Energy, exergy and economic analysis of a vacuum belt drying system integrated with mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) for aqueous extracts drying. (January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Peng; Zhang, Zhentao; Peng, Xueyuan; Yang, Junling; Zhang, Huafu; Wang, Youdong; Li, Xiaoqiong; Yuan, Tiejian; Jia, Xiaohan
• Is Part Of: International journal of refrigeration. Volume 145(2023)
• Page Start: 96
• Page End: 104
• Publication Date: 2023-01
• Subjects: Vacuum belt drying -- Mechanical vapor recompression -- Energy saving ratio -- Exergy analysis -- Payback period; Séchage par courroie sous vide -- Recompression mécanique de la vapeur -- Taux d'économie d'énergie -- Analyse exergétique -- Période de remboursement; Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery -- Periodicals; 621.56
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2022.09.021
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0140-7007

Abstract

Abstract: Vacuum belt drying (VBD) is a kind of continuous large-scale drying equipment that can effectively guarantee drying material quality but high energy consumption. In this paper, a novel mechanical vapor compression vacuum belt drying system (MVR-VBD) is constructed. And based on the vacuum belt drying experiment of traditional Chinese medicine aqueous extracts, the energy, exergy and economy analysis of VBD and MVR-VBD was investigated. Exergy efficiencies and exergy destruction rates of each component of the two drying systems were evaluated to improve the performance. As a result, the exergy efficiency of the vacuum pump of VBD is range from 61% to 81%, and the relative irreversibility of the heat source is much higher than other components. MVR technology can effectively reduce the powder of vacuum components and electric heating of VBD. The energy-saving ratio of MVR-VBD can reach 8.1% when the vacuum drying condition is 20 kPa, 100 °C, and the payback period is just 5 months. MVR technology is a suitable energy-saving technology for VBD.