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SIMPLE PROCEDURE FOR DESIGN OF A SPRAY DRYER.

Article · June 1977

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A. S. Mujumdar Vijay M. Jog

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Reprinted from the Journal of the Institution of Engineers ( India ), vol 57 pt CH 3 June, 1977 PROBLEM S
Design a sp
following infc

Moisture i
UDC 664.8.037
Solids in f
Ambient i
A Simple Procedure for Design of a Spray Dryer Ambient
A S Mujumdar, Non- member Resideno
V Jog, Non- member
Powder i
Specific
Volume
A simple procedure is proposed for design of a spray dryer . The procedure is tested by comparing the ! Inlet tei
design calculations with data supplied by a large commercial installation for spray drying of skim milk .
Despite numerous simplifying assumptions , the agreement between the proposed design and the opera-
Outlet 1
ting dryer was found to be very good. ! Feedt*
\ Water
Feed i
NOTATIONS INTRODUCTION
Solids
A = latent heat Spray drying converts a liquid feed into dry powder Oil-fi
by atomizing the feed into a stream of hot air contained Heat
CDB = heat capacity of dry solid
in a chamber of suitable geometry. Uniform drying,
Cft = heat capacity of moisture consistency of physical properties, uniformity of size The
C, = heat capacity of humid air and shape are some of the notable advantages of this tion ol
Dvm = volume mean diameter -
suspended air drying technique. Evaporative cooling
The
diameter of rotary Wheel coupled with short residence times in the chamber avoid
d = - vessel
G == mass flow rate
-
scorching of heat sensitive products. Masters1 has sum
dryio
marized the vast body of literature on spray drying.
H = enthalpy
h = height of the vane A very wide variety of possible combinations of
K = constant chamber geometries and atomization techniques makes (£
it impossible to develop a generally valid design proce-
M
N
—
mass flow rate
= rpm
dure. This, coupled with the various types of heat
sources available, relative directions of spray and drying
n = number of vanes air flows, physical and chemical characteristics of the
Q = quantity of heat product being dried, characteristics of the final product,
etc., makes it mandatory to conduct pilot plant studies
QL = heat loss from the dryer
before designing a full-scale unit.
T = temperature
UH = humid volume of air The objective of this paper is to illustrate that, despite v.
W = moisture content the numerous simplifying assumptions explicit or implicit I
in the proposed procedure, it is possible to make reason-
SUBSCRIPTS able design calculations1. I
a = air
s = solid In this paper the design procedure is developed and f,
W = water illustrated for the case of spray drying skim milk-a
1 = inlet process used almost universally for this purpose. The
2 = outlet input data were supplied by one of the world’s leading
wb = wet bulb spray dryer manufacturers. The design values are then
o = ambient compared with physical data for an operational unit

A S Mujumdar and V Jog are with McGill University, Montreal, Canada

This paper was received on June 17, 1976. Written discussion on this paper will be received until August 31, 1977.

134 -
IE ( I ) Joumal CH
 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Design a spray drying system for skim milk, using the

