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B. BLOCK (1970, 1985) B. G. LIPTÁK (1995) F. G. SHINSKEY (2005)
Dry
product
Air
Flow sheet symbol
The equipment discussed in this section serves to dry solids. Figure 8.22a is a psychrometric chart relating the absolute
The process involves the removal of liquids, such as water and relative humidity of air to its temperature and enthalpy.
or other solvents, by adding heat to vaporize them. The types The vertical scale is absolute humidity in grains of moisture
of dryer designs discussed can be grouped into batch and carried by a pound of dry air (1 lb is 7000 grains). Dry-bulb
continuous. They can be further subdivided on the basis of temperature is the horizontal scale.
whether the dryer itself is heated (nonadiabatic) or unheated The uppermost curve is the saturation limit—100% rel-
and the heat of vaporization is provided by preheated air ative humidity, the remaining curves representing lower lev-
(adiabatic). els of RH. The temperature of the air at 100% RH is also its
Adiabatic dryers can be co-current (the solids and the dew point. Consider, for example, a hot summer day with a
drying air move in the same direction), countercurrent (hot air (dry-bulb) temperature of 85°F and a RH of 75%. The abso-
and solids move through the dryer in opposite directions), or lute humidity of the air would be about 137 grains/lb dry air,
fluidized bed. The control of each of these designs will be and its dew point would be about 76°F.
briefly discussed in this section. Such air might be used to dry lumber, for example, by
The subject of dryers is so extensive that some limitations heating it to 115°F. Point A on the psychrometric chart would
must be imposed on the discussion. Therefore: then represent the condition of the heated air that is sent to
the dryer—notice that its RH at that point is only 30%.
1. The dryers and drying principles discussed will be The scale in the center of the chart is marked in units of
limited to those related to the removal of a volatile BTU/lb dry air total heat, or enthalpy. As the air passes through
solvent from a solid material. Such processes as the the adiabatic dryer, its enthalpy will remain at 50 BTU/lb,
removal of a solvent from an air stream (air drying) while it cools and evaporates moisture from the solids. The
or the removal of one solvent from another (drying of path it takes on the chart then follows a line of constant
an organic solvent) will not be covered. enthalpy sloping upward to the left toward point B, where it
2. The solvent to be removed will be taken as water. is exhausted from the dryer at 80%RH. These lines of constant
enthalpy are also lines of constant wet-bulb temperature.
3. The heating medium used may be steam or the firing
of a fuel. A wet-bulb thermometer’s bulb is covered by a wick that
is saturated with water. It is whirled in the air, or has a stream
of air blown across it. The equilibrium temperature reached
ADIABATIC DRYING during this process is known as the wet-bulb temperature and
can be used along with dry-bulb temperature to estimate RH,
The energy source for adiabatic drying is the sensible heat absolute humidity, and dew point from the chart. It is also a
of a stream of air directed toward a bed or a stream of moist direct indication of enthalpy—note that the wet-bulb lines
solids. Heat flows from the air to the solids, evaporating some on the chart are also lines of constant enthalpy.
of their moisture — in this respect, the governing force for Wet-bulb temperature is particularly important in a dry-
drying is that of heat transfer. In this process the air is cooled, ing operation, because the wet bulb is an analog of the solid
but its energy content (enthalpy) does not change, because material being dried. As moisture evaporates from the solid
the sensible heat loss equals the latent heat associated with in an adiabatic dryer, its temperature approaches that of a
its increased moisture content. wet-bulb thermometer in the same air, and it remains at that
1904
250 58 250
240 56 240
0%
230 230
10
54 90
Cu
0.70 220 Barometric pressure 14.696 PSIA 52 220
.f
90
210
r
210
Weight of water vapor in one pound of dry air-grains
y ai
t. p
50
%
200 200
80
er l
r
48
of d
190 44 85 190
b. o
0.60
15
%
46
70
42
und
.0
180 B 180
f
dry
170 40 170
r po
Pressure of water vapor-PSI
%
80
air
s
60
160 38 160
re
e
0.50
tu
U. p
150 36 r a 150
%
pe
50
t-BT
140 34 140
26 tem 75 A
130 32 t 130
14
in
he a
%
0.40
po 70
40
24
.5
120 30 120
w
al
110 22 de
Tot
26 d 110
an %
100 20 lb 65 30 100
0.30 bu
14
90 Wet 90
18 et bu
.0
60 lb lin
80 16 W es % 80
70 55 20 70
0.20 14 50
60 60
13
50 12 45 50
.5
40 10 40 10% d i t y 40
35 mi
13
0.10 30 30 e hu 30
v
.0
25 t i
20 Rela 20
12
.5
10 10
0.00 0 0
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120
Dry bulb temperature-degrees F. Copyright, 1942, General Electric Company
FIG. 8.22a
Psychrometric chart.
