Kinetics of Drying Silver Birch (Betula pendula Roth) as an Alternative Source of Energy

The aim of the work was to study the kinetics of drying silver birch shoots with three different diameters, and compare the results with the results obtained from mathematical modelling of the drying process. The work also discusses biomass as a renewable resource of energy, with special emphasis on wood as energy fuel. Also, drying process as well as modelling were described in greater detail. The aim of the work was realized based on the conducted laboratory experiments, for which shoots of silver birch with the diameter of 1, 2 and 3 cm were used. They were dried at the temperatures of 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 °C. Based on the obtained results, the following were determined: water content of the samples and the difference between the real water content in the samples and the content obtained from the mathematical model by determining the relative error of the model. The work also contains graphical analysis of the obtained results.