A novel exergy recuperative drying module and its application for energy-saving drying with superheated steam

A novel exergy recuperative drying module with superheated steam as the drying medium was developed. The process is based on self-heat recuperation technology which can recirculate both the sensible and latent heats without heat addition. This drying module was applied as an exergy recuperative process for the drying of wet solids. The energy consumption for the exergy recuperative drying system could be reduced to 1/7–1/12 that required for a conventional heat-recovery drying system in the case of drying wet solids from 65 to 10 wt% (wet basis, wb) of water content. The effects of adiabatic efficiency of the compressor and the final water content of the dried samples on the energy consumption of the proposed drying system were calculated by the process simulator PRO/II.

► Development of a novel drying module with a very high energy-saving potential.
► An exergy recuperative drying system was designed for energy-saving.
► The designed system considered unbound water and bound water removal.
► Thermodynamic analysis was conducted in the existing drying processes.
► Energy consumption and exergy loss in the drying processes were investigated.