Energy Efficiency of Fluidized Bed Drying for Wood Particles

• Published in: Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology Vol. 44; no. 6; pp. 821 - 827
• Main Authors: Park, Yonggun, Chang, Yoon-Seong, Park, Jun-Ho, Yang, Sang-Yun, Chung, Hyunwoo, Jang, Soo-Kyeong, Choi, In-Gyu, Yeo, Hwanmyeong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국목재공학회 25.11.2016
• Subjects: 임학
• ISSN: 1017-0715; 2233-7180
• DOI: 10.5658/WOOD.2016.44.6.821

This study evaluates the economic feasibility of industrializing fluidized bed dryer for wood particles. The theoretically required heat energy and energy efficiency were evaluated using a pilot scale fluidized bed dryer. When Mongolian Oak wood particles with 50% initial moisture content were dried in the fluidized bed dryer with air of 70℃ air circulating at 1.1-1.3 m/s for 30 minutes, the total theoretically required heat energy was 2,177 kJ. Of this, 1,763 kJ (approximately 81.0%) was used to heat the air flowing in from outside the dryer and 386 kJ (approximately 17.7%) was used to heat and remove water from the wood particles. Actual energy consumed was 7,560 kJ, giving energy efficiency of 28.8%. Thus, to industrialize a drying method such as fluidized bed drying, where the dryer volume is significantly larger than the volume of wood particles, it is necessary to minimize energy loss and maximize energy efficiency by designing the dryer size considering the amount of wood particles and choosing a suitable air circulation rate. KCI Citation Count: 0