Industrial Drying and Heat Pump Research

One of the Energy Studies Programme’s areas of active research is in energy efficient heat pump based drying processes. This work is focussed on improving both the energy efficiency and dry product quality in the timber, dairy, grain and waste processing industries. In timber drying work is being done to establish improved drying processes for maximising the value of premium grades of radiata pine which exploit the unique opportunities offered by energy-efficient dehumidifier technology. This will not only allow more environmentally friendly timber processing but will also increase the quality of the dried timber product for use in furniture and other appearance grade applications. The improved timber drying systems have reached the point of full scale production and commercial application opportunities are currently being investigated.

The heat pump work is also exploring more environmentally friendly ways to dry dairy products, grains and even sewage sludge. These processes are also being developed with commercial application in mind to translate the value of the research into the reality of benefits available to the marketplace. The current specific work is focussed on establishing heat and mass transfer characteristics for ultra-efficient heat pump drying systems for drying these aggregate materials. With new system designs developed using the improved numerical models, the project team is identifying the best design options and constructing working demonstration scale systems.

Related heat pump work from the Otago team has already improved commercial aquaculture operations based on land to precisely control environmental conditions more efficiently than ever before possible.

All of these efforts seek to bring together the fundamental science behind the systems, the practical technology to make them work, and the business development skills to make them available to the world.

Work on these projects is coordinated and lead by Professor Gerry Carrington and Dr Eric Scharpf.