GRANULATION AND DRYING OF POWDERY OR LIQUID MATERIALS BY FLUIDIZED-BED TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Process of through-air-drying is becoming increasingly popular in the manufacture of textiles, non-wovens, tissue, and towel. Very high drying rates, enhanced product properties, i.e., softness, bulk, absorbency, unique 3D structure are the driving forces behind its increasing popularity. In this article, experimental results on convective heat and mass transfer and fluid flow characteristics of tissue and towel products using commercially realistic structures are presented. Comparison with literature data using wet pressed, dried, rewetted sheets indicate significant differences in drying and permeability characteristics confirming that the internal structure of the material does indeed play a significant role in through-air-drying and should be taken into account in modeling, optimization, and control of commercial systems.     

SUPERHEATED STEAM DRYING: A BIBLIOGRAPHY

An experimental setup was developed to study the through air–drying characteristics of permeable grades such as tissue and towel under commercially relevant conditions of basis weight, airflow rate, temperature, and humidity conditions. The experimental setup is capable of evaluating the transient fluid flow, heat, and mass transfer characteristics of relatively larger samples (TAPPI standard hand sheets; 0.1524 m) and is capable of studying the effect of local heterogeneity and structure on convective heat and mass transfer. The system is capable of airflow rates of 0.5–10 m/s with corresponding high-speed data collection and acquisition for measuring important variables such as exhaust air humidity. To study the effect of nonuniformity, local temperature and velocity profiles can also be measured using grid of thermocouples and hot wire anemometers. The instantaneous drying rate and airflow characteristics during through air drying was measured and dry permeability, wet permeability, and convective heat and mass transfer characteristics were then calculated. The experimental results were verified by comparing with the results from literature. Typical experimental results were presented to show the effect of sheet basis weight, initial moisture content, and airflow rates on the drying characteristics for two different types of paper samples.     

The Role of Nonuniformity in Convective Heat and Mass Transfer through Porous Media,Part 1

Through-air drying is commonly used in the drying of high-quality tissue and towel products. A representative elementary volume method was used to model the fluid flow and heat and mass transfer during through drying in heterogeneous porous biobased materials such as tissue and towel products. Results of flow both upstream and downstream of a modeled porous sheet allowed visualization of the effects of mixing at the top and bottom of the porous medium. The effect of initial nonuniformity on fluid flow and convective heat and mass transfer in heterogeneous porous media was studied. The effect of material nonhomogeneity and associated transport properties on moisture content of the porous material as a function of drying time was studied. Modeling results indicate that for the first time it is possible to simulate the effect of nonuniformity on fluid flow and convective heat and mass transfer in porous media during through-air drying of paper. Moisture and structural nonuniformity contributing to nonuniformity in air flow might contribute significantly to drying nonuniformity. Depending on the moisture regimes and degree of saturation of the convective medium, heat and mass transfer coefficients may have varying effects on the overall drying.     

Mass Transfer Coefficients and Drying Rates in Through Air Drying: Part II

In this study experimental results and analysis are given of convective heat and mass transfer in the drying of tissue and towel products (25 and 50 g/m² basis weight) under commercially realistic conditions under through flow. Parameter effects on drying rate include process variables such as refining, shaping, commercial forming, initial moisture content, and drying temperature. Drying rate curves display initial increase, plateau, and final decrease as the paper dries. Nondimensional Sherwood numbers (versus Peclet number) generally agreed with and augment the available dataset on through drying.     

Integral Flow Parameters and Material Characteristics Analysis in Through Air Drying: Part I

The extension of the Darcy law (the Forchheimer flow equation) relating second-order nonlinear pressure drop with flow velocity is studied during fast transient through air drying of sheets of porous biobased materials such as paper. A range of the paper materials with open structure consistent with tissue and towel products (basis weights 25 and 50 g/m²) made using different production processes are analyzed for the factor-specific influences with regard to changes in the fluid resistance from the removal of moisture from the material interstices. A characteristic dimension suitable for the drying process is applied from viscous and inertial momentum transport analysis.     

