CONVECTION DRYING

Date: 9th February, 2024

Buah Adwoa Matilda Biney Emmanuel
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Sci. and Tech.

REPORT INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The purpose of this experiment is to determine the
reduction in weight and the drying rate over time
Drying
during the drying process. The experiment employed
Drying Rate the use of the CE 130 bowl experiment stand to subject
samples to convection drying and continuous
Evaporation
measurements of sample weight were recorded at
regular intervals throughout the drying process,
allowing for the determination of the drying rate. The
experiment extended over a defined period, enabling
the observation of weight reduction trends over time.
The results demonstrated a decrease in sample weight
as convection drying progressed due to the loss of
water. The plot of the mass of moisture vs drying time
showed a decreasing graph, which shows that as time
progressed more water was removed. The plot of
drying time against time showed a steep decreasing
curve at the beginning with consistent rise and fall as
time progressed.
At the end of the experiment, it was determined that the
amount of water in the sample was directly
proportional to the drying time. Also, the lower relative
humidity the faster the rate of drying.

1. INTRODUCTION
Drying refers to the process of removing water content or moisture from a substance or body, mostly solid (eg. granular material, powder etc.) . Drying mostly involves the removal of small quantity of moisture. It is

used in various industries including pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals and textiles (Langrish, 2009). The aim of drying can be to preserve and improve on the life-span and quality of a products or facilitate further

processing. Drying leads to the reduction in the total weight of the body or substance which is being dried. This help the weight loss, the drying content and the amount of moisture lost to be calculated (Majumdar,
2007). There are mechanics involved in the drying process. There are 2 basic mechanics; the moisture migration from the interior of a grain to the surface of the body and, the evaporation of the moisture from the

surface of the body to the surrounding atmosphere or air.

There are 3 classifications of drying. They are; Convection drying occurs when heat energy through a flowing gas or air is transferred to a solid to be dried. Contact drying is an indirect method of drying because the

heat transfer medium is separated from the solid material by a metal wall. With Radiation drying radiant electromagnetic waves travel in a straight line.

There is another form of classification based on whether the temperature is higher or lower than the boiling point of the liquid separated. These are ; Evaporation drying involves the removal of moisture from a body

or substance by converting the liquid into vapor and removing it from the material but occurs at a temperature lower than the boiling points of the liquid being removed. And Vaporization drying involves the removal

of moisture from a body by converting the liquid into vapor and removing it from the body and it occurs at a temperature higher than the boiling point of the liquid being removed.

Convective drying is a process that is used to remove moisture from solids by circulating hot around them. This method of drying depends on convection in which heat transfer is achieved through the movement of

air. The moisture evaporates and is carried away when hot air is passed over the wet material leaving behind the dried material. Heat and mass transfer is the principle on which convective drying operates on. As the

hot air moves over the moist body or material, the heat causes the temperature of the body to increase which also cause the moisture in the material to evaporate. The concentration gradient that drives further removal

of moisture from the body is maintain by removing the moisture-laden air from the system. This process proceeds until the material or the body being dried reached the level of dryness desired. (Langrish, 2007)

In the industrial world there are lots of applications of convective drying. The food processing industry uses convective drying to dry the products in order to preserve the shelf-life of the product and reduce

microbial growth reduce the weight of food to enhance easier transportation, also enhancing the flavor by reducing to moisture and increase the concentration of the products(Chen, 2007). In the pharmaceutical

production industry convective drying helps the uniform and rapid drying of pharmaceutical products there by reducing processing time and ensuring product quality consistency, preserve the stability of active

pharmaceutical ingredients, also helps in the sterilization of pharmaceutical products by subjecting them to high temperature (Patel et al., 2007) . Convective drying is also used in the chemical production industry to

remove moisture from chemical powders and granules like fertilizers and catalysts, also aids in solvent recovery by evaporating the solvent and the vapor condensed to recover the solvent. (Wang et al, 2017)

Curves known as drying curves are usually drawn for various drying processes. The nature of this curve depends on how or the form in which the moisture is present in the material to be dried. These forms are

shown with the diagram of a humid material below:

