An Experimental Test of the Concept of the Characteristic Drying Curve Using the Thin-Layer Method

ABSTRACT

The drying behaviour of paticles ( purolit and silica gel) was studied using the thin-layer method described by Langrish et al ( 1). The experiments covered inlet air temperatures between 100 and 150°C, inlet air humidities from 0.02 to 0.052 kgkg¹ superficial air velocities between 3.8 and 10.8 ms^-1, with layer thicknem of 2 – 10mm. No constant mle period war observed. Characteristic drying curves were found to fall within a narrow band fur these ranges of process variables, for material of uniform size and shape and with relative moisture content defined in terms of the end of the induction period. Small changes in panicle shape, particle size distribution and uniformity of particle layers had negligible infuence on the drying kinetics. However, reduction in particle size from 5.2mm diameter to 0.86mm had a marked effect: the normalised drying rate at a given relative moisture content became larger as the particle size became smaller. This phenomenon is attributed to an increase in available contact area per unit volume with diminishing particle size. The thin-layer technique thus appears to be a useful and robust way of obtaining a general characteristic drying curve for a given particulate material. A review of various works ( Keey, 2) has shown that the concept ofa characteristic drying curve may be used to describe the drying kinetics of paniculate materials below 20mm in size for modest changes in process variables ( air temperature, humidity and velocity). This concept has found to be very useful to help model drying processes of a wide variety of particulates, cross-circulated slabs, heaped loaw fabric fibres, hygroscopic ceramic cylinders and discrete vermiculite particles. The drying of a single particle has been related lo the drying kinetics of a fluidized bed by the use of this ida. ( Tsotsas, 7). A grater understanding of the properties of the characteristic drying curve will provide a greater confidence in applying thir concept more generally to process design and the analysis of industrial drying equipment. The goal of this study was to examine further the experimental and theoretical foundations of the characteristic drying curve, using thin-layer methods.     

油页岩干燥特性实验研究

以柳树河油页岩颗粒为原料,在恒温介质干燥器内进行油页岩干燥动力学研究,考察干燥介质温度和颗粒直径对油页岩干燥性能的影响,采用薄层干燥模型中的Lewis模型,对油页岩干燥实验数据进行模拟,确定油页岩干燥方程和干燥速率方程,建立油页岩干燥常数表达式。研究结果表明:薄层干燥模型中Lewis模型能较好的描述油页岩在恒温介质干燥器内的干燥过程;其干燥过程主要发生在降速干燥阶段;200℃时油页岩无性质变化,干燥达到平衡时,油页岩含水量可降到0.5%左右,油页岩表观活化能为17～19kJ/mol。     

Modeling and Numerical Analysis of an Atypical Convective Coal Drying Process

This work presents modeling and numerical simulation of batch convective coal drying in a deep packed bed after a high-pressure steam treatment (a part of the Fleissner coal drying process). The process is atypical, because ambient air is used to dry and cool hot particles, while usually, e.g., in the deep packed bed drying of biomaterials, hot air is contacting cold particles. Product-specific data (intraparticle mass transfer, gas-solids moisture equilibrium) for coal (here lignite) are taken over from literature. Available data on coal drying in packed beds of medium height are used for model validation. Then, the model is applied to the considered industrial process. The design point of the process is critically reviewed, and alternatives are developed by systematically simulating the influence of inlet air conditions (temperature, humidity, flow-rate) and coal particle size. This type of analysis is necessary for efficiently scheduling plant dryers, since coal particle size may change, and air inlet temperature and humidity are changing with the ambient conditions.     

油页岩过热蒸汽的干燥动力学

以油页岩颗粒作为干燥物料,以过热蒸汽和热空气分别作为干燥介质,进行了油页岩干燥实验的研究。当颗粒粒径减小时,油页岩干燥速率越大;过热蒸汽和热空气温度增大时,干燥速率也越大。对比相同条件下过热蒸汽和热空气干燥油页岩的平均干燥速率,发现当干燥介质温度超过逆转点温度时,过热蒸汽条件下的平均干燥速率大于热空气下的数值。实验得出粒径分别为9,7,5 mm的油页岩颗粒逆转点温度值分别是154,179,177℃;逆转点温度值是个变量,随颗粒粒径大小变化而变化。颗粒粒径越大时逆转点温度值越小,粒径较小时逆转点变化不大。采用薄层干燥模型对油页岩的干燥数据进行动力学模拟,可得修正Page模型(Ⅱ)干基水分比w模拟值与实验值的最大绝对偏差是12%,综合比较发现修正Page模型(Ⅱ)能较好地描述油页岩在过热蒸汽条件下的干燥过程。     

Reverse Methodology to Identify Moisture Diffusivity During Air-Drying of Foodstuffs

The effective moisture diffusion is a key parameter for the simulation of the drying process of food products. A conventional procedure includes an identification step performed on thin-layer drying kinetics followed by a validation step on deep-bed drying kinetics. Unfortunately, this approach requires several experiments at different air temperatures while only using moisture data is accounted for identification purposes. For this reason, a reverse approach was developed. Results showed that identification on a single deep-bed kinetic allows for valid simulations of thin-layer kinetics on a wide range of temperatures. In addition, two correlations for moisture diffusivity are tested.     

