BBE 4402/5402 Bio-based Products Engineering Lab

Drying

The process of drying is widely applicable in many process industries including

bio-based products, food etc. There are a number of different types of dryers
used. In this lab the process of drying will be studied using a tunnel dryer and a
data acquisition system. Here we take a piece of paperboard as our material to
be dried and suspend them in a tunnel dryer. This is a convective dryer where air
at a constant temperature is being blown around the sample. As drying takes
place the mass of the wet material, temperature of the inlet and outlet air, sheet
temperature etc. are measured and collected in a computer.

Generally, the drying process can be divided into three stages: warming-up
stage, constant rate stage, and falling rate stage. Below is what an “idealized”
drying curve (sample mass and drying rate as a function of drying time) should
look like. You can clearly see the three stages. During the warm up stage, the
drying rate (blue curve) increases. Then it remains constant (constant rate stage)
and then the drying rate decreases (falls) (falling rate stage).

Drying Curve Example

45 600

Mass
Drying Rate
40

500

35

30 400
Drying Rate (g water/min*m^2)

25
Mass (g)

300

20

15 200

10

100

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Time (min)

Figure 1. Idealized drying curve (sheet mass and drying rate as a function of drying time)
clearly showing the three stages

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We will be able to follow each of the drying stages and analyze the overall drying
process in this lab.

Objectives for the drying experiment are as follows:

Calculate and plot the drying rate as a function of drying time
Calculate the heat transfer coefficient
Calculate the mass transfer coefficient

Operational Procedures for the Drying setup see [Appendix].

Using the data collected during the experiment, the mass of the wet material and
the sheet temperature is plotted in the figure below. Please note that this is raw
data (collected every 1 seconds) as directly obtained from the experiment and
there is a lot of variability in the data especially in the mass data. This is normally
due to the sensitivity of the load cell used to measure the sheet mass and also
air current affecting the measurement.
The red data line is the mass data and the black line is the sample temperature.
Mass and Sample Temperature (Raw data) vs Time
60 60

50 55

Sample Temperature ( C)
o
40 50
Mass (g)

30 45

20 40

10 35

0 30
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
Time (s)
Figure 2. Drying Plot (Raw Data) – Mass of the sheet (red) and temperature of the sheet
as a function of drying time.

Given the variability in the data we need to do a series of averaging, as noted

below. The averaged sample mass and sample temperature as a function of
drying time is shown in Figure 3. The three stages of drying can be seen in this
plot. Following the temperature line (black line), there is a warming up stage,

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constant rate stage and falling rate stage. Warm up stage is when the sheet
temperature is slowly increasing (warming up) from the initial temperature to a
constant temperature. The constant drying rate stage is when the rate at which
the sheet is drying remains constant (linear portion of the mass line – slope
constant) and the corresponding sheet temperature also remains almost constant
(flat portion of the temperature line). The reason why the sheet temperature
remains almost constant during this stage is that the sample is mostly wet and
the amount of heat that is transferred to the sheet is mostly used for evaporating
the water from the sheet; in many cases, the constant sheet temperature is
roughly the same as the wet bulb temperature (corresponding to the air
temperature and humidity). Once much of the free water is removed from the
sample, the heat that is transferred is partly used for increasing the temperature
of the sheet in addition to continuing to evaporate the remaining water. As the
sample becomes drier the sheet temperature will increase and will eventually
almost reach the air temp, when the sample is completely dry.

Data averaging: In order for the data to be more usable we will need to do a
series of averages so that the variability in the data can be averaged out
(smoothing). The following is an example; please use your judgment in deciding
how best to do it. The objective is to smooth out the fluctuations in the raw data
without losing their significance .

The first average can be to average every 50 data points. The following excel
formula will help with this.
=AVERAGE(OFFSET($B$1,(ROW()-1)*50,0,50,1))
In the above formula, the column that you are averaging is B1, you only have to
change the letter of the column, don’t change the number one. (The column and
row may be different in your actual excel data sheet). You will probably have to
do 4 or 5 total averages, the first one is every 50 points and all the other
averages are every 2 points. When averaging every two points change the “50’s”
in the formula to “2’s”. You can also change the time stamp as well. This is easy
since the data is collected every second. Just change the computer generated
time format to numbers and count from 1 to the end of the data. Average all the
columns not just the mass, because the data have to be consistent. Below is the
same graph as above but with data from the 4th average.

