Mattu University

College of Engineering and Technology

Department pf chemical Engineering

Mass transfer on Dryer

THEORY
• Solids drying usually refer to taking liquids out of solids through evaporation, but not
through mechanical methods, although these methods are employed very often, as
they are cheaper and easier to use.
Basic terminology
• