1. 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

2. Biomass What is Biomass? Carbon Neutral Local Sourcing
Power Generation

3. Current Problems Moisture Content Hammer Mill (20%-30%)
Pellet Mill (MC < 15%)

4. Conveyor Dryer
Very Complicated
Cost
High Maintenance

5. Initial Storage Shipping Container Active Solar Air Heating Forced Air
Goal of 30 Percent

6. Moisture Content Experiment
Temperatures
Times
Oven Issues
Problems with Airflow

7. Results
Constant Drying Rate
Falling Drying Rate
Bound Water

8. 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

9. 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

10. Solar Thermal System Existing System Sustainability Center
Temperature Range (160 to 200 Fahrenheit)

11. Solar Thermal System The LochinvarTiSun SCH 090 flat plate collector
84,500 BTU/day for Solar Heating
Oriented due South

12. Solar Radiation Solar data from the NREL
Exceeds the standard BTU/day for collector
Adjust for maximum exposure

13. Connecting the Heat Exchange
Lochinvar RJA200
200 Gallons
3 inlet/outlets

14. 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

15. Liquid to Gas Heat Exchanger
Finned Coil Heat Exchanger
Design maximizes exposure duration
Low powered fan

16. 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

17. 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

18. Thank You