TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES

363 P. CASAL ST., QUIAPO, MANILA

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

EXPERIMENT NO. 2: DRYING

SUBMITTED BY:

SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. CARLA TAMAYO

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

EXPERIMENT NO. 2
DRYING
Discussion:
Drying is used to refer to removal of other organic liquids, such as benzene or organic
solvents, from solids. In general, drying means removal of relatively small amounts of water from
material. Evaporation refers to removal of relatively large amounts of water from material. In
evaporation, the water is removed as vapour at its boiling point. In drying, the water is usually
removed as a vapour by air.
Drying processes can also be categorized according to the physical conditions used to
add heat and remove water vapour. In the first category, heat is added by direct contact with
heated air at atmospheric pressure, and the water vapour is removed by the air. In vacuum
drying, the evaporation of water proceeds more rapidly at low pressure and the heat is added
indirectly by contact with a metal wall or by radiation. In freeze drying, water is sublimed from the
frozen material.
There are many types of equipment for drying. In tray dyers, the material is spread
uniformly on a metal tray to a depth of 10 to 100 mm. Steam-heated air is recirculated by a fan
over and parallel to the surface of the trays. Vacuum-Shelf dryers are indirectly heated batch
dryers similar to tray dryers. Such a dryer consists of a cabinet made of cast-iron or steel plates
fitted with tightly fitted doors so that it can be operated under vacuum. These dryers are used to
dry expensive, or temperature-sensitive, or easily oxidizable materials. Continuous tunnel dryers
are often batch truck or tray compartments operated in series. A rotary dryer consists of a hollow
cylinder which is rotated and usually slightly inclined toward the outlet. A drum dryer consists of a
heated metal roll on the outside of which a thin layer of liquid or slurry is evaporated to dryness.
The final dry solid is scraped off the roll, which is revolving slowly. In spray dryer, a liquid or slurry
is sprayed into a hot gas steam in the form of a mist of fine droplets.
The first consideration in selecting a dryer is its operability. Above all else, the equipment
must produce the desired product in the form at the desired rate. The quality required in a
finished product, and its necessary physical characteristics, are determined by its end use.
However, attention must be paid to the costs of the ebtire isolation system, not just te drying unit
alone.
Materials:

Tray Drier
2-sling Pychrometer
Analytical balance
Stopwatch
Beaker
Zeolite
Water

Procedure:
1. Weigh accurately an empty 250 mL beaker using an analytical balance.
2. Fill the four beakers with zeolite preferably of uniform size to a depth of 10 mm. Make
sure that the surface is even.
3. Weight and record the mass of the beaker and zeolite.
4. Saturate the zeolite with water. Avoid any spillage.
5. Load the beaker on the weighing scale installed in the equipment.
6. Record the mass of the wet zeolite before drying commences.
7. Open the inlet valve for steam to preheat the equipment. Simultaneously, the outlet valve
should also be opened even during the experiment to remove all condensed water.
8. Preheat the equipment for 10 minutes.
9. Place thermometers on all the holes seen in the equipment. This is to record the
temperatures on the different sections of the equipment.
10. Measure the moisture content of the zeolite at a given time. Use 5 minutes as
experimental time interval. Moisture content of the zeolite at certain time is obtained by:
Wt of zeolite with waterWt of bone dry solid
Moisture of the zeolite at timet =
Wt of zeolite withwater
11. Plot the drying curve relating the moisture content as a function of time.
12. Determine the critical and equilibrium moisture content of the zeolite by plotting the rate
of drying of the zeolite as a function of moisture content. The drying rate is computed by
taking the value of the moisture content of the zeolite per unit change in time. The critical
moisture content is the point before the falling rate period starts or hen there is
insufficient water on the surface of the zeolite to maintain a continuous film of water.
13. Calculate the bound water by taking the difference of the mass of the bone dried zeolite
and mass of the zeolite after drying.
14. Calculate the unbound water by determining the amount of water in excess and can be
removed by drying.
15. Measure the conditions of entering, outgoing and preheated air.
Experminental Set-Up:

Time (min)

Wt of Wet Zeolite (g)

Time (min)

Wt of Wet Zeolite (g)

173.74

35

165.84

172.98

40

164.52

10

172.12

45

162.4

15

171.06

50

160.9

20

169.75

55

159.84

25

168.80

60

156.99

30

167.45

65

155.45

Data and Results:

Condition of Entering Air
Dry Bulb
Time (min) Temperature
(C)
2
31
2
31
2
30.5
2
30.5
2
31
2
31
2
31.5

Wet Bulb
Temperature
(C)
25
25
25
24.9
25
25
25

Condition of Outgoing Air

Dry Bulb
Time (min) Temperature
(C)
2
30.5
2
31
2
31
2
30.9
2
31
2
31.5

Wet Bulb
Temperature
(C)
24.9
24.8
25
24.9
25
25

Weight of beaker =108 g

Weight of beaker + dry zeolite=142.40 g
Weight of beaker + wet zeolite=173.74 g
Weight of zeolite , M s=65.74 g

