Aerodynamic Separation and Fractional Drying of Alfalfa Leaves and Stems - A Review and New Concept

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DRYING TECHNOLOGY Vol. 21, No. 9, pp. 16691698, 2003
Aerodynamic Separation and Fractional Drying of Alfalfa Leaves and StemsA Review and New Concept
Edwin A. Arinze,1,* Greg J. Schoenau,1 Shahab Sokhansanj,2 and Phani Adapa1
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada 2 Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
ABSTRACT
This article examines the state-of-the art on aerodynamic separation and drying of leaves and stems. Relevant aerodynamic and drying characteristics of alfalfa leaves and stems, important in the design and functional performance evaluation of appropriate drying
*Correspondence: Edwin A. Arinze, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9 Canada; E-mail: arinze@engr.usask.ca. 1669
DOI: 10.1081/DRT-120025503 Copyright & 2003 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. 0737-3937 (Print); 1532-2300 (Online) www.dekker.com

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Arinze et al. and separation systems, are presented. General features and design parameters of rotary drum dryers are discussed. A new ecient approach to combined drying and separation in a rotary drum dryer is described in which fresh or pre-wilted alfalfa mixture is dried at a moderate temperature, and in the same operation the dry leaf fraction is aerodynamically separated from the stem fraction. Preliminary test data obtained from the dryer indicated that the separated product stream had comparatively high leaf purity, conrming the feasibility of the new approach. Key Words: Alfalfa chops: leaves and stems; High quality pellets and cubes; Value-added products; Combined aerodynamic separation and drying; Rotary drum dryers; New concept.
1. INTRODUCTION In Canada and the United States of America, growing, manufacturing and exporting forage products (alfalfa pellets and cubes, and compressed hay bales and bagged chops) to Japan and other Pacic Rim countries is an important commercial industry. In this major revenue generating processed-forage industry, alfalfa pellets or cubes are produced from dehydrated fresh alfalfa chops or sun-cured (partially eld dried) chops. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is composed of about 50% leaves and 50% stems by weight. Whole alfalfa plant contains 1822% protein while the leaves are 2630% protein and the stems only 1012%. Because of the high nutrients content, the demand for alfalfa leaf in commercial production of both human and animal nutritional food and feed supplements, pharmaceuticals, and other value-added products such as enzymes, carotenoids and soluble and particulate protein concentrates, is increasing.[1,2] Alfalfa stems are high in ber, and this is being commercially exploited for value-added products including paper and hardboard manufacture, bio-energy production, and ethanol and lactic acid production.[1,2] High-temperature rotary drum dryers are commonly used to remove excess moisture from fresh chopped alfalfa at 7080% moisture content, wet basis (w.b.) or from pre-wilted (sun-cured) alfalfa down to about 10% moisture before undergoing other processes in the production of pellets and cubes and value-added products. In these high-temperature (4001000 C) rotary drum-drying systems, the pneumatic drying and conveying do not adequately control the heat distribution and residence time of the particles resulting in under-dried stems and over-dried leaves.

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Alfalfa leaves dry much faster than stems,[3,38] and any attempt to dry both leaves and stems completely usually results in over-drying of leaves. The over-drying leads to loss of nutritious leaf fractions, charring and discoloration, smoke and undesirable odor, and reduction in the overall quality of the nal product. To minimize these problems and increase the utilization of whole alfalfa, the chops should be dried at low-moderate temperatures and be separated into leaves and stems as required in producing pellets and cubes and other value-added products. The commercial value of dehydrated alfalfa is commonly measured in terms of protein, essential amino acids, carotene (vitamin A), and xanthophyll contents. Several process factors inuence the nutritional value of the components, especially the moisture content and temperature of the forage material before and during drying, and the length of time the material stays in the dryer. The chemical changes are greatest when the product becomes too dry and its temperature rises. This occurs when the moisture content of the product falls below 12% w.b. Generally, forage should not be dried to less than 10% w.b. moisture if heat damage is to be avoided. Carotene and xanthophyll have a similar chemical structure and susceptibility to oxidation and losses during high temperature drying. Several methods of separating leaves from stems have been investigated. Scalping material on shaking screens is the most common method of separating denser material from lighter material.[4] While separation of low moisture alfalfa chops (less than 20% w.b. moisture content) into leaf and stem fractions is feasible, this method was found to be unacceptable for high moisture products because of clogging of the sizing holes. Aerodynamic separation has been successfully achieved with vertical, perforated rotating drum or horizontal air stream separators.[57] These separators are not used for drying at the same time, and they have relatively low capacities of about 0.33 t/h compared to normal throughputs of over 16 t/h in industrial production of alfalfa pellets and cubes.[39] The separators utilize the dierences in aerodynamic characteristics of the components of a mixture to separate the components (leaves and stems). The main objective of this study is to examine the possibility of improving product quality in the manufacture of pellets and cubes, and increasing the utilization of alfalfa for value-added products through a new and improved method of drying and separation of alfalfa leaves and stems. Aerodynamic, and drying characteristics of alfalfa leaves and stems are presented, and dierent methods of aerodynamic separation with air stream are also reviewed. A new approach is presented for combined aerodynamic separation and drying of alfalfa leaves and

