Abstract

Conventional drying technologies generally rely on drying processes driven by using hot air, where these processes have significantly high energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. With our knowledge based on the limited nature of fossil fuels and the impact of climate change, it is clear that every technology has to be cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient to limit our carbon footprint while maintaining sustainable development. In this regard, the present study comprehensively reviews the recent advances in drying technologies and energy consumption and the efficiency and economic performances of several alternative drying technologies. The reviewed drying technologies include adsorption mediated, agitated thin film, electrotechnologies, hybrid systems, impingement, heat pumps, microwave, ohmic-heating, refractance window, rotating drum, superheated steam, and vacuum. The selected performance criteria are final heat use, final electricity use, primary energy use, thermal and energy efficiencies, and operating cost. With these criteria taken into account, the results show that the refractance window has the highest sustainability ranking (8.28/10), and superheated steam has the lowest sustainability ranking (2.90/10). Besides, the sustainability of the different drying fuels and technologies is conducted, and the results show that renewables have the highest sustainability ranking. Besides, it is seen that some novel approaches in drying, such as solar-based hybrid drying systems and refractance window drying, are amongst the most promising sustainable technologies. They could be the key to clean, affordable, reliable, and efficient drying of different kinds of products in industrial processes.

摘要

传统的干燥技术通常依赖于使用热空气驱动的干燥过程，这些过程具有显着的高能耗和温室气体排放。凭借我们基于化石燃料的有限性质和气候变化影响的知识，很明显，每项技术都必须更清洁、更便宜、更高效，以限制我们的碳足迹，同时保持可持续发展。在这方面，本研究全面回顾了干燥技术和能源消耗的最新进展以及几种替代干燥技术的效率和经济性能。审查的干燥技术包括吸附介导、搅拌薄膜、电技术、混合系统、冲击、热泵、微波、欧姆加热、折射窗、转鼓、过热蒸汽和真空。选定的性能标准是最终热量使用、最终电力使用、一次能源使用、热效率和能源效率以及运营成本。考虑到这些标准，结果表明折射窗口的可持续性排名最高（8.28/10），过热蒸汽的可持续性排名最低（2.90/10）。此外，对不同干燥燃料和技术的可持续性进行了研究，结果表明可再生能源的可持续性排名最高。此外，一些干燥的新方法，如基于太阳能的混合干燥系统和折射窗干燥，是最有前途的可持续技术之一。它们可能是清洁、负担得起、可靠、