Improved Salt Quality and Reduced Energy Consumption via Hot Air Drying

This study examines the effects of hot air drying operating parameters on salt quality and energy consumption. Temperature, air velocity, and drying time were modified to evaluate their effects on NaCl percentage, water content, whiteness, and hot air drying energy consumption. The results showed that increasing temperatures, air velocities, and drying times decreased water content and increased salt temperatures. Additionally, given several operating parameters, NaCl percentage and whiteness initially increased to an optimum value and decreased, respectively. The decrease in NaCl percentage and whiteness is due to salt’s rapid decomposition with hightemperature heating to form a yellow residue. Increasing temperatures and drying times increased energy consumption and decreased drying energy efficiency. However, increasing air velocities increased both energy consumption and drying energy efficiency. The most economical values for energy consumption and drying energy efficiency for one operation cycle were 1.79 kWh and 17%, respectively. This study found that the lowest energy consumption and highest energy efficiency while maintaining high salt quality were achieved at 70ºC with an air velocity of 22.5 m/s and a drying time of 30 min.