Drying of Solids

And Types of Dryers

Mohammad Hadi
Usama Zulfiqar
Abdullah Iqbal
Introduction
Drying is a process of removing access water. Drying has been
defined as the process whereby moisture is vaporized from a
material and is swept away from the surface, sometimes under
vacuum, but normally by means of carrier gas which passes
through or over the material. Drying of solids refer to the final
removal of water or another solvent from a wet product. Drying is
an unit operation in which a liquid usually water is removed from a
wet solid in equipment termed as dryer. Operation often follows
Evaporation, Filtration or Crystallization. Objective of drying of
solids is the removal of water or any solvent from wet solids
Importance of
Drying
1. Drying is done to carry out size reduction
2. Drying is done to reduce the moisture content
3. Drying is done to reduce the weight , hence easily to carry and less
transportation cost
4. Drying is done to avoid corrosion and decrease the drug stability
5. Makes Suitable for handling products.
6. Foods and stuff are dried preservation.
Application:
 Coffee Beans
 Milk Powder
 Pharmaceuticals
 Coal
 Fertilizers
 Sugar
 Gases
Factors Affecting
Drying of Solids:
 Surface Area: Smaller the area more rapid will be the moisture loss.
 Temperature: Greater the temperature, greater will be the loss of moisture
 Air velocity: Greater the air velocity, greater will be the rate of drying.
 Humidity of Dry air: the dryer the air , the more it can absorb moisture.
Classifications of Dryers:
The dryers can also be classified as per the scale of operation, source of
energy, the physical state of the feed. The two most useful classifications
are based on:

1. The methods of transferring heat to the wet solids.

2. The methods of handling of the wet materials/solids
handling/supplying feed into the dryer.
Methods of transferring heat: This method classifies driers as

A. Direct dryers:

a.            Batch type:
i.               Tray and compartment dryers
ii.             Fluidized bed dryer.
b.           Continuous type:
i.               Pneumatic conveying dryers
ii.             Rotary dryers
iii.           Spray dryers
iv.            Through circulation dryers
v.              Tunnel dryers
B.Indirect dryers

a. Batch type 
I.  Agitated pan dryers 
II. Freeze dryer 
III. Vacuum dryer                   
IV. Rotary dryer
V.  Tray dryer

b. Continuous type:
VI.  Cylinder dryers
VII. Drum dryers
VIII. Steam tube rotary dryer
Infra-red / Radiant /Dielectric heat dryer:
Centrifuge Dryer:
Centrifugal dryer used to remove excess oil/water from
potato , banana chips and pharmaceutical drugs. It has a
rotating basket in which the product which has to be dried is
placed, after a spin for few minutes the product is dried, only
the surface water/oil is removed from this machine product
is not fully dried. Now Jas Enterprise offer two type of
centrifuge hydro extractor:

1. Regular type Centrifugal Dryer ( Hydro Extractor)

2. Tilting type Centrifugal Dryer ( Hydro Extractor).
Working:
 The feed suspension is introduced into the centrifuge through a hollow drive
shaft.
 The liquid from the suspension is separated from the crystals by rotating the
drum at slow speeds and injecting heated drying gas.
 It is then discharged from a sealed filter basket by passing it through a metal
filter which retains the solids inside a sealed chamber.
 Any containments are then washed away from the filling pipe, the centrifuge
basket and the separated solids by introducing wash liquid through the
hollow drive shaft.
 This process maybe repeated several times until desired product is achieved.
 Capacity:
 Units of this types have a capacity of 20-400 kg in terms of filling
mass.
 Most of the centrifuge dryer has a filter area of 0.37-2.4 m2
 The diameter of drum of a typical centrifuge dryer is 400-1300
mm.
 And the lengths of centrifuge diameter are commonly 300-600
mm
Key Features:
 Unique and reliable design.
 The dryer machines are highly effective to remove oil or water from the
input material.
 Easier operation and less maintenance cost.
 No skill labor required.
 Cold and silent running
 Robust construction
 Low specific power consumption
 Durable long life
Limitations:
 It can not be used for Sticky Materials.
 Delicate/fragile Materials can’t be subjected to centrifugal dryer.
 Materials having extremely small particle size can’t be dried using this
method.
Fluidized Bed Dryer
Fluidized bed dryer is also called fluidized bed. The drying
chamber is rectangular box type, the bottom is uniform air
chamber, and a porous air distribution plate is arranged
between the air chamber and the drying chamber. Usually, a
plurality of vertical baffles are arranged in the drying
chamber to divide the fluidized bed into a plurality of small
chambers.
Working Principle:
The fluidized bed is divided into the upper and lower bed body, air distributor,
the inlet and outlet ports, etc., and the wet material entering the fluidized bed is
in contact with the hot air above the air distribution plate, and the material
particles are suspended in the air flow to form a fluidized state. The material
and the hot air are heat-exchanged and dried, and the finished product is
discharged from the discharge port of the fluidized bed, and the dust-containing
gas is purified by the dust collecting device and then discharged into the
atmosphere by the induced draft fan.
Capacity:
 Most commonly fluidized dryers of 14m2 are built.
 The evaporative capacities vary from 0.02 kg/s m2 grid area for the
low temperature drying of food grains to 0.3 kg/s m2 for the drying of
pulverized coal by direct contact with hot gases.
 Specific air rates are usually 0.5-2.0 kg/s m2 grid area.
 And the total energy demand is 2.5-7.5 MJ/kg moisture evaporated.
Key Features:
 Simple structure, convenient overhaul.
 Simple steady operation.
 he air and solid contact evenly with high thermal efficiency.
 Low expenses of equipment maintenance.
 Capable of lower temperature drying for the heat sensitive
material.

