Increasing the efficiency of thermal agent distribution in tunnel drying installations

Abstract

The food industry includes a wide spectrum of processes that are applied to the processing of raw materials. One of the basic technological processes for thermal processing of agro-food products is drying. The diversity of drying plant types is described by several criteria, such as:

mode of operation, mode of heat transmission, nature of the drying agent, according to construction type, etc. However, the drying process involves increased expenditure of thermal energy. Tunnel-

type drying installations are no exception in this sense, the efficiency of which directly depends on the technological parameters during the dehydration process (heat agent speed, temperature, air

flow, etc.). In order to ensure these parameters, it is necessary to ensure the uniform distribution of the thermal agent over the entire section of the drying chamber, in order to uniform the drying of the product over the entire height of the cart with the product in the installation. Drying food products is a rather energy-intensive process, therefore it is very important to

take into account all the methods by which it is possible to reduce energy consumption. In this work, a device is presented, which ensures the uniform distribution of the air flow in the room of the drying installation, this positively influencing the work efficiency of the installation during the technological process.