CHAPTER TWELVE

DRYING

Drying refers to an operation in which the moisture of a substance (usually solid) is

removed by thermal means (i.e., with the help of thermal energy).
Drying usually refers to the removal of relatively small amounts of water from a solid or
nearly solid material. It involves the transfer of liquid from a wet solid into an unsaturated
gas phase (drying medium).
During drying operation, mass and heat transfer occur simultaneously. Heat is transferred
from the the bulk of the gas phase (drying medium) to the solid phase and mass is transferred
from the solid phase to the gas phase in the form of liquid and vapour through various
resistances. The material (liquid) that is transferred is the solute and transfer takes place as
the gas phase is always unsaturated with respect to the solute material.
In drying, relatively small amounts of water or other liquid is removed from a solid or
semi-solid material (using thermal energy), whereas in evaporation relatively large amount of
water is removed from solutions. Drying involves the removal of water at a temperature
below the boiling point, while evaporation involves the removal of water as vapour at its
boiling point. Drying involves circulation of a hot air or other gas over a solid material for
the removal of water, whereas evaporation involves use of steam heat for the removal of
water. To obtain products almost in the dried form is the purpose of drying operation, while
to obtain concentrated solutions is the main purpose of evaporation.
As the removal of moisture by thermal means is more costly than mechanical means
(e.g., filtration), the moisture content of material must be reduced to the minimum possible
level by the latter means before the material is fed to drying equipments.
In most of the drying operations, the heat (required to evaporate water) is provided by hot
air or any other gas-drying medium.
Drying is frequently the last operation in manufacturing processes and is usually carried
after evaporation, filtration, or crystallisation.
This operation is carried out in food, chemical, agricultural, pharmaceutical and textile
industries.
Drying operation is carried out for the reasons given below :
(i) For reducing the transport cost.
(ii) For purifying a crystalline product so that the solvent adhering to the crystals is
removed.
(12.1)
Unit Operations – II 12.2 Drying

(iii) For making a material more suitable for handling and storage. Handling and
storage of dry solids is easy.
(iv) To meet the market specifications of solid products set by the customers.
(v) For providing definite properties to materials.
(vi) In some cases for preventing corrosion arising due to the presence of moisture. Dry
chlorine gas is not corrosive but traces of moisture make it very corrosive.
(vii) Sometimes it is an essential part of the process (e.g., drying of paper in paper
making).
General Definitions :
The moisture content of a wet material may be expressed on the wet or dry basis.
Moisture content, wet basis :
The moisture content of a wet feed material, on wet basis, is defined as the ratio of the
weight of the moisture to the weight of the wet feed material. If X is the kg moisture
associated with one kg of dry solids, then
X
Moisture content (wet basis) = 1 + X

The weight percent moisture of a wet feed material, on wet basis, is defined as the weight
of the moisture expressed as a percentage of the weight of the wet feed material (i.e., wet
solid).

Weight % moisture content (wet basis) = kg wet solid × 100 = 100 1 + X

kg moisture X
 
Moisture content, dry basis :
The moisture of a wet feed material, on dry basis, is defined as the ratio of the weight of
the moisture to the weight of the dry solids present in the wet feed material. If the feed
material contains X kg moisture and 1 kg of dry solids, then
kg moisture X
Moisture content (dry basis) = kg dry solid = 1 = X
Percentage moisture content on dry basis = 100 X
Equilibrium moisture content (X*) :
It is the moisture content of a substance that is in equilibrium with its vapour in the gas
phase under the specified humidity and temperature of the hot gas or air. It represents the
limiting moisture content to which a given material can be dried under constant drying
conditions.
It is the moisture content of a substance which is in equilibrium with a given partial
pressure of the vapour.
Bound Moisture content :
It is the moisture content in a material which exerts a vapour pressure less than that of
the pure liquid at the same temperature.
Unit Operations – II 12.3 Drying

Unbound moisture content :

It is the moisture held by a material in excess of the equilibrium moisture content
corresponding to saturation humidity. It is primarily held in the voids of solid.
It is the moisture content in a material which exerts an equilibrium vapour pressure
equal to that of the pure liquid at the same temperature.
Free moisture content :
It is the moisture contained by a material in excess of the equilibrium moisture content
(X – X*). At a given temperature and humidity, it is the moisture content of a material that
can be removed by drying. It may include bound and unbound moisture.
Critical moisture content :
It is the moisture content of a material at which the constant rate period ends and the
falling rate period starts. This moisture content is a function of constant drying rate, material
properties and particle size.
Constant rate period :
It is that part of the drying process during which the rate of drying expressed as the
moisture evaporated per unit time per unit area of drying surface remains constant.
Falling rate period :
It is that part of the drying process during which the rate of drying varies with time and
the instantaneous drying rate expressed as the amount of moisture evaporated per unit time
per unit area of drying surface continuously decreases.
Properties of air-water system :
The moisture removed (from a wet solid) during drying operation gets added in the hot
gas or air which in turn depends upon the temperature and humidity of the gas or air.
Usually, in drying operation the hot air is used as a drying medium, so it is essential to know
some of the properties of the air-water vapour system.
Relative humidity (R.H.) :
It is a measure of the degree of saturation of air at the dry bulb temperature.
It is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapour in the air water-vapour
mixture to the vapour pressure of pure water at the temperature of the mixture, expressed on
a percentage basis.
o
% R.H. = (pA/pA) × 100
where pA = partial pressure of water vapour in the mixture
o
pA = vapour pressure of pure water
o
when pA = pA, air is said to be saturated with water vapour.
The relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the actual water vapour content of air to
the water vapour content of the fully saturated air at the same temperature, expressed on a
percentage basis.
Unit Operations – II 12.4 Drying

