Analysis and Testing of Heat Exchanger for an Environmentally Friendly RDF Drying Machine

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is used as a solid fuel on pyrolisis, but it still possesses a relatively high humidity; therefore, it needs to be dried in a RDF drying machine with a temperature of 60C (Daud Heru, 2018). One crucial component in a RDF drying machine is the Heat Exchanger device. To learn more about the heat transfer rate, its physical dimensions, and the number of inlets and outlets (channels) in a heat exchanger, it is necessary to conduct a laboratory study. The objectives of this study are to analyze a heat exchanger, and its effectiveness, carry out an analysis on air temperature and heat transfer rate, and last but not the least, to test a flat plate heat exchanger. The construction work, analysis, and the testing of a flat plate heat exchanger mentioned above were carried out in the early 2018 until 2019 at the Laboratory of the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Pancasila, Jakarta, Indonesia. The results of the study show that the flat plate heat exchanger is better than shell and tube heat exchange, and the heat transfer rate and air temperature from the environment will increase quite well after air passes a flat plate heat exchanger. Air temperature exiting from a flat plate heat exchanger will rise up to 83.3C, whereas air temperature in the drying chamber has to be maintained at the required temperature for drying RDF, which is 60C. The flow rate of the fluid mass and temperature differences in a flat plate heat exchanger will have a bearing on its effectiveness.