Manufacturing industries, such as the pulp and paper industry, consume substantial energy, much of which is derived from fossil fuels. Drying processes, critical in sectors like paper, board, and forest products, are significant contributors to overall energy consumption and carbon emissions. This work focuses on a process intensification approach by integrating renewable energy-based volumetric drying technologies to replace part of conventional fossil fuel-based drying methods. For instance, traditional paper drying uses steam-heated cylinders for conductive drying and heated air for convective drying. As demand for thicker, harder-to-dry paper grades for packaging grows, energy costs and environmental impacts will increase. This study explores decarbonization by incorporating volumetric drying technologies using renewable energy sources such as acoustic and electromagnetic radiation into the drying process alongside traditional methods. The objective is to significantly increase drying rates and reduce manufacturing process time, energy consumption, costs, and environmental impact. To develop these novel technologies, an experimental setup was developed to study the fundamental drying characteristics of paper and board using conductive and convective methods under industrial conditions. The system also allows for the integration of auxiliary energy applications at different moisture levels to analyze their impact on the drying process. A crucial aspect of the experimentation involved continuous and in-situ data acquisition, covering various system and sample parameters such as air, sample, and heated platens temperatures, pressure, flux, flow, humidity, position, and load. This real-time data acquisition facilitates the development of new processes, manufacturing process intensification, and modeling and simulation of paper drying processes. Additionally, the study computed instantaneous drying rates, flux, heat and mass transfer coefficients, and energy intensities as the drying process unfolded.
