Drying of Oleochemical Sludge

Rafiq Irfan Zailana, Chien Hwa Chonga and Chee Ming Chooa

aSchool of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia,

Putrajaya, Malaysia

Correspondence: Rafiq Irfan Zailan, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences,

Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Jalan Venna P5/2, Precinct 5, 62200 Putrajaya,
Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya, Malaysia; E-mail: rafiqirfan32@gmail.com

Provide short biographical notes on all contributors here if the journal requires them.
Drying of Oleochemical Sludge

The drying characteristics of oleochemical sludge was observed with drying

temperature of 70°C to 80°C. For each of the drying temperatures, they are
combined with ultrasonic bath pre-treatment at 10 mins and 30 mins. The drying
characteristics for the combinations of all the ultrasonic bath pre-treatment in terms
of the ultrasonic duration and ultrasonic temperature were observed and compared.
As the drying temperatures increases from 70°C to 80°C, the range of drying rate
increases from 1.02 – 0.14 g H2O/g DM (dry basis) for 70°C to 1.20 – 0.06 g H2O/g
DM (dry basis). As for the addition of ultrasonic bath as the pre-treatment of
drying, the changes on the drying characteristics are not obvious in terms of the
ultrasonic temperature and duration. The mathematical modelling of drying
kinetics was also compared. As for the values of apparent activation energy, the
activation energy increases from the first falling rate period to the second falling
rate period. As for the effect of increased ultrasonic temperature, the activation
energy also increases but there is no obvious on the changes for the effect of
increasing ultrasonic duration. Solar drying combined with thermal oven drying
was conducted and the difference in terms of the effects of energy conservation
were compared with thermal drying combined with ultrasonic pre-treatment and
thermal drying alone. The period to reach equilibrium for solar drying combined
with thermal drying and thermal drying alone is the same which can save two hours
of energy for every 600 g of sludge. The cost of electricity can be saved by 22% if
solar drying combined with thermal drying is used compared with thermal drying
alone.

Keywords: drying; sludge; oleochemical; solar drying

Subject classification codes: include these here if the journal requires them

1.0 Introduction

The production of sludge is mostly from waste water treatment and production of palm

oil and oleochemicals. The sludge is called sewage sludge and palm oil or oleochemical

sludge respectively. Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is formed through the discharge of

water from the extraction of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) from fresh fruit bunches which

involves steam for sterilisation and water for dilution. Palm Oil Sludge is the floating
remains that is separated during the initial stage of POME discharge [1].

In Malaysia, the palm oil industry produces 18.79 million tonnes of CPO annually

which results in the production of POME. CPO produces three times more than the

amount of POME, which is also commonly called as Palm Oil Sludge [2]. Currently, the

wastewater treatment of the sludge is inefficient, uses plenty of resources and many of

the retention time is consumed which leads to high operating cost just for the treatment

of sludge [3]. The production of sludge has been a major problem since the cost which

includes treatment, transportation and disposal represents 50% to 60% of the total

exploitation cost. High moisture content, complex components and properties are the

difficulties faced during handling and managing the wastewater sludge [4].

Palm oil sludge is a brown slurry consists of 4% to 5% organic solids, 0.5% to

1.0% of residual oil and 95% water content. Sludge also contains a high concentration of

Nitrogen [5]. As shown, the water content of the sludge is the main contributor to the cost

of sludge disposal. Palm Oil sludge is a highly polluting material as it has a high biological

oxygen demand, low pH and a colloidal nature. Developments have been made in order

to make the production of oleochemicals more sustainable and environmentally friendly

as waste water treatment systems are common for the production of oleochemical [6].

Several drying techniques have been developed to reduce the water content of the

sludge. They can be reduced through convective drying, conductive drying and solar

drying [7]. The conventional drying method can be combined with a pre-treatment drying.

The method for drying pre-treatment considered are sun drying and ultrasonic buff

heating. Both of the methods mentioned will be combined with the conventional drying

method and the duration of drying will be observed.

Xue et al. [7] stated that shrinkage and cracking from the sludge is observed with

an increase of drying time with some small and shallow cracks appear and they become
deeper and wider. As for the effect of the sludge with voltage, it is observed from the

article that the residue content decreases when the voltage increases from 200V to 600V.

