lf HEMICAL “= riililt) ry NGINCERING =: ey PCy oe A) l ee@ mm ACE Ce Chemical Optimizing Dryers Life-cycle Costs POT OM ELC Pm td Bo) Tite) Collaborative Odor-control PT Tug ty: | Estimating Additives Cm) Pet Um tera y eC LT | eCity Patter) | ete ody Monitors Coatings atti A Chemical Week Associates PublicationOperations & Maintenance Troubleshooting the Paul D. McKeithan Aeroglide Corp. Convection-Conveyor Dryer Knowing how to evaluate a dryer Can lead to optimum performance here are many simple ways to improve efficiencies within the drying process and lower the cost of production. Unfor- tunately, however, the converseis also true: operation of a convection dryer can be substantially and negatively affected by minute changes in either the machine or the produet. Often, these small changes are overlooked, and ereate confounding drying prob: Jems. Once this happens, the baitle for dryer control begins. When users lack good understand ing of how the dryer is performing, production capacities may begin to di- minish and product quality to de- grade. At this point, dryer optimiza- tion seems out of reach, whereas actually the root cause of the problem could be just an overlooked detail When a drying system's operation be- comes complicated, itis easy to become lost in the maze of solutions. So, step back and establish an operations base- line by performing a series of inspee- tions. In essence, a dryer evaluation In my experience, most convection conveyors are operating at 10-30% Jess than achievable efficiency. A dryer evaluation should help users under- stand the dryer in greater detail re- sulting in produeing a higher-quality product at a lower cost. In this article, we will discuss the key details in performing an evalua- tion. We will locate critical inspection areas, review some basic drying the- ory, and unearth some big money-sav- ing ideas. Ifyou don't have a good un- derstanding of drying theory, hire a consultant and use this article as a basis for communication. Divide the evaluation process into two parts. The first is mechanical inspection, the see- ond is process inspection. Short-circult areas FIGURE 4. In a singlo-plonum dryer, the airflow circulates through the bed. Inset: Airflow short-circults are caused by improper zone sealing above and below Upfiow zone Mechanical inspection Perform the mechanical inspection while the dryer is shut down. This gives you an opportunity to under- stand the internal design of the dryer and figure out where to take process measurements, Approach a mechanical inspection with two complementary goals in mind. First, ensure that the structure is sound and that all moving parts are in 00d condition. Then focus on the air- flow patterns related to the internal de- sign of the dryer Without a doubt, the latter is the harder task. It is simple to look at a sprocket and determine if the teeth are ‘worn, but airflow requires the engineer to draw upon personal experience to vi sualize the flow patterns. Since air is the medium for all heat transfer and moisture transfer in a eonvection dryer, the importance of proper airflow cannot be overstated Produet quality and consistency are the bases for evaluating most production processes. The only way to obtain a consistent product from a dryer is to expose every piece of prod- uct to the same average airflow con- ditions. Convection-dryer “manufac- turers struggle mightily to accomplish this goal, because itis not easy to achieve, The whole industry is improving, as is evident by com- paring the moisture consistency of older versus newer models. Downflow zone Keep your eye on the airflow There are ways to determine if there is room for improvement in a dryer’ air- flove. Establish the intended airflow patterns by locating the fans and mak- ing sketches of the dryer and airflow, which might look like Figures 1 and 2, After developing a good under- standing of the design, search for air- flow short-circuits. These are areas that give the recirculated air a less-re- sistive path to return to the fan, rather than the path through the product bed, Often, a short-circuit result of missing internal panels, or panels that are not properly fastened. While there are many areas that can harbor short-circuits, these three ex- amples are the most overlooked 1. If the seals between heat zones, especially where airflow alternates di- rections through the product bed, are not coming into contact with the prod- uct, expect to find short-cireuits, 2. A potential short-circuit area is an improper seal between the conveyor bed and its return. Figure 1 illustrates this problem, 3. Another cause of airflow short-cir- cuiting often encountered during the process inspection, is poor product bed loading. In a convection conveyor dryer, product is spread onto a conveyor bed, also known as an apron, typically made of perforated steel or wire mesh ‘Two critical factors for good airflow through the bed are depth and even- CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM NOVEMBER 2000 125eee eee ness, Since the product itself is a souree of static resistance, any incon- sistencies in the loading of the apron will result in uneven air distribution. ‘To solve this problem, adjust the prod- uuct-feeding device or engineer a differ- ent product-feeding technology to achieve a better bed loading. An improperly adjusted fan-inlet cone is a commonly missed short-cireuit. When the cone is not adjusted properly itallowsthe