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stems. This is accomplished through relatively simple modications to an existing small industrial rotary-drum dryer (manufactured by Vincent Corporation, Tampa, Florida). In industrial application of the new concept, the objective is to have wet alfalfa chops enter the rotary drum dryer, where a stream of mostly leaves is completely dried and separated from wetter, mostly stem product. The stem and leave fractions may be diverted to separate end uses or recombined as desired to provide a quality-blended product. General design features for rotary drum dryers, and preliminary tests conducted on the small industrial rotary-drum dryer based on the new concept are reported in this presentation.
2. AERODYNAMIC AND DRYING CHARACTERISTICS OF ALFALFA LEAVES AND STEMS 2.1. Aerodynamic Characteristics Separation of leaves from stems can be accomplished by using pneumatic separators, screen shakers, or gravity tables. To utilize these separation methods, it is important to know the aerodynamic and physical characteristics of both the leaves and stems. Relevant physical characteristics include dimensions, weight, shape (sphericity, aspect ratio), moisture content, and bulk density. Characteristics that dictate aerodynamic separation are usually described by terminal velocity and drag coecient. Shape and size are the major considerations in the selection and design of screening separation systems, and gravity separation systems rely on the dierence in weight of the particles to be separated.[79,40] The lower segment of alfalfa plant is mainly stem with no leaves while the upper segments contain both stems and leaves. Depending on the stage of maturity, the moisture content of freshly harvested alfalfa may range from 70 to 80%, wet basis. In an experimental study on physical characteristics of alfalfa stems and leaves, Patil et al.[3] found that the average diameter of the stem before and after drying to 8% moisture content (w.b.) was 2.40 and 1.86 mm, respectively. Thus, there is considerable shrinkage in the stems due to drying. The reduction in leaf area during a drying process was approximately 40%. The shrinkage is due primarily to the reduction in the major and minor axes of the leaf.

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A particle having a projected area Ap (average projected area for a leaf or stem is 1/4 of its surface area) and immersed in a owing uid with velocity Vf and density f is subjected to a drag force FD given as[7,8] FD CD Ap f Vf2 2 1
where CD is the drag coecient (dimensionless). All symbols are dened in the Nomenclature. A particle of mass mp in a free fall attains a constant terminal or suspension or critical velocity VT at which the net gravitational force Fg equals the resisting upward aerodynamic drag force FD. When terminal velocity is attained under steady-state conditions, the particle motion will be upward or downward, depending on whether the particle density p is smaller or greater than that of the uid, respectively. Knowledge of the terminal velocities of particles would therefore dene the range of uid velocities aecting the eective separation of the particles in the uid stream. Consequently, terminal velocity is an important aerodynamic characteristic in pneumatic separation of particles. When the uid velocity Vf is equal to the particle terminal velocity VT, the drag coecient can be obtained in terms of the terminal velocity as[8] CD or 2mp gp f 1=2 VT Ap p f CD 2b 2mp g p f 2 Ap p f VT 2a
In this study, correlated experimental data obtained for alfalfa stems in a vertical wind tunnel[7,38] were further analyzed numerically to relate the terminal velocity VT with stem length L and weight W. The drag coecient CD was also related with Reynolds number Re (based on the stem length L as the characteristic dimension).
2 VT 106 0:00000156 0:00147L 0:0615L2 0:854L3 3:796L4
0:00117L0:851 W CD 102 0:0261 1:782L2 0:00238InRe
3 4
The terminal velocity for 10.012.7 mm alfalfa stems ranged from 3.9 to 4.8 m/s while the average terminal velocity of fresh at leaves was

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1.2 m/s.[10] Curled leaves have less surface areas and higher terminal velocities compared to at leaves.
2.2. Drying Characteristics Drying, thermal, and physical characteristics of a product are important in drying process design, monitoring and control, and functional performance analysis as reported in Mujumdar,[11] Mujumdar and Menon,[12] Arinze et al.,[1315] Patil et al.,[3,16] Sokhansanj et al.,[41] Shufen et al.,[17] Mohsenin,[8] Ford and Bilanski,[18] and Bilanski et al.[19,20] Relevant thermal characteristics include thermal conductivity, thermal diusivity, and specic heat, all aected by product density, moisture content, and temperature. Shufen et al.[17] and Ford and Bilanski[18] give experimental data and correlated relationships on thermal characteristics of whole alfalfa, stems and leaves at various moisture contents, bulk densities, and temperatures. The drying rates of alfalfa and other forage materials, such as grass, have been studied in various temperature ranges.[3,1316,1921] Generally, the form of the thin-layer drying rate equation varies with drying gas temperature and product moisture content. Two or three distinct drying periods are usually observed, depending on the temperature and moisture content: constant rate period, and rst and second falling rate periods, or rst, second, and third drying stages.[12,21] At high drying gas temperatures (above 200 C) typical in rotary drum dryers, the drying rate of forages is constant, similar to evaporation from a free water surface. Thus, dM k or dt M M 0 kt 5
For ryegrass, Menzies and OCallaghm[21] related the drying rate constant to drying gas temperature Tf by k 1:84 0:25Tf 6
where the drying constant k is in min1 and temperature Tf is in C. Bilanski et al.[19,20] experimentally investigated high-temperature drying of alfalfa leaves and stems in thin layers. The experimental drying results indicating free moisture ratio vs. time are shown in Fig. 1 for various drying temperatures. For each drying temperature level


1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 205 C
o
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95 C
Free moisture ratio, M
865 C 755 C 645 C 535 C

o o o
315 C
425 C
2.0
Time, minutes
Figure 1a. stems.[19]
Free moisture ratio vs. time at various temperature levels for alfalfa
(95865 C) linear drying equations similar to Eq. (5) above were developed in terms of free moisture ratio MR and time t in the form: MR M Me K0 kt M0 Me 7
where the drying constant k is in min1 and time t in min. In this study, values of the drying constant k and constant K0 as a function of the drying temperature Tf were obtained from the high-temperature drying experimental data (Fig. 1) and Table-Curve regression analysis as follows: k 0:408 0:003Tf R2 0:99 for alfalfa stem 8a