Humidity (H)/Absolute humidity :

It is the ratio of the mass of water vapour to the mass of dry air present in the air-water
vapour mixture under any given set of conditions.
kg of water vapour 18  pA 
H = kg of dry air = 29 P – pA = 0.62 Hm
Hm is the molal humidity.
Dry bulb temperature :
The temperature of the air-water vapour mixture recorded by a thermometer whose bulb
is kept dry is called dry bulb temperature.
Wet bulb temperature :
The temperature of the air-water vapour recorded by a thermometer whose bulb is kept
wet by wrapping a wet cloth in the open air is called wet bulb temperature.
Since the latent heat of vaporisation required for natural evaporation of water from the
cloth will be supplied from the bulb, the temperature of the bulb decreases. The evaporation
is continued until the air surrounding the bulb becomes saturated. Some of the heat will flow
from the surrounding air to the bulb by temperature difference, even then the temperature of
bulb will not rise as that heat gets consumed in evaporation of water. At one particular point,
the temperature becomes constant and is recorded as wet bulb temperature.
When the air is more unsaturated, then the difference between dry bulb temperature and
wet bulb temperature is more and is less for a more humid air. The relative humidity of the
air is found out from a psychrometric chart knowing wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures.
Saturation humidity :
It is the humidity of air when it is fully saturated with water vapour. It is denoted by the
symbol Hs.
18
Hs = 29 (po/P – po)
A A

Percentage humidity/Percentage saturation :

It is the ratio of the actual humidity (H) to the saturation humidity (Hs).
o o
Percentage humidity = pA (P – pA )/pA (P – pA) × 100
Dew point :
When the air-water vapour mixture is cooled, at some temperature it becomes saturated
and further cooling results in the condensation of water vapour. The temperature at which
the condensation will first occur is known as dew point [i.e., it is temperature at which a
given air-water vapour mixture is saturated.] Dew point is lower or equal to the dry-bulb
temperature. For saturated air, the dew point, wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures are
identical.
Unit Operations – II 12.5 Drying

Equilibrium :
The moisture of wet solids exerts a definite vapour pressure depending upon the
temperature and the nature of solid and the moisture. Consider that the wet solids containing
o
liquid which exerts a vapour pressure of pm are exposed to a continuous supply of fresh gas
o
(usually air) with a fixed partial pressure of the vapour (pA). If pm is greater than pA, then the
o
solids will lose moisture (reverse is true for pm < pA) by evaporation till the vapour pressure
of the moisture of the solids equals the partial pressure of the vapour in the gas. The solid
and the gas are then said to be in equilibrium with each other and the corresponding moisture
content is referred to as equilibrium moisture content. The equilibrium data in case of drying
operations are given as the relationship between the moisture content of a solid (expressed
on a dry basis) and the relative humidity of a gas in contact with the solid.
Equilibrium
curve
P = unbound moisture
100
S = free moisture
Relative humidity of gas

P
Q
R = equilibrium moisture
RH1 A
Q = bound moisture
pA/pºA

S
R

X* X
(0, 0) Moisture content
kg moisture/kg dry air
Fig. 12.1 : Equilibrium Moisture Curve
When the humidity of air is less as compared with the moisture content of the solids, then
the solids will lose moisture by evaporation and dry to equilibrium and if the air is more
humid than the solids, then they will gain moisture until the equilibrium is attained. A typical
equilibrium curve for drying of a certain wet solid is shown in Fig. 12.1 where the ordinate is
the relative humidity of the gas and the abscissa is the moisture content on dry basis. When
solids having very high initial moisture content (X) are exposed to a continuous supply of air
with relative humidity of (RH1), the solids will lose moisture by evaporation and thus go on
drying until the moisture content corresponding to the point A is reached (equilibrium
moisture content X*).
Beyond this, no drying takes place even if the solids are exposed to this air for infinitely
long periods. The moisture content of solids can be reduced below X* (below that
corresponding to point A) only by exposing the solids to air of a lower humidity and to
obtain bone-dry solids, we have to expose it to perfect dry air which corresponds to the origin
of curve.
Constant drying conditions :
These conditions mean the conditions under which the temperature, humidity, velocity
and direction of flow of the hot air or gas across the drying surface are constant during
drying operation.
Unit Operations – II 12.6 Drying