Using data from the 4th or 5th average you can now calculate the drying rate. The
drying rate, R, is calculated by using the following equation:

R = (W S/A) × (∆X/∆t) = ∆W/(A∆t)

Where:
WS = the weight of dry solids, g
A = exposed surface area for drying in m2
X = sheet moisture content (reported in g water/g dry solid)

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 ∆X = amount of water evaporated between two points (g water/g dry solid)
∆W = amount of water evaporated between two points (g)
∆t = change in time between two points
R = drying rate (g water/ m2 s)

Mass and Sample Temperature vs Time (4th Avg.)

45 50

40 45

Sample Temperature ( C)
o
35 40
Mass (g)

30 35

25 30

20 25

15 20
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Time (s)
Figure 3. Averaged Sheet mass and sheet temperature data from the drying experiment
(sample size: 10 cm x 15 cm, Dry weight 17.9 g, 55C, air velocity ~ 0.40 m/s)

These calculations can be performed using excel.

The drying rate curve obtained from the averaged mass data is shown below.

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 Mass and Drying Rate vs Time
50 0.2

40 0.15

Drying Rate (g water m s )

2 -1
Mass (g)

30 0.1

20 0.05

10 0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Time (s)
Figure 4. Sheet mass and drying rate as a function of drying time, calculated from the
experimental data after sufficient averaging to smooth the data (sample size: 11 cm x 15
cm, Dry weight 17.9 g, 55C, air velocity ~ 0.40 m/s)

Although the three stages won’t be completely clear, you will be able to see the
three stages by looking at both the drying rate and the sheet temperature plots.
You should include a table of the final averaged data that will include the drying
rates (see Table 1 below), also include the average drying rate of the constant
rate period (Table 2).

Table 1 Averaged dynamic drying data

Exit Air Sample

Drying rate
Time (sec) Mass (g) temp, T0 temp, TS
(g/m2s)
(°C) (°C)
0 44.2422* 48.3 20.0 0
400 42.8393 48.466 37.219 0.1062
1200 38.509 48.121 38.884 0.1640
2000 34.3915 48.180 39.427 0.1560
2800 29.9512 48.190 39.818 0.1682
3600 26.0416 48.212 40.152 0.1481
4400 22.2609 48.365 40.683 0.1432
5200 19.2412 48.629 43.035 0.1144
6000 17.2731 48.745 45.005 0.0745
6800 15.4452 48.846 47.491 0.0692

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*NOTE: Accurate measurement of the initial mass (mass at time t=0 s) is
important as it is required to determine the drying rate at the following time
interval. Drying rate is essentially the instantaneous slope of the mass vs time
curve or the change in mass over a short time step. Unlike temperature
measurement, as noted earlier, data of mass measured contains significant noise
(data fluctuation) as the balance/scale inside the dryer for measuring mass is
sensitive to the in-flowing air. Though the initial wet sample can be accurately
weighed before being put into the dryer, this data should not be directly used as
the initial mass (at time t=0)_without taking into account the noise in the data
measurement. . Instead, the initial mass considering the variations at time t=0
can be estimated by taking the average of the first 5 (or 10) points (instead of the
series of averaging mentioned earlier). Please verify this value against the
measured weight of the sample before starting the experiment. They should be
very close).

Table 2 Drying data of the constant drying stage

Constant drying stage drying rate (R=ṁ/A) = 0.1627 (g water/m2s)
Average exit air temp (To) = 48.164 (°C)
Incoming Air Temp (Ti) = 55.0 (°C)
Average sample temp during constant rate (Ts) = 39.376 (°C)

