See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/325389499

Numerical modeling of heat and mass transfers under solar drying of sewage
sludge

Article · January 2018

CITATIONS READS

0 26

3 authors:

Nidhal Ben Hassine Xavier Chesneau

Université de Perpignan Université de Perpignan
7 PUBLICATIONS   0 CITATIONS    73 PUBLICATIONS   241 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Laatar Hatem
University of Carthage
21 PUBLICATIONS   55 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

ETUDE NUMERIQUE D’UN ECOULEMENT FORCE DANS UN CANAL HORIZONTAL DONT LA PARTIE INFERIEURE EST CONSTITUEE DE BOUES
ASSIMILEES A UN MATERIAU POREUX View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Nidhal Ben Hassine on 29 May 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Heat Transfer Research 49(4):327–348 (2018)

NUMERICAL MODELING OF HEAT AND MASS

TRANSFERS UNDER SOLAR DRYING OF SEWAGE
SLUDGE

Nidhal Ben Hassine,1,2 Xavier Chesneau,1,* & Ali Hatem Laatar2,3

1
Laboratoire de Mathématiques et Physique, University of de Perpignan Via Domitia, 52 Paul
 Alduy Ave., 66860 Perpignan Cedex 9, France
2
Laboratoire d’Energétique et Transferts Thermique et Massique, Faculty of Science of Bizerte,
 University of Carthage, Jarzouna 7021, Tunisia
3
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Tabuk University, Tabuk 71491, Saudi Arabia
*Address all correspondence to: Xavier Chesneau, Laboratoire de Mathématiques et Physique,
University of de Perpignan Via Domitia, 52 Paul Alduy Ave., 66860 Perpignan Cedex 9, France,
 E-mail: chesneau@univ-perp.fr

Original Manuscript Submitted: 7/7/2016; Final Draft Received: 10/26/2016

The drying of sewage sludge is a current environmental problem, not sufficiently described in the literature. Hence, the aim
of this work is a numerical study of heat and mass transfer under solar drying of residual sludge. This sludge is assimilated
to a porous medium and exposed to a forced convection laminar flow within a horizontal channel. The processes of transfer
in the channel and in the porous medium are respectively described by the classical equations of forced convection and of the
Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer model. The implicit finite difference method is used to discretize the governing differential
equation system. The algebraic systems obtained are solved using the Gauss, Thomas, and Gauss–Seidel algorithms. To
determine the drying rate, we associate a drying kinetics model. We particularly studied the effects of solar radiation in-
tensity and ambient air temperature on the space–time evolution of temperature, velocity, and mass traction at the ambient
air–porous medium interface. Moreover, the evolutions of Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are represented to characterize
the processes of transfer at the sludge surface. This work is completed by a drying kinetics study. Indeed, we represent the
space–time evolution of the drying rate and water content.

KEY WORDS: heat and mass transfer, solar drying, sewage sludge

1. INTRODUCTION
With the increasing population, industrialization and pollution, an effluent quality control remains of paramount
importance (Qian et al., 2016). For this reason, there is an increasing number of treatment plants. Waste water
treatment generates sludge which must be dried before its valorization in agriculture (Hall, 1995) and energy
(Caporgno et al., 20015) sectors.
The sewage sludge has a high water content (Guibelin, 2014), the elimination of this water represents the great-
est challenge. It is known that the energies required to be provided to evaporate 1 kg of water is very important; it
is in the order of 2257 kJ/kg (at 100oC and at atmospheric pressure). For this, the use of renewable energy for not
expensive sewage sludge drying, such as solar energy, is necessary to reduce the energy consumption. To achieve
this objective, we need to master the mechanisms of heat and mass transfer in solar drying operation.
In this context, many scientific works are focused on this phenomenon. Among these studies we cite the work
of Léonard et al. (2005) who experimentally studied the influences of air temperature, velocity, and humidity

1064-2285/18/$35.00 © 2018 by Begell House, Inc. www.begellhouse.com 327

328 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

NOMENCLATURE
C mass fraction Xs water content dry base, kg water/kg·Ms
CF Forchheimer coefficient y transverse coordinate, m
Cp heat capacity at constant pressure, dX
− drying rate, kg water/kg·Ms·h
J/kg·K dt

Da Darcy number
Greek Symbols
Dh hydraulic diameter, m
Dv vapor diffusion coefficient, m2/s α thermal diffusivity, m2/s
e thickness of sludge, m ν kinematic viscosity, m2/s
h time, h λ thermal conductivity, W/m·K
H channel height, m ρ density, kg/m3
Hr relative humidity, % φ porosity of porous medium
K permeability of porous medium, m2 ψ stream function, m2/s
L channel length, m Ω vorticity, s–1
Lv latent heat of vaporization, J/kg
Subscripts
Ms dry mass, kg
Pr Prandtl number 0 ambient
2
q solar radiation density, W/m f fluid
Re Reynolds number max maximum
Sc Schmidt number min minimum
T temperature, K p porous
t time, s w fluid–porous medium interface
u longitudinal velocity, m/s
Superscript
v transverse velocity, m/s
x longitudinal coordinate, m * dimensionless variable

