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Drying heat pumps Part I: System integration

Article in International Journal of Refrigeration May 2013

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2012.11.025

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Review

Part I e Drying heat pumps e System integration

V. Minea*
Hydro-Quebec Research Institute, Laboratoire des technologies de lenergie (LTE), 600, avenue de la Montagne, Shawinigan G9N 7N5, Canada

article info abstract

Article history: Part I of this critical, non complacent review focuses on the dryereheat pump integration
Received 10 October 2011 issue as presented in published R&D studies. It investigates the accuracy of current
Received in revised form configurations and proposed improvements, and evaluates their applicability in the drying
17 November 2012 industry. The scope is to promote technological advancement and the industrial imple-
Accepted 19 November 2012 mentation of drying heat pumps.
Available online xxx 2012 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Drying
Heat pump
Dehumidification
Heat recovery
Energy saving

Pompes a chaleur de sechage e Integration des systemes

Mots cles : Sechage ; Pompe a chaleur ; Deshumidification ; Recuperation de chaleur ; Economie denergie

1. Introduction Because of energy losses, attention has focused on reducing

and/or recovering the wasted heat, as part of the global effort
For many industrial sectors, drying is one of the most energy- to reduce energy consumption and control greenhouse gas
intensive processes. It consumes, for example, up to 70% of all emissions. Among other heat recovery devices, the heat pumps
the energy used in the wood industry and 50% in textile assisting the air convective dryers have the potential to save
manufacturing (Handbook of Industrial Drying, 2007). The up to 50% or more of the primary energy used. The heat pump
majority of industrial dryers are air convective dryers using drying principle is based on the conservation of energy, the
fossil fuels, biomass or electricity as their primary energy system being energetically closed (Strumillo, 2006). Part I of
sources. Most heat losses are due to the exhausted moist air this article focuses on two of the most important issues of the
and the poor thermal insulation of the drying enclosures. drying technology, i.e. integration and efficient control of

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 819 539 1400/1507; fax: 1 819 539 1409.
E-mail address: minea.vasile@lte.ireq.ca.
0140-7007/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2012.11.025

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electrically driven vapor compression heat pumps coupled be higher than the one going through the evaporator. The
with air convective dryers. The expression efficiently controlled physical location of the condenser relative to the evaporator is
drying heat pump refers to strategies aiming at matching water very important, especially for compact drying heat pumps. In
dewatering capability of the dried material with the heat this case, it is necessary to control the heat pump dehumidi-
pump dehumidification capacity in order to ensure safe fication capacity in order to continuously match it with the
operating parameters for the heat pump and provide the best material moisture dewatering rate (see Section 3.3). One of the
product final quality. The main scope of this review is to help most efficient methods is to vary the air flow rate through the
the heat pump drying technology advance in the right direc- evaporator by using bypass dampers. When the evaporator air
tion by promoting relevant, reliable and economical dry- bypassing is used, the air flow rate through the condenser will
ereheat pump integration solutions. be higher, as well as its entering temperature because of
mixture of the cooled air within the evaporator with the
bypassed air. As a consequence, the condensing temperature
2. Drying process will be higher. Also, because the condenser thermal capacity
is higher compared to the evaporator capacity, for reasonable
Drying is one of the most complex and least understandable condenser sizing as well as temperature differences and
operations because all processes involved are highly non- approaches, higher air flow rates are required.
linear. In heat pump-assisted dryers, the process air is
heated up to the required drying temperature, typically 3.2. Heat rejection issue
between 30  C and 57  C (Strumillo, 2006). The increased
temperature enhances the heat transfer rate into the drying Several research studies used parallel condensers (Fig. 2a)
materials, and increases the moisture diffusion rate. The low (Alves-Filho and Tokle, 1999; Alves-Filho et al., 2008a) and
relative humidity of the drying process air finally helps refrigerant desuperheaters (Alves-Filho and Eikevik, 2008)
remove moisture from the dried products (Chua et al., 2002). (Fig. 2b). These heat exchangers were meant to discharge the
Drying heat pump operation is based on the dehumidifying excess heat outside of the drying system. The main drawbacks
principle and no warm air loaded with moisture is discharged of the drying heat pump systems shown in Fig. 2 are twofold.
into the environment, but goes back to the dryer. This process First, there is no air bypassing the evaporators. Second,
includes two major steps: energy conservation through re- because the 3-way valve (see Fig. 2a) cant operate as a flow
heating and dehumidification of the drying process air. modulating valve, it has to direct the whole refrigerant flow to
Warm, dry and unsaturated air is led over the surface of the the internal condenser to heat the drying chamber or to the
product to be dried. This air takes up the surface water on the external condenser to discharge the excess heat outside.
product, the produced vapor condensates in the heat pump When the external condenser is operating its blower as well as
evaporator, and finally, is warmed in the condenser. the heat pump compressor are running, and thus electrical
power is used while no drying air is being dehumidified. Heat
rejection with the refrigerant desuperheater (Fig. 2b) is a better
3. Dryereheat pump integration solution but, depending on the cooling air temperature, it may
reject sensible heat (15%e20% of the total), or latent heat. In
Dryers and heat pumps are both complex thermodynamic the latter case, the heating capacity of the internal condenser
systems. Consequently, systems integrating dryers and heat could be affected because these two heat exchangers operate
pumps are much more complex than each of these compo- in series.
nents separately. Therefore, they should not be analyzed
independently due to the complex interaction between the air 3.3. Dehumidification control
drying process and the heat pump (refrigerant) thermody-
namic cycle. While the fundamentals of the drying process Thermal dewatering is a complex thermodynamic process.
(i.e. heat and mass transfer theories) and the thermodynamic Among other factors, it depends on the type of product as well
cycles of heat pumps are well known, the interaction between
these two thermodynamic systems requires careful theoret-
ical and experimental approaches.

3.1. Schematic representation of the principle

Some published research work schematically represented the

heat pump drying principle as shown in Fig. 1 (Chua et al.,
2002). This schematic drawing suggests that the same air
flows through the heat pump evaporator and condenser. The
problem in this case is that the dehumidification capacity of
the heat pump as well as the relative humidity of the process
air entering the drying chamber cant be efficiently controlled
(see the Introduction section for definition). Generally, for
purposes of economical design and efficient dehumidification Fig. 1 e Schematic representation of the heat pump drying
control, the drying air flow going through the condenser has to principle (Chua et al., 2002).