Rate-of-drying curve :
The drying characteristics of wet solids are generally described by the drying rate curves
obtained under constant drying conditions. These curves : moisture content v/s time and
drying rate v/s moisture content are shown in Figs. 12.2 and 12.3. Generally, the
experimental evaluation of these curves is done before design calculations.
Consider that the wet solids with an initial moisture content (X1) are exposed to air of
constant temperature and humidity. If we then measure the moisture content as a function of
time (i.e., moisture content of the material is measured at various values of time), then a
curve as shown in Fig. 12.2 (a) is obtained from the collected data. The curve relates the
moisture content on dry basis with time. It is clear from the curve that the moisture content of
solids decreases with time and after sometime it remains constant at X*, which is the
equilibrium moisture content.
X A X v/s t
B
Rate v/s t
Moisture
content

Rate, X
C

D
E
X*
Time Time
(a) (b)
Fig. 12.2
From this curve, we can draw another type of curve which is known as the rate of drying
curve. This curve gives much more information regarding the drying process. The rate of
drying curve gives a relationship between the rate of drying, expressed as, the moisture
evaporated per unit time per unit area of the drying surface and the moisture content on a dry
basis. This curve can be constructed by measuring the slopes of tangents drawn to the
curve of Fig. 12.2 (a) at various values of the moisture content and then calculating rate as
dX 1
R = – W' dt × A , where W' is the weight of dry solids and A is the drying area/surface.
Fig. 12.3 shows the rate of drying curve. The section AB of the curve represents the
warming up period during which the temperature of the solid is becoming equal to the
temperature of drying air. From B to C, the curve is a straight line parallel to X-axis
representing the constant rate of drying, thus the section BC is called the constant rate
period during which the layer of water on the surface of solid is being evaporated. The rate
of drying is constant from B to C as the drying takes place from a saturated surface. The
section (CE) of the curve represents the falling rate period composed of the first falling rate
period (CD) and the second falling rate period (DE). From point 'C' onwards some dry
patches starts forming on the surface of the solid. The rate of drying decreases for the
unsaturated portion and hence the rate for total surface decreases. The section CD of the
curve represents the period corresponding to the zone of unsaturated surface drying. The
moisture content at which the constant rate period ends and the drying rate starts to fall
(i.e. at which unsaturated surface drying starts) is known as the critical moisture content.
Unit Operations – II 12.7 Drying

After point D, the surface of the solid is completely dry and now the internal moment of
moisture starts coming to the surface and this is continued upto the point E, where the
equilibrium is attained. The rate of drying over section DE is governed by the rate of internal
moisture movement. The second falling rate period (DE) represents zone where the internal
moisture movement controls.

Falling
rate C B Warming up
period period
Constant rate
A
period
Rate of drying

Internal
movement
of moisture
controls Unsaturated
D surface drying

E X* X
Moisture content
Fig. 12.3 : Typical rate of drying curve under constant drying conditions
The rate of drying curve consists of two parts : (i) a period of constant rate/a constant rate
period, wherein the rate of drying is constant and (ii) a period of falling rate/a falling rate
period, wherein the rate of drying is falling.
The rate of drying as a function of time is given in Fig. 12.4, which indicates how long
each drying period lasts.

B C

A
Rate of drying

E
(0, 0) Time

Fig. 12.4 : Drying rate v/s time

Factors on which the rate of drying depends :
(a) Gas velocity : When the velocity of the gas or air is high, the rate of drying will also
be high.
(b) Humidity of gas : Lesser the relative humidity, the more will be the rate of drying.
(c) Area of drying surface : If the area of the wet surface exposed to the gas or air is
more, the rate of drying will also be more.
Unit Operations – II 12.8 Drying

(d) Temperature : If the temperature of the gas is increased, its relative humidity
decreases (i.e., gas becomes more unsaturated) and thus increases a driving force
(i.e., the concentration difference of moisture between the solid and gas) and so the
rate of drying increases.
Time of drying under constant drying conditions :
Consider that the wet solids are to be dried by passing the hot air over them under
constant drying conditions. The time of drying required to dry the material from the initial
moisture to the final moisture content of solids, is the sum of the time required during the
constant rate period and time required during the falling rate period (when the final moisture
is less than the critical).
(a) Constant rate period :
Let X1 be the initial moisture content of the wet solids and X2 be the final moisture
content of the wet solids during the constant rate period. Let Xc be the critical moisture
content of the wet solids. [X1, X2 > Xc]
The rate of drying is given by
W' dX
R = – A × dt … (12.1 a)