during convective drying of two different sewage sludges. They have shown that the temperature is the main
operating parameter affecting the drying kinetics. Also they have established a linear relation between the water
evaporation capacity and the maximum drying flux. This correlation confirms the extragranular limitations imposed
on the drying process. Other experimental works have been interested in the behavior of sludge during convective
drying. Tao et al. (2006) and Vaxelaire and Puiggali (2002) have shown the phenomena of shrinkage and crack and
skin layer formation. By studying these structures they have observed the zigzagging form of the cracks inside the
samples during shrinkage and the development of a skin layer. Also they have concluded that these phenomena
have an important influence on the drying rate. Vaxelaire et al. (2000) conducted an experimental study of the
residual sludge drying for different operating conditions (velocity, temperature, and relative humidity of the dry-

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 329

ing air). They have concluded that the skin layer formation decreases drying rate and increases crack formation.
Moreover, they proposed a macroscopic approach in terms of curve of kinetics and drying potential. This approach
groups a set of external conditions into a single parameter. In the same idea to determine an approach that includes
all operating conditions Amadou et al. (2006) and Amadou (2007) provide a numerical model of the drying ki-
netics based on the concept of characteristic curves. The comparisons between the results of this model and those
obtained by laboratory experiments have shown excellent agreement. Slim (2007) realized a numerical model of
sludge drying taking into account climatic conditions. He found the optimal operating cycle for the heat pump
which is used for the greenhouse ventilation. To define the optimal parameters for improving the heat and mass
transfer during the evaporation of a saturated porous layer, Chou and Yang (2006) conducted a numerical study of
the effects of different parameters such as Reynolds number and porous layer thickness on the temperature, vapor
mass fraction, sensible and latent Nusselt numbers, and the evaporation rate at the interface. They showed that an
increase of the Reynolds number generates an intensification of heat and mass transfer. Other works experimen-
tally studied the sewage sludge drying by using a forced convection dryer (Bennamoun et al., 2014). The results
obtained were compared with numerical results. These comparisons have shown that the difference is minimal
when the physical properties of sludge are considered dependent on the water content. Krawczyk and Badyda
(2011) used Fluent (CFD) for modeling the phenomenon of heat and mass transfer during solar drying process of
sewage sludge in a ventilated greenhouse. They defined the water vapor mass fraction at the interface by a six-or-
der polynomial in temperature. Their results show that if the distance between the ventilation source and matter to
dry increases, the drying rate becomes slower while the sludge temperature increases. Font et al. (2011) conducted
a series of laboratory experiments on drying sludge when the drying air temperature and its velocity are not con-
stant. These experiments showed that whatever the conditions, there is crust formation on the sludge surface. The
same authors developed a numerical model for the drying kinetics that takes into account the crust formation. The
results obtained by this model are in agreement with experiments. Using a recent engineering approach known as
REA (Reaction Engineering Approach), Putranto et al. (2014) modeled convective drying of sewage sludge. Their
model determines the activation energy of the sludge from the drying rate which had been previously determined
by experiments. The comparison of the results obtained by this new model with experimental data of the literature
shows its effectiveness.
Using another numerical model, Huang and Chen (2015) and Huang et al. (2016) studied the heat and mass
transfer during forced convective drying of municipal sewage sludge. The drying air temperature is in the range
100–160oC, while the velocity varies between 0.6 and 2 m/s. In the first study, the authors use two models to predict
the thin layer drying behavior in such conditions. These models are the Back-Propagation (BP) and the Generalized
Regression Neural Network (GRNN) model. They have shown that the accuracy of the BP model in predicting the
moisture content of the sewage sludge thin layer during drying was far higher than that of the GRNN model. Con-
cerning the average temperature prediction of the thin layer of the sludge, they have shown that it is valid for the one
or the other of the models according to the values of the temperature and velocity. In the second work, they demon-
strated experimentally the presence of four drying phases which are: preheating period, a constant rate drying peri-
od, and two falling rate periods. Thus they showed that during the first falling rate period, the average temperature
of the thin layer sludge is increased rapidly, whereas in the second falling rate period the sludge temperature varies
slightly. In addition, they showed an improvement in heat and mass transfer, respectively, of 39% and 91% by
increasing the air drying temperature by 100 to 160oC while keeping the air velocity at 0.6 m/s.
In this work, we propose to provide a further contribution to previous work already done on this subject. So,
the present work is a numerical study of the solar drying of sewage sludge in forced laminar convection conditions
where the solar radiation and the ambient temperature vary during the day. The main objective of this work is to

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

330 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

determine the effect of ambient parameters on the solar drying process. The heat and mass transfer close to the
sewage sludge surface are analyzed to explain the process response to variation of ambient conditions.

