Joseph M. Pasag (Drying Research)

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
University of the City of Manila

Intramuros, Manila
RESEARCH IN DRYING
Submitted by:
Pasag, Joseph M.
BSChE-4
Submitted to:
ENGR. Clydelle M. Rondaris
[RESEARCH IN DRYING] Unit Operations 2
Contents
CONTENTS.................................................................................... 2
DRYING........................................................................................4
EXTENDED DEFINITION (PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO FOOD

DRYING).......................................................................................4
METHODS OF DRYING.................................................................... 5
APPLICATIONS OF DRYING.............................................................6
Grain Drying......................................................................................................6
Drum Drying......................................................................................................7
Spray Drying.....................................................................................................7
MOISTURE CONTENT.....................................................................7
DEGREE OF SATURATION...............................................................9
Normalized Volumetric Water Content..............................................................10
Measurement...................................................................................................10
Direct Methods...................................................................................................................10
Laboratory Methods...........................................................................................................11
Geophysical Methods.........................................................................................................11
Satellite Remote Sensing Method......................................................................................11
Classification and Uses.....................................................................................11
Earth and Agricultural Sciences........................................................................12
EQUILIBRIUM MOISTURE CONTENT...............................................13
CRITICAL MOISTURE CONTENT.....................................................13
HYGROSCOPY.............................................................................13
SOLIDS DRYING EQUIPMENT........................................................14
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Dryer Categories and Selection.........................................................................15
Dryer Exhaust..................................................................................................16
DDGS Drying Systems......................................................................................17
Rotary Direct-Fired PGR Dryers.........................................................................20
Ring Dryers......................................................................................................21
Indirect-Fired SSD Dryers.................................................................................22
Rotary Steam-Tube Dryers................................................................................24
CLASSIFICATION OF DRYERS........................................................25
Hot-Air Driers..................................................................................................26
Bin Dryers..........................................................................................................................26
Cabinet Dryers (Tray Dryers).............................................................................................27
Continuous–Conveyor Dryers (Belt Drier)...........................................................................28
Pneumatic Dryers..............................................................................................................29
Fluidized Bed Dryer............................................................................................................29
Kiln Dryers.........................................................................................................................32
Rotary Dryers.....................................................................................................................32
Spray Dryers......................................................................................................................33
Trough Dryer (Belt-Trough Dryer)......................................................................................37
Tunnel Dryers....................................................................................................................38
Heated-Surface Dryers.....................................................................................41
Drum Dryers (Roller Dryers)..............................................................................................41
Vacuum Band and Vacuum Shelf Dryers............................................................................44
Freeze-Drying..................................................................................................45
Three Main Steps in Free Drying........................................................................................45
Novel Drying Technologies...............................................................................46
Selection of Drying Equipment..........................................................................50
REFERENCES...............................................................................51
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Drying
Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water moisture or

moisture from another solvent, by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid (hereafter
product). To be considered "drying", the final product must be a solid, either as a continuous
sheet (e.g., paper), as long pieces (eg. wood), particles (cereal grains, corn flakes) or in powder
form (sand, salt, washing powder, milk powder). To achieve this, there must be a source of
heat, and a sink of the vapor thus produced. In bioproducts (food, grains, vaccines), and
pharmaceuticals, the solvent to be removed is almost invariably water
In the most common case, a gas stream, e.g., air, applies the heat by convection and
carries away the vapor as humidity. Other possibilities are vacuum drying, where heat is
supplied by conduction or radiation (or microwaves) while the vapor thus produced is removed
by the vacuum system. Another indirect technique is drum drying (used, for instance, for
manufacturing potato flakes), where a heated surface is used to provide the energy and
aspirators draw the vapor outside the room.
Freeze drying or lyophilization is a drying method where the solvent is frozen prior to
drying and is then sublimed, i.e., passed to the gas phase directly from the solid phase, below
the melting point of the solvent. Freeze drying is often carried out under high vacuum to allow
drying to proceed at a reasonable rate. This process avoids collapse of the solid structure,
leading to a low density, highly porous product, able to regain the solvent quickly. In biological
materials or foods, freeze drying is regarded as one of the best if not the best method to retain
the initial properties. It was first used industrially to produce dehydrated vaccines, and to bring
dehydrated blood for assistance of war casualties. Now freeze drying is increasingly used to
preserve some foods, especially for backpackers going to remote areas. The method may keep
protein quality intact. Vitamins and bioactive compounds are more likely to be retained as well.
In turn, the mechanical extraction of the solvent, e.g., water, by centrifugation, is not
considered "drying".
Extended Definition (Particularly applicable to food drying)

As the main application of drying, food drying is a process whereby water in a product
(phase I) is transferred to the dehydrating medium (phase II) as a consequence of a difference
in water chemical potential. The water flux goes always from the phase with the higher chemical
potential to that of the lower chemical potential. If temperature differences at both sides of the
interface are not considered, it can be said that the driving force for drying is a positive
difference between water activities in product and dehydrating medium. The water activity of air
is the percent relative humidity divided by 100. This definition encompasses methods as diverse
as air drying, vacuum drying, and osmotic drying. In the latter, foods are dried in a hypertonic
solution of sugar (mainly fruits) and/or salt (mostly vegetables). If the solvent to be removed is
water, the terms drying and dehydration become synonymous. In fact dehydration comes from
the Greek and means "water removal".
There is very extensive technical literature on this subject, including several major
textbooks and a dedicated scientific journal.
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Drying mechanism In some products having a high initial moisture content, an initial
linear reduction of the average product moisture content as a function of time may be observed
for a short time. If drying is continued, the slope of the curve, the drying rate, becomes less
steep (falling rate period) and eventually tends to a horizontal, at very long times, to become in
equilibrium with the dehydrating medium. In the falling rate period, water migration from the
product interior to the surface is mostly by molecular diffusion, i,e. the water flux is proportional
to the moisture content gradient. This means that water moves from zones with higher moisture
content to zones with lower values, a phenomenon explained by the second law of
thermodynamics. If water removal is considerable, products undergo shrinkage and
deformation, except in a well designed freeze drying process.
Methods of Drying
In a typical phase diagram, the boundary between gas and liquid runs from the triple
point to the critical point. Regular drying is the green arrow, while supercritical drying is the red
arrow and freeze drying is the blue.
• Application of heated air (convective or direct drying). Air heating reduces air relative
humidity, enlarging the driving force for drying. Besides, higher temperatures speed up
diffusion of water inside the solids, so drying becomes even faster. However, product
quality considerations limit the applicable rise to air temperature. An excessively hot air
almost completely dehydrates the solid surface, its pores shrink and almost close,
leading to crust formation or "case hardening", which is usually undesirable. For instance
in wood (timber) drying, air is heated (which speeds up drying) though some steam is
also added to it (with hinders drying rate to a certain extent) in order to avoid excessive
surface dehydration and product deformation owing to high moisture gradients across
timber thickness.
• Indirect or contact drying (heating through a hot wall), as drum drying, vacuum drying.
• Dielectric drying (radiofrequency or microwaves being absorbed inside the material) It is

the focus of intense research nowadays. It may be used to assist air drying or vacuum
drying. Researchers have found that microwave finish drying speeds up the otherwise
very low drying rate at the end of the classical drying methods.
• Freeze drying is increasingly applied to dry foods, beyond its already classical
pharmaceutical or medical applications. It keeps biological properties of proteins, and
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retains vitamins and bioactive compounds. Pressure can be reduced by a high vacuum
pump (though freeze drying at atmospheric pressure is possible in dry air). If using a
vacuum pump, the vapor produced by sublimation is removed from the system by
converting it into ice in a condenser, operating at very low temperatures, outside the
freeze drying chamber.
• Supercritical drying (superheated steam drying) involves steam drying of products

containing water. This process is feasible because water in the product is boiled off, and
joined with the drying medium, increasing its flow. It is usually employed in closed circuit
and allows a proportion of latent heat to be recovered by recompression, a feature which
is not possible with conventional air drying, for instance. May have potential for foods if
carried out at reduced pressure, to lower the boiling point.
• Natural air drying takes place when materials are dried with unheated forced air, taking
advantage of its natural drying potential. The process is slow and weather-dependent, so
a wise strategy "fan off-fan on" must be devised considering the following conditions: Air
temperature, relative humidity and moisture content and temperature of the material
being dried. Grains are increasingly dried with this technique, and the total time
(including fan off and on periods) may last from one week to various months, if a winter
rest can be tolerated in cold areas.
Applications of Drying
Grain Drying
Hundreds of millions of tonnes of wheat,corn, soybean, rice other grains as sorghum,
sunflower seeds, rapeseed/canola, barley, oats, etc., are dried in grain dryers. In the main
agricultural countries, drying comprises the reduction of moisture from about 17-30%w/w to
values between 8 and 15%w/w, depending on the grain. The final moisture content for drying
must be adequate for storage. The more oil the grain has, the lower its storage moisture content
will be (though its initial moisture for drying will also be lower). Cereals are often dried to 14%
w/w, while oilseeds, to 12.5% (soybeans), 8% (sunflower) and 9% (peanuts). Drying is carried
out as a requisite for safe storage, in order to inhibit microbial growth. However, low
temperatures in storage are also highly recommended to avoid degradative reactions and,
especially, the growth of insects and mites. A good maximum storage temperature is about
18°C. The largest dryers are normally used "Off-farm", in elevators, and are of the continuous
type: Mixed-flow dryers are preferred in Europe, while Cross-flow dryers in the USA. In
Argentina, both types are usually found. Continuous flow dryers may produce up to 100 metric
tonnes of dried grain per hour. The depth of grain the air must traverse in continuous dryers
range from some 0.15 m in Mixed flow dryers to some 0.30 m in Cross-Flow. Batch dryers are
mainly used "On-Farm", particularly in the USA and Europe. They normally consist of a bin, with
heated air flowing horizontally from an internal cylinder through an inner perforated metal sheet,
then through a annular grain bed, some 0.50 m thick (coaxial with the internal cylinder) in radial
direction, and finally across the outer perforated metal sheet, before being discharged to the
atmosphere. The usual drying times range from 1 h to 4 h depending on how much water must
be removed, type of grain, air temperature and the grain depth. In the USA, continuous
counterflow dryers may be found on-farm, adapting a bin to slowly drying grain fed at the top
and removed at the bottom of the bin by a sweeping auger. Grain drying is an active area of
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manufacturing and research. Now it is possible to simulate the performance of a dryer with
computer programs based on equations (mathematical models) that represent the phenomena
involved in drying: physics, physical chemistry, thermodynamics and heat and mass transfer.
Most recently the evolution of quality indices is beginning to be predicted with some confidence,
in order to add an essential performance parameter with which to establish a compromise of
reasonably fast drying rate, limited energy consumption, and satisfactory grain quality. A typical
quality parameter in wheat drying is the breadmaking quality and germination percentage whose
reductions in drying are somewhat related.
Drum Drying
The drum dryer technology has kept its position of importance. Today, in foods, potato
puree is dehydrated as well as banana and tomato purees to produce dehydrated flakes
Spray Drying
Spray drying is an important technique to produce dried powders. The principle is that a
pumpable feed is first atomized, i.e., converted in a fog of droplets of about 100 micrometers in
diameter, which dry very fast while falling by gravity, accompanied by heated air. The dried
particles eventually exit through the bottom of the dryer and are separated from the drying air by
a cyclone, or a system based on cyclones plus bag filters or electrostatic precipitators. Milk
powder is possibly the most popular product, followed by instant coffee. Tomato powder is
becoming very important. On the other hand, washing powder is an example product of the
chemical process industry. The production of dehydrated natural flavors and essences is very
important and is growing together with encapsulation, a technique devised to trap a volatile, but
large molecule (the flavor compound) inside a dry particle, the walls of which develop on drying
and are more permeable to the water flux than to the flux of the larger volatiles. This principle of
selective diffusion was first developed by the Dutch researcher Thijssen, in Eindhoven, during
the 1970s, and is improved by adding maltodextrins (a product from controlled starch
hydrolysis) to the dryer feed. Spray dryers differ in the type of atomizer, the relative directions of
air and product flows, the chamber design, type of drying agent (air, nitrogen) and system
characteristics ( closed or open circuit), among other features. Equipment can be very large of
up to 20 m tall.
• Drying is often used to preserve food
• The production of anhydrous alcohol requires azeotropic distillation, or a membrane