fanto “feed back” ontoitself. This significantly reduces the effective airflow volume through the product bed. ‘The inset of Figure 2 illustrates poor fan-inlet-cone adjustments, ‘These examples are not a complete summary of the areas that should be inspected. Although convection con veyor dryers are all similar in princi- ple, they are vastly different in design and performanee. To be successful in locating airflow short-circuits, per- form a thorough inspection, always re: membering that air will take the path of least resistanee. In many drying processes, the prod- uct must reach a specified moisture content. Large deviations in moisture content force the operator to overdry some product to maintain specification on the rest, This is an area that com- monly introduces large inefficiencies. Product moisture consistency, a valuable performance criterion, is the result of even and consistent airflow. In short, every piece of product must see the same average airflow conditions ‘The mechanical inspection is a good opportunity to check the fans for proper rotation. Backward-inclined plug-fans are among the most-com- ‘monly used types because of their abil- ity to generate static pressure within a system. [1]. However, they do not per- form very well when rotating in the in- correct direction. This reduces the fan's volume by approximately 80- ‘90%, therefore drastically reducing the dryer’s production capabilities Drying theory We review generie drying theory, as an aid to understanding process evalua- tion. The physical and chemical proper- ties of the product are the factors that determine the difficulty of moisture re- moval. Every product has a unique dh ing curve. This is a graphical illustra- twp Ambient air. Recirculated Exhaust (spent) air. ep Heated ar Fan-inlot ‘cone-gap Recirculation fan FIGURE 2. When the drying zone is properly sealed there is no room for leaks above of below the bed. Inset: A gap at the far-inlet-cone can be a short-circuit Pret Gu jeight | Moisture | Moisture | Solids, | Weight % increase b in% | out,% out, Ib in water removed 18.667 2 3 14000 |_14737 None 720,000 30 5 14,000 | 14,737 33 21,538 35 5 14,000 | 14,737 73 23,333 40 5 14,000 | 14,737 18 25,455 45 5 v4,000__| 14,737 | 10,718 173 “Molature i based on wet weight. Bvaporating 1 Ib water consumes 972 Btu tion of therate at which a material gives up moisture under a given set of process parameters, such as: product bed depth, air temperature, and airflow direction, flowrate, and velocity. In general, the drying curve shows the product’ ability to retain water at set air conditions. ure 3is a typical drying curve. How moisture is removed In essence, the technique of removing moisture from a substance via convec- tion centers on one basie principle, dif ferences in partial pressure. In short, weare trying tocreateadriving force to transfer moisture from the product to the air. The driving foree involves the vapor pressure, which equals the par- tial pressure that water exerts at the same temperature as the mixture of dry air and water vapor [2] ‘Whether the dryer is a recirculation air dryer or a once-through system, the air that contaets the product bed is not dry, meaning that it contains some quantity of water vapor. At a set temperature, the amount of water vapor that a given volume of air can hold is limited. When no more water vapor can be added to the air without condensation occurring, the air is said to have reached its saturation point. 126 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM NOVEMBER 2000 ‘The goal in creating an ideal drying environment is to make the air recep- tive to attracting water, by lowering the air’s humidity toa point that is econom- ically conducive to efficient drying. In essence, force the air to be thirsty. The amount of water that the air can hold rises with an increase in temperature. Heat and moisture transfer ‘As the air passes through the product, bed, heat is transferred to the product and to the water. This increases the en- thalpy of the moisture within the prod- uct and therefore increases its internal vapor pressure (the vapor pressure of the liquid contained within it). The larger the differential is between the vapor pressure within the product and the partial pressure of the water vapor in the recirculating air, the greater is the driving force for evaporation. Once the water on the product sur- face evaporates, it will be vaporized and carried out through the exhaust with air, The next layer of moisture in the product will move to the surface. In many cases, evaporation accounts for most of the energy used in the dry- ing process. Thus, it makes sense to make this vaporization process as un- restricted as possible, This sounds sim-TABLE Areas of opportunity Suggested solutions JOP 10 AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY FOUND IN CONVECTION-CONVEYOR DRYERS 1__| Allow short-circuits Locate and seal shor circuits 2 [Lack of proper exhaust ‘Check the evaporation capacity of the exhaust sysiem. Decrease: ‘production rate, or increase exhaust capacity 3 | Poor distibution of recirculation air Determine the airflow pattem and make adjustments fo the systom. A product moisture profile can help identity the airflow distribution 7} Poor mixing of heated air with “spent” recirculation ait Measure the recirculation air temperature in the volume between the heal source ‘and the product, over the entire length. If here are large