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INDEX:

SR. NO. CONTENT PAGE NO.

1. INTRODUCTION 2–3
2. DESCRIPTION 4
3. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES 5
4. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 6
5. THEORY 7
6. EXPERIMENTAL MANUAL 8 – 11
7. SAMPLE CALCULATIONS 12 – 13
8. LINE DIAGRAM 14

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INTRODUCTION
The rotary dryer is a type of industrial dryer employed to reduce or
minimize the liquid moisture content of the material by bringing it in direct
contact with a heated gas. The dryer is made up of large rotating cylinder which
slopes slightly so that the discharged end is lower than the material feed end in
order to convey the material under gravity. Material to be dried enters the dryer
and as the dryer rotates, the material is lifted the inner wall of the dryer. When
materials fall back to the bottom, it passes through the hot gas stream.
In the experiment, the gas stream moves towards the feed end from the
discharge end (counter current flow).Also the material passes through the length
of the dryer at nearly the wet - bulb temperature.
Single pass and three pass rotary dryers are ideal for high moisture, friable,
free-flowing products. The Rotary dryer is the choice for high throughput capacity
applications involving high moisture, friable, free-flowing commodity products
and by-products.  A rotating drum and strategically positioned flights combine to
lift and shower product evenly through the air stream. 
Thermostatically controlled discharge air temperature assures precise final
moistures and great sensitivity to varying product conditions.  Single-pass or
three-pass configurations are available to match product characteristics. Heating
options include steam, gas, oil, thermal oil and auxiliary biomass burner system.
The rotary drum dryer is a direct-fired hot air cascading type of dryer,
which dries sludge to between 90 to 95 % dry solids. The material is gently dried
as it cascades through the hot air flow. The hot air stream is provided by a direct-
fired gas burner normally operating with natural- and bio-gas.

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Drum dryers operate by applying a thin layer of the product to be dried to

the outside of a rotating drum. The drum is internally heated by steam which
quickly evaporates any liquid from the product. After almost one full revolution
the remaining dried material is removed from the drum by a knife as a film or
powder.

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DESCRIPTION
A rotary dryer consists of a cylindrical shell, set with its axis at a right angle
to the horizontal and mounted on rollers so that it can be rotated.
The material to be dried is fed to the high end of the dryer and, by rotation
of the dryer, usually assisted by internal flight, is gradually advanced to the lower
end where it is discharged. The source of heat for a rotary dryer is usually the hot
air that circulates through the dryer.
Rotary dryers are mainly used in the chemical and mineral industry. In the
area of food, their most common applications are for dehydrating waste materials
(citrus peels, vegetable trimmings) and animal feedstuffs (alfalfa). Rotary dryers
consist of a metal cylinder with internal flights or louvers (Fig. 22.21).

Rotary dryers work by tumbling material in a rotating drum in the presence

of a drying air. They can also be indirectly heated to avoid direct contact between
the material and processing medium. The drum is positioned at a slight horizontal
slope to allow gravity to assist in moving material through the drum.

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ADVANTAGES
 The dryers are flexible and suitable for multiple but small quantity
production.
 Furthermore, the main advantages of drum drying include high drying rates
and economic usage of heat.
DISADVANTAGES
 High cost of changing drum surface because of the precision machining that
is required.
 Possible scorching of the product to impart cooked flavor and off-color due
to direct contact with high temperature drum surface.
 Not able to process salty or other corrosive materials due to potential
pitting of drum surface.
 An excessive entrainment loss in the exit gas stream is possible especially if
the material contains extremely fine particles due to the large gas volumes
and high gas velocities that are usually required.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Rotary Dryer setup will be consists of revolving cylindrical shell, slightly
inclined towards the outlet. Hot air is obtained using Air Blower and Heater Box.
Air flow is measured using Orifice Meter and Manometer. Wet Bulb and Dry Bulb
temperature sensors will be provided at entry and exit facilitate the calculation of
Humidity and Moisture taken away by the air from the solids.
Shell:
MOC : Stainless Steel 304 (CERTIFICATE WILL BE PROVIDED)
Dimensions : 2000 mm * 300 mm dia.* 2mm thick
Internal Flights : 4 Nos. 20 * 3 mm thick, Longitudinal
Gear Motor : 1.0 HP Gear Motor
Hopper : Mild Steel
Feed Nozzle : 125 mm
Product Nozzle : 75 mm
Insulation will be of S.S. material to prevent the heat losses.
Heater Box:
Capacity: 8 kW Ni-Cr with Digital Temperature Controller
Blower
Capacity: 1 HP 3 phase with Motor with the arrangement of varying the air flow
rate through the dryer.
Humidity Measurement:
Wet and Dry Bulb sensors at the entry and exit of the dryer.
Air Flow Measurement:
The air throughput through the dryer can be measured with the help of Orifice
meter & U-tube manometer.
The motorized feeding hopper will be provided with variable speed using
frequency drive of to feed the material to the dryer at different rates.
The unit is mounted on suitable sturdy MS Framework painted with good quality
color for long lasting finish.
Also Include: PID, collection tray

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THEORY
 
Consider a rotary continuous counter current dryer fed with a non - porous
material having all moisture as unbound moisture. As the material enters the
dryer, it is first heated to the drying temperature. It will then pass through the
length of dryer at nearly the wet - bulb temperature and theoretically at the end
of the dryer, the material shall be discharged as dry material nearly at the wet
bulb temperature.
 

