cu.m (500 bd.ft) capacity portable kiln dryer with solar energy and biomass as heat source was designed, constructed and evaluated for its performance. During the trial run, 120 kawayan kiling (Bambusa vulgaris Schrad) bamboo poles with 58.72% average initial MC were dried in the glazed chamber to 13.07% MC in 29 days using only the solar heated collector which attained at maximum temperature of 69.4%. In the actual performance evaluation, 50-mm thick paper mulberry [Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent] lumber were kiln dried in the solar dryer. From an average initial MC of 54.95% the lumber samples were dried to final MC of 12.32% in 10 days. The cost of solar drying the lumber was Php 10.12/bd.ft. Another run of 25-mm mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) lumber with an average initial MC of 60.74% lumber samples were dried to final MC of 10.49% in 20 days of the day operation. Average temperature inside the whole drying time is 41.9C. Computed solar drying of mahogany lumber was about Php 28.59/bd.ft Eighty pieces of 8-ft kawayan kiling was loaded with an average initial MC of 130.58% and dried to final MC of 9.54% in 14 days of day operation. The cost of solar drying of kawayan kiling is Php 48.84/bd.ft. Based on the mahogany trial run, the dryer's thermal efficiency was computed. The equivalent heat supplies was 6.209.34 Btu/hr. While the computed total heat output was 23,423.74 Btu/hr during the 160 hours of drying operation. This resulted to the dryer's thermal efficiency of 26.51%. The cost of the solar photocoltaic (PV) system is Php 320,000.000 and the chamber with auxiliary heater is Php 119,554.00. The solar dryer can be one of the options for drying lumber or bamboo. However, the initial investment of this dryer is high due to the PV system.
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