A higher rate of reduction can be obtained from a higher voltage whereas the rate of

reduction is lower from a lower voltage. In conclusion, a higher voltage leads to a higher

heating temperature which results to a higher rate of evaporation.

Ultrasonic technique has been growing to be a promising method to improve

drying performance. Ultrasonic technique can transfer away the cyclic sonic wave emitter

with the assistance from water or air. Therefore, the ultrasound technique can be used as

a method for drying applications. There is a significant reduction of drying time compared

with the conventional drying method when ultrasonic is used as it is a well-known

technique to disrupt the sludge floc [8].

As for sun drying, the use of renewable energy can meet the process of drying for

achieving sustainable development. Solar energy is a viable option for developing

countries [9]. In order to reduce the cost of the process, it is known that solar drying is a

viable solution. Whereas in order to increase the efficiency and decrease drying time for

solar drying, indirect solar dryers are used. Air is heated up by solar radiation and the air

being in contact with the sludge.

Comparatively between solar drying and thermal drying, thermal drying

consumes more electricity than solar drying which results to more greenhouse gas

emission. It is known that solar drying is a more sustainable alternative to sludge drying

as the heat transferred to the drying material is renewable. Recently it has been found that

greenhouse drying was converted from solar drying by controlling the drying area based

on findings from the agriculture industry. Greenhouse drying is the utilisation of solar

energy which is the recovery of additional energy from solar energy [10]. Without any

thermal energy, greenhouse drying allows the moisture content of the sludge can reach
approximately 30% as it also only uses solar energy. The cons of using solar or

greenhouse drying is these methods require a large drying area. For example, a 3.5 m 2 of

drying area is needed per tonne of sludge production per year. Furthermore, solar or

greenhouse drying takes a long time to obtain low moisture contents. Also, the duration

of drying depends on the region and season. Long period of drying encourages

accumulation of CH4 gas between 5 to 15% which can lead to a high risk of explosion

[11].

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of sludge has been suggested by researchers as it

labelled as an efficient and sustainable method for sludge treatment. The advantages

include mass decrease, less energy use and energy recovery in the form of methane [12].

The complex process of AD is it converts degradable organic compounds to methane

(CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the absence of oxygen with a sequence of

microbiological process. To improve anaerobic degradability of sludge, many pre-

treatment methods has been researched such as hydrolysis, ozone oxidation, alkaline

hydrolysis and ultrasound [12]. Among all of the methods, ultrasonication is a well-

known technique for sludge degradation as it has essential merits efficient sludge

disintegration by 95% [12]. Whereas, the results of the degradation depend on the power

applied and duration of the treatment [13].

2.0 Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials

2.1.1 Sludge sample preparation

The sludge sample used for this experiment was obtained from the palm oil industry from

KLK Oleochemical plant in Pulau Indah (2.972829, 101.334271). The samples are stored

at the fridge approximately at 3°C. The sludge samples used were produced on 28th May
2018. Each sludge sample were formed by a shape moulder which is usually used for

baking purposes. For every sample, usually it requires two “moulds” as it is required for

the samples to weigh approximately at 100 g.

2.1.2 Apparatus

The experiments were carried out by using a drying oven (Memmert Universal Oven,

UF55) with dimensions of 400 mm x 400 mm x 330 mm (length x height x breadth). The

ultrasonic bath (Elmasonic, EASY 30 H) with an ultrasonic frequency of 37 kHz. As for

solar drying, the equipment used is a fabricated solar dryer designed for heat conduction

and heat radiation.

2.2 Methodology

2.2.1 Ultrasonic bath (pre-treatment)

The sludge samples were tied-up in a plastic bag. Then, the plastic bag was placed in a

removable basket which the basket was placed in the ultrasonic heater which was filled

with distilled water. The heating temperature was set at 80°C and the timer for the heating

can be set. After the sludge was heated, the weight of the sludge samples was recorded

with an electronic scale (Smith, A3021-LT302).

2.2.2 Convective drying oven

The 100 g sludge sample was prepared with a mould as mentioned previously. The weight

loss during drying was measured using an electronic scale (Smith, A3021-LT302) with a

range of 0 to 300 g with a system error of 0.001 g of system. The weight of the sludge

samples was recorded at a 15 mins interval for a drying period of 60 mins. After 60 mins,

the weight loss of the samples was recorded at a 60 mins interval. The weight loss was
measured until the weight reached the same weight for three (3) weight measurements.

