Evaluating a tobacco-curing oven using a forced-convection heat exchanger USCO - MADR
Evaluación del horno de curado de tabaco por convección forzada USCO-MADR
Keywords:
tobacco curing, heat exchanger, coffee hull, tobacco post-harvest, Virginia tobacco (en)curado de tabaco, intercambiador de calor, cisco de café, poscosecha de tabaco, tabaco Virginia (es)
A traditional oven for curing tobacco leaves was redesigned (based on existing infrastructure); a forced-convection heat exchanger system was implemented in it which worked with coffee hulls as fuel. This oven (called a forced-convection tobacco leaf curing oven) was evaluated during the harvesting season. It was found that temperature and relative humidity inside the furnace could be controlled with this assembly during the three stages involved in curing tobacco leaves. The equipment used performed excellently when using coffee hulls as fuel, having the following approximate consumption during curing: 8.92 kilograms per hour during the yellowing stage, 17.75 kilograms per hour during the leaf drying and color fixation phase and 19.29 kilograms per hour during the stem drying stage. Comparative analysis of the ovens operating costs along with the proposed adjustments to be made to it would allow its implementation as a promising alternative in the existing tobacco chain.
Teniendo como base la infraestructura existente de un horno tradicional de curado de tabaco, se rediseño e implementó en él un sistema de intercambio de calor por convección forzada que funciona con cisco de café como combustible. Este horno de curado de tabaco por convección forzada USCO-MADR fue evaluado durante el periodo de cosecha, lográndose un manejo controlado de las variables de temperatura y humedad relativa dentro de él durante las tres etapas del curado de la hoja de tabaco; el equipo utilizado tuvo un excelente desempeño al emplear cisco de café como combustible con los siguientes consumos durante el proceso de curado: en la fase de “amarillamiento”, 8,92 kilogramos por hora; en la de “secado de paño y fijación de color”, 17,75 kilogramos por hora; y en la de “secado de vena”, 19,29 kilogramos por hora; el análisis comparativo de los costos operativos del horno evaluado, con los ajustes propuestos a éste, permiten presentarlo a la cadena de tabaco como una alternativa promisoria.
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References
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Copyright (c) 2010 Néstor Enrique Cerquera Peña, Yaneth Liliana Ruiz Osorio, Eduardo Pastrana Bonilla

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