SORPTION DRYING OF SOYBEAN SEEDS WITH SILICA GEL. I. HYDRODYNAMICS OF A FLUIDIZED BED DRYER

Fluidization technology has been employed to mix soybean seeds and silica gel particles in aim of sorption drying of particulate agricultural products. The characteristic fluidization velocities, mixing mechanisms and fluidization quality have been studied in a 180 mm I.D. fluidized bed. Two sizes of silica gel particles (SG2 and SG3) were selected, with the mass fractions in the range of 0.33-0.75 to form a static bed with height from 100 to 280 mm (H/D = 0.56-1.56). The results show that the dispersion rate of soybean seeds is increased with addition of either SG2 or SG3, and that the frequency and the span of pressure fluctuations within the bed are increased. It is inferred that the gas-solids contacting is improved with addition of small particles in the bed of large particles. In addition, for practical design and operation of such a fluidized bed of binary mixtures, empirical correlations for characteristic fluidization velocities were developed with a wide application.