Biomass Drying System Biomass drying unit for removing moisture content from waste wood products. INSTRUCTOR: DR CRIS KOUTSOUGERAS ADVISOR: DR RANA MITRA ADVISOR: MR BYRON PATTERSON Team Members: Logan Dykes Julian Ellis Nathan Hedrich James Richards
Biomass What is Biomass? Carbon Neutral Local Sourcing Power Generation
Current Problems Moisture Content Hammer Mill (20%-30%) Pellet Mill (MC < 15%)
Conveyor Dryer Very Complicated Cost High Maintenance
Initial Storage Shipping Container Active Solar Air Heating Forced Air Goal of 30 Percent
Moisture Content Experiment Temperatures Times Oven Issues Problems with Airflow
Results Constant Drying Rate Falling Drying Rate Bound Water
New Design 1. Hopper 2. Auger 1 3. Auger 2 4. Intermediate Storage 5. Electric 3-Phase AC Motor 6. Gas-Powered Motor 7. Condensor and Flue
Motor Control 5 HP - 10 HP Electric and Gas Motor Augers in series: test of Strengths/Weaknesses Electric: Phase Conversion Losses, Gas: Factors for Motor - Make, Air Intake, Load
Solar Thermal System Existing System Sustainability Center Temperature Range (160 to 200 Fahrenheit)
Solar Thermal System The LochinvarTiSun SCH 090 flat plate collector 84,500 BTU/day for Solar Heating Oriented due South
Solar Radiation Solar data from the NREL Exceeds the standard BTU/day for collector Adjust for maximum exposure
Connecting the Heat Exchange Lochinvar RJA200 200 Gallons 3 inlet/outlets
Supplementary Heating System 10 HP ~ 8 kW Output Minimum Operating Temp for Exhaust 275 F Exhaust Temps. Up to 600 F at 3,600 RPM Galvanized Aluminum vs. Stainless Steel Safety Concerns
Liquid to Gas Heat Exchanger Finned Coil Heat Exchanger Design maximizes exposure duration Low powered fan
Accomplished Main Project Components Project Lead Auger Design and Motor Component Research Motor Selection 3D Modeling of Drying System Logan Dykes Nathan Hedrich Preliminary Storage Design Storage Building Selection Method of Drying James Richards Moisture Content Experiments Sourcing Samples Measuring Moisture Content Solar Thermal System Modeling Researching Existing System Finding Energy Production Julian Ellis
Future Goals Task Timeline Material Selection Fall 2017 Create a 3 phase supply for the Hammermill and Motors Statistical Analysis of Experimental Data (ANOVA) Summer 2017 Modeling of Exponential Decay Functions Modeling of Initial Storage System Exposure Time Through Motor Control Continued Design of Auger
Thank You