2. PROBLEM POSITION
Figure 1 schematically shows the greenhouse made up of a horizontal channel having a length equal to 540 cm
and a height of 180 cm. The upper wall is transparent to the solar radiation, while the bottom is a porous medium,
which has the characteristics of sewage sludge (its thickness is equal to 20 cm). This sludge is exposed to forced
laminar flow with a parabolic velocity profile at the temperature T0, relative humidity Hr0, mass fraction C0, and a
constant pressure P0 at the inlet.
In order to simplify the problem, the following assumptions are made:
• The processes of transfer are laminar and two-dimensional.
• The fluid is Newtonian and incompressible.
• The viscous dissipation is neglected.
• The Soret and Duffour effects are neglected.
• The Boussinesq approximation is retained.
• The air–water vapor mixture is a perfect gas.
• The air–sludge is at local thermodynamic equilibrium.
• The porous medium is isotropic.

3. PROBLEM FORMULATION

3.1 Conservation Equations

To generalize the results, the equations are written in dimensionless form. The variables used to obtain the dimen-
sionless variables are the channel height and the inlet conditions (the velocity, temperature, and moisture content).

3.1.1 In the Channel

Mass conservation equation
∂u f * ∂v f *
+ = 0, (1)
∂x* ∂x*

FIG. 1: Geometric configuration

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 331

X-momentum conservation equation

∂u f * ∂u f * ∂u f * ∂Pf * 1 ⎛ ∂ ⎛ ∂u f ⎞ ⎛ ∂u f * ⎞ ⎞
*
∂
+ uf* + vf* = − + ⎜ ⎜ ⎟+ ⎜ ⎟⎟ , (2)
∂t * ∂x* ∂y * ∂x* Re f ⎜ ∂x* ⎜ ∂x* ⎟ ∂y * ⎜ ∂y * ⎟ ⎟
⎝ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠⎠

Y-momentum conservation equation

∂v f * ∂v f * ∂v f * ∂Pf * 1 ⎛ ∂ ⎛ ∂v f ⎞ ⎛ ∂v f * ⎞ ⎞
*
∂
+ uf* + vf* = − + ⎜ ⎜ ⎟+ ⎜ ⎟⎟ , (3)
∂t * ∂x* ∂y * ∂y * Re f ⎜ ∂x ⎜ ∂x ⎟ ∂y *
* * ⎜ ∂y * ⎟ ⎟
⎝ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠⎠

energy conservation equation

∂T f * ∂T f * ∂T f * 1 ⎛ ∂ ⎛ ∂T f * ⎞ ∂ ⎛ ∂T f * ⎞ ⎞
+ uf* + vf* = ⎜ ⎜ ⎟+ ⎜ ⎟⎟ , (4)
∂t * ∂x* ∂y * Re f Pr f ⎜ ∂x * ⎜ * ⎟ * ⎜ ∂y * ⎟ ⎟
⎝ ⎝ ∂x ⎠ ∂y ⎝ ⎠⎠

species conservation (water vapor) equation

∂C f * ∂C f * ∂C f * 1 ⎛ ∂ ⎛ ∂C f * ⎞ ∂ ⎛ ∂C f * ⎞ ⎞
+ uf* + vf* = ⎜ ⎜ ⎟+ ⎜ ⎟⎟ , (5)
∂t * ∂x* ∂y * Re f Sc f ⎜ ∂x * ⎜ * ⎟ * ⎜ ∂y * ⎟ ⎟
⎝ ⎝ ∂x ⎠ ∂y ⎝ ⎠⎠

with
HU 0 νf νf λf
Re f = ; Pr f = ; Sc f = ; αf = , (6)
νf αf Dv ρ f Cp

where all the air properties (νf, Dv, λf, ρf, Cp) are variable.

3.1.2 In the Porous Medium

In order to ensure the momentum conservation in the porous medium we use the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer
model (Swati et al., 2012). In order to overcome the difficulty posed by the boundary conditions to impose on the
pressure to solve the momentum equation, it is written using the stream function–vorticity formulation (Nogotov
et al., 1978). In this formulation, the continuity equation is satisfied automatically. So the transfer equations in the
porous medium are:
stream function equation

∂ 2 ψ* ∂ 2 ψ*
+ = −Ω* , (7)
∂x*2 ∂y *2

vorticity equation

1 ∂Ω* 1 ⎛ ∂Ψ * ∂Ω* −∂Ψ * ∂Ω* ⎞

+ 2 ⎜⎜ * + ⎟
ϕ ∂t * ϕ ⎝ ∂y ∂x
*
∂x* ∂y * ⎟⎠
(8)
2 2
1 * Cf ⎛ ∂Ψ * ⎞ ⎛ −∂Ψ * ⎞ * 1 ⎛ ∂ 2 Ω* ∂ 2 Ω* ⎞
= − Ω − ⎜⎜ * ⎟⎟ + ⎜⎜ * ⎟
⎟ Ω + ⎜⎜ *2 + ⎟,
Re p Da Da ⎝ ∂y ⎠ ⎝ ∂x ⎠ ϕ Re p ⎝ ∂x ∂y *2 ⎟⎠

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

332 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

energy conservation equation

∂T p * ∂T p * ∂T p * 1 ⎛ ∂ ⎛ ∂T p * ⎞ ∂ ⎛ ∂T p * ⎞ ⎞
+ u p* + v p* = ⎜ ⎜ ⎟+ ⎜ ⎟⎟ , (9)
∂t * ∂x* ∂y * Re p Pr p ⎜ ∂x* ⎜ ∂x* ⎟ ∂y * ⎜ ∂y * ⎟ ⎟
⎝ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠⎠

with

HU 0 νp Κ
Re p = ; Pr f = ; Da = 2 . (10)
νp αp H

3.2 Initial Conditions

Initially (t* = 0) the temperature, pressure, and the water vapor concentration are uniform in the channel. Inside,
the porous medium, temperature, and the water content are also uniform.

