b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9

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Research Paper

Advanced exergoeconomic evaluation of a heat

pump food dryer

Zafer Erbay a,*, Arif Hepbasli b

a
Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Adana Science and Technology
University, 01180 Seyhan, Adana, Turkey
b
Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasar University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir,
Turkey

article info
In this study, the results of conventional and advanced exergoeconomic analyses of the
Article history: performance of a pilot scale air-source heat pump food dryer were compared for the first
Received 19 March 2014 time. The contributions of the components of the drying system to the exergetic cost
Received in revised form effectiveness of the dryer were evaluated, and the effects of changing the inlet drying
3 June 2014 temperature were determined. The most important system component was determined to
Accepted 4 June 2014 be the heat recovery unit, followed by the condenser with respect to the reducing poten-
Published online 25 June 2014 tials for the total costs of the overall system. Decreasing temperature caused an increase in
the cost performance of drying. The modification of the system components for improving
Keywords: the efficiency of the system can be effectively determined through advanced exer-
Drying goeconomic approach by stating the realistic potential improvements and the priorities in
Heat pump the system.
Exergy 2014 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Exergoeconomics
Advanced exergy
Advanced exergoeconomy

Heat pumps (HPs) are known to be energy-efficient devices

1. Introduction
Drying is a notoriously energy-intensive process and its en-
ergy consumption value is 10e25% of the total energy con-
sumption in all industries in developed countries, especially
for agricultural and food processing sectors that need the high
quality requirement of the dried product, often with relatively
low thermal efficiency ranging from 25% to 50% (Kudra, 2004;
Mujumdar, 2006; Vadivambal & Jayas, 2007). In the context of
rising energy prices and growing concerns about climate
change and environmental issues, reducing energy con-
sumption and costs in dryers has become a challenging issue
(Erbay & Icier, 2010; Minea, 2013).
in drying operations because of their heat recovery potential
and relatively high energy utilisation efficiencies (Tong, Kozai,
Nishioka, & Ohyama, 2010). In HP drying systems, the sensible
and latent heat of the evaporated moisture in the drier can be
recovered and recycled back to the drier by reheating the
dehumidified air (Jangam, 2011). During the past few decades,
HP drying systems and their food applications have been very
popular due to their low operating cost (Shi et al., 2008;
ylemez, 2006; Zielinska, Zapotoczny, Alves-Filho, Eikevik,
So
& Blaszczak, 2013).
Exergy can be defined in various ways, as presented
comprehensively elsewhere (Hepbasli, 2012). According to one
commonly used definition, it is the maximum amount of work

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 90 322 455 0000x2080; fax: 90 322 455 0009.
E-mail addresses: zafererbay@yahoo.com (Z. Erbay), arif.hepbasli@yasar.edu.tr (A. Hepbasli).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2014.06.008
1537-5110/ 2014 IAgrE. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
30 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9

Nomenclature UN unavoidable
1 UNEN unavoidable-endogenous
c unit exergy cost ($ GJ )
UNEX unavoidable-exogenous
C_ exergy cost rate ($ h1)
Cp specific heat (kJ kg1  C1) Subscripts
CR cost rate () a air
CRF capital recovery factor () CI capital investment
E_ exergy rate (kW) comp compressor
F function of the independent variables cond condenser
i interest rate on capital d destruction
n period of payment (year) dc drying cabinet
P pressure (kPa) dd drying ducts
PEC purchase equipment cost ($) elec electrical
R gas constant (kJ kg1 K1) exp expansion valve
T temperature (K or  C) ev evaporation
top time of operation of plant per year (h) evap evaporator
x independent variable f fuel
u uncertainty in the independent variables is isentropic
U uncertainty in the result k kth component
Z_ hourly levelised cost of investment ($ h1) mech mechanical
OM operating and maintenance
Greek letters
OS overall system
h energy efficiency (%)
p product
3 exergy (second law) efficiency (%)
r refrigerant
4 factor of the operating and maintenance cost
T total
Superscripts v vapour
AV avoidable w work
AVEN avoidable-endogenous 0 dead state
AVEX avoidable-exogenous
Abbreviations
EN endogenous
HP heat pump
EX exogenous
HRU heat recovery unit
REAL experimental operation conditions