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Fig. 2 e Drying heat pumps with heat rejection heat exchangers. (a) External condenser (Alves-Filho and Tokle, 1999; Alves-
Filho et al., 2008a); (b) refrigerant desuperheater (Alves-Filho and Eikevik, 2008). C: compressor; CV: check-valve; EV:
evaporator; EX: expansion valve; F: air fan.

as its initial mass, temperature and moisture content. An through the evaporators face and bypass dampers. The
adequate mass of dried product is generally required to dehumidified air obtained downstream of the evaporator is
provide enough moisture and a sufficient dewatering rate mixed with the bypassed air to maintain the desired relative
during the drying cycle. Several solutions for controlling the humidity at the condenser outlet. In the case of split drying
heat pump dehumidification rate have been proposed in the heat pumps (Fig. 5a and b) similar control can be achieved by
literature. In the case of compact drying heat pumps (Fig. 3a), varying the air flow rate and velocity through the heat pump
one of the methods consisted in operating the system with an evaporator. The current frequency of the evaporator blower
evaporator bypass, as shown in Fig. 4. This quite simple could be varied according to time-based equations, like the
method has been recommended since 1964 by a well known following one established for wood drying heat pumps (Minea,
refrigeration company as an efficient method to control the 2010):
evaporator heat transfer and performance (Chua et al., 2002). It is
simply based on the observation that the lower air velocity n K  s 25 (2)
(flow) to the evaporator increases moisture removal where n is the current frequency (Hz) of the heat pump blower,
(condensation) according to the following correlation: s the drying time measured in hours from the beginning of the
1
Duair z (1) dehumidification process using a heat pump, and K an
wair
empirical constant determined for each dried product.
where Duair is the absolute air humidity variation through the Another method used to control the heat pump dehumid-
heat pump evaporator (kg kg1) and wair the air face velocity ification capacity based on the material thermal dewatering
(m s1). rate consists in intermittent operation of the heat pump. Chua
The method uses a proportionaleintegralederivative (2000) reported that using an intermittent temperature drying
controller (PID) that is a device that calculates an error value profile for drying potato samples could shorten drying times
as the difference between a measured process variable and up to 61% as compared to a constant temperature drying
a desired set point. It minimizes the error by adjusting the profile. Selected works on intermittent heat pump drying for
process control inputs in order to regulate the flow of air fruit and vegetable were summarized by Ong and Law (2009).

Fig. 3 e (a) Schematics of a compact drying heat pump system (Minea, 2006); (b) drying process in Mollier diagrams as
commonly used in North America. CV: check valve; DB: dry-bulb; EX: expansion valve; LR: liquid receiver; LV: liquid valve;
SA: suction accumulator; SC: sub-cooler.

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the air condition in the system, the heat transfer rates in the
evaporator, condenser and external waste system, COP and
the maximum efficiency achievable. This model was used by
Clements et al. (1993) to investigate the performance of a heat
pump-assisted continuous dryer. The latter used wet foam
rubber in a continuous bed dryer. They showed that the
Specific Moisture Extraction Rate (SMER) of the dryer doubled
from 1.25 to 2.5 kg kWh1 when the relative humidity of the air
at the dryer inlet increased from 32% to 80%.
Fig. 4 e Control mechanism using bypass dampers to
regulate drying air humidity; M: damper motor (Chua et al.,
2002). 3.5. Compact and split drying heat pumps

Heat pumps coupled with drying chambers can be designed as

compact or split devices. In compact drying heat pump systems
They noted that in most cases, reduced drying times were (see Fig. 3a), the evaporator and condenser are installed inside
observed and the final products generally displayed improved the same cabinet located outside the drying enclosure (Minea,
quality. Apparently, significant thermal energy and operating 2006). In this case, the warm and humid air from the drying
cost savings were possible through the use of an intermittent enclosure at state i is divided into two flows (see Fig. 3b). One of
drying profile due to shorter effective drying times and also them is first cooled sensibly (process i-a) and then dehu-
the absence of any heat input during the tempering period. midified (a-b) across refrigeration coil EV. The rest of the air at
Minea (2006) reported on the intermittent drying of wood. An state i bypasses the evaporator. The mixed air (state m) is heated
hourly percentage running profile of the heat pumps at a constant absolute humidity level by condenser CD
compressor was used based on the air drying set and actual (process m-c) up to temperature Tc , which is above the
wet-bulb temperatures. surrounding air dry-bulb temperature Ti . Inside the dryer
enclosure, the air heated in the condenser goes through the
3.4. Batch and conveyor drying heat pumps material stacks to pick up moisture from them. The back-up
heating coil supplements the heat that the drying atmo-
Heat pump dryers may be set up as batch (Fig. 5a) or contin- sphere receives from the heat pump so as to further raise the
uous (conveyor) (Fig. 5b) drying systems (Minea, 2011). Heat air temperature before it is returned to the material stacks
pumps are more suitable for batch operation because batch being dried. The isenthalpic dehumidification process c-i
systems allow the air to be re-circulated with very low leakage removes humidity from the material.
rates. However, the thermal load of batch dryers decreases as In the case of split drying heat pumps (see Fig. 6a), there are
the material dries out, resulting in time-dependent drying air two chambers thermally isolated from one another: the drying
processes, which impact the heat pump thermodynamic cycle enclosure with remote condensers and the mechanical
and performance. Conveyor (continuous) drying systems have (dewatering) room with compressor C, evaporator EV, blower,
shown promising results and may potentially be an efficient air ducts and controls (Lewis, 2003; Minea, 2004). All
option for specialty crop harvests. However, few studies have temperature-sensitive components are thus thermally sepa-
been conducted on heat-pump assisted continuous dryers rated from the hot drying area. The indoor air cooled and
compared to heat-pump assisted batch dryers. Kudra and dehumidified by evaporator EV (process i-a-b) is mixed inside
Mujumbar (2002) reviewed a bed tunnel (conveyor) previ- the drying enclosure, which acts as a large air plenum, with
ously applied by Strommen and Kramer (1994) for heat- indoor air at state i (see Fig. 6b). The heat pump dehumidifi-
sensitive products. Jia et al. (1990) developed a model for the cation capacity is controlled by a variable speed blower, and the
continuous operation of heat pump dryers, which predicted dehumidified air is mixed with the ambient drying air prior to

Fig. 5 e (a) Batch heat pump dryer; (b) conveyor heat pump dryer; C: compressor; CD: condenser; D: damper; F: fan; EV:
evaporator; EX: expansion valve; LV: liquid valve; M: motor (Minea, 2011).

