UNIT IV

DRYING

1. What is meant by equilibrium moisture?

This is the moisture content of a substance when at equilibrium with a given partial pressure
of the vapor.

2. What is bound water?

This refers to the moisture contained by a substance which exerts an equilibrium vapor
pressure less than that of the pure liquid at the same temperature.

3. What is drying?
Drying refers to the removal of moisture from a substance.

4. What are the types of moisture?

Equilibrium moisture, Bound moisture, unbound moisture and free moisture

5. What is meant by moisture content?

The moisture content of a solid or solution is described in terms of weight % moisture
and unless otherwise qualified this is ordinarily understood to be expressed on wet basis

6. What are hygroscopic substances?

Substances containing bound water are called hygroscopic substance

7. What is fiber saturation point?

The condition at which wood textiles and other cellular materials is in equilibrium
with saturated air is called fiber saturation point.

8. What are the types of drying?

Batch drying, Continuous drying, freeze drying, Cross circulation drying, through
circulation drying.

9. What is free moisture?

 It is the moisture contained by a substance in excess of the equilibrium moisture only
free moisture can be evaporated. Free moisture content of the solid depends upon the vapor
concentration in the gas.

10. What are special drying methods?

IR radiation, Dielectric heating and vaporization from ice.

11. What are the disadvantages of batch drying?

High labour cost
Expensive operation and temperature of the interior falls at the time of loading and unloading.
12. What are the advantages of batch drying?
Low maintenance cost

13. What are the advantages of tunnel driers?

Convenience of continuous operation
It is used on brick, ceramic, and other materials must be dried.

14. What are the advantages of Rotoloure?

It does not lift the material and drop it down through the shell but merely allows it to
roll along the bottom. There is less tendency for size degradation and fragile materials.
Hot air passes through the material the air comes more nearly in equilibrium with the material.

15. What is funicular state?

It is that condition in drying a porous body when capillary suction results in air being sucked
in to the pores.

16. What is pendular state?

It is that state of a liquid in a porous solid when a continuous film of liquid no longer exists
around and between discrete particles so that flow by capillary cannot occurs
This state succeeds the funicular state.

17. What is shrinkage?

An important factor in controlling the drying rate is the shrinkage of the solid as the
moisture content is lowered, rigid, porous or non-porous solids do not shrink appreciably
during drying. But colloidal and fibrous materials undergo severe shrinkage as the moisture is
removed from them.

18. What are the effects of shrinkage?

It alters the surface of the material per unit weight.
This is true for vegetables and food stuffs.

19. What is meant by case hardening?

There may be developed hardened layer on the surface. It occurs in clay and soap
Change in gross structure. This slows down the drying.

20. What are freeze drying?

Substance which cannot be heated even to moderate temperature such as food stuffs
and pharmaceuticals can be dried by this method.

PART B
1. a) Explain the mechanism of dying during constant rate and falling rate period. (MAY14)
b) A porous solid is to be batch dried under constant drying conditions. A trial shows that it
requires 6 hours to reduce the moisture content from 30 to 10%. The critical moisture content
is 16% and the equilibrium moisture content is 2.5%. Assuming that the rate of drying during
the falling rate period is proportional to the free moisture content. How long will it take to dry
a sample of the same solid from 35% to 6% under the same drying conditions? All moisture
contents are on a wet basis.

2. With neat diagrams, explain the working of:

a) Spray dryer
b) Rotary dryer
c) Mechanically agitated dryers

3. (i) Write short notes on: Critical Moisture content, Bound and unbound moisture.
(ii) Describe any one industrial dryer for continuous operation. Give a neat sketch.

4. Explain how time of drying can be calculated.

5. 1400 kg. of bone dry granular solid is to be dried under constant drying conditions. From a
moisture content of 0.2 kg water/kg. dry solid to a final value of 0.02 kg. Water/kg. Dry solid.
The material has an effective area of 0.0616, m2/kg. dry solid. Calculate the time of drying
Flux (kg/hr.m2) 1.71 1.71 1.71 1.46 1.29 0.88 0.54 0.376
Moisture content 0.3 0.2 0.14 0.096 0.056 0.046 0.026 0.016
(dry basis)
6. Find an expression for the determination of total time of drying of a wet solid material
under constant drying conditions to a final moisture content well below the critical moisture
content.

7. In a textile mill, wet cloth passes through a hot air drier. The cloth enters with 90%
moisture regain and leaves at 6% moisture regain at a speed of 1.15 m/sec. The width of the
cloth is 120 cm and its density on bone-dry basis is 0.095 kg/m2. The temperature of the cloth
leaving the drier is 368 K. The ambient air enters the dryer at 303 K DB and 298 K WB while
the hot air leaves the dryer at 393 K DB and 328 K WB. Calculate:
(i) the bone-dry production of the dryer
(ii) the evaporation taking place in the dryer and
(iii) the air circulation rate.

8. A time of 5 hrs. Was taken to dry a material from an initial moisture of 30% to a final
moisture of 7%. Critical and equilibrium moisture are found to be 15% and 2% respectively.
How much further time would be required to dry the material to a final moisture of 4%. All
moisture contents are on wet basis.

9. Explain about tray dryer and fluidized bed dryer with neat sketches.

10. Describe the temp. Patterns in batch and continuous countercurrent adiabatic dryers.