process. The 96° mixture of ethanol-water cannot be separated by distillation, as it
constitutes an azeotrope ("boiling without variation", from the Greek)
• Wood drying is an integral part of timber processing
Moisture Content
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Water content or moisture content is the quantity of water contained in a material, such
as soil (called soil moisture), rock, ceramics, or wood on a volumetric or gravimetric basis. The
property is used in a wide range of scientific and technical areas, and is expressed as a ratio,
which can range from 0 (completely dry) to the value of the materials' porosity at saturation.
Volumetric water content, θ, is defined mathematically as:
where Vw is the volume of water and VT = Vs + Vv = Vs + Vw + Va is the total volume (that

is Soil Volume + Water Volume + Void Space). Water content may also be based on its mass or
weight,[1] thus the gravimetric water content is defined as:
where mw is the mass of water and mb (or ms for soil) is the bulk material mass. To
convert gravimetric water content to volumetric water, multiply the gravimetric water content by
the bulk specific gravity of the material.
Moisture content in wood fuel is calculated as the percentage difference between the
wet weight of the wood and the dry weight of the wood. If the percentage is calculated relative to
the wet weight, it is called the wet basis moisture content.
MCwb=(Ww-Wd)/Ww ×100%
If the percentage is calculated relative to the dry weight, it is called the dry basis
moisture content.
MCdb=(Ww-Wd)/Wd ×100%
The two methods of reporting moisture content are related by the equation:
MCdb = MCwb/(100-Mwb)x 100%
For Stove testing, the CSA testing procedure requires that the moisture content of the
wood be between 16 and 20% (wet basis), for an average of 18%.
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There are two conventions for measuring qualities of biofuel per kg, such as calorific
value, these are referred to as the wet and dry basis.
The following equations show the difference between the wet and dry basis:
In addition, there are two conventions for describing the water content of biofuels water
content (also referred to as the moisture content in the wet basis) and moisture content (also
referred to as the moisture content in the dry basis). The difference is given by the following
equations:
.
Degree of Saturation
In soil mechanics and petroleum engineering, the term water saturation or degree of
saturation, Sw is used, defined as
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where φ = Vv / VT is the porosity and Vv is the volume of void or pore space.
Values of Sw can range from 0 (dry) to 1 (saturated). In reality, Sw never reaches 0 or 1 -

these are idealizations for engineering use.
Normalized Volumetric Water Content

The normalized water content, Θ, (also called effective saturation or Se) is a
dimensionless value defined by van Genuchten as:
where θ is the volumetric water content; θr is the residual water content, defined as the
water content for which the gradient dθ / dh becomes zero; and, θs is the saturated water
content, which is equivalent to porosity, φ.
Measurement
Direct Methods
Water content can be directly measured using a known volume of the material, and a
drying oven. Volumetric water content, θ, is calculated using:
Where:
mwet and mdry are the masses of the sample before and after drying in the oven;
ρw is the density of water; and
Vb is the volume of the sample before drying the sample.
For materials that change in volume with water content, such as coal, the water content,
u, is expressed in terms of the mass of water per unit mass of the moist specimen:
However, geotechnics requires the moisture content to be expressed as a percentage of

the sample's dry weight i.e. % moisture content = u * 100
Where
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For wood, the convention is to report moisture content on oven-dry basis (i.e. generally
drying sample in an oven set at 105 deg Celsius for 24 hours). In wood drying, this is an
important concept.
Laboratory Methods
Other methods that determine water content of a sample include chemical titrations (for
example the Karl Fischer titration), determining mass loss on heating (perhaps in the presence
of an inert gas), or after freeze drying. In the food industry the Dean-Stark method is also
commonly used.
From the Annual Book of ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) Standards,
the total evaporable moisture content in Aggregate (C 566) can be calculated with the formula:
where p is the fraction of total evaporable moisture content of sample, W is the mass of
the original sample, and D is mass of dried sample.
Geophysical Methods
There are several geophysical methods available that can approximate in situ soil water
content. These methods include: time-domain reflectometry (TDR), neutron probe, frequency
domain sensor, capacitance probe, electrical resistivity tomography, ground penetrating radar
(GPR), and others that are sensitive to the physical properties of water [4]. Geophysical sensors
are often used to monitor soil moisture continuously in agricultural and scientific applications.
Satellite Remote Sensing Method
Satellite microwave remote sensing is used to estimate soil moisture based on the large
contrast between the dielectric properties of wet and dry soil. The data from microwave remote
sensing satellite such as: WindSat, AMSR-E, RADARSAT, ERS-1-2, Metop/ASCAT are used to
estimate surface soil moisture.
Classification and Uses

Moisture may be present as adsorbed moisture at internal surfaces and as capillary
condensed water in small pores. At low relative humidities, moisture consists mainly of
adsorbed water. At higher relative humidities, liquid water becomes more and more important,
depending on the pore size. In wood-based materials, however, almost all water is adsorbed at
humidities below 98% RH.
In biological applications there can also be a distinction between physisorbed water and
"free" water — the physisorbed water being that closely associated with and relatively difficult to
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remove from a biological material. The method used to determine water content may affect
whether water present in this form is accounted for. For a better indication of "free" and "bound"
water, the water activity of a material should be considered.
Water molecules may also be present in materials closely associated with individual molecules,
as "water of crystallization", or as water molecules which are static components of protein
structure.
Earth and Agricultural Sciences

In soil science, hydrology and agricultural sciences, water content has an important role
for groundwater recharge, agriculture, and soil chemistry. Many recent scientific research efforts
have aimed toward a predictive-understanding of water content over space and time.
Observations have revealed generally that spatial variance in water content tends to increase as
overall wetness increases in semiarid regions, to decrease as overall wetness increases in
humid regions, and to peak under intermediate wetness conditions in temperature regions [5] .
There are four standard water contents that are routinely measured and used, which are
described in the following table:
And lastly the available water content, θa, which is equivalent to:
θa ≡ θfc − θpwp
which can range between 0.1 in gravel and 0.3 in peat.
Agriculture
When a soil gets too dry, plant transpiration drops because the water is becoming
increasingly bound to the soil particles by suction. Below the wilting point plants are no longer
able to extract water. At this point they wilt and cease transpiring altogether. Conditions where
soil is too dry to maintain reliable plant growth is referred to as agricultural drought, and is a
particular focus of irrigation management. Such conditions are common in arid and semi-arid
environments.
Some agriculture professionals are beginning to use environmental measurements such

as soil moisture to schedule irrigation. This method is referred to as smart irrigation or soil
cultivation.
Groundwater
In saturated groundwater aquifers, all available pore spaces are filled with water
(volumetric water content = porosity). Above a capillary fringe, pore spaces have air in them too.
Most soils have water content less than porosity, which is the definition of unsaturated
conditions, and they make up the subject of vadose zone hydrogeology. The capillary fringe of
the water table is the dividing line between saturated and unsaturated conditions. Water content
in the capillary fringe decreases with increasing distance above the phreatic surface.
One of the main complications which arises in studying the vadose zone, is the fact that the
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is a function of the water content of the material. As a
material dries out, the connected wet pathways through the media become smaller, the
hydraulic conductivity decreasing with lower water content in a very non-linear fashion.
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A water retention curve is the relationship between volumetric water content and the water
potential of the porous medium. It is characteristic for different types of porous medium. Due to
hysteresis, different wetting and drying curves may be distinguished.
Equilibrium Moisture Content

The moisture content of wood below the fibre saturation point is a function of both
relative humidity and temperature of surrounding air. The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is
the moisture content at which the wood is neither gaining nor losing moisture; this however, is a
dynamic equilibrium and changes with relative humidity and temperature.
The moisture content (M) of wood is defined as:
where m is the mass of the wood (with moisture) and mod is the oven-dry mass of wood
(i.e. no moisture). If the wood is placed in an environment at a particular temperature and
relative humidity, its moisture content will generally begin to change in time, until it is finally in
equilibrium with its surroundings, and the moisture content no longer changes in time. This
moisture content is the EMC of the wood for that temperature and relative humidity.
The Hailwood-Horrobin equation for two hydrates is often used to approximate the
relationship between EMC, temperature (T), and relative humidity (h):
where EMC is the equilibrium moisture content (percent), T is the temperature (degrees
Fahrenheit), h is the relative humidity (fractional) and:
This equation does not account for the slight variations with wood species, state of
mechanical stress, and/or hysteresis. It is an empirical fit to tabulated data provided in the same
reference, and closely agrees with the tabulated data. For example, at T=140 deg F, h=0.55,
EMC=8.4% from the above equation, while EMC=8.0% from the tabulated data.
Critical Moisture Content

The average moisture throughout a solid material being dried, its value being related to
drying rate, thickness of material, and the factors that influence the movement of moisture within
the solid.
Hygroscopy
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Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract water molecules from the surrounding
environment through either absorption or adsorption.
Hygroscopic substances include sugar, honey, glycerol, ethanol, methanol, sulfuric acid,
methamphetamine, many salts, and a huge variety of other substances.
Zinc chloride and calcium chloride, as well as potassium hydroxide and sodium
hydroxide (and many different salts) are so hygroscopic that they readily dissolve in the water
they absorb: this property is called deliquescence (see below). Sulfuric acid is not only
hygroscopic in high concentrated form, its solutions are hygroscopic down to concentrations of
10 Vol-% or below. More commonly, a hygroscopic material will tend to become damp and
"cake" when exposed to moist air (such as salt in salt shakers during humid weather).
Because of their affinity for atmospheric moisture, hygroscopic materials may need to be stored
in sealed containers. When added to foods or other materials for the express purpose of
maintaining moisture content, such substances are known as humectants.
Materials and compounds exhibit different hygroscopic properties, and this difference
can lead to detrimental effects, such as stress concentration in composite materials. The
amount a particular material or compound is affected by ambient moisture may be considered
its coefficient of hygroscopic expansion (CHE) (also referred to as CME, coefficient of moisture
expansion) or coefficient of hygroscopic contraction (CHC)—the difference between the two
terms being a difference in sign convention and a difference in point of view as to whether the
difference in moisture leads to contraction or expansion.
A common example where difference in this hygroscopic property can be seen is in a

paperback book cover. Often, in a relatively moist environment, the book cover will curl away
from the rest of the book. The unlaminated side of the cover absorbs more moisture than the
laminated side and increases in area, causing a stress that curls the cover toward the laminated
side. This is similar to the function of a bi-metallic strip. Inexpensive gauge-type hygrometers
frequently seen domestically make use of this principle.
The similar-sounding but unrelated word hydroscopic is sometimes used in error for
hygroscopic. A hydroscope is an optical device used for making observations deep under water.
Solids Drying Equipment

Like evaporation, drying is a mass-transfer process resulting in the removal of water or
moisture from a process stream. While evaporation increases the concentration of nonvolatile
components in solution, in drying processes the final product is a solid. Drying processes
reduce the solute or moisture level to
• Improve the storage and handling characteristics of the product,

• Maintain product quality during storage and transportation and
• Reduce freight cost (less water to ship).
Industrial drying applications use conductive and/or convective heat-transfer processes

to reduce the concentration of residual volatile components in process streams that are rich in
nonvolatile compounds. The principles of solids drying are similar to those of other thermal
processes such as evaporation. Consequently, industrial evaporators and drying systems have
many functional similarities, including
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• An energy source,
• Mechanisms for introducing feed into the drying system,
• A conditioning system to ensure that feed and product flow freely in the dryer,
• Heat-transfer mechanisms and
• Vapor-product separation equipment.
Figure 20. Encapsulated, or bound,

moisture
In addition to the thermodynamic principles of Fourier's law such as heat duty, heat-
transfer rate and temperature differentials, dryer design and operations must also consider three
interrelated factors that impact dryer selection and operations: particle residence time,
temperature sensitivity of the product and bound moisture. The presence of bound or
encapsulated, moisture (Figure 20) - the water that is chemically bound to cellulose,
hemicellulose, lignin or similar compounds and is difficult to remove - increases the residence
time in the dryer. In many cases temperature must also be increased, adversely affecting the
quality of temperature-sensitive products.
Dryer Categories and Selection

Table 4 categorizes continuous industrial dryer technologies by their methods of heat
transfer and product conveyance. Several of these technologies have been used in the dry-
grind ethanol industry, with varying degrees of success.
Table 4. Continuous dryer technologies.