temperature variations, ‘add air-mixing plates. It wil be tial-and-error fo find the right plate and position 5 | Inadequate heat fo achieve dying setpoint ‘Check design parameters, as you may be trying fo remove foo much moisture. Decrease the production rate or increase the heating capacity of the system © | Poor bed loading ‘Adjust the product feeder or explore new feeding options 7 | Bedpiate (apron) perforation ‘clogging (restricting alow) This may be related fo improper bedplate perforations. itis very important to keep perforations clear &__| Product clustering ‘Add a suitable device to gently break apart the clustering ‘9 | Product sticking to the apron “Ty varying process conditions. This is a product-specific problem 10 | Drier has some sharp comers, allowing product buildup Tocate the areas thal allow the product to buildup, and add parts to Create slopes that will deter this Constant FIGURE 3. A typical drying curve displays non linear behavior ple, but there are always physical re- strictions. Some products are not going to give up moisture as easily and effi ciently as others do. Process inspection With the just-summarized points as background, the primary function of a process inspection is to establish a baseline of the current operating con- ditions. The goal is to collect data that will serve as a useful guide for im- provement. The most common mea- surements of improvement are low- ered energy cost, improved product quality, and increased production. ‘Ask first: How much is this dryer currently producing? Often, this is a ‘question that operators cannot an- swer. The best answer they usually ive is based on a readout from an op- erator’s panel. When conducting an evaluation it is important to verify these readouts. Don't expect that weigh belts and other metering de- vices are properly calibrated. ‘The dryer might be producing at a more ef- ficient rate than first estimates. Bqua- tion (1) is a simple formula that we use to calculate the production rate: a Production rate = Where, wds p = Product bulk density including target moisture, Ib/t® w = Product bed width, ft Average product bed depth across the bed width, ft s = Conveyor speed, ft/min Now, determine how much work the dryer has to do to achieve this produc- tion capacity. Focus on three things: airflow, produet, and the interaction between the airflow and the product. Measure the volumetric flowrate of air through the product. Due to physical constraints, this can be a difficult mea- surement. Product characteristies and product bed-depth affect the system's resistance and therefore the airflow. Fan delivery can be estimated, Mea- sure the resistance across each fan and the static pressure that it develops. Es- timate the flow from knowledge of sta- tie pressure, revolutions per minute, the dimensions ofthe fan and the man- ufacturer’s fan curves, Measuring the air’s drying potential is simple. Measure two air tempera- tures between the heat source and the product bed. You need the dry-bulb temperature, which is the tempera- ture that a normal thermometer would read, and the wet-bulb temper- ature, which is an indication of the hu- midity level in the air. Determine the evaporative load of the dryer by measuring the percent, moisture of the product both entering and exiting the dryer. This is critical, because a slight increase in moisture percentage substantially increases the amount of work that the dryer has to perform. See Table 1 for an example of varying input moisture affecting the energy to reach a target moisture spec- ification. It is apparent from the table that the energy load amplifies with the moisture content. Caleulate this aspect 128 CHEMICALENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM NOVEMBER 2000 of a dryer’s performance in terms of en- ergy used per pound of moisture re- moved at the specified production rate. One more piece of pertinent data is variation in moisture content. This can be helpful in pointing out ineonsisten cies that could be a product-quality issue as well as an energy-usage isste. ‘To assess this, collect product from the discharge in the spatial form of a ma- trix across the width and through the depth of the product bed. Immediately bag and seal each sample, to avoid los- {ing any moisture Recovering lost efficiency ‘Once the inspection and evaluation are done, its time to improve the dryer. It is common to recover lost efficiency by performing some rather simple preven- tive maintenance, dryer-setup modifi- cations, sanitation or operation-para- meter modifications, Table 2 is a top-ten list of opportunity areas, based on many dryer evaluations. . Edited by Peter M. Silverberg References 1 There are many types of fans use in indus tay. Fora ist of ommon fans and their uses sce: Fans and Systems, Aur Movement and Genta Ase. "Ine. ARICA "Palen 201-80, Figure 42, pp. 12 and 13, Arlington Height, tf, 1990." ngel, Y. A. and Boles, M. A. “At ‘neering Approach to Thermodynamics 2nd fy MeGeaw- Tl, Hightstown, Nad, 1994 Author Paul D. MeKesthan i. fd ‘eager with Aerogide Corp {00 "Aerogide ‘Drive. Cary uN, Prope: $19.85) 2 XH; Fax 9.8609, E-mail: pmcketthan@acroglide ‘com. He evaluates over 40 onvection “angers annually, folowing up with advice gain Gates speciing: eli ey nd implementing best pra itn He heats tan {ng seminars on dryer technology MeKeithan has a'B. S. in mechanical engineering from Nocth Garona State University ind has BIT status in ‘North Carolina