Heat Transfer Analysis on Coconut Shell Biomass Energy Source Heat Exchanger Design for Small-Scale Drying

The use of fossil and solar energy sources in post-harvest by small farmers still has weaknesses. Fossil energy is increasingly expensive, while solar has the weakness of being very dependent on the weather. To overcome this, research was conducted on using coconut shell biomass as an energy source. The research was conducted on a small scale and intended for small farmers. The tool's design is appropriate so that small farmers can easily operate it. The test was conducted through heat transfer analysis of converting coconut shell biomass into thermal energy with heat exchanger tube banks. The heat exchanger tubes were placed in the combustion furnace. The test results showed that the average ambient temperature of 30oC increased to 162oC. This temperature can be utilized in various ways, such as drying. The heat generated from burning coconut shells is 341oC. Coconut shells are agricultural waste products, namely as by-products of coconuts, and are abundantly available. The use of coconut shell biomass burned directly in the furnace for the process of converting energy into thermal energy with a heat exchanger can produce a heat flow rate of 233.29 W. A post-harvest solution for small farmers can be to use coconut shell biomass through an energy conversion process with the application of a heat exchanger.