Heat-transfer Vaporised liquid Material Dryer types
mechanism conveyance conveyance
Direct Direct contact By the drying Mechanical Tray, sheet, rotary*,
dryers between wet solids media and/or tunnel, through
and hot gases pneumatic circulation, SSD** rotary
Pneumatic by Pneumatic conveyor*,
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drying media ring*, fluid-bed, spray,

SSD** ring
Indirect To wet solids Independently Mechanical Cylinder, drum, steam-
dryers through retaining from heating retaining wall belt, screw
wall media conveyor, steam tube*
* Application in dry-grind ethanol production.
** SSD: Super heat steam dryer.
Dryer technology selection criteria include a combination of external factors and drying
systems issues (Table 5), several of which are common to both categories.
Table 5. Comparison of dryer issues.
External factors Drying system issues

Plant location Reliability and operability
Local rules and regulations Energy efficiency
Energy source Energy source
Emission requirements Emission requirements
DDGS market Product quality
Upstream processes Capital investment
Energy recovery Energy recovery
Dryer Exhaust
Increasing fuel prices have led the ethanol industry to pursue strategies that reduce the
net energy cost of producing DDGS. This has resulted in improvements in dryer efficiency as
well as in combustion systems capable of using lower-priced fuels such as coal, biomass and
forest products. In addition, process technology providers continue to pursue opportunities to
utilise the dryer exhaust as a source of energy in other ethanol plant operations, reducing
overall plant energy consumption. The properties of the dryer exhaust are a function of the dryer
technology used and affect the ability to recover the energy value of the dryer. The ability to
effectively recover energy contained in dryer exhaust is primarily a function of the dew point of
the vapour. Dew point is defined as the temperature at which water will begin to condense from
the exhaust under constant pressure. In dryer systems, the dew point of the exhaust stream is
influenced by its composition. Aside from water vapour, the dryer exhaust is composed of air,
products of fuel combustion, particulate matter and volatile compounds present in or resulting
from the thermal decomposition of the dryer feed. The concentrations of the various nonwater
components are a function of dryer design, maintenance and operations. Air is generally
introduced into dryers during the fuel combustion process, as a sweep gas to assist in
conveying moisture and solids or as a result of leakage. Dryer design selection is impacted by
air moisture concentration and associated dew point, as illustrated in Figure 21.
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Figure 21. Impact of exhaust dew point and moisture content in relation to dryer
design
As the fuel ethanol industry has grown, it has attracted the attention of environmental
regulatory agencies. During the 1990s it was determined that DDGS dryer exhaust was a major
source of priority pollutants. This included volatile organic compounds such as acetic acid,
ethanol and furfural, as well as particulate matter and products of the drying process. In
addition, as the ethanol production capacity of plants increased, products of combustion such as
nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and carbon monoxide became a factor in permitting new plants.
The industry and technology suppliers responded with the addition of emissions control devices
like thermal oxidisers to conventional dryer technologies as well as the development of new
dryer technologies.
Recovering dryer energy in other processes results in the condensation of substantial

amounts of water from the exhaust stream. This has the effect of reducing the organic load to
and thermal duty on the thermal oxidisers at the expense of generating a high biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD) in the wastewater stream.
DDGS Drying Systems

Various dryer technologies have been used during the course of the development of the
dry-grind ethanol industry. Early in the industry's history, most dryhouses were more or less
based upon beverage distillery industry standards, with DDGS drying operations that
predominantly used steam-tube dryers. As the industry matured, average plant capacity
increased and DDGS transformed from a by-product to a value-added source for animal
nutrition. Rotary and ring-dryer technologies began to displace steam-driven systems. Of the
numerous options that have been implemented during the past three decades, three basic
configurations dominate the industry today - steam-tube dryers, rotary dryers and ring dryers.
The fundamental design for a DDGS dryer incorporates the following basic process steps:
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• Furnaces combust fuels, generating hot gases that are used directly or indirectly (SSD)
as a source of heat for drying. In the case of steam-tube dryers, the energy source lies in
the boiler, generally independent of the dryer.
• Solids handling system and pumps continuously feed, convey and discharge wet cake,
solubles and DDGS.
• Feed conditioning and mixers blend a portion of the dry DDGS product and 'wet'
incoming feed, changing the physical properties and handling characteristics of the feed
streams and reducing the agglomeration of solids and plugging of dryer internals.
• Dryer body moves solids in rotating flighted drums or vertical ducts to contact the solids
and hot gas streams or surfaces.
• Product recovery separators and cyclones remove DDGS solids and fine particulate
matter from the gas/vapour streams.
• Product coolers reduce the temperature of the dry DDGS product to near-ambient
temperature, improving product handling and reducing the opportunity of spontaneous
combustion during storage and transit.
• Emissions-control cyclones, scrubbers and thermal oxidizers reduce the emission of

particulate matter, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Air handling system moves vapor and hot gases during the drying process.
Various approaches that use these systems are compared in Table 6 and illustrated in
the figures that follow.
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Table 6. Characteristics of DDGS dryer technologies
Rotary direct-fired PGR3 Ring PGR* Rotary indirect-fired SSD Rotary steam-
(RDFD) (RIFD)/Ring SSD tube dryer
(TSTD)
Figure 22 23 24 25
Type Direct-fired Direct-fired Indirect-fired Indirect
Heat source Combustion gas Combustion gas Combustion gas Steam
Heat Direct hot gas – solids Direct hot gas – Direct superheated steam – Hot tube wall –
exchange contact solids contact solids contact solids contact
Solids Mechanical/pneumatic in Pneumatic in high Mechanical/pneumatic in Mechanical in
transport rotating drum velocity gas recycle rotating drum or pneumatic in rotating drum
high – velocity gas recycle
Emission EOS TO*** EOS TO*** Internal – purge gas directed to EOS TO***
control furnace
Miscellaneous Disintegrator Heat exchanger between Heat-transfer
required to control combustion gas and drying surface required
particulate size of media in dryer and
solids boiler
* PGR: Partial gas recycles.
** SSD: Superheated steam dryer.
*** EOS TO: End-of-stack thermal oxidizer.
Rotary Direct-Fired PGR Dryers
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To date, rotary direct-fired PGR dryers (RDFDs), shown in Figure 22, have the greatest
market penetration in North America. This is primarily due to a significant base that was
installed before increased attention from regulatory agencies and the mandated application of
thermal oxidation systems. Of the four dryer technologies illustrated, a lower construction cost
has kept the RDFD in high demand. The lower cost is a result of the dryer's ability to operate at
higher inlet gas temperatures. Since higher inlet gas temperatures reduce the time that solids
must reside in the dryer body, the size of the dryer's rotating drum can be reduced, with a
comparable reduction in equipment cost. However, higher temperatures result in reduced
product quality, increased VOC emissions and higher equipment maintenance. Modern RDFDs
are equipped with partial recycle of the exhaust (partial gas recycles), resulting in reduced fire
risk (lower oxygen content) as well as improved energy efficiency and reduced dryer emissions.
End-of-pipe thermal oxidation systems are generally used for emissions control. Alternatively,
some RDFD installations have integrated the dryer exhaust thermal oxidization process with
waste-heat steam generation to improve upon overall plant energy balance. Unfortunately, this
has linked dryer emissions treatment with steam generation for the ethanol plant, but these two
processes do not always operate synchronously.
Figure 22. Rotary direct-fired PGR dryer
Ring Dryers
Ring dryers (RDs) follow rotary direct-fired dryers in market penetration (Figure 23).
Compared to rotary direct-fired dryers, these systems show similar installed capital investment
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but improved primary energy efficiency and product quality. When compared to a rotary dryer,
pneumatic transport of the product in the ring dryer body increases electrical energy
consumption. The primary energy efficiency of an RD is due, to a large extent, to the high hot-
gas-recycle rate and well-sealed design. These features result in low air entrainment, producing
a high dew point exhaust gas and offering greater opportunity for waste-heat recovery
applications. The design reduces the time that the DDGS solids are subjected to heat,
improving product quality. This is especially important when processing high-protein feeds. The
short residence time is possible because of the application of separation, classification and
particle-size reduction technologies. Combined, these serve to control particle size, selectively
removing dry product from the system while retaining heavier and larger particles. End-of-pipe
thermal oxidation systems are generally used for emissions control. Due to low air infiltration,
the size and operating cost of the TO is reduced.
Figure 23. Ring PGR dryer
Indirect-Fired SSD Dryers

Indirect-fired SSD dryers (Figure 24a) follow RDFDs and RDs in market share. The
system employs full gas recycle, but instead of introducing hot combustion gases directly into
exhaust recycle, energy is applied indirectly via a heat exchanger. The exchanger transfers heat
from the furnace combustion gases to the recirculating exhaust, superheating the stream. As
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the superheated dryer exhaust is reintroduced into the dryer, the energy is transferred to the
product, vaporizing water without condensing. For this reason, the technology is often referred
to as superheated steam drying, or SSD. One major feature of the indirect-fired SSD dryer is the
integration of emissions control technology provided by operating the furnace under conditions
suitable for thermal oxidation of organic compounds in the dryer purge. In addition, the design of
the closed SSD loop increases the purge gas energy recovery potential, providing even greater
opportunity for waste-heat recovery applications. Due to reduced air entrainment, the ring SSD
(Figure 24b) produces the highest dew point, and, therefore, the highest energy recovery
potential. Furthermore, ring SSD systems can be pressurized, which increases energy recovery
potential. Because rotating drums are difficult to completely seal, air infiltration is increased, and
the exhaust dew point is reduced. The installed cost of indirect-fired SSDs is comparable with
that of similar-sized RDFDs or RDs complete with thermal oxidizer systems. Reduced operating
cost when running the indirect-fired SSD with energy recovery often results in better economics.
Figure 24a. Indirect-fired SSD dryer - rotary
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Figure 24b. Indirect-fired SSD dryer - ring
Rotary Steam-Tube Dryers
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Rotary steam-tube dryers (RSTD) continue to be used where applications warrant