At this point, the sludge sample has reached at equilibrium stage. After it has reached

equilibrium stage, the samples will be dried for 24 hours at 110°C to obtain the Bone-Dry

Weight. The Bone-Dry Weight was used to calculate the moisture content of the samples.

The oven was be operated at fan open at 100% and the flap setting at 0%. Whereas

the temperature of the dryer will be operated at 70 °C and 80 °C to obtain different sets

of data. Each of the two operating temperatures of the oven dryer was combined with the

ultrasonic heating which was conducted at 10 mins and 30 mins with each of the

combinations has its own set of data. The experiment was conducted three times to get

the average value.

2.2.3 Solar drying

100 g sludge sample was dried in the solar dryer and the weight of the sample was

recorded every 15 mins for the first hour of drying. The weight of the sample was

measured again at the second hour of drying. Next, the samples proceed to thermal oven

drying at 80°C oven temperature. The weight of the samples was recorded at every

subsequent hour until no loss of weight is observed. This also means that the sample go

through two hours of solar drying and the rest goes through thermal oven drying until

equilibrium is reached.
Figure 1: Solar dryer pictures

2.3 Mathematical modelling

Theoretical models have been used by many authors in their respective literatures to

determine the kinetic behaviour of thin-layer drying processes which in this for this

project. The Lewis model [14] is used to determine whether experimental and predicted

data have a good fit and they were evaluated based on statistical analysis. The value of

the root Coefficient of determination (R2) was found to determine whether both of the

data mentioned is a good fit. The higher the value of R2 the better the fit.
 Theoretical models were used to determine the drying kinetics of oleochemical

sludge. The fitting performance were assessed by modifying the Fick’s Second Law to

get a satisfactory Coefficient of Determination (R2) value. The Moisture Ratio (MR) can

be found through Equation 1:

𝑀𝑡 −𝑀𝑒
𝑀𝑅 = (1)
𝑀𝑖 −𝑀𝑒

The moisture ratio (MR) is found through Error! Reference source not found.

and it is used as a dependant variable to find the moisture effective diffusivity (Deff). The

MR relates with the initial moisture content (Mi), equilibrium moisture content (Me) and

the moisture content in actual time (Mt). The moisture content used were on a dry basis.

The moisture effective diffusivity (Deff) can be determined through analytical

solution of Fick’s second law [15] which is based on Equation 2. The moisture effective

diffusivity can represent the properties of the mass transfer of the moisture from the centre

of the sludge sample. Factors that can influence the moisture effective diffusivity is the

drying temperature, the moisture content, components of the sludge and any pre-treatment

applied.

𝜋 2 𝜋 2 𝜋 2
8 1 1
𝑀𝑅 = 𝜋2 [𝑒 −𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝑡(2𝑙) + 9 𝑒 −9𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝑡(2𝑙) + 25 𝑒 −25𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑓 𝑡(2𝑙) + ⋯ ] (2)

Based on Equation 2, only the first term is used for long drying times as the second

and third term are not significant. Therefore, Equation 2 can be simplified into Equation

3 below [8].

𝜋 2
8
𝑀𝑅 = 𝜋2 [𝑒 −𝐷𝐿 𝑡(2𝑙) ] (3)

By taking the log for both of sides of the equation gives:

8 𝜋
𝐿𝑛 𝑀𝑅 = 𝐿𝑛 𝜋2 − 𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑓 (2𝑙)2 𝑡 (4)
 Equation 4 gives a linear equation which can be plotted in a straight line (Ln MR

vs t). The value of Deff can be evaluated from the slope of the ln MR vs t graph. Based on

Equation 4, the slope and the y-intercept of the graph is:

𝜋
𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = 𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑓 ( )2
2𝑙

8
𝑌 − 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 = 𝐿𝑛
𝜋2

The apparent activation energy (Ea) and the diffusivity constant (DO) can be found

from the Arrhenius principle in Equation 5 [8].

𝐸
ln 𝐷𝑒𝑓𝑓 = ln 𝐷𝑂 − 𝑅𝑇𝑎 (5)

Based on Equation 5, ln Deff vs 1/T graph can be plotted. DO is the diffusivity

constant (m2/hr), Ea is the apparent activation energy (kJ/mol), T is the drying temperature

(K) and R is the gas constant (kJ/K.mol). The Ea value can be plotted from the slope of

the graph. DO can be evaluated from the y-intercept of the graph.