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0.9 95 C 0.8
o
0.7 205 C Free moisture ratio, M 0.6

o
0.5
315 C 425 C
o o
0.4
535 C 0.3 755 C 0.2

o
0.1
645 C
0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 Time, minutes
Figure 1b. stems.[20]
Free moisture ratio vs. time at various temperature levels for alfalfa
k 2:076 0:016T f K0 0:986 482:6=T 2 f K0 0:965 0:0002Tf
R2 0:96
for alfalfa leaf
8b 9a 9b
R2 0:97 for alfalfa stem R2 0:95 for alfalfa leaf
It is more convenient to use a single relationship combining drying gas temperature and time to predict the moisture ratio MR at any instant during a thin-layer drying process. Using again the high-temperature drying data (Fig. 1) and Table-Curve regression analysis, in this study the following moisture ratio equations were obtained for alfalfa stems

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and leaves: MR 0:457 0:12 257:4 13945 t Tf Tf2 865 C R2 0:91 11 R2 0:91 10
for alfalfa stem and 95 C ! Tf MR 0:368
0:157 76:35 1353 2 Tf t 0:5 Tf
for alfalfa leaf and 95 C ! Tf 755 C Calculated data from Eqs. (8)(11) and the experimental data (Fig. 1) show clearly that at drying temperatures above 200 C, alfalfa leaves dry over ve times faster than stems when exposed in thin layers. While it takes about 0.61 and 0.16 min to dry fresh alfalfa leaves to 10% nal moisture content at 200 and 400 C drying gas temperatures, respectively, the corresponding drying times for fresh alfalfa stems to 10% nal moisture content are 3.17 min and 0.93 min, respectively. At moderate to low drying gas temperatures (below 200 C), the drying rate of alfalfa and grass were found to be directly proportional to the moisture content in excess of the equilibrium moisture content.[3,21] Thus, dM kM Me or dt M Me ekt M 0 Me 12
For ryegrass, the drying constant k (min1) and equilibrium moisture content Me were related to drying air temperature Tf in the range 80200 C and absolute humidity of the air Xf as follows[21]: k 0:02exp0:02Tf Me 33000Xf Tf2 0:22 13 14
Below 80 C drying air temperature, Menzies and OCallaghan[21] found that for grass there were up to three distinct falling rate periods of drying with dierent drying constants and moisture content ranges. Patil et al.[3,16] used Eq. (12) and experimental data to characterize the thin-layer drying of fresh alfalfa, stems, leaves, and whole plant for various lengths of cut at 6080 C and 530% humidity for the drying air. The low-temperature (60 C ! Tf 80 C) experimental data were further analyzed in this study to obtain the following relationship for the drying constant k (min1) and equilibrium moisture content as a function of

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the drying gas temperature and relative humidity Xf (decimal) for alfalfa stems (50 mm long) and leaves: k 0:051 3:43 1024 exp Tf R2 0:99 for alfalfa stem 15a k 0:064 2:17 1024 exp Tf R2 0:99 for alfalfa leaf 15b 9:11 0:0003 Tf Xf 7:78 0:0006 Tf Xf
Me 0:096
R2 0:98
for alfalfa stem
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Me 0:075
R2 0:92
for alfalfa leaf
16b
Calculations from the above low-temperature drying Eqs. (15a) and (15b) and experimental data show that alfalfa leaves dry over two times faster than stems when exposed in thin layers at drying temperatures below 80 C. Stem length also aects the drying rate of alfalfa stem, and the following equation by Patil et al.[3] may be used to relate stem length L (mm) and drying constant k (min1): k 0:133L0:48 R2 0:97 17
3. AERODYNAMIC SEPARATION SYSTEMS FOR LEAVES AND STEMS As stated earlier, dierences in aerodynamic properties of leaves and stems can be used in separating freshly chopped or partially dried forages. Because of their shape and greater exposed surface area, leaves generally have a higher aerodynamic drag force than stems of the same weight. This means that an air stream could be used to carry the leaves a longer distance or on a higher trajectory and separate them from the stems.[5,6,10] Pneumatic separation of leaf and stem fractions have been demonstrated to be feasible for herbs and spices,[6] and alfalfa forage.[10] Design features and functional performance of typical aerodynamic separation systems are discussed in this section.

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Figure 2. Schematic of a vertical air stream separator. The oscillating sieve is placed to prevent leaves from penetrating downward with clumps.[6]
3.1. Vertical Air Stream and Perforated Rotating Drum Separators Figure 2 shows the schematic of a commercial-type vertical airstream separator with an oscillating sieve placed in the air stream to prevent clumping, which can be used in separation of leaves and stems for forages, herbs, and spices. However, the sieve causes vortices, which result in a continuous change in particle orientation and aerodynamic drag force. To eliminate the orientation changes observed in a commercial vertical air-stream separator, an outer or inner perforated rotating drum under suction is used in which the particles to be separated are located one particle thick on the perforated surface of the drum. Disconnection of a particle from the perforated surface is achieved by increasing the gravity component of the force (mgcos ) in a direction perpendicular to the drum surface (Fig. 3) or by reducing the suction.