that can be produced by a stream of matter, heat or work as it
comes to equilibrium with a reference environment. It is also
considered as an important and effective tool for analysing,
optimising and improving the energy efficiency of the drying
systems. With the help of exergy analysis, magnitudes and
locations of irreversibilities (exergy destructions) in the system
components considered can be successfully specified. Howev-
er, this information is not enough to create solution-oriented
approaches. A relatively new method, the so-called advanced
exergy analysis, should be used to reveal the realistic potential
and to predict the activities for the system improvements.
Exergy destructions of each drying system component are split
into their endogenous and exogenous and/or avoidable and
unavoidable parts in this method. In addition, splitting the
exergy destructions enables the exergy destruction values from
a conventional exergy analysis to be understood (Kelly, 2008).
Exergoeconomics (thermoeconomics) is the unique com-
bination of exergy analysis with economic constraints to
provide the information that cannot be obtained by conven-
tional energy analysis and economic evaluation. The results of
exergoeconomic analysis present cost-effective ways for
improving the performance of a system (Sahoo, 2008;
Morosuk, Tsatsaronis, Boyano, & Gantiva, 2012). Recently, re-
searchers have started to apply the exergoeconomic analysis
with advanced exergy methods to the thermal systems and
obtained invaluable results (Morosuk, Tsatsaronis, & Zhang,
2012; Tsatsaronis & Morosuk, 2009).
There have been a few studies conducted on the applica-
tion of advanced exergy analysis to refrigeration/HP systems
(Erbay & Hepbasli, 2013, 2014; Kelly, Tsatsaronis, & Morosuk,
2009; Morosuk & Tsatsaronis, 2008, 2009; Morosuk,
Tsatsaronis, & Zhang, 2012), whereas no studies focused on
the advanced exergoeconomic analysis of air-source HP dry-
ing systems canbe found in the scientific literature, to the best
of the authors' knowledge. This provided the prime motiva-
tion behind this contribution, which has the objectives to: (i)
perform advanced exergoeconomic analysis of a pilot scale HP
drying system used in food drying, (ii) evaluate the exergetic
cost effectiveness of the drying system in parts, (iii) investi-
gate the effects of the variation of drying temperature on the
exergoeconomic performance, and (iv) discuss the perfor-
mance and improvement potentials of the drying system.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Plums
Freshly harvested plums (Prunus domestica Insititia) were
purchased from a local market in the city of Izmir, Turkey. The
 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9 31

1a R407C was used as refrigerant in the HP system. The drying

V-1 compartment dimensions were 3.0  1.0  1.0 m. The plums
were moved by a conveyor band system driven by an electric
II motor.
2a

2.3. Drying procedure and measurements

3r 2r
Before starting the drying processes, the system was run for at
least 1 h to obtain steady-state conditions. The plum slices
III I VI were spread out in a thin layer. The drying experiments were
carried out in triplicate at drying air temperatures of 45, 50 and
55  C with a drying air velocity of 1.5 m s1 and a relative
1r humidity of 10%. The drying process continued until the
moisture content of the plums reached an equilibrium value.
3a
4r Humidity, temperature and velocity were measured in the
drying chamber with robust humidity probes (Testo,
IV 0636.2140, Freiburg, Germany), vane/temperature probes
(Testo, 0635.9540, Freiburg, Germany), using professional
5a 6a V-2
telescopic handle for plug-in vane probes (Testo, 0430.0941,
Freiburg, Germany). The measurements of drying air tem-
perature, velocity and relative humidity were recorded every
5 min. An infrared thermometer (Testo 552-T2, Freiburg,
VII
7a 4a Germany) and a surface thermometer (METEX ME-32, Seoul,
South Korea) were used to measure the surface temperatures
I Compressor II Condenser of the product and the drying chamber walls, respectively. A
III Expansion Valve IV Evaporator digital balance (Scaltec SBA 61, Goettingen, Germany) was
V Drying Ducts VI Drying Cabinet
used to measure the weight loss of the sample during the
VII Heat Recovery Unit
drying experiments. The ambient temperature and relative
Fig. 1 e The schematic illustration of components of the HP humidity were also measured and recorded. The pressure and
drying system and streams with coded points used in temperature of the refrigerant were measured with pressure
equations of conventional exergy analysis. probes (Testo, Low/High pressure probes, 0638.01941, Frei-
burg, Germany) and surface temperature probes (Testo,
Temperature probes, 0628.0019, Freiburg, Germany), respec-
tively. All measured values were observed and recorded with a
purchased plums were cleaned and dipped into 1% NaOH
multi-function instrument (Testo 350-XL/454, Control unit,
solution for 15 s (Tarhan, 2007). They were then washed with
Freiburg, Germany) and loggers.
water, and the excess water on the surface of plums removed
with a filter paper. They were sliced uniformly (average
2.4. Experimental uncertainty
thickness: 4.0 0.5 mm) and processed within 24 h.
The composition of the plum samples was determined to
Although error and uncertainty are related concepts, they
calculate the specific heat values. The moisture, protein, fat,
should not be mixed up. While error is defined as the differ-
crude fibre and ash contents of plum samples were found
ence between an individual measurement result and the real
using the methods of AOAC (1990) and the composition of the
value, uncertainty is a statistical concept based on error
plums used in the calculations of the specific heat of the fresh
sources. Hence, uncertainty analysis is a practical tool to
plum slices were 84.5 1.1%, 0.8 0.1%, 0.2 0.1%,
determine the magnitude and relevance of the error sources
1.5 0.2% and 0.6 0.1%, respectively. The average final
(Calvet et al., 2013).
moisture content of the dried plum slices was 10.4 1.5%
In the present study, temperature, relative humidity, mass
(wet basis).
losses and drying times were measured with appropriate in-
struments (as explained above), and total uncertainties for all
2.2. Experimental setup these parameters were calculated individually. The accuracy
of the temperature measuring equipment was 0.2  C and the
The plums were dried in a pilot scale HP conveyor dryer, reading errors for the temperature measurements were
which was designed and constructed in the Department of assumed as 0.1  C. The accuracy of the digital balance used
Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege Univer- in determination of the moisture content of the sample was
sity, Izmir, Turkey (Hepbasli, Erbay, Colak, Hancioglu, & Icier, 0.0005 g and the reading errors were assumed as 0.0001 g.
2010). The drying system consisted of two main parts; (1) HP, The accuracy of the velocity probes used in the air velocity
and (2) drying chamber (Fig. 1). The air was heated by an HP measurements was 0.2 m s1 and the error coming from the
system including a scroll compressor, a condenser, an flow disorder was assumed as 0.05 m s1. The accuracy of the
expansion valve, an evaporator and a heat recovery unit relative humidity probes was 2% RH and the reading errors
(HRU). The air temperature was controlled by a control unit. were assumed as 0.1% RH. Furthermore, the pressure and
32 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9

