Physical modeling of a thermoelectric drying plant based on Peltier thermoelectric modules

The article implements a physical model of a thermoelectric drying plant based on Peltier thermoelectric modules operating in the heat pump mode with recovery and utilization of the heat of the spent drying agent during the drying process. The report describes the relevance of the drying process and the purpose of the study. The materials and methods describe the characteristics of convective drying plants, the main drying parameters, traditional methods of intensifying the drying process, and an assessment of the use of thermoelectric modules and assemblies based on Peltier elements. The results and their analysis present a functional diagram of a thermoelectric drying plant, a thermoelectric assembly based on Peltier elements, as well as a physical model of a thermoelectric drying plant. The drying process was carried out, presented: graphs of temperature changes at characteristic points of the installation from time to time, changes in relative humidity from time to time, technical characteristics of the physical model of the drying unit, as well as the mass of apples, before and after drying, calculating the amount of evaporated moisture. The disadvantages of the well-known commercially available convective drying plants are the discharge of heat received from an electric heater together with moist air into the surrounding space. Thus, the physical model of a thermoelectric drying plant reduces the cost of electricity for the drying process by using part of the heat of the drying agent removed during convective drying to 20% of the total consumption of the installation and provides a more uniform drying process of the product due to the presence of side air channels and more efficient organization of air movement in the working chamber, which is confirmed by the results of the tests, it also allows you to reduce the installed capacity of the heater compared to traditional commercially available small-sized installations.