SWISSGERMANUNIVERSITY

UNIT OPERATION LABORATORY PROTOCOL

Subject Unit Operation Laboratory
Lecturer Dr. Irvan Kartawiria, ST, MSc.
Program Bachelor
Fac./Dept. Life Sciences and Technology/ Chemical Engineering - Pharmaceutical
Eng. Semester 5
Date of
Experiment Date
of Lab. Report
Time of
Experiment

Experiment Drying

Name Ivana Julisantika

Nandhita Octavia
N. Shella Wijaya

Day/ Date:
Name Signature

Prepared by

Reviewed by

Approved by
 Page 1 of 8

1. Introduction
Dryers are used in a variety of industries, such as the food processing,
pharmaceutical, paper, pollution control and agricultural sectors. Adjustment and
control of moisture levels in solid materials through drying is a critical process in
the manufacture of many types of chemical products. As a unit operation, drying
solid materials is one of the most common and important in the chemical process
industries (CPI), since it is used in practically every plant and facility that
manufactures or handles solid materials, in the form of powders and granules.

Apart from the obvious requirement of drying solids for a subsequent operation,
drying may also be carried out to improve handling characteristics, as in bulk
powder filling and other operations involving powder flow; and to stabilize
moisture-sensitive materials, such as pharmaceuticals. Dryers are used to remove
liquids or moisture from bulk solids, powders, parts, continuous sheets or other
liquids by evaporation or sublimation. Dryers can be broken up into two main
types: direct and indirect. Direct dryers convectively heat a product through
direct contact with heated air, gas or a combusted gas product. Indirect dryers
conductively heat a product through contact with a heated wall.

2. Objective
 To evaluate the drying regime of constant drying rate and falling drying rate.
 To estimate the drying time of granules.

3. Literature Review
Drying may be defined as the vaporization and removal of water or other liquids
from a solution, suspension, or other solid-liquid mixture to form a dry solid. It is
a complicated process that involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer,
accompanied by physicochemical transformations. Drying occurs as a result of
the vaporization of liquid by supplying heat to wet feedstock, granules, filter
cakes and so on.

Heat transfer and mass transfer are critical aspects in drying processes. Heat is
transferred to the product to evaporate liquid, and mass is transferred as a vapor
into the surrounding gas. The drying rate is determined by the set of factors that
affect heat and mass transfer. Solid drying is generally understood to follow two
distinct drying zones, known as the constant-rate period and the falling-rate
period. The two zones are demarcated by a break point called the critical
moisture content.

In a typical graph of moisture content versus drying rate and moisture content
versus time (Figure 1), section AB represents the constant-rate period.

Day/ Date:
Swiss German University Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
Prominence Tower, Alam Sutera
Tangerang 15143
INDONESIA
In that zone, moisture is considered to be evaporating from a saturated surface
at a rate governed by diffusion from the surface through the stationary air film
that is in contact with it. This period depends on the air temperature, humidity
and speed of moisture to the surface, which in turn determine the temperature
of the saturated surface. During the constant rate period, liquid must be
transported to the surface at a rate sufficient to maintain saturation.

Figure 1. Segment AB of the graph represents the constant-rate drying period,

while segment BC is the falling-rate period

At the end of the constant rate period, (point B, Figure 1), a break in the drying
curve occurs. This point is called the critical moisture content, and a linear fall in
the drying rate occurs with further drying. This section, segment BC, is called the
first falling-rate period. As drying proceeds, moisture reaches the surface at a
decreasing rate and the mechanism that controls its transfer will influence the
rate of drying. Since the surface is no longer saturated, it will tend to rise above
the wet bulb temperature. This section, represented by segment CD in Figure 1 is
called the second falling-rate period, and is controlled by vapor diffusion.
Movement of liquid may occur by diffusion under the concentration gradient
created by the depletion of water at the surface. The gradient can be caused by
evaporation, or as a result of capillary forces, or through a cycle of vaporization
and condensation, or by osmotic effects.

