Lighting the Way to Better Drying Technologies

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In manufacturing plants where porous products start out as wet mixtures, the best way to dry things out might just be to light them up.

The Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), a National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center led by WPI and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, a co-site in CARD), will test that idea over the next three years by developing laser-based drying technologies for food, pulp, and paper production.

The researchers will determine how to cut greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing facilities that dry moist, porous mixtures to produce cookies, potato chips, packaging materials, and more. It is an area ripe for innovation, because an estimated 12 percent of energy used in U.S. manufacturing goes to industrial-scale drying processes.

Researchers at WPI will focus on experimental work and the development of physics-based models, while UIUC researchers will focus on artificial intelligence for determining real-time optimal operation. When developed, laser-based drying technology may be useful in additional industries, such as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

The $3.5 million project is largely funded with a $2.75 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which is providing $38 million to 16 projects across the country to address decarbonization issues in industry. Additional support includes a $300,000 award from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center plus financial and in-kind support from partners.

Partners in CARD’s three-year project include IPG Photonics, Reading Bakery Systems, the Electric Power Research Institute, the Alliance for Pulp and Paper Technology Innovation, and the Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment Institute (RAPID), which is an institute in the Manufacturing USA network.

The work builds on previous research from CARD, which was founded in 2016 and has pioneered the development of various drying technologies, such as convection slot jet reattachment nozzles, ultrasound-assisted radial jet atomizers, and a fiber optic moisture sensor developed by Mechanical and Materials Engineering Associate Professor Yuxiang Liu and his team.

CARD Founding Director Jamal Yagoobi, who is principal investigator of the DOE award and the George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, recently answered questions about lasers, drying, and the research.

CARD has explored infrared, direct contact and airborne ultrasonic, dielectrophoresis, and jet nozzle technologies for industrial drying. Why focus now on lasers?

Yagoobi: Energy-intensive industry sectors rely on technologies that are old and inefficient to dry materials. There is a need for new drying technologies that use less energy and run on electricity generated by renewable sources such as wind, solar, or biofuels. Lasers are a good option.

What materials will this research focus on drying?

Yagoobi: This project concentrates on the food as well as pulp and paper industries. That includes everything from potato chips and cookies to packaging products.

What makes laser technology a good option for drying?

Yagoobi: Lasers are powerful, and their energy can be spread out over a large area of moist porous materials without causing burns. Also, retrofitting traditional drying technology on production lines can be expensive. Some drying facilities are as big as a football field. Laser units, however, can be easily tacked onto existing production lines, which means there is no need for extensive retrofitting.

Another advantage is that lasers do not heat enclosed spaces, right?

Yagoobi: Lasers heat the solids in a mixture so that water in the mixture evaporates. If you use lasers in a commercial oven, the walls of the oven remain cool. That is helpful because much of the heat produced in traditional drying equipment is lost as heat dissipates through openings in a production line, the walls of drying machines, and exhaust. As an example, in the food industry, about 30 percent of energy used to operate drying/baking lines goes to drying/baking the food and the rest is lost. We estimate that with lasers, close to 60 percent of energy would go to drying/baking the food and much less energy would be lost.

Industrial laser manufacturer IPG Photonics is a member of CARD. What role will IPG Photonics play in this research?

Yagoobi: This research developed from a discussion I had with IPG, and we will be using IPG laser technology in our WPI testbed. IPG is a world leader in its industry and a great partner in CARD.

What are the critical challenges in drying that this project will seek to overcome?

Yagoobi: One challenge is to develop technologies that make drying more energy efficient without harming the quality of products and adding substantially to costs. For food drying/baking, the challenge will be to preserve the taste and appearance of the products. In paper and packaging, the challenge is to maintain the tensile strength of the materials. Our partner companies have extensive experience in measuring the quality of their products and customer approval, so we will work with those companies to determine if laser drying could be a successful process for them.

How will CARD partners participate in this project?

Yagoobi: WPI will lead the project. We will develop experimental data and physics-based models. The University of Illinois will focus on optimizing the laser drying process. Other partners will include Reading Bakery Systems, which is a commercial oven producer, and groups such as the Alliance for Pulp and Paper Technology Innovation, the Electric Power Research Institute, and RAPID that will help with life cycle analysis.

What excites you about this project?

Yagoobi: One of the best aspects of this project is that it offers WPI students the opportunity to get involved with CARD and research. Students are learning skills, preparing for careers, and sometimes securing jobs with CARD companies. I’m also excited to be working on a project that will make drying more efficient, because drying is a major producer of carbon emissions. It is expected that greater than 0.06 quads of energy—which is 6x1013 British Thermal Units—per year will be saved with the application of laser technology to drying/baking processes. It is exciting to work on something that will address that problem.