Experiment and Numerical Studies on Heat Loss in a Hydro-Distillation with Various Insulations

Abstract

In Asia, Agarwood oil is obtained by conventional extraction methods which consume significant energy, amount of solvents, and process time. One of the conventional extraction methods is traditional hydrodistillation using stainless steel distiller covered by concrete. This study evaluates the heat loss during agarwood during agarwood hydro-distillation process with the aim at optimizing it using insulation techniques. Six insulation materials namely, Polyurethane, Aluminum Silicate, Glass Wool, Mineral Wool and Nitrile Rubber have been investigated experimentally and numerically using software Engineering Equation Solver (EES) to determine their effectiveness in reducing the heat loss from the boiler. Interestingly, higher heat loss recorded by the boiler surrounded by the concrete than when the boiler was heated barely. The best insulations with more than 18% efficiency of bare distiller demonstrated by glass wool and polyurethane whilst the worst efficiency was Aluminum Silicate. This finding is significant to help designers to choose the insulation material for improving engineering economics of hydro-distillation process.