Multi-Response Design Optimisation of a Combined Fluidised Bed-Infrared Dryer for Terebinth ( Pistacia atlantica L.) Fruit Drying Process Based on Energy and Exergy Assessments by Applying RSM-CCD Modelling

Iman Golpour (), Mohammad Kaveh, Ana M. Blanco-Marigorta, José Daniel Marcos, Raquel P. F. Guiné (), Reza Amiri Chayjan, Esmail Khalife and Hamed Karami
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Iman Golpour: Department of Mechanical Engineering of Biosystems, Urmia University, Urmia 57561-51818, Iran
Mohammad Kaveh: Department of Petroleum Engineering, College of Engineering, Knowledge University, Erbil 44001, Iraq
Ana M. Blanco-Marigorta: Department of Process Engineering, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
José Daniel Marcos: Department of Energy Engineering, National Distance Education University, UNED, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Raquel P. F. Guiné: CERNAS Research Centre, Department of Food Industry, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal
Reza Amiri Chayjan: Department of Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan 65178-33131, Iran
Esmail Khalife: Department of Civil Engineering, Cihan University-Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Erbil 44001, Iraq
Hamed Karami: Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil 56199-11367, Iran

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-27

Abstract: The present investigation aimed to perform an optimisation process of the thermodynamic characteristics for terebinth fruit drying under different drying conditions in a fluidised bed-infrared (FBI) dryer using response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD) approach. The experiments were conducted at three levels of drying air temperature (40, 55, and 70 °C), three levels of drying air velocity (0.93, 1.765, and 2.60 m/s), and three levels of infrared power (500, 1000, and 1500 W). Energy and exergy assessments of the thermodynamic parameters were performed based on the afirst and second laws of thermodynamics. Minimum energy utilisation, energy utilisation ratio, and exergy loss rate, and maximum exergy efficiency, improvement potential rate, and sustainability index were selected as the criteria in the optimisation process. The considered surfaces were evaluated at 20 experimental points. The experimental results were evaluated using a second-order polynomial model where an ANOVA test was applied to identify model ability and optimal operating drying conditions. The results of the ANOVA test showed that all of the operating variables had a highly significant effect on the corresponding responses. At the optimal drying conditions of 40 °C drying air temperature, 2.60 m/s air velocity, 633.54 W infrared power, and desirability of 0.670, the optimised values of energy utilisation, energy utilisation ratio, exergy efficiency, exergy loss rate, improvement potential rate, and sustainability index were 0.036 kJ/s, 0.029, 86.63%, 0.029 kJ/s, 1.79 kJ/s, and 7.36, respectively. The models predicted for all of the responses had R 2 -values ranging between 0.9254 and 0.9928, which showed that they had good ability to predict these responses. Therefore, the results of this research showed that RSM modelling had acceptable success in optimising thermodynamic performance in addition to achieving the best experimental conditions.

Keywords: terebinth; hybrid fluidised bed infrared drying; exergy assessment; optimisation; response surface methodology (RSM) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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