SIMULTANEOUS HEAT AND

MASS TRANSFER
(SHMT)
7th Semester,
B.Sc. Chemical Engineering
Session 2008
Delivered by:
Mr. Usman Ali
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore

Drying Fundamentals
Drying is unit operation
Involves the removal of relative small amounts
of water or another liquid from solid material.
In drying Heat & Mass are transferred

Simultaneously.

Purpose of Drying
To reduce the cost of transport.
To make the material more suitable for handling.

To provide definite properties to the solid.

To remove moisture which may lead to corrosion.

Action in Dryers

Mechanically

Liquid removal
Thermally

Moisture:

Moisture = mass of liquid / mass of solid

1. Dry basis
2. Wet basis

General Terminology
Equilibrium moisture
Free moisture
Bound moisture
Unbound moisture

Types of Moisture

General Terminology
Humidity

Saturated gas
Saturation humidity
Percentage humidity
Relative Humidity
Humid Heat

Humid volume
Dew point

Classification of Drying
Equipments
Mode of operation

Heat input type

State of material
Operating Pressure
Drying Temperature
Drying medium

Relative motion
Stages

Gas-Solids Contacting - Direct dryer

Cross-circulation Drying
Through-circulation Drying
Showering of Solid
Fluidized
Entrained

Gas-Solids Contacting Indirect Dryer

Solid is spread at stationary surface

Solids are moved at heated surface.
Solids slide by gravity on inclined heated surface or
carried upward for a time then slide

Temperature pattern in Dryers

Temperature variation in dryer depends upon
o Nature of feed
o Liquid content of feed

o Temperature of heating media

o Drying time

o Allowable final temperature of dry solid

For Batch Dryer

Heating media is at constant temperature
Temperature of wet solid rises from initial value to
vaporization temperature

Non adiabatic dryer

Tv = B.P of liquid

Adiabatic dryer
Tv = wet bulb temperature

For Batch Dryer

For Continuous Dryer

Solid same pattern as in Batch
Steady state operation
Tv is constant
Gas

enter Thb & low humidity

o Cools rapidly at first then more slowly
o Humidity rises steadily

For Continuous Dryer

Heat Transfer Calculations

For Internal Heat Transfer

For flow through fixed or fluidized

bed of solid particles

For Internal Heat Transfer

Number of Transfer Unit

Problem
Flourspar (CaF2) is to be dried from 6 to 0.4 percent
moisture dry basis in a countercurrent adiabatic rotary
dryer at a rate of 18000 lb/hr of bone dry solids. The
heating air enters at 1000 oF with a humidity of 0.03 and
a wet bulb temperature of 150 oF. The solids have a
specific heat of 0.48 Btu/lb-oF; they enter the dryer at 70
oF and leave at 200 oF. The maximum allowable air
velocity is 2000 lb/ft2-h.
(a) Assuming eq.. applies , what would be the diameter
and length of the dryer if Nt = 2.2? Is this a resonable
design?
(b) Repeat part (a) with Nt = 1.8.

Phase Equilibria

CONTD

General Terminology : Again

Equilibrium moisture
Free moisture
Bound moisture
Unbound moisture

Equilibrium Moisture
Equilibrium moisture content is the limiting moisture
to which a given material can be dried under specific
conditions of air temperature and humidity.

Free Moisture
Moisture which is in excess of equilibrium moisture
content.
Free moisture content is that liquid which is
removable at a given temperature and humidity.
Free M.C = Total M.C Equilibrium M.C

Bound Moisture
Bound moisture in a solid is that liquid which exerts a
vapor pressure less than that of the pure liquid at the
given temperature.
Substance containing bound water are called
hygroscopic substance
Liquid may become bound
o by retention in small capillaries,
o by solution in cell or fiber walls,
o by homogeneous solution throughout the solid, and
o by chemical or physical adsorption on solid surfaces.

Unbound Moisture
Unbound moisture in a hygroscopic material is that
moisture in excess of the equilibrium moisture
content corresponding to saturation humidity.

All water in a non-hygroscopic material is unbound

water.

