Heat pump assisted continuous drying. Part 2. Simulation results

The simulation model described in Part 1 (Jolly et al, 1990) is used to investigate the performance of heat pump assisted continuous drying. Several key system aspects, such as the evaporator air by‐pass ratio and the use of recuperators, are investigated. The criteria for evaluating system performance and comparing system options are the Specific Moisture Extraction Rate (SMER), the Coefficient of Performance (COP) and the product throughput. The simulations show that there has been some misunderstandings reported in the previous literature. In particular, the results show that the evaporator air by‐pass ratio is not as critical as previously indicated