Drying of Process

Materials
F. Taufany, PhD
Definition
Removal of small amounts of water or other organic liquids (eg., solvents) from
the wet materials (solids); converting a solid, semi-solid or liquid feedstock
into a solid product by evaporation of the liquid into a vapor phase via
application of heat (ie., convection, conduction, radiation).
This definition thus excludes:
Conversion of a liquid phase into a concentrated liquid phase (evaporation).






Mechanical dewatering operations such as filtration, centrifugation,
sedimentation, etc.
An essential operation in the chemical, agricultural, biotechnology, food,
polymer, ceramics, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, mineral processing,
and wood processing industries.
Preservation of food: (a) enzymes and (b) organisms couldnt survive in moisture
content <5wt%
No. Parameters Drying Evaporation
1 Quantity of removed water Small Large
2 Discharged form Solid form, i.e. a flowable powder Liquid form (concentrated)
3 Feed Wet solid Liquid (aqueous)

Involved components
1. Water: phase diagram
2. Air: psychrometry
3. Solid: moisture content
Phase diagram of water
Triple point at 0.0098 C and 0.64 kPa
Involved components: Water-phase diagram
Phase diagram of water
Air, vacuum, and freeze dryer
Involved components
1. Water: phase diagram
Example: Vapor-liquid equilibrium of water
Rating dryer: heat energy requirement,
efficiency???
Examples of Heat Energy Calculations
1. Air drying





2. Vacuum drying


3. Free drying
Examples of Efficiencies Calculations





Example:
Based on latent heat vaporization and/or sensible heat
Based on heat input and output (heat balance)
Involved Components: Air-Psychrometry
1. Psychrometry:
Humidity
Humidity chart
Wet bulb temperature
Adiabatic saturation temperature
1. The capacity of air for moisture removal depends on its humidity and its temperature.
The study of relationships between air and its associated water is called psychrometry.
2. Humidity (H) is the measure of the water content of the air; precisely H of air-water
vapor mixture is defined as the kg of water vapor contained in 1 kg of dry air.
absolute humidity.





3. Air is said to be saturated with water vapor at a given T and P if its H is a maximum
under these conditions. If further water is added to saturated air, it must appear as liquid
water in the form of a mist or droplets. Under conditions of saturation, the partial
pressure of the water vapor in the air is equal to the saturation vapor pressure of water
at that temperature. Hence, saturation humidity H
S
is



4. Percentage humidity
Involved Components: Air-Psychrometry
AS
AS
S
p P
p
H

=
28.97
18.02
A
A
A
A
p P
p
p P
p
H

=
28.97
18.02
air mol air/kg kg 28.97
1
O H mol kg
O H kg 18.02
air mol kg
O H mol kg
air dry kg
O H kg
2
2 2 2
S
P
H
H
H 100 =
Water vapor is in equilibrium with liquid water
Gibbs Dalton law; total pressure (P) = partial pressure = p
A
+ p
B
p
B
5. Percentage relative humidity is defined as 100 times of the ratio of the partial pressure
of the water vapour in the air (p
A
) to the partial pressure of saturated water vapour at
the same temperature (p
AS
). H
P
H
R




Psychrometry: Humidity. Contd
A
As
AS
A
A
A
A
A
S
P
p P
p P
p
p
p P
p
p P
p
H
H
H

=
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

= =
28.97
18.02
28.97
18.02
100 100
AS
A
R
P
p
H 100 =
H
P
H
R
Example:
6. Dew point of an air-water vapor mixture: temperature at which a given unsaturated air-
vapor mixture becomes saturated with water vapor when the air is cooled by removing
sensible heat.

7. Humid heat of an air-water vapor mixture (c
S
): amount of heat in J (or kJ) required to
raise the temperature of 1 kg of dry air plus the water vapor present by 1 K (or 1 C)



8. Humid volume of an air-water vapor mixture (v
H
): total volume in m
3
of dry air plus the
vapor it contains at 1 atm abs P and the given T.
Psychrometry: Humidity. Contd
) (SI 1.88H 1.005 ) air dry kJ/kg ( + =
S
c
( ) K in ; 10 56 . 4 10 83 . 2
18.02
1
28.97
1
273
22.41
air dry /kg m
3 3 3
T T H H T
H

+ = |
.
|

\
|
+ = = v
The moisture in the air begins to condense or change
from a vapor to a liquid
Constant heat capacity : air & water
9. Total enthalpy of an air-water vapor mixture (H
y
): total enthalphy of 1 kg of air plus its
water vapor; summation of sensible heat of the air-water vapor mixture and the latent
heat of the water vapor at T
0
(datum).
0 0
) ( air dry kJ/kg H T T c H
S y
+ =
Dew point at H
P
100%
H
T (dry bulb)
T
W
(wet bulb)
H
P
Psychrometry
Adiabatic saturation temperature: steady state temperature (i.e., recirculated water)
attained when large amounts of water is contacted with entering gas under adiabatic
condition.
Psychrometry: Humidity. Contd
S S S S S S S S
H T T c H T T c + = + ) ( ) (
Adiabatic process
Enthalpy balance: total enthalpy of the entering gas mixture = enthalpy of the entering gas mixture
005 . 1 ~ =

