Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520

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Novel, low cost CaCl2 based desiccants for

solar crop drying applications
T.F.N. Thoruwa a, C.M. Johnstone b,*, A.D. Grant b,
J.E. Smith c
a
Appropriate Technology Centre, Kenyatta University, Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya
b
Energy Systems Research Unit, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow, G1 1XJ, UK
c
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
Received 4 March 1999; accepted 18 March 1999

Abstract

Drying with solar-heated air is satisfactory so long as the sun is shining. To continue this
process through the night-time and periods of cloud cover, it is necessary to either store
some of this energy in a thermal mass or incorporate desiccants within the drying system.
This paper reports the results from studies undertaken to develop three low cost, solar
regenerative clay±CaCl2 based solid desiccant materials; establish their moisture sorption
and regeneration characteristics; assess their performance when compared with commercial
desiccants; and integrate these within a low cost solar drying system for small-scale village-
based crop drying. The moisture sorption and desorption performance of the desiccants
were characterised in a Fison Environmental Cabinet at conditions of 85% (RH) and 258C
for 120 h for moisture sorption and 508C and 20% (RH) for 8 h for regeneration. These
conditions were representative of the environmental conditions monitored in the solar
drying system. The bentonite±CaCl2 (type 1) desiccant gave a maximum moisture sorption
of 45% dry weight basis (dwb) while bentonite±CaCl2 (type 2) and kaolinite±CaCl2 (type 3)
solid desiccants each gave moisture sorption values of 30% (dwb). It was concluded from
the moisture sorption and regeneration characteristics that their application in solar crop
drying and air dehumidi®cation is highly useful due to their low regeneration temperatures,
sub 1008C. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +141 548 3788; fax: +141-552-8513.

E-mail address: cjohnstone@mecheng.strath.ac.uk (C.M. Johnstone)

0960-1481/00/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 1 4 8 1 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 7 2 - 5
514 T.F.N. Thoruwa et al. / Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520

Keywords: Kaolinite±CaCl2 desiccant; Bentonite±CaCl2 desiccant; Moisture sorption; Regeneration;

Solar crop drying

1. Introduction

Considerable e€orts have focused on the development of low cost solar drying
systems for village use in tropical and subtropical regions [7]. Solar-heated air
dryers perform satisfactorily during the hours of sun shine. Unless energy is
stored, the drying process is interrupted on cloudy days and at night. To continue
the drying process during these periods requires either thermal storage to be
incorporated within the dryer system or alternatively, the use of solid- or liquid-
based desiccant materials.
The application of desiccants for crop drying and air dehumidi®cation has
received considerable attention in recent years. Although sorbent desiccants have a
greater potential than air heating systems for drying and air dehumidi®cation,
their requirement for complex, costly containment systems [2] prevents their use
for low cost, practical on farm/ village applications. Polymeric solid desiccants are
potentially useful but considered to be unstable, therefore unsuitable [3] for use in
low cost solar crop drying and air dehumidi®cation systems. Commercial
desiccants such as regenerative silica gel and molecular sieves have been applied to
various grain drying systems with limited degrees of success [1,11]. The main
problems have been associated with the high temperatures required for complete
regeneration, typically 1508C, and the high cost of the desiccant material [9]. The
molecular-sieve method has been least useful due to its low hygroscopic capacity,
with activated alumina exhibiting less than 50% the moisture sorption capacity of
silica gel. Although silica gel is renowned for its high moisture sorption capacity,
up to 40% (dwb), its dust particles have been shown to be carcinogenic to both
humans and animals making it unsuitable for direct food processing applications.
To date, the uptake of desiccants within air conditioning and dehumidi®cation
systems have been restricted due to the cost, durability, performance of the
desiccant materials and the packing geometry required to maximise moisture
sorption eciency [4].
The purpose of this work is to provide an alternative, safe, low cost, durable,
solar regenerative desiccant material for use in crop drying and air
dehumidi®cation applications while maintaining high levels of reliability and
performance. This will enable solar regenerative solid desiccant dehumidi®ers to
become a viable, cost-e€ective alternative within food processing related industries
in tropical countries. This paper describes the moisture sorption performance of
three newly developed solid clay±CaCl2 based desiccant materials. Detailed
procedures for preparing the materials are given elsewhere [13] along with their
application within a solar grain-drying test programme [15]. These new desiccants
could have a profound impact in improving the health of rural communities and
reducing drying time and post-harvest crop loss through mycotoxin contamination
 T.F.N. Thoruwa et al. / Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520 515