The above is data from the fifth average. Now we can calculate the heat and
mass transfer coefficient during the constant drying rate period.
hA∆TLM = ṁ
ṁ R
So, ℎ = 𝐴∆T = ∆T
LM LM
Where,
h = heat transfer coefficient (W/m2°C)
A = evaporation area of sheet (you can consider use four sides parallel to the air
flow direction), m2
∆TLM = Log mean temperature difference, °C
∆TLM = ((Ti-Ts)-(To-Ts))/(ln((Ti-Ts)/(To-Ts)))
ṁ = rate of water evaporation, kg/s
 = latent heat of vaporization of water, J/kg
R = ṁ/A = drying rate (g/ m2)
For the constant stage:
∆TLM = ((55-39.376)-(48.164-39.376))/(ln((55-39.376)/(48.164-39.376))) = 11.88
The latent heat of water vaporization at sample temperature (TS=39.376°C):
 = 2407.49 kJ/kg (please use the steam table or
http://www.tlv.com/global/TI/calculator/steam-table-temperature.html)
R 𝟎.𝟏𝟔𝟐𝟕×2407.49
Hence, ℎ = ∆T = = 32.97 W/m2°C
LM 11.88

We can also calculate the mass transfer coefficient using:

ṁ = KA (CW-C∞)
ṁ R
So, 𝐾 = 𝐴(𝐶 −𝐶 ) = (𝐶 −𝐶 )
𝑊 ∞ 𝑊 ∞
Where,
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ṁ = rate of water evaporated from sheet (kg/s)
K = mass transfer coefficient, m/s
A = evaporation area of sheet, m2
CW = concentration of water in the sheet (kg/m3)
C∞ = concentration of water vapor in air surrounding the sheet (kg/m3)

CW can be found using the ideal gas law (PV=nRT) and the steam tables to find
the vapor pressure of water at the sample temp.

Take the constant stage as a calculation example:

Dry bulb temp = 55°C
Wet bulb temp = 39.376°C
From steam table (http://www.tlv.com/global/TI/calculator/steam-table-
temperature.html):
At TS=39.376°C, vapor pressure PW = 7142.26 Pa (abs)
So, ρW = CW = PW*18.02/8315/(273.15+39.376) = 0.0495 kg/m3

In general, C∞ can be found using psychrometric charts and properties of air.

However, for the case where the web bulb temperature is higher than 36°C, it is
difficult to get the humidity ratio from the psychrometric charts. Thus, it is
suggested to use the following link to estimate the humidity ratio for this case:
http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/humid.htm. Note that this link does not directly
provide the humidity ratio, but the "mixing ratio". The humidity ratio is defined as
the ratio of the mass of water vapor in air to the mass of dry air. The "mixing
ratio" used in this webpage is another term for the humidity ratio (they are the
same).

From the above link you can find the humidity ratio which is 0.0396 kg water/kg
dry air at the dry bulb temp of 55°C and the wet bulb temp of 39.376°C.
The density of air at 55°C is: 1.0766 kg air/m3
(http://www.gribble.org/cycling/air_density.html)
Thus, at 55°C:
C∞ = 0.0396 kg water/kg dry air * 1.0766 kg air/m3 = 0.0426 kg water/m3.
Hence, the mass transfer coefficient for the constant stage is:
𝑅 𝟎.𝟏𝟔𝟐𝟕/1000
𝐾 = 𝐶 −𝐶 = 0.0495−0.0426 = 0.0236 (m/s)
𝑊 ∞

Now report the followings:

(1) Perform data averaging and obtain averaged dynamic drying data similar to
Table 1. Then calculate the drying rate, the heat transfer coefficient, and mass
transfer coefficient at different averaged time (can be combined into one table);
(2) Plot averaged mass vs time, averaged temperature vs time, the drying rate
(R) vs time (similar to Figures 3 and 4).
(3) Calculate R, h, and K for the constant rate stage.
(4) The above steps should include your discussions and comments on your
results and findings.

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A full report should include Introduction/Purpose, Fundamentals and Principles,
Experimental Procedure, Results and Discussions, and Conclusions (details see
“Instruction on Lab report.pdf”).

Files to submit include:

(1) Your Full report in the name of YourGroupName_Drying_YourName.pdf,
e.g., Group3_Drying_John.pdf
(2) Your excel file in the name of, e.g., Group3_Drying_John.xls
(3) Raw data in the name of, e.g., Group3_Drying_Rawdata.xls (one group
only need to submit one raw data file, but each of you can always submit it
and I’ll keep one copy only)

References

Steam table, page 962, Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles
(Includes Unit Operations), Christie John Geankoplis, 4th edition, Prentice Hall.