drying system are listed in Table 1. With respect to the results

of advanced exergy analysis, four useful terms, which are
called unavoidable-endogenous (UNEN), unavoidable-
exogenous (UNEX), avoidable-endogenous (AVEN) and
avoidable-exogenous (AVEX) exergy destruction rates, and
modified exergy efficiencies can be calculated (Erbay &
Hepbasli, 2013; Kelly, 2008; Kelly et al., 2009; Morosuk,
Tsatsaronis, & Zhang, 2012; Petrakopoulou, Tsatsaronis,
Morosuk, & Carassai, 2012; Tsatsaronis & Morosuk, 2008,
2009, 2010). The modified exergy efficiency term is one of the
most important performance parameters as it is focused on the
avoidable endogenous exergy destructions that indicate the
realistic improvement potential of the component by focussing
on the component itself (Tsatsaronis & Morosuk, 2008):

E_ p;k
3 modified  100 (3)
E_ f ;k  E_ d;k  E_ d;k
UN AVEX

3.2. Conventional exergoeconomic analysis of the drying

Fig. 2 e Flow diagram for advanced exergy analysis system
method.
In a conventional economic analysis, a cost balance is
formulated for the process at steady-state conditions:
temperature of the refrigerant were measured with accuracy
X X
of 1.0% and 0.1  C, respectively. While the accuracy of the C_ k Z_ T C_ k C_ work C_ heat (4)
electricity meter was 0.2 A and the reading error was in out

assumed as 0.1 A for electric current measurements, they Due to the exergoeconomic aspects, the cost balance is
were 5 and 1 V respectively for electric potential difference written as (Lazzaretto & Tsatsaronis, 2006; Tsatsaronis &
measurements. According to all these uncertainties and er- Morosuk, 2008, 2009):
rors, a detailed uncertainty analysis was performed using the
method described by Holman (2001, pp. 48e143) for the C_ p C_ f Z_ T (5)
experimental measurements of the thermal parameters and
the total uncertainties of the predicted values: C_ k ck  E_ k (6)
" 2  2  2 #1=2
vF vF vF Z_ T Z_ CI Z_ OM (7)
UF u1 u2 / un (1)
vx1 vx2 vxn
Before calculating the hourly levelised capital investment
cost and operating and maintenance cost of the drying sys-
3. Analyses tem, a capital recovery factor (CRF) is calculated (Kotas, 1995)
n
ii 1
3.1. Conventional and advanced exergy analyses of the CRF n (8)
i 1  1
drying system
CRF
Conventional and advanced exergy analyses were performed Z_ CI  PEC (9)
top
according to the equations and method described by Erbay _ZOM Z_ CI  4 (10)
and Hepbasli (2013). Exergy efficiency is defined as the ratio
of total exergy out to total exergy in where out refers to net
output or product or desired value, and in refers to given Table 1 e Assumptions made for performing advanced
or used or fuel. exergy analysis under the theoretical and unavoidable
conditions.
E_ p Item no Component Theoretical Unavoidable
3  100 (2)
E_ f conditions conditions
I Compressor his 100% his 94%
In an advanced exergy analysis, exergy destruction of each
II Condenser DT 10 C DT 15 C
drying system component is split into endogenous and exog- DP 0 DP 1%
enous and/or avoidable and unavoidable parts (Tsatsaronis & IV Evaporator DT 0 C DT 5 C
Morosuk, 2010). The methodology used to perform advanced DP 0 DP 1%
exergy analysis for the HP drying system considered in this V Drying duct DT 0 C DT 0:5 C
study is summarised in a flow diagram shown in Fig. 2 (Erbay & VI Drying cabinet DT 1 C DT 2 C
VII HRU DT 0 C DT 5 C
Hepbasli, 2013, 2014) while the most favourable (unavoidable)
DP 0 DP 1%
and theoretical operating conditions assumed for the HP
 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9 33

Table 2 e Exergy and exergoeconomy balance equations for components of the drying system.
# Control volume Exergy/exergoeconomy balance equations
I E_ w  E_ 2r  E_ 1r E_ d;comp
C_ w Z_ T;comp C_ 2r  C_ 1r

II E_ 2r  E_ 3r  E_ 1a  E_ 7a E_ d;cond
C_ 2r  C_ 3r Z_ T;cond C_ 1a  C_ 7a
c2r c3r Frule

III E_ 3r  E_ 4r E_ d;exp
C_ 3r Z_ T;exp C_ 4r

IV E_ 5a  E_ 6a  E_ 1r  E_ 4r E_ d;evap
C_ 5a C_ 4r Z_ T;evap C_ 6a C_ 1r
c5a c6a Frule

