VOLUME 6 NUMBER 2 (July to December 2013)

by Alvin B. Culaba^1,4*, Raymond R. Tan^2,4, Jose BienvenidoManuel M. Biona^1,4, Aristotle T. Ubando^1,4, Neil Stephen A.Lopez^1,4, Joel Q. Tanchuco³, Soledad S. Garibay⁵, Nieves A.Toledo⁵, Caridad N. Jimenez⁵, Ida G. Pahila⁵ and Letty S. Ami⁵

¹Mechanical Engineering Department, De La Salle University, Philippines
²Chemical Engineering Department, De La Salle University, Philippines
³School of Economics, De La Salle University, Philippines
⁴Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research (CESDR),
  De La Salle University,Philippines
⁵Institute of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences/Division of Chemistry,
  College ofArts and Sciences, University of the Philippines - Visayas, Philippines

Microalgae are some of the most promisingsources of biofuel, but their high initialmoisture content remains a hindrance toefficient lipid extraction. A major concernthat affects the economic feasibility ofmicroalgal biofuel is the drying process. An experimental dryingsetup was used to analyze the drying characteristics ofTetraselmis sp. The drying characteristic of the microalgae wasassessed through radiation heat intensity, air flow velocity, andconvective heat input employing a Taguchi orthogonal arraydesign of experiments. The analysis of variance resulted in alinear regression model relating the effects of the three factorsmentioned with the three responses: average chambertemperature, average microalgae slurry surface temperature, andaverage drying rate. The study developed a mathematical modelfitted in Newton's drying kinetics model. The results showed theeffect of varying the values of the three factors, reflected in thedrying coefficient k of the derived mathematical model.