S
S
S
S
c
T T
H H

spray
optional
T
S
< T and H
S
> H
Sensisble heat latent heat
Slope in humidity chart
H
S
H
T (dry bulb)
T
S

H
P
Wet bulb temperature: steady state nonequilibrium temperature reached when small
amounts of water is contacted under adiabatic condition by a continuous stream of
gas.
Psychrometry: Humidity. Contd
005 . 1 96 . 0
/
~ =

W
y B
W
W
k M h
T T
H H

Energy balance: latent heat of evaporation on the wick = convective heat flowing from the gas
stream at T to the wick (at lower T
W
)
Large amount
Assumed no changes in its properties
Small amount
Note: For air/water system only, T
S
T
W

Psychrometric ratio
Where h=heat transfer coefficient, M
B
=MW of air, k
y
=mass-tansfer coefficient, =latent heat of vaporization
005 . 1 ~ =

S
S
S
S
c
T T
H H

Dew point at H
P
100%
H
T (dry bulb)
T
W
(wet bulb)
H
P
Equilibrium Moisture Content of Materials
Moisture content of given materials
after being contacted with large
excess air (H & T)
Equipments for drying
1. Batch
A. Tray Dryer
B. Vacuum-shelf dryer
C. Freeze dryer
2. Continuous
A. Continuous tunnel dryer
B. Rotary dryer
C. Drum dryer
D. Spray dryer

Equipment for drying: Batch
1. Tray dryer




2. Vacuum-shelf dryers

The lumpy solid or pasty solid is spread out, generally
quite thinly depth (10 100 mm), is uniformly spread
out on trays in which the drying takes place. Heating
may be by an air current sweeping across the trays, by
conduction from heated trays or heated shelves on
which the trays lie, or by radiation from heated surfaces.
Most tray dryers are heated by air, which also removes
the moist vapours.
10 - 20 % fresh air
Almost similar to tray only that is operated under vacuum.
Useful for handling materials which are (a) expensive dry, (b)
temperature sensitive/easily oxidable, (c) even for the materials with toxic
or valuable solvents
Equipment for drying: Batch
3. Freeze dryer

The material is held on shelves or belts in a chamber that is
under high vacuum. In most cases, the food is frozen
before being loaded into the dryer. Heat is transferred to the
food by conduction or radiation and the vapour is removed
by vacuum pump and then condensed. In one process,
given the name accelerated freeze drying, heat transfer is
by conduction; sheets of expanded metal are inserted
between the foodstuffs and heated plates to improve heat
transfer to the uneven surfaces, and moisture removal. The
pieces of food are shaped so as to present the largest
possible flat surface to the expanded metal and the plates
to obtain good heat transfer. A refrigerated condenser may
be used to condense the water vapour.
1-
2-
Equipment for drying: Continous
1. Continuous Tunnel dryer
The solids are placed on
trays/trucks (operated in series)
which move continuously through a
tunnel with hot gases passing over
the surface of each tray. The hot air
flow can be countercurrent,
cocurrent or combination.
FOOD DRYING
The wet granular solids are
conveyed as a layer 25-150 mm
deep.
Equipment for drying: Continous
2. Roller (rotary drum) dryer

The food (ex: potato slurry) is spread over the
surface of a heated drum. The drum rotates, with the
food being applied to the drum at one part of the
cycle. The food remains on the drum surface for the
greater part of the rotation, during which time the
drying takes place, and is then scraped off. Drum
drying may be regarded as conduction drying.
Example: POTATO FLAKES
Equipment for drying: Continuous
3. Rotary dryer

The foodstuff is contained in a horizontal inclined
cylinder through which it travels, being heated either by
air flow through the cylinder, or by conduction of heat
from the cylinder walls. In some cases, the cylinder
rotates and in others the cylinder is stationary and a
paddle or screw rotates within the cylinder conveying
the material through.

Equipment for drying: Continuous
4. Spray dryer




Liquid or fine solid material in a slurry is sprayed by the spray
nozzles/high-speedrotating spray disks, in the form of a fine
droplet dispersion into a current of heated air. Air and solids
may move in cocurrent or countercurrent. Drying occurs very
rapidly, so that this process is very useful for materials that are
damaged by exposure to heat for any appreciable length of time.
The dryer body is large so that the particles can settle, as they
dry, without touching the walls on which they might otherwise
stick. Commercial dryers can be very large of the order of 10 m
diameter and 20 m high.
Ex: Dried milk powder
1-
2-
3-
4-