V E_ 1a  E_ 2a E_ d;dd1 E_ 3a  E_ 4a E_ d;dd2
C_ 1a Z_ T;dd1 C_ 2a C_ 3a Z_ T;dd2 C_ 4a

VI E_ 2a  E_ 3a E_ 1p  E_ 2p  E_ ev E_ d;dc
C_ 2a  C_ 3a C_ 1p  C_ 2p Z_ T;dc C_ ev
c2a c3a ; c1p c2p Frule

VII E_ 4a  E_ 5a  E_ 7a  E_ 6a E_ d;HRU
C_ 4a  C_ 5a Z_ T;HRU C_ 7a  C_ 6a
c4a c5a Frule

where i, n, top, PEC and 4 are the interest rate on capital, the
period of payment, the time of operation of the plant per year,
the purchased equipment cost, and the factor of the operating
and maintenance costs. These values were taken to be 0.1, 5
year, 3745 h year1, 18875 $ and 0.85, respectively, for the HP
drying system used in this study.
The cost rate for the component of the drying system is
obtained from
PECk
CRk
PECOS
In addition to the exergy balance equations, the cost bal-
ance and auxiliary equations for the components of the HP
drying system are given in Table 2.
Tsatsaronis and Morosuk (2009) mentioned that the real
cost sources in an energy conversion system were (a) capital
investment for the system, (b) operating and maintenance
expenses, (c) cost of exergy destruction within each compo-
nent, and (d) cost of exergy losses from the overall system. The
last two terms can be revealed only through an exer-
goeconomic analysis. The cost rate associated with the de-
structions indicates how much (in $ h1) is destroyed during
the process and is defined as:
C_ d cf  E_ d (12)
Finally, the total cost is calculated as;
C_ T C_ d Z_ T (13)
(11) Furthermore, the relative significance of non-exergy
related costs (capital investment costs, and operating
and maintenance expenses) and exergy related costs
(costs of destructions and losses) should be known to
evaluate the system performance and this can be inter-
preted by the exergeconomic factor (Tsatsaronis &
Morosuk, 2008, 2009)
Z_ T
f (14)
C_ T
34 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9

3.3. Advanced exergoeconomic analysis of the drying AVEN and AVEX exergy destructions) can be calculated. The
system costs, which arose from the system component itself and
could be eliminated, can be determined by calculating the
In the conventional exergoeconomic analysis, a cost value is avoidable-endogenous exergy destruction costs and invest-
assigned to each exergy stream. In the advanced exer- ment costs. Furthermore, the costs that can be reduced by
goeconomic analysis, the cost rate associated with the exergy structural improvements of the overall system, or by
destructions consists of an unavoidable part and an avoidable improving the efficiencies of the remaining components, and
part, and the following equation is derived from Equation (12) by improving the efficiency of the component being consid-
(Cziesla, Tsatsaronis, & Gao, 2006): ered can be revealed by calculating avoidable-exogenous
 UN  exergy destruction costs and investment costs. These terms
C_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k E_ d;k C_ d;k C_ d;k
AV UN AV
(15) are obtained from the equations shown below (Keebas &
Hepbasli, 2014; Tsatsaronis & Morosuk, 2008):
The avoidable cost rate of exergy destruction is the cost of
C_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k
the fuel used to cover the avoidable exergy destruction in the AVEN AVEN
(23)
component when the overall exergetic product fixed as con-
stant. Similarly, endogenous and exogenous cost rates asso-
C_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k
AVEX AVEX
ciated with the exergy destructions can be calculated from (24)
(Keebas & Hepbasli, 2014; Tsatsaronis & Morosuk, 2008):
C_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k
UNEN UNEN
(25)
C_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k
EN EN
(16)

C_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k
UNEX UNEX
(26)
C_ d;k cf ;k  E_ d;k
EX EX
(17)
!UN
Because of the technical limitations imposed, the unavoid- 
Z_ T;k E_ p;k  Z_ T;k E_
UNEN EN
(27)
able investment costs per unit of product exergy Z_ T;k =E_ p;k UN can p;k

be obtained by taking account of an extremely inefficient type of

the kth component, which would never be realised in practice
Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k
UN UNEN UNEX
(28)
on the ground of the excessive fuel costs associated with it. In
practical applications, the term Z_ T;k =E_ p;k UN is determined by
Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k
AV AVEN AVEX
arbitrarily selecting a set of thermodynamic parameters for this (29)
component that lead to a very inefficient solution and by esti-
mating the investment costs for this solution (Cziesla et al.,
Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k
EN UNEN AVEN
(30)
2006; Keebas & Hepbasli, 2014; Tsatsaronis & Morosuk, 2008):
!UN
Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k
EX UNEX AVEX
 (31)
Z_ T;k E_ p;k  Z_ T;k _
UN REAL
(18)
Ep;k
Furthermore, the exergoeconomic factor and the total cost
in the conventional exergoeconomic analysis can be modified
 UN PECUN to characterise the process or component more clearly by the
Z_ T;k  Z_ T;k
REAL
k
(19)
PECREAL
k help of the calculated advanced exergoeconomic parameters.
In the advanced exergoeconomic evaluation, the modified
exergeoconomic factor (f AVEN ) and the total cost (C_ T;k ) are
AVEN
Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k
UN AV
(20)
exclusively calculated based on the AVEN cost rates as follows:
The endogenous part is associated only with the costs
Z_ T;k
AVEN
occurring within the kth component when all other compo-
fkAVEN  100 (32)
Z_ T;k C_ d;k
AVEN AVEN
nents operate theoretically and the component being
considered operates with its real case. Under these conditions,
the system overall exergetic product was kept constant and
C_ T;k Z_ T;k C_ d;k
AVEN AVEN AVEN
(33)
the thermodynamic parameters were calculated. Endogenous
and exogenous parts of investment costs can be determined
3.4. Assumptions made
using this concept as follows (Keebas & Hepbasli, 2014;
Tsatsaronis & Morosuk, 2008):
The following assumptions were made in the analyses:
!REAL

