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Basic Process Calculations and Simulations in Drying: January 2007
Basic Process Calculations and Simulations in Drying: January 2007
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Z. Pakowski A. S. Mujumdar
Lodz University of Technology McGill University
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CONTENTS
a a a a a
1 2 3 4 5
b c b c b c b c
With ideal mixing of
one or two phases
b c
where the LHSs of Equation 3.13 and Equation 3.15 They are necessary to estimate either the local non-
carry the positive sign for cocurrent and the negative convective fluxes caused by conduction of heat or
sign for countercurrent operation. Both heat and diffusion of moisture or the interfacial fluxes ex-
mass fluxes, q and wD, are calculated from the consti- changed either between two phases or through system
tutive equations as explained in the following section. boundaries (e.g., heat losses through a wall). The first
Having in mind that are usually expressed as
dig dtg dY dt
¼ ( cB þ c A Y ) þ (cA tg þ Dhv0 ) (3:16) q ¼ l (3:24)
dl dl dl dl
dX
and that enthalpy of steam emanating from the solid j ¼ rDeff (3:25)
dl
is
and they are already incorporated in the balance
hAv ¼ cA tm þ Dhv0 (3:17) equations (3.22 and 3.23). The interfacial flux equa-
tions assume the following form:
we can now rewrite (Equation 3.12 through Equation
3.15) in a more convenient working version q ¼ a(tg tm ) (3:26)
dX S wD ¼ kY f(Y * Y ) (3:27)
¼ wD aV (3:18)
dl WS
where f is
dtm S aV
¼ [q þ wD ( (cAl cA )tm Dhv0 )]
dl WS cS þ cAl X MA =MB Y* Y
f¼ ln 1 þ (3:28)
(3:19) Y* Y MA =MB þ Y
dY 1 S
¼ wD aV (3:20) While the convective heat flux expression is straight-
dl x WB
forward, the expression for drying rate needs explan-
dtg 1 S aV ation. The drying rate can be calculated from this
¼ [q þ wD cA (tg tm )] (3:21) formula, when drying is controlled by gas-side resist-
dl x WB cB þ cA Y
ance. The driving force is then the difference between
where x is 1 for cocurrent and 1 for countercurrent absolute humidity at equilibrium with solid surface
operation. and that of bulk gas. When solid surface is saturated
For a monolithic solid phase convective and inter- with moisture, the expression for Y* is identical to
facial terms disappear and in unsteady state, for the Equation 3.48; when solid surface contains bound
one-dimensional case, the equations become moisture, Y* will result from Equation 3.46 and a
sorption isotherm. This is in essence the so-called
@2X @X equilibrium method of drying rate calculation.
Deff ¼ (3:22) When the drying rate is controlled by diffusion in
@ x2 @t
the solid phase (i.e., in the falling drying rate period),
@ 2 tm @t the conditions at solid surface are difficult to find,
l ¼ cp r m (3:23)
@ x2 @t unless we are solving the DPM (Fick’s law or equiva-
lent) for the solid itself. Therefore, if the solid itself
These equations are named Fick’s law and Fourier’s has lumped parameters, its drying rate must be repre-
law, respectively, and can be solved with suitable sented by an empirical expression. Two forms are
boundary and initial conditions. Literature on solving commonly used.
Figure 3.2 shows the form of a possible drying rate A collection of such equations for popular agricul-
curve using Equation 3.30. tural products is contained in Jayas et al. (1991).
Other such equations also exist in the literature Other process parameters such as air velocity, tem-
(e.g., Halström and Wimmerstedt, 1983; Nijdam and perature, and humidity are often incorporated into
Keey, 2000). these equations.
