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Bull. Spec. CORESTA Congress, Yokohama, 1996, p. 130, A23

Naturally aspirated down draught system in flue-cured tobacco in Malawi

SINGA D.D.
ARET, Agricultural Research and Extension Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi
Investigations into the design, construction and use of Naturally Aspirated Down Draught System for flue-cured tobacco have been carried out for 2 years at Mwimba Research Station in Malawi. The work was aimed at assessing the natural down draught possibility as alternative curing approach to improve on fuel efficiency while giving the advantages of higher made leaf quality and reduced barn turnaround associated with the costly Forced Down Draught System. The System was targeted to be technically sound and economically feasible using locally available materials. The research focused on the use of upward coiled flues in the heat chamber (common wall with the barn) where rising hot gases are finally delivered into the barn through an opening just below the airtight ceiling. The chimney, connected to the coiled flues from the furnace, acted as an exhaust. The results have shown that the system is able to cure tobacco leaf. It has also demonstrated that there is some reduction in curing cycle (from seven to six days) in addition to 25% fuel-use reduction. The first year auctioned leaf fetched comparable returns to that from the conventionally cured leaf while for the second year the leaf is of higher quality. Undertakings to fix technical parameters associated with natural humidity expulsion are briefly covered in the paper.