https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=kmmEV4ohSDA
Hygroscopic substance is one that readily attracts water
from its surroundings, through either absorption or
adsorption. Examples include honey, NaCl, glycerin, ethanol,
methanol, concentrated sulfuric acid, and concentrated
sodium hydroxide (lye)
Non Hygroscopic substance Do not have an affinity for
moisture. Any moisture collected is adsorbed on the surface of
the pellet. Typical moisture collection is due to condensation.
PVC, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene and others etc.
• Each batch is handled as a
separate entity.
• It’s more efficient in fuel
consumption.
• It’s operated batch-wise.
• It’s simple to use.
• It provides tendency to
over-dry the lower trays.
Disadvantages of Tray Dryer:
• The process is time-consuming.
• It requires extra cost.
• Some instruments are dehydrated through Tray
Dryer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw8FLHb1a2M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ7lBUC_QXg
Tunnel dryer is a direct continuous type of dryer. It is a largest scale dryer.
Principle: In this dryer, the materials to be dried are sent to the air heated tunnel for drying
purpose. The material is entered at one end and the dried material is collected at the other end
of the tunnel. The outgoing material met the incoming air to ensure maximum drying and the
out going air contacted the wettest material so that the air was as nearly saturated as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAm9Z_pkLak
 Mechanism of action: One of the doors of the tunnel is opened and the materials to be dried are placed to the trolleys and trucks
are pushed slowly in the tunnel and then door is closed. Hot air is circulated and passed through the rail truck and perforated
trolleys. The hot air then followed are recirculated with the help of fans and the material becoming dried. The moist air is passed
out through the exhaust after completion of drying. The door is opened and the trolleys are taken out of the funnel and some new
trolleys with the wet materials are introduced into the trucks and the process is repeated.

Application:
1.In research laboratories and QC department for drying glass wires and small apparatus.
2.In drying of packaging materials plastic caps, spoons, injectable vials, glass containers, etc.
3.In sterilization of containers.

Advantages:
1. Comparing with the compartmental dryers tunnel dryers has the advantage of continuous operation.
2. A large amount of materials can be dried.
3. Tunnel dryers are used for drying of paraffin wax, gelatin, soap, pottery, etc.

Disadvantages:
1.High labor cost for loading and unloading.
2.Thermolabile substances can’t be dried.
3.Drying rage is slow, so time consuming.
4.It is not suitable for small scale production.
5.It is a non-agitated process.
6.Drying of liquid materials is not possible.
7.There is a chance of accident when doors are opened before stopping the hot air circulation
 Drum Dryers
The drum dryer is the equipment used to convert the solutions and suspensions into solids. The main purpose is to spread the
liquid to a large surface area so that drying can occur rapidly.

Construction of Drum Dryer:

It consists of a hollow steel drum of about 0.75-1.5 m in diameter and 2-4 m in length. It is heated usually by steam and rotated on
its longitudinal axis. The external surface of the drum is polished. Liquid or slurry is placed as feed in a pan. The drum is partially
dipped in the pan. The spreader is used to spread liquid film evenly on the roller. The rotation of the drum is adjusted so that all of
the liquid is fully vaporized. The drum is rotated continuously. The dried deposit or material can be scraped off with the help of a
Doctor’s knife. The dried material is collected in a storage bin.
Working of Drum Dryer:
A drum rotates, the liquid material gets adhere to an external surface of a drum. The liquid is spread as a film onto the surface.
The drying of the material is done by the process of steam when passed into the drum. By the mechanism of the conduction, the
heat gets transferred into the drum, and the drying process takes place. The materials are completely dried during the whole
process during its revolutions. The dried materials are scrapped by the knife and that falls into the bin.
Advantages:
• Drying takes place in less time.
• It is suitable for thermosensitive drugs.
• It occupies less space.
• To reduce the temperature of drying the drum can be enclosed in a
vacuum chamber.
• Rapid drying takes place due to rapid heat and mass transfer.

