Duration
18h Th, 6h Pr
Number of credits
Lecturer
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
Learning unit 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 learning unit
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
Recommended or required readings
La chaîne du froid. COME D., 1997, Editions Hermann.
Technologie des installations frigorifiques. Rapin P., Jacquard P., 2015, Dunod.
L'eau dans les aliments. LEMESTE M., LORIENT D., SIMATOS D., 2002, Tec et Doc, Lavoisier.
Handbook of Food Engineering. HELDMAN D.R. and LUND D.B., 2006, CRC Press.
Handbook of Industrial Drying. MUJUMDAR A.S., 2014, CRC Press
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination (100%)
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
Contacts
Béra, François (Professor) Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Procédés Agro-alimentaires 081 62 22 63 f.bera@uliege.be