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Figure 3a. Schematic of a perforated rotating outer drum separator with suction indicating the forces acting on a particle located on the outer surface of the drum.[6]
As illustrated in Fig. 3, a particle of mass m with particle angle and moving at a constant peripheral speed Vo on the outer surface of a perforated rotating drum of radius R, is subjected to a centrifugal force (mVo2/R), gravitational force (mg), reaction force (N ), and approximately constant aerodynamic drag force (Fa). For a free fall, the nal horizontal distance of the particle from the center of the drum (xc) is given as[6] xc R sin Vo cos
2 2 Vo sin 2gy1 R R cos 1=2 Vo sin g 18a 18b
cos
2 Vo F a gR mg
where R, Vo, and y1 are known values. Equations (18a) and (18b) can be used to provide guidelines in designing a perforated drum separator. Figure 4 shows the separation eciency for four perforated drum and

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Figure 3b. Schematic of a perforated rotating inner drum separator indicating the forces acting on a particle located on the inner surface of the drum.[6]
vertical air stream separators tested by Gar-Mor et al.[6] The feed rate varied between 100 and 600 g/s (360 and 2160 kg/h). Separation eciencies higher than 90% can be achieved with the drum separators at low feed rates. The separation eciency drops sharply at high feed rates for the inner drum and vertical air stream separators. The best separation eciency (!95% for the entire range of feed rate) is obtained with the combination of outer and inner drum separators as illustrated in Fig. 4. Although the power consumption is relatively low (<2 kW), perforated drum separators are suitable only for separating particles at relatively low capacity and feed rates (<600 g/s), since in operation the material must be handled in a layer one particle thick. Material feed rates in processed forage plants for production of alfalfa cubes and pellets can be as high as 16.3 t/h or 9000 g/s of fresh alfalfa.
3.2. Horizontal Air Stream Separator For eective aerodynamic separation of a mixture of two particles into two fractions, a signicant dierence must exist in at least one of the

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Figure 4. Comparison of separation eciency of perforated rotating drum separators and vertical air stream separator.[6]
dierentiating aerodynamic characteristics: terminal velocity and drag coecient. Figure 5 shows the schematic of a horizontal air stream separator developed and used for separation of a mixture of alfalfa leaves and stems with processing capacity of 2.3 tonnes of haylage per hour.[5] Separation in a horizontal air stream is achieved by introducing the particles at appropriate direction and speed into the air stream, which disperses the particles laterally along the working chamber by dierential deection of their trajectories (Fig. 5). Higher drag coecients for leaves for a given mass of chops result in greater separation or displacements of

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Figure 5.
Horizontal air stream alfalfa separator.[5]
Figure 6. Typical alfalfa distribution in a horizontal air stream separator. Feed rate 0.5 kg/s, air velocity 4 m/s, moisture content 45% w.b.[5]
leaves and stems. Figure 6 shows a typical distribution of alfalfa fractions for the horizontal air stream separator. It is evident from the distribution patterns that the characteristics of the leaf and stem particles overlap, thus precluding complete or 100% separation eciency. Short thick stems fall close to the inlet while leaves with attached stems fall at intermediate points, and small leaf particles are farthest from the inlet.

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Table 1. Separator performance with respect to protein improvement index (PII), separation eciency (SE), purity, and feed rate.[5]
Haylage (1) specications: (1) (2) (3) (4) Moisture content, % (wb) Pure stem crude protein, % Pure leaves (% protein) Whole plant (% protein) 25.0 24.9 4.9 86.5 74 37 1.33 0.752.30 0.60 30.0 24.0 4.0 80 61 36 0.81 0.531.1 0.73 38.60 13.60 26.60 20.00 35.0 24.3 4.3 81.6 65 46 1.08 0.821.20 0.08 63.0 18.9 27.1 23.4 42.7 23.2 3.2 73.6 48 42 0.70 0.640.75 0.05
Size of leaf fraction, % Protein content, %a PII, % Purity, % SE, % Feed rate, t/h
Relative Absolute Average Range Variance (1) (2) (3) (4)
Haylage (2) specications:
Moisture content, % (wb) Pure stem crude protein, % Pure leaves (% protein) Whole plant (% protein) 20.0 24.7 1.3 71 35 14 6.2 30.0 24.2 0.8 63 21.6 13 5.6
Size of leaf fraction, % Protein content, % PII, % Purity, % SE, % Feed rate, t/h
a
Relative Absolute Average
PII Protein Improvement Index Crude protein in the leaf fraction after separation of alfalfa sample crude protein in the original sample before separation. SE separation eciency (%). PII Relative SE MaximumPII 100%. a Mean of four replications.
To achieve 100% purity or separation, all the leaves and no stems are in the leaf fraction, or the size of the leaf fraction is equal to the proportion of leaves in the original material. Table 1 shows the separation eciency and the purity at known feed rates for two alfalfa mixture separated at dierent moisture contents in the horizontal air stream separator. From the data in Table 1, the system is eective, achieving

