AIMS

1. To determine the drying rate for different materials and the moisture content and its
relationship.
2. To compare tray drier process with other type of dying equipment.

THEORY

Drying is the mass transfer process involving the removal of water or another solvent by
evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production
step before selling or packaging product. A source of heat and an agent to remove the vapor
produced by the process are often involved.

There are two options of drying using the mechanism of heat transfer that is through
convection by direct driers or conduction by contact or indirect driers. Depending on whether
the drying temperature is higher or lower than the boiling point of the liquid to be separated,
an additional distinction is made which are the evaporating drying and vaporization drying.
Drying can also be classified either as a batch process as the materials is inserted into the
drying equipment and the process proceed for a given period of time or as a continuous
process, where the material is continuously added to the dryer and dried material is
continuously removed.

In most cases, a gas stream for example air, applies the heat by convection and carries away
the vapor as humidity. Other cases are vacuum drying where heat is supplied by conduction
or radiation while the vapor thus produced is removed by the vacuum system. Another
indirect technique is drum drying where a heated surface is used to provide the energy and
aspirators draw the vapor outside the room.

For material that is difficult to dry, the heat transfer is achieved by flowing the gas through a
bulk of material to be dried or a fluid bed. The air is not only used to feed in the heat but also
to absorb the vapor arising during the drying process. When it flows into the drier, the air
must therefore be hot as possible so that it can absorb as much moisture as it can.

The most important key figure in drying is the moisture content X of the material to be dried
which can be defined as :

X=

initial mass of sample ( kg )final mass of sample (kg)

final mass of sample (kg)

The change in the moisture content during the drying process can be used to derive the drying
rate V.

V=

X , changemoisture content
t , dryingtime for this change