The capacity of the air (gas) stream to absorb and carry away moisture
determines the drying rate and establishes the duration of the drying cycle. The
two elements essential to this process are inlet air temperature and air flow rate.
The higher the temperature of the drying air, the greater its vapor holding
capacity. Since the temperature of the wet granules in a hot gas depends on the
rate of evaporation, the key to analyzing the drying process is psychrometry,
defined as the study of the relationships between the material and energy
balances of water vapor and air mixture.

Day/ Date:
Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
 Drying process is used in order to remove the liquid from the solid material.
Mass and heat transport are processed together during drying. The drying rate is
expressed as an intensity of the mass flow, which the equation is:

!! ℎ!(! − !!)
! != =
! λ!
Where;
!! : Drying rate constant
!! : Rate of evaporation
λ! : Latent heat at Temp !!
A : Drying area
hy : Heat transfer coefficient
T : Temperature of gas
!" : Temperature interface

4. Materials and Equipment

4.1. Materials
Table 4.1. – Materials

No. Name of Material Quantity Manufacturer Type

From
1. Granules previous
experiment
2. Starch

3. Tap water

4. Cotton or wet cloth

4.2. Equipment
Table 4.2. – Equipment

No. Name of Equipment Manufacturer Type

1. Analytical Balance*
High Shear Mixer
2.
Granulator*
3. Hot Plate*

4. Mesh/ Sieve*

5. Moisture analyser
Day/ Date:
Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
 6. Oven

7. Sieve Shaker*

8. Spatula

9. Sprayer*

*if necessary

5. Worksheet
5.1. Granulation process
1. Take and measure grams of starch powder and dissolved in -
ml of hot water to make the wetting agent. (5% w/v wetting
agent).
2. Take and measure grams of starch powder and put it in the high
shear granulator.
3. Run the granulation process with ratio of starch powder to starch
solution of 1:1 and 1:2 to obtain 2 batch of granules with different
moisture content
Table 5.1.1. – Mixing of starch powder and starch solution (wetting
agent)
Ratio 1:1 Ratio 1:2
Material Expected Measure Expected Measure
mass (g) mass (g) mass (g) mass (g)
Starch powder
Starch solution

4. Spray the starch powder in high shear granulator with wetting agent
times every seconds while moving until the wetting agent
completely introduced for ratio 1:1.
5. Keep the granulation process following the previous module.
6. Repeat the procedure for the ratio 1:2.

5.2. Wet Sieve

1. Take the granules from each ratio into a sieve analysis
2. Collect the granules from mesh size between: and
3. Measure the total mass of the granules:
Ratio 1:1 = g
Ratio 1:2 = g
Day/ Date:
Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
5.3. Drying
For both batch of granules:
1. Take a sample of g granules and put it into the moisture
analyzer. This is the initial moisture content.
2. Put the same amount of granules into the oven.
Mass of ratio 1:1 = g.
Mass of ratio 1:2 = g.
3. Set the oven into a temperature of °C.
4. For every seconds or minutes, take a sample of granules of
g and put it into the moisture analyzer.
5. Repeat step 4 until the moisture content has reached a moisture
content of < 10%
Table 5.3.1 – Moisture content of granule batch 1, ratio 1:1
Time Moisture content (%M)
0 Initial moisture content:

Table 5.3.2. – Moisture content of granule batch 2, ratio 1:2

Time Moisture content (%M)

0 Initial moisture content:

Day/ Date:
Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
5.4. Data for prediction of time needed for drying
1. Measure the pan for drying area
2. Ti or the interface temperature can be assumed as the wet-bulb
temperature.
a. Wrap a wet cloth or cotton around the thermometer.
b. Put it in the oven for 2 minutes
c. Measure the temperature of the wet bulb temperature.
Table 5.4.1. – Predicted drying time data
Area for drying (m2) Wet-bulb temperature (°C)

Day/ Date:
Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
WORKSHEET PAGE 1

Day/ Date:
Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by
WORKSHEET PAGE 2

Day/ Date:
Prepared by Reviewed by Approved by