Reducing Energy Supply In The Drying Process

After a detailed analysis of original industrial drying (the most common form) as an energy intensive process, the possibilities for the reduction of fuel consumption are documented. This is done because, after conventional drying, where hot air is usually discharged into the atmosphere, there is great potential for heat saving via exhaust-to-supply air heat exchangers. Thus, the conventional process is compared with ones using recuperation and recirculation that increase drying efficiency. Reclaiming heat from the exhaust results in fuel savings of 28% in the recuperative drying process, and the fuel consumption is lowered by 24% in the proposed recirculative option. Improved efficiency is also evident from the calculations presented, with savings of about 51% for recuperation and about 49% for recirculation. With these options, energy-saving activities also result in improvements of the production process with respect to environmental impacts. From the presented calculations, it follows that the recuperative drying concept is technically feasible and capable of achieving a better efficiency compared to a simple recirculative system. The presented modifications compared with commonly used conventional dryers make it possible to realize consistent fuel savings through elimination of exhaust air losses. Implementation of the proposed heat recovery options system has fully confirmed the achieved results described in this article.