Held in the voids of solid

Cross Circulating Drying

Mechanism of drying:
o Nature of solid
o Gas solid contact

Solids
o Crystalline
o Porous
o Non-porous

Rate of Drying

Constant Rate Period

Falling Rate Period

Constant Rate Period

Mass transfer based or Heat transfer based,

For parallel air flow :

For perpendicular air flow :

Critical Moisture
Critical moisture content is the
when the constant-rate period ends.
Critical moisture content varies with
Thickness of material
Rate of drying

moisture content

Falling Rate Period

Rate of drying depends on:
o Nonporous solid and Diffusion theory
o Porous solid and Capillary theory

Assignment
Word + power point slide
Each member of the group must show his/her
part. (by writing Regd # on the respective
pages)
16-12-2011

Nonporous Solid and Diffusion Theory

Porous Solid and Capillary Theory

Drying Equipment

Direct (convective) dryers:

a. Direct contacting of hot gases with the solids is employed for solids
heating and vapor removal.
b. Drying temperatures may range up to 1000 K, the limiting temperature
for most common structural metals.
c. At gas temperatures below the boiling point, the vapor content of gas
influences the rate of drying and the final moisture content of the solid.
With gas temperatures above the boiling point throughout, the vapor
content of the gas has only a slight retarding effect on the drying rate
and final moisture content. Thus, superheated vapors of the liquid
being removed (e.g., steam) can be used for drying.
d. For low-temperature drying, dehumidification of the drying air may be
required when atmospheric humidities are excessively high.
e. The lower the final moisture content, the more fuel per pound of water
evaporated, that a direct dryer consumes.

Indirect (conductive) Dryers:

1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

Heat is transferred to the wet material by conduction through

a solid retaining wall, usually metallic.
Surface temperatures may range from below freezing in the
case of freeze dryers to above 800 K in the case of indirect
dryers heated by combustion products.
Indirect dryers are suited to drying under reduced pressures
and inert atmospheres to permit the recovery of solvents and
to prevent the occurrence of explosive mixtures or the
oxidation of easily decomposed materials.
Indirect dryers using condensing fluids as the heating medium
are generally economical from the standpoint of heat
consumption, since they furnish heat only in accordance with
the demand made by the material being dried.
Dust recovery and dusty materials can be handled more
satisfactorily in indirect dryers than in direct dryer

SELECTION OF DRYING EQUIPMENT

Properties of the material being handled

Drying characteristics of the material

Flow of material to and from the dryer
Product qualities
Recovery problems
Facilities available at site of proposed installation

Based on methods of solids handling

Drying Equipment
Dryers for Solids and Pastes
Dryers for Solutions and Slurries

Dryers for Solids and Pastes

Tray Dryer

TRAY DRYER
It consists of a rectangular chamber whose
walls are insulated.
Trays are placed inside the heating
chamber. The number of trays may vary
with the size of the dryer. Each tray is
rectangular or square and about 1.2 to 2.4
meters square in area .
Trays are usually loaded from 10.0 to 100
millimetres deep.

Alternately the trays can be placed in trucks

on wheels , which can be rolled into and
out of chamber. Two such trucks can be
arranged inside dryer.
Dryer is fitted with a fan for circulating air
over the trays. Electrically heated elements
are provided inside (rather than outside) to
heat the air.
In the corner of the chamber, direction
vanes are placed to direct air in the expected
path.

MERITS:
The method is operated batch wise.
Attrition is not observed.
Loading and unloading can be done without losses.
DEMERITS:
Only a fraction of the solid particles is directly
exposed.
The method is costly and time consuming.
USE :
Sticky materials, plastic substances, granular mass
or crystalline materials, precipitates and paste can be
dried in a tray dryer.

Tray Dryer

Screen Conveyor Dryer

Screen Conveyor Dryer

Tower Dryer

Tower Dryer

Rotary Dryer

Rotary Dryer
`

Rotary Dryer

Screw-Conveyor Dryer

Fluid-Bed Dryer

Fluidized bed dryers

Principle: Systems in which the solid
particles are partially suspended in an
upward moving gas stream. In this dryer hot
air (gas) is passed at high pressure through
a perforated bottom of the container
containing granules to be dried.
The hot gas is surrounding every granule to
completely dry them. Thus materials or
granules are uniformly dried.

Two types of bed dryers are available,

vertical fluid bed dryer and
horizontal fluid bed dryer.

MERITS:
1. Efficient heat and mass transfer give high
drying rates, so that drying times are shorter
than with static bed dryers.
2. The temperature of a fluidized bed is
uniform throughout and can be controlled
precisely.
3. The free movement of individual particles
eliminates the risk of soluble materials.