R = Rc = rate during constant rate period

W' dX
Rc = – A × dt … (12.1 b)

where W' = mass of dry solids in kg

A = area of drying surface in m2
Rc = rate in kg/(m2·h)
t = time in hours (h)
Rearranging Equation (12.1 b), we get
– W'
dt = A · R dX … (12.2)
c
Integrating Equation (12.2) between the limits :
t = 0, X = X1
and t = t, X = X2, we get
t X2
⌠ – W '
⌡ dt =  ARc  ⌠⌡ dX … (12.3)
0 X1

– W'
t = A · R [X2 – X1] … (12.4)
c
W'
t = A · R [X1 – X2] … (12.5)
c
Unit Operations – II 12.9 Drying

Equation (12.5) gives the time required for drying the material from X1 to X2 in the
constant rate period.
If the material is to be dried to the moisture content of Xc, then the time required during
the entire constant rate period is given by
W'
tc = A R [X1 – Xc] … (12.6)
c

(b) Falling rate period :

During this period, the rate of drying is proportional to the free moisture content.
– W' dX
A × dt = m [X – X*] … (12.7)

where X* is the equilibrium moisture content and X is the moisture content of wet solids
less than critical moisture content.
Let X1 be the initial moisture content and X2 be the final moisture content such that
X1, X2 < Xc.

Rc C B
Rate

E
X* Xc
X
Fig. 12.5 : Rate v/s moisture content
Assume that the entire falling rate period is represented by a straight line CE, then
Rc
m = … (12.8)
[Xc – X*]
m = slope of line CE
Equation (12.1) then becomes :
– W' dX Rc
*
A dt = [Xc – X*] [X – X ] … (12.9)

– dX Rc A
* = dt … (12.10)
[X – X ] [Xc – X*] W'
Integrating Equation (12.10) between the limits
X = X1
X = X2 [X1, X2 < Xc], we get
Unit Operations – II 12.10 Drying

X2 t
dX Rc A
–⌠
⌡ [X – X*] = [Xc – X*] W' ⌠
⌡ dt … (12.11)
X1 0

W' (Xc – X*) X1 – X*

t = ln X – X* … (12.12)
Rc A  2 
Equation (12.12) gives the time of drying during the falling rate period to dry the
material from X1 to X2.
If the material is to be dried from the critical moisture content Xc to the final moisture
content X2 (X2 < Xc), then the time required for drying during the entire falling rate period is
given by tf as :
W' (Xc – X*) Xc – X*
tf = ln  X – X* … (12.13)
Rc · A  2 
[As X1 becomes Xc]
tf = drying time during entire falling rate period.
Total time of drying = tc + tf
Xc – X*
t = AR [(X1 – Xc) + (Xc – X*)] ln X – X*
W'
… (12.14)
c  2 
Appropriate equations and values of X1, X2 and Xc are to be used for the calculation of
the time required during a particular period or for calculating the total time required for
drying.
DRYING EQUIPMENTS :
Dryers used in industry may be classified on the basis of (a) mode of operation
(b) physical properties and handling characteristics of the material and (c) the method of
supplying heat to the material to be dried, i.e., method of heat transfer.
(i) Mode of operation :
On the basis of mode of operation that is based on the production schedule there are two
types of drying equipments – (i) batch dryers and (ii) continuous dryers.
In case of batch dryer, a definite size of batch of the wet feed is charged to the dryer and
drying is carried out over a given time period. These dryers operate under unsteady state
conditions.
Drying in batches is relatively expensive operation and consequently batch dryers are
preferred for small-scale production, pilot plant and for drying valuable materials.
In case of continuous dryer, the material flows in and out continuously and drying is
carried out under steady state conditions continuously. These are generally used for large
scale production.
Unit Operations – II 12.11 Drying

Advantages of continuous drying include :

