Performance of a cylindrical dryer-oven utilising otherwise-wasted heat from carboniser’s chimney

Abstract

This study evaluated the performance of a cylindrical dryer-oven (CD-O) that made use of heat from a rice hull carboniser. The carboniser’s chimney served as a heat exchanger which provided the needed heat for food processing. Test results showed that the temperature inside the CD-O chamber could reach above water boiling point for roasting functions. With simple manipulations of the door, air inlet and outlet, the temperature can be regulated and lowered down to 50–60°C making the CD-O also able to dry agricultural products. From the test trials conducted, roasting was successfully done for fish (Tilapia) and chicken with acceptable quality based on the conducted sensory evaluation. Likewise, the CD-O was able to dry stems of taro (Colocasia esculenta). With its high income-generating potential, the CD-O opens opportunities for smallholder farmers to generate additional income through processing for value-addition, making use of the otherwise-wasted heat generated by the carboniser.

KEYWORDS:

• Biochar
• carboniser
• climate change
• food processing
• resilience
• smallholder farmers

Disclosure statement

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