Introduction

The concept of the drying process is known as water or fluid vaporisation from a
suspension solution or some other solid-liquid mixture to form a dry solid. (1998, Greensmith).
The process includes simultaneous heat and mass transfer and physicochemical modifications.
Vaporization of liquid to vapour during the drying process through the supply of wet feedstock,
granules and philtre cakes. The method of drying is a convection, conduction, radiation and radio
frequency drying process.

The drying process has been commonly used in industries and has many units, such as
tray dryers, tunnel dryers, drum dryers, vacuum dryers, and freeze dryers. Different kinds of
drying units have their own advantages and disadvantages, but reaching equilibrium moisture
content is the same main goal (Krokida M.K., 2001). Tray dryers were used in this experiment to
achieve equilibrium moisture content by eliminating the moisture content in the sand. This
experiment is just a small-scale development scale to accomplish the objective by gradually
spreading the wet sand on the tray. Through using hot air to flow into the chamber, the tray is
heated by an air current sweeping through the tray. About 50 oC to 70 oC, the air temperature
was set.

In drying process, we need to know the total moisture content of the specimen and hot
air will flow through the wet sand until it remains constant at the equilibrium moisture content.
At the end of the process, free moisture will be removed using this process. The total moisture
content, XT and free moisture content can be calculated by using this formula:

1. Total moisture content, XT

m−ms
XT=
ms
m: mass of wet sand

ms: mass of dry sand

 2. Free moisture content, X

X =X T −X ¿
X*: equilibrium moisture content

A: area of tray (540 cm2)

Drying process consist of two rates which are constant rate and falling rate which
affected by factors such as air humidity, air velocity and temperature of drying. Constant rate is
when moisture content reduces straightly by time. At this rate, liquid from the wet sand is being
vaporize per unit time. Next is falling rate. Falling rate is when moisture content is observed to
be zero non-directly with time. At this rate, quantity of liquid vaporized per unit time is not
equivalent.

Figure 1: Effect of time on Moisture Content