Drying is the thermal process through which liquid is separated from a solid-liquid mixture by the application of heat and

also by accelerating evaporation through vacuum. It is accomplished by transfer of the liquid from a surface into an unsaturated vapour phase

Drying & evaporation are distinguishable by the relative quantities of liquid removed from the solid. In evaporation, the product obtained is either concentrated solution or suspension or wet slurry. In drying, dry solid is the product.

The rate of evaporation depends upon:

o o o o

Nature of the liquid, which is to evaporate Amount of heat applied Nature of air saturation Surface area of the solid or solid mixture

1. Stability Dried products are often more stable than moist ones because here, deterioration can be avoided e.g. effervescent salts, penicillin etc. Actually drying inhibits microbial growth & chemical decomposition.

2. Preparation of bulk drugs: Drying is also used in the preparation of bulk drugs where this is the final stage of processing. e.g Preparation of dried aluminium hydroxide. 3. Preparation of granules: Drying is most commonly used in pharmaceutical manufacturing as a unit process in the preparation of granules, which can be dispersed in bulk or converted into the tablets or capsules.

4. Flow property of powder: Flow property of a powder or granules is greatly dependent on the moisture content.

Viscous & sticky materials are not free flowing.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing of tablets and capsules, drying is essential to maintain the flow property of the granules to improve the fluidity & compression characteristics.

5. Improved handling: Drying can also be used to reduce bulk & weight, thereby lowering the cost of transportation & facilitating storage. 6. Sterilization: Drying is also important for sterilization of many pharmaceutical equipments or glass wares.

The amount of water vapor in the air at any given time is usually less than that required to saturate the air. The relative humidity is the percent of saturation humidity, generally calculated in relation to saturated vapor density.
Actual vapor density Saturation vapor density X 100

Relative Humidity(RH)=

Its approximately equal to the percent saturation which is =mass of vapor present per kg of dry air/mass of vapor required to saturate 1 kg of air at the same temperature x100 So, RH of air is dependent both on the amount of moisture in the air & on its temperature.

This is the water content of a material that is calculated as the percentage of the weight of the wet solid. LOD= Weight of water in sample (kg)/Total weight of wet sample (kg) x 100

BOUND MOISTURE: This is the minimum water held by the material that exerts an equilibrium vapor pressure less than the pure water at the same temperature. UNBOUND MOISTURE: This is the amount of water held by the material that exerts an equilibrium vapor pressure equal to that of pure water at the same temperature.

This is the amount of water present in the solid that exerts a vapor pressure equal to the vapor pressure of the atmosphere surrounding it.

At EMC, the materials neither loose moisture nor gain moisture

 It helps in selecting proper drying conditions It helps in selecting proper storage conditions

Temperature of surrounding air 1/EMC Relative humidity EMC Nature of solid: For non-porous, nonhygroscopic materials, EMC is essentially zero at all temperature & humidity. For colloidal or fibrous materials, EMC is higher

Basically drying process involves two phenomena--a) Heat transfer & b) Mass transfer

Heat must be transferred to the material to be dried in order to supply the latent heat required for the vaporization of moisture. Heating source may be flame, steam, hot gas, hot air etc.

Heat may be transferred in the following ways:

1. Conduction 2. Convection 3. Radiation

Transfer of heat between substances that are in direct contact with each other. It is an indirect process.

 It is a very simple method Cheap and rapid drying process The wet material does not come in direct

contact with heat

Heat distribution is uneven

Stirring of material is required during drying

Compact materials require preliminary granulation

A heating process by which heat from the source is directly applied to the solidliquid mixture thorough a media. The heating media may be hot air or hot gas.

 It is a simple method More uniform distribution of heat occurs Prompt drying is obtained Control of heat is easier

Fixing of temperature is essential Product loss may occur if a stirring device is maintained.

The process of heating where radiant energy is used as heating source. Usually infrared radiation is used.

 It is a unique process where drying period is

short
Heating source can easily be stopped

It is very expensive Stirring is required for even drying Worker safety problems

When heat is applied to the wet material, water is removed from the material as vapor. This is called mass transfer. Mass transfer involves the diffusion of water from the interior to the evaporating surface and subsequent evaporation of water from the surface to the passing air stream.

Mass transfer occurs by two mechanisms:

1. Internal mechanisms

2. External mechanisms

1. Diffusion It is an important mechanism by which water is transferred through the material to evaporating surface & the resulting vapor is transferred to the passing air stream.

2. Flow caused by shrinkage & pressure gradients On heating when water is removed, the pores become empty and solid particles take the empty place and the solid shrinks. When particles shrink, a tremendous pressure acts on the squeezed surface and the surface becomes cracked. So hot air or heat reaches quickly in the inner area and the drying rate is enhanced.

3. Gravity The moisture content of a wet solid is gravitationally pulled downward and tends to accumulate beneath the lower surface of the solid particles. Water comes downwards through the inner capillaries.