3.3 Boundary Conditions

3.3.1 For the Channel

At the channel inlet, the temperature and the mass fraction of the ambient air are constant, while the velocity at
the inlet has a parabolic profile:

u f * = 6 ⎡ y * − y *2 ⎤ ; v f * = 0 ; C f * = 1 ; T f * = 1 . (11)
⎣ ⎦

At the upper surface, the velocity correspondes to the adhesion condition. The adiabatic and impermeable con-
ditions are suitable for the temperature and mass fraction, respectively:

∂C f * ∂T f *
uf* = 0 ; vf* = 0 ; = 0; = 0 . (12)
∂y * ∂y *

At the outlet, the Newman conditions are imposed:

∂u f * ∂v f * ∂T f * ∂C f *
= 0; = 0; = 0; = 0. (13)
∂x* ∂x* ∂x* ∂x*

3.3.2 For the Porous Medium

At the right and left walls, we consider the adiabatic condition for the temperature. The Newman conditions for
vorticity and stream function are equal to zero:

∂T p * ∂ 2Ψ*
= 0 ; ψ * = 0 ; −Ω* = . (14)
∂x* ∂x*2

Similarly, for the bottom wall, we consider

∂T p * ∂ 2Ψ*
= 0 ; ψ * = 0 ; −Ω* = . (15)
∂y * ∂y *2

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 333

3.3.3 For the Fluid–Porous Medium Interface

The longitudinal component of the velocity at the interface is obtained by ensuring the continuity of the shear
stresses:
⎛ ∂u f * ⎞ ⎛ ∂u p * ⎞
μf ⎜ * ⎟ = μp ⎜ * ⎟ . (16)
⎜ ∂y ⎟ ⎜ ∂y ⎟
⎝ ⎠w ⎝ ⎠w

Assuming that the air–porous medium interface is permeable only for the water vapor, the velocity at the inter-
face is written as
Ms ⎛ dX ⎞
v*f = ⎜− ⎟ . (17)
ρ SU 0 ⎝ dt ⎠t *

We assume that the air–water vapor mixture is a perfect gas and that the air–porous medium interface is at local
thermodynamic equilibrium. The mass fraction at the interface can be calculated from

1 1 ⎛ ∂C f * ⎞
v*f = − ⎜ ⎟ . (18)
⎞ ⎜⎝ ∂y * ⎟⎠
Re f Sc f ⎛ 1
⎜
⎝ C0
( )
− C *f ⎟
w⎠
w

For the stream function and vorticity, the boundary conditions considered at the interface are calculated from

∂ψ* ∂ψ* ⎛ ∂ 2Ψ* ⎞ ⎛ ∂ 2Ψ* ⎞

= u *f ⎤ ; = − v *⎤
; −Ω *
= ⎜ ⎟ + ⎜⎜ *2 ⎟⎟ . (19)
∂y * ⎦w ∂x*
f ⎦w ⎜ ∂y *2 ⎟
⎝ ⎠ w ⎝ ∂x ⎠ w

The heat balance at the interface gives us that

Hq ⎛ ∂T p * ⎞ ⎛ ∂T f * ⎞ ρ f Dv ⎛ ∂C * ⎞
= λp ⎜ * ⎟ − λf ⎜ ⎟ − Lv ⎜ ⎟ . (20)
T0 ⎜ ∂y ⎟ ⎜ ∂y * ⎟ ⎞ ⎜⎝ ∂y * ⎟⎠
⎝ ⎠w ⎝ w⎠ ⎛ 1
T0 ⎜
⎝ C0
− C( )
*
⎟
w⎠
w

The daily evolutions of the global solar radiation and the ambient air temperature are approximated by sinusoi-
dal functions:
⎡π ⎤
q ( h) = qmax sin ⎢ ( h − hs )⎥ , (21)
⎣Λ ⎦

T0 max + T0 min T0 max − T0 min ⎛ 2πh ⎞

T0 ( h) = − sin ⎜ − φ⎟ , (22)
2 2 ⎝ Λ ⎠

where hs is the sunrise hour, dh is the time in hours, Λ is the sunshine duration, and φ is the phase shift between
the maxima of temperature and of global solar radiation. We consider a delay of one-hour between the two evolu-
tions and the sunshine duration is 14 h.