基于气固流态化原理的油页岩干燥动力学

为了考察气固流化床干燥器能否使油页岩含水质量分数达到要求,以柳树河油页岩颗粒为原料,研究进口气体温度和颗粒直径对油页岩干燥性能的影响,采用薄层干燥模型,对油页岩干燥实验数据进行模拟,确定油页岩干燥方程和干燥速率方程,建立油页岩干燥速率特征常数和有效扩散系数之间的关联式。研究结果表明:薄层干燥模型中修正Page模型Ⅰ适合描述油页岩的干燥过程;油页岩在流化床内干燥过程主要发生在降速干燥阶段,进口气体温度越高,油页岩颗粒直径越小,所需干燥时间越短,进口气体温度为350℃时,使2.4 mm油页岩含水质量分数低于5%,所需干燥时间为2.5 min。     

Constant and Intermittent Drying Characteristics of Olive Cake

The drying kinetics of olive cake, the solid by-product of the olive oil extraction process, has been experimentally investigated in a small-scale tray dryer using both constant and intermittent (on/off) heating schemes. The parameters investigated include inlet air temperature and intermittency of heat input. The drying kinetics was interpreted through two mathematical models, the Page equation and the Lewis equation. The Page equation was most appropriate in describing the drying behavior of olive cake. A diffusion model was used to describe the moisture transfer and the effective diffusion coefficient at each temperature was determined. The dependence of the effective diffusion coefficient on drying temperature can be adequately explained based on an Arrhenius-type relation. The effective diffusion coefficient varied between 7.6 × 10^-8 and 2.5 × 10^-7 m²/min with an activation energy of 38.55 kJ/mol. Comparison of time evolution of material moisture content due to intermittent and constant drying is also made.     

An Experimental Study of Wheat Drying in Thin Layer and Mathematical Simulation of a Fixed-Bed Convective Dryer

Drying of wheat (Algerian cultivar: Hadba03) in thin layers was studied and mass flux phenomenon was used to characterize the thin-layer drying process. Thin-layer drying of wheat was determined for drying air temperature range of 40–60°C, relative humidity of drying air from 10 to 30%, air velocity of 0.7 m/s, and initial grain moisture from 26 to 31% (dry basis). Equilibrium moisture content of wheat was determined using desorption isotherms obtained from the thin-layer drying data. An equilibrium model for a stationary deep bed with drying air moving vertically upward was developed using mass and energy balance between grain and drying air in the bed and drying air characteristics obtained from thin-layer drying experiments. The developed model was validated by drying wheat in a laboratory dryer using different drying air temperatures and initial moisture contents.     

Reduction of a model for single droplet drying and application to CFD of skim milk spray drying

In this work, a novel methodology for the development of a high-accuracy computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for the spray-drying process is described. Starting point is an own spatially resolving model of droplet/particle drying, which was developed and validated on the basis of a series of single droplet drying (SDD) experiments. This sophisticated model is transformed to a much simpler version: the characteristic drying curve approach, after running the full SDD model in a wide range of operating conditions. Then, the obtained reduced model is implemented into the CFD solver. The CFD spray-drying model takes into account the hydrodynamics of the continuous phase, particle drying kinetics, changes in the particle diameter, and the heat loss from the drying chamber to the environment. Validation of the entire procedure is provided by data obtained from drying experiments performed in a co-current laboratory spray tower. High accuracy of the developed CFD model of skim milk spray drying has been found for both phases, for the mean outlet temperature of the continuous phase (air) and for the change in average particle moisture content along the spray tower (discrete phase).     