4. Vaporization condensation sequence: When heat is applied, the water from the surfaces of the solid granules becomes vaporized and it tries to expel out but fails to do so because the surface is rigid. This trapped moisture is condensed when comes in contact with relatively less heated area. Again heat is applied to vaporize the moisture and a series of vaporization-condensation sequence occurs until finally the vapor comes out.

5. Capillary flow: When capillary tube is immersed into water, water enters into it and climbs up to a height, which is due to surface tension and capillary action. In this case, inner moisture expels out through the continuous intermolecular space of the granular particles due to surface tension capillary action.

1. Temperature: The rate of drying is directly proportional to the temperature. In higher temperature rapid drying occurs. But excess heat can hamper the stability of the product, especially for the thermo labile ones.

2. Humidity: Rate of drying is inversely proportional to humidity of surrounding area. If the surrounding area is saturated with moisture, application of even higher temperature dose not influences drying. i.e. less humid or less saturated area is needed for better drying.

3. Agitation: Agitation of material from time to time enhances evaporating by bringing the unexposed area of the particle to heat contact. Otherwise some particles will remain wet & some will be burnt. Adequate mechanical agitation enhances drying through a uniform heat distribution.

4. Method of supporting the solid: The different types of dryer support the materials in different ways and mechanism of applying heat is different. Metallic tray is preferable to others because it can be sufficiently hot which will facilitate drying process. The relative drying capacity of different types of beds is: Dilute bed > Fluidized bed > Moving bed > Static bed.

5. State of subdivision: If the particles are more subdivided, the surface areas are increased & more surfaces are exposed to heat, thus drying occurs rapidly. 6. Nature of the particle: Porous particles are easier to dry but fibrous materials take longer time to dry.

7. Vacuum: Thermo labile substances are efficiently dried by creating vacuum with low temperature. 8. Others:
Contact between hot surface and wet solid Bulk of the material Period of drying Heating time

Beds are the supporting devices on which the wet materials (to be dried) are placed. There are four types of drying beds:
1. 2. 3. 4.

Static bed Moving bed Fluidized bed Pneumatic bed or dilute bed

It is the system in which there is no relative movement among the solid particles being dried. Only a fraction of the total number of particles is directly exposed to heat sources. The exposed surface can be increased by decreasing the thickness of the bed and allowing drying air to flow through it.

The bed is perforated and mostly made of stainless steel. Perforation of the bed allows hot air to come in contact with the drug materials from all directions. Example- beds present in tray dryer.

Advantages: Very economic Simple Disadvantages: Non uniform distribution of heat Drying time is high Chance of burning Chance of formation of cluster

It is the system in which the drying particles are partially separated so that they flow over each other. Motion may be induced by either gravity (downward flow) or the mechanical agitation or lifting (upward flow).

The resultant separation of the particles and continuous exposure of new surfaces allow more rapid heat and mass transfer than can occur in static bed. E.g. Beds in agitated pan dryer.

Advantages: Slightly expanded bed Drying time is low More uniform distribution of heat Less chance of burning & cluster formulation Disadvantages: Not simple Mechanical device is required for agitation

Here hot air or gas at high pressure is applied under the particles so that they are expanded, can move upward & then suspended in air. The particles are lifted and then fall back in a random manner so that the resultant mixture of solid and gas acts like a boiling liquid.

The gas-solid contact is excellent and results in better heat and mass transfer than in static and moving beds.

Advantages: Expanded bed Drying time is less

Disadvantages: 1) Expensive

Here air is applied under various pressures, so particles are in flying condition. This is a fully expanded condition in which the particles are so widely separated that is completely surrounded by gas of high velocity. Thus, the resultant heat and mass transfer are extremely rapid & the drying time is very short.

Advantages: More expanded bed Least drying time Disadvantage: Very costly

The pattern of passing air over the material is called airflow and the method by which gas may come in contact with a bed is the gas-solid contact. The gas used for drying may be directed by the following flow: 1. Parallel 2. Perpendicular 3. Through circulation 4. Co-current 5. Counter-current 6. Cross flow

The direction of gas flow is parallel to the solid phase. Contact occurs primarily at the interface between phases, with possibly some penetration of gas into the voids among the solids near the surface. The bed is usually in a static condition, i.e. parallel flow in tray dryer.

The direction of gas flow is perpendicular to the phase interface. The gas impinges on the solid bed and the bed is usually kept in a static condition.

The gas penetrates and flows through circulating pores or less freely around the individual particles. This may occur when solids are in static, fluidized or dilute condition.

The gas phase and solid particles both flow in the same direction i.e. flow pattern of pneumatic dryer.

The direction of gas flow is exactly opposite to the direction of solid movement, e.g. the flow of spray dryer. Collision between air & particles are the highest here.

The direction of gas flow is at a right angle to that of solid movement across the solid bed.

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