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high leaf purity up to 86%. Air stream velocity is the most important variable inuencing separation. Separation is improved by increasing air stream velocities. Separation also improves by decreasing the initial moisture content of chops and feed rate. The major setback with the horizontal air stream separator is that it is bulky, relatively low capacity, and requiring two separate conveying systems to remove mostly leafy fractions and mostly stemmy fractions after separation (Fig. 5). The system is therefore not suitable for industrial applications in most existing processed forage plants, where continuous online processing operation is required.
4. ROTARY DRUM DRYERS FOR DRYING AND SEPARATION Rotary drum dryers are primarily used in the industry for high-temperature drying of various wet products, including grain, forages, wood particles, coal, fertilizer, sand, and other aggregates. There is a wide variation in rotary drum congurations for these numerous industrial applications. A rotary drum dryer can have more than one stage of operation.
4.1. Design and Operational Features of Rotary Drum Dryers 4.1.1. General Description A rotary drum dryer consists primarily of a sloped or horizontal rotating drum (single-pass arrangement) or rotating drums (multi-pass arrangement as shown in Fig. 7). A gas burner is placed at the inlet end of the drum to increase the temperature of the drying gas, and a fan is used to circulate the heated drying gas through the drum(s). A cyclone is placed at the outlet end of the drum to separate dried products from the gas stream. A rotary drum dryer may be red directly or indirectly, and have various interior lifting-ight (paddle) congurations on the drum periphery (Fig. 8). The wet solid particles enter the rotating drum and are then continuously cascaded through the moving gas stream. Solid particles caught on the lifting ights rotate with the drum. In concurrent ow arrangement, a particle falling from a ight is moved along the length of the drum in the gas ow direction as a result of a drag force imparted by the gas stream. In countercurrent ow

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Figure 7. dryer.[27]
Drum arrangements and material ow for a three-pass rotary drum
arrangement, the gas ow works against the movement of the particles through the drum.
4.1.2. Design and Operational Considerations Basic parameters to be considered in the design, operation and analysis of a commercial rotary drum dryer-separator include: (i) Solids feed rate (F ) and initial moisture content (Min). (ii) Drumdiameter(D),length(L), slope(a),androtationalspeed(N).

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Figure 8.
Flight and material cascade movement for a rotary drum dryer.[15]
(iii) Lifting-ights number (n) and prole. (iv) Gas stream direction (concurrent or countercurrent), velocity (Vf), and inlet and outlet temperatures (Tf-in and Tf-out). (v) Drum solids holdup (H ) or the quantity of particles in the drum at any instant during steady-state operation. (vi) Solids mean residence time (tr), and (vii) Solids outlet moisture content (Mout) and temperature (Ts). A typical three-pass industrial-type rotary drum dryer for alfalfa has outer, middle, and inner drums of 2.50, 1.75, and 1.00 m diameter, respectively, with a total drying length of 36.0 m. Drum speed is 810 rpm with airow rate of about 1000 m3/min. Inlet gas temperature ranges from 500900 C. With 7275% w.b. initial moisture content and feed rate of about 16 t/h the dryer evaporates about 810 t of moisture per hour, and dries the product to a nal moisture content of about 812% w.b. Outlet gas temperature ranges from 110 to 125 C, and the dehydrator consumes about 200300 m3 of natural gas or propane per tonne of dry product, or about 32504875 kJ/kg water evaporated.[22,23] Uniform moisture content of about 10% w.b. in the nal product is essential. Under-dried product is susceptible to spoilage during storage while over-drying is costly in terms of energy input, weight loss, product brittleness, and overall product quality. Drum solids holdup and solids outlet moisture content Mout are the major operational parameters to be derived or optimized for a given

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Figure 9. Cascade motion of material in the drum of a single-pass countercurrent ow rotary drum dryer.[14]
system. The mean residence time of the particles tr and solids holdup H are related to the operational parameters as follows[24,25]: tr H F 19a 19b
1 H n 1hL 2
where H is the solids holdup in m3 or kg, F the feed rate in m3/s or kg/s, h the design holdup for the ight (known quantity), n the number of ights, and L drum length. In industrial design practice, drum holdup H is usually within the range 10 to 15% of the total drum volume. Simultaneous heat and mass transfer processes take place during drying of the moving particles in the drum. Analysis of these heat and mass transfer processes require an understanding of the particle movements or dynamics through the drum. The particle dynamic movements through the drum consist of: Forward movement of the cascading particles due to drum slope angle (). (ii) Forward or backward movement due to aerodynamic drag on solid particles (Figs. 8 and 9). (iii) Sliding or kiln motion of particles between ights in the lower half of the drum (Fig. 9). These particle dynamic movement components are usually incorporated in various residence time models that have been developed based (i)

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on basic design and operating parameters.[24,25] Although none of the residence time models is universally acceptable, the following Saeman[26] model is widely acceptable for design purposes: tr L FH DN aVf 20
where FH is the drum loading factor ( for heavily loaded or overloaded drums, and 2.0 for lightly loaded or under-loaded drums), a constant, ranging from 0.003 s/m to 0.026 s/m for dierent operating situations, and N the drum rotational speed (rps). Rotary drum dryers are presently controlled both manually and automatically. A major problem usually encountered in the control process appears to be the large uctuations in the mass ow rate of raw material into the dryer. This inevitably leads to uctuation in the dryer exhaust temperature, and hence, to large changes in the product temperature and moisture content. Excessively high furnace temperatures cause scorching of the forage and signicant deterioration of the product quality and nutrient value.
4.2. Modication of a Small Industrial Rotary Drum Dryer for Both Drying and Separation A new modied approach is explored in this study to separate the leaves from the stems while drying the leaves to some desired target moisture level. Since there is a natural tendency for the lighter leaves to both dry about ve times faster and be aerodynamically separated from the stems, wet chops may enter a modied rotary drum dryer, where a stream of mostly leaves is completely dried and separated from wetter, mostly stem product. The wetter stem and drier leaf fractions may be diverted to separate end uses, production lines, or recombined as desired to provide a blended product. In this modied approach, over-drying, discoloration, loss of nutritious components, charring or burning of the leaves, which usually occur when both leaves and stems are completely dried in a single drying process at high temperatures, are avoided or minimized. Figure 10 shows the photograph of a three-pass, small industrial rotary drum dryer (manufactured and patented by the Vincent Corporation, Tampa, Florida), which is being used in this study to evaluate the drying and separation of alfalfa leaves and stems in the same operation. The unit has the capability of separating heavier, wetter material from the stream. In normal operation, this material is blended with the wet incoming product. The original intention on this

