Properties of furfural residue and its drying characteristics in single-shaft paddle heat exchangers

Furfural residue is a detrimental waste generated in furfural production processes. Combustion is an efficient way to dispose furfural residue and drying is a necessary unit operation prior to combustion. In this paper, the properties of furfural residue, including particle size distribution, proximate analysis and pyrolysis process curves were presented. The flow and drying characteristics of furfural residue in a lab-scale single-shaft paddle heat exchanger were documented. The measurements show that the furfural residue contains high moisture (54.26%) and its as received basis lower heating value is 7301 kJ/kg. The high moisture content in furfural residue makes ignition and efficient combustion very difficult. It is feasible to use single-shaft paddle heat exchanger to dry furfural residue to moisture content of 15.94% which is advantageous for further combustion due to low moisture content. No agglutination and blockage were found. This preliminary experimental research provides reference for furfural residue drying unit design.