3.0 Results and discussion

Each set of data represents with a code name such as 70:80:10. Where the first number

represents the drying temperature in °C. The second number represents the temperature

of ultrasonic pre-treatment. The last number represents the duration of ultrasonic pre-

treatment in mins.

3.1 Drying characteristics of oleochemical sludge

The effects of drying temperature on the drying characteristics is shown in Figure 2

shows the experimental data for the drying curves of sludge at 70°C drying temperature
and 80°C drying temperature. During the experiments, the range for drying rates at

70°C is 1.37 – 0.108 g H2O/g DM (dry basis). Whereas at 80°C, the range of drying

rates is 1.082 – 0.057 g H2O/g DM (dry basis). It was shown that drying rate at 80°C

produces are a larger range of drying rate compared with 70°C. Furthermore, it was also

shown that at 80°C shows a greater steep in gradient at the second falling rate period

compared to 70°C. The increase in drying rate can increase the heat transfer rate and an

increase of mass transfer of moisture in the dried layer [16].

It was found that the drying of oleochemical sludge from this experiment

produces three distinctive drying rate periods which is the initial transient period, first

falling rate period and second falling rate period. The initial transient period occurs

when the drying rate increases because the sludge samples undergoes a heat exchange

with the surroundings in the oven dryer until it reaches the equilibrium temperature. It is

known that two falling rate periods are normal for drying of sludge. Where the

interstitial water is removed during the first falling rate period and the water being held

on the surface of the micro-particles is removed during the second falling rate period

[17]. The drying characteristics in Figure 2 also shows that it does not illustrate a typical

drying characteristic profile where the constant rate period does not exist. After the

initial transient period, it straight-away proceeds to the first falling rate period. The non-

existence of a constant rate period is due to the sample only consisting of little surface

moisture [16]. It was also reported that constant rate period does not exist in materials

that contains biological products [18]. It is known that oleochemicals sludge contains

biological components such as tricylglycerides, free fatty acids and phospholipids [19].
 1.4 First falling rate Initial transient
Second

Drying rate (g H2O/m2.g DM.s)

period period
falling rate
1.2 period

0.8

0.6 70°C drying temp

80°C drying temp
0.4

0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Moisture content (g H2O/g DM (dry basis))

Figure 2: Drying rate vs Moisture content: Effect of drying temperatures on

oleochemical sludge
For drying temperature at 70°C based from Figure 3a, it is shown that

ultrasonic-assisted heating only shows an increase in drying rates only when the

ultrasonic is at 80°C and for 30 mins. Where 70°C drying temperature without

ultrasonic. Whereas for drying temperatures at 80°C based on Figure 3b, it is shown that

ultrasonic-assisted heating has an increase in drying rates for all ultrasonic-assisted

heating conditions compared to drying without ultrasonic-assisted heating. It was

observed that an increase in drying rate happens during the falling rate period. This is

mainly due to ultrasonic can induce the acoustic cavitation and produce inertial flux [8].

For drying temperature of 70°C and 80°C, the effect of ultrasonic bath pre-

treatment was observed. At 70°C without ultrasonic pre-treatment, the drying rate

ranges from 1.01 – 0.11 g H2O/m2.g DM.s at the falling rate period. For ultrasonic at

70°C for 10 mins, the drying rate ranges from 0.85 – 0.19 g H2O/m2.g DM.s As for

ultrasonic pre-treatment at 80°C for 10 mins, the drying rates ranges from 1.07 – 0.15 g

H2O/m2.g DM.s. As for ultrasonic at 70°C for 30 mins, the drying rate ranges from 1.01

– 0.11 g H2O/m2.g DM.s. Finally, for ultrasonic at 80°C for 30 mins, the drying rate

ranges from 1.08 – 0.12 g H2O/m2.g DM.s. The drying rates mentioned is during their
falling rate periods. For 80°C drying temperature without ultrasound pre-treatment, the

drying rate ranges from 1.16 – 0.057 g H2O/m2.g DM.s. For ultrasound at 70°C for 10

mins, the drying rate ranges from 1.16 – 0.055 g H2O/m2.g DM.s. For ultrasound at