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Figure 10. Photograph of the three-pass, small industrial rotary-drum dryer (Vincent Corporation, Tampa, Florida).
design was to avoid sticking of wetter material to the drum wall. For the purpose of this study, this material is removed from the stream. A cyclone separator located at the exit from the drum collects the lighter dry material (mostly leaves). Figure 11 shows the schematic of the small industrial rotary-drum dryer. It consists primarily of a propane gas burner, feed auger for wet material mixture (leaves and stems), three concentric inner, middle, and outer drums, and two drum outlets on the outer drum for feeding heavier or wetter materials (mostly stems) onto a screw conveyor with dryer outlet. The diameters of the inner, middle, and outer drums are 0.38 m, 0.57 m, and 0.81 m, and length 2.40 m, 2.46 m, and 2.74 m, respectively. Each drum is provided with internal and external ights of rectangularand channel-cross sections. The lighter materials (mostly leaves) from the drum outlet pass through a cyclone to be separated from the gas stream (Fig. 11). A suction fan is mounted on top of the cyclone and the lighter materials collected at the cyclone are conveyed to a cyclone exit port by another screw conveyor. The circulating gas and very ne particles exit through the fan outlet.

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Figure 11. Schematic of the three-pass rotary drum dryer-separator.
The dryer has been instrumented to measure airow and temperatures. Extensive testing of the dryer is ongoing. Operating parameters to be explored or determined include alfalfa chops inlet moisture content and feed rate, drying gas inlet and outlet temperatures and ow rate, chops outlet moisture content and residence time, and the proportion of leaves and stems at the dryer and cyclone exits. The inuence of these parameters on the functional performance of the modied rotary drum dryer is being investigated for both fresh and partially dried wet chops. For the purpose of this presentation, the functional performance of the modied dryer is evaluated by the parameter: Leaf Purity (LPl) and Stem Purity (LPs) dened, respectively, as Leaf purity LPl Total mass of leaves at cyclone exit Total mass of leaves and stems at cyclone exit 21a Total mass of stems at dryer exit Total mass of stems and leaves at dryer exit 21b
Stem purity LPs
Harvested fresh alfalfa chops consist of a wide range of particle sizes ranging from minute leaf fractions to whole triplet leaves with petriole, and from stem fragments to curved branches. Generally, chop length determines the particle contents and cross-sectional areas. In theory,

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100% purity or perfect separation should result in the leaves in one fraction and the stems in the other. However, due to the nature of the alfalfa chop material, some leaves have stem segments attached and some stem pieces have leaf segments attached. It is therefore not possible to obtain 100% leaf purity. As stated earlier, alfalfa chops contain about 50% leaves and 50% stems by weight. While high leaf purity denotes high separation eciency, the best purity level can be obtained with a leaf fraction of less than 50% by mass.[5] Table 2 shows leaf purity, stem purity, and chops nal moisture content at the dryer and cyclone exits when fresh alfalfa chops at 72% w.b. initial moisture content were dried with the small industrial rotary drum dryer. The measured drying gas ow rate was 0.39 kg/s, and gas inlet temperatures ranged from 400440 C. For the drying conditions indicated, leaf purity varied from 6976%. The leaf purity values (Table 2) are comparable with the gures in Table 1 obtained for the horizontal air stream separator for alfalfa chops at 63% initial moisture content. The separation performance of the rotary drum was therefore satisfactory, indicating that the new approach for combined drying and separation of alfalfa chops in a rotary drum dryer is feasible. The nal moisture contents at the dryer exit ranged from 3.318.6% w.b. and 3.07.9% w.b. at the cyclone exit for feed rates ranging from 41105 kg/h. Final moisture contents increased with increasing feed rate. In all tests, the dierence between the product moisture content at the dryer exit (mostly stems) and cyclone exit (mostly leaves) ranged from 1.810.7% w.b. This evidently showed that leaves dry much faster than stems under the same drying conditions, and that the dierence in weight of the dried fractions makes aerodynamic separation possible. The uctuations in the nal moisture content with feed rate (Table 2) indicate the common problem encountered in rotary drum dryers. The alfalfa fractions were over-dried at low feed rates and under-dried at high feed rates. The ongoing investigations on the small industrial rotarydrum dryer will address this undesirable eect. Generally, the chops drying time decreased with increasing gas temperature. Signicant over-drying of mostly leaf fractions occurred at the cyclone exit at lower feed rates and higher temperatures.
CONCLUSIONS To improve the quality of alfalfa pellets and cubes, and increase the utilization of alfalfa components in value-added products, a new
Table 2. Stem and leaf purity and nal moisture content when fresh alfalfa chop with 72% w.b. initial moisture content were dried at 400440 C, 0.39 kg/s gas ow rate, and 40105 kg/h feed rate with the modied small industrial rotary drum dryer.
Drying gases mass ow rate (kg/s) Drying gases temperature at dryer inlet ( C) Drying gases temperature at dryer exit ( C) Total drying time (s) Dryer exit 8.3 3.3 15.0 5.9 7.0 8.4 9.8 6.4 8.4 18.6 10.9 3.0 1.5 5.4 2.4 3.9 3.8 4.4 3.6 4.1 7.9 5.8 1.20 1.26 1.42 1.40 1.45 1.52 1.43 1.63 1.69 1.84 1.77 Cyclone exit Dryer exit 1090 1047 1000 785 833 851 712 710 728 671 629 1.81 1.47 1.52 1.64 1.36 1.67 1.41 1.33 1.17 1.32 1.41 Cyclone exit 101 104 76 107 90 92 102 91 84 61 83 422 429 402 435 406 398 402 439 409 404 429 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 Final moisture content of dry chops, (% w.b.) Mass of dry chops collected, (kg) Stem purity at dryer exit (%) 61 60 72 65 62 64 69 67 70 79 69 Leaf purity at cyclone exit (%) 71 71 73 76 70 74 74 69 73 73 71
Total mass of fresh chops (kg)
Fresh chops feed rate (kg/h)
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
41.0 41.0 44.1 62.3 59.7 60.4 84.9 78.9 82.8 98.4 105.0
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approach has been presented. Fresh or pre-wilted alfalfa mixture is dried at low-moderate temperatures, and in the same operation the dry leaf fraction is aerodynamically separated from the moist stem fraction in a rotary drum dryer. Experimental tests to investigate the new approach in drying and aerodynamic separation of alfalfa leaves and stems have been initiated with simple modications on a small industrial rotary-drum dryer (by Vincent Corporation). The preliminary test results are encouraging, and after separation comparatively high leaf purity was achieved with the modied small rotary drum dryer. This indicates that the new approach is feasible in combined drying and separation of alfalfa chops in modied rotary drum dryers. Aerodynamic separation of alfalfa leaves and stems in conventional vertical air stream, perforated rotating drum, and horizontal air stream separators was also found feasible on a small scale. Aerodynamic and drying characteristics of alfalfa leaves and stems, which are important in the design and functional performance evaluation of alfalfa drying and separation systems, were presented. At high drying temperatures, leaves dry about ve times faster than stems. Alfalfa leaves are lighter than stems and are subjected to much higher aerodynamic drag forces in an air stream, making it possible to separate the leaves from stems in a mixture.
NOMENCLATURE Ap a CD D F Fa FD Fg FH g H h K0 k M Me Min Projected area of leaf or stem fraction (m2) Constant in Eq. (20) Drag coecient (dimensionless) Drum diameter (m) Feed rate (kg/s or m3) or force (N) Aerodynamic drag force on a particle (N) Drag force on a particle (N) Net gravitational force on a particle (N) Drum loading factor in Eq. (20) Gravitational acceleration (m/s2) Solids holdup in the drum (kg or m3) Flight solids holdup (kg or m3) Constant (intercept on MR-axis at t 0 as indicated in Fig. 1) Drying rate constant or simply drying constant (min1 or h1) Particle or product moisture content at time t (% or decimal) Equilibrium moisture content (% or decimal) Initial solid particles moisture content (% or decimal)