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Fig. 6 e (a) Schematics of a split drying heat pump system (Lewis, 2003; Minea, 2004); (b) drying process in Mollier diagrams
as commonly used in Europe. For legend, see Fig. 3.

entering the condenser. The mixed air at state m is then dehumidification rates within the two series evaporators
heated by condenser CD and the back-up heating coil, where operating with the same drying air flow will be more complex.
required. As previously noted, in both compact and split heat Since with one evaporator, the dehumidification rate control
pump systems, the dehumidification capacity can be effec- would be much easier, using two series evaporators, with two
tively controlled but in different ways. In compact drying heat different evaporating temperatures and the same drying air
pump systems (Fig. 3a), the dehumidified drying air is mixed stream seems a complicated and inutile concept. However, as
with the air bypassing the evaporator (Chua et al., 2002; Minea, shown in Section 3.7, the concept with two parallel evapora-
2006), while in split-type systems (Fig. 5a), a variable speed tors is much useful for parallel drying processes using two
blower controls the heat pump dehumidification capacity different drying chambers for different products. Perrys
(Minea, 2004). concept (Fig. 7b) was later developed, built and tested by Chua
(2000), Chua et al. (2002), Chua and Chou (2005) for drying
3.6. Two-stage series evaporator drying heat pumps agricultural products. In their system, the drying air comes
from a single drying chamber and the high-pressure evapo-
In their review apparently, Chua et al. (2002) confusedly rator surface temperature was controlled by adjusting the
defined a multi-stage series evaporator heat pump system as spring knob of the back-pressure regulator. However, such
a multi-stage compressor one (Fig. 7a). This concept was control seems difficult to apply because it is not clear how the
previously proposed by Perry (1981) as an advanced drying spring knob of the back-pressure regulator can be continu-
system. It used two (high and low pressure) evaporators on the ously set during actual drying cycles where the material
same air path from the drying chamber. The high-pressure thermal dewatering rate is variable. There are also two series
evaporator was used for sensible heat cooling up to the air refrigerant sub-coolers, an unnecessarily complicated
dew point, and the low-pressure evaporator for latent heat approach for drying heat pump systems. Using two series sub-
removal. The most important drawback of this concept is the coolers doesnt make practical sense. The economizers shown
fact that the air coming from a single drying chamber flows in Fig. 7b seem to be part of a heat pipe system with a circu-
through two series evaporators. That is because larger air lating pump and an unidentified thermal carrier. This heat
pressure losses will occur and the practical control of recovery system pre-cools the air before entering the

Fig. 7 e (a) Two-stage series evaporator drying heat pump system coupled with a drying chamber (Perry, 1981; Chua et al.,
2002); (b) two-stage modular heat pump dryer (Chua, 2000; Chua et al., 2002; Chua and Chou, 2005); EC: economizer; HP:
high-pressure evaporator; LP: low-pressure evaporator; HGC: hot gas condenser; SC: sub-cooler.

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evaporators and pre-heats it before entering the condenser.

However, by decreasing the evaporating temperature and
increasing simultaneously the condensing temperature,
a lower coefficient of performance can be achieved, while the
initial cost of the heat pump dryer may increase because of
additional materials and controls. In spite of this, authors
claimed that the installation of the economizer resulted in the
improvement in COP and SMER of about 3% and 4%, respectively,
without providing experimental results validating this
performance. Ho et al. (2001) presented a two-stage heat pump
dryer similar to the system shown in Fig. 7b. The authors re-
ported that improvements in the total heat recovered can be up to
106% when drying sensitive products (potato slices). This
conclusion seems highly questionable because with heat
pump drying systems the purpose isnt necessarily to recover
higher and higher amounts of latent heat, but rather to
correlate the heat pump latent heat extraction capacity with
the material thermal dewatering rate. On the other hand,
multi-stage evaporator systems are complex and involve
greater initial capital costs.

3.7. Two-stage parallel evaporator drying heat pumps

Many industries use parallel drying processes with different

drying chambers for different products. It is therefore Fig. 8 e Two-stage parallel evaporator drying heat pump
economically interesting to use a dehumidification drying system (Minea, 2011); C: compressor; CD: condenser; CV:
process with several evaporating temperatures and check valve; EV: evaporator; EX: expansion valve; F: fan; M:
a minimum number of heat pumps. To correct the system damper motor; SA: suction accumulator.
inspired by Perry (1981) and applied by Chua (2000), Chua et al.
(2002), Chua and Chou (2005) (see Fig. 7), the two-evaporator
system reported by Minea (2011) (Fig. 8) can be applied with
higher chances of industrial applicability. It includes two 3.9. Two-stage heat pump/two-stage drying chamber
parallel drying chambers with their own control systems.
Multiple parallel evaporators are more relevant in drying Minxia et al. (2009) proposed three combined drying concepts:
systems using two or more air streams with different i) single-stage compression heat pump and single-stage
temperature and humidity levels. drying system; ii) single-stage compression heat pump and
two-stage drying system; iii) two-stage compression heat
pump and two-stage drying system. The diagram of the two-
3.8. Two-cycle heat pump dryer stage compression heat pump/two-stage drying system
(TCTD) (Fig. 10a) shows two series evaporators (D1 and D2)
Lee et al. (2008) proposed a two-cycle heat pump dryer oper- with one expansion valve (C) serving both heat exchangers.
ating at fixed drying conditions (Fig. 9a). This complex system The question is whether the dehumidification rate of each
raises a number of questions. First, the dehumidification evaporator can be efficiently controlled (for definition, see the
capacities of evaporators 1 and 2 cant be efficiently controlled Introduction section). Also, there are two series compressors
because no air bypass was provided. Fig. 9b shows that the (A1 and A2) each followed by a gas cooler (B1 and B2). The
final air relative humidity cant be efficiently controlled. authors indicated that the discharge pressure of the first-stage
Second, the hot and humid air enters evaporator 2 at a lower compressor was 10 MPa (100 bar), and that an intermediate
dry-bulb temperature after passing through evaporator 1. pressure, between 6 and 6.5 MPa (60 bars) was achieved. The
Consequently, the evaporating temperature of the R-134a first question is how was the intermediate pressure obtained
stage refrigerant will be lower and, therefore, the COP will knowing that the gas cooling process in gas cooler B1 was
decrease. At the same time, the condensing temperature of isobar (Fig. 10b). On the other hand, the discharge pressure of
the R-124 second stage refrigerant will increase and, conse- the second stage compressor wasnt indicated. The authors
quently, the COP of the second cycle will decrease, as can be analyzed system operation using the same or different air
seen in Fig. 9c. Third, if the drying process occurs at 45e50  C, flow rates through the evaporators and gas coolers (Fig. 10c).
as assumed by the authors in their simulations, a one-stage Unlikely high SMER ratios (between 2.5 kg kWh1 and
heat pump may supply drying air at 75  C with reasonable 4.5 kg kWh1) and COPs (4e6.5) were reported at 40  C and
temperature lifts between 25  C and 30  C. In this case, using 45  C outlet temperatures in gas cooler B1. The authors
a two-cycle heat pump dryer seemed less relevant to improve concluded that because, compared to single-stage compres-
energy efficiency and/or product quality. sion heat pump and single-stage drying systems, the COPs

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Fig. 9 e (a) Schematic of the proposed two-cycle heat pump dryer (Lee et al., 2008); (b) Mollier diagram of the drying air
process; (c) peh diagram of the refrigerant evaporating and condensing pressures; I: state of drying air entering evaporator
1; S: state of discharge air.