Time (min)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

Time (min)
2
2
2
2
2
2

Dry Bulb
Temperature
(C)
30.8
29
30.05
31.5
31
30.9
31

Wet Bulb
Temperature
(C)
24.9
24.5
24.9
24.9
25
24.5
24.5

Dry Bulb
Temperature
(C)
31
30
31
31
31.5
31

Wet Bulb
Temperature
(C)
24.5
24.9
25
24.9
25
25

Wt of wet zeolite
(g)
0
173.74
5
172.98
10
172.12
15
171.06
20
169.75
25
168.80
30
167.45
35
165.84
40
164.52
45
162.4
50
160.9
55
159.84
60
156.99
65
155.45
Analysis and Interpretation:
Time(min)

Moisture Content,
X
0.1084
0.0971
0.0886
0.0761
0.0640
0.0522
0.0408
0.0334
0.0268
0.0186
0.0122
0.0071
0.0064
-0.0001

Rate of Drying, R

dX/dt

0.0015
0.0011
0.0017
0.0016
0.0016
0.0015
0.0010
0.0009
0.0011
0.0009
0.0007
0.0001
0.0009
0.0000

-0.0023
-0.0017
-0.0025
-0.0024
-0.0024
-0.0023
-0.0015
-0.0013
-0.0016
-0.0013
-0.0010
-0.0001
-0.0013
0.0000

Moisture Content VS Time

0.12
0.11
0.1

0.1

0.09
0.08

0.08

0.06
0.05

0.06

Moisture content

0.04
0.03
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.010.01

0.04
0.02
0

10

20

30

-0.02

Time

40

50

60

0
70

Rate of Drying VS Time

0

0
0

0
0

0
0

Rate of Drying 0

0
0

0
0
0

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

0
60

70

Time

Based on the graph of moisture content versus time, it shows that the moisture contet of
the zeolote decreases with time. From the graph of drying rate versus time, it is shown that the
changing pattern is not consistent or in mannered pattern. Thus, it can be said that the drying
rates is not dependent upon time.
Drying occurs in three different periods. The initial period is where sensible heat is
transferred to the product and the contained moisture. Based on the moisture content vs time
graph, the first period is between the first minute to 55 minutes. The constant rate period is when
the free moisture persists on the surfaces and the rate of evaporation alters very little as the
moisture reduces. It is betwwen 55 minutes to 60 minutes, based on the graph. The falling rate
period is the period during which the drying rate slowly decreases until it approaches zero.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
Based on the data, the experiment can be concluded that the moisture content is
decresing with time. It can be said that moisture content is directly proportional with time. The
data on drying rates, however, are with varying time. It can be concluded that drying rates do not
depend on time.
In order to obtain better results, there are few reccomendations that may be considered.
Clean apparatus is a must. Dirty apparatus may cause contamination on the chemicals, therefore
affecting the results. The same can be said on the equipments. Good air circulation within the
dryer is imporatnt, as it reduces drying time and allows the use of lower temperatues, both of
which can prevent the degradation of chemical constituents during the drying process.

Questions:
1. How does particle size influence the equilibrium and critical moisture contents?
2. What is the heat transfer mechanism involved when a granular solid material contained
in a metal tray with insulated edges and bottom is placed inside the batch dryer?
3. What is the effect of the increasing the absolute humidity of the air on the value of the
drying rate constant?
4. Calculate the amount of water removed from 2000kg/hr of feed to be dried from 110%
(d.b.) to 5% (w. b.).
5. Wet solid are to be dried from 40% to 10% in 5 hours under constant drying conditions.
The critical moisture content is 20% and the equilibrium moisture content is 7%. All
moisture contents are on a dry basis. Determine the time needed to dry from 15% to 5%
free moisture under the same drying condition.
Answers to Questions:
1. The particle size determines the distance internal moisture must travel to reach the
drying surface. It affects the equilibrium moisture content, which is obtained under
steady-state conditions, by gaining or losing moisture at specific temperature and
humidity of the materials. The critical moisture content varies with the thickness of the
material. Large particles exhibit higher critical moisture contents under specific drying
conditions than fine particles of the same material.
2. Convection is the heat transfer mechanism involved.
3. The rate of drying is determined by the moisture content and the temperature of the
grain and the temperature, the (relative) humidity and the velocity of the air in contact
with the grain. In general the drying rate decreases with moisture content, increases with
increase in air temperature or decreases with increase in air humidity.
Ms
Xc Xe
t =
[ XiXc+ ( XcXe ) ln
]
5.
ARc
Xf Xe
Ms
0.200.07
5 hrs=
[0.400.20+ ( 0.200.07 ) ln
]
ARc
0.100.07
Ms
=12.8
ARc
0.200.07
t =12.8[0.150.20+ ( 0.200.07 ) ln
]
0.050.07
t =2.47 hours

)
(