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Technical Evaluation of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Heat Pump Dryer without Batteries

Author

Listed:
  • Antonio Quijano

    (Instituto de Energía Solar, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28031 Madrid, Spain)

  • Celena Lorenzo

    (Instituto de Energía Solar, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28031 Madrid, Spain)

  • Antonio Berlanga

    (GENAQ, 14900 Córdoba, Spain)

  • Luis Narvarte

    (Instituto de Energía Solar, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28031 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the technical validation of an innovative prototype for drying alfalfa bales. It is based on a 4.1 kW Heat Pump (HP) that uses an advanced technology (optimized for extracting the humidity from the air) and is directly powered by a 6.6 kW p PV generator without grid or batteries support. The main technical challenges of this work were managing solar irradiance fluctuations due to cloud-passing and achieving good drying efficiency. The prototype has been validated for two consecutive drying campaigns in La Rioja (Spain). There were no abrupt stops generated by cloud-passing. The PR PV , which evaluates the performance of the PV system only during the periods when the PV energy can be used by the HP unit, presented values of 0.82 and 0.85, comparable to a well-performing grid-connected PV system. Although the bales’ initial relative humidity (RH) ranged from 18 to 30%, all but one of them presented a final RH below 16%, which is the limit point to avoid fermentation. The drying times ranged from 1 to 5 h, and the specific energy consumption per liter of water extracted, from 0.7 to 1.46 kWh/L. These values are comparable to traditional diesel and grid-powered systems. It is worth noting that the agricultural drying market represented USD 1.7 billion in 2023.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonio Quijano & Celena Lorenzo & Antonio Berlanga & Luis Narvarte, 2024. "Technical Evaluation of a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Heat Pump Dryer without Batteries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-18, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:18:p:4612-:d:1478240
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hamed Karami & Mohammad Kaveh & Iman Golpour & Esmail Khalife & Robert Rusinek & Bohdan Dobrzański & Marek Gancarz, 2021. "Thermodynamic Evaluation of the Forced Convective Hybrid-Solar Dryer during Drying Process of Rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Leaves," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Li, Y. & Zhao, B.Y. & Zhao, Z.G. & Taylor, R.A. & Wang, R.Z., 2018. "Performance study of a grid-connected photovoltaic powered central air conditioner in the South China climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1113-1125.
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