Fig. 10 e (a) Diagram of a two-stage compression heat pump/two-stage drying (TCTD) system; (b) Tes diagram of the CO2
trans-critical cycle of the TCTD system; (c) Mollier diagram of the drying air cycle. A: compressor; B: gas cooler; C: expansion
valve; D: evaporator; E: economizer; F: drying chamber; G: assistant heat exchanger (Minxia et al., 2009).

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and SMERs are 13% and 11% higher, respectively, the perfor- drying process shown in Mollier diagram (Fig. 11b) arent
mance of two-stage compression heat pump and two-stage drying suitable for drying heat pumps. They dont allow controlling
systems is fine. However, they noted that it is not suitable for very the dehumidification rate of the heat pump, and provide
high-temperature drying, since the discharge temperature of the unbalanced air flows through the evaporator and the
second stage CO2 compressor isnt enough high (65.8  C). condenser. The authors also reported that all the drying air is
re-circulated through the heat pump and that no air (or heat)
3.10. Combined superheated steam and heat pump is discharged from the drying chamber. No useful data was
drying provided about other essential parameters, such as the heat
pump cooling (dehumidification) capacity or, at least, the
Nathakaranakule et al. (2007) studied a two-stage drying compressor input power, and initial and final material mois-
technique consisting in superheated steam drying (in the first ture contents. The authors didnt provide any information
stage) followed by heat pump drying (in the second stage) for about the material drying curves, preheating requirements
chicken breast drying. The authors provided useful informa- (temperature, time), dehumidification cycle duration, control
tion about both superheated steam and heat pump dryers. of the dryer dry- and wet-bulb temperatures, quantity of
Superheated steam drying experiments were conducted at water extracted, heat pump refrigerant operating parameters
temperatures of 120, 140 and 160  C, and heat pump drying (pressures, temperatures, flow rates, etc.) and energy
tests were performed at a constant drying temperature of consumptions (compressor, blower, and, if required, addi-
55  C. Drying in the second stage dryer (heat pump) continued tional heat). Drying experiments with air and inert gases were
until the product reached the final desired moisture content of conducted at freeze-drying temperature of 5  C. At that
around 0.11 kg kg1 (dry basis). The effect of drying the drying temperature, the refrigerant evaporating temperature
intermediate moisture content of the product with super- was around 15  C, and the air moisture probably froze on the
heated steam, prior to entering the second stage heat pump, evaporator fins. However, the authors didnt specify how they
was analyzed. It was concluded that chicken meat with an managed the defrosting cycles. In their review, Claussen et al.
intermediate moisture content of 66.7% (dry basis) dried faster (2007) presented the fluidized bed heat pump drying unit with
in the second stage (heat pump) than if it were dried from external condenser developed at SINTEF and NTNU (Fig. 12).
a 42.8% (dry basis) content. Results showed that chicken dried This schematic representation didnt show any air bypassing
with superheated steam followed by heat pump drying had the evaporator, and the excess heat was rejected outside by
a lower shrinkage percentage and that in terms of rehydration the external condenser. When the external condenser is
percentage this drying technique is the most suitable one. operating its blower as well as the heat pump compressor run,
and thus electrical power is used while no drying air is being
3.11. Single-stage atmospheric freeze-drying heat pumps dehumidified. Normally, the compressor excess input energy
must be used to compensate part of the conduction/radiation
Conventional vacuum freeze drying, involving the removal of heat losses and air leakages/infiltrations in the drying
water from a frozen product by sublimation, is used for drying chamber. If not, the drying process becomes almost an elec-
sensitive food products. Atmospheric freeze drying is another trical heated process, not a dehumidification process with
convective drying process at temperatures below the product heat pump. Alves-Filho et al. (2004) reported that their fluidized
freezing point. It occurs at higher temperatures compared to bed heat pump dryer under atmospheric freeze-drying conditions
vacuum freeze drying, typically in the range of 3  C to 10  C. received wet materials and discharged dried products
Integrating of heat pumps in atmospheric freeze-drying continuously. The authors didnt provide any representations
fluidized beds has been proposed as a new application in of the heat pump fluidized bed system nor any information
freeze drying (Strommen and Kramer, 1994). The dryer about the heat pump dehumidification capacity and/or
(Fig. 11a) was based on the atmospheric freeze-drying fluid- compressor rated input power. Other missing data included
ized bed principle with the possibility of using air or inert the refrigerant used, drying air flow rates and heat pump main
gases as drying mediums. The system schematic as well as the operating parameters (pressures, temperatures). The authors

Fig. 11 e (a) Experimental fluidized bed dryer plan shown schematically; (b) drying process in the Mollier diagram
(Strommen and Kramer, 1994).