1. Surface moisture
 2. Capillary moisture

3. Pore moisture

4. Water of crystallization

MOISTURE CONTENT

The moisture content of a wet solid is expressed as kilograms of moisture associated with 1 kg of the moisture – free solid. Thus, a moisture content of 0.4 means that 0.4 kg of removable water is present per kg of the

solid. It is sometimes calculated as percentage moisture content. Moisture content is given by the equation:

mFL
v=
mST

Where mFL is the mass of liquid in g or kg

mST is the mass of the solid in dry state in g or kg

Drying is influenced by various factors affecting heat and mass transfer. The process is commonly divided into two phases: the constant rate period and the falling rate period. These phases are separated by a critical
moisture content breakpoint. The constant rate period is depicted by segment BC, while CD and ED represent the initial and subsequent falling rate periods, respectively. The critical moisture content at point C marks
the transition between these periods, leading to a decline in the drying rate as the process continues.
dm M 1−M 2
Drying rate ( ¿=¿
dt t 1−t 2
 2. METHODOLOGY
Apparatus
1. CE 130 bowl dryer experimental stand
2. Mass balance
3. Stopwatch
4. Sand
Procedure
The drying plate was removed from the support frame in the CE 130 bowl dryer. The weight of the empty tray was measured using a mass balance and recorded. The sand was spread evenly on the drying tray
which was then weighed and recorded. The sand was then wetted with water and weighed and the value was recorded. The fan of the CE 130 bowl dryer was switched on and the speed was adjusted to fall within a
range of 1.3m/s -1.5m/s. The heater was then switched on and the temperature was allowed to rise to the set point temperature(65◦C). The wet sand sample was then inserted in the support frame and the total
weight, relative humidity, and temperature were recorded initially and at intervals of 30 seconds using a stopwatch until the total mass was no longer changing.
Figure 1. A picture of the CE 130 bowl dryer.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results and Calculations

Table of results

Mass of empty tray , g 356.4

Mass of empty tray + dry sample, g 1294.3

Mass of empty tray + dry sample + water,g 1384.9

Dry Temperature, ℃ 64.5
Initial wet temperature, ℃ 62.5
Time interval, s 60
Time, s Temperature, ℃ Relative Humidity, % Mass of empty tray +
dry sample + water,g

0:00:00 67.3 13.3 1384.9

0:01:00 67.3 13.3 1378.1

0:02:00 67.3 13.3 1370.9
0:03:00 67.3 13.3 1363.9
0:04:00 67.3 13.3 1356.9
0:05:00 67.3 13.3 1351.3
0:06:00 67.3 13.3 1345.9
0:07:00 67.3 13.3 1341.2
0:08:00 67.3 13.3 1336.7
0:09:00 67.3 13.3 1332.7
0:10:00 67.3 13.3 1328.8
0:11:00 67.3 13.3 1325
0:12:00 67.3 13.3 1321.2
0:13:00 67.3 13.3 1317.6
0:14:00 67.3 13.3 1315.1
0:15:00 67.3 13.3 1313.9
0:16:00 67.3 13.3 1312.8
0:17:00 67.3 13.3 1311.8
0:18:00 67.3 13.3 1310.8
0:19:00 67.3 13.3 1310.1
0:20:00 67.3 13.3 1309.45
0:21:00 67.3 13.3 1308.87
0:22:00 67.3 13.3 1308.3
0:23:00 67.3 13.3 1307.96
0:24:00 67.3 13.3 1307.63
0:25:00 67.3 13.3 1307.38
0:26:00 67.3 13.3 1307.24
0:27:00 67.3 13.3 1307.12
0:28:00 67.3 13.3 1307.09
0:29:00 67.4 13.3 1307.09
0:30:00 67.4 13.3 1307.09
0:31:00 67.4 13.3 1307.09
Calculations
DATA

Mass of empty tray, Mₜ = 356.4 g

Mass of empty tray + dry sample, Mₜₛ = 1294.3 g

Mass of empty tray + dry sample + water, Mₜₛₙ = 1384.9

Dry temperature = 64.5 °C

Initial wet temperature = 62.5 °C

Time interval = 60 s

Mass of dry sample = 1294.3 g – 356.4 g = 937.9 g

Mass of water, Mw = Mₜₛₙ - Mₜₛ = 1384.9 g – 1294.3 g = 90.6 g

Moisture = Mw/Ms = 90.6/937.9 = 0.0966

mD
 Loading, x= m reading the values from the psychrometric chart for air – water system.
L