Air Properties, page 971, Transport Processes and Separation Process

Principles(Includes Unit Operations), Christie John Geankoplis, 4th edition,
Prentice Hall.

Psychrometric chart, page 12-6, Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook (7th

Edition), Perry, R.H.; Green, D.W. © 1997 McGraw-Hill.

[Appendix] Operational Procedures for the Drying setup

1. Turn on the Armfield UOP8-MKII tray dryer by turning the red switch from off to on.

2. Turn on the PC and log into windows. Username: kaufertlab. Password: Welcome1

3. Open the Armfield and PDaq software by clicking on their associated icons on the taskbar.

4. In the Armfield software click on the “View Diagram” icon. Once the diagram of the
system appears click on the “PID” button on the front panel. Click on “automatic” under
the mode of operation section and set the temperature point in the automatic
operation section. Click “apply” and then “OK”.

5. Set the fan output under fan setting to 20. Click the ambient air button and set the
temperature to that of the lab.

6. Under controls, click the power on button. This button will display a “1” when in
operation.

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7. On the dryer turn the blue knob to adjust the fan screen so that the air velocity reads
between0.35-0.55 m/s.

8. Allow the dryer to run for 20 minutes so it can reach steady state.

9. Under the Pdaq view plus software, click on “view”, then click “Acquisition
Configuration”. Click the “Post Trigger” tab and ensure that duration is selected from
the pulldown menu and that it is set to 7200 scans. Under “Acquisition Parameters” set
the scan rate to 1.000 sec. Click “OK”.

10. Under “view” select “data destination configuration” and set the file section to the name
of your file.

11. Locate the “Arm Trigger for Disk Recording” Icon and make note of its location. DO NOT
PRESSIT at this time.

12. Use a ruler to find the area of the paper sample.

13. Submerge the sample in water for about 10 seconds. Remove and allow excess water to
drip from the sample.

14. After the 20 minute warm up phase open the dryer and put the sample holder on the
top run and center of the tray holder. In the Armfield software click the “zero” button
for each load cell. Remove the sample holder. The mass reading will fluctuate and won’t
stay steady.

15. Place the sample into the clip and attach the temperature sensor to the paper. Place the
sample in the dryer.

16. There are two separate programs that collect data for this experiment and they need to
start collecting data as close together as possible so their time stamps match. Quickly
click “ArmTrigger for Disk Recording” Icon in Pdaq View software and then “GO” in the
Armfield software. You are now collecting data.

17. Let the sample dry until the weight no longer changes. Once the weight on the load cells
reaches close to its initial dry sample weight click the “Arm Trigger for Disk Recording”
icon in the Pdaq View software and the “STOP” button in the Armfield software.

18. Under controls, click the power off button. This button will display a “0” when not in
operation.

19. Click on “File” then “Save As” in the armfield software. Click on the “Engineering Lab”
folder and look for the folder with your group number and open that folder. Change the
save as type drop down menu to “Excel 5.0 file (*.xls)”, change the file name, and save
the data.

20. Go to the “Engineering Lab” folder on the desktop, find your groups folder, and open
your saved data.

21. Go to the start menu and open a new version of Excel. Click on the “Open Other
Workbooks” icon and click “Computer”, a new window will pop up. In the new window

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 select Desktop and find the “Engineering Lab” folder and look for your groups sub
folder. Open the DATA folder and then the ASCII folder which is where the Pdaq data is
stored. Click the file in this folder and a window will pop up which allows you to format
the data for use in Excel. In the window select Delimited and then hit next. In the next
page make sure Tab is selected and hit next. On the last page hit finish and the data will
be populated into excel.

22. The last row column in this file is the temperature in Celsius of the paper sample at a
given timestamp. Select the first data point in this column and press CTRL + SHIFT +
↓key to select all the data points in this column. Copy and paste this data into the excel
file from the Armfield software in the last column. Save the changes to the Armfield
excel file and close excel.

23. Close all of the open programs on the PC and turn the red switch on the dryer to the off
position.

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