3.4 Heat and Mass Transfer Parameters

The solar radiation that reaches the surface of the sludge is supplied to air flow by two modes. One is the sensible
heat transfer via the air temperature gradient; the other is through the latent heat transfer via the water evaporation.
So the local Nusselt numbers for sensible and latent heat in dimensionless form can be expressed as follows:

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

334 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

−2 ∂T f* ⎤ 2ρ U 0 H Lv 1 *
Nu s = ⎥ ; Nu L = vw . (23)
(
Tw* − Tb* ) ∂y * ⎥⎦
w
λ f T0 Tw − Tb*
*
( )
The dimensionless form of the Sherwood number is written as

1
− C w*
2U 0 H C0 *
Sh = vw , (24)
Dv C w* − Cb*

where the subscript b denotes the bulk quantities. The local bulk temperature Tb* and the mass fraction Cb* are
defined, respectively, as

L* L*
∫0 U *T *dy * ∫0 U
* *
C dy *
Tb* = ; Cb* = . (25)
L* L*
∫0 U ∫0 U
* * * *
dy dy

3.5 Drying Kinetics Model

To determine the drying rate, we adopt a drying kinetics model for the sewage sludge, deduced from the results of
Amadou et al. (2006). This model is based on the concept of characteristic curve (Van Meel, 1957).
The drying rate can be written as

⎛ dX ⎞ ⎛ dX ⎞
⎜− ⎟ = ⎜− ⎟ f ( Xr ) , (26)
⎝ dt ⎠t * ⎝ dt ⎠1

where

f ( Xr ) = A1 Xr + A2 Xr 2 + A3 Xr 3 , (27)

is the reduced drying rate and

X − X eq
Xr = , (28)
X cr − X eq

is the reduced water content; Xcr represents the critical water content marking the transition between the constant
rate period and the falling rate period;
n
⎛ Hr ⎞
X eq = k ⎜ ⎟ , (29)
⎝ 1 − Hr ⎠

⎛ dX ⎞
⎜− ⎟ is the constant rate period; A1, A2, A3, k, and n were determined experimentally by Amadou (2007). The
⎝ dt ⎠1
values are presented in Table 1.

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 335

TABLE 1: Model parameters

Parameter k n A1 A2 A3

Value 0.0938 0.484 2.37 – 3.30 1.92

4. NUMERICAL RESOLUTION AND VALIDATION

4.1 Numerical Resolution

For the two media (fluid and porous medium), the transfer equations are discretized by using an implicit finite dif-
ference method. The numerical resolution is realized by the Gauss and Thomas algorithms in the fluid medium and
by the Thomas and Gauss–Seidel algorithms in the porous medium. The considered mesh is regular and rectangu-
lar in the two media. In our case, we have considered a mesh for the channel with 181 nodes in the X direction
and 241 nodes in the Y direction. For the porous medium, we have taken a mesh with 181 nodes in the X direction
and 41 nodes in the Y direction.

4.2 Validation
The computational code has been validated for the two media. We have compared our results with those of Moha-
mad (2003) in the case of heat transfer by forced convection in a horizontal channel filled with a porous medium
whose walls are maintained at a constant temperature (Fig. 2).
For the flow, we have compared our evolution of average Nusselt number with that obtained using the correla-
tion developed by Sieder and Tate (1936) in the case of a laminar flow in a horizontal duct where the walls are at
a constant temperature. For the two cases, the maximum difference does not exceed 4% (Fig. 3).

FIG. 2: Comparison with the results of Mohamad

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

336 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

FIG. 3: Comparison with the results of Sieder and Tate

We have also validated the model of the drying kinetics used in our simulations. For this, we have compared
our results with those of Amadou (2007) under the same conditions. This comparison shows acceptable agreement
and allows us to validate the used model (Fig. 4).

FIG. 4: Comparison with the results of Amadou

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 337

5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Solar Radiation Effect

The results below illustrate the effect of variations of maximum solar radiation intensity on the drying process. They
are obtained for the ambient air relative humidity Hr = 50% and the Reynolds number Re = 1000. The ambient
air temperature varies between 288 and 318 K during the day. These results are taken at 1 p.m. of the day of half
drying. Four maximal values of the solar radiation intensity have been used (qmax = 500 W/m2, qmax = 700 W/m2,
qmax = 850 W/m2, and qmax = 1000 W/m2).

5.1.1 The Heat and Mass Transfer Processes

Figure 5 shows the evolutions of temperature and mass fraction at the sludge surface for different maximum solar
radiation intensities. As expected, the sludge surface heats up with the intensification of solar radiation. This in-
crease of surface temperature generates an increase in the mass fraction and an increase of the evaporation velocity
at the surface, due to a mass fraction gradient more important between the sludge surface and the air in its vicinity.
Moreover, Fig. 5 we note that the evolution temperature has a minimum value at the inlet of the greenhouse
and increases along the channel. The evolution of the mass fraction and of the evaporation velocity at the sludge
surface is the same evolution as of the temperature. In fact, this is due to the same reasons as for the solar radia-
tion influence: along the channel, the sludge surface temperature increases thus generating an increase in the mass
fraction at the surface, wherefrom it follows that an evaporation velocity is slightly more important.
In order to better analyze the effect of maximum solar radiation on the heat and mass transfer mechanisms, we
have presented, in Fig. 6, the evolutions of sensible and latent Nusselt number. We can see in this figure that the
mass and heat transfer processes are more important at the greenhouse inlet. This is due to the fact that at the inlet
the differences between the temperatures and mass fractions on the sludge surface and bulk quantities of the air
in its vicinity are important. After the entrance zone, the air temperature and the air humidity increase together, so
the gradients of temperature and mass fraction close to the sludge surface are less important. It follows that the
Nusselt numbers decrease along the greenhouse.
We can also see, in this figure, that the latent Nusselt number is more important than the sensible one, which
means the predominance of transfer by the latent mode. We have not represented the Sherwood number evolution
because it is similar to that of the sensible Nusselt number. This is due to the fact that for air the values of Prandtl
and Schmidt numbers are very close.

