ENG2109: Transfer Processes – Mass Transfer

Tutorial Sheet 7

1. A continuous cross-circulation dryer is used to dry a batch of wet solid particles.

The particles are placed on a tray with a width of 0.5 m, and are dried by a hot air
stream entering at 90oC and 10% relative humidity, flowing across the length of
this tray at 0.3 kg.s-1 in a conduit with height of 10 cm. If the heat transfer
coefficient of the flowing air across the bed is 200 W.m-2.oC-1, and the gas exits at
60 oC, determine the required length of the dryer.

The heat capacities of dry air and water vapour are 1.005 and 1.884 kJ.kg-1.oC-1,
respectively.
(Answer: 3.59 m)

2. A filter cake composed of an active pharmaceutical ingredient is dried in a tray dryer

with distributed parallel trays. Each tray has 1.25 m2 surface area loaded with 50 kg
wet filter cake with an initial moisture content of 25% (dry basis). Hot air at 1 atm.
and 85 °C with a relative humidity of 10% passes uniformly across the wet solid at
2.5 m/s. The cake is dried to its critical moisture content of 12% (dry basis). Find

i. The mass of water evaporated and the dry mass of the filter cake
ii. The drying time (in hours)
iii. If the gas exits the drier with a humidity of 0.06 kgwater.kgdry-air-1, find the mass
flow rate of dry gas

(Answers: mev = 5.2 kg, mDS = 40 kg; 2.3 hrs; 231.1 kg.s-1 )