COLLAPSE OF STRUCTURE DURING DRYING OF CELERY

Collapse of structure of foodstuffs during air drying affects quality. In many materials the soluble components, mainly sugars, are an important part of the tissue in which case collapse may be related to their glass transition temperature (T_g). It has been speculated that collapse occurs at a temperature (T_c) related to, but greater than, T_g. Plant tissues with high moisture contents, such as celery, have low T_gS. Therefore considerable collapse is expected at drying temperatures.

The aim of this study was to determine how air drying temperature affected the quantity characteristics of the tissue. Celery, air dried at temperatures between 5 and 80°C, was examined for volumetric shrinkage, rehydration characteristics and porosity changes. significant shrinkage occurred at all drying conditions. At low water content collapse was limited, probably due to a higher collapse temperature. porosity development was insignificant during drying until the sample was very dry. Lower air-drying temperatures gave a product with improved quality characteristics.     

COLLAPSE OF STRUCTURE DURING DRYING OF CELERY

ABSTRACT

Collapse of structure of foodstuffs during air drying affects quality. In many materials the soluble components, mainly sugars, are an important part of the tissue in which case collapse may be related to their glass transition temperature (T_g). It has been speculated that collapse occurs at a temperature (T_c) related to, but greater than, T_g. Plant tissues with high moisture contents, such as celery, have low T_gS. Therefore considerable collapse is expected at drying temperatures.

The aim of this study was to determine how air drying temperature affected the quantity characteristics of the tissue. Celery, air dried at temperatures between 5 and 80°C, was examined for volumetric shrinkage, rehydration characteristics and porosity changes. significant shrinkage occurred at all drying conditions. At low water content collapse was limited, probably due to a higher collapse temperature. porosity development was insignificant during drying until the sample was very dry. Lower air-drying temperatures gave a product with improved quality characteristics.     

Drying Events in Lódz,Poland

ABSTRACT

Printing and heavier grades paper are dried over steam heated cylinder dryers, a mature process which is characterized by low drying rates and lack of ability for control of moisture uniformity across the sheet. The present study examines factors relating to the applicability of through air drying for such grades of paper. This drying process yields much higher drying rates but now is restricted to high permeability, light weight products such as tissue and toweling as the cost of providing through flow across the sheet is the key economic factor in this technique. With over 400 through drying experiments the parameters characterizing the drying rate curves were determined for 10 quite different types of uncalendered paper produced on a variety of papermachines.

The relation between drying conditions and two characteristics, the moisture content at the end of increasing rate period and the constant drying rate, did not vary significantly between these types of paper. However, the extent of the constant rate and falling rate drying periods varied substantially as the critical moisture content is specific to the type of paper.     

Drying of Porous Materials in the Presence of Solar Radiation

ABSTRACT

We present a combined heat and moisture transfer model for predicting the drying characteristics of porous building materials exposed to solar radiation. The model has been validated for convective drying using published data and for radiative drying using results of an experimental study carried out using a solar lamp to simulate solar radiation conditions. Actual and predicted moisture content profiles and the drying rates when compared give favourable results.     

A Moisture Transfer Model for Isothermal Drying of Plant Cellular Materials Based on the Pore Network Approach

Plant materials with cellular structure, like fruits and vegetables, are often viewed as porous media in terms of model building of the drying process, on the basis of a hypothesis that all of the moisture of a plant tissue is trapped in a continuous and connected pore network system. However, most of the moisture in the plant tissue is contained naturally in enclosed cells. In the course of drying, the trapped moisture has to cross the cell membranes and then migrates in the extracellular space. Based on this concept, a pore network model for isothermal drying of plant materials was developed in which two stages of moisture movement—transmembrane transfer and extracellular transfer in the pore network—were considered. Finally, the isothermal convective air-drying processes of a potato slice were simulated. The calculated results were validated by the experiments conducted under the simulation conditions.     