(Figure 25). These include circumstances where appropriately priced steam is available, where
fuel selection does not allow for direct-fired applications or where the fuel is incompatible with
the use of indirect-fired SSD dryer heat exchangers. Major impediments to greater market
penetration include low energy efficiency, high capital cost and reduced product quality. In the
case of RSTDs, energy consumption is a function of both dryer and boiler efficiency.
Consequently, energy demand per unit of water evaporated in RSTDs is generally higher than
that of other dryer technologies. Likewise, capital investment increases due to the considerable
heat-transfer surface area in the dryer and the associated steam generation system.
Figure 25. Rotary steam-tube dryer
Extended contact of the product with the surface of the steam-containing tubes results in
protein denaturation and reduced product quality. RSTDs can be designed with relatively low air
infiltration rates, but because the rotating drum is not as well-sealed as a ring dryer's duct, air
infiltration is increased and the exhaust dew point is reduced.
Classification of Drying Equipment
Classification of Dryers
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Drying methods and processes can be classified in several different ways. It can be
classified as batch, where the material is inserted into the drying equipment and drying
proceeds for a given period of time, or as continuous, where the material is continuously added
to the dryer and dried material continuously removed.
Drying processes can also be categorized according to the physical conditions used to
add heat and remove water vapor: (1) in the first category, heat is added by direct contact with
heated air at atmospheric pressure, and the water vapor formed is removed by the air; (2) in
vacuum drying, the evaporation of water proceeds more rapidly at low pressures, and the heat
is added indirectly by contact with a metal wall or by radiation (low temperatures can also be
used under vacuum for certain materials that may discolor or decompose at higher
temperatures); and (3) in freeze drying, water is sublimed from the frozen material. Dryers
expose the solids to a hot surface with which the solid is in contact. Dryers, which expose the
solids to a hot gas, are called adiabatic or direct dryers; those in which heat is transferred from
an external medium are known as non-adiabatic or indirect dryers. Dryers heated by dielectric,
radiant, or microwave energy are also non-adiabatic. Some units combine adiabatic and non-
adiabatic drying; they are known as direct-indirect dryers.
Most commercial dryers are insulated to reduce heat losses, and they recirculate hot air
to save energy. Many designs have energy-saving devices, which recover heat from the
exhaust air or automatically control the air humidity. Computer control of dryers is increasingly
sophisticated and also results in important savings in energy.
Hot-Air Driers
Bin Dryers
Bin dryers are cylindrical or rectangular containers fitted with a mesh base. Hot air
passes up through a bed of food at relatively low speeds (for example 0.5 m3s-1 per square
meter of bin area). These dryers have a high capacity and low capital and running costs. Bin
dryers are used, particularly for piece-form vegetable products, to complete the drying operation
after most of the moisture has been removed in a tunnel dryer or the equivalent. Typically, they
reduce the moisture content of a partially dried, 10 to 15% moisture cut vegetables to 3 to 6% or
even lower in the case of onion slices and possibly cabbage shreds. Bin dryers improve the
operating capacity of initial dryers by taking the food when it is in the falling rate period, when
moisture removal is most time consuming. Because they can do the job of removing a small
amount of tightly bound moisture from the pieces, the long time is required, ranging up to as
much as 36 hr in some cases. Bin drying also serves several other purposes. The product
discharged from the main drying tunnel or conveyor may range widely in moisture content,
containing decided”wet spots” and “dry spots”. The redistribution of pieces of the material as the
bin is loaded, and the long holding of the entire batch in warm flowing air, assists in bringing
about substantial equalization of the moisture. The bins themselves also serve as storage
reservoirs to smooth the flow of product between the drying units and the finishing and packing
units of a plant. However the dryers may be several meters high, and it is therefore important
that foods are sufficiently strong to withstand compression at the base and to retain an open
structure to permit the passage of hot air through the bed. Bin dryers can be stationary, portable
and continuous. In stationary bins, product is usually moved into and out of fixed bins by
conveyor. The bottom of the fixed bin discharges the product onto a conveyor beneath it. In a
potable bin system, the comparatively small bins are mounted on wheels and after loading, are
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pushed up to and connected to a stationary air supply duct. A single fan and heater supply
warm drying air for the entire system. Disconnecting the bin from the air source unloads the
product and a forklift is used to discharge the product into a hopper. Continuous bins are used
routinely for large -scale grain drying. Drying conditions required for bins is recommended that
incoming air temperature should fall within the range of 40-45 °C and the partial pressure of
water vapor in the incoming air must be well below the equilibrium vapor pressure of the finally
dried vegetable at the chosen temperature.
Cabinet Dryers (Tray Dryers)
These consist of an insulated cabinet fitted with shallow mesh or perforated trays, each
of which contains a thin (2-6 cm deep) layer of food. Hot air circulated through the cabinet at
0.5-5 ms-1 per square meter tray area. Fresh air enters the cabinet, is drawn by the fan through
the heater coils, and is then blown across the food trays to exhaust (Figure 1). In this case the
air is being heated by the indirect method. Screens filter out any dust that may be in the air. If
the designs have perforated trays, the air is directed up through these; otherwise it passes
across and between the trays. The air is exhausted to the atmosphere after one pass rather
being recirculated within the system. However, in recirculating designs, the moisture laden air,
after evaporating water from food, would have to be dried before being recirculated, or else it
would soon become saturated and further drying of the food would stop. In such a case passing
it through a desiccant such as a bed of silica gel, or condensing moisture out by passing the
moist air over cold plates or coils could dry the air. Note also that if we are not going to dry the
exhaust air for recirculation, then the exhaust vent should not be close to the fresh air intake
area, otherwise the moist exhaust air will be drawn back through the drier and drying efficiency
will be lost. Thermometers are installed with the sensitive elements directly in the main air
current approaching the drying trays, and often also in the air current leaving trays. One of the
most important problems encountered is not to supply the same drying rate at the all position
within the tray dryers. The other is the fast drying of food in the position where the air first enters
to the system and the slow drying of food in the other position. So additional heaters and the
fans may be placed above or alongside the trays to increase the rate of drying. Tray dryers are
used for small-scale production (1-20 t-day-1) or for pilot-scale work. They commonly are used
to dry fruit and vegetable pieces, and depending upon the food and the desired final moisture,
drying time may be of the order of 10 or even 20 hr. They have low capital and maintenance
costs but has relatively poor control and produces more variable product quality.
Figure 1. A tray dryer
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Continuous–Conveyor Dryers (Belt Drier)
Continuous conveyor dryers are up to 20 m long and 3 m wide. Food is dried on a mesh
belt in beds 5-15 cm deep. Wet material supplied to the spreader device at the left-hand end is
loaded evenly and in a relatively deep layer on the surface of a slowly moving conveyor belt
(Figures 2 and 3). The air is initially directed upwards through the bed of food and then
downwards the last 1 or 2 sections so as to prevent light-weight, nearly dry pieces from blowing
out of the bed, although sometimes the drier is designed to produce up-through and down-
through flow in alternate sections in order to improve the uniformity of drying of a thick layer of
wet material. Sectionalizing the drier makes it possible to control air temperature, humidity, and
velocity independently in several stages to give optimum output and quality.
The first section can be supplied with air at high temperature and moderate humidity
because rapid evaporation from the wet material keeps its temperature down. The final stage
can be operated with very dry air at a low enough temperature to avoid damage during the long,
slow approach to the desired final level of moisture content. Foods are dried to 10-15 %
moisture content and then transferred to bin dryers for finishing. Construction of the dryer as two
separate conveyors in series makes it possible to discharge the partly dry material at the end of
the first stage. This is an important feature. Not only does the mixing aid in making a uniform
product, but also the repiling makes possible a great saving in the floor space required. For
example, potato strips originally piled on the conveyor in a layer 4 in. deep will shrink by the
time they reach the end of the first stage to a layer 4in. deep will shrink by the time they reach
the end of the first stage to layer less than 2 in. deep; some 90% of the original moisture will
have been evaporated, but more than ½ of the total required drying time is still to go. If, at this
point, the material is stacked to a depth of 10-12 in., the conveyor area needed for the second
stage will be only 1/5 or less of that which would have been necessary without the restacking.
Centrifugal fan wheels are ordinarily used. A large proportion of the air passing through the
layer of moist material recirculates into the fan; dampers into the next section, to lattes into fan,
may divert part of it; dampers into the next section, to be replaced by heated fresh air, may
divert part of it. The fact that air temperature is uniform makes it necessary to control this
temperature at a level which is safe to apply to the moist material leaving the first section and
already partly dry. This equipment has good control over drying conditions and high production
rates. It is used for large scale drying of foods (e.g. fruits and vegetables are dried in 2-3.5 h at
up to 5.5 t h-1). Some soft, starchy or sugary materials may benefit by being subjected first to
very rapid surface drying in such equipment as the belt through drier so that the working
surfaces of the conveyor drier will remain clear and free of sticky build -up. It has independently
controlled drying zones and is automatically loaded and unloaded, which reduces labor costs.
As a result it has largely replaced the tunnel drier.
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Figure 2. Continuous conveyor dryer
Figure 3. Continuous conveyor dryer
Pneumatic Dryers
Pneumatic conveying dryers are those in which powders or granular materials are dried
while suspended in a stream of heated air. In such dryers, powders or particulate foods are
continuously dried in vertical or horizontal metal ducts. A cyclone separator is used to remove
the dried product. Since the material entering this kind of dryer must be conveyable in an air
stream, the incoming material must have been dried in other ways to a moisture level below
35-40 %. The moist food (usually less than 40 % moisture) is metered into the ducting and
suspended hot air. In vertical dryers the air flow is adjusted to classify the particles; lighter and
smaller particles, which dry more rapidly, are carried to a cyclone more rapidly than are heavier
and wetter particles which remain suspended to receive the additional drying required. For
longer residence times the ducting is formed into a continuous loop (pneumatic ring dryers) and
the product is recirculated until it is adequately dried. High temperature short time ring dryers
expand enchaining subsequent conventional drying and rehydration rate.
A pneumatic conveying dryer is often integrated with a spray dryer to provide a second stage of
drying, for example to produce sufficiently dry egg or milk powder. The product obtained directly
from the spray dryer is normally low enough in moisture content for the commercial market, but
special specifications may call for spray-dried milk or egg solids at lower moisture contents than
are readily obtained directly by spray drying. In such cases, the powder may be collected from
the spray dryer and metered into a duct into which a fresh supply of heated air is introduced.
The duct leads to a cyclone collector and the powder dries while being conveyed by the air
stream, both in the duct and in the cyclone. This type of installation is used to reduce the
moisture content of the product by only a few percentage points. Pneumatic dryers have
relatively low capital costs, high drying rates and thermal efficiencies, and close control over
drying conditions. They are often used after spray drying to produce foods, which have lower
moisture content than normal (e.g. special milk or egg powders and potato granule). In some
applications the simultaneous transportation and drying of the food may be a useful method of
materials handling.
Fluidized Bed Dryer
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Fluid bed dryer is an entirely different kind of pneumatic conveying dryer. Fluid-bed
drying permits continuous, large-scale drying of foods without over drying. The high heat
transfer rates make it an economical process, and the lack of mechanical parts ensures low
maintenance costs. The rapid mixing in the bed provides nearly isothermal drying conditions. In
batch operation products are mixed by fluidization and this leads to uniform drying. In
continuous dryers, there is a greater range of moisture contents in the dried product, and bin
dryers are therefore used for finishing. Fluidized-bed dryers are limited to small particulate foods
that are capable of being fluidized without excessive mechanical damage (e.g. peas, diced or
sliced vegetables, grains powders or extruded foods). These considerations also apply to
fluidized-bed freeze dryers and freezers.
A typical fluidized-bed design consists of metal trays with mesh or perforated bases,
which contain a bed of particulate foods up to 15 cm deep (Figure 4). The grid must be fine
enough to prevent the product from falling through it when the dryer is not in operation. Beneath
the grid lies a gas distributor and air heater. The column is made tall enough to allow for
expansion of the bed due to fluidizing and to prevent particles from being carried into the air
exhaust system. The air exhaust system is connected to a dust recovery system and an exhaust
fan. Hot air is blown through the bed, causing the food to become suspended and vigorously
agitated (fluidized). The air thus acts as both the drying and the fluidizing medium, and the
maximum surface area of food is made available for drying. The air is heated by steam,
electricity, or a combustion chamber. Control of the air temperature is based on the bed
temperature or exit air temperature. Bed heights typically range from 1 to 50 ft. The free board
height is the distance between the top of the fluid bed and the air exit nozzle. The bed height is
determined by the space available and flow rate required, the product residence time, and the
space required for internal heat exchanges. It permits entrained particles to fall back to the bed.
There is a solid feed mechanism, which is usually a standard weighing and conveying device,
such as a screw conveyor or dip pipe. An overflow weir or a flapper valve discharges the solids.
Solids may be collected from the exit air in cyclones.
When the pressure of the air equals the weight of the particles per area of bed, the layer
of particles is incipiently fluidized. At this pressure the layer undergoes moderate particle mixing.
Velocities lower than these results in no particle mixing. Increasing the air velocity over that
caused by incipient fluidizing results in rapid mixing of the particles. The additional fluidizing gas
passes through the particle layer in bubbles. At higher gas velocities, the particles entrained in
the fluidizing gas may be pneumatically conveyed out of the drying chamber. The lists below are
the characteristics that generally describe the materials suitable for fluid-bed drying:
1. The average particle size must be between 20 μm and 10 mm to avoid channeling and
slugging. Particles smaller than 20 μm tend to lump together because of their large
surface area.
2. The particle size distribution must be narrow to ensure that the majority of the particles
are fluidized and few are lost by entrainment in the air.
3. For proper fluidization, especially of larger particles, the particles should be spherical.
4. If any lumps are present in the fluid material, they must break up readily once in the
dryer, to retain fluidity in the bed.
5. The particles must be strong enough to withstand vigorous mixing in the bed.
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6. The final product must not be sticky at the fluid-bed exit temperature.
Dryers may be batch or continuous in operation; the latter are often fitted with a vibrating
base to help to move the product. Continuous ‘cascade’ systems, in which food is discharged
under gravity from one tray to the next, employ up to six dryers for high production rates.
Various Fluid Bed Design Dryers
1. Vibrated Fluid Bed: If the product to bed dried does not fluidize in a standard fluid-bed dryer
because the particle distribution is too wide or the particles break up due to their low strength, or
if they are sticky, thermoplastics, or pasty, vibrated fluid-bed dryer may be applicable. A long,
rectangular, narrow drying chamber is vibrated at 5 to 25 Hz. The air velocity within the dryer
can be as low as 20 % of the minimum fluidization velocity. The large particles are transported
through the dryer by the vibration of the dryer. The vibration provides a gentler means of
transportation than vigorous of agitation in stationary fluid-bed dryers. Vibrated fluid-bed dryers
typically dry such products as milk, whey, cocoa, and coffee.
2. Fluid -Bed Granulation: A second variation of fluid-bed drying is fluid-bed granulation. A