where
.
g , = Cds AT + W5 i cw AT
Qa = Cs ( AT ) + H\
( 3)
(4)
following information :
Here QSi and Qa are enthalpies of feed and air res-
Moisture in powder 3.5 % pectively.
Solids in feed 48 %
Qa , = 52.0 kcal/ kg, Qa , = 23 + 596 H2
Ambient relative humidity 10 %
Ambient temperature 10°C
QSi —
89.0 kcal/ kg, = 35 kcal/ kg
j: Residence time in dryer 30 sec Substituting these values in equations (1) and (2),
Powder rate 1 200 kg/hr two simultaneous equations for Ga and H% are obtained.
Specific heat of solid 0.4 kcal/kg Ga = 28 282 kg/hr and
Volume mean particle diameter 100 m H2 = 0.044 kg/ kg of dry air at 95°C.
Inlet temperature ( air )
^
215°C Heat load = 1.58 x 10s kcal/hr, from equation (2)
Outlet temperature ( air ) 95°C
If the operation is adiabatic ( ie there is no heat loss ),
Feed temperature 60°C
then Ga = 22 843 kg/hr and H2 = 0.053 kg/ kg of dry air.
Water evaporation rate 1 212 kg/hr
Feed rate 2 413 kg/hr DRYER EFFICIENCY
Solids rate 1 158 kg/hr
MAXIMUM THERMAL EFFICIENCY ( IDEAL CASE )
Oil-fired heater for air heating
Heat used in evaporation (exhaust air is saturated)
Heat losses 10 %
Vmax — Heat input
The feed outlet temperature is 80°C and 100 % collec
tion of the product takes place in the cyclones.
- Tt — TWb x 100 - ( 215 - 69.4 ) x 100
Tj — Tamb 215 - 10
The drying chamber is a flat-bottomed cylindrical = 72 %
vessel. Conical bottom chambers are also used in spray
drying skim milk. OVERALL THERMAL EFFICIENCY
( M 8 ( Ts ) l(a 8> l < W6 > l
> Heat used in evaporation ( for adiabatic
^ overall
Heat input operation )
215 - 98.3
215 - 10 )
X 100

= 56.9 %
EVAPORATIVE EFFICIENCY
Sloe*
Actual evaporative capacity
[ GaXTaMQahMs
( Vtyap
Capacity obtainable with saturated exhaust air

V - ( TTx—-TsatT
^ ^
x 100 = 215 - 98.3 x 100 )
%

1 215 - 69.4
= 80.2 %
, I
( Ma )( T )2 ( Qa )2 ( Ws)2 COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ATOMIZERS
Fig 1 Dayer diagram for calculation of heat and mass balance Different types of atomizers are used commercially
to dry the same product, depending upon the end use of
MOISTURE AND HEAT BALANCE
the product. For example, both pressure and centrifugal
( spinning ) disc atomizers are used in the ceramic
Moisture balance
JW
Heat balance
. W, - W, ) = Ga ( Ht - Ht )
t
(1)
industry to dry kaolin. In the production of paper
coating powders a centrifugal atomizer produces the
required, fine, uniform powder of kaolin ( free from
hard, overdry particles ). For use in treatment of earthen-
Go Qot + Ms Qst = GaQai + MSQS + Q2 (2) ware articles and for pressing in the tile and crockery

