DRYING

 It is defined as the removal of moisture from a substance. If a wet solid is exposed to a relatively dry gas the liquid leaves the solid and diffuses into the gas. This is known as drying.  Drying is the final step in a series of operations.  Over 84% of the manufactured products on earth requires one or more steps of drying  Bone dry: The product contains no liquid. Commonly the product contains some liquid eg: Common salt 0.5%, Dried coal 4%, Dried Casein 8%, food products 5%

Equilibrium moisture content The moisture contained in a wet solid or liquid solution exerts a vapor pressure to an extent depending upon the nature of moisture content and temp. If the wet solid is exposed to a continuous supply of fresh gas containing a fixed partial pressure, the solid will lose moisture by evaporation from the gas until the VP of the moisture of solid= Partial pr. At this time, the moisture content is called Eq moisture content (MC). MC in wet basis: kg moisture content/kg wet solid =kg moisture content/(kg dry solid+ kg moisture content) = kg moisture content/(kg dry solid+ kg moisture content) x 100 = 100 X/(1+X)

Percentage MC Where X=kg MC

MC in dry basis: kg moisture content/kg dry solid Percentage MC= 100X Equilibrium MC= X*
Free moisture moisture contained by a substance in excess of the eq moisture content (X-X*)
Solids to be dried may in many different forms --- Flakes, granules, crystals, powders etc.

 Freeze drying or lyophilization  It is a drying method where the solvent is frozen prior to drying and is then sublimed, i.e., passed to the gas phase directly from the solid phase, below the melting point of the solvent.  It is increasingly applied to dry foods, beyond its already classical pharmaceutical or medical applications. It keeps biological properties of proteins, and retains vitamins and bioactive compounds.

 Drying operations Methods of operation- Batch/continuous, steady state Methods of supplying heat-Adiabatic-direct;NonadiabaticIndirect. Nature substance to be dried May be a rigid solid-wood/fiber board May be a flexible material-cloth/paper May be a granular solids/slurries or a solution. Rate of batch drying: To determine the size of equipment, it is necessary to know the time required to dry a substance from one moisture to another under specified condition. Measurement of rate of batch drying are relatively simple to make and provide much information.

Drying Tests:
 The rate of drying can be determined for a sample of substance by suspending it in a cabinet or duct, in a stream of air from a weighing balance.  The sample should not be small Air should have same temperature, humidity and velocity.  Several tests should be made on samples of different thickness.  At different time intervals note the weight of sample.  From the data obtained during each test, a curve of moisture content as a function of time, can be plotted

 Moisture content, X = kg moisture/kg dry solid Drying rate N/R = kg moisture evaporated/m2 sec

Ss/LS = dry solid used (kg) A = exposed surface area (m2)

 Solids handling in driers In Adiabatic driers 1. Cross circulation Drying 2. Through circulation Drying 3. Solids are showered trough a slowly moving gas stream. 4. Gas passes through the solids in fluidized bed. 5. The solids are all entrained in a high velocity gas stream and are pneumatically conveyed from a mixing device to a mechanical separator.

 In Non-Adiabatic driers Solids are spread over a stationary or slowly moving horizontal surface and cooked until dry. The surface may be heated electrically or by a heat transfer fluid such as stream or hot water. Solids slide by gravity over an inclined heated surface or carried upward with the surface for a time then slide to a new location. Solids are moved over a heated surface by an agitator or a screw conveyor.

 Principles of drying The theory of drying varies with the shape and size of stock, moisture equilibria, mechanism of flow of moisture through the solid and the method of providing the heat required for vaporization. Temperature pattrens in driers The way in which temperature vary in a drier depends on 1. the nature and liquid content of feed stock 2. The temperature of heating medium 3. The drying time 4. Allowable final temperature of dry solid

Problems
1. Slabs of paper pulp 100cm X 100cm X 1.5 cm is to be dried under constant drying conditions from 66.7 to 30% moisture. The value of equilibrium moisture for the material is 0.5%. If critical moisture of content is 60% and the rate of drying at the critical point is 1.5 kg/hr m2, calculate the drying time. The dry weight of each slab is 2.5 kg. All moisture contents are on wet basis.