Conditions for Accurate CFD Modeling of Spray-Drying Process

The paper presents concluding results of extensive experimental and theoretical research on confident CFD modeling of spray drying. An earlier developed experimental method to determine spray-drying kinetics in a lab scale allowed us to find a critical material moisture content and to determine generalized spray-drying curves. The generalized drying curves, identical in shape in the laboratory and pilot plant units, were used in the CFD model of spray drying process. Extensive simulations for spray drying of 10, 30, and 50% of initial solid content of maltodextrin proved high accuracy of the predictions of discrete (particle size distribution, particle moisture content, particle velocity, spray temperature) and continuous-phase parameters (gas temperature and humidity). Maximum error of the predictions of discrete-phase parameters was on the level of 20%, which is probably close to the current capacity of the CFD technique for modeling of spray-drying process. Comparison of experimental measurements and theoretical results shows that incorporation of realistic spray-drying kinetics into the CFD model and correct definition of initial drying and atomization parameters enable reliable simulations of spray-drying process.     

DRYING RELATED PROPERTIES OF APPLE

ABSTRACT

Drying related properties of apple are evaluated for various different drying methods (namely, convective, vacuum, microwave, osmotic and freeze drying), and their corresponding process conditions. The examined properties are drying kinetics, equilibrium material moisture content, density, porosity, color and viscoelastic characteristics. The effect of various process factors on these properties is described through particular mathematical models. The model parameters are estimated by fitting the corresponding model equations on a wide range of experimental data. Drying kinetics is greatly affected by the characteristic particle size and drying air temperature for convective drying, while for the case of microwave drying they are affected by the vacuum pressure and the emitted radiation power. Equilibrium material moisture content is affected by the temperature and the humidity of the surrounding air, while the osmotic pretreatment shifts the sorption isotherms to higher water activity levels. The quality properties examined, are significantly affected by the drying method. More specifically, osmotic dehydration decreases the porosity of the final product, while it prevents color deterioration and enchances the viscous nature of dehydrated apple. Freeze-dried apples develop the highest porosity, have the most elastic structure and the lowest rate of color deterioration.     

DRYING RELATED PROPERTIES OF APPLE

Drying related properties of apple are evaluated for various different drying methods (namely, convective, vacuum, microwave, osmotic and freeze drying), and their corresponding process conditions. The examined properties are drying kinetics, equilibrium material moisture content, density, porosity, color and viscoelastic characteristics. The effect of various process factors on these properties is described through particular mathematical models. The model parameters are estimated by fitting the corresponding model equations on a wide range of experimental data. Drying kinetics is greatly affected by the characteristic particle size and drying air temperature for convective drying, while for the case of microwave drying they are affected by the vacuum pressure and the emitted radiation power. Equilibrium material moisture content is affected by the temperature and the humidity of the surrounding air, while the osmotic pretreatment shifts the sorption isotherms to higher water activity levels. The quality properties examined, are significantly affected by the drying method. More specifically, osmotic dehydration decreases the porosity of the final product, while it prevents color deterioration and enchances the viscous nature of dehydrated apple. Freeze-dried apples develop the highest porosity, have the most elastic structure and the lowest rate of color deterioration.     

Mathematical Model of Fixed-Bed Drying and Strategies for Crumb Rubber Producing STR20

The objectives of this research were to investigate empirical and diffusion models for thin-layer crumb rubber drying for producing STR20 rubber using hot air temperatures of 110–130°C and to study the effect of drying parameters such as inlet drying temperature, volumetric flow rate, and initial moisture content on the quality of dried rubber. Finally, a mathematical drying model for predicting the drying kinetics of crumb rubber was developed using inlet air flow rates of 300–600 m³/min-m³ of crumb rubber (equivalent to 1.8–5.0 m/s) with the crumb rubber thickness fixed at 0.25 m. The average initial moisture content of samples was in the ranges of 40 and 50% dry basis while the desired final moisture content was below 5% dry basis. The results showed that the drying equation of crumb rubber was highly related to the inlet air temperature, while the drying constant value was not proportional to the initial moisture content. Consequently, the experimental data were formulated using nine empirical models and the analytical solution of moisture ratio equation was developed by Fick's law of diffusion. The result showed that the simulated data best fitted the logarithmic model and was in reasonable agreement to the experimental data. The effective diffusion coefficient of crumb rubber was in the range of 1.0 × 10^?9 to 2.15 × 10^?5 m²/s corresponding to drying temperatures between 40 and 150°C, respectively. The effects of air recirculation, inlet drying temperature, initial moisture contents, air flow rate, and drying strategies on specific energy consumption and quality of samples were reported. The experiments were conducted using two different drying strategies as follows: one-stage and two-stage drying conditions. The results showed that initial moisture content and air flow rates significantly affected the specific energy consumption and quality of rubber, while the volumetric air flow rate acted as dominant effect to the specific energy consumption. The simulated results concluded that the percentage of recycled air between 90 and 95% provided the lowest specific energy consumption as compared to the others.     

