A Cross-Flow Model for Continuous Plug Flow Fluidized-Bed Cross-Flow Dryers

Plug flow fluidized bed cross-flow dryers have been used in drying of particulate solids such as paddy and other grains for many years. However, simulation of the performance of any particular design of the dryer has always been problematic due to the inadequate overall empirical models used that are too inflexible and too specific to the particular design. In addition, previous theoretical models of the plug flow fluidized bed cross-flow dryer did not model the gas cross flow properly and had difficulty in modeling the moving solid bed. A new steady-state cross-flow model of the dryer that models the gas cross-flow is proposed. The profiles for the solids and air moisture contents and temperatures were found to be dependent on the gas-solid flow ratio, G/F, the specific heat demand, C _PY (T _I  ? T _A )/(Y _E  ? Y _I ), the total number of a transfer units, N _T  = Gε/KφaSL and the specific drying load, (X _I  ? X _P )/ (Y _E  ? Y _I ). The model was validated by comparing the simulated data with experimental data that were obtained by drying paddy in a plug flow fluidized bed cross-flow dryer pilot plant. The model was found to estimate very well the solids moisture content and temperature, the gas moisture content and temperature profiles, and the driving force profile.     

An Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Energy-Efficient Operation of Well-Mixed Fluidized Bed Dryers

This article describes the results of calculations of specific energy consumption, E_s, performed on a well-mixed fluidized bed dryer simulator. Exhaust air temperature-humidity loci required to yield a specified outlet moisture content were also determined. Most of the calculations related to solids whose drying rate was gas-film controlled. Six model drying curves were employed to examine the effects of drying rate and hygroscopicity in addition to the normal operating parameters. The results indicated that E_s was highest for slow-drying hygroscopic solids and lowest for fast-drying, non-hygroscopic solids. Specific energy consumption increased with decreasing bed temperature and outlet moisture content and with increasing heat loss but was independent of solids loading and airflow rate. For both the aforementioned solids and a much slower drying material (wheat), there was close agreement between the zero heat loss data and a single theoretical curve approximating the performance of an ideal adiabatic dryer. Distinct differences between the behavior of well-mixed and plug flow fluidized bed dryers are reported.     

DRYING OF CARROTS IN A FLUIDIZED BED. I. EFFECTS OF DRYING CONDITIONS AND MODELLING

Drying curves were determined in a mechanically agitated fluidized bed dryer, at temperatures between 70°C and 160°C, air velocities between 1.1 m/s and 2.2 m/s and stirring rates between 30 rpm and 70 rpm for batch drying of 3 kg lots of carrot slices, measuring the moisture content and shrinking of the particles in time. This was complemented by a study of the rate and degree of swelling of dried carrot particles in water between 20 and 75°C. Drying kinetics were modeled by Fick's second law, for which an optimal agreement with the experimental data was obtained when the effective diffusivity (D_e) was determined by a correlation based on the air velocity (v), the air temperature (T) and the dimensional moisture content of the carrot particles (X/X_o). Loss of carotenes is minimized when dehydration is carried out at about 130°C with a drying time below 12 min.     

Development of Cross-Flow Fluidized Bed Paddy Dryer

A cross-flow fluidized bed paddy dryer with a capacily of 200 kgh was designed, fabricated and tested. Experimental results showed that final moisture content of paddy should not be lower than 23 % dry-basis if quality is to be maintained. Drying air temperature was keot constant at 115°C according to the recommendation of previous work. Results obtained from the mathematical model developed in this study indicatedthat optimum operating parameters should be as follows : air speed of 2.3 m/s, bed thickness of 10 cm and fraction of air recycled of 80 %. At this condition, energy consumption was close to the minimum while drying capacity was near the maximum. A prototype fluidized bed dryer with a capacity of 1 t/h was designed, fabricated and installed with the collaboration of a private company. The unit has been used for almost the whole past harvesting season in 1994 at a paddy merchant sile with preference compared to conventional column continuous dryers. More than 300 tons of paddy were dried without any problems.     