temperature through most of the drying operation. Measuring As a result, wet-bulb temperature is rarely measured in
the wet-bulb temperature in a dryer or even in the air entering situ, but can be calculated from other measurements such as
a dryer is difficult, however, because the wick must be con- dry-bulb and dew-point temperatures. The exception is in a
tinuously supplied with just the right flow of water, and the lumber kiln, where conditions are relatively mild and dust-free.
wick is subject to plugging from dust and any dissolved solids
in the water (Figure 8.22b). Batch Drying
Exhaust
B C
air
HCV Inlet
air A Constant Falling
rate zone rate zone
Drying rate
Preheat zone
D
FC Steam E
Time
Filter bag
Tsc D E
Temperature
1
Particle fully A of solids in the dryer, produces a relationship between
covered by water product moisture x and air temperatures:
R (lbm/hr ft2 or kg/s m2)
Assumed xcGC p Ti − Tw
approximation x= ln 8.22(3)
Particle partially H v kA To − Tw
Drying rate
covered by water
dW = dAk (T − Tw ) x/ xc 8.22(1)
Scintillation
detector Microwave
(option) receiving Evaluation
where dW is the water transferred from a solid particle of antenna unit micro-moist
surface area dA to the air, and k is the mass-transfer coeffi- LB 456
cient. As the air passes through the bed, its temperature falls
by evaporation:
HF HF reference
Gamma radiation Microwave measurement cable
Hv source (option) transmitting cable
− dT = dW 8.22(2) antenna
GC p
FIG. 8.22h
where Hv is the latent heat of evaporation, G is the mass flow Noncontacting moisture analyzer can be provided with gamma radi-
of air, and Cp is its specific heat. Combining these two equa- ation densitometer to compensate for variations in process density.
tions by eliminating dW, and integrating across the total area (Courtesy of Berthold Technologies.)
air will be cool and wet, and not useful for recirculation. But
Constant-rate Falling-rate
during falling-rate drying it becomes progressively warmer
drying drying Terminate
at Tof and dryer, and its recirculation under dew-point control can
To reduce steam consumption.
Toc
Tw
Lumber Kilns
The wet-bulb temperature of the circulated air is controlled imately the same as that of the product being discharged. As
by opening an exhaust damper, which releases humid air and a consequence, the rate of drying is essentially that of the
induces an equal flow of fresh air into the kiln. The rate of product.
drying must be strictly limited to prevent cracking of the wood The relationship between product moisture and air tem-
from stress caused by unequal moisture distribution. peratures is then governed by Equation 8.22(4). An increase
At every reversal of flow, the temperature gradient in the in either feed rate or moisture will lower the outlet-air temper-
kiln reverses. Temperatures at both ends of the kiln are com- ature, causing the controller to increase steam flow to return
pared in high and low selectors, with the higher selected as it to set point. However, the addition of more heat to the air
the inlet temperature Ti and the lower as the outlet temperature also raises its wet-bulb temperature, which narrows the tem-
To. Rate of drying is limited by controlling Ti − To with a steam perature difference in the denominator of Equation 8.22(4),
valve on the air heater. Ti is also limited by a controller that while raising the temperature difference in the numerator,
is overriding the rate-of-drying controller through a low selec- thereby raising the level of moisture in the product. There-
tor. These controllers are transferred to manual briefly after fore, controlling at a fixed temperature set point gives a
each flow reversal, until the temperatures settle at their new product that is sensitive to variations in load as well as atmo-
values. spheric humidity.