80°C for 10 mins, the drying rate ranges from 1.19 – 0.068 g H2O/m2.g DM.s. For

ultrasound at 70°C for 30 mins, the drying rate ranges from 1.19 – 0.038 g H2O/m2.g

DM.s. For ultrasound at 80°C for 30 mins, the drying rate ranges from 1.32 – 0.080 g

H2O/m2.g DM.s. Based on Figure 3a-b, it shows no distinctive difference when

ultrasonic pre-treatment was applied compared to thermal drying alone even though

various literatures proved that ultrasonic pre-treatment can reduce the duration of drying

of sludge from different industries. This could be due to the high contents of palm oil in

the sludge is concentrated. Another reason could be, the frequency ultrasonic waves

propagates is too high. It was reported by Martinez et al. [13] that ultrasonic

disintegration are most significant at lower frequencies which is at ultrasound wave

frequencies.

1.6
Second falling rate First falling rate Initial transient
1.4 period period period
a
Drying rate (g.H2O/m2.g.DM.s

1.2

1 70:00:00
0.8 70:70:10

0.6 70:70:30
70:80:10
0.4
70:80:30
0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Moisture content (g H2O/g of DM )
 1.6
Second falling rate First falling rate Initial transient
Drying Rate (g H2O/m2.g DM.s)
1.4 period period period b

1.2
80:00:00
1
80:70:10
0.8
80:70:30
0.6
80:80:10
0.4 80:80:30

0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Moisture content (g H2O/g of DM)

Figure 3: Drying rate vs Moisture content: Effects of ultrasonic-assisted heating on

drying rate a) 70°C drying temperature b) 80°C

3.2 Mathematical modelling of drying kinetics

As shown previously, the drying periods consist of two falling rate periods. The drying

kinetics can be observed separately at two falling rate periods to obtain a more accurate

drying kinetics of the sludge samples. Figure 4 shows the linear fitting at two falling

rate periods based on Error! Reference source not found. for 70°C ultrasonic for 30

mins at 70°C drying temperature. The values of effective moisture diffusivity are 1.26 

10-4 and 3.59  10-4 m2/hr at the first falling rate period and second falling rate period

respectively. As for the values of effective moisture diffusivity for other conditions is

shown in Table 1. The Fick’s Second law equation can be modified in order to get a

satisfactory R2 value. It is shown in Table 1 that the R2 values are no less than 0.9 so the

theoretical values are considered satisfactory.

 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 Experimental First Falling Rate
-0.5 Period
a) Theoretical First Falling Rate
-1
Period
b) y = -0.6289x + 1.6908
-1.5 R² = 0.9752 Experimental Second Falling
a) y = -0.2416x - 0.21 Rate Period
-2 R² = 0.9331 b) Theoretical Second Falling
-2.5 Rate Period
Linear (Experimental First
-3
Falling Rate Period)
-3.5 Linear (Experimental Second
Falling Rate Period)
-4

Figure 1: Linear fitting between ln MR vs t at 80°C drying temperature with ultrasonic

at 70°C for 30 mins: a) First falling rate period b) Second falling rate period

Based on Table 1, the value of Deff increases from the first falling rate period to

the second falling rate period. The effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment on the Deff shows

no drastic change which can be expected after observations on the effect of ultrasonic

pre-treatment on the drying characteristics also shows no obvious differences. It was

reported from Sun et al. [8] that the values for moisture effective diffusivity of

municipal sewage sludge is from 6.05  10-6 to 5.75  10-5 m2/hr. The moisture

effective diffusivity values stated is much smaller than the values from this study. This

is probably due to the study from Sun at al. [8] was conducted at higher temperatures

and the source of sludge comes from a different industry. The contents of municipal

sewage sludge and oleochemical sludge is different. Hence, the drying kinetics could be

different.
Table 1: Effective moisture diffusivities of Oleochemical sludge
Deff (m2/hr) Deff (m2/hr) R2 R2