Z_ T;k E_ p;k  Z_ T;k E_
EN EN
(21) (a) All processes were steady state and steady flow with
p;k
negligible potential and kinetic energy effects and no
chemical or nuclear reactions.
Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k
EN EX
(22) (b) The heat transfer to the system and the work transfer
from the system were positive.
By combining the two splitting concepts (AV/UN and EN/
(c) The compressor mechanical hcomp,mech and the
EX) that were calculated for the exergetic destructions in the
compressor motor electrical hcomp,elec efficiencies were 72
advanced exergy analysis, the four useful terms (UNEN, UNEX,
and 75%, respectively (Erbay, Icier, & Hepbasli, 2010).
 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9 35

drying system used in food drying. As the analyses were based

Table 3 e Uncertainties of the experimental
on experimental data, the errors and uncertainties were
measurements and total uncertainties for predicted
values. important for the accuracy of the results. Uncertainties
associated with the experimental measurements and some
Parameter Unit Comment
predicted values are listed in Table 3. The maximum uncer-
Experimental measurements tainty values were less than 5%, which was reasonable for an

Uncertainty in the temperature C 0.224
experimental study (Ramaswamy, Balasubramaniam, &
measurement
Uncertainty in the weight measurement g 0.00051
Sastry, 2007; Yamamura, Ohara, Mawatari, & Kage, 2009).
Uncertainty in the air velocity M s1 0.21 The investment and hourly levelised costs calculated for
measurement the HP drying system used in this study are shown in Table 4.
Uncertainty in the measurement % 0.41 The highest investment cost was for the drying cabinet, fol-
of relative humidity of air lowed by the compressor, the evaporator, the HRU and the
Uncertainty in the pressure measurement kPa 1.0%

condenser. According to the investment costs, the expansion
Uncertainty in the surface C 1.0
valve and the drying ducts were not important system com-
temperature measurement
Uncertainty in the electric current A 0.224 ponents (Table 4). The HRU had the highest cost of exergy
measurement destructions, followed by the evaporator and the drying cab-
Uncertainty in the electric potential V 5.1 inet whilst the compressor had clearly the lowest destruction
difference measurement costs in the HP drying system (Table 5). The conventional
Predicted values exergoeconomic analysis showed that the expansion valve
Total uncertainty for kW 1.6%a
and the drying ducts were not significant system components
Total uncertainty for kW 1.8%b
with respect to lowering the costs, whereas the HRU, the
Total uncertainty for kW 3.9%c
Total uncertainty for % 2.7%d drying cabinet and the evaporator were important
Total uncertainty for $ h1 1.7%e components.
a
Nominal value was taken as 6.863.
b
Nominal value was taken as 2.914. 4.1. Advanced exergoeconomic analysis
c
Nominal value was taken as 3.497.
d
Nominal value was taken as 87.1. All components of the HP drying system except the expansion
e
Nominal value was taken as 13.891. valve were considered separately and the effect of the inlet
drying air temperature on the thermoeconomic system per-
formance was investigated in advanced exergoeconomic
(d) Air acts as an ideal gas with a constant specific heat.
analysis. For some components, such as the expansion valve,
(e) The reference-dead state conditions were determined
 it is impossible to achieve ideal operations because of diffi-
as T0 10 C, P0 101.325 kPa and 0 60% for air, and
 culties in defining an ideal process associated with such
T0 10 C, P0 101.325 kPa for refrigerant.
components (Erbay & Hepbasli, 2013; Kelly, 2008). The exergy
(f) Cpa was 1.005 kJ kg1 K1, Cpv was 1.872 kJ kg1 K1, Ra
efficiency of the expansion valve cannot be held constant,
was 0.287 kJ kg1 K1 and Rv 0.4615 kJ kg1 K1 and
while other components vary, and advanced analysis was not
were assumed as constant in all calculations (engel &
performed for the expansion valve in this study.
Boles, 2006). The mass flow rate calculations were
There are three heat exchangers in the HP dryer. From the
made using MATLAB (Version 7.7.0.471, The MathWorks
exergetic/exergoeconomic analyses, the most important one
Inc., Massachusetts, USA).
was the HRU. The effect of the inlet drying temperature on the
exergy destruction costs was remarkable for the HRU. The rise
in inlet drying temperature caused a significant increase in
4. Results and discussion the exergy destruction costs and the main reason for this
variation was the increase in the UNEN exergy destruction
The conventional and advanced exergoeconomic analyses costs. The increment of the inlet drying temperature from
were performed to determine the cost performance of the HP 45  C to 55  C caused an increase of 3.7 times. However, the