4. The unit has a high output from a small

floor space.
5. The thermal efficiency is 2 to 6 times than
tray dryer.
6. It can be used either batch type or
continuous type.
7. Used for mixing the ingredients and its
mixing efficiency is also high.

DEMERITS:
1.The turbulence of the fluidized state may cause
excessive attrition of some particles, with damage
to some granules and the production of too much
dust.
2.The vigorous movement of particles in hot dry air
can lead to the generation of static electricity
charges and suitable precautions must be taken.
USE :
This dryer is properly used for drying of granules in
the production of tablets. It can be used for three
operations such as mixing, granulation and drying.

Flash Dryer

Flash Dryer

Dryers for Solutions and Slurries

Spray Dryer

Spray Dryer

Thin Film Dryer

Thin Film Dryer

Drum Dryer

DRUM DRYER or ROLLER DRYER

The drum dryer consists of a horizontally

mounted hollow steel drum of 0.6 to 3.0
metres diameter and 0.6 to 4.0 metres
length, whose external surface is smoothly
polished.

Below the drum, feed pan is placed in

such a way that the drum dips partially
into the feed.
On one side of the drum a spreader is
placed and on the other side a doctors
knife is placed to scrap the dried
material.
A storage bin (or a conveyor ) is placed
connecting the knife to collect the
material.

Steam is passed inside the drum. Heat transfer

coefficient of the drum metal is high. Heat is
transferred by conduction to the material.
Simultaneously drum is rotated at the rate of 110 revolutions per minute.
The liquid material present in the feed pan
adheres as a thin layer to the external surface
of the drum during its rotation.

The materials are completely dried during its

journey in slightly less than one rotation
(from one side to another side of the drum).
The dried materials are scrapped by the
doctors knife, which than falls into a
storage bin.
The time of contact of the material with hot
metal is 6 to 15 seconds only.
Therefore processing conditions such as film
thickness, steam temperature are closely
controlled.

MERITS:
The method gives rapid heat drying and
mass transfer are higher.
The entire material is continuously exposed
to heat source.
The equipment is compact.
Heating time is short being only a few
seconds.
The product obtained is completely dried
and is in the final form.

DEMERITS:
Operating conditions are critical.
Attrition is not possible.
Skilled operators are essential to control
feed rate ,film thickness, speed of rotation
and temperature.
Maintenance cost of a drum dryer is higher
than spray dryer.
It is not suitable for solutions of salts with
less solubility.

USE :
Drum dryer is used for drying solution
slurries suspensions etc.
The products dried are milk products,
starch products, ferrous salts, suspensions
of zinc oxide, suspension of kaolin, yeasts,
pigments, malt extracts, antibiotics, DDT,
calcium, insecticides and barium
carbonates.

Drum Dryer

Numerical
A filter cake 24in square and 2in thick, supported on a
screen , is dried from both sides with air at a wet bulb
temperature of 80oF and dry bulb temperature of 120oF.
The air flows parallel with the faces of the cake at a
velocity of 3.5ft/s.The dry density of the cake is 120lb/ft3.
The equilibrium moisture content is negligble Under the
conditions of drying 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 is equal to 2 ft.

Numerical
Planks of wood 25.4mm thick are dried from an
initial moisture content of 25 percent to a final
moisture content of 5 percent using air of
negligible humidity. If Dv for the wood is8.3x10-6
cm2/s, how long should it take to dry the wood?

Numerical
The filter cake of Ex 24.1 is extruded onto a
screen in the form of cylinder 1/4in diameter
and 4in long. The solids loading is 8 pounds of
dry solids per square foot of screen surface. The
bed porosity is 60 percent. Air at 120oF (drybulb) and with a wet bulb temperature of 80oF is
passed through the bed at asuperfical velocity
of 3.5ft/s. How long will it take to dry solids from
20 percent to 10 percent moisture

Numerical
Calculate the diameter and length of a an
adiabatic rotary dryer to dry 2800 lb/h of a heat
sensitive solid from an initial moisture content
of 15 percent to a final moisture content of 0.5
percent , both dry basis. The solids have a
specific heat of 0.52Btu/lb-oF. Heating air is
available at 260oFand a humidity of 0.01lb of
water per pound of dry air. The maximum
allowable mass velocity of the air is 700 lb/ft2-h.