Prototyping and characterisation of a biomass dryer for developing countries: case of Cameroon

Abstract

This study includes the built and experimental characterisation of a prototype of biomass dryer made of local materials, whose fuel is charcoal. The principal objective is the determination of parameters where a functioning regime is established and to verify temperatures range at the level of the tray, i.e. the position of the shutter should be at the middle position; for ‘pebbles charcoal’, protocol 4 (0.4 kg/18 min) should be adopted to achieve the temperatures ranges (32°C–69°C) for drying agricultural foodstuff, but the packing of the foodstuff in the tray should not be very compact. These parameters are in line with the recommended temperature ranges for drying foodstuffs.

KEYWORDS:

• Dryer
• charcoal
• characterisation
• temperature distribution
• biomass consumption

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).