Effect of Cryoprotectant and Freeze-Drying Process on the Stability of W/O/W Emulsions

In order to protect a hydrophilic drug and to prolong its further delivery, the formulation of multiple emulsions could be worthy. However, the double emulsions are not stable, their structure can change, leading to the formation of a single emulsion as the destruction of the system, and the drug can release easily from the globules in liquid state. The freeze-drying technology could be used to produce dry emulsion, the powder form being much more stable. The aim of this work was to study the influence of a cryoprotectant and a freeze-drying process on the stability of W/O/W emulsions. Samples were frozen at two different freezing rate (ν_f = 0.55°C/min and 1.25°C/min) and successively dried at two different sublimation temperature (T_s = - 10°C and - 20°C). The particle size distributions were measured by granulometer and UV spectrophotometer was performed to investigate the leakage of internal constituent. The glass transition temperature (T_g) of the double emulsions was analyzed by DSC. The particle sizes became even smaller after freeze drying, except when κ-carrageenan is used as a cryoprotectant. In that case, the particles became aggregated after freeze drying, whatever the process conditions. The mean size is considerably reduced when the globules are diluted at low concentration in glucose and trehalose solution. When the concentration is increased, the size distribution is not significantly affected. The leakage of the internal aqueous phase to the external one during freeze drying was measured as an indicator of the structure stability. It is affected by the nature of the cryoprotectant and the conditions of the freeze-drying process. The leakage of the internal phase was smaller when cycle III (ν_f = 1.25°C/min, T_s = - 10°C) was processed. From our experiments, we suppose that the water transfer from the inner phase to the outer aqueous phase results in the diminution of the globules size in double emulsion. The T_g of the double emulsions diluted with trehalose and glucose were determined at - 33.8°C and - 47.1°C. In contrast, the T_g of double emulsion with κ-carrageenan and HES did not appear.     

Bibliography of Literature on Fundamentals and Applications of Vibration in Particle Processing

This article describes the results of calculations of specific energy consumption, E _s , performed on a well-mixed fluidized bed dryer simulator. Exhaust air temperature–humidity loci required to yield a specified outlet moisture content were also determined. Most of the calculations related to solids whose drying rate was gas-film controlled. Six model drying curves were employed to examine the effects of drying rate and hygroscopicity in addition to the normal operating parameters. The results indicated that E _s was highest for slow-drying hygroscopic solids and lowest for fast-drying, non-hygroscopic solids. Specific energy consumption increased with decreasing bed temperature and outlet moisture content and with increasing heat loss but was independent of solids loading and airflow rate. For both the aforementioned solids and a much slower drying material (wheat), there was close agreement between the zero heat loss data and a single theoretical curve approximating the performance of an ideal adiabatic dryer. Distinct differences between the behavior of well-mixed and plug flow fluidized bed dryers are reported.     

Development of Cross-Flow Fluidized Bed Paddy Dryer

ABSTRACT

A cross-flow fluidized bed paddy dryer with a capacily of 200 kgh was designed, fabricated and tested. Experimental results showed that final moisture content of paddy should not be lower than 23 % dry-basis if quality is to be maintained. Drying air temperature was keot constant at 115°C according to the recommendation of previous work. Results obtained from the mathematical model developed in this study indicatedthat optimum operating parameters should be as follows : air speed of 2.3 m/s, bed thickness of 10 cm and fraction of air recycled of 80 %. At this condition, energy consumption was close to the minimum while drying capacity was near the maximum. A prototype fluidized bed dryer with a capacity of 1 t/h was designed, fabricated and installed with the collaboration of a private company. The unit has been used for almost the whole past harvesting season in 1994 at a paddy merchant sile with preference compared to conventional column continuous dryers. More than 300 tons of paddy were dried without any problems.     