The volumetric drying rate, which is necessary in
3.4.2.2 Kinetic Equation (e.g., Thin-Layer balance equations, can be derived from the TLE in
the following way:
Equations)
In agricultural sciences it is common to present drying mS dF
wD a V ¼ aV (Xc X *)
kinetics in the form of the following equation: A dt
mS dF
¼ (Xc X *) (3:37)
F ¼ f (t, process parameters) (3:31) V dt
dX and
¼ k(X X *) (3:32)
dt
dF
After integration one obtains wD aV ¼ (1 «)rS (Xc X *) (3:39)
dt
F ¼ exp (kt) (3:33) The drying rate ratio of CDC is then calculated as
a=0
1 1
a< 1
f f f a<
c =0
1
1
a=
c<
a=
1
c=
c<
=1
1
a=
a>
>1
c
1
c
c>
1
c<
a=
0
0 ΦB 1 ΦB ΦB
FIGURE 3.2 The influence of parameters a and c of Equation 3.30 on CDC shape.
3.4.3.1 Humid Gas Properties and Psychrometric Dependence of latent heat of vaporization on tem-
Calculations perature (e.g., Watson equation):
. Inert gas component is insoluble in the liquid Table 3.1 contains coefficients of the above listed
phase property equations for selected liquids and Table 3.2
. Gaseous phase behavior is close to ideal gas; for gases. These data can be found in specialized
this limits our total pressure range to less than books (e.g., Reid et al., 1987; Yaws, 1999) and com-
2 bar puterized data banks for other liquids and gases.
TABLE 3.1
Coefficients of Approximating Equations for Properties of Selected Liquids
3.4.3.2 Relations between Absolute Humidity, becomes saturated (i.e., w ¼ 1). From Equation
Relative Humidity, Temperature, 3.46 we obtain
and Enthalpy of Humid Gas
MA ps (t)
Ys ¼ (3:48)
With the above assumptions and property equations MB P0 ps (t)
we can use Equation 3.45 through Equation 3.47 for
calculating these basic relationships (note that mois- To find DPT when Y is known this equation must be
ture is described as component A and inert gas as solved numerically. On the other hand, the inverse
component B). problem is trivial and requires substituting DPT into
Definition of relative humidity w (we will use here Equation 3.48.
w defined as decimal fraction instead of RH given in Adiabatic-saturation temperature (AST) is the
percentage points): temperature reached when adiabatically contacting
limited amounts of gas and liquid until equilibrium.
w(t) ¼ p=ps (t) (3:45) The suitable equation is
t
j=
1
j=
i=
1
j=
co
ns
t
i=
con
t Y st Y
(a) (b)
Xdes
X2
Y Y
Y1 Y1
Ldes L L L
FIGURE 3.4 Schematic of design and simulation in cocurrent case: (a) design; (b) simulation. Xdes is the design value of final
moisture content.
200.0 90.0
70.0 225.0
180.0
80.0 200.0
150.0
160.0 60.0
70.0 175.0
140.0 50.0 tg
60.0 150.0
100.0
120.0 10
40.0 50.0 125.0
100.0 20
40.0
x y
30 100.0
80.0 40 30.0
50.0 50
60
70 30.0 75.0
60.0 80
dryPAK v.3.6
90
20.0
100
tm
dryPAK v.3.6
40.0 20.0 50.0
FIGURE 3.5 Process paths and longitudinal distribution of parameters for cocurrent drying of sand in air.
3.6.2.2 Countercurrent Flow problem exists and must be solved by a suitable nu-
merical method, e.g., the shooting method. Basically
The situation in countercurrent case (case 4a in Fig- the method consists of assuming certain parameters
ure 3.1) design and simulation is shown in Figure 3.6. for the exiting gas stream and performing integration
In both cases we see that boundary conditions are starting at the solid inlet end. If the gas parameters at
defined at opposite ends of the integration domain. the other end converges to the known inlet gas
It leads to the split boundary value problem. parameters, the assumption is satisfactory; otherwise,
In design this problem can be avoided by using the a new assumption is made. The process is repeated
design parameters for the solid specified at the exit under control of a suitable convergence control
end. Then, by writing input–output balances over the method, e.g., Wegstein. Figure 3.7 contains a sample
whole dryer, inlet parameters of gas can easily be countercurrent case calculation for the same material
found (unless local heat losses or other distributed as that used in Figure 3.5.
parameter phenomena need also be considered).