Equipment necessary is small relative to the quantity of product.
Product has more uniform moisture content.
Cost of drying per unit of product is relatively small.
(ii) Physical properties and handling characteristics of material :
The wet feed material may be a liquid solution, a slurry, a paste, a sludge, free flowing
powder, granular, crystalline or fibrous solid. The design of a dryer depends upon the
physical properties of the wet feed material and therefore dryers handling similar feed
materials may have many common design features.
(iii) Method of heat transfer :
On the basis of method of heat transfer, dryers are classified as (a) direct dryers, and
(b) indirect dryers.
Direct dryers :
In such dryers, heat transfer is accomplished by direct contact between the wet feed
material and hot gases. The heat of evaporation is supplied by the sensible heat of the gas in
contact with the material to be dried (adiabatic dryer). The moisture evaporated from the wet
feed is carried by the hot gases.
Indirect dryers :
In such dryer, heat necessary for drying is transferred to the wet feed by conduction
through a metal surface/wall in contact with the feed material to be dried (non-adiabatic
dryer). The moisture evaporated from the wet feed is carried by the air or other gas
independently of a heating medium.
Tray Dryer :
Construction : It is the simplest of batch dryers and also known as a cabinet or
compartment dryer. The tray dryer shown in Fig. 12.6 is a batch operated direct dryer. It
consists of an enclosed insulated cabinet or a large compartment into which the material to
be dried is placed on a number of removable trays. The trays may either be fabricated from
sheets or from screens. The trays may be stacked on racks or loaded on trucks. It is provided
with inlet and outlet connections for air. A heating coil either electrical or steam-heating is
incorporated in it. In these dryers, steam, gas or electrically heated air is used as the drying
medium. The air is circulated in the dryer over the trays by means of a fan fitted at the top
(on one of the sides, opposite to the coil).
Working : The material to be dried is spread over the trays and put into the cabinet and
then it is closed. Steam is continuously passed through the coil and fan is started. Air is
heated by heating coil, its relative humidity decreases (i.e., its capacity to evaporate the
moisture is increased) and the hot air then passes over the trays.
Unit Operations – II 12.12 Drying

Air out Damper

Fan

Heating
coils

Air in Cabinet

Trays Tray support

Fig. 12.6 : Tray Dryer

The moisture is evaporated from the wet feed, gets added in the air and finally the air
leaves the dryer through the outlet. The process is continued until the solids are dried. The
cabinet is opened and the dried material is removed from the trays and a fresh batch is
charged.
For getting good drying, air after drying should be thrown out completely but by this
way, a large portion of heat associated with the hot air will be lost and the operation will
become costly. To avoid this heat loss (i.e., to conserve heat), about 80 – 95 % of the air is
recirculated by adjusting a damper provided at the outlet, and the remaining portion is
exhausted out, and the same amount of fresh air is taken in through the inlet.
The overall rate of drying of such a dryer is 0.2 to 2.0 kg water/(m2·h) and the thermal
efficiency is of the order of 20 - 25 %.
The trays are generally 600 mm wide, 900 to 1500 mm long and 30 to 40 mm deep. They
are made of mild steel, stainless steel, enamelled iron, etc. and are fabricated from sheets of
3 mm to 6 mm thick.
Advantages :
– Relatively cheap and easy to construct/build.
– Low space requirement.
– Ease in cleaning.
– Requires low maintenance (low maintenance cost).
– No loss of product during drying.
Unit Operations – II 12.13 Drying

Disadvantages :
– Expensive to operate due to high labour requirements for loading and unloading
(high labour costs and low heat economy).
– Long drying cycles (4 to 48 h per batch).
– Small quantities are handled.
Applications :
Tray dryer is well suited for small scale production (i.e., for small production rate) and
drying valuable materials like dyes and pharmaceuticals. It is especially useful for drying wet
lumpy solids and wet filter cakes which must be spread over the trays.
These dryers may be operated under vacuum, in many cases with indirect heating.
In such dryers, all joints must be air-tight. The trays may rest on hollow metal plates supplied
with steam vapour from the wet solid is removed by a vacuum pump. Vacuum tray dryers are
suited for heat sensitive materials (i.e., thermally degradable materials).
Rotary Dryer :
This type of dryer (that may be directly or indirectly heated) is adopted for continuous
drying of free-flowing granular materials on a large scale. Fig. 12.7 shows one form of a
rotary dryer. It consists of a relatively long cylindrical shell (having a diameter of 1 m to 3 m
and length 3 m to 30 m). The cylindrical shell set with its axis at a slight angle to the
horizontal (slightly inclined towards the outlet), so that the material fed is consequently
advanced through the dryer (under gravity) from one end to the other end (from where it is
discharged).
Air outlet Supporting rims Sealing ring Heater
Feed
Girth gear

Air
inlet
Motor Drum

Pinion
Thrust roller Product
wheels supports
(a) Direct heat counter current flow, Rotary dryer
Flights

Supporting rim

Drum Thrust wheel

Roller supports
(b) Rotary dryer, side view
Unit Operations – II 12.14 Drying
Feed
Heating coil
Solids
Air Air

Dry solids

(c) Schematic view of Rotary dryer

Fig. 12.7
The shell is mounted on rollers so that it can be rotated. To avoid its slipping over the
rollers, it is fitted with thrust wheels. It is fitted inside with flights which lift the material
upward and shower it down from the top. A few spiral flights are fitted near the feed end
which help in giving the initial forward motion to the material before principle flights are
reached. The material to be dried (feed) is fed at the high end of the dryer by a hopper and
the product is taken out from the lower end of the dryer. The material moves through the
dryer by virtue of rotation, heat effect and slope (inclination) of the cylindrical shell.
The cylindrical shell is rotated by a gear mechanism at a speed of 2 to 25 r.p.m. Air is
taken into the dryer from the product end, it is heated in a heater, and then moves through the
dryer in a counter current fashion with respect to the material to be dried. The moisture of the
feed evaporates and gets added into the drying medium, and finally the moist air leaves the
dryer at the feed end. Generally, an exhaust moist air leaves the dryer at the feed end.
Generally, an exhaust fan is used to pull the air through the dryer. The air leaving the dryer
will contain some dust particles which are removed by interposing a cyclone separator
between the dryer and the exhaust fan as shown in Fig. 12.8.

