Heat pump type of autocontrol equipment for tobacco leaf flue-curing

Out-dated curing facilities brought about the waste of coal, environmental pollution, and unreliable tobacco quality. A heat pump type of tobacco leaf flue-curing equipment was designed and built with the added concern that temperature and humidity would be controlled by a microcomputer. Heat is generated by a heat pump and it is dehumidified by vapor condensation. The results of the experiment indicated that the changes of temperature and humidity of the curing room and that of the tobacco leaves were identical. The average power consumption was roughly 2 kW·h for flue-curing 1 kg dry tobacco leaves. The efficiency of dehumidification by vapour condensation was about 15%. The process does not produce waste steam or water, which improves the quality of flue-cured tobacco and produces remarkable social and environmental benefits.