CHG 3111

Unit Operation

Chapter 9
Drying
3.1 Drying Fundamentals

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Drying: Removal of relatively small amount of water or other liquid from material.
Types of Drying:

Mechanical: presses, filters, centrifuges, etc.
Thermal : hot air
Methods of Drying:

Based on process: i) Batch, ii) Continuous
Based on physical conditions:
Direct heating by contact with hot air at atmospheric pressures where water
removed by air.
Indirect heating by contact with a metal wall or by radiation, at low pressures
(vacuum drying)
Freeze-drying where water sublimed from the frozen material.

Applications:

Chemical Industry, e.g. mineral sand, Ammonium Sulphate, Sodium sulphate, etc
Pharmaceuticals
Food & Dairy, e.g. fruit pellets, salt, milk powder, grains and cereal, etc
Introduction
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Rate processes in drying

Evaporation of water vapor from wet solid to dry gas (air) mass transfer process
characterized by water vapor flux (N)

Evaporation of water vapor requires heat which is supplied from hot gas (air) heat
transfer process characterized by heat flux (q)
Drying-Fundamentals
Solid
Gas (H, T)
Heat Transfer Mass Transfer
Drying force for mass transfer difference between the water vapor pressure in
equilibrium with wet solid and that in air.
Driving force for heat transfer difference between the air temperature and the
temperature of solid

Question: How do we call the process opposite to that shown on the diagram above?
Question: Is it possible to have the heat and mass transfer processes in the same direction?
( )
G S
q
q h T T
A
| |
= =
|
\ .
" ( )
2 2 2
H O H O H O G S G
N k p p =
, ,
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Drying-Fundamentals
Important properties of water vapor

Phase diagram of water

Steam tables

The key properties for us to use are: the latent heat of evaporation, and the relationship between the
temperature and the vapor pressure of water at a given temperature
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Drying-Fundamentals
Humidity

Humidity H of air-water mixture is the kg of water vapor contained in 1 kg of dry air.

H depends on the partial pressure (p
A
) of water vapor in the air and on the total
pressure (P).
Saturation Humidity

Air is saturated when the water vapor is in equilibrium with liquid water at the given
conditions of pressure and temperature, i.e. p
A
= p
AS
.

Equilibrium vapor pressures of water (p
AS
) is tabulated in
Appendix; alternatively it can be evaluated from:

5132 1730 63
20 386 8 07131
233 426
| |
| = = ( (

|
( (
+

\ .

o
.
mmHg exp . or Antoine Eq: log mmHg .
K
. C
AS AS
p p
T
T
1
18 02
28 97
| | | | | | | |
= | | | |
| | | |

\ . \ . \ . \ .
2 2 2
2
kg H O kg mol H O kg H O kg mol air
.
kg dry air kg mol dry air kg mol H O . kg air
A
A
p
H
P p
18 02
28 97
=

.
Therefore:
.
A
A
p
H
P p
18 02
28 97
=

.
.
AS
S
AS
p
H
P p
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Drying-Fundamentals
Percentage Humidity

H
P
, is the actual humidity of air (H) divided by saturation humidity (H
S
) at the same T
and P.
Percentage Relative Humidity

H
R
, amount of saturation of an air-water vapor mixture.
Dry Bulb Temperature

Temperature of air-water mixture measured by a normal thermometer (T).
Dew Point Temperature of an Air-Water Vapor Mixture

Temperature at which a given mixture of air and water vapor would be saturated (T
DP
)

18 02 18 02
100 100 100
28 97 28 97
| | | | | |
= = = =
| | |
| | |

\ . \ . \ .
. .
Note that:
. .
A AS A AS
P R
A AS S AS A
p P p H p p
H H
P p P p H p P p
100 =
A
R
AS
p
H
p
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Drying-Fundamentals
Humid Heat of an Air-Water Vapor Mixture

c
S
, heat (J or KJ) required to increase the temperature of 1 kg of dry air plus the
water vapor by 1 K (or 1C).
Air heat capacity
[kJ /kg dry air. K]
Water vapor heat capacity
[kJ /kg water vapor.K]
Humid Volume of an Air-Water Vapor Mixture

Total volume in m
3

of 1 kg of dry air plus the vapor it contains at 101.325 kPa (1.0
atm) abs pressure and the given temperature.
Total Enthalpy of an Air-Water Vapour Mixture

Total enthalpy of 1 kg of air plus its water vapor. Is the sensible heat of the air-water
mixture plus the latent heat of water vapor at T
o
( reference temperature).
1 005 1 88 = + . . [kJ/kg dry air K]
S
c H
( )
3 3
22 41 1 1
2 83 10 4 56 10
273 28 97 18 02
v

| |
(
= + = + (
|

\ .
3
.
m /kg dry air . . K
. .
H
T H H T
( ) ( )( )
1 005 1 88 = + = + + (

kJ/kg dry air . .
y S o o o o
H c T T H H T T H
( )
0 1 005 1 88 2501 4 = = + + at : . . .
o
o y
T C H H T H
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Drying-Fundamentals
Humidity Chart of Air-Water Vapor Mixtures

Shows properties of air-water vapor mixture at 1 atm (abs).
= Dry Bulb Temperature
H
S