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initiated and, if so, how defrosting was done: by using elec-

trical heaters or by reversing the thermodynamic cycle (hot
gases). Other drawbacks of this study include a lack of infor-
mation on the heat pump operating parameters during the
codfish drying process below the freezing point, as well as
above it. In two separate papers, Alves-Filho et al. (2008a,b)
reported results for protein dried in a laboratory fluidized bed
heat pump dryer. Neither study provided information about
the heat pump (capacity, etc.) and drying cycles (quantity of
dried material, moisture contents, drying schedules, etc.). The
first drying stage occurred at a constant temperature (5  C)
during 2, 3, 6 or 8 h, respectively. The second drying stage also
occurred at a constant temperature (25  C) during 2 h. It can be
understood that, between 5  C and 25  C, the heat pump was
running continuously to remove moisture from the drying air.
During the drying cycle at 5  C (2e8 h), the drying air entered
the heat pump evaporator at 5  C and vaporized, lets say, at
Fig. 12 e Schematic of a fluidized bed heat pump dryer 15  C. At that evaporating temperature, the water vapor from
(Claussen et al., 2007). the drying air condensed and froze on the evaporator finned
heat transfer surface. In that case, the process probably
required defrosting cycles, but the authors didnt discuss this
issue. Their graphical results didnt show any defrosting
didnt specify either how the control of the actual tempera- periods during the drying process at temperatures below the
tures of the dry- and wet-bulb drying air was been achieved, moisture freezing point. In spite of the absence of periodical
and how the drying temperatures were kept constant defrost cycles the authors reported that the refrigeration coeffi-
successively at 10  C, 5  C and 25  C. Without that basic cient of performance ranged from 3.66 to 4.19 (first stage) or from
information it was impossible to validate whether the heat 4.32 to 4.82 (second stage). The heat pump coefficient of performance
pump dehumidification capacity balanced the material varied from 4.66 to 5.19 (at 5  C drying temperature) and from
capacity to provide moisture to the drying air, and if the drying 5.32 to 5.82 (at 25  C drying temperature), but the authors didnt
heat pump was efficient or not. The initial moisture content of provide any experimental parameters validating such high
the material (green peas) was 73% (wet basis), and the drying performance levels, especially during drying at 5  C. Alves-
time was 9 h for freeze drying at 5  C and 10  C. If humidity Filho and Eikevik (2008) reported a newly built laboratory scale
removal occurred at 5  C and 10  C, the water vapor prob- heat pump fluidized bed dryer. Their drying heat pump used
ably frosted on the evaporator finned surface. If that a desuperheater to reject the excess heat outdoors and didnt
phenomenon occurred, the question was whether periodical use any evaporator bypassing to control the dehumidification
defrosting cycles were initiated, which defrosting method was capacity. No estimate was provided about the actual amount
used, and how the defrosting cycles impacted the heat pump of heat rejected outdoors by the desuperheater (including the
coefficient of performance and/or the evaporator dehumidi- heat recovered from the dried material and the equivalent
fication performance. Eikevik et al. (2005a) studied the effect of heat of the compressor input power), as well as about the
operating conditions on atmospheric freeze-dried codfish. additional energy consumption of the heat pump desu-
Their fluidized bed heat pump dryer was identical to the perheater blower.
experimental fluidized bed dryer plant used in a previous
paper (Fig. 12). The authors didnt provide the initial quantity 3.12. Multi-stage atmospheric freeze heat pump dryer
of dried product, the heat pump dehumidification capacity
and/or the compressor rated input power. They reported that A multi-stage fluidized bed heat pump drier with two inde-
the drying chamber outlet air is dehumidified and cooled in the pendent drying loops and two refrigerant circuits was
evaporator, and that the air temperature is controlled by the heat proposed (Fig. 13) (Alves-Filho et al., 1998; Alves-Filho and
pump three-way valve redirecting refrigerant flow partly into Tokle, 1999). Installed after the low-temperature drying
condensers 1 and 2. At this point, it may be noted that when chamber, the high-temperature drying chamber received the
controlling the air dry-bulb temperature in this manner, it same flow of material as the first drying stage, but at lower
may be difficult to achieve efficient SMER ratios in the drying moisture contents. Consequently, the second drying chamber
process. The authors also reported that the drying time at operated with lower SMER ratios. Even though drying heat
10  C only was in the order of 300 min and that with an initial pumps are generally less efficient when operating below
drying time period of 10 h at 5  C, the SMER was reduced by 67% a certain product moisture content limit, the authors reported
compared to drying at 30  C only, and the energy consumption was that the heat pump dryer was flexible and combined drying above
7.5 times lower compared to drying at 30  C only. It can be seen and below the freezing point of the product. The system shown in
that the heat pump operated during the first 10 h with drying Fig. 13 used external condensers with bypasses around the
air entering the evaporator at 5  C, while the refrigerant evaporators. The authors stated that the heat pumps were easily
evaporating temperature was as low as 15  C. In spite of this, adjusted to preset conditions, which take the freezing point of the
the authors didnt mention whether defrosting cycles were product into account and the refrigerant evaporated by absorbing

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10 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n x x x ( 2 0 1 2 ) 1 e1 6

Fig. 13 e Multi-stage fluidized bed heat pump dryer plant. M: motor: T: temperature (Alves-Filho et al., 1998; Alves-Filho and
Tokle, 1999).

latent heat available in moist air leaving the drying chamber. They key requirement, energy savings of about 65% can be ach-
reported that the drying conditions were regulated over a wide ieved. Also, if a high water extraction rate is sought, energy
temperature range from 20  C to 80  C by adjusting the capacity of savings of about 53% can be achieved, including fan energy
the heat pump components and that the air temperature was kept consumption, but with much shorter drying times than that of
below the products freezing point, usually above 10  C. Now, if the conventional system. Klocker et al. (2002) built a labora-
drying occurred at temperatures below or around the product tory prototype laundry dryer using CO2 as a working fluid.
freezing point, the airborne moisture probably froze on the Their experiments showed that the heat pumps used in
evaporator fins. However, the authors didnt give any infor- laundry dryers at 50e60  C exhibited a significant energy
mation about the periodical defrosting cycles, if they were savings potential (between 53% and 65%) compared to
used. This concept seems hardly applicable as an efficient conventional high temperature (130  C) drying methods.
industrial drying technology. Other aspects, such as high However, their drying cycles with trans-critical CO2 heat
capital costs and low efficiency of the second drying stage, pumps in batch mode were relatively short (about 54 min).
have to be further studied. Finally, the authors didnt indicate The reported experimental results showed that the end of the
at which temperature and moisture content the dried product drying cycles was dependent on the maximum air tempera-
was transferred to the second drying chamber. They claimed ture entering the evaporator (40  C) rather than the material
that the advantage of having two chambers is that the low- final moisture content. They also showed that up to 35% of
temperature stage operates at temperatures under the product each drying cycle was a transient process with air tempera-
freezing point, reducing product moisture while providing excellent tures leaving the gas cooler (entering the drum) being below
quality. the desired set points (50e60  C). Now, during transient
periods, the heat pump drying performance declines. Despite
3.13. CO2 drying heat pumps this, the reported specific moisture extraction rates were
relatively high (1.54e2.05 kgw kWh1), depending on the type
Studies on carbon dioxide (CO2) drying heat pumps started of compressor CO2 used. Moreover, because the drying air flow
about 15 years ago with laundry drying. Schmidt et al. (1998) rate through the evaporator and the gas cooler was the same,
compared the thermodynamic behavior of two dehumidifi- the gas cooler heat transfer surface (118 m2) was overdesigned
cation heat pump cycles: a sub-critical process with R-134a compared to the evaporator heat transfer surface (30.1 m2).
and a trans-critical process with CO2. Their simulation results That generally implies large CO2 charges and bulky finned
showed that both cycles are equivalent in terms of energy heat exchangers. Sarkar et al. (2006) validated their simulation
efficiency. However, better compression efficiency was ex- model with the experimental results on CO2 heat pump-
pected with CO2, as well as improved energy efficiency. assisted laundry dryer reported by Klocker et al. (2002). They
Klocker et al. (2001) studied the feasibility of using CO2 as reported that dryer efficiency, recirculation air ratio, ambient
a working fluid for laundry heat pump dryers and compared it temperature, and air mass flow rate have a significant impact
with R-134a systems. They found that the former did not need on system performance. It was observed that by increasing the
more energy than the latter, and that the CO2 trans-critical bypass air ratio, the evaporator dehumidification rate increased and
cycle was suitable for heat pump dryers due to the good the moisture extraction rate continuously increased. At 0.3 bypass
environmental characteristics and thermal properties of CO2. air ratio, the SMER attained a maximum. In spite of this sound
They compared the energy performance of two optimized CO2 observation, the authors surprisingly concluded that the
heat pumps with those of a conventional electrically heated bypass of air was not a very effective mode of system control. With
dryer. The authors concluded that if the drying time is not the increase in bypass air ratio at 0.5, the moisture extraction ratio