However, in simulation the split boundary value
(a) (b)
Direction of integration Direction of integration
X1 X1
X X
Xdes Y2
Y1 X2
Y2⬘
Y Y
Y1 Y1
Ldes L L L
FIGURE 3.6 Schematic of design and simulation in cocurrent case: (a) design—split boundary value problem is avoided by
calculating Y1 from the overall mass balance; (b) simulation—split boundary value problem cannot be avoided, broken line
shows an unsuccessful iteration, solid line shows a successful iteration—with Y2 assumed the Y profile converged to Y1.
50.0 80.0
40
50 40.0 80.0
60
70
30.0 y
80
60.0 90
60.0
25.0 100 30.0 tm
dryPAKv.3.6
20.0
dryPAK v.3.6
40.0 20.0 40.0
0.0
20.0 10.0 10.0 20.0
FIGURE 3.7 Process paths and longitudinal distribution of parameters for countercurrent drying of sand in air.
3.6.2.3 Cross-Flow WS dX
¼ wD aV (3:66)
S dl
3.6.2.3.1 Solid Phase is One-Dimensional WS dim
This is a simple case corresponding to case 5b of ¼ (q wD hAv )aV (3:67)
S dl
Figure 3.1. By assuming that the solid phase is per-
fectly mixed in the direction of gas flow, the solid The analogous equations for the gas phase are:
phase becomes one-dimensional. This situation oc- mass balance
curs with a continuous plug-flow fluid bed dryer.
Schematic of an element of the dryer length with finite 1 dWB (Y2 Y1 )
¼ wD aV (3:68)
thickness Dl is shown in Figure 3.8. S dl
The balance equations for the solid phase can be
derived from Equation 3.12 and Equation 3.14 of the energy balance
parallel flow:
1 dWB (ig2 ig1 )
¼ (q wD hAv )aV (3:69)
S dl
Y2 In the case of an equilibrium method of calculation of
dWB
ig2 the drying rate the kinetic equations are:
dX wD ¼ kY DYm (3:70)
WS X+ __ dl
WS X dl
im
q ¼ aDtm (3:71)
di
im+ __mdl
dl In other models (CDC and TLE) the drying rate will
be modified as shown in Section 3.4.2.
Since the heat and mass coefficients can be defined
Y1 on the basis of either the inlet driving force or the
dWB
ig mean logarithmic driving force, DYm and Dtm are
1
dl
calculated respectively as
or dim d2 im aV (q wD hAv )
um ¼ Eh 2 þ (3:80)
dl dl rS (1 «)
tg2 tg1
Dtm ¼
(3:75)
t t or
ln tmm tg2g1
dtm d2 im aV 1
To solve Equation 3.68 and Equation 3.69 one needs um ¼ Eh 2 þ
to assume a uniform distribution of gas over the dl dl rS (1 «) cS þ cAl X
whole length of the dryer, and therefore [q þ ((cAl cA )tm Dhv0 )wD ] (3:81)
dWB WB where
¼ (3:76)
dl L
WS
um ¼ (3:82)
When the algebraic Equation 3.68 and Equation 3.69 rS (1 «)
are solved to obtain the exiting gas parameters Y2 and
ig2, one can plug the LHS of these equations into These equations are supplemented by equations for
Equation 3.66 and Equation 3.67 to obtain wD and q according to Equation 3.70 and Equation
3.71. It is a common assumption that Em ¼ Eh,
dX 1 WB because in fluid beds they result from longitudinal
¼ (Y2 Y1 ) (3:77)
dl WS L mixing by rising bubbles. Boundary conditions
(BCs) assume the following form:
dim 1 WB
¼ (ig2 ig1 ) (3:78) At l ¼ 0
dl WS L
(a) (b)
0.6 150
X, kg/kg Y*10, kg/kg
Temperature, ⬚C
0.4 100
0.2 50 tWB
00 5 10 00 5 10
Dryer length, m Dryer length, m
FIGURE 3.9 Longitudinal parameter distribution for a cross-flow dryer with one-dimensional solid flow. Drying of a
moderately hygroscopic solid: (a) material moisture content (solid line) and local exit air humidity (broken line): (b) material
temperature (solid line) and local exit air temperature (broken line). tWB is wetbulb temperature of the incoming air.