With dry bulb temperature, 67.3 °C and Relative Humidity, 13.3 %

Humidity Ratio = 0.0235 kg/kg

Loading = 23.5 g/kg

 The mass of water remaining + dry sample,

SN1: 1384.9 – 356.4 = 1028.5 g SN2:1378.1 – 356.4 = 1021.7 g

 The mass of moisture in sample,

 SN1: 1028.5 – 937.9 = 90.6 g SN2: 1021.7− 937.9 = 83.8 g

 The change in moisture content,

90.6 g water 83.8 g water

SN1: 937.9 =0.0966 g dry sample SN2: 937.9 =0.0893 g dry sample

∆V x V −V
x+1 g water
 v r= ∆ t = t −t , g dry mass . hr
x +1 x

0.0966−0.0893 g water 0.0893−0.0817 g water

𝑆𝑁1: 0.0167−0
=0.4350
g dry mass .hr
𝑆𝑁2: 0.0333−0.0167 =0.4606 g dry mass .hr

 Drying rate,

dm g water
=v r . m,
dt h

g water g water
SN1:0.4350 ∗ 937.9 = 408 h
SN2:0.4606 ∗ 937.9 = 432 h

Table of results from calculations

Drying Drying Temperature, ℃ Relative Mass of empty Mass of water Mass of Change in Vr, Moisture / g Drying rate, Loading, g/kg
moisture content dry mass .hr
time, time, hr Humidity, % tray + dry remaining + dry moisture in dm/dt , g
V, g moisture/ g
min sample + sample, g samples,g dry sample water/hr
water,g
0 0.0000 67.3 13.3 1384.9 1028.5 90.6 0.0966 0.4350 408 23.5
1 0.0167 67.3 13.3 1378.1 1021.7 83.8 0.0893 0.4606 432 23.5
2 0.0333 67.3 13.3 1370.9 1014.5 76.6 0.0817 0.4478 420 23.5
3 0.0500 67.3 13.3 1363.9 1007.5 69.6 0.0742 0.4478 420 23.5
4 0.0667 67.3 13.3 1356.9 1000.5 62.6 0.0667 0.3582 336 23.5
5 0.0833 67.3 13.3 1351.3 994.9 57 0.0608 0.3455 324 23.5
6 0.1000 67.3 13.3 1345.9 989.5 51.6 0.0550 0.3007 282 23.5
7 0.1167 67.3 13.3 1341.2 984.8 46.9 0.0500 0.2879 270 23.5
 8 0.1333 67.3 13.3 1336.7 980.3 42.4 0.0452 0.2559 240 23.5
9 0.1500 67.3 13.3 1332.7 976.3 38.4 0.0409 0.2495 234 23.5
10 0.1667 67.3 13.3 1328.8 972.4 34.5 0.0368 0.2431 228 23.5
11 0.1833 67.3 13.3 1325 968.6 30.7 0.0327 0.2431 228 23.5
12 0.2000 67.3 13.3 1321.2 964.8 26.9 0.0287 0.2303 216 23.5
13 0.2167 67.3 13.3 1317.6 961.2 23.3 0.0248 0.1599 150 23.5
14 0.2333 67.3 13.3 1315.1 958.7 20.8 0.0222 0.0768 72 23.5
15 0.2500 67.3 13.3 1313.9 957.5 19.6 0.0209 0.0704 66 23.5
16 0.2667 67.3 13.3 1312.8 956.4 18.5 0.0197 0.0640 60 23.5
17 0.2833 67.3 13.3 1311.8 955.4 17.5 0.0187 0.0640 60 23.5
18 0.3000 67.3 13.3 1310.8 954.4 16.5 0.0176 0.0448 42 23.5
19 0.3167 67.3 13.3 1310.1 953.7 15.8 0.0168 0.0416 39 23.5
20 0.3333 67.3 13.3 1309.45 953.05 15.15 0.0162 0.0371 34.8 23.5
21 0.3500 67.3 13.3 1308.87 952.47 14.57 0.0155 0.0365 34.2 23.5
22 0.3667 67.3 13.3 1308.3 951.9 14 0.0149 0.0218 20.4 23.5
23 0.3833 67.3 13.3 1307.96 951.56 13.66 0.0146 0.0211 19.8 23.5
24 0.4000 67.3 13.3 1307.63 951.23 13.33 0.0142 0.0160 15 23.5
25 0.4167 67.3 13.3 1307.38 950.98 13.08 0.0139 0.0090 8.4 23.5
26 0.4333 67.3 13.3 1307.24 950.84 12.94 0.0138 0.0077 7.2 23.5
27 0.4500 67.3 13.3 1307.12 950.72 12.82 0.0137 0.0019 1.8 23.5
28 0.4667 67.3 13.3 1307.09 950.69 12.79 0.0136 0.0000 0 23.5
29 0.4833 67.4 13.3 1307.09 950.69 12.79 0.0136 0.0000 0 23.6
30 0.5000 67.4 13.3 1307.09 950.69 12.79 0.0136 0.0000 0 23.6
31 0.5167 67.4 13.3 1307.09 950.69 12.79 0.0136 -0.0264 -24.7 23.6
Graph of mass of moisture in sample against drying time