Clean air Fan or Blower

Cyclone
Air out

Dust

Dryer Air in
Wet feed
Product
Fig. 12.8 : Rotary dryer with dust collector (cyclone)
Unit Operations – II 12.15 Drying

The mode of operation is usually continuous. In case of direct contact, the hot gas is
passed over the material in a counter-current fashion. In case of indirect contact, heat is
transferred through the wall of the cylindrical shell.
The thermal efficiency of rotary dryers is about 50 - 80 % and the drying rate ranges
between 10 - 50 kg/(h·m3 of shell volume).
Advantages :
• good gas contacting
• moderate drying time
• low capital cost
• drying and calcining in the same unit
• high thermal efficiency
• greater flexibility of control of the gas velocity.
Disadvantages :
• difficulty of sealing
• product build-up on interior walls
• high structural load
• non-uniform residence time.
Rotary dryers are grouped into four categories :
1. Direct heat counter current flow :
This type of dryer is shown in Fig. 12.7 and employed for the materials which may be
heated to a high temperature like minerals, sand clays, etc. Hot flue gas is usually used as the
drying medium. It is also used for products like ammonium sulphate and cane sugar wherein
the hot air is used as a drying medium.
2. Direct heat parallel flow :
In this type both the material and hot gas/air move in the same direction through the
dryer. It is used for drying materials like gypsum, iron pyrites, etc., which should not be
heated to destructive temperatures.
3. Indirect heat counter current flow :
It is used for materials which can be heated to high temperatures out of contact with flue
gas such as white pigments, etc. It is shown in Fig. 12.9.
Feed Air Flue gas
Flue gas
Air and solid

Combustion Flue gas

space

Air Product
Fig. 12.9 : Indirect Counter flow Rotary dryer
Unit Operations – II 12.16 Drying

4. Direct-indirect type dryer :

This type of dryer is used for solids, which may be heated to very high temperatures by
flue gas, such as lignite, coal, and coke. It is shown in Fig. 12.10.
It contains an inner hollow tube through which the flue gas passes from a combustion
chamber to the lower end of the dryer. At this end, the direction of flue gas is reversed and
made to pass through hollow flights, through an annular space and leaves the dryer from the
feed end. The central tube is provided with longitudinal fins to increase the outer area of heat

Feed Flue gas

Flue gas
Combustion
space
Product

Fig. 12.10 : Direct - Indirect type dryer

transfer. The wet material is admitted at the high end of the dryer and travels down to the
lower end and taken out as dried product. Air enters from the product end and travels over
the solid in the reverse direction. The moisture gets added in the air and finally leaves the
dryer from the feed end. The material is heated indirectly by flue gas by conduction and
radiation and the moisture is taken out by air, flowing in a counter current fashion with
respect to the feed. Another type of indirect dryer is the steam tube dryer employing a
number of tubes and finds application where the material must not be heated to a high
temperature, e.g., drying of cattle feed, etc.
Feed Air Steam tubes Special
Steam tubes rotary joint

Steam
Condensate
Air Product
Fig. 12.11 : Indirect steam-tube dryer
Drum Dryer
Construction : A drum dryer consists of one or more metal rolls (drums) that are heated
internally by steam and rotate at about 1 to 10 revolutions per minute. The rolls of the drum
dryer are usually 0.6 to 3.5 m in diameter and 0.6 to 5 m in length (may be fabricated from
plates). The drum is submerged into a pool of solution or slurry contained in a trough. For an
agitation purpose, i.e., to avoid the setting of solids, an agitator is incorporated in the trough.
A spreader is provided on one side to regulate the thickness of the film of substance on the
outside of the drum and a knife is provided on the other end to scrap the dried material from
the slowly revolving roll/drum. A vapour-hood is provided at the top of the drum for
collection and removal of vaporised moisture. Fig. 12.12 shows such a dryer.
Unit Operations – II 12.17 Drying
Moisture out

