Modeling and techno-economic evaluation of a rice hull fired coco coir dryer

• Main Authors: Biona, Jose Bienvenido Manuel M., Catalan, Paul, Malino, Anthony
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2006
• Subjects: Coir—Drying; Drying apparatus; Mechanical Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/6714
• Institution: De La Salle University

Realizing the economic value of coco husk, previously considered as a major agricultural waste and nuisance, a coco coir processing joint venture among NGOs, POs and a private company was set-up to provide additional and sustainable income to coconut farming families in Irosin, Sorsogon. Coco coir drying, a critical part of the process, is currently done by sun drying. Southern Luzon however receive rain almost 50% of the time during the year thus limiting production and leading to significant loss of possible earnings. The development of a viable drier system for coco coir have been elusive because of the lack of knowledge of their thermal and drying characteristics and high fuel cost. A simple rotary dryer model based on hemp drying rate was developed and partially validated using an alpha version of a small scale rice husk fired low cost rotary drier. The model was used to design a 1.5 ton per day system. Montecarlo simulation of the financial aspects of the system shows that adaptation of the design could lead to additional profit of 265,233.50 annually and a rate of return of 14.6%. Sensitivity analysis shows that rate of return is highly dependent on utilization factor to justify the adaptation of the design is 60%.