Rotary Drying

EARVIN HERWIG B. EMPACES

College of Engineering and Architecture,
Cebu Institute of Technology – University, N. Bacalso Ave.
Cebu City, 6000 Philippines

The objective of this experiment is to determine the operating characteristics and

efficiency of a direct-fired rotary drier. This involves the drying of wet solid materials which
undergoes heating through a rotating tunnel. The temperatures of all ends of the system were
measured.
Calculations were done using the given equations to obtain the rate of drying and effect
of varying air velocity similarly to the tray drying.
1. Introduction
The vaporization and removal of water or other liquids from a solution, suspension, or
other solid-liquid mixture to form a dry solid is called drying. It is a complicated process that
involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer, accompanied by physicochemical transformations.
Drying occurs as a result of the vaporization of liquid by supplying heat to wet feedstock,
granules, filter cakes and so on. Based on the mechanism of heat transfer that is employed,
drying is categorized into direct (convection), indirect or contact (conduction), radiant (radiation)
and dielectric or microwave (radio frequency) drying. The critical aspects in drying processes are
heat and mass transfer. Heat is transferred to the product to evaporate liquid, and mass is
transferred as a vapor into the surrounding gas.
The drying rate is determined by the set of factors that affect heat and mass transfer.
Solid drying is generally understood to follow two distinct drying zones, known as the constant-
rate period and the falling-rate period. The two zones are demarcated by a break point called the
critical moisture content. A rotary dryer is a type of industrial dryer employed to reduce or
minimize the liquid moisture content of the material it is handling by bringing it into direct
contact with a heated gas. The dryer is made up of a large, rotating cylindrical tube, usually
supported by concrete columns or steel beams. The dryer slopes slightly so that the discharge end
is lower than the material feed end in order to convey the material through the dryer under
gravity. Material to be dried enters the dryer, and as the dryer rotates, the material is lifted up by
a series of internal fins lining the inner wall of the dryer. When the material gets high enough to
roll back off the fins, it falls back down to the bottom of the dryer, passing through the hot gas
stream as it falls. This gas stream can either be moving toward the discharge end from the feed
end (known as co-current flow), or toward the feed end from the discharge end (known as
counter-current flow).
The gas stream can be made up of a mixture of air and combustion gases from a burner,
in which case the dryer is called a direct heated dryer. Based on the configuration, rotary dryers
can be classified as co current, counter current, direct fired and indirect fired. Direct fired rotary
drums heat feed through direct contact with process gases. To maximize the efficiency of contact
with these gases, lifting flights are often attached to the inside of the drum, providing a way for
all feed to be lifted and then veiled into the center of the drum.
2. Materials and Methods

a. Equipments and Materials

 Rotary Dryer
 Anemometer
 Platform Balance
 2 5-gallon Pails
 Thermocouple
 Wet-bulb thermometer
 Dry-bulb thermometer

b. Method
The dry gas meter was connected in the line leading to the burner of the drier. The
drier was started, the exhausting blower was turned on and the burner was lighted. A
predetermined quantity of sand and water was mixed thoroughly and samples of these
were reserved for analytical moisture determinations. The weighed, wet sand was placed
into the hopper and was fed through the drier at a rate assigned by the laboratory
instructor. Important data were recorded for each run. The needed values were calculated
and tabulated.

3. Results

*(assumption/basis only)

Characteristics Trial 1 Trial 2

Heat (minimum) supplied, kJ 2 344.83 2 344.83
Heat absorbed by dry sand, kJ 22.862 30.672
Heat absorbed by drier gas, kJ 0.0028 0.00144
Heat absorbed by the Evaporated Moisture, kJ 1 994.175 221.57
Total Heat, kJ 1 967.04 252.24
Thermal Efficiency 83.89% 10.76%
Drying efficiency, ԑd 98.84% 84.84%

Computation
Heat supplied by the Burning Gas=Natural Heat absorbed by the drier gas = Volume
Gas burned (m3)*Heating Value of Gas (m3) * Humid volume (m3/kg) * Heat
(kJ/m3) Capacity (kJ/kg C) * Change in
Temperature (C)
Trial 1 and Trial 2 Trial 1
Heat absorbed = 0.08 (m3) * 1.06 (kg/m3) *
Heat supplied by the Burning Gas=0.02
0.001 (kJ/kg C) * (84-51) (C)
(m3)* 117241.52 (kJ/m3)
Heat absorbed = 0.0028 kJ
Heat supplied by the Burning Gas = 2 344.83
Trial 2
kJ
Heat absorbed = 0.08 (m3) * 1.06 (kg/m3) *
0.001 (kJ/kg C) * (113-96) (C)
Heat absorbed by dry sand = Mass * Heat
Heat absorbed: = 0.00144 kJ
Capacity * Change in Temperature
Trial 1
Total Heat = ∑ All Heats
Heat absorbed = 2.3 (kg) * 0.71 (kJ/kg C) *
(41-27) (C) Trial 1
Heat absorbed = 22.862 kJ 22.862 + 0.0028 + 1 944.175 = 1 967.04 kJ
Trial 2 Trial 2
30.672 + 0.00144 + 221.57 = 252.24 kJ
Heat absorbed = 2.7 (kg) * 0.71 (kJ/kg C) *
(42-26) (C) Total Heat used
Heat absorbed = 30.672 kJ Thermal Efficiency =
Total Heat supplied
x100
Heat absorbed by the Evaporated
Trial 1
Moisture = mass of water evaporated (kg) *
1967.04
latent heat of vaporization (kg/kj C) Thermal Efficiency = x100
2 344.83
Trial 1
Thermal Efficiency = 83.89%
Heat absorbed = 0.9 (kg) * 2215.75 (kJ/kg )
Trial 2
Heat absorbed = 1 994.175 kJ
252.24
Trial 2 Thermal Efficiency = x100
2344.83
Heat absorbed = 0.1 (kg) * 2215.7 (kJ/kg)
Thermal Efficiency = 10.76%
Heat absorbed = 221.57 kJ
Drying Efficiency =
Heat absorbed by the drier gas
Heat absorbed by evaporated moisture
x100
Total Heat

Trial 1
1944.175
Drying Efficiency = x100
1 967.04
Trial 2 Drying Efficiency = 98.84%

221.57
Drying Efficiency = x100
252.24

Drying Efficiency = 84.84%

4. Discussion
 It is deduced that the huge discrepancy between trial 1 and 2`s heat absorbed by
evaporated moisture and heat accounted for values, respectively, can be accounted from the heat
loss on the surroundings, inadequate amount of drier gas supplied countercurrent to the cylinder
and faulty measurements of the temperatures on each ends. Consequently, these resulted in the
huge difference between drying and thermal efficiencies for both trials.

5. Conclusions
The cylinder failed to deliver all the sand, regardless if wet or dry, into the other end by
housing the lost weight inside its crevices and shallow compartments. This greatly affected the
amount of heat absorbed of the dry sand which in return reduced the heat accounted for, further
lowering the drying and thermal efficiency.
Also, no mechanism is available to help feed the wet sand in the feeder at a uniform rate.
It is highly recommended to regularly clean and maintain the rotary dryer as lodged dirt
interferes with its operation and the data obtained. Also, increasing the number of thermometers
and anemometers in the laboratory is a great help when measuring values simultaneously.

6. References
[1] C. J. Geankoplis, Principles of Transport Processes and Separation Processes, 4 th Edition.
Pearson Education. United States. (2003).