Steam Recovery in a High-Temperature Lumber Dry Kiln By Steam-Jet Thermocompressor

Because drying can consume about 70 percent of the energy required for processing softwood lumber, we investigated the technical and economic feasibility of installing a steam-jet thermocompressor on a super-heated steam dry kiln to recover steam normally exhausted to the atmosphere. A 1,000 board foot dry kiln was modified to accommodate the recovery system and two charges of Douglas-fir were dried. Twenty percent of the energy used in the drying was recovered by the system. Such a recovery system is economically sensitive to steam cost and is feasible if steam is generated with expensive oil or gas fuel but not feasible if it is generated with inexpensive wood-residue fuel.

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