Application of 3D imaging and analysis techniques for the study of food plant cellular deformations during drying

In this investigation, novel 3D imaging and image-analysis tools have been used to observe the deformations of food-plant tissues and single cells during convective air drying at 70°C. A comprehensive investigation was performed to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the shrinkage and surface wrinkling of Royal Gala apple parenchyma cellular structure during drying. To study the cellular morphology, 3D contour maps produced by a novel 3D image and surface analysis tool, “Nanovea Expert 3D” were used. ImageJ software was used to quantify the single cell morphological characteristics. During the study, each tissue was observed continuously for the gradual morphological alterations. It was evident that there is a significant reduction of surface roughness during the drying process. In the case of individual cells, the area reduced approximately by 20% and diameter by 11%. This study provides conclusive proof that 3D contour maps and images combined with the 2D microscopic images could be a highly valuable source of information in producing data for the validation of 3D computational plant tissue drying models and simulations.     

A Simulation Study on Convection and Microwave Drying of Different Food Products

It is now well recognized that matching the external drying condition with the drying kinetics of a material can lead to substantial savings of energy and in the case of heat-sensitive products, even to higher quality product. In this work, the effect of convection and microwave heat input and other product parameters on the batch drying characteristics of model materials, potato and carrot slabs, whose thermo-physical data are readily available in the literature, was modeled using a one dimensional liquid diffusion model. The influence of various thermo-physical properties of the product in drying of heat-sensitive materials was quantitatively assessed. Heat of wetting, temperature and moisture dependent effective diffusivity and thermal conductivity are considered in this model. The effect of moisture diffusivity on drying using convection and a microwave field is simulated in view of the interest in predicting the drying performance by simplified method. Conditions under which the drying rate is controlled by the external drying conditions and the internal thermo-physical properties of the product are computed and discussed.     

Drying characteristics of porous material immersed in a bed of hygroscopic porous particles fluidized under reduced pressure

A relatively large wet material was immersed in a fluidized bed of hygroscopic porous particle (silica gel beads) under reduced pressure. And then the drying characteristics were compared with those in the case of inert particle (glass beads). The comparison of drying characteristics is performed experimentally and theoretically. In calculation, the water transfer from the sample to the fluidized bed was considered. The calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The effects of the operational conditions (the pressure in the drying chamber and the temperature of the drying gas) on the drying characteristics were also examined in both fluidizing particles.The drying finishes earlier in the case of hygroscopic porous particle than in the case of inert particle regardless of pressure in the drying chamber, since the water transfer from the sample facilitates the drying in the case of hygroscopic porous particles. The temperature decrement in drying appears in the case of inert particle. This phenomenon is also observed in the case of hygroscopic porous particle, but the decrement degree of the temperature is much smaller than that in the case of inert particle. The difference of the minimum temperature in the sample in drying between the cases of hygroscopic porous particle and inert particle is very slight for different pressures in the drying chamber.     

Fundamental Research on Drying Process in Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS

Some results of our fundamental research on drying processes are summed up in this article. It consists of three parts: (1) Multistage fluidized bed drying, including particle flowing characteristics, heat and mass transfer between particles and drying medium, drying characteristics of drying materials; (2) Impinging stream drying, the flowing and drying characteristics of a vertical impinging stream dryer, one-stage and multistage semi-circular impinging stream dryer and combined vertical and semi-circular impinging stream dryer are discussed; (3) The effects of rapid transient heat and mass transfer on drying processes, such as time and space scales for nonFourier or nonFickian and influence of extreme heat and mass transfer are also discussed.     

Fundamental Research on Drying Process in Institute of Engineering Thermophysics,CAS

Abstract

Some results of our fundamental research on drying processes are summed up in this article. It consists of three parts: (1) Multistage fluidized bed drying, including particle flowing characteristics, heat and mass transfer between particles and drying medium, drying characteristics of drying materials; (2) Impinging stream drying, the flowing and drying characteristics of a vertical impinging stream dryer, one-stage and multistage semi-circular impinging stream dryer and combined vertical and semi-circular impinging stream dryer are discussed; (3) The effects of rapid transient heat and mass transfer on drying processes, such as time and space scales for nonFourier or nonFickian and influence of extreme heat and mass transfer are also discussed.     