Disadvantages:
• The maintenance cost is high.
• Skilled operators are essential to control the thickness of the film.
• It is not suitable for fewer solubility products.
• The operating conditions are critical. Therefore it is necessary to
introduce careful control on feed rate, film thickness, speed of drum
rotation, and drum temperature

Pharmaceutical Applications:
Drum dryer is used for drying of solutions, slurries, and
suspensionsMilk products, starch products, ferrous salts,
suspensions of zinc oxide, suspensions of the kaolin, yeast,
pigments, malt extracts, antibiotics, insecticides, DDT, calcium,
and barium carbonates are dried by this method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE950C_Mx2M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGb77K_K55M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W8ap-jpNdY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKCk7K4Ew7c
 Spray drying is a one-step continuous unit operation that employs liquid atomization to produce
droplets that are dried to individual particles when moved in a hot gaseous drying medium. A
spray dryer consists of a feed pump, atomizer, air heater, air dispenser, drying chamber, and
systems for exhaust air cleaning and powder recovery/separator.
The three stages that occur in a spray dryer before drying is accomplished include:
1.Atomization: atomizer refers to any device that emits a liquid into a fine spray such as on a
perfume bottle.
2.Spray-air mixing and moisture evaporation.
3.Dry product separation from the exit air.
The nature of the final product obtained after drying in a spray dryer depends on;
•The design and operation of the spray dryer.
•The physicochemical properties of the feed
Pharmaceutical uses of Spray dryer
1. Spray dryer is used in drying pharmaceuticals like penicillin, blood products, enzymes, vaccines, etc.
2. It is used in the production of excipients and co-processed excipients with increased flowability, compatibility,
and tablet disintegration.
3. To improve drug compressibility and reduce capping tendencies in crystals.
4. It is equally used in the preparation of matrix microcapsule containing drug substances and a biodegradable
polymer in order to obtain controlled drug release formulation.
5. It is employed in enhancing solubility and dissolution rates of poorly soluble drugs by formation of
pharmaceutical complexes or via the development of solid dispersion thus increasing bioavailability.
6. It is used in the production of dry powder formulation/dry powder aerosol and thermoabile materials.

Apart from its applications in the pharmaceutical industries, spray dryers also find use in;
7. Chemical industries e.g. phenol-formaldehyde resin, catalysts, PVC emulsion type, amino acids etc.
8. Ceramic industries e.g. aluminum oxide, carbides, iron oxides, kaolin, etc.
9. Dyestuffs and pigments e.g. chrome yellow, food color, titanium dioxide, paint pigments, etc.
10. Fertilizer production e.g. nitrates, ammonium salts, phosphates, etc.
11. Detergent and surface-active agents e.g. detergent enzymes, bleach powders, emulsifying agents etc.
12. Food industries e.g. milk, egg, soya protein, etc.
13. Fruits and vegetables e.g. banana, tomatoes, coconut milk, etc.
15. Beverage e.g. coffee, tea, etc.
16. Biochemical industries e.g. algae, fodder antibiotics, yeast extracts, enzymes, etc.
Advantages of Spray Dryers

1. Product quality and properties can be effectively controlled and maintained through the entire drying
operation.
2. Thermo-labile products/ pharmaceuticals can be dried at atmospheric pressure and low temperature.
3. Feedstock in solution, slurry, emulsion, paste, and melt form can be dried if pumpable.

5. Corrosion problem is minimal and the selection of materials of construction of spray dryer is simplified since
the dried material comes in contact with the equipment surfaces in an anhydrous condition.

6. Spray dryer produces dry powder particles of controllable particle size, shape, form, moisture content, and
other specific properties irrespective of dryer capacity and heat sensitivity.

7. Spray dryer handles a wide range of production rates and provides extensive flexibility in its design that is
product specification are readily met through the selection of appropriate spray dryer design and its operation
from a wide range of available design.

8. It is an energy-intensive equipment because;

Specific heat of evaporation can be supplied in a short time.