H
T
DP

T
H
P

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Drying-Fundamentals
Adiabatic Saturation Temperature (T
S
)

Gas of air-water vapor mixture is contacted with a spray of liquid water.
(Equation of an adiabatic humidification curve)
If the contact between the entering gas and liquid reaches equilibrium, the outlet gas
will be saturated at T
S
and will have a humidity of H
S
.
Enthalpy balance on the system with a reference temperature of T
S
:

Enthalpy of the entering gas mixture = Enthalpy of the leaving gas mixture
( ) ( )
+ = +
S S S S S S S S
c T T H c T T H
1 005 1 88

+
= =

. .
S S
S S S
H H c H
T T
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Drying-Fundamentals
Adiabatic saturation curve

Additional parameters
= Dry Bulb Temperature
H
S

H
T
DP
T
H
P

T
S

H
S

1 005 1 88

+
= =

. .
S S
S S S
H H c H
T T
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Drying-Fundamentals
Wet Bulb Temperature

The steady-state non-equilibrium temperature achieved when a small amount of
water is contacted with a gas under adiabatic conditions.
Measurement: A thermometer that is covered by a wet wick is placed in a stream of
air-water vapor having a temperature of T (dry bulb temperature). Water is vaporized
to the gas stream which makes the wick and water cooled to T
W
.
What is difference between wet bulb and adiabatic saturation temperatures?
Wet bulb temperature is a factor in the determination of relative humidity.
By knowing wet bulb and dry bulb temperature, relative humidity of an air-water
vapor mixture can be determined by psychrometric charts.


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Wet Bulb Temperature combined mass and heat transfer

Determination of wet bulb temperature mathematically:
Heat loss, q, from the wick due to water evaporation
Drying-Fundamentals
y
W
, H
W
(at the surface)

NB: (h/M
Air
k
y
)

psychometric ratio 0.96-1.005 c
s

2 2 2
= =
H O W H O H O W
q m M N A
Rate equation for mass transfer
( )
2
=
H O y W
N k y y
Expressing mole fractions in terms of humidity:
1
= ~
+
H O
air 2
air H O H O
2 2
H M
HM
y
M H M M
( )
=
air
H O
2
H O
2
y W
M
N k H H
M
Thus, heat loss due to evaporation becomes: ( )
=
air y W W
q M k A H H
Alternatively, using rate equation for heat transfer: ( )
=
W
q hA T T
Combining the two equations for q:
( )

= ~

air y
W S
W W W
h M k
H H c
T T
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Drying-Fundamentals
Example 1: Humidity calculations, properties of humid air, humidity chart

The hot air stream has temperature of 82.2C and a total pressure of 101.3 kPa abs; it
contains water vapor with a partial pressure p
A
= 9.27 kPa.
For this air stream, calculate:
(a) Humidity
(b) Saturation humidity and percentage humidity
(c) Percentage relative humidity
(d) Humid heat
(e) Humid volume
(f) Enthalpy

This air stream is to be contacted in an adiabatic saturator with water. It is desired that
the outlet air has the percentage humidity of 80%.

(g) Using the humidity chart, evaluate the outlet temperature and humidity of air
(h) Develop an analytical procedure for the determination of the outlet temperature
and humidity without using the humidity chart.

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Characterization of wet solids

Moisture content (X
t
):
Drying-Fundamentals
The moisture content in excess of the
equilibrium moisture content at given
relative humidity is the free moisture
content (X)
When drying a solid, only free moisture
content can be removed
k g t o t a l w a t e r / k g d r y s o l i d
S
t
S
W W
X
W

= (

*
a n d
t
X X X = +
w h e r e : a n d i s t h e w e i g h t o f t h e w e t s o l i d a n d d r y s o l i d , r e s p e c t i v e l y ;
* a n d a r e t h e e q u i l i b r i u m a n d f r e e m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t
s
W W
X X
Equilibrium moisture content (X*)
depend on type of the material and the
humidity.
Bound and unbound water in solids.
The equilibrium moisture content at the relative humidity of 100% is called bound water.
Bound water in the solid exerts vapor pressure less than that of liquid at the same temperature
Unbound water in solids exerts vapor pressure of ordinary water at the same temperature
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Drying Curves
Drying-Fundamentals
Initial free moisture content
AB: Evaporation rate increase
BC: Slope and rate constant
CD: Drying rate decrease
E: X
*

X
C
: Critical moisture content
Drying rate:
2
2
[ k g H O / h m ] w h e r e : i s t h e m a s s o f d r y s o l i d a n d i s d r y i n g a r e a
S
S
L d X
R L A
A d t
=
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Drying-Fundamentals
Drying in the Constant-Rate Period

BC:
Rate of evaporation is independent of the
type of solid.
Rate of evaporation is the same as the
rate from a free liquid surface.
Drying in the Falling-Rate Period

CD:
Starts from X
C
, critical free moisture content.
There is no continuous film of water on the surface.
Rate will decrease until the surface is dry.
DE:
At point D, surface is completely dry.
Vaporized water moves through the solid into the air.
Amount of moisture removed is small, and drying will
take a long time.
Drying gas
Drying gas
Drying gas
Drying gas
Heat transfer
controlled
Mass
transfer
controlled