Reference 2 describes the successful calculation of wood To provide load regulation and protection from humidity
moisture using Equation 8.22(4) directly from measurements variations, the inferential model of Equation 8.22(4) can be
of inlet, outlet, and wet-bulb temperatures. Kxc was adjusted applied. It requires a measurement of inlet-air temperature,
to calibrate the model for each species and grade of wood, which should be controlled in cascade from the outlet-air
and drying was terminated when the calculated value of x temperature controller. It also requires wet-bulb temperature,
reached the specification for that product. The use of the but this is not measurable under the conditions prevailing in
model resulted in a higher quality product, more batch-to- the dryer—it must be calculated as a function of inlet-air
batch uniformity, and shorter batch times. temperature and humidity. The model is then inverted so that
outlet-air temperature appears in the numerator, as that is the
Continuous Fluid-Bed Dryers controlled variable. Outlet-air temperature is plotted as a func-
tion of inlet-air temperature for conditions of constant product
The continuous fluid-bed dryer shown in Figure 8.22k uses moisture in Figure 8.22l, using the software in Reference 3.
a temperature controller on the air leaving the bed to manip- Ambient temperature and dew point are entered into the
ulate the flow of steam to the air heater. A second controller program, along with fuel type in case of direct firing—this
maintains bed density by holding a constant differential pres- figure has no fuel input. The origin of the plot is the point
sure across it. In this dryer, rapid circulation of the solids where both inlet and outlet temperatures are equal to the
means that the average moisture content in the bed is approx- ambient—here, 50°F.
Exhaust 500
air
HCV
0.4
Feed
To – T w 0.3
Ti – Tw
Outlet air temperature
TT
0.2
TRC
0.1
Perforated PDT Dry
plate product
PDRC 0.0
M
Steam
FC
Inlet
air 0
T 0 Inlet air temperature 1000
FIG. 8.22l
FIG. 8.22k Each curve represents a contour of constant dryness; temperatures
A continuous fluid-bed dryer with single-loop controls. are in °F.
Air
Set Fuel
X HCV Fired control
TC T o* FY TC heater unit
FR
Set Air
Fuel
FT
t Feed S 1/P
FY
FO
High pressure Vent
feed pump
TT TT
TRC
To Ti Heat Exhaust TSH TAH
input air
TT
FIG. 8.22m
The inferential moisture control system has positive feedback.
HCV
where F is feed rate and Q is the firing rate. If the feed rate
Exhaust
is steady and the firing rate increases, the cause is an increase
Feed in feed moisture—hence coefficient c is the lower value found
for the spray dryer above. If both F and Q increase, the load
Fuel change is due to a rate increase—therefore, coefficient b in
To
TT Equation 8.22(7) is equivalent to b + c in Equation 8.22(8).
Countercurrent Dryers
Pri. Sec.
Product
air Materials that have little heat sensitivity can be dried more
FIG. 8.22o efficiently by a countercurrent flow of air. Examples of these
Ores are dried in a rotating kiln by direct firing of a fuel. are sugar granulators, where the air is steam-heated, and
carbon-black dryers, which are direct-fired. In these dryers,
the temperature of the air leaving is unrelated to product
moisture, because it is measured at the feed end. In the sugar
The reason for this discrepancy was discovered much granulator particularly, exit-air temperature reflects the tem-
later. The model used to develop the contours of Figure 8.22l perature of the feed that is discharged hot from centrifuges.
was based on a constant feed moisture and variable feed rate. As a result, the models used for inferential control of fluid-
Within a fluid-bed dryer, the two load components produce bed and co-current adiabatic dryers do not apply when the
the same effect on product moisture because of the complete flow pattern is countercurrent.