mass of moisture in samples,g against drying time,hr

100

90

80

70

60
Moisture in sample, g

50

40

30

20

10

0
0.0000 0.1000 0.2000 0.3000 0.4000

Drying time, hr

A graph of drying rate against the drying time

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 Graph of drying rate dm/dt against drying time
500

450

400
Drying rate, g water/hr

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
0.0000 0.1000 0.2000 0.3000 0.4000 0.5000 0.6000

Drying time, hr

DISCUSSION
For this experiment, CE 130 was used. It was deduced that a mass of moisture or 262.7g was
obtained for a sample of 1480.64g for 30 seconds. A mass of moisture of 260.6g was
obtained for a sample of 1478.54g for 60 seconds. there was a decrease in the mass of
moisture in the sample as time went on. It is anticipated that the water that is loosely held will
be removed most easily. As a result, it would be reasonable to assume that the drying rates
would reduce as moisture content dropped and the remaining water would become more
tightly bound.
From the graph of moisture against time, the graph decreased at the time increment. Also,
sensible heat was transferred to the wet soil increasing the rate of evaporation. It indicates
that the rate of water removal decreases and all the surface or unbound moisture is removed
leaving the capillary or pore moisture. The presence of diffusion forces exists between the
soil and the moisture thus accounting for the decreasing rate. The drying curve is divided into
many stages because the removal of bound moisture or water of crystallization is very
difficult due to strong molecular forces between the soil and the mixture requiring very
intense heating. The process causes the evaporation of water through the sand’s surface since
the drying is continuously done at 30s intervals. The process of convective drying repeats
itself over again. The mass of the moisture in the sample and the drying rate were all
calculated for the individual time.

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The mass of water vapor per unit mass of dry is termed as loading. It has a unit of g/Kg. The
amount of moisture that the air can hold is a function of temperature, that is, the warmer the
air, the more moisture it can hold. Generally, a higher mass loading will lead to a longer
drying time. This is because there’s more moisture to remove from the material and the
drying system needs more time to process it. The parameters used to calculate the value of
the loading were the temperature and the relative humidity. From the experiment, the values
for the relative humidity fluctuated while the temperature gradually increased. The values of
the loading were fluctuating hence it can be deduced that the loading was affected by the
relative humidity.
From the principle of convective drying, the application of hot air to the sand heats the soled,
thus speeding up the diffusion of water from the interior of the sand to the sand’s surface.
Moisture within the material migrates towards the surface and evaporates into the
surrounding environment through a process of diffusion. As a result, the interval moisture
content of the material decreases over time. Also, in many drying processes, heat is applied to
the material to increase the rate of evaporation. The heat energy causes the water molecules
to gain sufficient kinetic energy to transition from the liquid state to a gaseous state
facilitating their removal from the material. Also, the airflow provided by the fans carried
away water vapor released during drying, promoting the reduction of moisture content in the
sand. The graph of the drying rate against the time was inconsistent, this is because the drying
rates were increasing and decreasing at increasing time intervals. The drying rate against the
time curve provides valuable information about the efficiency and effectiveness of the drying
process. Initially, the drying rate is expected to be high as the excess surface water
evaporates. As the drying process continues, the rate gradually decreases until the sand
reaches a critical moisture content after which the rate may become relatively constant. From
the graph of the drying rate versus time, the constant drying rate cannot be distinguished.
This could be the result of massive lags in the movement of mass and heat that resulted in
massive deviations. Human errors could have resulted in incorrect readings. It is necessary to
ensure the accuracy of the measuring instruments to minimize such errors in the future.
Error Analysis
 The constantly fluctuating values from the CE 130 convective dryer made accurate
readily difficult
 Measurement errors (Human errors and equipment malfunction) could have resulted
in incorrect readings
 Sample inhomogeneity; variables in the wetting of sand particles could have resulted
in localized regions with higher or lower moisture content