Vapour hood

Internally
steam heated
drum

Knife Spreader

Trough Agitator

Drain

Fig. 12.12 : Single drum dryer

Working :
A slowly revolving internally steam heated drum continuously dips into a trough and
picks up the feed which retains on the drum surface as a thin film. The thickness of this film
of material is regulated by means of a spreader. During the course of revolution of the drum,
the material is dried due to heat transfer from condensing steam through the metal wall of the
drum and large surface area. As it reaches the other end, the dried product (in the form of
flakes) of operation is scrapped by a knife. The moisture evaporated from the feed material
is collected and removed through a vapour-hood provided above the drum(s).
Drum dryers are usually made of cast iron but where contamination of the product must
be avoided, for example, in case of pharmaceuticals or food products, chromium plated steel
or alloy steel is used as a material of construction. The capacity of the drum dryers is less as
compared to the spray dryer but their operating cost is low.
Drum dryers are suitable for handling fluid and semifluid materials such as slurries,
pastes of solids in fine suspension and dilute or concentrated solutions of highly soluble
materials. These units are not suited for solution of salts with limited solubility and for
slurries of abrasive solids that have the tendency to settle-out.
Cylindrical dryers are drum dryers which are commonly employed for handling material
in the continuous sheet form, such as paper and cloth. The wet material is fed continuously
over the revolving drum or a series of drums each heated internally by steam.
Unit Operations – II 12.18 Drying

Spray Dryer :
It is a continuous direct contact dryer employed for drying of solutions, slurries, and
pastes. In this dryer, a liquid solution or slurry is introduced in the form of very fine droplets
into a stream of hot gas inside a large drying chamber, thereby a large contact area becomes
available for perfect drying. The moisture of feed is evaporated and gets added into the hot
gas.
Construction : Fig. 12.13 shows a typical spray dryer. The essential components of the
dryer are : a drying chamber (a vertical cylindrical chamber with a short conical bottom),
where the feed material is contacted with a hot gas (air), a heater for heating the fresh air
sucked by a fan or blower, cyclone separators for dust separation and collection, a pneumatic
conveying duct and blowers, which are assembled as shown in Fig. 12.13. The material is
usually spread in the form of a mist of fine droplets by spray nozzles or high speed rotating
spray discs into a hot gas stream inside the chamber as shown in Fig. 12.13.
Working : The feed is pumped to the top of the dryer (drying chamber) where it is
disintegrated into small droplets by an atomiser. The large quantity of fresh air is taken in by
a fan, it is heated in a heater and finally fed below the atomiser in the drying chamber. As the
surface area of drops is very large, the liquid portion of these drops rapidly evaporates and
before they touch the bottom of the drying chamber they are completely dried. This
dried product (in the form of dry powder) is taken out and conveyed to a cyclone dust
collector-2 by a stream of air. The major portion of the air is taken out through the air outlet
duct which mostly contains dust and is sent to a cyclone-1. The solids collected by the
cyclone-1 are fed to a pneumatic conveying duct. The air leaving the cyclone - 2 may contain
some dust and therefore it is sent to the cyclone - 1, for further separation, by the fan. The air
from the cyclone -1 is thrown out to the atmosphere by a blower. The dried product from the
cyclone-2 is collected in a dry product collector.
An atomiser is a device which causes the liquid to be disintegrated into the fine drops.
The atomisers commonly used are :
1. Pressure nozzles which make use of pressure energy for atomisation.
2. Two fluid nozzles wherein air or steam at a certain pressure is used to tear a liquid
into droplets, i.e., they make use of gas energy and
3. Rotating discs make use of centrifugal energy for atomisation. Spray nozzles (type -1
and type - 2) are relatively inflexible in operation and also subject to erosion and tear.
The rotating discs (may be plane, vaned or cup-shaped) rotate at a speed of about
3000 to 12000 r.p.m. The feed introduced at the centre of disc is centrifugally
accelerated to the periphery and ultimately thrown in an umbrella-shaped spray. The
rotating discs are very flexible in their operating characteristics and can handle thick
slurries without danger of clogging.
Unit Operations – II 12.19 Drying
Feed Atomiser
Air in
Fan
Fan

Feed
Cyclone-2

Cyclone-1 Dry
Heater air outlet product
duct collector

Compressed air
Pneumatic
conveying duct

Fig. 12.13 : Spray Dryer

In this dryer, care must be taken to ensure that the droplets or wet particles of solids do
not strike and stick to the solid surfaces before complete drying. So as to avoid this, large
drying chambers are used.
Advantages :
• very short drying times (2 – 20 s)
• handle heat sensitive products
• control of a product particle size
• rapid dehydration.
• relatively low operating costs, particularly in large capacity units.
Disadvantages :
• low solids content
• relatively large units
• maintenance of atomiser
• inefficient in (its) energy use
• product built-up on interior walls.
Applications :
These dryers are common in dairy industry, food industry, detergent industry, chemical
and dyes industry.
Spray dryers are widely used for products such as milk powder, detergents, dyes, coffee,
pharmaceuticals, etc.
Unit Operations – II 12.20 Drying

Fluidised Bed Dryer :

