INGE0002-1 : Refrigeration and drying

Study Programmes 2015-2016

INGE0002-1

Refrigeration and drying

Duration :

20h Th, 4h Pr

Number of credits :

Bachelor in bioengineering		2
Bachelor in bioengineering		2
Master in agricultural bioengineering (120 ECTS)		2
Master in bioengineering : chemistry and bio-industries (120 ECTS)		2
Master in environmental bioengineering (120 ECTS)		2
Master in forests and natural areas engineering (120 ECTS)		2

Lecturer :

François Bera

Language(s) of instruction :

French language

Organisation and examination :

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Course contents :

This course aims to provide: - the basic knowledge required (on thermodynamics, heat and matter transfers, etc.) - analytical and calculation tools (energy balance, mass balance, dimensionless numbers, etc.) - examples of industrial applications ...which are all necessary to design and operate industrial processes involving drying or cooling. 1. Cooling and freezing of biological matter. 2. The main methods used to produce cold: mechanical processes, cryogenic processes, absorption refrigerators, the Peltier effect, binary systems, etc. 3. T-s and p-h diagrams of a refrigerant fluid, water and CO2. Study of the thermodynamic cycles of cold-producing machines. Energy and mass balances. 4. Compressors and heat exchangers: technology and scale. 5. Refrigerant fluids: properties and environment impact. 6. Regulation of refrigeration units. 7. Insulation of cold rooms. 8. Drying biological matter and other hygroscopic materials. 9. The thermodynamics of moist air. Mollier diagrams. Air-air and air-water mixes in drying facilities, climate chambers, etc.: energy and mass balances. 10. Moist materials, the concept of water activity, sorption isotherms, BET and GAB models. 11. The diffusion of water in biological matter. 12. Hot-air drying, energy and mass balances, transfer equations between the product and air. The psychrometer. Scaling. 13. Oven drying, freeze-drying. Energy and mass exchange processes. Scaling. 14. Superheated steam drying. 15. Heat pump drying. The course is illustrated using many practical exercises (6 hours) taked from real-world situations (refrigerated warehouses, dry kilns, cereal dryers, etc.).

Learning outcomes of the course :

Help students reach a level of understanding and proficiency in relation to the physical phenomena involved in drying hygroscopic materials, cold production, and the cooling of air and biological matter. At the end of the course, students must be able to offer a critical opinion, both on a qualitative and quantitative level, on the drying and cooling techniques implemented in the context of conserving or transforming biological matter.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills :

Bachelor level course on thermodynamics, mathematics and physics.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :

Lecture classes: 18 hours Lab classes: 6 hours