Precaution
 It was ensured that no material was evenly spread to increase the area of contact with
the moving air to increase the rate of drying.
 The balance was tared to zero

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 Care was taken while handling the tray as dropping the sand particles can affect the
weight and eventually add up to the errors
 Protective clothing and safety boots were worn at all times during the experiment.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

The reduction in weight of the wet sand was successfully determined. It was
determined by analyzing the graph and concluding that the amount of free moisture in
the sample is directly proportional to the drying time, thus by determining the weight
of the tray containing wet sand at intervals of 30 seconds. And also from the measured
values, we can conclude that the lower the relative humidity the faster the rate of
drying.

Post lab
1.
T = 25 o C R.H = 40%

V = 1.5m/s T
= 48 o C

R.H = 30%
During heating, there is no change in moisture content, hence X 1 = X 2 =X
Φ =30% T 1 = 25 o C T 2 = 48 o C

P = 101.325 kPa

Air balance, mass flow rate of air in = mass flow rate of air out
Hence m 1 =m 2 =m
Where h 1 and h 2 are the enthalpies for the inlet and outlet gas respectively and q is the
Heat added for the drying.
From the psychometric chart;
X 1 = 5.9 g/kg DA
Specific volume, v = 0.853 m 3 /kg
Enthalpy of inlet air H 1 = 40.15 kJ/kg DA

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Enthalpy of outlet air H 2 = 122.66 kJ/kg DA
Volumetric flow rate (V) = velocity × Area
Area = 350×10 -3 m × 350×10 -3 m = 0.1225m 2
Volumetric flow rate = 1.5 m/s × 0.1225m 2 = 0.1875m 3 /s
m=0.2154 g
q= m (h 2 -h 1) = 0.2154 (122.66-40.15) = 17.773 kJ/s

2.
a) To make the material easy or more suitable for handling.

b) For preservation purposes

3.
a) Refrigerant

b) Dehumidifier

1. References
i. Genskow, L.R.; Beimesch, W.E.; Hecht, J.P.; Kemp, I.C.; Langrish, T.;
Schwartzbach, C.;Smith,(F). L. (2007). Chemical Engineers' Handbook.
Mc Graw Hill Professional. pp.
ii. Chapter 12 (Evaporative Cooling and Solids Drying). Gutierrez, C. L., &
De Guzman, M. R. (2005). Chemical Engineering Laboratory Manual Part 2.
iii. . Keey, R.B., 1978, Introduction to Industrial Drying Operations, Pergamon
Press, Oxford.
iv. Keey, R.B., 1992, Drying of Loose and Particulate Materials, Hemisphere,
Washington.
v. S K Mukhopadliyaya “Convective Heat and Mass Transfer” 2nd ed, Taylor and
Francis, 2006
vi. B.k Tiwarri, “Drying of Agricultural Products”, Woodhead Publishing, 2010

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 vii. Jaison Jeevanandam, Micheal Kobina Danquah ‘Handbook of Microalgae-
Based Processes and Products’ 2020.
viii. G.H Kanevce, G.S DuliKravich, ‘Estimation of Thermophysical Properties of
a Drying Body at High Mass Transfer’ 2003

2. Appendix

Mass of sand = (mass of empty tray + dry sample)- mass of empty tray
Mass of water remaining + dry sample = (mass of empty tray + dry sample + water) –
mass of empty tray
Mass of moisture= (mass of water remaining mass of dry sample)- mass of sand
dm M 1−M 2
Drying rate ( ¿=¿
dt t 1−t 2
Moisture Reduction= M1-M2

DECLARATION

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I declare that:

• This report is my unaided work and is a true reflection of the lab I participated in.

• Large portions of it have not been submitted by another student for assessment.

• Significant portions of it were not copied from an internet source or a book.

• Significant portions of it were not written using ChatGPT or any other AI tool.

• If any of the above statements turn out to be false, I forfeit the marks awarded to this

report.

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