3. It is desired to dry a certain type of fiber board in sheets 0.131 m X 0.162 m X 0.071 m from 58% to 5% moisture (wet basis) content. Initially from laboratory test data with this fiber board, the rate of drying at constant rate period was found to be 8.9 kg/hr m2. The critical moisture content was 24.9 % and the equilibrium moisture content was 1%. The fiber board is to be dried form one side only and has a bone dry density of 210 kg/m3. Determine the time required for drying. The falling rate may be assumed linear.

Problems
1) 1400 kg bone dry of granular solid is to be dried under constant drying condition from a moisture content of 0.2 kg/kg of dry solid to a final moisture content of 0.2 kg/kg dry solid. The material has an effective area of 0.0615 m2/kg. Under the same conditions the following rates were previously known. Calculate the time required for drying.
X : 0.3 N : 1.71 0.2 1.71 0.14 1.71 0.096 1.46 0.056 0.046 0.026 1.29 0.88 0.54 0.016 0.376

Where X=Kg /kg dry solid, N=Kg / hr m2.

Non Ideal Flow

So far we have seen two ideal flow reactors, 1.Plug Flow Reactor and 2. CSTR In reality, it is difficult to attain either of these states. Any deviation from these conditions of ideality is known as Non Ideality. Reasons for Non Ideality: Non ideality prevails in the flow pattern of the fermenters or Reactors mainly due to following reasons

1) 2) 3) 4) 

Stagnant zones Short Circuiting Channeling Recirculation All the above non ideal features results in reduced or changed residence time  In view of non ideal flow conditions, volume V will not be the same as measured and thus it affects the value of , which in turn was related to the conversion.

 CSTR PFR

= C A0 CA - rA = CA0

XA

dXA  rA

Flow with non idealities will give wrong results

Non Ideal Flow characteristics

Stagnant Zones: Stagnant zones will occur at corners of the reactors. They will make the reactor volume less than the actual value.
Inlet Outlet

Stagnant Zones

Short Circuiting
The inlet fluid takes a short-cut route to the outlet without underground conversion in the entire bulk of the reactor. This results in lower conversions.
Inlet Outlet

Recirculation around agitator:

The inlet fluids spends more time in the reactor and doesn't allow another fresh packet of fluid to stay in the reactor for adequate amount of time.
Inlet Outlet

Bypassing
Inlet

Inlet fluid bypass the solid particles (biocatalyst) and reaches the outlet and gives less conversion. Channeling: Inlet flow makes a channel through the packed beds of solids which results in less conversion.

Outlet

To find out the extent of non ideality RTD (Residence time distribution) studies is used. RTD Studies: Because of non idealityy of flow in the reactors, Different packets of inlet fluid spend different times in the reactor. To know what extent the elements are staying in the reactor, we use stimulus- Response studies by introduction a tracer to give stimulus.

The tracer should have the following characteristics, 1. Should not react with the reactants 2. Should be easily detectable 3. Should not disturb the flow pattern 4. Should be soluble in the system fluid 5. Physical properties of tracer and the system fluid should be same. 6. Should not be absorbed on the walls of the vessel.

Normally, materials like some salts, Acid or Base or Hydrocarbon gas introduced as a stimulus in any of the following ways, Step Input Pulse Input Random Input Cyclic Input Widely used

Tracer Input

Flow Inlet

Detector

Flow outlet

The Stimulus is given to the Reactor and the Response is measured on a Detector. In Step Input, The trace is injected in the form of 4 step, and the input continues for Some time. The input continues at the same concentration for some time. Pulse Input: Tracer is injected only once as a pulse. After the injection is over, there Will not be any more supply of tracer. We draw various types of curves for the response.