Drying Western Red Cedar with Superheated Steam

Abstract

This exploratory study evaluated the possibility of drying 50-mm-thick western red cedar with superheated steam. Since there are no industrial facilities in Canada drying western red cedar with superheated steam, the study was designed to explore the potential of this technology in terms of lumber quality, moisture content distribution, and drying time. The experiments showed that the 50-mm-thick product can be dried in less than three days without jeopardizing lumber quality (in comparison with the two weeks that is currently required in conventional kilns), and the percentage of pieces that remained wet after drying was within the 10% to 15% range that is typically tolerated in industry.

Keywords:

• Drying
• Lumber
• Superheated steam
• Western red cedar

Notes

T: Steam temperature; RH: Steam relative pressure.

E: EMC (equilibrium moisture content); ΔT: Wet-bulb depression.

Drying rate: (initial MC – final MC)/drying time; Wets: MC > 20%; Over-dried: MC < 10%.