binding liquid is sprayed into the fluidized bed of granules, causing the particles to agglomerate.
The process is advantageous because it is not dust producing. The average particle size
produced ranges from .5 to 2 mm. The process has widespread use in the pharmaceutical
industry.
3. Spouted Bed Dryer: When the particles to be dried are larger than 5 mm and are not readily
fluidized in a conventional fluid-bed dryer, a spouted bed dryer is employed. The drying air
enters the drying chamber at the centre of the conical bottom. The particles move in a cyclic
fashion through the dryer. As they travel upward in the centre, they are carried by the incoming
air stream and fall downward at the periphery of the chamber. The advantages of spouted bed
dryers are the excellent solids mixing and heat transfer rates. Spouted bed dryers have
successfully dried-heat sensitive goods such as wheat and peas.
4. Mechanically Agitated Fluid -bed dryer: A combination fluid-bed and flash dryer used to wet
cakes was developed to conserve energy costs. The wet cake is fed directly via a screw
conveyor. Once in the drying chamber, a mechanical agitator breaks up the particles while air is
introduced to fluidize the small particles. Dry particles are carried to the exhaust system by the
fluidizing system. Pastes of pigments and dyes are dried industrially using this method.
5. Centrifugal Fluid -bed dryers: Rapid pre-drying of sticky foods with high moisture content
has been done in centrifugal fluid -bed dryers. Diced, sliced, and shredded vegetables that are
difficult to fluidize and too heat sensitive to dry in conveyor dryers are also dried in centrifugal
fluid-bed dryers. The cylindrical dryers rotate horizontally while air flows in to the chamber
through the perforated wall. The solids alternate between fluid-bed and fixed bed configuration
as the dryer rotates.
6. Fluidized Spray Dryer: Another alternative for hygroscopic and thermoplastic foods is the
fluidized spray dryer. A fluid-bed chamber is installed directly in the spray-drying chamber. The
fluidizing air is led to the bottom of the drying chamber. The combination of partially dried and
dried products and allows agglomeration to take place. Small particles entrapped in the air are
recycled from the exhaust system to the drying chamber. The combination of spray and fluid
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drying provides very efficient use of the drying chamber and produces agglomerated products
with low bulk density and good instatizing characteristics.
Figure 4. Fluidized-bed dryer
Kiln Dryers
These are two-storey buildings in which a drying room with a slatted floor is located
above a furnace (Figure 5). Hot air and the products of combustion from the furnace pass
through a beds of food up to 20 cm deep. The fruit is dried as a batch, but operates periodically
enter the kiln and use hand scoops to turn and mix the partly dry product. The traditional kiln
relies upon natural draft to provide sufficient circulation of air up through the moist material, but
more modern units are provided with a mechanical exhaust fan in the space above the drying
floor. If fuel oil is used for heating, the furnace is provided with an extensive array of sheet iron
flues to transfer heat to the drying air. These dryers have been used traditionally for drying
apple rings or slices in the USA, and hops or malt in Europe. There is limited control over drying
conditions and drying times are relatively long. High labor costs are incurred by the need to turn
the product regularly, and by manual loading and unloading. However the dryers have large
capacity and are easily constructed and maintained at low cost.
Figure 5. Kiln dryer
Rotary Dryers
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A slightly inclined rotating metal cylinder is fitted internally with flights to cause the food
to cascade through a stream of hot air as it moves through the dryer (Figure 6). Airflow may be
parallel or counter-current. The agitation of the food and the large area of food exposed to the
air produce high drying rates and a uniformity dried product. The method is especially suitable
for foods that tend to mat or stick together in belt or tray dryers. However, the damage caused
by impact and abrasions in the drier restrict this method to relatively few foods (e.g. sugar
crystals and cocoa beans).
Figure 6. Rotary Dryer
Spray Dryers
In a spray dryer, foods are transformed from slurry into a dry powder. A fine dispersion
of pre-concentrated food is first ‘atomized’ to form droplets (10-200 min diameter) and sprayed
into a current of heated air at 150-300°C in a large drying chamber. The feed rate is controlled
to produce an outlet air temperature of 90-100°C, which corresponds to a wet-bulb temperature
(and product temperature) of 40-50°C. The spray-drying operation is easily divided into three
distinct processes; atomization, drying through the contact between the droplets and the heated
air, and collection of the product by separating it from the drying air. A typical spray dryer
configuration is shown in figure. The dryer configuration and the properties of the feed material
determine the operating conditions necessary to provide a high quality finished product (Figure
7).
The type of atomizer is important because it determines the energy required to form the
spray, size and distribution of the droplets, available heat transfer area, drying rate, droplet
speed and trajectory, and final product size. Following types of atomizer is used.
Types of Atomizer
1. Centrifugal Atomizer (Wheel Atomizer): A wheel atomizer is shown in figure. Liquid is fed
to the centre or a rotating bowl (with a peripheral velocity of 90-200 ms-1 ). The droplets are
guided and shaped by vanes in the wheel (Figures 8 and 9). The droplets are projected
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horizontally away at 100 to 200 m/s with angular velocities of 10 000 to 30 000 rpm. Disk
diameters typically range from 2 to 18 in. Since wheel atomizers are not susceptible to clogging,
they are often used for slurries or pastes. Wheel atomizers produce a homogeneous spray, and
varying rotational speed can control the mean particle diameter. Wheel atomizers are widely
used in the food industry because they can handle a wide range of liquid viscosities and
physical properties.
Figure 7. Spray dryer
Figure 8. Wheel atomizer
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Figure 9. Wheel atomizer
2. Pressure Nozzle Atomizer: Liquid is forced at a high pressure (700-2000 kPa) through a
small orifice. Nozzles have a maximum flow rate of 1 L/h. In situations that warrant higher flow
rates; several nozzles are installed in the drying chamber. Typical pressures range from 300 to
4000 psig. Dryers with pressure nozzles typically contain drying chambers that are narrow in
diameter a tall in height (Figures 10 and 11). The small orifice facilitates clogging, so pressure
nozzles are seldom used when the feed is highly concentrated. Droplet sizes are 180- 250 m.
Groves on the inside of the nozzle cause the spray to form into a cone shape and therefore to
use the full volume of the drying chamber.
Figure 10. Pressure nozzle atomizer
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Figure 11. Pressure nozzle atomizer
3. Two -Fluid Nozzle Atomizer: Compressed air creates turbulence, which atomizes the liquid.
The operating pressure is lower than the pressure nozzle, but a wider range of droplet sizes is
produced.
Both types of nozzle atomizer are susceptible to blockage by particulate foods, and
abrasive foods gradually widen the apertures and increase the average droplet size.
There are a large number of designs of atomizer, drying chamber, air heating and
powder collecting systems. The variations in design arise from the different requirements of the
very large variety of food materials that are spray dried (e.g. milk, egg, coffee, cocoa, tea,
potato, ground chicken, ice cream mix, butter, cream, yoghurt and cheese powder, coffee
whitener, fruit juices, meat and yeast extracts, encapsulated flavors and wheat and corn starch
products).
The chamber design depends on the type of atomizer selected, the airflow pattern, the
production rate, and when drying a heat-sensitive product, the temperature profile of the air in
the chamber. Pilot-scale tests determine the optimum size of the dryer chamber. The shape of
the drying chamber is a function of the trajectory angle of the droplets as they leave the
atomizer. The chamber must be sized so that the largest droplet is dry before it contacts a wall.
The auxiliary equipment will vary with spray dryer design, but the most commonly
employed pieces are air heaters and fans. The heater may be direct or indirect and fuelled by
steam, fuel oil, gas, electrically, or thermal fluids. The most common heater in the food industry
is the steam heater. Saturated steam at 150 to 200 °C is used to heat the air up to 10 °C below
the steam temperature. Because they are able to produce high flow rates, centrifugal fans are
used to control the airflow in most spray dryers. A two-fan system, with one fan positioned
behind the powder recovery cyclones and the other at the drying chamber inlet, provides
chamber pressure control. The pressure produced is a function of blade design.
There are three airflow patterns that are commonly used in spray drying: concurrent,
countercurrent, and mixed flow. The air pattern used most often with heat-sensitive materials is
courrent because the product temperature is lower than the inlet air temperature. If high density
dried products of heat-sensitive materials are required, concurrent flow is utilized. The drying air
flows in the opposite direction to the falling particles. If the size of the dryer is limited, mixed flow
patterns are used. The most economical spray-drying systems have typically been mixed flow,
but that flow pattern is not suitable for heat-sensitive materials.
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The dry powder is collected at the base of the drier and removed by a screw conveyor or
a pneumatic system with a cyclone separator.
Spray dryers vary in size from small pilot scale models for low -volume high value
products (e.g. enzymes and flavors) to large commercial models capable of producing 80.000
kg of dried milk per day. Spray drying is especially advantageous for heat-sensitive products
because the particles are never subjected to a temperature higher than the wet-bulb
temperature of the drying air, and their residence time is short, usually between 3 and 30
because of the very large surface area of the droplets. The temperature of the product remains
at the wet-bulb temperature of the drying air and there is minimum heat damage to the food.
The other advantages are large-scale continuous production, low labor cost and simple
operation and maintenance. The major limitations are high capital costs and the requirement for
a relatively high-feed moisture content to ensure that the food can be pumped to the atomizer.
This results in higher energy costs (to remove the moisture) and higher volatile losses.
The bulk density of powders depends on the size of the dried particles and on whether
they are hollow or solid. This is determined by the nature of the food and the drying conditions
(e.g. the uniformity of droplet size, temperature, solids content, and degree of aeration of the
feed liquid). Instant powders are produced by either agglomeration or non-agglomeration
methods. Remoistening particles in low-pressure steam in an agglometer, and then redrying
achieve agglomeration. Alternatively, ‘straight-through’ agglomeration is achieved directly during
spray drying. A relatively moist powder is agglomerated and dried in an attached fluidized bed
drier. Non-agglomeration methods employ a binding agent (e.g. lecithin) to bind particles
together. This method was previously used for foods with a relatively high fat content (e.g.
whole milk powder) but agglomeration procedures have now largely replaced this method.
Agglomeration is an example of a size enlargement operation.
Trough Dryer (Belt-Trough Dryer)
Small, uniform pieces of food (e.g. peas or diced vegetables) are dried in a mesh
conveyor belt, which hangs freely between rollers, to form the shape of a trough. Hot air is
blown through the bed of food, and the movement of the conveyor mixes and turns it to bring
new surfaces continually into contact with the drying air.
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Figure 12. Belt-trough dryer
The moist material supplied to the dryer forms a flat bed several inches deep in the
bottom of this trough. When the mesh belt is driven slowly by means of its supporting rolls, the
bed of material slowly turns over, continuously exposing new surfaces within the bed to the blast
of hot, dry air coming through the grate at the bottom of the trough. Because of dynamic
considerations, the through bottom is slanted at an angle of about 15°-20° so that the material
at the bottom of the bed moves up a gentle slope, works to the top of the bed, and slowly works
of the bed moves up a gentle slope, works to the top of the bed, and slowly works across and
down again on the opposite side. The entire belt assembly is also tilted slightly toward one end.
The result is that the material in the bed feeds slowly in a generally helical path toward the
downside; operation is made continuous by feeding fresh material to the arised end and
removing the dried material at an adjustable weir positioned at the low end. The drying air is
delivered at a volume high enough to support, but not fluidize, the material in the bed. The
mixing action moves food away from the drying air, and this allows time for moisture to move
from the interior of the pieces to the dry surface. The moisture is then rapidly evaporated when
the food again contacts the hot air. The dryer operates in two stages, to 50-60 %moisture and
then to 15-20 %moisture. Foods are finished in bin dryers.
Products from conventionally operated tunnels or conveyor dryers are not uniform in
moisture content, and equalization of moisture content and drying of the wettest pieces occupy
much of the time spent by the material in bin finishing dryers. When the uniformly-dried material
from the belt-trough is put into the finishing bin, drying time for finishing drying and heat damage
therein are minimized. These dryers have high drying rates (e.g. 55 min for diced vegetables,
compared with 5 h in a tunnel dryer), high-energy efficiencies, good control and minimal heat
damage to the product. The belt-trough dryer has limitations in regard to piece shape and piece
size distribution. The material in the bed of the dryer is slightly supported, but not fluidized, by
the drying air. This characteristic permits the drying of reasonably soft materials without
mashing of pieces or significant rounding of cut edges. The dryer is not suitable for fruits that
become very sticky on the surface as drying proceeds. In this case, the bed of material will not
move properly and the surfaces of the pieces are marred. Red and green peppers, onions and
pimentos cut by a dicer can be dried satisfactorily. In contrast, the dryer is not suitable for apple
rings or onion slices. Apple rings break, onion slices separate into onion rings that become
entangled to the extent that drying becomes impossible.
Tunnel Dryers
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A tunnel dryer is basically a group of truck-and-tray batch dryers, operated in a