MOBILE FLUIDIZED BED PADDY DRYER

The objectives of this research are to design, construct and test a mobile fluidized bed paddy dryer with a drying capacity of 2.5-4.0 t/h. Suitable drying conditions are recommended as follows : drying capacity 3.8 t/h, bed velocity 2.8 m/s, average drying air temperature 144 °C, bed height 13.5 cm, fraction of air recycled 0.8. Residence time of paddy was approximately 1.3 minutes. Test results showed that moisture content of paddy was reduced from 32.6 % dry-basis to 25.8 % dry-basis. Consumption of electrical power and diesel fuel was 12.9 kW and 21.71 1/h respectively. Primary energy consumption was 910.9 MJ/h. The dryer could evaporate water 218.8 kg/h. Specific primary energy consumption was 4.2 MJ/kg-water evaporated. Cost of paddy drying was 1.48 baht/kg-water evaporated of which 0.53 was fixed cost and 0.95 was energy cost (US$1 =34baht).     

CFD Modeling of Microwave-Assisted Fluidized Bed Drying of Moist Particles Using Two-Fluid Model

The drying behavior of moist spherical particles in a microwave-assisted fluidized bed dryer was simulated. The two-fluid Eulerian model incorporating the kinetic theory of granular flow was applied to simulate the gas–solid flow. The simulations were carried out using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package Fluent 6.3.26. The effects of different levels of microwave power densities as well as initial gas temperature on the prediction of solids moisture content, gas temperature, and gas absolute humidity were investigated. The effect of microwaves was incorporated into calculations using a concatenated user-defined function (UDF). The simulation results were compared with experimental data obtained from drying of soybeans in a pilot-scale microwave-assisted fluidized bed dryer and reasonable agreement was found. The mean relative deviation for prediction of solids moisture content, gas temperature, and gas absolute humidity were less than 3, 10, and 5%, respectively. Further work is needed to validate the proposed model for large-scale plants.     

From Laboratory Experiments to Design of a Conveyor-Belt Dryer via Mathematical Modeling

A conveyor-belt dryer for picrite has been modeled mathematically in this work. The necessary parameters for the system of equations were obtained from regression analysis of thin-layer drying data. The convective drying experiments were carried out at temperatures of 40, 60, 80, and 100°C and air velocities of 0.5 and 1.5 m/sec. To analyze the drying behavior, the drying curves were fitted to different semi-theoretical drying kinetics models such as those of Lewis, Page, Henderson and Pabis, Wang and Singh, and the decay models. The decay function (for second order reactions) gives better results and describes the thin layer drying curves quite well. The effective diffusivity was also determined from the integrated Fick's second law equation and correlated with temperature using an Arrhenius-type model. External heat and mass transfer coefficients were refitted to the empirical correlation using dimensionless numbers (J_h, J_D = m · Reⁿ) and their new coefficients were optimized as a function of temperature. The internal mass transfer coefficient was also correlated as a function of moisture content, air temperature, and velocity.     

ANALYSIS OF MECHANICALLY AGITATED FLUID-PARTICLE CONTACT DRYERS

Incorporation of agitation to spouted and fluidized bed dryer result in significant increases in the drying capacity (Q_s), although product retention persist, which is reduced by increasing the air flow. The physical phenomena occurring in these dryers with several liquid substrates was analyzed and the residence time distributions (RTD) were obtained by the use of dye tracers. The residence time (τ) was found to be a function of the rate of agitation (n) and reaches a minimum at n = n_opt, which was characteristic for each type of substrate, and where maxima also appeared for the drying capacity (Q_s = Q_{s max}) and the heat transfer coefficient (Nu_p = Nu_{p max}). The RTD can be modeled by series of consecutive dryers and a modified Vanderschuren and Delvosalle model can be employed to calculated moisture of the dry product.     