The temperature difference across the drying chamber is relatively small and An appreciable amount of heat is
lost with exhaust air.
Disadvantages of spray dryers
1. Spray dryer is bulky and also expensive to install.
2. It is difficult to clean after use.
3. It has a low thermal efficiency that is a lot of heat is wasted during operation.
4. Solid materials cannot be dried using spray dryers.
5. Product degradation or fire hazard may result from product deposit on the drying chamber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ0ldWykBuA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx47lcoMIOQ
 In short: In a fluid bed dryer, the inlet air stream is blown
past solid powder molecules at rest. The particles are
taken up in the dry & hot air stream and dehydrated
through evaporation.

Fluidization: It’s the process of making fine solid particles behave like particles of a fluid, which freely move about, slide past each
other, and even collide with other molecules. Fluidization is done by suspending solid particles in a stream of fast-moving air
Bed: Refers to the layer of suspended solid molecules
Dryer Equipment: It’s the equipment where wet substances are dried

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwHFKyf_ZLc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz4audqdx5o
Fluidized bed dryer (also called fluid bed dryer) is a kind of equipment used extensively in the pharmaceutical
industries to reduce the moisture content of pharmaceutical powder and granules. The equipment works on a
principle of fluidization of the feed materials.
In fluidization process, hot air is introduced at high pressure through a perforated bed of moist solid particulate. The
wet solids are lifted from the bottom and suspended in a stream of air (fluidized state). Heat transfer is
accomplished by direct contact between the wet solid and hot gases. The vaporized liquid is carried away by the
drying gasses. Sometimes to save energy, the exit gas is partially recycled.
A fluid bed dryer is an excellent drying system that can be used for applications like drying of powders, mixing of
powders and agglomeration. This is efficiently employed for applications in chemical, pharmaceutical, dyeStuff,
foodstuff, dairy and various other process industries. Fluid bed dryers are often employed with the spray dryers and
granulation systems for effective drying, mixing, granualtion, finishing and cooling of powdered substances. These are
often preferred over rotary dryers for drying and cooling a wide range of polymer materials which require precise
control of residence time and temperature for effective processing.

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF FLUID BED DRYING SYSTEM

A fluid bed dryer works on a principle of fluidization of the materials. In the fluidization
process, hot air or gas flow is introduced through the bed of solid particulates. This gas
or air will move upwards through the spaces between the particles. As the velocity
increases, upward drag forces on the particles increase and at a stage become equal to
the gravitational forces beneath. Hence the bed is said to be fluidized and the particles
are suspended in the fluid.
AUTOMATION PROCESS OF FLUID BED DRYER
In a fluid bed dryer used for powder drying, , the air is sucked inside from the surroundings with a
fan-run with an electric motor inside the dryer. The air then passes through the heating system
within the dryer and gets heated up. This hot drying air is then made to flow through the bed of
the moist materials that are laid on the shaking perforated steel bed. This air is introduced with
the required velocity and temperature that the bed gets fluidized allowing intimate contact of
each particle with the air. As the bed vibrates or shakes, the particles in the bed are carried
forward slowly along the length of the dryer. All the moisture present in particles gets sucked by
the hot air which then escapes into the dust recovery system and is recycled for further use in the
process. The velocity and temperature of the air can be controlled as the particles pass on the bed
and hence very wet to sticky materials can also be dried with a fluid bed dryer effectively. The
dried material is then fed into the cooling zone where cool air reduces the temperature of the
material to the required state. The complete process is performed by the automated system that
eases the processing. Therefore in this way product or powder drying can be efficiently achieved
with the help of a fluid bed dryer.
Advantages of Fluidized-bed Dryers
1. High rates of moisture removal due to excellent gas-particle constant which results in high heat and mass transfer rates.
2. High thermal efficiency is usually achieved if part of the thermal energy for drying is supplied by the internal heat exchanger
3. Lower capital and maintenance cost

