Drying

Prepared by:
MA. JUNALLIE FUENTEBELLA-POMPERADA, ChE, MEngr, PhDTM
DRYING

Refers to the removal of relatively small amount of

water from materials
Water is usually removed as vapor by air
May also refer to the removal of other organic liquids,
such as benzene, from solids
Usually the last step in a series of operations in a
manufacturing process usually carried out before
packaging or dispatch
 Drying is carried out to

To reduce the cost of transport

To make a material more suitable for handling as, for
example, with soap powders, dyestuffs and fertilizers.
To provide definite properties, such as, for example,
maintaining the free-flowing nature of salt.
To remove moisture which may otherwise lead to corrosion.
One example is the drying of gaseous fuels or benzene prior
to chlorination.
 Moisture content maybe present in two
forms:

Bound moisture. This is water retained so that it exerts a

vapour pressure less than that of free water at the same
temperature. Such water may be retained in small
capillaries, adsorbed on surfaces, or as a solution in cell
walls.
Free moisture. This is water which is in excess of the
equilibrium moisture content.
 Definition of Terms:

Humidity H, mass of water per unit mass of dry air.

Pw
H=
P - Pw

where: Pw partial pressure of the vapour

P total pressure

Humidity of saturated air H0 . This is the humidity of air when

it is saturated with water vapour. The air then is in equilibrium
with water at the given temperature and pressure.
 Definition of Terms:

Percentage Humidity H x100

Ho

Percent Relative Humidity, R.

(Partial pressure of water vapour in air / Vapour pressure of
water at the same temperature) x 100
Humid volume, is the volume of unit mass of dry air and its
associated vapour. Then, under ideal conditions, at
atmospheric pressure where T is in Kelvin;
22.4 T 22.4H T m3
humid.volume = +
29 293 18 273 kg
 Definition of Terms:

Saturated volume is the volume of unit mass of dry air, together with the
water vapour required to saturate it.
Humid heat is the heat required to raise unit mass of dry air and associated
vapour through 1 degree K at constant pressure or 1.00 + 1.88H (kJ/kg K).
Dew point is the temperature at which condensation will first occur when
air is cooled.
Wet bulb temperature. If a stream of air is passed rapidly over a water
surface, vaporization occurs, provided the temperature of the water is
above the dew point of the air. The temperature of the water falls and heat
flows from the air to the water. If the surface is sufficiently small for the
condition of the air to change inappreciably and if the velocity is in excess of
about 5 m/s, the water reaches the wet bulb temperature w at equilibrium.
 Time for Drying

If a material is dried by passing hot air over a surface which is initially

wet, the rate of drying curve in its simplest form is represented by BCE,
shown below

Falling-rate Constant-rate Period

1 dw Period
C B
A dt

where: wE equilibrium
moisture 0 E
content
wE wC w1
wC critical
moisture
Total Moisture, w
content
w1 initial
moisture
content
Time of Drying
Constant-rate Period

w1 - w c
tc =
Rc A
where: Rc rate of drying per unit area which is equal to m(wc we)
A area of exposed surface

Falling-rate Period

1 w c - w e
tf =
mA w - w e
ln

where: w total moisture content (moisture content at any time t)

m mass of the material
Time of Drying

Total Drying Time

t = tc + t f
Free Moisture Content

w - we
A wet solid is dried from 25 to 10 per cent moisture
under constant drying conditions in 15 ks (4.17 h). If
the critical and the equilibrium moisture contents are
15 and 5 per cent respectively, how long will it take to
dry the solid from 30 to 8 per cent moisture under the
same conditions?
Strips of material 10 mm thick are dried under constant drying conditions
from 28 to 13 per cent moisture in 25 ks (7 h). If the equilibrium moisture
content is 7 per cent, what is the time taken to dry 60 mm planks from 22 to
10 per cent moisture under the same conditions assuming no loss from the
edges? All moistures are given on a wet basis. The relation between E, the
ratio of the average free moisture content at time t to the initial free
moisture content, and the parameter J is given by:

