Mass & Heat Transfer Lab BKF3721

Faculty of Chemical & Natural Resources Engineering

Experiment 1

DRYING SOLID MATERIALS USING TRAY DRYER

Name

Matric No.

Group

Program

Section

Date

Sem. I - Session 2011/2012

Mass & Heat Transfer Lab BKF3721

EXPERIMENT 1: DRYING SOLID MATERIALS USING TRAY DRYER

OBJECTIVE

1. To determine effect of heating level on the drying rate

2. To calculate water loss through the relationship of relative humidity and enthalpy.

INTRODUCTION

Drying is usually the final step in a series of operations, and the product from a dryer is often ready
for final packaging. Water or other liquids may be removed from solids mechanically by presses or
centrifuges or thermally by vaporization. Drying can be defined by reducing the moisture content from an
initial value to some acceptable final value. Most industrial dryers handle particulate solid during part of or
all the drying cycle, although some, of course, dry large individual pieces such as ceramic ware or sheet of
polymer. The solid to be dried may be in many different forms, such as flakes, granules, crystals, powders,
slab or continuous sheets, and may have widely differing properties. The liquid to be vaporized may be on
the surface of the solid, as in drying salt crystal ; it may be entirely inside the solid , as in solvent removal
from a sheet of polymer; or it may be partly outside and partly inside.

EQUIPMENT/APPARATUS/MATERIAL

1. Tray Drier Unit

2. Rice
3. Air velocity measurement device
4. Analytical Balance
Mass & Heat Transfer Lab BKF3721

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

1. Remove drying plates from support frame.

2. Tare scale to zero.
3. Insert drying plates individually into support frame, read off and note the weight of the individual drying
plates on the digital scale.
4. Spread material (rice) to be dried in a thin layer on the drying plates.
5. Insert drying plates in support frame and note total weight.
6. Switch on fan and set the speed.
7. Measure flow speed with manual anemometer and note it.
8. Set heating level to 2 (1000 Watt) and switch on heater.
9. Start drying experiment, commence time measurement using stopwatch. Collect the data for 5 minutes
intervals and drying experiment is complete when either (whichever come first):
 The total mass m of the material to be dried is no longer falling
 The collected data are constant
10. Repeat step 1 to 9 for next 2 different heating level (1 (500 Watt) - 6 (3000 Watt)).
11. Shutdown the equipment.
12. While performing the experiment, the following measured data is recorded at regular intervals and
entered in the working sheet.
 Air temperature, T1 before material to be dried
 Relative air humidity, F1 before material to be dried
 Air temperature, T2 after material to be dried
 Relative air humidity, F2 after material to be dried
 Total mass, m of material to be dried and drying plates
 Use the attached Mollier diagram to determine the loading X for the relevant air states
Mass & Heat Transfer Lab BKF3721

RESULTS

Table Experimental Data 1

Heating Level :

Air Speed :

Time,t Air Temp., T1 Air Humidity, F1 Air Temp., T2 Air Humidity, F1 Mass, m

min

10

Table Experimental Data 2

Heating Level :

Air Speed :

Time,t Air Temp., T1 Air Humidity, F1 Air Temp., T2 Air Humidity, F1 Mass, m

min

10

Psychrometric Chart and Air Characteristics

Mass & Heat Transfer Lab BKF3721

Figure 1: Psychrometric Chart