programmed series so as to be quasi-continuous. Truckloads of freshly prepared material are
moved at intervals into one end of the long, closely fitting enclosure, the whole string of trucks is
periodically advanced a step, and the dried truckloads are removed at the other end of the
tunnel. The hot drying of air is supplied to the tunnel in any of several different ways, known as
the counter flow, concurrent or parallel-flow, centre exhaust, multistage, and compartment
arrangements. In operation, thin layers of food dried on trays, which are stacked on trucks
programmed to move semi-continuously through an insulated tunnel. The trays are fabricated of
wood or light metal, with thin slat or open-mesh bottoms, and are designed so that when they
are properly stacked a clear air passage is left between trays. The loaded trucks are pushed
either manually or mechanically, one at a time, into the “wet end” of the drier. The passageway,
which constitutes the tunnel, is just large enough to accommodate the loaded trucks; clearances
are kept small so that hot air will not circulate uselessly around the stacks of trays but will be
forced to flow mainly between trays. Typically a 20 m tunnel contains 12-15 trucks with a total
capacity of 5000 kg of food. This ability to dry large quantities of food in a relatively short time
(5-6 h) made tunnel drying widely used. However, the method has now been largely superseded
by conveyor drying and fluidized-bed drying, as a result of their higher energy efficiency,
reduced labor costs and better product quality.
The drying characteristics of a tunnel are strongly influenced by its general design and
arrangement, especially the direction of progression of the trucks relative to the direction of the
main airflow. In the far more common types of tunnel design, the main airflow is parallel to the
direction of truck movement (Table 1). It may be same direction (concurrent, or parallel flow), or
the opposite direction (counter flow), or it may be partly the other, as in various types of
multistage dryer. Figure13 illustrates a simple concurrent tunnel and counter flow tunnel.
Figure14 shows a more complex counter flow tunnel, designed to allow a portion of the drying
air to be re-circulated. The essential differences between the effects of the two arrangements is
that in the counter current tunnel very rapid initial drying of the material takes place, causing a
high moisture gradient within each piece, rapid setting of the outer layers after only a little
shrinkage, and formation of internal splits or porosity as the internal flesh finally dries and
shrinks; final stages of drying are very slow because not only is the material approaches
dryness. Unless the evaporative load is very light, initial stages of drying take place in much
cooler and more humid air, internal moisture gradients are not so steep, and more nearly
unhindered and complete volume shrinkage can take place. For many years, counter flow
drying was standard practice for dehydration of fruits such as prunes, which amount to about 90
% of the fruit so processed. However, more than half of the current prune crop is dried in
parallel-flow tunnels. Air recirculation is common to reduce heat costs.
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Figure 13. Airflow pattern in tunnel dryers

Several other tunnel arrangements have been used to take advantage both of the high
wet-end evaporate capacity characteristics of the concurrent arrangement and the good final
drying capability of the concurrent arrangement and the good final drying capability of the
counter flow tunnel. The combination generally preferred consists of a concurrent wet end a
counter flow dry end.
Many other tunnel arrangements have been proposed. One is a closed-cycle system-
that is, there is no exhaust to the atmosphere; instead, the exhaust air from the drying section is
partially dehumidified and returned to the fresh-air intake. The system has been proposed for
onion and garlic dehydration, in order to diminish the nuisance aspect of the highly odorous
exhaust from an ordinary tunnel drier. Closed-cycle drying has also been investigated as part of
a system for dehydration foods in an atmosphere of inert, oxygen-free gas, the closed cycle
being necessary to diminish the cost of supplying fresh inert gas. The major advantage of such
an arrangement probably is its flexibility with respect to the drying a wide variety of different
products under nearly optimum conditions for each.
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Heated-Surface Dryers
Dryers in which heat is supplied to the food by conduction have two main advantages
over hot air drying.
1. It is not necessary to heat volumes of air before drying commences, and the thermal
efficiency is therefore high.
2. Drying may be carried out in the absence of oxygen to protect components of foods that
are easily oxidized.
Typically heat consumption is 2000-3000 kJ per kilogram of water evaporated compared

with 4000-10 000 kJ per kilogram of water evaporated for hot air dryers. However, foods have
low thermal conductivities which become lower is the food dryers. There should therefore be a
thin layer of food to conduct heat rapidly, without causing heat damage. Foods may shrink
during drying, lift off the hot surface and therefore introduce an additional barrier to heat
transfer. Careful control is necessary over the rheological properties of the feed slurry to
minimize shrinkage and to determine the thickness of the feed layer.
Drum Dryers (Roller Dryers)
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Slowly rotating hollow steel drums are heated internally by pressurized steam to 120-170
°C. A thin layer of food is spread uniformly over the outer surface by dipping, by spraying, by
spreading or by auxiliary feed rollers. Before the drum has completed 1 rev (within 20 s-3 min),
the dried food is scraped off by a ‘doctor’ blade, which contacts the drum surface uniformly
along its length. The capacity of a drum dryer is a function of the drying rate of the thin layer of
material and the amount of product that adheres to the drum surface. The drying rate depends
on the type of feed device, steam pressure within the drum, and the drum speed. Preheating
and preconcentration of the feed can reduce the drying load. Properties that affect drum
adherence are viscosity, surface tension, and wetting power. The four variables that govern the
operation of drum dryers are steam pressure, rotational speed, film thickness, and feed material
characteristics. The steam pressure, or heating medium temperature, will regulate the drum’s
temperature. The rotational speed of the drum determines contact time. The wet material is
applied to the drum from below by splash feeders that splash the product onto the drums by
rotary blades, by dip feeders where the drum dips into a tank and the concentrated material
adheres to the drum, or from below by a pendulum feed pipe.
Dryers may have a single drum, or double drums or twin drums. With the double-drum
dryer, the distance between the drums determines the thickness of the food product (Figure 14).
The products dries as the drums rotate and is then scraped off by the knives. This type of drum
dryer is advantageous because it can be handle a wide range of products, it has high production
rates, and it has low labor requirements. Materials ranging from dilute solutions to heavy pastes
can be effectively dried in double -drum dryers. Food products dried by this method include
heat-sensitive liquids and pastes, which can be quickly rehydrated from the resulting flakes or
powders. Applesauce, fruit purees, bananas, pre-cooked breakfast cereals, and dry soup
materials are manufactured in double-drum dryers. In a twin double dryer the drums rotate away
from one another, and splash feeders at the bottom of the drum apply the wet feed (Figure 15).
The dry material is removed by knives located 270 ° away from the rotary feed devices. This
type of drum dryer is used for materials with solids that are dusty when dry, such as salt
solutions or clay slips. The twin drum dryer can be used as a pre-dryer when a top feed is
installed. The material is removed from the dryer at high moisture content and drying is
completed with a rotary dryer. This drying method is economical only when increased capacity
is obtained by avoiding difficulties that would be encountered by using either dryer alone.
The application of wet material onto a single-drum dryer (Figure 17) is done with
applicator rolls. The rolls heavy product sheets resulting in a thick final product. The number of
applicator rolls used determines the characteristics of the dry product sheet. Applicator rolls are
advantageous when the wet material does not uniformly coat the drum surface. It is used for
drying pastes and for food products high in starch, such as potato flakes.
The layer of material on the heated drum is thin and presents no restriction to the
vaporizing water. Three stages of heat transfer occur in this thin layer: the first stage consist of
heating the thin layer up to its boiling point, the second stage when the water is vaporized and
the material gradually changes from a liquid to a solid state, and a final stage where the
temperature of the product approaches that of the drum.
Drum drying involves heat transfer from condensing steam through the metal drum to
the product layer. The rate of heat transfer depends on the resistance to the removal of water at
lower moisture contents and product characteristics. When the time to remove the lass few
percent moisture becomes too great to be practical, the drum dryers often increase dramatically
in these instances.
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Drum dryers have high drying rates and high-energy efficiencies. They are suitable for
slurries in which the particles are too large for spray drying. However, the high capital cost of the
machined drums, and heat damage to sensitive foods from high drum temperatures have
caused a move to spray drying for many bulk-dried foods. Drum drying is used to produce
potato flakes, pre-cooked cereals, molasses, some dried soups and fruit purees, and whey or
‘distillers’ soluble for animal feed formulations.
Developments in drum design to improve the sensory and nutritional qualities of dried
food include the use of auxiliary rolls to remove and reapply food during drying, the use of high
velocity air to increase the drying rate or the use of chilled air to cool the product. Drums may be
enclosed in a vacuum chamber to dry food at lower temperatures, but the high capital cost of
this systems restrict its use to high-value heat-sensitive foods.
Figure 14. Double drum dryer
Figure 15. Twin drum dryer
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Figure 16. Single-drum dryer