2.5
0.8
2.0
0.6
1.5
0.4
1.0
Pe = ∞ > Pe3 > Pe2 > Pe1
0.2
0.5
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 I/L
FIGURE 3.10 Sample profiles of material moisture content and temperature for various Pe numbers.
60 X ¼ X *(t,Y ) (3:92)
3.7 DISTRIBUTED PARAMETER MODELS has little practical interest and can be incorporated in
FOR THE SOLID BC of the third kind. Quite often (here as well),
therefore, BC of the third kind is named BC of the
This case occurs when dried solids are monolithic or second kind. Additionally, at the symmetry plane we
have large grain size so that LPM for the drying rate have
would be an unacceptable approximation. To answer At r ¼ 0
the question as to whether this case applies one has to
calculate the Biot number for mass transfer. It is @X
recommended to calculate it from Equation 3.100 ¼0 (3:95)
@r
since various definitions are found in the literature.
When Bi < 1, the case is externally controlled and no When solving the Fick’s equation with constant dif-
DPM for the solid is required. fusivity it is recommended to convert it to a dimen-
sionless form. The following dimensionless variables
are introduced for this purpose:
3.7.1 ONE-DIMENSIONAL MODELS
3.7.1.1 NONSHRINKING SOLIDS X X* Deff 0 t r
F¼ , Fo ¼ , z¼ (3:96)
Xc X * R2 R
Assuming that moisture diffusion takes place in one
direction only, i.e., in the direction normal to surface In the nondimensional form Fick’s equation becomes
for plate and in radial direction for cylinder and
sphere, and that no other way of moisture transport @X 1 @ n Deff @F
¼ n z (3:97)
exists but diffusion, the following second Fick’s law @Fo z @z Deff 0 @z
may be derived
and the BCs assume the following form:
@X 1 @ n @X BC I BC II
¼ n r Deff (tm ,X ) (3:91)
@t r @r @r
@F *
at z ¼ 1, F ¼ 0 þBiD F¼0 (3:98)
where n ¼ 0 for plate, 1 for cylinder, 2 for sphere, and @z i
r is current distance (radius) measured from the solid
center. This parameter reaches a maximum value of @F @F
at z ¼ 0, ¼0 ¼0 (3:99)
R, i.e., plate is 2R thick if dried at both sides. @z @r
0
0.2 0 @X (1 þ sX )2
0.4 ¼ kY (Y * Y ) (3:106)
0.6 0.5 @z z¼RS rS Deff
Fo 0.8
1 x/L
1
FIGURE 3.13 Solution of the DPM isothermal drying In Equation 3.105 and Equation 3.106, z is the
model of one-dimensional plate by pdepe solver of Lagrangian space coordinate, and it changes from 0
MATLAB. Finite difference discretization by uniform to Rs. For the above case of one-dimensional shrink-
mesh both for space and time, BiD*
¼ 5. Fo is dimensionless age the relationship between r and z is identical to
time, x/L is dimensionless distance. that in Equation 3.104:
0.2 0.2
20
0.1 tm
15 0.0 0.0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
Time, min
FIGURE 3.14 Solution of a model of drying for a shrinking solid. Gelatin plate 3-mm thick, initial moisture content
6.55 kg/kg. Shrinkage coefficient s ¼ 1.36. Main plot shows dimensionless moisture content F, dimensionless thickness
d ¼ R/R0, solid temperature tm. Insert shows evolution of the internal profiles of F.