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M0 Mout MR m N n L LPl LPs R Re SE T Tf Tf-in Tf-out Ts t tr Va Vf V0 VT x xc y y1
Initial moisture content of the product (% or decimal) Solid particles outlet moisture content (% or decimal) Free-moisture ratio at time t (dimensionless) Mass of a particle (kg) Normal reaction force (N) or drum rotational speed (rpm) Number of ights Drum length (m), stem length (mm) Leaf purity (% or decimal) Stem purity (% or decimal) Radius of perforated rotating drum (m or mm) Reynolds number (dimensionless) Separation eciency (% or decimal) Temperature ( C) Gas or air temperature ( C) Gas stream inlet temperature ( C) Gas stream outlet temperature ( C) Solid particle temperature ( C) Time (s, min, or h) Mean residence time of particles (s or min) Air velocity near the drum surface (m/s) Gas or uid velocity (m/s) Peripheral velocity of the rotating drum (m/s) Terminal or suspension velocity of a particle immersed in a uid (m/s) Horizontal distance traveled by a particle in an air stream (m) Calculated horizontal distance traveled by a particle (m) Particle height (m) Height to bottom of drum (m)
Greek Symbols f Drum slope angle (radians) Particle or uid density (kg/m3) Particle angle (degree) Kinematic viscosity of the uid (m2/s)
Subscripts a e Air Equilibrium

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f g p
Fluid or gas Gravity particle
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada is gratefully acknowledged for providing funds for this ongoing research project through the Strategic Research Project. The authors are also grateful to Vincent Corporation Incorporated, Tampa, Florida, for allowing us to use their small industrial rotary drum dryer for the ongoing experimental tests.
REFERENCES 1. Koegel, R.G.; Streenath, H.K.; Straub, R.J. Production of Lactic Acid from Alfalfa Fraction. Research Summaries; US Dairy Forage Research Center, USDA-ARS: Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 1998. 2. Frame, J.; Charlton, J.F.L.; Laidlaw, A.S. Temperate Forage Legumes; Cab International: New York, 1998; 107161. 3. Patil, R.T.; Sokhansanj, S.; Arinze, E.A.; Schoenau, G.J. Thin layer drying of components of alfalfa. Transactions of the ASAE 1992, 34 (4), 343346. 4. Chrisman, J.; Kohler, G.O.; Mottola, A.C.; Nelson, J.W. High and low protein fractions by separation milling of alfalfa. Summaries; USDA-ARS, 1971, 7457. 5. Bilanski, W.K. Enhanced utilization of forage plants through fractionation. State of the art. Agricultural Engineering Journal 1992, 1 (1), 113. 6. Gan-Mor, S.; Wiseblum, A.; Regev, R. Separation of leaves from stems with perforated rotating drum under suction. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 1986, 34, 275284. 7. Menzies, D.; Bilanski, W.K. Aerodynamic properties of alfalfa particles. Transactions of the ASAE 1968, 11 (6), 829831. 8. Mohsenin, N.N. The Properties of Plant and Animal Materials; Gordon and Breach: New York, 1986. 9. Hauhouot-OHara, M.; Criner, B.R.; Brusewitz, G.H.; Solie, J.B. Selected physical and aerodynamic properties of cheat seed for separation from wheat. Agricultural Engineering International: The CIGR Journal of Scientic Research and Development 2000, II.