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 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n x x x ( 2 0 1 2 ) 1 e1 6 11

(MER) (kgwater h1) increased by only 3.5%, and the maximum value cooler) and evaporator operating with the same air flow. The
of SMER (kgwater h1) at 0.3 bypass air ratio was only 4% more than authors reported that the drying circuit was designed to
that at air bypass ratio of 0. Prasertsan and Saen-saby (1998) handle other gases than air, such as nitrogen and helium, but
reported a similar air bypass ratio impact (less than 2%) with didnt indicate whether modifications and/or adaptations of
R-134a. However, Jia et al. (1990) showed a significant impact the drying system are required when the drying medium is
(20%) and dependence of the optimum bypass air ratio on the changed. Moreover, they claimed that the CO2 heat pump dryer
air mass flow rate. Honma et al. (2008) presented an experi- can operate at temperatures ranging from 30  C to 110  C to
mental study on a compact heat pump dryer using CO2 as provide the conditions for heat sensitive products which require
a refrigerant for domestic clothes washers/dryers. The temperatures below or above its freezing point. Operating the CO2
authors mentioned the requirement to balance the amount of heat pump at evaporating temperatures as low as 30  C may
heat provided by the air with the heat supplied by the gas provide drying processes at temperatures far below 0  C. In
cooler and to adapt the refrigerant cycle based on the progress this case, moisture frosting may occur and evaporator
of the drying cycle. They controlled the expansion valve to defrosting cycles have to be periodically initiated. On the other
keep the superheat constant in order to maintain the targeted hand, to provide drying air at 110  C, the heat pump
heating capacity at a constant level of 2.7 kW and reduce the compressor discharge temperature has to be around 130  C,
drying time. The prototype didnt include any other control and the drying air flow rate through the gas cooler has to be
means, such as air bypassing the evaporator. On the other relatively small. These high drying temperatures imply return
hand, the gas cooler had a heat transfer surface about 40% air temperatures entering the heat pump at 60  C probably,
higher than that of the evaporator for the same air flow rate. leading to evaporation temperatures above the CO2 critical
The heat pump COP, defined as the gas cooler heating capacity point (31  C). The COP, SMER and heat pump refrigeration
divided by the compressor input power, was estimated at 4.07. capacity computations for conventional and trans-critical CO2
The tests performed revealed that the prototype was able to cycles werent validated by any experiments. Without speci-
reduce electric power consumption by 59.2% and the drying fying either the quantities of dried materials versus the heat
time by 52.5% in comparison with electrical heater drying pump dehumidification capacity, or the initial and final
systems. Furthermore, the authors estimated that the drying material moisture contents, the authors reported COPs as high
time can be further reduced by 3% by keeping the refrigerant as 11 and SMERs as high as 8 kgw kWh1 based only on a given
superheating temperature at 6e10  C. Fornasieri et al. (2010) drying air temperature and a given variation of the drying air
compared a trans-critical CO2 process with a sub-critical R- relative humidity. Finally, the study didnt demonstrate why
134a cycle in terms of energy efficiency, and the experimental the carbon dioxide drying heat pump has a greater impact on
results achieved with a CO2 prototype confirmed the theo- the quality of the dried product. Eikevik et al. (2005b) built
retical analysis. The authors concluded that CO2 operation in a prototype fluidized bed heat pump dryer using CO2 as the
trans-critical conditions is a viable alternative to the traditional working fluid. The diameter of the fluidized bed varied from
technology in the heat pump dryers. Tests performed on a CO2 10 cm to 35 cm and the air flow from 100 to 800 m3 h1. The
heat pump dryer prototype showed a slight decrease of the measured specific moisture ratios ranged from 1.65 to 3.73 at
electrical power input, with a very limited (3.8%) increase in a temperature range from 20  C to 90  C. The maximum CO2
the drying time, in comparison with a conventional R-134a pressure was 130 bars. As previously noted, when drying with
heat pump dryer. About this work, it can be noted that: i) the air at 20  C, moisture frosting may occur and evaporator
authors didnt indicate whether a pre-heating step was defrosting cycles have to be periodically initiated. On the other
required. Their graphical results showed that the heat pump hand, if the drying air enters the heat pump evaporator at,
required a long stabilization period prior to reaching its lets say, 60  C and leaves it at 50  C, the evaporating
permanent running speed. However, it is well known that temperature will probably be higher than the CO2 critical
drying heat pump efficiency is drastically affected at non- temperature (31  C), the evaporating pressure above 73 bars
stationary running speeds; ii) graphical results also showed and the discharge pressure in excess of 150 bars.
that air temperature at the drum outlet (or at the CO2 evapo-
rator inlet) reached up to 55  C, toward the end of the cycle. 3.14. Ground-source drying heat pump
Such inlet temperatures may result in evaporating tempera-
tures being equal to or higher than the CO2 critical point Colak and Hepbasli (2005, 2009) proposed a ground-source
(31  C), with suction pressures as high as 75 bars and heat pump for drying apples (Fig. 14), a typical example of
compressor discharge pressures exceeding 130 bars; iii) other the inefficient use of heat pumps in drying processes. First,
graphs showed that the same drying air flow rate goes through because the ground-source heat pump has to operate in the
the evaporator and the gas cooler. Now, in this case, the heat heating mode only and no drying air dehumidification is
transfer area of the gas cooler has to be much higher than that provided. For relatively small quantities of dried materials,
of the evaporator. It may cause practical issues, such as the such a ground-source heat pump could well operate during
dryer physical dimensions and cost; iv) finally, the authors relatively short running cycles in order to supply heat to the
discussed neither the risk of evaporator and gas cooler clog- drying chamber at temperatures between 35  C and 45  C. In
ging with clothes fibers, dust and other materials, nor the this range of drying temperatures, air-to-air heat pumps may
associated cleaning issue. Alves-Filho et al. (1999) presented be technically and economically more competitive. However,
a new, innovative carbon dioxide heat pump dryer for high for large-scale industrial systems with longer drying cycles
quality dried products. The schematic representation of this (dozens of hours, or days) the concept e as proposed e could
innovative heat pump dryer showed the CO2 condenser (gas be inapplicable without supplying auxiliary heat to the drying