5.1.2 Drying Kinetics

In Fig. 7, we have presented the evolution of the drying rate along the sludge surface for different maximum solar
radiation intensities. As expected, the intensification of solar radiation generates an increase of the sludge drying
rate. Moreover, we note that for low and moderate solar radiation, the maximum of the sludge drying rate is locat-
ed at the entrance of the greenhouse and then decreases continuously to a constant value at the outlet. In this case,
the drying is mainly due to convective transfer between the sludge and the ambient air. For a high solar radiation
intensity, the sludge drying rate decreases in the entrance zone of the greenhouse and then increases in the outlet
zone. In the second case, the diffusion predominates the drying. This is the same behavior that the one of the evap-
oration velocity at the sludge surface.
In Fig. 8, we have represented the evolution of the average drying rate during one day for different maximum
solar radiation intensities. Gradually, with increasing solar radiation during the day, we note that the drying rate
also increases. This means that the solar radiation heats the sludge to improve the evaporation phenomenon.

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

338 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

(a)

(b)

FIG. 5: Evolution of temperature (a) and mass fraction (b) at the sludge surface for different maximum solar radiation intensities

With important solar radiation, we have the highest drying rate at 12 a.m., which is the hour when the solar
radiation is the highest. But with a lower solar radiation, the highest drying rate is obtained at 1 p.m. when the
ambient temperature is the highest. During the day, the drying rate depends on the solar radiation intensity but also
on the ambient air temperature.
We also note that during the night, in the absence of the solar radiation, the drying rate is not equal to zero.
Even in the night, there is evaporation because the temperature at the sludge surface is always important. Figure 9
shows the drying rate evolution as a function of the water content for two maximum solar radiation intensities. As

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 339

(a)

(b)

FIG. 6: Evolution of local sensible Nusselt number (a) and of the local latent Nusselt number (b) close to the sludge surface
for different maximum solar radiation intensities

we can see, the drying rate is more important with increase in the solar radiation intensity. Two decreasing phases
are distinguished: in the first phase, the decrease of the drying, with the water content, is linear, while, in the sec-
ond phase, the decrease has a curve with a downward concavity.
According to the shape of the curves in Fig. 9, this drying rate evolution seems to correspond to drying predom-
inantly controlled by the external transfer at the surface. This variation corresponds to curve D of the Sherwood

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

340 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

FIG. 7: Drying rate evolution along the sludge for different maximum solar radiation intensities

classification (Sherwood, 1936). The same result has been already obtained by Amadou (2007) and Léonard et al.
(2005). The augmentation on the average drying rate, at the beginning of the drying, is due to the fact that the
surface temperature of the sludge is not constant, and it follows that the water vapor content at the sludge surface
is also not constant. After this starting period, the drying rate decreases with the water content under the fact of the

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 341

FIG. 8: Average drying rate evolution during one day for different maximum solar radiation intensities

FIG. 9: Average drying rate as a function of the water content for different maximum solar radiation intensities

decreasing the water content of the sludge. The first stage of the falling rate period was dominated by convective
evaporation of moisture at the sludge surface, and the second stage was dominated by vapor diffusion of moisture
from the porous core.

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

342 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

5.2 Effect of the Ambient Air Temperature

The effect of the drying air temperature is one of the main factors influencing the convective drying of the sewage
sludge (Amadou et al., 2006; Léonard et al., 2005) and other products such as the lignite (Fu et al., 2015). In this
section, we investigate the effect of the ambient air temperature during the drying process. The minimum of the
ambient air temperature is 288 K, while three maximum temperature values are studied 298, 308, and 318 K. The
daily evolution of the ambient air temperature is approximated by Eq. (22) and the simulations are carried for
Re = 1000, qmax = 700 W/m2, and Hr0 = 50%.
In the figure captions ΔT is the difference between the maximum and minimum of the ambient air temperature.
These results are taken at 1 p.m. of the day of half drying.

