The Drying Rate of Chlorella pyrenoidosa Using an Oven in Bioethanol Production

Abstract

The production of bioethanol from microalgae goes through several stages, including cultivation, harvesting, drying, storage, and conversion to bioethanol. Nearly 40% of the total energy consumed in the bioethanol production from microalgae is from drying. This research aims to study the drying rate model of Chlorella pyrenoidosa using an oven. The drying is carried out at the temperatures of 50, 60, and 70 °C. The initial moisture content of Chlorella pyrenoidosa was 317.798% dry weight. The results showed that at the temperatures of 50, 60, and 70 °C, the critical moisture content was 9.108, 7.583, and 6.93% dry weight, while the equilibrium moisture content was 3.172, 3.158, and 3.109% dry weight. The most optimal drying is at 70 °C and the drying rate gets faster as the temperature does too. The Page model is better at describing the drying rate of Chlorella pyrenoidosa using an oven than the Newton model. The drying speed constants (k) were 0.00056, 0.00061, and 0.00208, at 50, 60, and 70 °C, respectively.