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was used, but no air exhaust from the drying system was
shown. Calculations were performed with water entering the
heat pump evaporator at 21.4  C. The authors didnt explain
whether that temperature was provided at the beginning of
the drying cycle and/or whether the ground was able to
supply such a high temperature at the evaporator inlet. No
variations of the brine inlet/outlet temperatures were
provided in order to validate the relevance of the values used
for exergy and energy calculations. At the same time, the
authors reported that the evaporating temperature was
3.8  C (with R-22 as a refrigerant), a value suggesting an
insufficient refrigerant charge involving the possibility of air
moisture freezing.

3.15. Drying heat pumps with thermal loops

The concept proposed by Wera et al. (2005) combined a drying

heat pump with a thermal loop (heat pipe) heat recovery
Fig. 14 e Schematic illustration of a ground-source heat system (Fig. 15a). The authors reported that the loop thermo-
pump dryer (Colak and Hepbasli, 2005, 2009). syphon reduced the specific energy consumption from 12 to 20%,
depending on the operating conditions, and that the pay back period
was of about 3 years. These energy consumption reductions
chamber. In continuous drying processes, the temperature and seem unlikely first because the thermal loop simultaneously
thermal potential (capacity) of the ground will progressively reduces the heat pumps evaporating temperature and
decline. The heat pump will cool the ground excessively, while increases the condensing temperature, as schematically
the evaporating temperature will drop unduly, as well as the shown in Fig. 15b. Consequently, the heat pump compression
heat pump COP. After a certain period of time, the heat will be ratio will increase because p0cd =p0ev > pcd =pev , the heat pump
extracted from the ground at evaporating temperatures as low coefficient of performance will decrease, and the compressor
as 15  C and even lower. For batch dryers it may be worse input power and energy consumption will increase. Generally,
because the time between two consecutive charges is short the pay back period cant be improved by adding an additional
and the heat pump will operate practically in continuous expensive device (the heat pipe) to the heat pump drying
mode but with many shut-off and transient cycles. Finally, system, because the system total energy consumption
this paper didnt provide any long-term validation of the increases.
simulated results.
Kuzgunkaya and Hepbasli (2007a,b) published two similar 3.16. Versatile low-temperature dehumidification heat
papers on the exergetic evaluation and performance assess- pump
ment of a vertical ground-source heat pump system for
drying laurel leaves. The experimental set-up and procedure Sosle et al. (2003) reported that a heat pump dryer could be
were unclear and the papers didnt indicate whether the successfully used for apple drying, and determined its drying
drying process was batch or continuous mode. In spite of the performance. Even though the authors found that the final
dried product low flow (11 g s1), the rated capacity of the quality of the heat pump-dried apple slices was perfect, the
ground-source heat pump wasnt provided. However, the dryereheat pump integration was deficient. Their heat pump
drying time was about 10 h. According to the schematic drawing showed a commercial heat pump coupled with
diagram of the drying heat pump system, ambient fresh air a small drying chamber, containing a water-cooled

Fig. 15 e Heat pump drying system combined with thermal (heat pipe) loop. C: compressor; CD: condenser; EX: expansion
valve; EV: evaporator; F: fan; p: pressure (Wera et al., 2005).

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desuperheater, an air-cooled condenser (reheat coil) and an pump. Such applications include microwave-, infrared- and
evaporator. The authors indicated that the two heat exchanger solar-assisted drying heat pumps. The major issue is the
units in the machine (condenser and evaporator) are adjacent to one higher total costs of these systems, which makes them inac-
another and the arrangement does not allow for establishing cessible for large-scale industrial applications.
a bypass between the two coils. Drying experiments at low
temperatures were conducted with apple samples (3e5 kg) for 3.17.1. Microwave-assisted drying heat pumps
up to 25 h using a relatively large heat pump capacity, i.e. The feasibility and overall performance of microwave drying
2.3 kW of compressor rated input power. In terms of energy heat pumps was investigated by Jia et al. (1993). The authors
consumption, the process of heat pump dryer was probably reported that with careful design microwave-assisted heat
more expensive because most of energy input was rejected at pump drying is comparable to conventional convective drying
the secondary condenser as excess heat. The authors noted in terms of energy consumption. Later, Chua and Chou (2005)
that this happened because the capacity of the heat pump dryer reported that drying times could be shortened by 42% and 31%
outmatched the maximum sample size that would fit in the drying for potato and carrot samples respectively, when a suitable
chamber. Consequently, the reported SMER was as low as combination of heat pump-microwave drying times was
0.1 kgw kWh1, proving the inefficiency of the tested drying selected. They observed that color change in both samples
system. To avoid such a drawback, the authors proposed to was minimized when microwave heating was initiated early,
harness the heat rejection at the secondary condenser by adding 60 min after the heat pump convective drying cycle, as
a second air-cooled condenser in the air path and in series with the compared to longer convective drying times and shorter
water-cooled condenser, with controls to distribute the hot gas microwave heating periods.
between the two. The authors probably ignored that the true
solution would be to avoid heat rejection from the drying heat 3.17.2. Infrared-assisted drying heat pumps
pump system, or minimize it as much as possible. In spite of Tan et al. (2001) reported that intermittent infrared heating
disastrous performance results, the authors concluded that it could increase the drying rate by 4e5 times while reducing
was demonstrated that a heat pump dehumidifier could be overall color change in potatoes and pineapples pre-treated
successfully used for drying of agro-food material . and simulta- with an osmotic solution. Similar results were observed by
neously used in parallel applications such as dehumidification and other researchers in the heat pump-infrared drying of red
water heating. The feasibility of operating under different modes . beets and carrots. Zbicinski et al. (1992) suggested the use of
was established, and the process could easily be adapted to different an intermittent irradiation drying mode coupled with
environmental conditions. convective air drying for heat-sensitive materials. Chua et al.
(2002) summarized some of the advantages of infrared-
3.17. Hybrid heat pump dryers assisted heat pump dryers, such as high heat transfer rates,
easy direction of the heat source to the drying surface and
In the last stage of the drying process, generally below 20%e quick response times. They noted that to dry heat-sensitive
25% of moisture content, the absolute humidity level of air materials, a combined convective drying method or an inter-
changes little through the drying heat pump. In this case, mittent infrared mode may be applied. An improved integra-
energy may be supplied by different modes of heat transfer tion system is shown in Fig. 16a (Chua et al., 2002; Minea,
either simultaneously or in pre-selected time-varying 2011). This operating mode ensures a faster initial drying
sequence to improve drying kinetics. Heat pump dryers can rate followed by the moderate intermittent infrared-assisted
thus be integrated with other heat input methods to enhance mode to ensure reduced drying times as well as minimize
drying efficiency and reduce the thermal load on the heat quality deterioration of the dried material.