4. Reduced contact time for drying.

5. Ease of control.
Disadvantages of Fluidized Dryers
1. High pressure drops results as a result of the need to suspend the entire bed in gas which equally leads to high
energy consumption.
2. Requires increased gas handling due to extensive recirculation of exhaust gas for high thermal efficiency
operation.
3. Poor fluidization and low flexibility especially if the feed is too wet.
4. Not the best choice of equipment when organic solvents need to be removed during drying.
5. Non-uniform product quality for certain types of fluidized bed dryers.
6. Entertainment of fine particles.
7. High potential for attrition; and in some cases agglomeration of fine particles.
8. The conventional hot air fluidized bed dryers are not a good choice of dryer when handling toxic or flammable solids since there
is danger of fire or explosion of flammability limits are exceeded
 Vacuum drying
Drying is the process of the removal of the water or solvents by the process of evaporation;
hence the output of dryer must be a solid material in the form of any defined structure or
powder. To achieve the dried output the heat is applied to evaporate water or solvents.
To dry the heat sensitive material; how will dry them if heat is applied to evaporate the water or
solvent contents then material itself can get harmed as being the heat sensitive material, hence
the special provisions required to dry such heat sensitive materials. To dry such heat sensitive
materials it’s required to lower down the environmental pressure, as the water and many
solvents reach to boiling point at lower temperature with the pressure is lower by creating the
vacuum, hence this process is known as vacuum drying. The use of heat and vacuum together
have proven as very effective source of the drying at relatively lower temperature, the moisture
content in the material dried via vacuum dryers are lower as compared to normal dryer, those
are not using the vacuum.
Working principle of vacuum drying
The working principle behind the operation of a vacuum drying involves substantially lowering the ambient
pressure to decrease the boiling point of the liquid in the substance via the use of a vacuum pump. A
considerable reduction in boiling point increases the rate of evaporation of the liquid and hence fastens the
drying rate of the substance. Moreover, lowering the boiling point indicates that operating temperatures
could be much lower as compared to regular air oven. Hence, heat sensitive substances could be dried
with minimal effect to their physical or chemical properties. Additionally, lack of air (or oxygen) during the
drying process significantly reduces the chances of substance oxidation.
 Advantages of the Vacuum dryers:
1.Vacuum dryers are very efficient heat sensitive
2.Materials can be dryers in containers or enclosures
3.Average drying temperature is much lower than standard dryers
4.Drying action becomes faster as heat is easily transferred throughout the body of the dryers, due to its large surface area
5.Dries large moisture as compared to normal dryers
6.Quality of dries material is better than that of the normal dryers
Limitation of vacuum dryers:
1.Vacuum Drying process is batch type drying process It has low efficiency.
2.Vacuum dryers are expensive
3.Vacuum dryers require skilled labour to operate
4.Cost of maintenance are high
Application of the Vacuum dryers:
The Vacuum dryers find application in various type of the industries such as:
1.Chemical process industries
2.Food processing
3.Pharmaceutical
4.Plastic
5.Timber
6.Paper and other industries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnVjxuCc4Wc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqP45slStpw&t=4s
Convection drying vs. contact drying
Convective drying is the most common method of thermal drying, as this type of drying
equipment is comparatively simple to manufacture.
Convective dryers circulate hot air through and over the products, thus reducing the humidity of
the atmosphere around the product and causing the solvent to evaporate. The hotter the air, the
quicker the product will dry.
However, convection drying has its downsides. For one, excessively hot air can considerably
detract from product quality. If the air is too hot, the solid surface of the product may harden
and crust over. And because hot air exposes the products to oxidation, convection drying can
cause significant degradation to nutritional and color properties, making it less than ideal for
food drying. Furthermore, convection drying is highly energy-intensive.
Compared with convection drying, contact drying has the advantages of being more
energy-efficient and controlled. The latter quality in particular makes contact drying ideal for
working with combustible materials. Contact drying is the basic mass transfer principle used in
most vacuum dryers.