DRYING

MERRY JESSAH S. TORRES

Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Architecture,

Cebu Institute of Technology – University

N. Bacalso Ave. Cebu City, 6000 Philippines

The purpose of this experiment is to determine the rate of drying curve under constant drying conditions
and also the effect of varying air velocity on the rate of drying. A mass of wet sand was put in a tray drier
and dried at almost constant weight. At time intervals, a mass of dry sand was weighed in a mass balance
to measure the amount of water that evaporated in the wet sand from the tray drier. In a typical plot of
drying rate vs. time under constant-drying conditions, drying rate is constant during the constant-rate
period while it decreases during the falling-rate period as the drying proceeds past the critical moisture
content of the sample.
1. Introduction

Adjustment and control of moisture levels in solid materials through drying is a critical process in
the manufacture of many types of chemical products. As a unit operation, drying solid materials is one
of the most common and important in the chemical process industries, since it is used in practically
every plant and facility that manufactures or handles solid materials, in the form of powders and
granules.
Drying may be defined as the vaporization and removal of water or other liquids from a solution,
suspension, or other solid-liquid mixture to form a dry solid. The purpose of this experiment is to
determine the rate of drying curve under constant drying conditions and also the effect of varying air
velocity on the rate of drying. It is a complicated process that involves simultaneous heat and mass
transfer, accompanied by physicochemical transformations. Drying occurs as a result of the
vaporization of liquid by supplying heat to wet feedstock, granules, filter cakes and so on. Based on
the mechanism of heat transfer that is employed, drying is categorized into direct (convection), indirect
or contact (conduction), radiant (radiation) and dielectric or microwave (radio frequency) drying.
For this experiment, drying of sand was obtained through the use of tray drier. It is an enclosed
insulated chamber in which trays are placed on top of each other in trolleys. The material to be dried
either wet or solids are placed in the trays. Heat transfer is by circulation of hot air by electric heaters
or steam in radiator coils. Blower fans are installed inside to ensure proper circulation and transfer of
heat. A control panel to control the temperature and other parameters is fixed outside the dryer.
In a tray dryer, hot air is continuously circulated. Forced convection heating takes place to
remove moisture from the solids placed in trays. Simultaneously, the moist air is removed partially and
fresh air is introduced through the inlet which passes through the heaters and gets heated up. The hot
air is circulated by means of fans at 2 to 5 meter per second. Turbulent flow lowers the partial vapour
pressure in the atmosphere and also reduces the thickness of the air boundary layer. The water is
picked up by the air and as the water evaporates from the surface, the water diffuses from the interior
of the solids by the capillary action. These events occur in a single pass of air. The time of contact is
short and amount of water picked up in a single pass is small. Therefore the discharged air to the tune
of 80 to 90 % is circulated back through the fans. And only 10 to 20% of fresh air is introduced. Moist
air is discharged through the outlet thus; constant temperature and uniform air flow over the materials
can be maintained for achieving uniform drying.
2. Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials
Tray drier
Tray
Sand
Wet and Dry –Bulb Thermometer
Balance
Anemometer
Stopwatch

2.2 Methods
The free cross-sectional area of each compartment with the trays in place, the surface area of
the tray, and the cross-sectional area of the duct at the anemometer station were measured. The
temperature and velocity of the air were adjusted to the desired values by regulating the steam
pressure and setting the dampers to proper openings. After conditions have become constant, a
weighed pan or tray of wet sand was placed. The following measurements were made at frequent
intervals: (a) velocity of air (b) wet and dry-bulb temperature of the air entering and leaving the
drier and before and after it passes over each tray (c) weight of each tray of material. Drying was
continued until there was no further loss in weight.

3. Results

Surface area of the tray 0.020645 m2

Steam pressure 30 psig
Dry sand used 105 g
Wet sand 146.5 g
Time interval 10 minutes
Table 3.1 Data from Tray Drier
 Compartment
Air Temperature (oC) Temperature Weight
Time, Air
(oC) of
Ɵ Velocity
Inlet Exit Sample
(min) Dry Wet (m/s)
Dry Wet Dry Wet (g)
Bulb Bulb
Bulb Bulb Bulb Bulb
0 25.3 23.3 51.1 29.6 69.2 32.5 4.7 146.5
10 25.6 23.4 56.1 28.1 69.9 32.9 5.3 137.38
20 25 22.7 55 27.8 69.6 33.3 5.2 127.04
30 25.6 24.8 50 28.8 69.6 33.2 5.0 120.66
40 25.9 22.7 55.6 28.3 69.4 34.3 5.2 113.89
50 26.3 23.3 53.8 27.4 61.3 70.3 5.0 111.6
60 26.6 22.8 54 27.8 61.2 69.8 5.1 109.75
Table 3.2 Data from Tray Drier

Wt. loss R
Time Weight xt (total
(water dx (g H2O/ m2
(min) Feed (g) moisture)
evap in g) min)
0 146.5 0 0.3952 0 0
10 137.38 9.12 0.3084 0.0868 44.15
20 127.04 10.34 0.2099 0.0985 50.10
30 120.66 6.38 0.1491 0.0608 30.92
40 113.89 6.77 0.0847 0.0644 32.75
50 111.6 2.29 0.0629 0.0218 11.09
60 109.75 1.85 0.0452 0.0177 9.00
Table 3.3 Calculated Data

Drying Rate vs Drying Time

60
Drying Rate (g/m2*min)

50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80
Drying time

Figure 3.1 Drying rate vs. time

4. Discussion

Basically, drying of solids occurs in two stages–a constant rate period and a falling rate period.
In the constant rate period, the rate of drying corresponds to the removal of water from the surface of
the solid. This is shown in the figure below as the beginning of critical point at which the free moisture
present in the solid starts to recede from the surface, thus the depiction of drying rate being held
constant as the amount of moisture being removed increases. The falling rate period, on the other hand,
corresponds to the removal of water from the interior of the solid. This is presented in the figure
below wherein drying rate is directly proportional to the amount of moisture being removed.

Drying rate is directly proportional to moisture removal but inversely proportional with time
progression. The reason behind this manifestation is that drying initially occurs on the surface of the
sand material before advancing to its next layer of water. Fastest rates of drying normally occur at the
earliest periods of a drying process since a significant amount of water concentrates at the surface
initially. Later on, the surface water decreases and eventually proceeds on drying the next layer of
surface water. It must be noted, however, that at this level of the drying process, some water molecules
may still be confined inside the vicinity of the sand particle. As this occurs, it becomes more difficult
to eliminate the moisture trapped within the sand. This would then lead to an increased demand for
drying time and a decreased demand for drying rate.

It can be seen from Figure 3.1 that the results didn’t coincide well with the said principles above
mainly because of imprecise measurements in the moisture content due to defective mass balance. The
sand wasn’t also dried at constant weight that contributed to varying values of the drying rate.
5. Conclusion

Drying rate is directly proportional to moisture removal and is constant during the
constant-rate period and inversely proportional during the falling-rate period. Consequently, the rate
of drying in either case presented above is dependent on a number of factors. Some of these are the
air wet and dry bulb temperatures, flow rate of air, the solid’s characteristics and the tray material.

Appendices

Eq. A.1 Drying Rate Equation

R = Ls ∆x
A ∆θ

Where:
R = rate of drying
Ls = weight of dry solid
A = area of the tray
∆θ = change in time
∆x = change in moisture content

References

[1] http://www.uobabylon.edu.iq/uobColeges/ad_downloads/4_13474_558.pdf
[2] http://fcee.utm.my/abbas/files/2016/06/Drying.pdf