Effective Condensing Dehumidification in a Rotary-Spray Honey Dehydrator

Marcin Morawski, Marcin Malec and Beata Niezgoda-Żelasko
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Marcin Morawski: Department of Production Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Al. Jana Pawła II 37, 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Marcin Malec: Department of Production Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Al. Jana Pawła II 37, 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Beata Niezgoda-Żelasko: Department of Thermal and Process Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Al. Jana Pawła II 37, 31-864 Krakow, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: This paper presents a mathematical model of the heat and mass transfer processes for a rotary-spray honey dehydrator with a heat pump and a closed air circuit. An analytical calculation model, based on the energy balance equations of the dehydrator and heat pump, was used to model the transient dehydration process of honey in a dehydrator. The presented article includes a different approach to modelling both the dryer and the heat pump assisting the drying process. The novel quality of this study lies in the use of original equations to determine the heat and mass transfer coefficients between honey and air and using an actual model of a cooling unit to model the honey dehydration process. The experimentally verified calculation algorithm enables an analysis of the effects of air flow rate, mixer rotation speed, and cooling unit power on the efficiency of the drying process. The dehydrator calculation model was used to minimize the drying time by selecting the optimal evaporative temperature values of the cooling unit. For fixed mixer speed and air flow rates, optimal values of evaporation temperatures allow for 8–13% reduction in honey drying time and an increase in the specific moisture extraction rate ( SMER ) by 4–32%.

Keywords: rotary-spray honey dehydrator; modelling heat and mass transfer; optimal operating parameters (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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