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Performance of a heat pump drier for copra drying

Article  in  Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part A Journal of Power and Energy · May 2008
DOI: 10.1243/09576509JPE548

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 Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, Part A: http://pia.sagepub.com/
Journal of Power and Energy

Performance of a heat pump drier for copra drying

M Mohanraj, P Chandrasekar and V V Sreenarayanan
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy 2008 222: 283
DOI: 10.1243/09576509JPE548

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 TECHNICAL NOTE 283

Performance of a heat pump drier for copra drying

M Mohanraj∗ , P Chandrasekar, and V V Sreenarayanan
Dr Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi, Coimbatore, India

The manuscript was received on 25 October 2007 and was accepted after revision for publication on 10 January 2008.
DOI: 10.1243/09576509JPE548

Abstract: A heat pump drier is designed and fabricated to investigate its performance for copra
drying. The experiments are carried out at 40 ◦ C drying air temperature with a velocity of 1.5 m/s.
The results showed that moisture content (wet basis) of the coconut is reduced from 52.6 to
8.5 per cent in 48 h. The average coefficient of performance of the heat pump is estimated to
be about 3.5. The specific moisture extraction rate is calculated to be about 0.85 kg/kW-h. The
copra obtained is graded as 92.7 per cent milling copra grade 1 (MCG1) and 7.3 per cent MCG2
according to Bureau of Indian standards (BIS: 6220–1971).

Keywords: heat pump drier, copra, drying

1 INTRODUCTION characteristics, drying characteristics, and quality of

copra obtained in heat pump drier.
Heat pump drying has been reported to be an energy-
efficient method for the dehydration of agricultural
materials. Heat pump drying is highly energy-efficient 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
due to its high coefficient of performance (COP) in
the order of 3–4 and also has ability to work indepen- 2.1 Experimental set-up
dent of ambient weather conditions unlike solar driers.
The schematic and photographic view of the heat
Several researchers have reported the analytical and
pump drier used for copra drying is shown in Figs 1
experimental studies on heat pump for drying appli-
and 2, respectively. The drier consists of mainly two cir-
cations [1–3]. In many such studies, the common con-
cuits: drying air and refrigerant. The drying air circuit
clusion was that the heat pump driers offer products
consists of an air cooled condenser, 1 HP blower, con-
of high quality with less energy consumption. When
trol valve, and a drying chamber. The chamber is made
the quality of dried food products is paramount, heat
up of mild steel sheet of 2 mm thickness with width,
pump drying offers an attractive option to enhance
depth and height of 1000 × 600 × 1000 mm3 , respec-
the product quality and reduces the spoilage through
tively. The drier chamber containing nylon trays has
better regulation of the drying conditions. It has been
about 90 per cent porosity to hold the drying mate-
reported that color and aroma of products using heat
rials and to expose them to the airflow. The airflow
pump driers were better than products obtained from
ducts and drier cabin are thermally insulated with
conventional drying methods [4, 5].
thermocole of 25 mm thickness.
No significant work has been reported on use of
The refrigeration circuit consists of hermetically
heat pump driers for copra drying. Hence, the main
sealed compressor of rated input power of 1020 W,
objective of this research is to study the performance
condenser, receiver, sight glass, refrigerant drier, ther-
mostatic expansion valve, accumulator, and an evap-
orator. The refrigerant pipes are thermally insulated
with glass wool to reduce the losses in refrigeration
∗ Corresponding author: Dr Mahalingam College of Engineering pipelines. The heat pump is evacuated with the help
and Technology, Udumalai Road, Pollachi, Coimbatore, Tamil of vacuum pump and a right quantity of R22 is charged
Nadu 642003, India. email: mohanrajrac@yahoo.co.in in the circuit. Heat pumps using R22 can operate up