Vol51, June 1977 135


industry, pressure nozzles yield a granular, dust-free
product of uniform and constant moisture content and
high bulk density. Thus there is no blanket method of
selection of atomizer, depending only on the feed material
although the physical ( and sometimes chemical ) charac-
teristics of the feed also influence the choice of the
atomizer type.
Extensive empirical as well as theoretical work has
been done on design of atomizers. Friedman , Gluckest,
Marshall2 , Herring and Marshall 3, Frazer, 4 Masters
and Mohtadi,5 and Scout, Robinson , et al 6 have deve-
loped correlations for the design of atomizer wheels or
discs. Nozzle atomizers have been studied by Marshall,7
Green,8 Doumas and Laster , 9 Dombrowski and Hassen20
and Moulton and Turner.11 Droplet size predictions
can be made with the help of the classical Lewis-
Nukiyama-Tanasawa equation, or the Tate- Marshall
equation12.
For spray drying milk, rotary atomizers are used most
frequently. Some of the advantages of rotary atomizers
are :
(1) Greater realiability and flexibility ;
(2) Little wear of atomizing disc ; atomizing charac-
teristics not affected by possible wear of the disc ;
(3) Wide capacity range without change in atomizing
characteristics ;
(4) Little risk of clogging ;
(5) Ease of automation and control .
Taking these into account, a rotary atomizer with
radial vanes is recommended for this design.
DESIGN OF ROTARY ATOMIZER
For industrial rotary atomizer Herring- Marshall
equation 3 can be used to predict parameter values. The
basic parameters aie the droplet size Dvm microns,
feed rate ML kg/ mm , height of vanes h cm, rotation
speed N rpm, diameter of wheel d cm, number of vanes
n . The equation is given as:
K ( Mjo- 24
DVm —— -
( N d )°- 83 ( n A)0 12
(5)
The constant K for industrial dryers of large capacity
is about 29.4 x 104. This correlation is valid over the
following ranges of parameters:
Variable Range of Operations
Wheel diameter (cm) 19.0 - 23.0
Wheel speed (rpm) 10 000 - 18 000
Mp = liquid loading on vane 0.9 - 5.4
where
Mp
- (3) kg/ min om
136
;
The design procedure consists simply of choosing
reasonable values for d , n and h which will result in
0.9 < Mp < 5.4.
The following set of design parameters is one of the
numerous possible combinations suitable for the specified
duty.
Wheel diameter = 22.9 cm ; Wheel speed = 15 000 rpm
Number of vanes = 20 ; Height of vanes = 1.9 cm
DESIGN OF SPRAY DRYING CHAMBER
A concurrent air flow pattern is recommended because
of the heat sensitivity of milk. This allows higher inlet
temperature to be used at inlet to speed up the drying
without damaging the product.
Two relations have been proposed in the literature to
calculate the spray trajectory from a rotary atomizer ,
which form the basis for selecting a suitable chamber
diameter :
(1) Frazer , Eisenklam, Dombrowski4
— 7.48 ^ o^.
0.21 0.2
Rmax i6
(7)
jy
where Rmax is the radial distance in cm at which 99 %
of the spray falls 0.91 meters below atomizer
(2) Herring and Marshall3
0.2 /0.25
R99 = 11.87 ^ ^.
jyo 16
where R99 is radial distance in cm which includes 99 %
of the mass of spray. For design under consideration,
—
Rmax 1.83 m and R 99 = 3.74 m.
The substantial difference between the two correlations
may be attributed to the following factors:
(1) Both correlations ignore the effects of wall and
therefore give only a conservative estimate of
droplet penetration ;
(2) The radial travel of droplets also depends upon
factors like wheel design and speed, feed rate,
air disperser design and its location. These
are not considered in these correlations.
With the limited information available, only a conser -
vative judgement can be made of the radial distance,
by taking the arithmetic average of the two values to
size the drying chamber which yields R = 2.75 m or
chamber diameter of 5.5 m. In practice, pilot scale data
(6)
are needed for a confident specification of the chamber
size.
IE ( I ) Journal -CH
HEIGHT OF DRYING CHAMBERS
Drying chambers are designed to handle an air volume
containing sufficient heat for drying the spray droplets
and to provide an air residence time sufficient for droplets
to be dried to particles of desired moisture content.
Residence times ranging from 3 to 50 sec are found in
commercial dryers. For the present case the residence
time is specified to be 30 sec.
that is, particles of 200-600 m. For high degree of
atomization ( 5-20 m particles ), the power required goes
up to 1.1 hp/ kg of feed per min. For the present case ,
power consumption for atomization is estimated to be
8.2 hp.
SUMMARY OF DESIGN
(i) Inlet Air Flow Rate = 28 282.0 kg/ hr

Drying rate curves for a droplet can give information (») Total heat input = 1.58 x 10 « kcal/hr
on minimum residence time needed in drying, but due to Heat loss = 1.58 x 106 kcal/ hr
the difference in evaporation characteristics of single Heat required/ kg of
droplet and sprays, residence time requirements are product = 1.31 kcal
based on pilot plant tests. For many products dried in
concurrent flow dryers with rotary air flow, residence Estimated Efficiencies
times range from 20 to 40 sec. Maximim thermal efficiency = 71.00 %
Overall thermal efficiency = 57 %
HEIGHT OF DRYER Evaporative efficiency = 80.00 %
Volumetric flow rate Atomizer Design
Wheel diameter = 22.9 cm
K = = 8.73 m 3/sec Number of vanes = 20
3 600 Height of vanes = 1.90 cm
Rotational speed = 15 000 rpm
Average velocity of dry air
Power requirement = 8.2 hp
V
—
= vd 2 V = 0.369 m/sec Residence time = 30 sec
Height required
v x residence time = 11 m (for a 30 sec residence time)
Diameter of chamber
Height of the chamber
—- 5.511.0m
m