MANAGING MOIST PADDY BY DRYING, TEMPERING AND AMBIENT AIR VENTILATION

This paper describes a strategy for reducing moisture in paddy by fluidized bed drying, tempering and ambient air cooling. Experimental results showed that after the three processes, moisture content was reduced from 33 % to 16.5 % dry-basis within approximately 53 minutes. During the first process, a fluidized-bed dryer was used to reduce the moisture content of paddy down to 19.5 % dry-basis within 3 minutes. Then the paddy was tempered for 30 minutes. Finally, it was cooled by ambient air (temperature and relative humidity of 30 °C and 55-60% respectively) with air velocity of 0.15 m/s for 20 minutes. Quality of paddy in terms of head rice yield and whiteness was acceptable.     

A STOCHASTIC APPROACH TO THE DRYING OF SOLIDS IN A MULTI-STAGE FLUIDIZED BED

The residence times of solids flowing through a fluidized bed dryer exhibit dispersion about the mean. In this paper, expressions for the probability density functions of solids moisture content in the various stages of a multi-stage dryer are derived. A simple recurrence relationship for the moments of the distribution is also presented. The analysis is applied to the drying of cereal grains, and it is shown that the degree of drying increases with the number of stages in the dryer. Probability density functions of the moisture content are presented.     

Investigation of gas–solids flow characteristics in a conical fluidized bed dryer by pressure fluctuation and electrical capacitance tomography

It is important to investigate the gas–solids flow characteristics of fluidized bed drying processes to improve the operation efficiency and guarantee the product quality. This paper presents research into fluidized bed drying processes measured by high-frequency differential pressure fluctuation and electrical capacitance tomography (ECT). Power spectra analysis is combined with dynamic calibration for ECT to reveal the complex gas–solids flow behavior. Bubble characteristics are visualized by cross-sectional and quasi-3D ECT images. In addition, results by discrete wavelet transform analysis are given and compared with the analysis results of previous sections. It has been found that bubbles would coalesce in different ways under different operation conditions, and discrete wavelet transform sub-signals of ECT measurements are sensitive to particle moisture. This work reveals the complex hydrodynamic behavior in the fluidized bed dryer and provides valuable information for process control.     

A STOCHASTIC APPROACH TO THE DRYING OF SOLIDS IN A MULTI-STAGE FLUIDIZED BED

The residence times of solids flowing through a fluidized bed dryer exhibit dispersion about the mean. In this paper, expressions for the probability density functions of solids moisture content in the various stages of a multi-stage dryer are derived. A simple recurrence relationship for the moments of the distribution is also presented. The analysis is applied to the drying of cereal grains, and it is shown that the degree of drying increases with the number of stages in the dryer. Probability density functions of the moisture content are presented.     

Osmotic Dehydration of Apple Cylinders: III. Continuous Medium Flow Microwave Heating Conditions

Continuous flow osmotic drying permits a better exchange of moisture and solids between the food particle and osmotic solution than the batch process. Osmotic drying has been well studied by several researchers mostly in the batch mode. Microwave heating has been traditionally recognized to provide rapid heating conditions. Its role in the finish drying of food products has also been recognized. In this study, the effects of process temperature, solution concentration on moisture loss (ML), solids gain (SG), and mass transport coefficients (k_m and k_s) were evaluated and compared under microwave, assisted osmotic dehydration (MWOD) versus continuous flow osmotic dehydration (CFOD). Apple cylinders (2 cm diameter, 2 cm height) were subjected to continuous flow osmotic solution at different concentrations (30, 40, 50, and 60°Brix sucrose) and temperatures (40, 50, and 60°C). Similar treatments were also given with samples subjected to microwave heating. Results obtained showed that solids gain by the samples was always lower when carried out under microwave heating, while the moisture loss was increased. The greater moisture loss strongly counteracted solids gain in MWOD and thus the overall ratio of ML/SG was higher in MWOD than in CFOD.     