Table 4 e Hourly levelised cost rates associated with capital investments for the HP drying system.
Item no Component PEC ($) CR () Z_ CI ($/h) Z_ OM ($ h1) Z_ T ($ h1)
I Compressor 3500 0.19 0.25 0.21 0.46
II Condenser 2650 0.14 0.19 0.16 0.35
III Expansion valve 680 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.09
IV Evaporator 3090 0.16 0.22 0.19 0.40
V Drying ducts 680 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.09
VI Drying cabinet 5550 0.29 0.39 0.33 0.72
VII HRU 2725 0.14 0.19 0.16 0.36

IeV HP 9920 0.53 0.70 0.59 1.29

IeVII OS 18,875 1.00 1.33 1.13 2.46
36 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9

biggest proportion of the exergy destruction costs was AV.

(11.8%)
(15.8%)
(15.0%)
(48.2%)
(56.6%)
(54.5%)
(38.1%)
(37.2%)
(34.7%)
(40.6%)
(39.5%)
(36.9%)
(46.3%)
(52.2%)
(56.2%)
(1.9%)
(5.8%)
(1.9%)
AVEX While the proportion of the AV destruction cost to the total
destruction cost at 45  C was 82.0%, it decreased to 56.8% at
C_ d;k
0.001
0.005
0.001
0.123
0.170
0.170
1.676
1.879
1.583
0.378
0.410
0.333
0.938
0.918
0.833
2.741
3.391
4.209
55  C (Table 5). The major type of investment costs in the HRU
C_ d;k ($ h1)

was detected as EN with the proportion ranging from 74.7% to

91.2%. Additionally, the AV destruction costs were calculated
(58.7%)
(60.3%)
(51.6%)
(74.4%)
(70.2%)
(63.3%)
(26.6%)
(18.3%)
(20.0%)
(12.8%)
(18.6%)
(14.3%)
(18.0%)
(19.7%)
(23.7%)
(35.7%)
(25.1%)
AV

(0.6%)
as between 46.2% and 52.8% of the overall destruction costs
AVEN

(Table 6).
C_ d;k
0.038
0.047
0.036
0.773
0.756
0.720
0.926
0.607
0.581
0.127
0.205
0.137
0.413
0.457
0.567
2.112
1.629
0.048
While the exergy destruction costs that were accumulated
in another heat exchanger used as the evaporator in the sys-
tem decreased with increasing drying temperature, 75% of the
0.005 (7.1%)
0.004 (5.6%)
0.006 (9.1%)
0.043 (4.2%)
0.046 (4.3%)
0.086 (7.6%)
0.100 (2.9%)
0.100 (3.0%)
0.116 (4.0%)
0.019 (1.9%)
0.013 (1.2%)
0.011 (1.1%)
0.017 (0.8%)
0.005 (0.2%)
0.006 (0.2%)
0.361 (6.1%)
0.363 (5.6%)
0.610 (8.2%)
total exergy destruction costs were AV (Table 5). The EN, UN
UNEX
C_ d;k

and UNEN investment costs were a considerable proportion of

C_ d;k ($ h1)
Table 5 e Results of the cost rate associated with exergy destructions for the HP drying system at different drying air temperatures.

the overall investment costs with values between 84.3% and

88.6%, 59.0% and 62.4% and 52.6% and 53.8%, respectively
(32.3%)
(28.3%)
(37.5%)

(14.2%)
(22.3%)
(22.1%)
(21.4%)
(47.2%)
(43.0%)
(49.8%)
(40.4%)
(40.5%)
(39.1%)
(12.0%)
(17.2%)
(35.0%)
(Table 6). The third heat exchanger (condenser) was used to
UN

(9.6%)
(9.7%)
UNEN

transfer energy from the refrigerant to the drying air. While a

C_ d;k

substantial proportion of the destruction costs of the

0.021
0.022
0.026
0.100
0.105
0.161
0.777
0.733
0.622
0.468
0.474
0.478
0.926
0.942
0.936
0.710
1.114
2.618
condenser were EN (approximately 80%) and AV (approxi-
mately 85%), two-thirds and half of the overall investment
C_ d;k ($ h1)

costs were EN and AV, respectively (Tables 5 and 6).

0.040
0.051
0.037
0.896
0.925
0.890
2.602
2.486
2.164
0.505
0.615
0.470
1.351
1.376
1.450
4.852
5.020
4.256

Of the destruction costs that occurred in the drying cabi-

net, 60% were EN or AV. The UNEX destruction costs were
AV

extremely low (less than 1% of the overall value), whereas the

AVEX destruction costs were remarkably high being in the
C_ d;k ($ h1)

range of 36.9%e40.6% of the total destruction costs (Table 5).

0.026
0.026
0.032
0.143
0.151
0.247
0.877
0.832
0.738
0.487
0.487
0.489
0.944
0.947
0.941
1.071
1.477
3.228

In addition, almost all the investment costs were EN (Table 6).