First falling rate Second falling rate First falling rate Second falling rate

70°C 70:00:00 1.19  10-4 3.15  10-4 0.9703 0.9604

Drying 70:70:10 1.26  10-4 3.59  10-4 0.928 1

temperature 70:80:10 1.07  10-4 2.78  10-4 0.9331 0.9752

70:70:30 1.25  10-4 3.62  10-4 0.9239 0.9061

70:80:30 1.33  10-4 3.13  10-4 0.9324 0.9883

80°C 80:00:00 1.37  10-4 3.70  10-4 0.9132 0.9157

Drying 80:70:10 1.39  10-4 4.22  10-4 0.9282 0.9444

temperature 80:80:10 1.28  10-4 3.39  10-4 0.9058 0.9688

80:70:30 1.38  10-4 4.13  10-4 0.9043 0.9088

80:80:30 1.66  10-4 3.91  10-4 0.9942 0.9169

The linear fitting for ln Deff vs 1/T can be plotted by using Error! Reference

source not found. for oleochemical sludge. Figure 5 shows the ln Deff vs 1/T plot for

70°C drying temperature with ultrasonic pre-treatment at 70°C for 30 mins. The first

falling rate period and the second falling rate period. The values of apparent activation

energy are 9.367 and 13.303 kJ/mol for the first falling rate period and second falling

rate period respectively. Whereas for the diffusivity constant (Do) the values are 3.35 

10-3 and 3.83  10-2 m2/hr for the first falling rate period and the second falling rate

period respectively. The rest of the values of Ea and Do at both falling rate periods is

shown in Table 2.

The apparent activation energy can indicate the minimum energy required for to

remove the inner moisture of the oleochemical sludge in both falling rate periods. In
 simpler words, the smaller activation energy, the lesser the difficulty of the drying

process. As for the effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment on the Ea, some conditions produce

a higher value than thermal drying and some gives a lesser value than thermal drying

alone.

-8.88 -7.78
a 0.00282 0.00284 0.00286 0.00288 0.0029 0.00292 b 0.00282 0.00284 0.00286 0.00288 0.0029 0.00292
-7.8
-8.9
-7.82
-8.92
-7.84
ln Deff

ln Deff
-8.94 -7.86
y = -1126.7x - 5.7
-7.88
-8.96
-7.9
-8.98 y = -1600.1x - 3.2616
-7.92

-9 -7.94
1/T (K-1) 1/T (K-1)

Figure 2: ln Deff vs 1/T plot for ultrasonic at 70°C for 30 mins: a) First falling rate
period b) Second falling rate period

Table 2 also shows that the value of Ea increases form the first falling rate period

to the second falling rate period. Similar results were found for municipal sewage

sludge reported from Sun at al. [8] for municipal sewage sludge. The increase of

apparent activation energy is probably due to the moisture in the sample is strongly

bounded with the particles at the centre of the sludge during the second falling rate

period.
Table 2: Values of apparent activation energy and diffusivity constant of oleochemical
sludge
Data set Ea (kJ/mol) DO (m 2/hr)

First falling rate period Without ultrasonic 14.342 1.81  10-2

Ultrasonic 70°C, 10 mins 9.580 3.62  10-3

Ultrasonic 70°C, 30 mins 9.367 3.35  10-3

Ultrasonic 80°C, 10 mins 18.362 6.65  10-2

Ultrasonic 80°C, 30 mins 21.966 2.94  10-1

Second falling rate period Without ultrasonic 16.341 9.67  10-2

Ultrasonic 70°C, 10 mins 16.317 1.09  10-1

Ultrasonic 70°C, 30 mins 13.303 3.83  10-2

Ultrasonic 80°C, 10 mins 20.001 3.08  10-1

Ultrasonic 80°C, 30 mins 22.476 8.26  10-1

3.3 Solar drying

3.3.1 Drying characteristic of solar drying

First falling
1.4 Second Initial transient period
Drying rate (g H2O/m2.g DM.s)

rate period
1.2 falling rate

1 period

0.8
70°C drying temp
0.6
80°C drying temp
0.4 solar drying
0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Moisture content (g H2O/g DM (dry basis))

Figure 3: Drying rate vs Moisture content: Comparison of drying characteristics of

solar drying and traditional drying

As mentioned in previously, solar drying was conducted for the first two hours of

drying. The rest was conducted by using thermal oven drying at 80°C until it reaches

equilibrium. Figure 6 shows the drying characteristics of solar drying with traditional

method of drying. The drying periods consist the same rate periods as previous which

are the initial transient period and two falling rate periods. The initial transient period

only occurs at during solar drying with a range of drying rate of 0.050 to 0.24 g H 2O/g

DM (dry basis). The two falling rate periods happen during thermal drying with the

drying rate at first falling rate period ranges 1.30 to 0.31 g H 2O/g DM (dry basis).