 Integration of drying and cooling bed, small floor space, low

investment.
Limitations:
 High pressure drops results as a result of the need to suspend the entire bed in
gas which equally leads to high energy consumption.
 Poor fluidization and low flexibility especially if the feed is too wet.
 Not the best choice of equipment when organic solvents need to be removed
during drying.
 Non-uniform product quality for certain types of fluidized bed dryers.
 Entertainment of fine particles.
 High potential for attrition and in some cases agglomeration of fine particles.
Complex Engineering
Problem:
Question: A filter cake 24 square in. and 2 in. thick, supported on a screen, is dried
from both sides with air at a wet bulb temperature of 80oF and a dry bulb temperature
of 120oF. The air flows parallel with the faces of the cake at a velocity of 3.5 ft/s. The
dry density of the cake is 120 lb/ft3. The equilibrium moisture content is negligible.
The critical moisture content is 9 percent, dry basis.
a) What is the drying rate during constant rate period?
b) How long would it take to dry this material from an initial moisture
content of 20 percent (dry basis) to a final moisture content of 10 percent?

Equivalent diameter De = 2ft.

Given Data:

Wet Bulb temperature Twb = 80oF = 300K

Dry Bulb temperature Tdb = 120oF = 322K
Velocity of air = 3.5 ft/s (1.07m/s)
Dry Density of cake = 120 lb/ft3 (1922kg/m3)
Critical Moisture content = 0.09
Equivalent diameter De = 2ft.
Solution 1: Absolute Humidity = H’ = 0.012 lb H2O/lb dry air
From the psychrometric chart,
a) Drying rate during the constant rate period is calculated as
follows:
Rc = (Tdb – Twb)h/ λw ----------- (1)
First we find the humid volume using formula:
VH = (2.83x10-3 + 4.56x10-3 x H’) x Tdb
VH = (2.83x10-3 + 4.56x10-3 x 0.012) x 322
VH = 0.93 m3/kg dry air

The density of dry air and accompanied moisture content is:

ρ = (1+0.012)/0.94 specific volume = 0.94m3/kg dry air
ρ = 1.076 kg/m3 (from psychrometric chart)
Or ρ = 1/VH = 1/0.93 = 1.076 kg/m3
h is calculated as follows:
h = 0.0204xG^0.8 ------------- (2)
G = ρV
G = 1.076 x 1.07 x 3600 (converting seconds to hours)
G = 4144.75 kg/m2.h
Put in equation (2)
h = 0.0204 x 4144.75^0.8
h = 16 W/m2K

Enthalpy of liquid from steam table is:

λw = 1048 btu/lb = 2437.5 kJ/kg

Plug all values in equation (1)

Rc = 16/(2437.5 X 10^3 )(322-300)
Rc = 1.444 x 10-4 kg/m2s
Rc = 0.52 kg/m2h
 b) Time to dry this material is calculated as follows:
Density of dry solid = 1922kg/m3
Volume = 0.61 x 0.61 x 0.051
= 0.0189m3
The mass of the dry solid becomes
Mds = 1922 x 0.0189
= 36.32kg
Drying time is given as:
T = mds/ARc (x1-xc) --------- (3)

It is given that drying is to be done from both sides so equation 3 becomes:

T = mds/2ARc (x1-xc) ---------(4)
X1 = 0.2
A = 0.37m2
Xc = 0.09
Mds = 36.32 kg
Rc = 0.52
Plugging all values in equation 4:
T = (36.32)/(2x0.37x0.52) (0.2-0.09)
T = 10.38 h
Solution 2:
The interface temperature Ti is the wet bulb temperature of the air which is 80oF.
Corresponding to this temperature, λi = 1048 Btu/lb (2437.5 kJ/kg) from steam table.
The mass velocity of air is:
G = (3.5 x 29 x 492 x 3600)/(359(460+120)) = 863 lb/ft2h
The coefficient h is given by equation:
h = 0.01 x G0.8/De0.2
= 0.01 x8630.8/20.2
h = 1.94 Btu/ft2hoF
Since Rc is given by equation:
Rc = (T-Ti)h/λi
Rc = (1.94(120-80))/1048
Rc = 0.074 lb/ft2h
Rc = 0.364 kg/m2h
b) Since drying is from both sides, Area ‘A’ becomes
A = 2 x (24/12)^2 = 8ft2
The rate of drying is therefore:
mv = 0.074 x 8
mv = 0.59 lb/h
The volume of the cake = (24/12)^2 x (2/12)
V = 0.667 ft3
Mass of bone-dry solids = 120 x 0.667 = 80 lb
The quantity of moisture to be vaporized = 80(0.2-0.1)
= 8 lb
Therefore, the drying time is:
T = 8/0.59
T = 13.5 h
THANK YOU