from the extended drying procedures currently adopted in tropical countries.

Substantial reductions in drying times were demonstrated in ®eld tests conducted
in Kenya using a solar crop dryer ®tted with the prototype integrated desiccant/
collector dehumidi®er [14]. This application resulted in the continuous drying of
fresh maize from 38% to 15% (dwb) within 24 h.

2. Materials and testing

2.1. Desiccant material

In addition to the health, low cost and local availability factors, the following
criteria established from experimental investigations were used to select the
appropriate desiccants: (i) capability of being regenerated at temperatures of 508C
and 20% (RH) or lower; (ii) ability to maintain solidity, integrity and mechanical
stability over a high number of operating cycles; and (iii) capable of maintaining
high levels of moisture sorption performance. Three sorbents were identi®ed as
meeting this criteria and chosen for this investigation. The composition of these
are given by % of mass: 60% bentonite, 10% CaCl2, 20% vermiculite and 10%
cement (type 1); 65% bentonite, 5% CaCl2, 20% vermiculite and 10% cement
(type 2); and 65% kaolinite, 5% CaCl2, 20% vermiculite and 10% cement (type
3).

2.2. Desiccant testing

Three sets of repetitive experiments were designed to test the moisture sorption
performance of fabricated clay±CaCl2 desiccant materials. These used a Fison
Environmental Cabinet under controlled environmental conditions of 85% (RH)
and 258C, corresponding to average night-time conditions experienced within
conventional solar crop dryers monitored in Kenya. The sorption performance
was determined by weighing the clay±CaCl2 desiccant samples and calculating the
moisture content relative to the dry weight basis at 12 h intervals. The chamber
testing conditions were checked against dew point hygrometer model DP680
(Protometer Ltd, UK) and Solomat model MPM2000 (UK) and found to agree
within a 1% margin.
The ®rst set of tests allowed the moisture sorption characteristics of bentonite±
CaCl2 and kaolinite±CaCl2 solid desiccants to be determined while the second set
of tests obtained the e€ect of regeneration on the desiccants moisture sorption
performance. The third set of tests involved regenerating the test samples at 508C
and 20% (RH) for 8 h in a conventional forced convection oven followed by a
period of 120 h for incubation under conditions of 258C and 85% (RH). The
regeneration temperature matched that of typical daytime air temperatures created
by low grade solar air heaters [6]. Finally, comparative testing between the
fabricated clay±CaCl2 based desiccants, commercial silica gel and drisorb activated
clay desiccant [5] materials was undertaken to assess their performance for drying
516 T.F.N. Thoruwa et al. / Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520

and air dehumidi®cation applications within the representative operating

conditions.

3. Results

3.1. Moisture sorption performance

Results from the ®rst test series for bentonite±CaCl2 (types 1 and 2) and
kaolinite±CaCl2 (type 3) solid desiccants are shown in Fig. 1. The variation in the
rate of moisture sorption over the ®rst 12 h monitoring period can be explained in
terms of chemical di€erences in the clays and calcium chloride interaction with
water. The moisture sorption characteristics conformed with those of thermally
stabilised clay±CaCl2 desiccants [12] and other commercial desiccants [2,8].