Conjugate heat and mass transfer model for predicting thin-layer drying uniformity in a compact,crossflow dehydrator

Abstract

A conjugate heat and mass transfer model was implemented into a commercial CFD code to analyze the convective drying of corn. The Navier–Stokes equations for drying air flow were coupled to diffusion equations for heat and moisture transport in a corn kernel during drying. Model formulation and implementation in the commercial software is discussed. Validation simulations were conducted to compare numerical results to experimental, thin-layer drying data. The model was then used to analyze drying performance for a compact, crossflow dehydrator. At low inlet air temperatures, the drying rate in the compact dehydrator matched the thin-layer drying rate. At higher temperatures, heat losses through the external walls resulted in temperature and moisture variations across the dehydrator.     

The Basics of a Reaction Engineering Approach to Modeling Air-Drying of Small Droplets or Thin-Layer Materials

In this article, the development of a reaction engineering approach (REA) to modeling air drying of thin-layer materials or solids droplet/particles, a 10-year-old approach, is critically reviewed. This approach for drying data reduction has been seen to be successful in several applications (droplet drying and layer drying). The historical aspects and its possible relations to the characteristic drying rate curve (CDRC) model, one of the most well-known drying kinetics models, have been articulated. Possible improvements and future prospects are discussed.     

Combined Crystallization and Drying in a Pilot-Scale Spray Dryer

Combined crystallization and drying of lactose solutions was performed in a pilot-scale spray dryer over a wide range of operating conditions. The effect of different parameters, including temperature, moisture content, atomizing air flow rate, liquid feed rate, main drying air flow rate, and particle size, on the degree of crystallinity of the spray-dried powders was analyzed. Water-induced crystallization (WIC) and modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) were used to assess the effect of these parameters on the degree of crystallinity of the spray-dried powders. The particles were characterized in terms of the final moisture content using WIC and distinctive differences in the peak heights, which are indicative of the particle crystallinity, were found for spray-dried particles using different drying conditions, supporting the results from MDSC. MDSC showed that decreasing the inlet air temperature by 40°C increased the degree of crystallinity in the particles threefold from 22 to 72%. A decrease in the inlet air temperature may decrease the particle temperature, resulting in wetter particles, and a lower temperature meant a longer particle drying time and allowed the particles to rearrange themselves into a more crystalline form. Up to 72% crystallinity is achievable in a pilot-scale spray dryer by suitable adjustment of the operating conditions. The results suggest differences in the rate of crystallization and particle size between small and pilot-scale spray dryers.     

Energy and Quality Attributes of Combined Hot-Air/Infrared Drying of Paddy

The kinetics of combined hot-air/infrared thin-layer drying of paddy was studied. The mechanical quality aspects of paddy kernels dried at different drying conditions were evaluated in terms of percentage of cracked kernels and also required failure force obtained from bending tests. The well-known Artificial Neural Network (ANN) modeling technique was applied to predict the drying time, variations in paddy moisture content, the percentages of cracked kernels, and the values of required failure force of paddy at different drying conditions. The best ANN topologies, transfer functions, and training algorithms were determined for prediction of the mentioned parameters. In addition to the product quality aspects, the specific energy consumption (SEC) was estimated for all drying conditions. The results indicated that application of a low-intensity IR radiation (2000 W/m²), together with lower values of inlet air temperature (30°C) and moderate values of inlet air velocity (0.15 m/s), can effectively improve the final quality of paddy (as a heat-sensitive product) with a reasonable SEC.     

Mechanism of Through Air Drying of Paper: Application in Hybrid Drying

During through air drying the internal sheet drying history develops as a succession of local moisture content profiles in the sheet thickness dimension. These profiles were determined by interrupting the through drying of 180 g/m² 6-ply sheets, then quickly delaminating and determining the moisture content of each 30 g/m² ply. On the through flow inlet side of the sheet, large moisture differences, about 0.4-0.6 kg/kg dry per 30 g/m² ply, develop and move into the interior of the sheet provided that local moisture content is in the range 0.45-1.75 kg/kg. On the through flow exit side, moisture gradients only become significant for moisture content below about 1.25 kg/kg. From the through flow exit side of the sheet much of the water is removed by diffusion to the flow entry side where most evaporation into the through flow occurs. The kinetics of through drying reflect the interaction between these two mechanisms, local evaporation into the through flow and thickness direction diffusion. The moisture diffusivity-moisture content relation controls this balance. In any combination with cylinder drying to give some kind of hybrid dryer, through drying should be at the dry end where air permeability is highest and cylinder drying rate is lowest.