Briefly, the investment costs would be decreased by structural
UN

improvements of the component, whereas the destruction

costs would be reduced via optimisation of the drying process.
C_ d;k ($ h1)

Consequently, optimisation studies focused on the drying

0.006
0.009
0.008
0.166
0.216
0.254
1.776
1.978
1.699
0.397
0.423
0.344
0.956
0.924
0.888
3.101
3.754
4.819

process are very important due to the energy and cost effi-
EX

ciency (Erbay & Hepbasli, 2013).

The exergy destruction costs in the compressor were a
small proportion of the total destruction costs (under 1%)
C_ d;k ($ h1)

(Table 5). Therefore, improvements concentrated on the de-

0.060
0.068
0.062
0.873
0.860
0.881
1.704
1.340
1.204
0.595
0.680
0.616
1.339
1.399
1.503
2.822
2.744
2.665

structions occurring in the compressor would have limited

EN

importance and the investment costs, which were approxi-

mately 85% of the overall costs, should be in the foreground of
C_ d;k ($ h1)

the improvement actions. However, 30% of the overall in-

0.066
0.077
0.070
1.039
1.077
1.137
3.479
3.318
2.902
0.992
1.102
0.959
2.294
2.323
2.391
5.923
6.497
7.484

vestment costs were AV and only 24.6%e25.7% were AVEN

(Table 6). Consequently, the actions that would focus on the
compressor should be about the structural improvements of
the component to reduce investment costs.
Drying temperature ( C)

Although there was some importance of the costs occurred

in the drying ducts, 34.7%e38.1% of the overall destruction
costs were AVEX (Table 5). On the other hand, the majority of
total investment costs were EN, whereas 58.4%e60.0% of them
45
50
55
45
50
55
45
50
55
45
50
55
45
50
55
45
50
55

were AVEN (Table 6). In other words, optimisation of the

system performance is important to lower the destruction
costs by reducing the inefficiencies resulting from the
component interactions, while the internal structural im-
provements are essential to reduce the investment costs.
Drying cabinet
Component

Drying ducts
Compressor

Evaporator
Condenser

4.2. Comparison of conventional and advanced

exergoeconomic analyses
HRU

Although the irreversibilities/costs accumulated in the system

components can be determined by the conventional exer-
VII
IV

VI
V
II
#

getic/exergoeconomic analysis, their sources and real

 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9 37

Table 6 e Results of the hourly levelised cost of investments for the HP drying system at different drying air temperatures.
Z_ T;k ($ h1) Z_ T;k ($ h1) Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k ($ h1) Z_ T;k ($ h1)
EN EX UN AV UN AV
# Component Drying

temperature ( C) ($ h ) ($ h1)
1
Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k Z_ T;k
UNEN UNEX AVEN AVEX

I Compressor 45 0.374 0.082 0.319 0.137 0.262 (57.4%) 0.058 (12.6%) 0.112 (24.6%) 0.025 (5.4%)
50 0.381 0.075 0.322 0.135 0.268 (58.8%) 0.053 (11.7%) 0.112 (24.6%) 0.022 (4.9%)
55 0.367 0.089 0.311 0.146 0.250 (54.8%) 0.061 (13.3%) 0.117 (25.7%) 0.028 (6.2%)
II Condenser 45 0.241 0.105 0.174 0.172 0.121 (35.0%) 0.053 (15.2%) 0.120 (34.7%) 0.052 (15.1%)
50 0.239 0.106 0.176 0.170 0.122 (35.0%) 0.054 (15.6%) 0.117 (34.0%) 0.052 (15.1%)
55 0.225 0.121 0.170 0.176 0.111 (32.0%) 0.059 (17.2%) 0.114 (33.1%) 0.061 (17.7%)
IV Evaporator 45 0.357 0.046 0.238 0.165 0.211 (52.3%) 0.027 (6.7%) 0.146 (36.3%) 0.019 (4.7%)
50 0.354 0.048 0.246 0.156 0.217 (53.8%) 0.030 (7.3%) 0.138 (34.2%) 0.019 (4.7%)
55 0.340 0.063 0.251 0.151 0.212 (52.6%) 0.039 (9.8%) 0.128 (31.7%) 0.024 (5.9%)
V Drying ducts 45 0.085 0.003 0.035 0.054 0.033 (37.7%) 0.001 (1.5%) 0.052 (58.4%) 0.002 (2.3%)
50 0.086 0.002 0.034 0.055 0.033 (37.3%) 0.001 (1.0%) 0.053 (60.0%) 0.001 (1.6%)
55 0.087 0.002 0.034 0.054 0.034 (38.0%) 0.001 (0.8%) 0.053 (59.9%) 0.001 (1.3%)
VI Drying cabinet 45 0.723 0.000 0.391 0.332 0.391 (54.1%) 0.000 (0.0%) 0.332 (45.9%) 0.000 (0.0%)
50 0.723 0.000 0.391 0.332 0.391 (54.1%) 0.000 (0.0%) 0.332 (45.9%) 0.000 (0.0%)
55 0.723 0.000 0.391 0.332 0.391 (54.1%) 0.000 (0.0%) 0.332 (45.9%) 0.000 (0.0%)
VII HRU 45 0.265 0.090 0.136 0.220 0.101 (28.5%) 0.034 (9.7%) 0.164 (46.2%) 0.056 (15.6%)
50 0.303 0.052 0.136 0.220 0.116 (32.6%) 0.020 (5.6%) 0.188 (52.8%) 0.032 (9.0%)
55 0.324 0.032 0.166 0.189 0.151 (42.5%) 0.015 (4.2%) 0.172 (48.6%) 0.017 (4.7%)