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284 M Mohanraj, P Chandrasekar, and V V Sreenarayanan
Fig. 1 Schematic view of experimental set-up
to 60 ◦ C condensing temperature. The ambient air is
heated when it flows over the condenser coil, where
heat is released by condensing refrigerant. The air at
pre-set drying temperature enters the drying chamber
and absorbs moisture from the coconuts. In a closed
system, it is common that harmful micro-organisms
grow and accumulate at the wetted evaporator and
adjacent surfaces. The presence of these microor-
ganisms in the recirculation processes is certainly
undesirable [4]. Therefore, the air leaving the drying
chamber is exhausted to the atmosphere.
Eight calibrated thermocouples (Pt-100) with
±0.25 ◦ C accuracy are fixed at different locations to
measure the temperature of the air in air circuit
and in the refrigeration circuit through digital scan-
ner, having 0.1 ◦ C resolution connected with a rotary
selector switch. The relative humidity of the ambi-
ent air is calculated from the measured wet and dry
bulb temperatures using two mercury thermometers
of sensitivity 0.5 ◦ C, one covered with wetted cloth.
Fig. 2 Photographic view of experimental set-up
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The relative humidity of the air at the entry and
exit of the dryer cabin are measured by the same
method by using four (Pt-100) thermocouples con-
nected with digital scanner having 0.1 ◦ C resolution.
Power input to the compressor, blower, and the fan
are measured separately with the energy meter having
±0.25 per cent accuracy. Input voltage and current to
the compressor are measured by digital voltmeter and
ammeter, respectively. An U-tube manometer is con-
nected across the orifice meter to the pipe connecting
the blower and drying chamber. A digital electronic
balance of 1 kg capacity having ±0.001 g accuracy is
used to weigh the samples during the drying processes.
Pressure at the inlet and outlet of the compressor are
measured by compound gauges with an accuracy of
±0.25 per cent. The velocity of air at inlet of the tray is
measured with the help of the vane type anemometer
having ±0.01 m/s accuracy.
2.2 Experimental procedure
The broken coconuts are loaded over the tray of dry-
ing chamber. The air velocity at tray inlet is adjusted
to 1.5 m/s by controlling the speed of the blower. The
initial moisture content of the copra is measured from
five different cups, selected at random. The drying air
temperature at the drying chamber inlet is adjusted
to 40 ◦ C. During the experiments, temperature at var-
ious locations in refrigeration and air circuit, power
input to the compressor, fan and blower, pressure at
suction and discharge of the compressor, velocity of
air, moisture content of copra, wet bulb and dry bulb
temperature at ambient, drier inlet and outlet are mea-
sured for every 1 h interval. The relative humidity of
air is calculated from measured wet and dry bulb tem-
peratures by using Psychometric chart. After attaining
about 40 per cent moisture content, the copra kernels
are scooped from the shells and dried further. Drying
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 Heat pump drier for copra drying 285

characteristics of copra such as moisture content, 2.4 Grading

drying rate (DR), moisture ratio (MR), and specific
moisture extraction rate (SMER) are determined by Grading of copra is done at the end of drying according
using equations (1) to (4). The performance of the heat to the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS: 6220–1971) by
pump is calculated by equation (5). selecting 100 cups at random (Table 1).

