4.

0 DATA AND RESULTS

Weight of Empty Tray = ____337.5_____ g

Weight of Dry Sand and Tray
Weight of Dry Sand
Weight of Wet Sand and Tray
Weight of Wet Sand
Air Velocity
= ____949.5_____ g
= ____612______ g
= ____969.5_____ g
= ____632______ g
= _____1.10______ m/s

Table 1:

o o
Time Mass of Total Inlet ( C) Outlet ( C)
(min) wet sand moisture Dry Wet Dry Wet bulb
(g) content, bulb bulb bulb
XT
0 632 0.033 54 28 54 29

5 628.3 0.027 51 30 52 30
10 622.3 0.017 56 26 56 30
15 616.3 0.007 57 28 58 29
20 612.3 0.0004 60 28 60 29
25 611 -0.002 61 28 60 29

Table 2:

Time, t Free Moisture

Content, X

0 18.9
5 15.66
10 10.26
15 4.86
20 1.296
25 0
 Figure 1: Graph total moisture content XT

Free Moisture Content, X Vs Time

20
Frree Moisture Content

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time

Figure 2: Graph free moisture content, X Vs Time

5.0 DISCUSSION

Based on the experiment, it shows that the water was evaporated from the sand as time goes by
with different temperature. Based on the graph, the change in moisture content and drying rate
decreased as the time goes by. After 25 minutes of the experiment, there was no changes in mass
as the water in the sand cannot be remove anymore because it has achieved equilibrium and the
weight remain unchanged.

According to the data obtained, the weight of the sand is decreasing as time proceeds. This is also
shown in the Graph of Moisture Content versus Time. In this case, the graph plotted has a
negative gradient. The drying rate can be determined from the gradient of the graph. The steeper
the slope (gradient), the higher the drying rate will be. The drying rates are -0.00015g/min.
However, theoretically, as the temperature of air is increased, the drying rate should become
higher. The results obtained behave in such way and it might be due to no significant change in
heater power input. We can observe the dry bulb for inlet and outlet of the experiment. For the
inlet part dry bulb has temperature average 56.5 and outlet dry bulb has average 56.67. The
difference in the temperature only 0.17, therefore it may unable to detect significant difference in
drying rate.

It also can be observed that when the difference between the wet bulb temperature and dry bulb
temperature is high, the drying rate is higher. This is because; the higher the temperature of air,
the faster the water content can be evaporated. When the temperature is higher, the relative
humidity will be lower, and that is the driving force.

In short, the drying rate is directly proportional to the temperature of the inlet air provided that the
moisture content of the inlet air is maintained.

For mass balance in this experiment, the feed of sand is 63 % and water is 37 %.The mass of sand
with water was 969.5g. The water evaporate 100% in this experiment at the top (Evaporator).The
mass of water (evaporate) at the top was 357.5g .The output for this experiment was sand where
the mass of sand was 612g . The water contain at the output was 0 due to the water totally
evaporates. From this mass balance, it showed the initial weight of sand equal to the output weight
of sand where there is no water in sand due to it fully evaporates.
Errors and Recommendations
• The reading of flow rate meter fluctuates during the experiment. To get the accurate
reading, software can be used to get the average readings of the velocity of air. By doing so, the
error of the experiment can be minimized.
• The water sprayed onto the sand might not be even. It can be spray the water more evenly
onto the surface, by adjusting the water sprayer to produce finer water mist and don’t spray on the
same spots.
• The size of sand used consists of different sizes and this can affect the drying rate. Used
the filter into the sand, so that the size will be even.
• The reading of weighing balance fluctuates. This can be solved by make sure that the
screws supporting the sand tray are tight so that when blown by the air, it will not shake or swing.
Mass Balance
M2 = 357.5 g
Water = 100 %

M1 = 969.5 g
Sand = 63 %
Water = 37 % (20 g) M3 = 612 g
X = sand
Y = water

Overall Balance :

M1 = M2 + M3
M2 = M1 – M3
= 969.5 g – 612 g
= 357.5 g

Sand Balance :
0.63 × 969.5 = X × 612 g
610.79 = X × 612 g
X = 610.79 ÷ 612
= 1

Output water = 357.5 g

Sand = 612 g
6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

In conclusion, the objective of this experiment are to conduct mass balance in drying process
and to compare the experimental result and the predicted results from software. For mass balance
in this experiment, the feed of mass was 969.5 g with 63% of sand and 37 % of water. The water
evaporated for top was 100 % with mass 357.5 g. The output showed of sand was 612 g. The
water contain at the output was 0 due to the water totally evaporates. From this mass balance, it
showed the initial weight of sand equal to the output weight of sand where there is no water in
sand due to it fully evaporates. The overall balance from this experiment was balancing. Besides
that, on the graph of free moisture content vs. time showed that the change in moisture content
and drying rate decreased as the time goes by. There was no changes in mass as the water in the
sand cannot be remove anymore because it has achieved equilibrium and the weight remain
unchanged. Next, for the inlet part dry bulb has temperature average 56.5 and outlet dry bulb has
average 56.67. The difference between the wet bulb temperature and dry bulb temperature is high,
the drying rate is higher. This is because, the higher the temperature of air, the faster the water
content can be evaporated. However, theoretically, as the temperature of air is increased, the
drying rate should become higher. So, it showed that this experiment was achieved the objective
based on the theoretical given.
For recommendation, to get the accurate reading, software can be used to get the average
readings of the velocity of air. By doing so, the error of the experiment can be minimized. Then,
The water sprayed onto the sand might not be even. It can be spray the water more evenly onto the
surface, by adjusting the water sprayer to produce finer water mist and don’t spray on the same
spots. Moreover, the reading of weighing balance fluctuates. This can be solved by make sure that
the screws supporting the sand tray are tight so that when blown by the air, it will not shake or
swing.