Experimental Investigation of a Novel Incinerator Flue Gas-Based Convective Food Drying System: Design, CFD Simulation, and Performance Evaluation

Experimental Investigation of a Novel Incinerator Flue Gas-Based Convective Food Drying System: Design, CFD Simulation, and Performance Evaluation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Experimental Investigation of a Novel Incinerator Flue Gas-Based Convective Food Drying System: Design, CFD Simulation, and Performance Evaluation Shajjadur Rahman Shajid, Md. Fakhruzzaman Khan, Md. Nahid Hossan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9514646/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Post-harvest food losses and the high energy demand of conventional drying systems represent two of the most pressing challenges in food security and sustainable energy management. This study introduces a novel zero-energy convective food drying system that harnesses residual thermal energy from a primary municipal solid waste (MSW)-to-electricity generation process to drive a secondary food drying cycle. A counter-flow tube-in-tube heat exchanger was designed using the Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) method and validated by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation in ANSYS 2020 with the realizable k-ε turbulence model; the predicted outlet air temperature of 68.39°C closely matched the 70°C design target. Thermoelectric generators mounted on the incinerator cover powered the blowing fan, enabling a self-sufficient system with no external electricity requirement. Potato, carrot, and green banana were dried at approximately 70°C for 180 min, reducing moisture ratios to 0.34–0.37, 0.37–0.39, and 0.40–0.43, respectively. Total color change (ΔE) values measured in the CIE L*a*b* space were 10.60, 15.52, and 13.37, within industry-accepted limits, and scanning electron microscopy confirmed a favorable porous microstructure. Heat balance analysis showed that combustion of 10 kg of MSW releases 53,534.7 kJ via the flue gas, a substantial fraction of which is recovered for drying. The proposed system offers significant potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, mitigation of post-harvest losses, and a low-cost, sustainable drying solution for developing countries confronting both waste management and food security challenges. Incinerator flue gas Waste heat recovery Convective food drying Municipal solid waste Food quality CFD simulation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9514646","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":635357698,"identity":"2881683e-6108-4b82-a048-0fcb1bc3a0ba","order_by":0,"name":"Shajjadur Rahman Shajid","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAwElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACNgYGHgnGfgiHmQQtMxtI08LAwLjhALFazBvYnz34IWMhu/lG+jMJhgrrxAZCWmQO8Jgb9vBIGG+7kWMmwXAmnbAWCQYeNgkeHolEoBY2Cca2w8RoYX8m+QeoZfMMoMMY/xGlhcFMGmTLBokEMwnGBmK0MPOYScsA/TLjzBtji4Rj6caEtbC3P5N821Mn29+e/vDGhxprWYJawBHB2APlJBBUDgc/iFc6CkbBKBgFIxAAAB14NR0e/md2AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Utah State University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shajjadur","middleName":"Rahman","lastName":"Shajid","suffix":""},{"id":635357702,"identity":"fae2357a-8acd-4330-9a65-7bf8c31124a4","order_by":1,"name":"Md. 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This study introduces a novel zero-energy convective food drying system that harnesses residual thermal energy from a primary municipal solid waste (MSW)-to-electricity generation process to drive a secondary food drying cycle. A counter-flow tube-in-tube heat exchanger was designed using the Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) method and validated by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation in ANSYS 2020 with the realizable k-ε turbulence model; the predicted outlet air temperature of 68.39\u0026deg;C closely matched the 70\u0026deg;C design target. Thermoelectric generators mounted on the incinerator cover powered the blowing fan, enabling a self-sufficient system with no external electricity requirement. Potato, carrot, and green banana were dried at approximately 70\u0026deg;C for 180 min, reducing moisture ratios to 0.34\u0026ndash;0.37, 0.37\u0026ndash;0.39, and 0.40\u0026ndash;0.43, respectively. Total color change (ΔE) values measured in the CIE L*a*b* space were 10.60, 15.52, and 13.37, within industry-accepted limits, and scanning electron microscopy confirmed a favorable porous microstructure. Heat balance analysis showed that combustion of 10 kg of MSW releases 53,534.7 kJ via the flue gas, a substantial fraction of which is recovered for drying. The proposed system offers significant potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, mitigation of post-harvest losses, and a low-cost, sustainable drying solution for developing countries confronting both waste management and food security challenges.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Experimental Investigation of a Novel Incinerator Flue Gas-Based Convective Food Drying System: Design, CFD Simulation, and Performance Evaluation","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-11 09:48:59","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9514646/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cc20cc02-0131-459a-b469-54d6a712a4ab","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 11th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-18T14:33:04+00:00","index":14,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"56346063593848216653645021261205466104","date":"2026-05-06T09:11:22+00:00","index":13,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"133676853226662125394138736648532604338","date":"2026-05-03T18:20:31+00:00","index":12,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"6","date":"2026-05-03T18:17:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-11T09:48:59+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-11 09:48:59","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9514646","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9514646","identity":"rs-9514646","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}