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10. Bilanski, W.K.; Graham, W.D.; Mowat, D.N.; Mkomwa, S.S. Separation of alfalfa silage into stem and leaf fractions in a horizontal airstream. Transactions of the ASAE 1989, 32 (6), 16841690. 11. Mujumdar, A.S., Ed. Handbook of Industrial Drying; Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, 1995. 12. Mujumdar, A.S.; Menon, A.S. Drying of solids: principles, classication, and selection of dryers. In Handbook of Industrial Drying; Mujumdar, A.R., Ed.; Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, 1995. 13. Arinze, E.A.; Schoenau, G.J.; Sokhansanj, S.; Crerar, W.; Opoku, A. Design, experimental, and economic evaluation of a commercial-type solar dryer for production of high-quality hay. Drying Technology: An International Journal 1998, 16 (35), 597626. 14. Arinze, E.A.; Schoenau, G.J.; Sokhansanj, S.; Trauttmansdor, F.G. Experimental evaluation, simulation and optimization of a gas-heated batch hay dryer operated with automatic Bale Wagon: part 1 and part II. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 1996, 63, 301322. 15. Arinze, E.A.; Schoenau, G.J.; Sokhansanj, S. Simulation of natural and solar-heated air hay drying systems. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture: An International Journal 1993, 8 (3), 325345. 16. Patil, R.T.; Sokhansanj, S.; Arinze, E.A.; Schoenau, G.J. Methods of expediting drying rates of chopped alfalfa. Transactions of the ASAE 1994, 6 (2), 968973. 17. Shufen, J.; Jofriet, J.C.; Mottal, G.S. Thermal properties of haylage. Transactions of the ASAE 1986, 29 (2), 601606. 18. Ford, R.M.; Bilanski, W.K. Thermal diusivity of alfalfa stems. Transactions of the ASAE 1969, 12 (2), 249251. 19. Bilanski, W.K.; Lee, J.H.A.; Halyk, R.M. High temperature drying of alfalfa stems. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 1965a, 45, 471476. 20. Bilanski, W.K.; Lee, J.H.A.; Halyk, R.M. High temperature drying of alfalfa leaves. Canadian Agricultural Engineering 1965b, 7 (1), 5051, 56. 21. Menzies, D.J.; OCallaghan, J.R. The eect of temperature on drying rates of grass. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 1971, 16 (3), 212222. 22. Wood, H.C.; Sokhansanj, S. Heat treatment of chopped alfalfa in rotary drum dryers. Drying Technology: An International Journal 1990, 8 (3), 533541. 23. Jawanda, K.S. Microcomputer Based Control of High Temperature Alfalfa Dryers. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, 1986.

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24. Kelly, J.J. Flight design in rotary dryers. Drying Technology: An International Journal 1992, 10 (4), 979993. 25. Kelly, J.J. Rotary Drying. In Handbook of Industrial Drying; Mujumdar, A.R., Ed.; Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, 1995. 26. Saeman, W.C. Air-solids interaction in rotary dryers and coolers. Chemical Engineering Progress 1962, 58 (36), 4955. 27. Sokhansanj, S.; Wood, H.C.; Jawanda, K.S. Simulation of Forage Drying in Drum Dryers, Proceedings of the Seventh International Drying Symposium, Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1990. 28. Kamke, F.A.; Wilson, J.B. Computer simulation of a rotary dryer. AIChE Journal 1986, 32 (2), 263275. 29. Kelly, J.J.; ODonnell, P. Flight design in rotary dryers. Transactions of the IChemE 1977, 55, 243250. 30. Moore, G.A.; Bilanski, W.K. Thermal properties of high moisture content alfalfa. Transactions of the ASAE 1992, 8 (1), 6164. 31. OCallaghan, J.R.; Menzies, D.J.; Bailey, P.H. Digital simulation of agricultural drier performance. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 1971, 16 (3), 223244. 32. Sokhansanj, S.; Tabil, L.G.; Patil, R.T. Alfalfa Cube Quality Characterization. Paper No. 961032, ASAE Annual International Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 1996. 33. Sokhansanj, S.; Tabil, L.G. Kinetics of dehydration of green alfalfa. Drying Technology: An International Journal 1996, 14 (5), 11971234. 34. Sokhansanj, S.; Wood, H.C.; Pulkinen, D.A.; Singh, D. In Computer Control of High Moisture Alfalfa Dryer, Proceedings of the Fourth International Drying Symposium, Kyoto, Japan, 1984. 35. Wood, H.C.; Sokhansanj, S. Engineering aspects of forage processing for pellets, cubes, chops and dense bales. Advances in Feed Technology 1990, 5 (1), 624. 36. Wood, H.C.; Jawanda, K.S.; Sokhansanj, S. Simulation and Control of the Dehydration Process; IASTED: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1986. 37. Yekutieli, O. Inuence of Feed Velocity on Separation of Material in a Vertical Air Stream. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis, Technion Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, 1971.

Aerodynamic Separation and Fractional Drying of Alfalfa Leaves and Stems - A Review and New Concept

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DRYING TECHNOLOGY Vol. 21, No. 9, pp. 16691698, 2003

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