POWER REQUIRED FOR AIR MOVING Other Parameters

EQUIPMENT AND ATOMIZERS System power requirement = 475 hp

To calculate the required horsepower, the system resis-
tance to gas flow must be known. A total resistance of
25 cm of water at operating conditions for the drying
chamber with cyclone collectors and 20-25 cm of water
due to use of wet scrubber are reasonable estimates for
industrial units. If total product recovery is by the use
of a filter type collector, the total system resistance will
-
be 20 25 cm of water at operating conditions.
The demand hp then can be estimated empirically,
hp = vol flow rate at outlet ( m 3/ min ) x —x system
resistance ( in cm of water )
—
where K 27.5 for most commercial dryers14. This
yields a fan power requirement of about 475 hp for air
volume flow of 524 m3/ min at 25 cm of water pressure
drop.
ATOMIZER POWER CONSUMPTION
According to a leading spray dryer manufactuer, a
value of 0.22 hp/ kg of feed per min gives a fairly
accurate estimate of the atomizer power consumption
for applications that require a low degree of atomization,
The chamber diameter and height as computed by
the highly simplified procedure outlined here are in
remarkably close agreement with those of the actual
commercial unit. The latter information is, however,
proprietory.
Despite this agreement, pilot scale tests are recommen-
ded before designing a full-scale unit. Location and
design of inlet and outlet ducts can modify the flow
field and hence the droplet trajectories and drying
kinetics very significantly. A more fundamental approach
is therefore necessary before reliable generalized design
-
procedures and criteria can be established. Some
attempts in this direction have begun to appear.16 la
However, empiricism will continue to be the basis of
-
spray dryer designs for many years to come.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Various theoretical approaches for designing a spray
dryer system have appeared in the literature, but the
design is still based on empirical methods. There is no
technique available for measuring drying kinetics over
time scales of a few seconds; thus all theoretical models

Vol 57, June 1977 137

assume a constant drying rate which ultimately leads
to a dryer which is too small.
Until techniques are developed for independent
measurement of spray drying kinetics, the design of
-
these dryers will continue to be based on scale up from
the biggest pilot plant one can afford, using whatever
experience one has accumulated in the past on similar
materials. Such information is almost invariably pro
prietory and hence not easily available.
REFERENCES
1. K Masters. Spray Drying. Leonard- Hill Publishing
Co , 1972.
2. S J Friedman, F A Gluckert and W R Marshall.
Chemical Engineering Progress , vol 48, no 4, 1952,
p 181.
3. W M Herring and W R Marshall. American Institute
of Chemical Engineering Journal , vol 1, no 2, 1955,
p 200.
4. R P Frazer, et al. British Chemical Engineering , vol 2,
no 9, 1957, p 196.
5. K Masters and M F Mohtadi. British Chemical Engi
neering , vol 12, no 12, 1967, p 1890.
138
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6. M N Scott, et al. Journal of Pharmaceutical Science ,
vol 53, no 6, 1964, p 670.
7. W R Marshal ). Chemical Engineering Progress Mono-
graph Series , no 2, 1954, p 50.
8. H L Green. Flow Properties of Disperse Systems,
North Holland Publishing Co , Amsterdam, 1957.
- 9. M Doumas and R Laster. Chemical Engineering Prog -
i
ress , vol 49, no 10, 1953, p 518.
10. N Dombrowski and D Hasson. American Institute
of Chemical Engineering Journal , vol 15, no 4, 1969,
p 604.
11. G M Turner and R W Moulton. Chemical Engineer
ing Progress , vol 49, no 4, 1953, p 169.
-
12. R W Tate and W R Marshall. Chemical Engineering
Progress , vol 49, no 4, 1953, p 169.
13. Koch Technical Bulletin, RSD , vol 5, 1974.
I
s
14. S Katta and W H Gauvin. American Institute of
Chemical Engineering Journal , vol 21, 1975, p 143.
- 15. W H Gauvin, F H Knelman and S Katta. Interna -
tional Journal Multiphase Flow , vol 1, 1975, p 793.
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