Vacuum Band and Vacuum Shelf Dryers
Food slurry is spread or sprayed onto a steel belt (or band), which passes over two
hollow drums, within a vacuum chamber at 1-70 Torr. The food is dried by the first steam-
heated drum, and then by steam-heated coils or radiant heaters located over the band. The
dried food is cooled by the second water-cooled drum and removed by a doctor blade. Vacuum
shelf dryers consist of hollow shelves in a vacuum chamber. Food is placed in thin layers on flat
metal trays, which are carefully made to ensure good contact with the shelves. A partial vacuum
of 1-70 Torr is drawn in the chamber and steam or hot water is passed through the shelves to
dry the food.
Rapid drying and limited heat damage to the food make both methods suitable for heat
sensitive foods. However, care is necessary to prevent the dried food from burning onto trays in
vacuum shelf dryers, and shrinkage reduces the contact between the food and heated surfaces
of both types of equipment. Both have relatively high capital and operating costs and low
production rates.
Vacuum band and vacuum shelf dryers are used to produce puff-dried foods. Explosion
puff drying involves partially drying food to moderate moisture content and then sealing it into a
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pressure chamber. The pressure and temperature in the chamber are increased and then
instantly released. The rapid loss of pressure causes the food to expand and develop a fine
porous structure. This permits faster final drying and rapid rehydration. Sensory and nutritional
qualities are well retained. The technique was first applied commercially to breakfast cereals
and now includes a range of fruit and vegetable products.
Freeze-Drying
Food products that are too sensitive to withstand any heat are often freeze-dried. Freeze
dehydration is an operation in which water is removed from foods by transfer from the solid
state (ice) to the gaseous state (water vapour). This operation (sublimation) can only be
accomplished when the vapor pressure and temperature of the ice surface at which the
sublimation takes place below those at the triple point. Food structure is affected differently by
sublimation than by other methods of dehydration because of a liquid phase during freeze
dehydration. The sublimated ice is pulled from the vacuum chamber by vacuum pumps or
steam jet injectors. The heat of sublimation is supplied by conduction or radiation. It is well
known that freeze-drying produces the highest-quality food product. This is largely because the
structure of the food is not severely damaged as in other drying processes. When water is
removed from a material by sublimation, a porous, no shrunken structure remains. Freeze dried
foods are easily rehydrated. Little or no loss of flavor and aroma occur during freeze drying.
Product quality remains high because the low drying temperature is not conductive to most
degrading processes, such as non-enzymatic browning, protein deterioration, and enzymatic
reactions. The greatest disadvantage of freeze -drying is the cost. The drying rate is slow and
the use of a vacuum adds to the cost. The final product has low moisture content, so alleviating
the refrigeration and storage costs saves cost.
Freeze drying process is subdivided into different steps, and usually three main steps
are considered: the prefreezing, the sublimation drying and the secondary drying.
Three Main Steps in Free Drying
1. Prefereezing Step: The freezing of clean water normally takes place at a constant
temperature of 273 K, ice crystals forming and growing from the liquid water gradually as heat is
removed. In freeze drying clean water is not considered food. This water is normally present as
a part of aqueous solutions and suspensions, and the freezing of those is connected with
phenomena such as freezing point depression, eutectic solutions, subcooling, ice crystal growth
and glassy structure.
In the prefreezing step of a liquid food, an international structure is created in the food
material, which may be stabilized during a later sublimation drying and secondary drying. This
structure is formed by a network of ice crystals incorporated in a matrix of concentrated food
material. In latter steps of the freeze drying process the ice crystals are sublimed away leaving a
network of channels for the water vapor to escape to the product surfaces. The water content of
the matrix reaches these channels by diffusion and also escapes to the surfaces. At the end of
the freeze-drying process the former liquid material is transformed to a porous solid with the
concentrated solid matrix as a structural network. In the prefreezing of solid foods, the structural
influence is also of importance. Slow freezing favors the formation of large ice crystals, which
can penetrate and damage cell membranes. Also ultra quick cryogenic freezing may result in
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drastic structure break down caused by temperature stresses. These structural changes are
normally undesired in quick frozen foods
.
2. Sublimation Drying: In the sublimation-drying step the two main transport processes are
heat transfer and water vapor transfer. In the normal vacuum freeze drier heat is transferred to
the product surface and on through the product layers to the sublimation front. The driving force
of this heat transfer is the temperature difference from the heater surface to the sublimation
front. The highest product temperature will be found on the product surface where heat is
transferred from the heater surface. To avoid serious quality losses it is important to keep this
product temperature below a certain limit. At a moderate freeze drying vacuum of 1 torr each
gram of ice when sublimated produces approximately 1 m3 of water vapor and at 0.5 torr even
2m3 may be formed. Being produced at the sublimation front all this water vapor has to be
transported first to the product surface and then away from the product surface, otherwise the
vapor pressure will rise and the temperature at the sublimation front will also rise so that melting
of the frozen product will occur. This vapor transport must take place under limited pressure
differential, or likewise melting may occur, which may first be recognized as collapse of the
regular, porous structure of the freeze dried product.
3. Secondary Drying: The sublimation drying of the ice crystals leaves a system of pores in a
matrix of product. The rest of the water content of the product has not been frozen out as ice
crystals and is still distributed during the secondary drying step. This moisture may partly exist
in the vitreous state, partly hydroscopically bound water. The secondary drying step is very
similar to the latter steps of any drying process, when water is no longer mobile in the product in
the liquid form and a temperature rise is necessary to release the hygroscopically bound water.
Foods normally in the secondary drying can tolerate the sufficient rise in temperature over the
sublimation temperature to achieve this.
Novel Drying Technologies

Saving in energy consumption will result in considerable overall improvement in energy
efficiency. In addition, the final quality of the product is greatly influenced by the drying
technique and strategy.
To investigate alternative novel drying technologies in order to arrive at more energy-

efficient processes with improved quality, a brief overview of some novel drying techniques is
given below:
1. Microwave Drying: High-frequency radio waves up to 30 000 MHz are utilized in microwave
drying. A high-frequency generator guides the waves and channels them in to an oven designed
to prevent the waves from leaving the chamber. Proper wavelength selection is necessary to
ensure thorough penetration into the food. The depth of the material and type of material being
exposed also affects penetration. It is important that each product be evaluated individually to
ensure proper wavelengths and dehydration. As the energy enters the foods, the molecules try
to align in the electric field orientation. They oscillate around their axis, generating heat within
the food, resulting in dehydration. The waves bounce from wall to wall, until the product absorbs
eventually all of the energy. In this manner, the drying rate is increased greatly. There is a
problem with uniformity of drying because of the penetration of the microwaves through the
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product. This type of heating is highly efficient; and power utilization efficiencies are generally
greater than 70 %. Important commercial aspects include the ability to maintain color and quality
of the natural food. This has been found prevalent in potato chips. Cabbage and potato blocks
were reduced in moisture content from 15 % 9 % and 7 % to 5%, respectively, and the time
required was about one-fifth of that in a cross-air blow dryer.
2. Ethyl Oleate: In the drying process, certain compounds can be used to enhance the drying
specific products. One such compound is ethyl oleate. This acts as a wetting agent, increasing
the evaporation rate of water in the initial stages of drying. Ethyl oleate acts as a surfactant by
increasing the spreading of free water within the sample. This, in turn, increases the drying rate.
On the skin of grapes, ethyl oleate causes a dissolving action on the waxy components of the
skin. It is these components that offer high resistance to moisture transfer. By dissolving these,
the moisture transfer is much easier.
3. Acoustic Drying: Products are dried at relatively low temperatures, 140 to 200 °F, with
intense low -frequency sound waves. These strong sonic waves increase heat and mass
transfer coefficients across the boundary layer of the product. This tends to promote liquid –
solid separation. The drying rates of these dryers are 3 to 19 times faster than those of
conventional dryers. Its efficiency rate is around 1500 Btu/lb H2O removed. The product enters
the dryer at the top in a gravity-fall situation. The product is atomized in order to enter the
chamber. As the product hits the air and sound waves, it is dried in seconds. A cyclone bag
house helps collect the dried products. This dryer requires sound-diminishing devices because
of the loud produced during drying. Foods that have been commonly classified as difficult to dry
have been dried successfully in acoustic dryers. Liquids containing between 5 and 78 %
moisture have been dried to 0.5 % moisture content. Products with high fat contents, up to 30
%, have also been dried in these dryers. Other products that dry well are high-fructose corn
syrups, tomato pastes, lemon juice, and orange juice. Because this process is relatively quick
and cool, the degradation of natural color, flavor, and nutrition is reduced.
4. Infrared Radiation Drying: This technique is often used in conjunction with freeze-drying (to
accelerate the sublimation process), batch drying, and continuous band drying. Heating the
product to a high temperature, resulting in direct penetration of the surface by the radiation,
generates the infrared radiation. The ideal products for this system are referred as black bodies.
This heat is usually generated by gas flames, electrical methods including reflector
incandescent lamps (100 to 5000 W), quartz tubes, and resistance elements. The heat radiation
is projected from planes arranged above the trays of product. Band systems are common
because of the need for the product layers to be no thicker than 3 mm. Slurries and gels work
best in this system, providing optimal penetration. This drying technique produces a high drying
rate without burning.
5. Electric and Magnetic Field Dewatering: The method of using electric and magnetic fields
is used primarily as a separation technique with solid-liquid combinations. Once the product has
been dewatered through this method, it is sent on to another conventional dryer to complete the
dehydration process. The backbone of the process is the flow of a dc electric field applied to
enhance dewatering. This influences the surface characteristics of the solid liquid, such as zeta
potential, dipole interactions, and hydrophibicity. This method works with two processes: electro
osmosis and electrofilitration. Electro osmosis is the movement of water through the porous
membranes of the product with the application of a dc electric potential. This is a surface
diffusion processes. Electrofilitration is the movement of charged particles toward electrodes in
the presence of a dc electric field. The processes are carried out in a separation chamber
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before the product is sent on to another dryer. These processes are not used on a commercial
scale yet because of the economics of the system, but they are becoming more prominent
because of the growing environmental concern with supernatant discard.
6. Superheated Steam: This method of drying is normally incorporated with a two-belt dryer
system. The product is put onto an upper belt in a uniform non-compact layer. As it passes
through the dryer, steam is passed up through the belt and product. At the end of the first belt, a
gravity-fall system loads the production to a second lower belt. The product is passed through
the chamber once again. The steam is blown over the product in a parallel fashion. No air is
introduced into this type of system. For this reason it is important to minimize any leaks within
the dryer. Superheated steam at atmospheric pressure is the only drying medium involved. This
occurs because steam increases the efficiency of the system over air. This in turn reduces
drying time and dryer surface area. The evaporation rate is controlled by the rate of heat
exchange between the drying fluid and the product. At the end of the drying process, the steam
is diffused from inside the product to the outside more easily than air would be. The steam
leaves the dryer completely saturated, and upon exit, is compressed to condense out some of
the water present in the steam. This steam is then expanded and recycled through the dryer.
Despite its initial high expense, this system has many advantages. There is no material
loss and no burning of the product. No pollution, a higher quality dry product, uniform drying, a
sterile atmosphere, and a 50 % energy savings in primary consumption are all benefits of the
procedure.
7. Desiccant: Desiccants have been used primarily in the air -conditioning industry for many
years, but several people believe that this particular technique has some aspects applicable to
the dehydration of food. The process is basically a dehumidification of the air followed by an
adiabatic evaporative cooling period. The idea is that the water in the product would condense
out through the pores of the desiccant and the latent heat of vaporization would be converted
into sensible heat. The product is normally dried in a rotary type or batch dryer. The high speed
or revolution of the drying drum plus a low airflow rate causes a great potential for mass transfer
from air to desiccant. Cooling water is circulated continuously to maintain a constant desiccant
temperature. A solid gel or liquid desiccant can be used. The solid gel requires very high
pressures to evaporate the water out. Higher temperatures are required for reactivating the
used desiccant. There are significant operating costs involving here. The liquid desiccant has a
lower vapor pressure that the water, which results in a dilution of the desiccant. This means that
the desiccant is absorbing the moisture from the product.
8. Osmotic Dehydration: The principal type is sugar syrup treatment. This causes removal of
moisture by placing the food in contact with the sugar solution. The product slices are immersed
in the concentrated sugar solutions for a range of 4 to 24 h, depending on the food being dried.
This will reduce the moisture content about 50 % and then the product can be dried further by
another conventional method. The other agents involved are sugars, sugar starch mixtures, and
sugar syrups. This "candling" leaves a product with a porous, crisp texture while retaining most
of its original flavor. Reverse osmosis is also used as a dewatering technique. This process is
useful for fruit juice concentrations and is much faster than conventional methods. The optimum
temperature range is 20 to 40 °C. The drying time is inversely proportional to the temperature.
Studies have shown that raising the temperature range to 40 to 80°C shortens the dehydration
time but lowers the quality of the product. It also causes the cell membranes to plasmolyze. The
plant material, osmotic substance used, and the parameters of the dehydration process affect
this drying rate. Also, at higher temperatures, the viscosity of the solution decreases as the
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water diffusion process. Also, at higher temperatures, the viscosity of the solution decreases as
the water diffusion coefficient in osmotic solution increases.
9. Explosion Puffing: This technique produces many of the desired qualities of freeze-dried
product but with significantly less expense and in a much shorter time with better reconstitution.
The product is partially dehydrated in a preliminary stage and then loaded into a closed rotating
cylinder called a “gun”. The product is heated inside until the internal pressure reaches a
predetermined value. The food is instantly discharged to atmospheric pressure. As this occurs,
some of the water is vaporized. The important fact is that the explosion produces a porous
network within the particle. This porosity enables the final dehydration to be completed rapidly,
approximately two times faster than conventional methods. The gun was redesigned some
years ago by introduced superheated steam at 500 °F and 55 psig into it. This prevents
condensation and guarantees that the particles are exposed on all sides. This process issued
mainly for fruits, vegetables, and grains.
10. Foam-Mat Drying: The conversion of liquid foods to foam has been found to be a less
costly means of improving product quality. Foams dry more rapidly than liquids, allowing the use
of lower temperatures and shorter residence times. The increased rate of drying is due to an
increase in surface area and the relative ease of moisture transport through the porous dried
foam structure as compared to the less porous structure of the dried liquid. Heat transfer is less
efficient in foam but is adequate since the drying of food materials is predominately controlled
by internal mass transfer. In addition to the reduction in thermal exposure to heat sensitive
foods, dried foams retain a porous structure, allowing rapid rehydration characteristics. Several
applications of foam drying have been developed, including vacuum puff drying, foam spray
drying, and foam-mat drying. “Vacuum puff drying” refers to processes that use a vacuum to
induce product foaming. When gases are dissolved in the liquid feed under considerable
pressure prior to spray drying, the process is called foam spray drying. Half typically reduces the
density of the foam -spray-dried products, and “whereas spray-dried particles are hollow
spheres surrounded by thick walls of dried material, the foam process produces particles having
many internal spaces and relatively thin walls”. In foam-mat drying, the foaming of a liquid is due
to surfactants that are either naturally occurring or added. Stable foam is spread out in a thin
mat and dried with heated air. The dried product, examples of which include milk, mashed
potatoes, and fruits can be scraped off moving trays or belts and crumbled. The cost of foam-
mat drying is higher than spray or drum drying but less than freeze-drying. This is due to the
large drying surface required to dry a thin film layer. Thicker films are unsuitable because the
drying time exceeds the time of stability for most foam.
11. Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Its Application to Drying: Supercritical fluids possess
unique properties that enable them to extract components selectively from a mixture. This ability
has been investigated recently as an alternative to currently used extraction processes such as
distillation or liquid extractions. SCF extraction exploits the properties that occur at or above the
supercritical pressure and temperature. The supercritical region is that point beyond the critical
point. The properties exhibited by fluids in this region are intermediate between those of liquids
and gases. The property of greatest interest for SCF extraction is that of density. With
increasing pressure, a gas will become increasingly dense. Above the critical point, this
increased density produces enhanced solvency, approaching that of that of a liquid. It is this
solvency that makes SCF extraction a feasible alternative. Mass transfer properties resembling
that of gases are also a significant factor in SCF extraction. An application of SCF extraction
that has seemingly gone unexplored is to the drying of food products. Since moisture content
influences texture, chemical reactions, and susceptibility to microbial spoilage, drying is a way to
Joseph M. Pasag
Page 49
retain quality and prolong shelf life. A complication associated with drying of food products is
that they may undergo changes that alter the physical or chemical structure, thus changing the
integrity of the product. SCF extraction avoids this problem because it allows the food product to
be dehydrated without undergoing a phase from liquid water-to-water vapor. Also, if a solvent
such as supercritical carbon dioxide is used, it will not be necessary to heat the product above
ambient temperatures.
Selection of Drying Equipment