Fig. 16 e (a) Infrared-assisted drying heat pump; (b) radio frequency-assisted drying heat pump; C: compressor; CD:
condenser; EV: evaporator; EX: expansion valve (Chua et al., 2002; Minea, 2011).

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capacity), auxiliary heater and heat exchanger features is

provided. The authors found that the evaporatorecollector
performed better than the air collector because a maximum
evaporatorecollector efficiency of 0.87 against a maximum air
collector efficiency of 0.76 was obtained.

3.18. Air cycle heat pump

The feasibility of using an air cycle heat pump in tumbler

clothes dryers (Fig. 17) was theoretically investigated by Braun
et al. (2002). The authors reported up to 40% improvement in
energy efficiency over electric dryers. However, the main
Fig. 17 e Closed air cycle heat pump dryer (Braun et al., disadvantage of the proposed cycle consisted in the very short
2002). drying times associated with tumbler clothes dryers (about
1 h). Consequently, the time required to reach the permanent
running speed at the beginning of each drying cycle may
3.17.3. Radio frequency-assisted drying heat pumps drastically reduce overall system efficiency. Lint removal and
Chua et al. (2002) reviewed some characteristics of radio cleaning are also required after each drying cycle, but the
frequency-assisted heat pump dryers and reported that this authors didnt mention this issue. The authors concluded that
technology improves the color of products, and cracking can it is expected that the cost of an air cycle dryer would be less than
be eliminated. The authors reported that the potential direct that associated with a vapor compression unit. However, this
application of radio frequency-assisted heat pump dryers is claim has to be further investigated and documented prior to
high because simultaneous external and internal drying signifi- any possible industrial application.
cantly reduces the drying time to reach the desired moisture content.
The potential for improving the throughput for some bakery products 3.19. Drying heat pump with air-to-air heat exchanger
is as high as 40% and shrinkage can be minimized. An example of
improved system integration is shown in Fig. 16b (Chua et al., In their review, Chua et al. (2002) presented the heat pump
2002; Minea, 2011). Marshall and Metaxas (1998) combined cycle shown in Fig. 18. This cycle incorporates an air-to-air
radio frequency heating with conventional heat pump drying. heat exchanger aimed at significantly improving the heat pump
Their radio frequency heat pump dryer comprised a vapor cycle. The inlet air firstly flows over a chilled heat exchanger
compression heat pump system retro-fitted with a radio where it is cooled below its dew point. The cooled air then
frequency generating device capable of imparting radio flows over the evaporator, which is fully dedicated to dehu-
frequency energy to the dried material at various stages of the midification, and absorbs most of the latent heat from the
drying process. moist air. This very cold air then returns to the air-to-air heat
exchanger to chill the incoming air. Chua et al. (2002) noted
3.17.4. Solar-assisted drying heat pumps that the efficiency of water extraction is doubled and the capacity of
Hawlader and Jahangeer (2006, 2008) built a fully equipped the evaporator for latent heat recovery can be tripled. However, as
experimental solar-assisted heat pump drying system set-up can be seen in Fig. 18a, this concept doesnt provide any
for drying green beans. In their publications, the solar panel control strategy of the supplied air relative humidity and/or
specifications (evaporator and air collector) are extensive, but the heat pump dehumidification rate for the air thermody-
no indication about the dryer chamber, dried product (quan- namic process shown in Fig. 18b. Moreover, the COP of the
tities, moisture contents), heat pump (dehumidification heat pump may decrease because the compression ratio

Fig. 18 e (a) Schematic of the heat pump cycle incorporating an air-to-air heat exchanger; (b) air process in Mollier diagram;
(c) refrigerant process in peh diagram (Chua et al., 2002).

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 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f r e f r i g e r a t i o n x x x ( 2 0 1 2 ) 1 e1 6 15

increases as can be seen in Fig. 18c. The system initial cost Alves-Filho, O., Eikevik, T.M., Goncharova-Alves, S.V., 2008a.
may also increase by adding the additional heat recovery heat Single and multi-stage heat pump drying of protein. Drying
exchanger. In terms of thermodynamics, this concept is Technol. 26, 470e475.
Alves-Filho, O., Guzev, O., Goncharova-Alves, S. 2008b. Kinetics
similar to thermal loop (heat pipe) systems combined with
and energy aspects of heat pump drying of protein. In: 16th
drying heat pumps (see Fig. 15), and obviously involves similar International Drying Symposium (IDS 2008), Hyderabad, India,
disadvantages. November 9e12.
Alves-Filho, O., Eikevik, T.M., 2008. Hybrid heat pump drying
technologies for porous materials. In: 16th International
4. Conclusions Drying Symposium (IDS 2008), Hyderabad, India, November
9e12.
Part I of this review focuses on dryereheat pump integration Braun, J.E., Bansal, P.K., Groll, E.A., 2002. Energy efficiency
analysis of air cycle heat pump dryers. Int. J. Refrigeration 25,
issues. It shows that a lot of unworkable, unnecessarily
954e965.
complicated or doubtful improved drying heat pump concepts
Chua, K.J., 2000. Dynamic modelling, experimentation, and
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