5.2.1 Heat and Mass Transfer Processes

In Fig. 10, we show the effect of the ambient air temperature on the distribution of different parameters (tempera-
ture and mass fraction) at the sludge surface. At 1 p.m. the solar radiation intensity is important, and the sludge
surface temperature also. So, an increase of the ambient air temperature generates a decrease of the heat transfer
by convection and then an increase of the sludge surface temperature (Fig. 10a). As we have already seen in Fig. 5,
an augmentation of the sludge surface temperature generates an increase of the mass fraction at the surface (Fig. 10b)
considered to be saturated. So the gradient of the mass fraction at the surface increases, and also the evaporation
velocity.
Figure 11 presents the evolution of the local sensible and local latent Nusselt numbers for three ambient air tem-
peratures. The values of these numbers are the most important at the inlet of the greenhouse, where the tempera-
ture gradient and the mass fraction gradient are most important. After the entrance zone, those numbers decrease
continuously until the outlet. In this figure, we can also see that the transfer by the latent mode is predominant.
Concerning the influence of the drying air temperature, we note that this temperature greatly affects the values of
the latent Nusselt number. In fact, the latent Nusselt number increases with the ambient air temperature because
the mass fraction and the evaporation velocity at the sludge surface also increase.

5.2.2 Drying Kinetics

The curves presented in Fig. 12 show the spatial evolution of the drying rate along the sludge for two ambient air
temperatures. In this figure, we can see that the drying rate increases with the ambient air temperature. It has its
maximum value at the inlet of the greenhouse, then decreases in the entrance zone and increases before the outlet
(Fig. 12a). This is due to the fact that after the day, the sludge surface temperature at the outlet is more important
and, with the thermal inertia, this temperature is always important during the night (Fig. 12b). In this figure, we
can also see that with a high ambient air temperature during the day the drying rate is less important during the
night. This is due to the fact that during the day with a high ambient air temperature we see that evaporation is
more important. So, at the end of a day, the water content in the sludge is less important and it follows a drying
rate less important during the night in the absence of solar radiation.
Figure 13 represents the time evolutions of the average drying rate during one day for different ambient air tem-
peratures. Firstly, we see that the evolution of the average drying rate is similar to the evolution of solar radiation
with a delay phase, this phase shift corresponds to the sludge response time to the solar radiation but this evolution
is identical to that of the temperature. During the day, the average drying rate is increased with an augmentation
of the ambient air temperature. This result has already been obtained for lignite drying (Fu et al., 2015), fruits
drying (Kaya et al., 2008), and for sludge drying (Amadou et al., 2006; Huang et al., 2016). As is seen in Fig. 12,
the drying rate is less important during the night, when there is a higher ambient air temperature during the day.

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 343

(a)

(b)

FIG. 10: Evolution of the temperature (a) and of the mass fraction (b) at the sludge surface for different ambient air temperatures

Figure 14 shows the evolution of the average drying rate as a function of the average water content for two val-
ues of the ambient air temperature. We can see that the ambient air temperature has the same effect on the drying
rate that the solar radiation. After the starting period the drying of the sludge break down into two zones. In the
first period, the drying rate decreases linearly with the water content. After this, in the second period, the drying
rate always decreases with the water content, but more rapidly. This comportment permits us to say that the most
of sludge drying is predominantly controlled by the external transfer at the surface.

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

344 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

(a)

(b)

FIG. 11: Evolution of the local sensible Nusselt number (a) and of the local latent Nusselt number (b) close to the sludge sur-
face for different ambient air temperatures

6. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, we presents a two-dimensional numerical study of heat and mass transfer during solar drying of
sewage sludge. The transfer processes in the air flow are modeled by the classical Navier–Stokes equations for
the forced convection and by the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer model in the sludge considered as a porous me-

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 345

(a)

(b)

FIG. 12: Evolution of the drying rate along the sludge for different ambient temperatures at 1 p.m. (a) and at midnight (b)

dium. The daily evolution of the ambient air temperature and the global solar radiation are approximated by two
sinusoidal functions. The results show, principally, the effect of the ambient air temperature and the solar radiation
intensity on the heat and mass transfer. An increase of one of those parameters leads to an increase of the water
evaporation and so an increase of the drying rate. By comparing the obtained drying characteristic curve for the
sludge with the Sherwood classification, we can conclude that the drying of sewage sludge is controlled by the
external transfer at the surface.

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

346 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

FIG. 13: Average drying rate evolution during one day for different ambient air temperatures

FIG. 14: Average drying rate as a function of average water content for two ambient air temperatures

REFERENCES

Amadou, H., Beck, C., Mose, R., Vasile, C., Sadowski, A.G., and Poulet, J.B., Analysis of the Convective Drying of Residual
Sludge from the Experiment to the Simulation, Water Pollution VIII: Model. Monitor. Manag., pp. 455–464, 2006.

