Researchers propose ag uses
0
NEWARK, Dela. A University
of Delaware Agricultural Ex
periment Station researcher says
waste heat generated by power
plants could be recycled for gram
drying and greenhouse heating.'
Kenneth Lomax, an agricultural
engineer, says there are two power
plants on Delmarva that might be
able to supply waste heat for
agricultural purposes one
proposed for Vienna, Maryland,
and the other in operation at Indian
River, Delaware.
Lomax and research associate
Robert Gray studied the Vienna
Power Plant under a grant from
~)the State of Maryland Power Plant
''Siting Program. They concluded
waste heat, in the form of warm
water, might be an energy-saving
alternative to conventional
propane grain drying if
arrangements were made for
tapping the heat.
The two suggest the waste heat
also could be used to heat
greenhouses during the cold
weather months when it would not
be needed for grain drying.
Lomax has received a follow-up
grant from Delmarva Power and
Light Company to explore these
possibilities further. University of
Delaware plant scientists Charles
Curtis, Wallace Pill, David Frey,
and Charles Dunham are serving
as horticultural consultants on the
project.
Waste heat from electric power
generating stations is a plentiful
low-grade source of energy. Since
power plants like the ones at
) Vienna and Indian River are;
y
STRIKE
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SELL
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LANCASTER
FARMING
CLASSIFIED
located in rural areas, it’s logical
to look for agricultural uses for this
waste heat. Harnessing this
resource for agricultural purposes
would benefit tile power company,-
the farmer, and ultimately the
consumer.
Lomax considered a number of
possible agricltural uses for the
warm water, but rejected some
because they were either non
economical, or because they'
could make use of the waste heat
during only a small portion of the
yean
The beauty using the waste
heat . for grain drying and
: greenhouse heating is: grain is
dried,-from June through
November when power plants
generate peak electricity, and
greenhouses need supplemental
heat only during the cooler months
October through April at most.
Integration of crop drying with
greenhouse heating would allow
use'of the heat transfer equipment
during most of the year.
Greenhouse heating has
received more research effort than
other uses of waste heat in the
United States. That’s because
greenhouses are large users of
energy, the crops grown in them
are relatively high value and
relatively dense, and the tem
peratures needed arp in the range
of warm water from the condenser
cooling system.
The University of Delaware
agricultural engineers and plant
scientists are investigating ap
propriate greenhouse heating
systems for the. Indian- River
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for power plant waste
power plant, based on water
. temperature, distance, and water
quality." The choice of heating
system will in turn affect the crops
that can be grown.
Greenhouse production of
tomatoes, roses, or chrysan
themums all appear to have
economic potential for Delaware,
but each has its own temperature
and humidity requirements. The
researchers need to determine the
most efficient and profitable
combinations of heating systems
and crops for local conditions.
Lomax and Gray have already
developed a waste heat analysis
procedure for evaluating the grain
drying application. Their com
puter model uses grain production
data, condenser cooling water
characteristics, weather con
ditions and site information to plan
an economically efficient grain
drying system.
Instead of drying grain on their
own farm using propane for heat,
the nearby farmers might take
grain to a waste heat drying
Facility-
Grain drying with waste heat
instead of propane has the
potential to reduce the cost of
drying from about 2.5 cents to 1.6
cents per bushel per point of
moisture. Although it takes
gasoline to haul truckloads of grain
to a.central drying facility, far
mers within about 15 miles of the
central facility would still come
out ahead in terms of energy costs
because the LP gas they would
save by waste heat drying would
exceed their transportationcosts.
Part of the Agricultural Ex
periment State project is to
determine the proper size of a
grain drying unit for the number of
farmers who would use it. The
facility would have to be designed
in such a way that it would profit
both the power company and the
farmers.
Following the separate
evaluations of greenhouse and
grain drying operations using
waste heat, the researchers will
consider the advantages of trade
offs associated with shared
equipment. Their economic and
technical analysis will include cost
sharing mechanisms, greenhouse
temperature predictions, and
physical arrangements.
Several heat exchanger
equipment sharing options exist: a
drying facility might rent the heat
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water heater workshop
CHAMBERSBURG - Franklin
County residents will have the
opportunity to learn to build their
own passive solar water heaters.
A “hands on” workshop where
these solar water heaters will
actually be built is scheduled for
July 10 and 11, sponsored by the
Franklin Conservation
District.
The type of water heater being
built will be the “bread box” type.
It consists of two heavy duty 40-
gallon galvanized hot water tanks
housed in a well insulated, foil
lined box, the southern face of
which is covered with a special
translucent plastic.
The system can function year
round and acts as a pre-heater,
raising the temperature of in
coming water from the ground
temperature of 55 degrees
Fahrenheit to as high as 130
degrees Fahrenheit. This hotter
water entering the regular water
heater does not require as much
energy to be brought up to the
standard temperature of
household hot water.
The unit requires no energy or
controls other than the building's ,
existing water pump. Water is
moved through the tanks by
normal line pressure when hot
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Way 23,1981—85
heat
exchanger to a greenhouse
operation; or they could own it
jointly; or the power company
might rent the unit to both waste
heat users, if the heat exchanger is
optimized for the drying operation,
then the greenhouse air tem
peratures will be a function of that
design, and the crops will have to
be chosen accordingly.
Trade-offs in cost and efficiency
will have to be evaluated. The
result of the shared equipment
analysis will be an economic
predictor of the combined waste
heat operations.
Whether one company or two
share the cost of the equipment,
the cost of energy transfer should
be lower for both applications.
Energy that would have been
wasted would be put to productive
use, the petroleum energy would
be conserved for the future.
offers solar
water is drawn inside. The unit is
located on the ground, a southern
wall, or porch.
Instructors for the workshop will
be Mark Whitmoyer and Paul
Swartz of Conservation Concepts,
Inc., Hummelstown.
Whitmoyer is a consultant to the
Bureau of Community Energy of
the State Department of Com
munity Affairs. He has had con-
siderable experience in designing,
building, and monitoring the
, performance of solar greenhouses.
He also teaches various courses
related to energy conservation at
Dickinson College and Harrisburg
Area Community College.
Swartz is the executive assistant
to the Dauphin County Con
servation District and has a broad
conservation background.
Registration for the workshop is
now open. A limited number of
registrants will he “owner
builders.” These people will
purchase the materials to build the
solar heaters and own them at the
conclusion of the workshop.
Contact Beverly Kauffman at
the Franklin Conservation District
office, 550 Cleveland Avenue,
Chambersburg, PA 17201 or phone
717/264-8074, for more information.