It is also known as a fluid bed dryer. Fluid bed drying systems are becoming popular
because of the following reasons :
(i) absence of moving parts-results in ease of maintenance
(ii) high heat transfer rates
(iii) rapid mixing indicating more or less an isothermal operation leading to the uniform
drying.
In this dryer, a hot gas / air is passed through a wet material at a velocity sufficiently high
to fluidise the wet material but not too high enough to cause pneumatic conveying.
Typical gas/air velocities are :
Particle size (µm) Velocity (m/s)
300 – 800 0.4 to 0.8
800 – 2000 0.8 to 1.2
Wet feed
Air out

Cyclone

Fines
Fluidised bed

Hot air in

Cooling air
Dry solids out
Fig. 12.14 : Fluidised Bed Dryer
A fluidised bed system in addition to a fluidising chamber also needs an air blower, a hot
air generator, a feed conveyor, a cyclone separator and a product conveyor.
In this dryer, hot air is used to keep the wet feed in a fluidised state. In the dryer shown in
Fig. 12.14 the wet material is dried and cooled in the same bed. Wet feed material is
admitted to the top of the bed through a hopper via a rotary valve and hot air is distributed at
the bottom of the bed through a diffuser plate and dry product is taken out from the side or
near the bottom. Heat and mass transfer coefficients are high because of turbulence created
in the bed. The material to be dried and hot air are in cross flow with respect to the direction
of flow of each other. The residence time can be controlled from seconds to hours. The moist
air from the dryer containing fines is admitted to a cyclone separator for the recovery of
fines.
Unit Operations – II 12.21 Drying

It is used for drying very fine size free flowing materials. It is well suited for
temperature/heat sensitive materials.
These dryers may also be operated batchwise. A charge of wet feed material in a
perforated container attached to the bottom of the fluidising chamber is fluidised, heated
until dry and then discharged. Such units have replaced tray dryers in many processes.
Tunnel Dryer :
The continuously operated direct type tunnel dryer is shown in Fig. 12.15. This dryer is
built in the form of a long tunnel. It is provided with inlet and outlet arrangements for air.
Fan and heating coils are incorporated in the tunnel as shown in Fig. 12.15. The materials to
be dried is filled in trays and trucks loaded with these trays move progressively through the
tunnel in contact with a current hot gas to evaporate the moisture. Air flow in the tunnel
dryer can be totally concurrent, counter current or a combination of both with respect to the
material flow. The wet material enters at one end and dried product leaves at the other end.
For relatively low temperature operation, steam heated air is used as a drying medium, while
for high temperatures, flue gas is used as a drying medium (where contamination is
permissible). These dryers are generally employed for drying of all forms of particulate
solids and large solid objects, on a large scale.

Fan Moist Heating coils

air out

Fresh air in

Truck outlet

Fig. 12.15 : Tunnel Dryer

It is often used for drying of pottery, ceramic products, paraffin wax, etc. which require
slow rate of drying.
Pneumatic (flash) Dryer :
In a flash dryer, drying is carried out in a very short span of time-0.5 to 3 seconds.
Pneumatic conveying duct is the heart of the system wherein drying operation is carried out.
Hot gas is the conveying medium which is flowing rapidly with a velocity of the order
~ 25 m/s and in which the granular free flowing solids are dispersed.
Finely powdered wet material is introduced into the hot gas (air stream) with the help of
a screw conveyor. The material is pneumatically conveyed through the duct and during its
conveyance moisture is removed. The dried material is separated from the air stream in a
cyclone and a bag filter. The product from the bottom of the collecting equipments (cyclone
and bag filter) is transported to a silo via screw conveyor (not shown).
Unit Operations – II 12.22 Drying
Air out

Dry solid out

1
Wet feed

Air in 3 2

Fig. 12.16 : Pneumatic (Flash) dryer

1 : drying duct 2 : Heater 3; 6 : blower, 4 : cyclone and 5 : bag filter
Due to very short residence time these dryers are used for drying of heat sensitive
materials.
SOLVED EXAMPLES
Example 12.1 : Wet solids are to be dried from 80 % to 5 % moisture (wet basis).
Calculate the amount of moisture to be evaporated per 100 kg of the dried product.
Solution : Basis : 100 kg dried product obtained.
dry solids in the product = 0.95 × 100 = 95 kg
moisture in the product = 0.05 × 100 = 5 kg
Let x be the kg of wet solids,
moisture in the wet solid = 80 %
Material balance of solids :
solids in wet solid feed = solids in dried product
0.20 x = 95
x = 475 kg
Moisture in the wet solid = 0.80 × 475 = 380 kg
Amount of moisture to be evaporated per 100 kg of the dried product is
= moisture in wet feed – moisture in dried product
= 380 – 5 = 375 kg … Ans.
Example 12.2 : Find out the rate of drying and moisture content from the following
data :
Weight of wet saw dust Weight of saw dust after drying Time (h)
250 g 230 g 0.5
250 g 215 g 0.75
Dimension of tray = 10 cm × 10 cm
Weight of dry saw dust on tray = 150 g