back-mixing. But in a spray dryer, there is no back-mixing, The best temperature to control in a countercurrent dryer
so that the rate of drying varies through its length. In the is that of the product as it leaves. This can be difficult to
particular dryer being studied, feed rate was maintained con- measure, even in a sugar granulator where the product is
stant by pressure regulated at the nozzles, but its composition clean, uniform, and freely flowing. Voids and dams easily
varied through a run. Wetter feed dries easier, and therefore form around any obstruction such as a temperature bulb. And
requires less of a temperature rise to control product moisture the product temperature has much more dead time than air
than does an equivalent increase in feed rate. temperature. A reliable on-line analyzer is a real asset in
Most common are rotary dryers, used for ores such as controlling these dryers.
bauxite and gypsum, one of which is illustrated in Figure 8.22o.
The center cylinder rotates slowly, conveying the solids
through its length, which can be 100 ft or more. Airflow is NONADIABATIC DRYERS
co-current with the feed, induced by the exhaust fan. Primary
air is mixed with the fuel for combustion, and a larger flow When heat is transferred to the solid through the walls of a
of secondary air is induced at the feed end. Inlet-air temper- dryer, enthalpy is added to the product, which raises the wet-
ature cannot be measured and must be inferred from fuel flow. bulb temperature of the surrounding air. An attempt to model
There is also a problem measuring outlet-air temperature. this type of drying by estimating the internal wet-bulb tem-
Measurements made at an easy access point such as the perature is difficult, because the airflow is often induced by
suction of the exhaust fan can give temperatures below the natural draft and is neither measured nor controlled. A similar
wet-bulb—an impossibility in an adiabatic dryer. The low problem develops when air is recirculated within a dryer
measurement is caused by the infiltration of ambient air without control.
through the rotary seals at the end of the dryer. To obtain an An example is a steam-tube dryer used for drying spent
accurate measurement of outlet-air temperature requires the grain in distilleries. It is a rotating shell fitted with a bank of
insertion of a resistance bulb into the rotating kiln upstream tubes containing condensing steam. The solids contact the
of the seal, as shown in the figure. It is best fastened under tubes as the dryer rotates, and they flow at a downward slope
an angle-iron to protect it from falling rocks. against a natural draft of air. A rotating seal at the product
If a rotary dryer is exposed to feed-moisture changes, it end connects the steam to the tubes and draws the condensate
will behave much like the spray dryer, and for the same out.
reason. To discriminate between feed-rate and feed-moisture These dryers are conventionally controlled by regulating
changes, a measurement of feed rate is required. This can the steam pressure in the tubes. An increase in feed rate or
be obtained by a mass-flow measurement on a conveyor feed- moisture will wet more of the tube surface, thereby increasing
ing the dryer. On ore dryers fed by a bulldozer, feed rate may the rate of heat transfer and condensing more steam, which
be estimated by the power load on the motor that rotates the the pressure regulator will then supply. However, a higher
dryer. The set point for outlet-air temperature then is calcu- evaporative load will result in more wet-tube surface, thereby
lated as increasing the moisture content of the product.
5
An inferential control system was developed that is sim-
To* = a + bF + cQ 8.22(8) ilar to what was used successfully on adiabatic dryers—the
driving force for drying is increased in proportion to the evap- automatically control this level been thwarted by three difficul-
orative load. Assuming that the moisture profile in the dryer ties: (1) The height of the level is only 6–9 in. (150–225 mm).
is related to the overall heat-transfer coefficient, an attempt is (2) The liquid is constantly in a state of extreme agitation,
made to keep that coefficient constant. Heat flow is linear with bubbling, and boiling; and the liquid is highly concentrated
temperature difference: and tends to plug conventional level sensors that depend on
physical contact for measurement. (3) Frequently the control
Q = UA∆T 8.22(9) of feed is manual, indicated in the diagram by a manual
loading station (HIC). In traditional applications, all of the
where U is the coefficient to be controlled, A the area of the other controls were on manual, and only the steam pressure
tube surface, and ∆T the temperature difference between the was controlled automatically.
