Far-infrared irradiation drying behavior of typical biomass briquettes

Infrared radiation drying behaviors of four typical biomass briquettes (populus tomentosa leaves, cotton stalk, spent coffee grounds and eucalyptus bark) were investigated based on a lab-scale setup. The effect of radiation source temperatures (100–200 °C) on the far-infrared drying kinetics and heat transfer of the samples was addressed. As the temperature went up from 100 °C to 200 °C, the time required for the four biomass briquettes drying decreased by about 59–66%, and the average values of temperature for the four biomass briquettes increased by about 33–39 °C, while the average radiation heat transfer fluxes increased by about 3.3 times (3.7 times only for the leaves). The specific energy consumptions were 0.622–0.849 kW h kg−1. The Modified Midilli model had the better representing for the moisture ratio change of the briquettes. The values of the activation energy for the briquettes in the first falling rate stage were between 20.35 and 24.83 kJ mol−1, while those in the second falling rate stage were between 17.89 and 21.93 kJ mol−1. The activation energy for the eucalyptus bark briquette in two falling rate stages was the least one, and that for the cotton stalk briquette was less than that for the rest two briquettes.