3.2. E€ect of regeneration on moisture sorption performance of solid clay±CaCl2

desiccants

The e€ect of desiccant regeneration on moisture sorption performance is

presented in Figs. 2 and 3. This shows the initial regeneration of the desiccant
increases moisture sorption by 5% (dwb) before stabilising during the second
series and remaining uniform in the third series of tests. The main reason for
increasing moisture sorption is due to an increase in desiccant porosity resulting

Fig. 1. Moisture sorption performance of solid desiccants tested at 258C and 85% RH.
 T.F.N. Thoruwa et al. / Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520 517

Fig. 2. Regenerative moisture sorption performance of bentonite-based desiccants.

Fig. 3. Regenerative moisture sorption performance of kaolinite-based desiccants.

518 T.F.N. Thoruwa et al. / Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520

from the formation of cracks on the sorbents increasing the contact surface area.
These ®ndings conformed with those obtained by Odigboh [10] and Thoruwa and
Ben-Abdallah [12].

3.3. Comparison of solid clay±CaCl2 desiccants with commercial desiccants

The moisture sorption characteristics obtained from the comparative tests are
shown in Fig. 4. This shows the bentonite±CaCl2 (type 1) desiccant achieving a
maximum moisture sorption of 45% (dwb) while bentonite±CaCl2 (type 2) and
kaolinite±CaCl2 (type 3) desiccants both exhibited an average moisture sorption of
30% (dwb) after 120 h at which a state of equilibrium was attained. The silica gel
desiccant attained an average of 27% (dwb) and drisorb activated clay desiccant
exhibited a maximum moisture sorption of 19% (dwb) under the same
environmental test conditions.

4. Discussion

It is clear from this investigation, that solid clay±CaCl2 desiccants are

comparable, if not superior to the commercially available silica gel and drisorb-
activated clay desiccants tested. The major advantage of solid clay±CaCl2 material
over commercial silica gel and drisorb-activated clay desiccants is its ¯exibility to

Fig. 4. Moisture sorption comparison between developed and commercial desiccants.

 T.F.N. Thoruwa et al. / Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520 519

be moulded into di€erent shapes and sizes e.g. honey comb structure hence
serving as both a desiccant and a support structure within a desiccant wheel for
commercial air conditioning applications. Systems with such a con®guration could
undoubtedly improve the performance of industrial air-drying and air-
conditioning processes. In addition, clay±CaCl2 desiccants can easily and
inexpensively be replaced in the event of degradation in moisture sorption
performance. The extensive ®eld tests conducted within Kenya's tropical climate
showed that bentonite±CaCl2 desiccant (type 1) can be used for at least one year
without any substantial losses in moisture sorption performance or structural
integrity. Finally, the present estimated cost of the fabricated desiccants are 1/9th
the cost of commercial silica gel desiccant.

5. Conclusions

Three new types of low cost solar regenerative solid clay±CaCl2 based
desiccants have been developed to extend solar-based crop drying into night-time
operations for the purpose of reducing the total drying time. This reduced time
leads to reductions in crop loss from micotoxin infestation and improvement in
health. Tests within the laboratory and on-site in Kenya identi®ed the desiccants
with the greatest potential for use in the tropics as:
1. bentonite±CaCl2 (type 1) with maximum moisture sorption of 45% (dwb);
2. bentonite±CaCl2 (type 2) with maximum moisture sorption of 30% (dwb); and
3. kaolinite±CaCl2 (type 3) with maximum moisture sorption of 30% (dwb).
These tests have shown that the fabricated desiccants have the potential to
become a competitive alternative for use in crop drying and agricultural air
dehumidi®cation applications in tropical countries. These could also be used for
preventing condensation in food storage warehouses and in air conditioning
applications to replace the expensive and hazardous commercial solid desiccants
currently used. Future work on the fabricated solid clay±CaCl2 desiccants
performance will focus on the long term life cycle performance and accumulate
data for a wide range of static and dynamic adsorption and regeneration
processes.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the UK, Overseas
Development Agency (ODA), University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and Kenyatta
University, Nairobi for supporting this work.
520 T.F.N. Thoruwa et al. / Renewable Energy 19 (2000) 513±520

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