solid and the steam. If steam flow increases due to a higher
evaporative load, then ∆T should increase proportionately to
keep U constant. This is accomplished by increasing steam
pressure, as shown in Figure 8.22p. References
The relationship needed between steam pressure and flow
1. Shinskey, F. G., Process Control Systems, 4th ed., New York: McGraw-
was found to be parabolic rather than linear. As a result, the Hill, 1996, pp. 375–377.
differential pressure h measured across the steam orifice does 2. Kinney, T. B., “Advanced Control with Optimization of Kiln-Dried
not have its square root extracted before being used in the Lumber with a Microprocessor-Based Unit Controller,” ISA Confer-
calculation. Compensation of the flow measurement for vari- ence, October 1985.
ations in supply pressure Pin was found to be necessary for 3. Shinskey, F. G., Problem Solving Software, Ver. 3.2, Foxboro, MA:
The Foxboro Company, 1997, Chap. 11.
accuracy. The pressure set point is calculated as
4. Myron, T. J., Shinskey, F. G., and Baker, R., “Inferential Moisture
Control of a Spray Dryer,” ISA Food Industry Symposium, Montreal,
June 1973.
P* = ChPin 8.22(10)
5. Myron, T. J., and Shinskey, F. G., “Product Moisture Control for
Steam-Tube and Direct Fired Dryers,” MBBA Tech. Quarterly, Vol. 12,
where C is a coefficient adjusted to make on-specification No. 4, 1975, pp. 235–242.
product.
Another nonadiabatic dryer that can be controlled in a
similar way is the double-drum dryer shown in Figure 8.22q.
Bibliography
Liquid is fed into the “valley” between the heated cylinders.
The drums, rotating downward at the center, receive a coating
Cook, E. M., and DuMont, H. D., “New Ideas to Improve Dryer Perfor-
of the liquid with the thickness depending upon the spacing mance,” Chem. Eng., May 9, 1988.
between the rolls. The material must be dry by the time it DeThomas, F. A., “Control of Moisture in Multi-Stage Dryer,” ISA/93 Tech-
rotates to the doctor knife, where it is cut off the roll. nical Conference, Chicago, September 19–24, 1993.
The variables available for control are the speed of the Fadum, O., and Shinskey, F. G., “Saving Energy through Better Control of
Continuous and Batch Dryers,” Control. Eng., March 1980.
cylinders, the spacing between them, the liquid level in the
Hawkins, J. C., “Advances in Mineral Dryer Control Systems,” 1970 ISA
valley, and the steam pressure in the cylinders. The first two Conference, Reprint No. 850–70. Research Triangle Park, NC: ISA,
(speed and spacing) are usually adjusted manually. The liquid 1970.
level is maintained by throttling the feed stream. Attempts to Krigman, A., “Moisture and Humidity,” InTech, March 1985.
Liptak, B. G., “Optimizing Dryer Performance through Better Control,” Shinskey, F. G., “Humidity, Dew Point, and Wet-Bulb Temperature,” Instru-
Chem. Eng., February, March 1998. ments and Control Systems, January, February 1975.
McKetta, J. J., “Mass Transfer,” Unit Operations Handbook, Vol. 1, New Shinskey, F. G., “How to Control Product Dryness,” Instrumentation Tech-
York: Marcel Dekker. nology, October 1968.
“Moisture/Humidity,” Measurements & Control, February 1992. Shinskey, F. G., “Process Control Systems with Variable Structure,” Control
Perry, R. H. and Green, D. W., Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, 7th edition, Engineering, August 1974.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997, Chap. 12. Shinskey, F. G., Energy Conservation through Control, New York: Academic
Schultz, G., “Relative Humidity Measurement with an Analog Transmitter,” Press, 1978, Chap. 7.
Measurements & Control, December 1992. Young, G. C., “Simple Method Eases Dryer Tests,” Chem. Eng., June 20, 1988.