Heat Transfer Research

Heat and Mass Transfers under Solar Drying 347

Amadou, H., Modélisation du Séchage Solaire sous Serre des Boues de Station d’Epuration Urbaines, PhD, ULP Strasbourg 1,
2007.
Bennamoun, L., Fraikin, L., and Léonard, A., Modeling and Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer during Convective Drying
of Wastewater Sludge with Introduction of Shrinkage Phenomena, Drying Technol., vol. 32, pp. 13–22, 2014.
Caporgno, M.P., Trobajo, R., Caiola, N., Ibanez, Fabregat, C.A., and Bengoa, C., Biogas Production from Sewage Sludge and
Microalgae Co-Digestion under Mesophilic and Thermophilic Conditions, Renew. Energy, vol. 75, pp. 374–380, 2015.
Chou, Y. and Yang, R., The Evaporation of a Saturated Porous Layer Inside an Inclined Airflow Channel, Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow,
vol. 28, pp. 407–417, 2006.
Font, R., Gomez-Rico, M.F., and Fullana, A., Skin Effect in the Heat and Mass Transfer Model for Sewage Sludge Drying, Sepa-
ration Purification Technol., vol. 77, pp. 146–161, 2011.
Fu, B.A., Chen, M.Q., and Huang, Y.W., Heat Transfer Characteristics on Lignite Thin-Layer during Hot Air Forced Convective
Drying, Fuel, vol. 154, pp. 132–139, 2015.
Gubelin, E., Caractéristiques et Traitements des Boues d’Epuration, Techniques de l'Ingénieur, Environnement, Article
No. G1450v2, 2014.
Hall, J.E., Sewage Sludge Production, Treatment and Disposal in the European Union, Water Environ. J., vol. 9, no. 4,
pp. 335–343, 1995.
Huang, Y.W. and Chen, M.Q., Artificial Neural Network Modeling of Thin Layer Drying Behavior of Municipal Sewage
Sludge, Measurement, vol. 73, pp. 640–648, 2015.
Huang, Y.W., Chen, M.Q., and Jia, L., Assessment on Thermal Behavior of Municipal Sewage Sludge Thin-Layer during Hot
Air Forced Convective Drying, Appl. Thermal Eng., vol. 96, pp. 209–216, 2016.
Kaya, A., Aydin, O., and Dincer, I., Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Heat and Mass Transfer during Drying of
Hayward Kiwi Fruits, J. Food Eng., vol. 88, pp. 323–330, 2008.
Krawczyk, P. and Badyda, K., Two-Dimensional CFD Modeling of the Heat Mass Transfer Process during Sewage Sludge
Drying in a Solar Dryer, Arch. Thermodyn., vol. 32, pp. 3–16, 2011.
Léonard, A., Blacher, S., Marchot, P., Pirard, J.-P., and Crine, M., Convective Drying of Wastewater Sludge: Influence of Air
Temperature, Superficial Velocity and Humidity on the Kinetics, Drying Technol., vol. 23, pp. 1667–1679, 2005.
Mohamad, A.A., Heat Transfer Enhancements in Heat Exchangers Fitted with Porous Media. Part I: Constant Wall Tempera-
ture, Int. J. Thermal Sci., vol. 42, pp. 385–395, 2003.
Nogotov, E.F., Berkovsky, B.M., and Minkowycz, W.J., Appications of Numerical Heat Transfer, New York: McGraw-Hill
Book Co., pp. 99–130, 1978.
Oswin, C.R., The Kinetics of Package Life, Int. J. Chem. Ind., vol. 65, pp. 419–421, 1946.
Putrano, A. and Chen, X.D., A Simple and Effective Model for Modeling of Convective Drying of Sewage Sludge: The Reac-
tion Engineering Approach (REA), Procedia Chem., vol. 9, pp. 77–87, 2014.
Qian, L., Wang, S., Xu., D., Guo, Y., Tang, X., and Wang, L., Treatment of Municipal Sewage Sludge in Supercritical Water:
A Review, Water Res., vol. 89, pp. 118–131, 2016.
Sherwood, T.K., The Air Drying of Solids, Trans. Am. Inst. Chem. Eng., vol. 32, pp. 150–168, 1936.
Sieder, E.N. and Tate, G.E. Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Liquids in Tubes, Ind. Eng. Chem., vol. 28, no 12, pp. 1429–
1435, 1936.
Slim, R., Etude et Conception d'un Procédé de Séchage Combiné de Boues de Stations d’Epuration par Energie Solaire et
Pompe à Chaleur, PhD, Ecole des Mines de Paris, 2007.
Swati, M., Prativa, R.D., Krishnendu, B., and Layek, G.C., Forced Convective Flow and Heat Transfer over a Porous Plate in a
Darcy–Forchheimer Porous Medium in the Presence of Radiation, Meccanica, vol. 47, pp. 153–161, 2012.
Tao, T., Peng, X.F., and Lee, D.J.S., Skin Layer on Thermally Dried Sludge Cake, Drying Technol., vol. 24, pp. 1047–1052,
2006.
Van Meel, D.A., Adiabatic Convection Batch Drying with Recirculation of Air, Chem. Eng. Sci., vol. 9, pp. 36–44, 1957.

Volume 49, Issue 4, 2018

 348 Ben Hassine, Chesneau, & Laatar

Vaxelaire, J. and Puiggali, J.R., Analysis of the Drying of Residual Sludge: From the Experiment to the Simulation of a Belt
Dryer, Drying Technol., vol. 20, nos. 4–5, pp. 989–1008, 2002.
Vaxelaire, J., Bongiovanni, J.M., Mousques, P., and Puiggali, J.R., Thermal Drying of Residual Sludge, Water Res., vol. 34,
no. 17, pp. 4318–4323, 2000.

Heat Transfer Research

View publication stats