Drying characteristics of millet in a continuous multistage fluidized bed

The effects of gas velocity, inlet gas temperature and the solid feed rate on the drying efficiency, the outlet solid moisture content, bed temperature in each stage, the outlet gas humidity and temperature in a rectangular acryl multistage fluidized bed (0.172 m×0.192 m×1.5 m-high) with a downcomer (0.04 m-I.D.) were investigated. The experiments were performed by using 1.9 mm millet particles. The final moisture contents of the solids increased with increasing the solid feed rate. The drying efficiency increased with increasing the wetted solid feed rate but decreased with increasing the inlet gas temperature. The drying performance of the multistage fluidized bed was compared with the single-stage fluidized bed and found to be superior under identical operation conditions. The model predicted values were well matched with the experimental data in the multistage fluidized bed dryer. This paper is dedicated to Professor Dong Sup Doh on the occasion of his retirement from Korea University.     

WATER SORPTION ISOTHERMS AND GLASS TRANSITION PROPERTIES OF GELATIN

The water sorption isotherms of gelatin of different molecular weights (317,700, 228,900, and 197,400) were determined at 50°C using an isopiestic method. The sorption isotherms were modeled using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Guggenheim-Anderson-deBoer (GAB) equations. The BET and GAB equations were able to predict the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) with a mean relative error of 5.2 and 5.0%, respectively. The BET monolayer moisture content varied from 4.81 to 5.70% (d.b.) while modeling with the GAB equation predicted monolayer moisture content of 6.14-7.58% (d.b.) depending upon molecular weight. The monolayer moisture content increased with increasing molecular weight. Studies on the effect of moisture content on the “rheological glass transition temperature” (T_g) showed a smooth increase in the value of T_g as a function of increasing concentration of gelatin solids. This varied from 7 to 35°C at 75% and 97% solids, respectively for the protein sample with MW = 317,700. Pinpointing of the T_g was implemented with the technique of small deformation dynamic oscillation. It was proposed that the “rheological” T_g is the point between the glass transition region and the glassy state. It acquires physical significance by identifying the transition from free volume phenomena of the polymeric backbone in the glass transition region to an energetic barrier to motions in the glassy state involving stretching and bending of chemical bonds.     

Continuous fluidized bed drying: Residence time distribution characterization and effluent moisture content prediction

The mixing and drying behavior in a continuous fluidized bed dryer were investigated experimentally by characterizing the residence time distribution (RTD) and incorporating a micromixing model together with the drying kinetics obtained from batch drying. The RTD of the dryer was modeled using a tank-in-series model. It was found that a high initial material loading and a low material flow rate resulted in a reduced peak height and broaded peak width of the RTD curve. To predict the continuous dryer effluent moisture content, we combined: (a) the drying kinetics as determined in a batch fluidized bed dryer, (b) the RTD model, and (c) micromixing models—segregation and maximum mixedness models. It was found that the segregation model overpredicted the effluent moisture content by up to 5% for the cases we have studied while the maximum mixedness model gave a good prediction of the effluent moisture content.     

Experimental Investigation and Modeling of Plug-Flow Fluidized Bed Drying Under Steady-State Conditions

In this study, a model for a plug-flow fluidized bed dryer under steady-state conditions was presented. The model was based on differential equations; thus the bed of the dryer was divided horizontally and vertically into major and minor control volumes, respectively. Each control volume was composed of two thermodynamic systems: solid and gas. The mass and energy balances of the particles in the major control volume based on the axial dispersion were developed to derive the axial profiles of solid moisture content and temperature. To derive the variation of gas humidity and temperature along the bed height and hence the axial profiles of outlet gas humidity and temperature, the mass and energy balances in the gas over the minor control volume, considering the plug flow of gas through the bed, were developed. The model was validated by comparing the simulation results with the experimental data obtained by drying the long-grain rough rice under steady-state conditions in a laboratory-scale, plug-flow fluidized bed dryer. A very satisfactory agreement between the simulation and the experimental data of solid moisture content, solid temperature, and outlet gas humidity and temperature was achieved. Also, the effects of inlet gas temperature, weir height, and inlet dry solid mass flow rate on the simulated axial profiles of solid moisture content and temperature, humidity difference between inlet and outlet gas, and outlet gas temperature were investigated.