Energy and exergy analyses of thin layer drying of coroba slices Original Research Article

Energy and exergy analyses were conducted of the thin layer drying of coroba slices at three different air temperatures (71, 82 and 93 °C) and velocities (0.82–1.00 and 1.18 m/s). The effects of inlet air temperature and velocity and drying time on both energy and exergy were studied. Both energy utilization and energy utilization ratio increased with increasing drying time while exergy efficiency decreased. The values of energy utilization and energy utilization ratio were found to be in the range of 0.009–0.65 kJ/s and 0.00007–0.008 from 71 °C to 93 °C with drying air velocities of 0.82 m/s–1.18 m/s, respectively. The values of exergy inflow and exergy outflow were found to be in the range of 0.33–0.87 kJ/s and 0.25–0.75 kJ/s from 71 °C to 93 °C with drying air velocities of 0.82 m/s–1.18 m/s, respectively. The values of exergy loss and exergy efficiency were found to be in the range of 0.005–0.010 kJ/s and 0.97–0.80 from 71 °C to 93 °C with drying air velocities of 0.82 m/s–1.18 m/s, respectively.