Estudo de um gasogênio de fluxo ascendente para secagem de grãos.

Abstract

Drying of agricultural products is one of the most serious problems of Brazilian agriculture. More than half of the grains of cereals harvested are lost annually due to inadequate drying and poor storage conditions; on the other hand, the drying of cereals with the use of fossil fuels is very costly. As a solution to this problem it is necessary to replace traditional fuels with alternative sources of energy, such as biomass and solar energy. The project developed is an upflow gasifier adapted for the drying of cereals. Part of the thermal load constituted by the sensible heat of the gases generated is transferred by means of a heat exchanger to the drying air through a suction fan, which is driven by the gas engine. The performance data of the components of the gas and the performance of the gasifier were obtained. The failures were noted and in the suggestions, it was indicated the modifications that must be made in the prototype for a better performance. With the data obtained, corn grain drying was simulated using the SASG 1 Program developed by the Nucleus of Storage Technology at UFPB. The results obtained allow us to conclude the technical feasibility of the use of gasogen in the drying of grains. It is expected that this system will contribute significantly to the reduction of energy costs in the drying of grains.