3.7.3 SIMULTANEOUS SOLVING DPM OF SOLIDS shown for cocurrent flash drying of spherical particles
AND GAS PHASE
in Figure 3.16.
300.0 Continuous cocurrent contact of clay and Time step between lines [s] = 69.93
⬚C
water in air. Kinetics by Fickian diffusion.
@101.325 kPa
300.0 Φ, −
250.0 1.0
0.9
200.0
0.8
200.0
0.7
150.0
0.6
0.5
100.0
10
20
0.4
100.0 30
40 0.3
50.0 50
60
70
80
dryPAK v.3.6
100%
0.2
dryPAK v.3.6
0.0 0.1
0.0 0.0
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
FIGURE 3.16 Cocurrent drying of clay spheres d ¼ 10 mm in air at tg ¼ 2508C. Solid throughput 0.1 kg/s, air throughput
0.06 kg/s. Simultaneous solution for gas phase and solid phase: (a) process trajectories—solid is represented by air in
equilibrium with surface; (b) internal moisture distribution profiles.
WB Ytg WB Yo tgC dX A
¼ wD (3:117)
dt mS
qh
WB (Y0 Y ) þ wD A ¼ 0 (3:118)
Y tg dtm 1 A
¼ [q þ wD ( (cAl cA )tm Dhv0 ) ]
dt cS þ cAl X mS
X tm
(3:119)
WB [(cB þ cA Y0 )tg0 (cB þ cA Y )tg0 þ (Y Y0 )cA tg ]
A[q þ wD cA (tg tm )] þ Sq ¼ 0 (3:120)
150
X, Y, kg/kg 0.2
tm, tg, ⬚C
100
0.1
50
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
(a) Time, h (b) Time, h
FIGURE 3.18 Solution of a batch oven dryer model—solid dry mass is 90 kg, internal heater power is 20 kW and air
ventilation rate is 0.1 kg/s (dry basis); external air humidity is 2 g/kg and temperature 208C: (a) moisture content X (solid line)
and air humidity Y (broken line); (b) material temperature tm (solid line) and air temperature tg (broken line).
dX
ZH
dX aV 1 dt
¼ wD dh (3:121)
dt (1 «)rS H mS dh
0
dtm
dY S dt
¼ w D aV (3:122)
dh WB
dtm aV 1 1
¼ WB Y
dt (1 «)rS cS þ cAl X H
tg
ZH (3:123)
[q ((cA cAl )tm þ Dhv0 )wD ]dh FIGURE 3.19 Schematic of a batch fluid bed dryer.
0
Y2*10, kg/kg
1 100
t m, t g ⬚C
X, kg/kg
0.5 50 t WB
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
Drying time, h Drying time, h
FIGURE 3.20 Temporal changes of solid moisture content and temperature and exit air humidity and temperature in a
sample batch fluid bed dryer. Bed diameter 0.6 m, bed height 1.2 m, particle diameter 3 mm, particle density 1200 kg/m3, air
temperature 1508C, and humidity 1 g/kg.
dX i wDi Ai
¼ (3:129)
FIGURE 3.21 Schematic of batch drying in a deep layer. dt mSi
70
0.3 60
tm, tg, ⬚C
0.2
40
tWB
0.1 30
Xe
20
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
(a) Bed height, m (b) Bed height, m
FIGURE 3.22 Simulation of deep bed drying of cereal grains: (a) moisture content profiles (solid lines) and gas humidity
profiles (broken lines); (b) material temperature (solid lines) and air temperature (broken lines). Initial solid temperature
208C and gas inlet temperature 708C. Profiles are calculated at 0.33, 1.67, 3.33, 6.67, and 11.67 min of elapsed time. Xe is
equilibrium moisture content and tWB is wet-bulb temperature.
qh
WB i
0 L 0 L
(a) (b)
FIGURE 3.24 Schematic of the model solution for semicontinuous tunnel dryer for cocurrent flow of air vs. truck
direction—mass transfer only: (a) moisture content in trucks at specified equal time intervals; (b) humidity profiles at
specified time intervals. 1, 2, 3, 4—elapsed times.