The first consideration in selecting a dryer is its operability; above all else, the equipment
must produce the desired product in the form at the desired rate. The quality required in a
finished product, and its necessary physical characteristics, are determined by its end use. A
tomato powder, for example, would be made to have different characteristics if it were intended
for beverages use that if it were to be used as tomato paste in spiced cookery. Despite the
variety of commercial dryers on the market, the various types mare largely complementary, not
competitive, and the nature of the drying problem dictates the type of dryer that must be used,
or at least limits the choice to perhaps two or three possibilities. The final choice is then made
on the basis of capital and operating costs. Attention must be paid, however, to the costs of the
entire isolation system, not just the drying unit alone.
There are some general guidelines for selecting a dryer, but it should be recognized that
the rules are far from rigid and exceptions not uncommon. Batch dryers, for example, are most
often used when the production rate of dried solid is less than 150 to 200 kg/h; continuous
dryers are nearly always chosen for production rates greater than 1 or 2 tons/h. At intermediate
production rates other factors must be considered. Thermally sensitive materials must be dried
at low temperature under vacuum, with a low -temperature heating medium, or very rapidly as in
a flash or spray dryer. Fragile crystals must be handled gently as in a tray dryer, a screen-
conveyor dryer, or two dryer.
The dryer must also operate reliably, safely, and economically. Operation and
maintenance costs must be excessive; pollution must be controlled; energy consumption must
be minimized. As with other equipment these considerations may conflict with one another and
a compromise reached in finding the optimum dryer for a given service.
As far as the drying operation itself is concerned, adiabatic dryers are generally less
expensive than non-adiabatic dryers, in spite of the lower thermal efficiency of adiabatic units.
Unfortunately there is usually a lot of dust carry over from adiabatic dryers, and these entrained
particles must be removed almost quantitatively from the drying gas. Elaborate particle-removal
equipment may be needed, equipment which may cost as much as the dryer itself. This often
makes adiabatic dryers less commercial than a “buttoned-up” non-adiabatic system in which
little or no gas is used.
Joseph M. Pasag
Page 49
References
Desrosier, N. W., 1970, The Technology of Food Preservation, The AVI Publishing
Company, Connecticut.
Fellow, P., 1988, Food Processing Technology, Ellis Horwood, England.
Geankoplis, C.J., 1993,Transport Processes and Unit Operations, 3 rd Edition, Prentice-Hall

International, Inc., New Jersey.
Heldman, D.R. and Lund, D.B. 1992. Handbook of Food Engineering. Marcel Dekker Inc.
475-480.
Karel, M., 1975, Freeze Dehydration of Foods, Principles of Food Science. Part II. Physical
principles of Food Preservation, ed. M. Karel, O. R. Fennema, D. B. Lund, Marcel
Dekker Inc., New York.
Lorentzen, J., 1981, Freeze Drying: The Process, Equipment and Products, Developments in
Food Preservation-1, ed S. Thorne, Applied Science Publishers, London.
Joseph M. Pasag
Page 49
McCabe, W.L., Smith, J. C., Harriott, P., 1987, Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering,
Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Singapore.
Okos, M. R., Narsimhan, G., Singh, R. K., Weitnauer, A.C., 1992, Food Dehydration,
Handbook of Food Engineering ed. D.R. Heldman and D. B. Lund, Marcel Dekker
Inc., New York.
Potter, N. N., 1970, Food Science, The Avi Publishing Company Inc., Westport Fellow, P.,
1988, Food Processing Technology, Ellis Horwood, England.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drying
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equilibrium_moisture_content
http://www.barr-rosin.com/applications/solids_drying.asp
Joseph M. Pasag
Page 49

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Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila

University of the City of Manila

EXTENDED DEFINITION (PARTICULARLY APPLICABLE TO FOOD

Normalized Volumetric Water Content..............................................................10

Classification and Uses.....................................................................................11

Earth and Agricultural Sciences........................................................................12

EQUILIBRIUM MOISTURE CONTENT...............................................13

CRITICAL MOISTURE CONTENT.....................................................13

SOLIDS DRYING EQUIPMENT........................................................14

Dryer Categories and Selection.........................................................................15

DDGS Drying Systems......................................................................................17

Rotary Direct-Fired PGR Dryers.........................................................................20

Indirect-Fired SSD Dryers.................................................................................22

Rotary Steam-Tube Dryers................................................................................24

Novel Drying Technologies...............................................................................46

Selection of Drying Equipment..........................................................................50

Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water moisture or

Extended Definition (Particularly applicable to food drying)

• Dielectric drying (radiofrequency or microwaves being absorbed inside the material) It is

• Supercritical drying (superheated steam drying) involves steam drying of products

• Drying is often used to preserve food

• The production of anhydrous alcohol requires azeotropic distillation, or a membrane

• Wood drying is an integral part of timber processing

Volumetric water content, θ, is defined mathematically as:

where Vw is the volume of water and VT = Vs + Vv = Vs + Vw + Va is the total volume (that

MCdb = MCwb/(100-Mwb)x 100%

where φ = Vv / VT is the porosity and Vv is the volume of void or pore space.

Values of Sw can range from 0 (dry) to 1 (saturated). In reality, Sw never reaches 0 or 1 -

Normalized Volumetric Water Content

However, geotechnics requires the moisture content to be expressed as a percentage of

Satellite Remote Sensing Method

Classification and Uses

Earth and Agricultural Sciences

which can range between 0.1 in gravel and 0.3 in peat.

Some agriculture professionals are beginning to use environmental measurements such

Equilibrium Moisture Content

Critical Moisture Content

A common example where difference in this hygroscopic property can be seen is in a

Solids Drying Equipment

• Improve the storage and handling characteristics of the product,

Industrial drying applications use conductive and/or convective heat-transfer processes

Figure 20. Encapsulated, or bound,

Dryer Categories and Selection

Table 4. Continuous dryer technologies.

drying media ring*, fluid-bed, spray,

Table 5. Comparison of dryer issues.

External factors Drying system issues

Recovering dryer energy in other processes results in the condensation of substantial

DDGS Drying Systems

• Emissions-control cyclones, scrubbers and thermal oxidizers reduce the emission of

Table 6. Characteristics of DDGS dryer technologies

Rotary Direct-Fired PGR Dryers

Figure 22. Rotary direct-fired PGR dryer

Figure 23. Ring PGR dryer

Indirect-Fired SSD Dryers

Figure 24a. Indirect-fired SSD dryer - rotary

Figure 24b. Indirect-fired SSD dryer - ring

Rotary Steam-Tube Dryers

Rotary steam-tube dryers (RSTD) continue to be used where applications warrant

Figure 25. Rotary steam-tube dryer

Cabinet Dryers (Tray Dryers)

Figure 1. A tray dryer

Continuous–Conveyor Dryers (Belt Drier)