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

2.3 Data analysis
The quantity of moisture present in a material can The ambient temperature and relative humidity dur-
be represented on wet basis and expressed in terms ing the experiment is varied between 28 and 32 ◦ C,
of percentage. About 10 g samples are chopped from and 57 and 72 per cent, respectively. The variations of
five cups selected at random and kept in a convective ambient relative humidity and temperature are shown
electrical oven, which is maintained at 105 ± 1 ◦ C for in Fig. 3. A high relative humidity of 84 per cent at the
4 h [6]. The initial mass (Wt ) and final mass (Wd ) of the drier outlet is recorded at the initial stage of drying
samples are recorded with the help of electronic bal- and gradually reduced to 45 per cent during the later
ance. The moisture content on wet basis is calculated stages.
by equation (1). The procedure is repeated at every 1 h The variation of moisture content (wet basis) with
interval till the end of drying processes drying time is illustrated in Fig. 4. The moisture con-
tent of the coconut is reduced from 52.6 to 8.5 per
Wt − W d cent in 48 h. The moisture reduction during the ini-
Mwb = × 100 (1)
Wt tial stages of drying is found to be high because of
free moisture migration from the outer surface layers,
The DR should be proportional to the difference in
and then decreases due to internal migration of mois-
moisture content between material to be dried and the
ture from inner layers to the surface. This results in a
equilibrium moisture content [7]. The concept of thin
process of uniform dehydration of kernel. The rate of
layer drying is assumed for the experiments as given
evaporation from the copra is high compared to sun
by equation (2). Mathematically, it can be expressed as
drying due to its high heat, mass transfer coefficients,
thin layer drying equation and the MR is calculated by
and forced circulation of hot dry air through the drier.
using equation (3)
The DR of copra against MR in a heat pump is shown
dM in Fig. 5. The DR in the initial stages was very high
DR = = −k(Mt − Me ) (2) and decreases during later stages. The DR at the initial
dt
stage of drying was about 1.72 kg water/kg dry matter-
Mt − Me
MR = = e −kt (3) hour. Drying process occurs in the falling rate period
M0 − M e with a steep fall in moisture content in the initial stages
SMER is the energy required for removing 1 kg of water of drying and becomes very slow in the later stages.
content. It is calculated as [8] The variation of COP is presented in Fig. 6,
which shows higher COP values during daytime. The
md observed maximum and minimum COP is about 3.7
SMER = (4)
Pf + Pc + Pbl and 3.3, respectively.
About 63 kg of moisture content is removed from 400
The COP of the heat pump is defined as [8] coconuts to produce about 78 kg of copra. The power
consumed by compressor and the blower is found to
thermal energy released by condenser be 74 kW-h. SMER of the heat pump drier is calculated
COP = (5)
electrical input to the compressor as 0.85 kg/kW-h.

Table 1 Grading of milling copra according to BIS: 6220-1971

Requirements

S. No Characteristic MCG1 MCG2 MCG3

1 Impurities, percentage by weight (maximum) 0.5 1 2

2 Mouldy cups, per cent by count (maximum) 4 8 10
3 Black cups, per cent by cont (maximum) 5 10 15
4 Wrinkled cups, per cent by count 5 10 15
5 Chips, per cent by weight (maximum) 5 10 15
6 Moisture content per cent by weigh (maximum) 6 6 6
7 Oil content (on moisture free basis) per cent by weight (minimum) 70 68 66
8 Acid value of extracted oil (maximum) 2 4 10

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286 M Mohanraj, P Chandrasekar, and V V Sreenarayanan

Fig. 3 Variation of relative humidity and ambient tem-

perature

Fig. 6 Coefficient of performance versus drying time

Table 2 Grading of copra

Grade I (%) Grade II (%)

Trial I 94 6
Trial II 93 7
Trial III 91 9
Average 92.7 7.3

Table 2 shows the different quality of copra obtained

in a heat pump drying. Three trials are taken and the
copra is graded in each trial and then the average is cal-
culated. The copra obtained is graded as 92.7 per cent
milling copra grade 1 (MCG1) and 7.3 per cent MCG2.

4 CONCLUSION
Fig. 4 Moisture content versus drying time
A heat pump drier is designed, fabricated, and tested
for copra drying. It is concluded that the quality of
copra obtained in a heat pump drier is graded as 92.7
per cent MCG1 and 7.4 per cent MCG2. The drying
period is considerably reduced in a heat pump drier.
The SMER of the heat pump drier is estimated to be
about 0.85 kg of moisture removed per kW-h with an
average COP of 3.5. Heat pump drying is more suit-
able for large-scale copra processing, especially for
obtaining good quality oil.

REFERENCES

1 Achariyaviriya, S., Soponronnarit, S., and Terdyothin, A.

Mathematical model development and simulation of heat
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ulation model for heat pump dryer plants for fruits and
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 Heat pump drier for copra drying 287

3 Fatouh, M., Metwally, M. N., Helali A. B., and Shedid, M. H. APPENDIX

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