The solution of this system of equations is sche- these, the averaged solid and gas temperatures and
matically shown in Figure 3.24 for semi-steady-state moisture contents in the dryer can be calculated. Fi-
operation and four trucks in the dryer. In each truck nally the drying rate can be calculated from Equation
moisture content drops in time until the load–unload 3.27, which in turn allows one to calculate solid area in
time interval. Then the truck is moved one position the dryer. Various aspect ratios of the dryer chamber
forward so the last moisture content for this truck at can be designed; one should use judgment to calculate
former position becomes its initial moisture content dryer cross-section in such a way that air velocity will
at the new position. A practical application of this not cause solid entrainment, etc.
model for drying of grapes is presented by Caceres-
Huambo and Menegalli (2002). 3.10.1.2 Bound Moisture
s2 2
where for Pe $ 10, ¼
t2r Pe
n (n(t=tr ) )n1 t
n-Perfectly mixed uniform beds E(t) ¼ exp n (3.141)
t r (n 1)! tr
3.10.2.1 Batch Drying Formulas for E function are presented in Table 3.3
for the most common flow models.
We may assume that if the solid size and drying Figure 3.25 is an exemplary comparison of a batch
conditions in the industrial dryer are the same, the and real drying curves. As can be seen, drying time in
drying time will also be the same as obtained experi- real flow conditions is approximately 50% longer
mentally. Other simple scaling rules apply, e.g., if a here.
batch fluid bed thickness is double of the experimen-
tal one, the drying time will also double.
3.11 SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR DRYER
3.10.2.2 Continuous Drying CALCULATIONS
Here the experimental drying kinetics can only be Menshutina and Kudra (2001) present 17 commercial
used if material flow in the dryer is of plug type. In and semicommercial programs for drying calculations
other words, it is as if the dryer served as a trans- that they were able to identify on the market. Only a
porter of a batch container where drying is identical few of them perform process calculations of dryers
to that in the experiment. However, when a certain including dryer dimensioning, usually for fluid bed
degree of mixing of the solid phase occurs, particles of dryers. Typically a program for dryer calculations
the solid phase exiting the dryer will have various performs balancing of heat and mass and, if dimen-
residence times and will therefore differ in moisture sioning is possible, the program requires empirical
content. In this case we can only talk of average final coefficients, which the user has to supply. Similarly,
moisture content. To calculate this value we will use the drying process is designed in commercial process
methods of residence time distribution (RTD) analy- simulators used in chemical and process engineering.
sis. If the empirical drying kinetics curve can be repre- A program that does all calculations presented in this
sented by the following relationship: chapter does not exist. However, with present-day
computer technology, construction of such software
X ¼ f (X0 , t ) (3:135) is possible; dryPAK (Silva and Correa, 1998;
Pakowski, 1999) is a program that evolves in this
and mean residence time by direction. The main concept in dryPAK is that all
models share the same database of humid gas, moist
mS material properties, methods for calculation of drying
tr ¼ (3:136)
WS rate, etc. The results are also visualized in the same
way. Figure 3.5, Figure 3.7, Figure 3.14, and Figure
the average exit solid moisture content can be calcu- 3.16 were in fact produced with dryPAK.
lated using the external RTD function E as General-purpose mathematical software can greatly
simplify solving new models of not-too-complex
Z1 structure. Calculations shown in Figure 3.9, Figure
X ¼ E (t )X (X0 ,t ) dt (3:137) 3.12, Figure 3.18, Figure 3.20, and Figure 3.22 were
0 produced with Mathcad. Mathcad or MATLAB can
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
dryPAK v.3.6
0.2
Φ final
0.1
0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
q, −
FIGURE 3.25 Experimental (solid line) and actual (broken line) drying kinetic curves for three tanks in series model of flow.
u is the ratio of the actual to mean residence times, F is dimensionless moisture content.