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ROTARY DRUM DRIER EXPERIMENTAL MANUAL

AIM:
To determine the drying characteristic for rotary dryer.
UTILITIES REQUIRED:
Silica Gel, Water, Rotary Drum Dryer, Weighing Scale
PROCEDURE:
 Fill water in to wet bulb thermometers.
 Set the pre - heating temperature for air in the PID.
 Take silica gel, wheat or any other particles and weight it.
 Take water and weigh it.
 Now add known quantity of water in to silica gel and Fill the feed hopper
with wet solid.
 Start the dryer in rotary motion.
 Allow the wet solid to flow through the dryer by starting main switch at
fixed speed.
 Note down Dry bulb & wet bulb temperatures.
AT STEADY STATE RECORD THE FOLLOWING:
a) Air flow rate (Orifice meter, manometer reading and convert it to volumetric
flow rate and mass flow rate) = GG
b) Air temperature at inlet = tG1
c) Air temperature at outlet = tG2
7. Repeat the above steps for at least 4 gas flow rates.
ASSUMPTIONS:
1. No heat loss from the dryer.
2. Heat is supplied only from the air, not by conduction from the dryer shell.

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3. All the moisture present is free moisture.

4. There is no evaporation of moisture in the preliminary heating period.
5. Drying proceeds at a constant wet - bulb temperature until desired amount of
water has been removed.

.....

CALCULATIONS:
 
Consider a rotary dryer for which temperature course is similar to figure 2.

 
FIGURE 2

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CS = Specific heat of material kcal/kg dry solid
tG = Temperature of air stream
t = Temperature of solid
A = Cross sectional area of dryer
Z = Distance along dryer
L = Length of the dryer = 2.1 m
 
U = Overall heat transfer co-effecient , kcal/(h-0C-m2 of solid surface)

 
For determining Ua use the equation (perry)
 

 D = Dryer diameter (in feet)

 

Cross sectional Area of Dryer = 2211279.11 mm2 = 2.21127911 m2

For economic operation of a rotary dryer

Flow sheet describing the steps of calculations in details:

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STEP 1 CALCULATION:
H = ∆R / 100 (ρ w/ρ A – 1)

 
G = Q * ρ air
GG = G/A

STEP 2 CALCULATION:
LMTD = (∆T1 - ∆T2) / ln (∆T1 / ∆T2)

Ua = G * Cs * (T1 – T2) / V * (LMTD)

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SAMPLE CALCULATIONS
OBSERVATION TABLE
T1 T2 T3 T4
SR. NO. (Dry bulb (Wet bulb (Dry bulb (Wet bulb
Temperature) Temperature) Temperature) Temperature)
1. 50.2 32 42 40.7
2. 49.9 32 41 39.3
3. 49.8 32 40.4 37.3
4. 49.4 32 39.8 35.8
5. 49.4 31.6 39.1 34.1

STEP 1: In this step the pressure is the input and the temperatures are the
outputs which are virtually calculated.
NOTE: For an orifice meter
d1 = 39 mm
d2 = 52 mm
Cd = 0.6
Density of water = 1000 kg/m3
Density of Air = 1.2 kg/m3
Diameter of Dryer = 0.312 m
NOTE: 1 kg/s = 7936.8 lb/hr

STEP 2: The next step is the calculation part where by using the input values of
step 1 and some suitable formulas the user has to calculate the volumetric flow
rate , mass flow rate and the air mass velocity.

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CALCULATED DATA IN TABLE

Mass Air Mass
Pressure Volumetric Overall Heat Transfer
Flow rate Velocity
SR. NO. (R) (CM Flow rate Coefficient (Ua)
(G) (GG)
of water) Q (m3/s) (Btu/hr OF m2)
(lb/hr) (lb/ft2hr)
1. 4 1.2 8 85 45674
2. 5 1.3 8 54 123
3. 6 1.5 8 45 123
4. 7 6 7 45 1335
5. 8 8 45 42 1546

Plot a chart between Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (Ua) vs Air Mass Velocity
(GG)

Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (Ua) vs Air Mass Veloc-

ity (GG)
90 85
Air Mass Velocity (GG) (lb/ft2hr)

80
70
6054
504545
42
40
30
20
10
0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000

Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (Ua)

(Btu/hr OF m2)

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ROTARY DRUM DRIER MANUAL