Whereas the range of drying rate at the second falling rate period ranges at 0.31 to 0.064

g H2O/g DM (dry basis).

3.3.2 Drying kinetics of solar drying

As in Section Error! Reference source not found., a linear fitting between ln MR vs t

was done for solar drying. Since the drying characteristics consist of two falling rate

periods, the linear fitting was analysed separately. Figure 7 shows the linear fitting at

two falling rate periods based on Error! Reference source not found. for solar drying.

The values for moisture effective diffusivity are 2.69  10-4 and 4.30  10-4 m2/hr for

the first falling rate period and second falling rate period respectively.

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2
b
-2.5 y =) -0.9753x + 3.7449
R² = 1
-3
a y = -0.6091x + 1.2969
-3.5 R² = 0.9909

-4

-4.5

Figure 4: Linear fitting between ln MR vs t for solar drying: a) First falling rate period
b) Second falling rate period

Table 3: Deff and R2 values for solar drying

Solar drying Deff (m2/hr) R2

First falling rate Second falling rate First falling rate Second falling rate

2.69  10-4 4.30  10-4 0.9909 1

From Table 3 it is shown that the Deff values for solar drying is much higher for

both falling rate periods than traditional drying alone and drying combined with

ultrasonic pre-treatment based on Table 1.

3.3.3 Effect of solar drying on the duration of drying

It was found that the final moisture content of solar drying was approximately similar

with 80°C thermal drying which are 0.28 and 0.22 g H 2O/g DM (dry basis) for solar

dying and 80°C thermal drying respectively. But the final moisture content for 70°C

oven drying (0.60 g H2O/g DM (dry basis)) and solar drying is not similar since the

oven temperature after solar drying is 80°C. The final moisture of the drying methods

mentioned was reached after the sample went through drying for nine hours. For solar

drying, the nine hours of drying is inclusive of two hours of solar drying and seven

hours of thermal drying. The reason the sludge only goes through seven hours of

thermal drying after two hours of solar drying is due to the sludge has gone through the

initial transient period during solar drying. Basically, the sludge gone through the

“warm up” stage during solar drying which entirely skips the heating up process when it

was proceeded to thermal drying. This can be concluded that by doing two hours of

solar drying, two hours of electricity can be saved compared to thermal drying alone. At

the same time, an approximately similar final moisture content (for 80°C thermal

drying) can be achieved with the same amount of drying period. If an oleochemical

plant produces 1 tonne of sludge per day, the electricity cost can be saved by 22% daily

if a similar procedure for solar drying in this study was conducted.

4.0 Conclusions and recommendations

The drying time did not decrease when ultrasonic pre-treatment bath is added compared

with thermal drying alone. The drying characteristics of oleochemical sludge consist of

an initial transient period and two falling rate periods. The moisture effective diffusivity

at the first falling rate period ranges from 1.07  10-4 – 1.66  10-4 m2/hr. Whereas for

the second falling rate period, the moisture effective diffusivity ranges from 2.78  10-4
– 4.22  10-4 m2/hr. Theoretical model was used to determine the kinetic behavior of the

oleochemical sludge. The moisture effective diffusivity increases form the first falling

rate period to the second falling rate period. The moisture effective diffusivity also

increases when the drying temperature increases from 70°C to 80°C. As for the effect of

ultrasonic bath pre-treatment on the moisture effective diffusivity, there are no obvious

changes on the difference on the moisture effective diffusivity. As for solar drying, the

sludge managed to achieve a final moisture content of 0.28 g H2O/g DM (dry basis) for

a total drying time of nine hours (two hours of solar drying and seven hours of thermal

drying at 80°C). Comparing with the final moisture content of thermal drying alone at

80°C which is at 0.22 g H2O/g DM (dry basis) which is achieved after nine hours of

drying. This can be concluded that electricity can be saved by two hours when solar

drying combined with thermal drying is used to achieve the same moisture content

compared with thermal drying alone.

As for future recommendations to improve this study, the solar dryer can be

modified by adding a solar panel for using total green energy. Also, for solar drying can

attempt combining four hours of solar drying with thermal drying and observe how

much energy is conserved.

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