E 1 0.64 0.49 0.38 0.295 0.22 0.14

J 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.7
It may be noted that J = kt/L2, where k is a constant, t the time in ks and L is
half the thickness of the sheet of material in millimeters.
A granular material containing 40 per cent moisture is fed to a
countercurrent rotary dryer at a temperature of 295 K and is withdrawn at
305 K, containing 5 per cent moisture. The air supplied, which contains
0.006 kg water vapour/kg dry air, enters at 385 K and leaves at 310 K. The
dryer handles 0.125 kg/s wet stock.
Assuming that radiation losses amount to 20 kJ/kg dry air used, determine
the mass flowrate of dry air supplied to the dryer and the humidity of the
exit air.
The latent heat of water vapour at 295 K = 2449 kJ/kg, specific heat capacity
of dried material = 0.88 kJ/kg K, the specific heat capacity of dry air = 1.00
kJ/kg K, and the specific heat capacity of water vapour = 2.01 kJ/kg K.
Classification & Selection
of Dryers
Kroll Classified Dryers based on:
(a) Temperature and pressure in the dryer,
(b) The method of heating,
(c) The means by which moist material is transported
through the dryer,
(d) Any mechanical aids aimed at improving drying,
(e) The method by which the air is circulated,
(f) The way in which the moist material is supported,
(g) The heating medium, and
(h) The nature of the wet feed and the way it is introduced
into the dryer.
Classification Based on the Manner of
Heat Transfer

Conduction

Convection

Radiation
Classification Based on Mode of
Operation

Batch the material is inserted into the drying

equipment and drying proceeds for a given period of
time

Continuous the material is continuously added to

the dryer and dried material is continuously removed
Category of Drying Processes

1. Heat is added by direct contact with heated air at

atmospheric pressure, and the water vapor formed
is removed by the air
2. Vacuum drying, the removal of water proceeds
more rapidly at low pressure and heat is added
indirectly by contact with a metal wall or by
radiation.
3. Freeze drying, water is sublimed from frozen
material
Tray or Shelf Dryers
 Tray or Shelf Dryers

Tray or shelf dryers are commonly used for granular

materials and for individual particles.
The material is placed on a series of trays which may be
heated from below by steam coils and drying is carried out
by the circulation of air over the material. In some cases, the
air is heated and then passed once through the oven,
although, in the majority of dryers, some recirculation of air
takes place, and the air is reheated before it is passed over
each shelf. As air is passed over the wet material, both its
temperature and its humidity change.
 Tray or Shelf Dryers

racks are mounted on truck wheels so that they can be

pulled out of the chamber
useful when the production rate is small
can dry almost anything but labor required for loading
and unloading is expensive
drying by circulation of air is slow and drying cycles
are long: 3 48 hours per batch
may be operated under vacuum, often with indirect
heating
A 100 kg batch of granular solids containing 30 per cent
moisture is to be dried in a tray drier to 15.5 per cent of
moisture by passing a current of air at 350 K tangentially
across its surface at a velocity of 1.8 m/s. If the constant rate
of drying under these conditions is 0.0007 kg/s m2 and the
critical moisture content is 15 per cent, calculate the
approximate drying time. Assume the drying surface to be
0.03 m2/kg dry mass.
Tunnel Dryers
Tunnel Dryers

In tunnel dryers, a series of trays or trolleys is moved slowly

through a long tunnel, which may or may not be heated, and
drying takes place in a current of warm air.

Tunnel dryers are used for drying paraffin wax, gelatine, soap,
pottery ware, and wherever the throughput is so large that
individual cabinet dryers would involve too much handling.
Alternatively, material is placed on a belt conveyor passing
through the tunnel, an arrangement which is well suited to
vacuum operation.
Drum dryer
Rotary Drum Dryers
 Drum dryers
consists of one ore more heated metal rolls on the
outside of which a thin layer of liquid is evaporated to
dryness
dried solid is scraped off the rolls as they slowly
revolve
Effective for dilute solutions, concentrated solutions of
highly soluble materials, and moderately heavy
slurries
not suitable for solutions of salts with limited solubility
or for slurries of abrasive solids that settle out and
create excessive pressure between the drums
Drum Dryers
Spray Dryer
Spray Dryer
 Spray dryer
may combine the functions of an evaporator, a
crystallizer, a dryer, a size reduction unit and a
classifier
a slurry or liquid solution is dispersed into a stream of
hot gas in the form of a mist of fine droplets
moisture is rapidly vaporized from the droplets, leaving
residual particles of dry solid, which are then
separated from the gas stream
very short drying time, which permits drying of highly
heat-sensitive materials and the production of solid or
hollow spherical particles
Spray Dryer
yields product that is ready for package from a solution,
slurry or thin paste
not highly efficient since much heat is lost in the
discharged gases
bulky and very large and are not always easy to operate
bulk density of the dry solids is difficult to keep constant
final dry particles are often hollow and the product from a
spray dryer is quite porous
Rotary Dryers
Rotary Dryers
Rotary Dryers
consists of a revolving cylindrical shell, horizontal or
slightly inclined toward the outlet
wet feed enters one end of the cylinder; dry material
discharges from the other
heated by direct contact of gas with the solids
desirable for material that tends to dust
used for salt, sugar and all kinds of granular and
crystalline materials that must be kept clean and may
not be directly exposed to very hot flue gases
 Rotary Dryers