improvement potentials cannot be exactly established. Using
advanced techniques, the effects of the component in-
teractions and technological limitations on the efficiency of
the system as well as the real potential for improvements can
be estimated (Petrakopoulou et al., 2012). The main perfor-
mance parameters calculated in this study using the con-
ventional and advanced exergetic/exergoeconomic analyses,
such as the exergy efficiency, the total costs and the exer-
goeconomic factor, are listed in Table 7.
There was an increase in the total costs of the HRU with the
rise in the drying temperature. However, the AVEN costs
dramatically decreased (Table 7). Similar tendencies were
detected in the variation of 3 modified and f AVEN . While 3 modified
advanced to 99.0%, f AVEN increased to 78.4% at the drying
temperature of 55  C (Table 7). Namely, the costs increased
and the cost reducing potentials decreased with the rise in the
drying temperature. As a consequence, the low temperature
drying should be chosen to increase the cost performance of
the HRU.
While the total costs of the drying cabinet were two-fold
higher than those of the condenser, the AVEN total costs of
the drying cabinet were lower (Table 7). Likewise, the exergetic
efficiencies of the drying cabinet were not so much greater
(85.1%e86.5%), although 3 modified values were dramatically
high (96.4%e96.9%). The main reason for this was that the
losses of the drying process, which were unavoidable,
occurred in the drying cabinet.
The second lowest 3 modified values were calculated for the
condenser (82.4%e84.0%). Moreover, the AVEN total costs of the
condenser were higher than that of the evaporator (except for
45  C). These calculated results indicated that the condenser
was an important system component with respect to cost
reduction. The actions focused on the condenser would cause
significant decrease in total costs. Although the total costs
accumulated in the condenser were 7% of the overall costs and
lower than the total costs of the HRU, the drying cabinet and
the evaporator regarding the conventional exergoeconomic
analysis, the total costs of the condenser were a considerable
proportion of the overall system costs (14.9%e16.0%) by the
advanced exergoeconomic analysis. Namely, advanced exer-
goeconomic analysis showed that the condenser was the sec-
ond most important system component (after the HRU) with
regard to the potential to reduce total costs of the overall sys-
tem. Similarly, the total costs occurred in the drying ducts were
5.4%e6.4% of the overall system due to the conventional
analysis, whereas the AVEN total costs varied in the range of
3.2% and 4.6%. As a consequence, there are strict limits to the
scope to improve the system performance and to reduce the
costs due to the recent technological development as 3 modified
values were calculated in the range of 99.3% and 99.6% (Table 7).
5. Conclusions
We have applied the conventional and advanced exer-
goeconomic analyses to a pilot scale HP food dryer for
different drying air temperatures in this study. We have
separately analysed the components of the drying system and
investigated the effects of the operating temperature on the
system components. We may list the main conclusions we
drawn from the results of the present study as follows:
1. The most important system component was the HRU
regarding the cost accumulation.
2. The experimental results suggested that increase in the
inlet drying temperature caused lower costs and higher
improvement potentials.
3. Concerning the concept for increasing the efficiencies and
decreasing the costs, the condenser was the fourth
important system component in the conventional exergy
analysis, while the second important component in the
advanced exergoeconomic analysis. On the contrary, so
few interventions that would cause valuable improve-
ments in the costs can be done to the drying ducts due to
the advanced exergoeconomic analysis.
4. It may be concluded that the realistic potential improve-
ments and the priorities, which cannot be obtained from
conventional exergy-based analyses only, can be
38 b i o s y s t e m s e n g i n e e r i n g 1 2 4 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 2 9 e3 9

determined to decide about the system components to be

55  C
76.6
13.7
18.0
27.9
37.0
78.4
modified through the advanced-exergy based approaches.
Therefore, the method used in this study may be a useful

f AVEN (%)
example to analyse the industrial scale drying systems.

50  C
70.7
13.5
18.5
20.6
42.1
10.3
5. Optimisation studies focussing on drying foods in terms of
energy and/or cost efficiencies and product quality should
be done.
45  C
74.5
13.4
13.6
28.9
44.6
7.2
55  C
0.15
0.83
0.71
0.19
0.90
0.22
Advanced methods

Acknowledgements
($ h1)
50  C
0.16
0.87
0.74
0.26
0.79
1.82
The authors are grateful for the financial support provided for
AVEN

the project entitled Design, test and performance evaluation of

C_ T

a gas engine-driven solar assisted band conveyor heat pump

45  C
0.15
0.89
1.07
0.18
0.74
2.28

drying system under project no: 106M482 by The Scientific and

Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). They
Table 7 e Comparison of the results of exergetic and exergoeconomic analyses for conventional and advanced methods.

55  C

also thank the reviewers for their valuable comments as well as

94.4
84.0
94.7
99.6
96.4
99.0

the Editor for his additional useful comments, which have been
(%)

used in improving the quality of the article.

50  C
91.8
83.3
94.4
99.3
96.8
72.2
3 modified

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92.9
82.4
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99.5
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