Fluidized bed drying of petals of Echium amoenum Fisch. and C.A. Mey: energy analysis and carbon footprint

Abstract

[EN] The energy performance and carbon footprint associated with the fluidized bed drying of petals of Echium amoenum Fisch. and C.A. Mey are experimentally evaluated at three temperatures (40,50,60°C) and air velocities (0.50,0.75,1.00m/s). The maximum and minimum specific energy consumption are observed to occur at 40°C and 1ms-1 (79.18MJ/kg) and 60°C and 0.5m/s (22.60MJ/kg), respectively. The greenhouse gas emission is in the range, 0.10-8.40kgCO2eq, varying with drying conditions in the same manner as energy consumption, with natural gas-fired systems performing better than oil-fired systems. High-temperature, low-air velocity drying is thus, favourable for energy-efficient and sustainable fluidized bed drying of the petals.