For the continuous drying of materials on a large scale, 0.3

kg/s (1 ton/h) or greater, a rotary dryer, which consists of a
relatively long cylindrical shell mounted on rollers and driven
at a low speed, up to 0.4 Hz is suitable. The shell is supported
at a small angle to the horizontal so that material fed in at the
higher end will travel through the dryer under gravity, and
hot gases or air used as the drying medium are fed in either
at the upper end of the dryer to give co-current flow or at the
discharge end of the machine to give countercurrent flow.
 Methods of Heating for a Rotary Dryer

(a) Direct heating, where the hot gases or air pass through the
material in the dryer.

(b) Indirect heating, where the material is in an inner shell,

heated externally by hot gases. Alternatively, steam may be
fed to a series of tubes inside the shell of the dryer.
Design Consideration for a Rotary Dryer

Heat transfer rate

Q = UaVDT
where: Q rate of heat transfer
U - overall heat transfer coefficient
V volume of dryer
a - area of contact between the particles and the gas per
unit volume of dryer
T mean temperature difference between the gas & the
material
Design Consideration for a Rotary Dryer

Length of Dryer
Q
L=
0.0625p D(G ' )0.67 DTlm

where: Q rate of heat transfer

D - diameter of the dryer
G air mass velocity
Tlm log mean temperature difference between the material &
air
For Adiabatic Dryers

Number of Transfer Units (N)

TA1 Tw
N ln
TA 2 Tw
A flow of 0.35 kg/s (dry basis) of a solid is to be dried from 15
per cent to 0.5 per cent moisture on a dry basis. The mean
heat capacity of the solids is 2.2 kJ/kg deg K and it is proposed
that a co-current adiabatic dryer should be used with the
solids entering at 300 K and, because of the heat sensitive
nature of the solids, leaving at 325 K. Hot air is available at 400
K with a humidity of 0.01 kg/kg dry air and the maximum
allowable mass velocity of the air is 0.95 kg/m2.s. What
diameter and length should be specified for the proposed
dryer? Wet bulb temperature of air at 400K & H = 0.01 is
312K, specific heat of water vapour is 1.88 kJ/kg.K and that of
the solids is 2.18 kJ/kg.K. Assume N = 1.5
Through-Circulation Drying in Packed
Beds

The drying gas passes upward or

downward through a bed of wet
granular solids.
Often the granular solids are arranged
on a screen so that the gas passes
through the screen and through the
open spaces or voids between the solid
particles.
Through-Circulation Drying in Packed
Beds
The amount of water removed from the
bed by the gas

R G H 2 H1

Where: R kg H2O/h.m2 cross section

G kg dry gas/h.m2 cross section
 Through-Circulation Drying in Packed
Beds
Bed thickness, z

Gcs T1 Tw
z ln
ha 2 w
T T

Where: Cs humid heat of air-water vapor mixture

h heat transfer coefficient in W/m2.K
a surface area of solids(m2)/m3 bed volume
Tw wet bulb temp. of solids
T1 inlet gas temp.
T2 outlet gas temp.
 CONSTANT-RATE PERIOD

FALLING-RATE PERIOD

Note: applicable also for fine particles of diameters 3-19mm and shallow
beds about 10-65 mm thick
HEAT-TRANSFER COEFFICIENT
GEOMETRIC FACTORS IN A BED

FOR SPHERICAL
PARTICES

FOR CYLINDRICAL
PARTICES

FOR CYLINDRICAL
PARTICES
-END-