A Simulation Study on Convection and Microwave Drying of Different Food Products

Abstract

It is now well recognized that matching the external drying condition with the drying kinetics of a material can lead to substantial savings of energy and in the case of heat-sensitive products, even to higher quality product. In this work, the effect of convection and microwave heat input and other product parameters on the batch drying characteristics of model materials, potato and carrot slabs, whose thermo-physical data are readily available in the literature, was modeled using a one dimensional liquid diffusion model. The influence of various thermo-physical properties of the product in drying of heat-sensitive materials was quantitatively assessed. Heat of wetting, temperature and moisture dependent effective diffusivity and thermal conductivity are considered in this model. The effect of moisture diffusivity on drying using convection and a microwave field is simulated in view of the interest in predicting the drying performance by simplified method. Conditions under which the drying rate is controlled by the external drying conditions and the internal thermo-physical properties of the product are computed and discussed.     

A mathematical model of heat and mass transfer in Yankee drying of tissue

Final dewatering in the production of dry creped tissue is performed by Yankee drying, which includes hot pressing followed by simultaneous contact and impingement drying. The present study models Yankee drying and compares simulation results to the data obtained from trials on a pilot tissue machine. It advances models published previously by the representations developed for the transport of heat in the pressing stage and for the heat transfer involved in the dehydration of the cylinder coating spray. The model predicts an average specific drying rate within 4% in the range of the experimental data used.     

Walnut structure and its influence on the hydration and drying characteristics

Abstract

Fresh harvested walnuts are dehulled, washed, and then dried by hot air (HA) as a continuous process in the industry. The objective of the current work was to study the walnut structure and investigate its effect on the moisture transfer characteristics during the walnut soaking and drying processes. Moisture transport pathways into the walnuts were determined using fluorescence tracer approach, and the hydration kinetics of walnuts under different soaking temperatures (15, 25, and 35?°C) was studied using Peleg model. HA drying experiments in single layer in a self-designed automatic HA dryer at 43?°C and air velocity of 1.41?m/s. The influence of the stem pore (sealed and non-sealed) and the soaking process (0, 2- and 5-min soaking time) on the walnut drying characteristics were investigated systematically. The results indicated that both the presence of the stem pore and the soaking time had significant influence (p < 0.05) on the hydration and drying characteristics of walnuts. Moisture absorptions through the stem pore and the shell were equally important during the soaking process. Two to five minutes soaking process led to 2–4?h additional drying time. This study contributed valuable knowledge for the simulation and prediction of moisture transfer characteristics during the walnut soaking and drying processes. The findings from this study could potentially be applied to the walnut drying industry for more efficient processing     

天然胶乳胶膜干燥过程及交联结构研究

采用失重法、溶胀法及红外光谱,研究了天然胶乳厚胶膜的干燥动力学过程及干燥过程与橡胶分子链交联密度的关系。结果表明,天然胶乳胶膜的干燥温度和厚度显著影响其干燥过程,通过动力学拟合结果,建立了干燥动力学方程;胶膜干燥开始后,橡胶分子交联密度迅速上升,达到最大交联密度后,交联密度随干燥时间的增加而降低,红外光谱的研究结果也证明了这一规律。干燥过程对天然胶膜的交联结构有明显影响。     

Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer in Freeze Drying

The main objective of this work is to build a mathematical model that describes heat and mass transfer in freeze-drying when both plate heating and radiation heating are applied and also to provide further understanding of the mechanism of the drying process. The model, unlike other models, may be used for situations in which sublimation occurs within a temperature range, i.e., the non-existence of a sharp interface and also for cases in which more than one interface may form. The developed model has been tested against experimental measurements of freeze-drying of milk under different operating conditions. Measurements were done using Virtis BT3.3ES freeze dryer with vertical manifolds. The milk was contained in a glassware, specially designed for this project. Four thermocouples were fixed at different positions to track the drying progress. The experimental measurements show no significant shrinkage in the frozen milk when dried, leaving the milk highly porous in structure. In this experimental work, the low thermal conductivity of the dried layer was found to control the process without any significant mass transfer resistance. This includes plate heating where drying was found to progress from the heating surface similar to radiation heating. This is unlike what has been reported in some of literature that drying starts always from the top surface. The model, which was based on heat transfer control, showed a reasonable agreement with the experimental measurements of both plate heating and radiation heating.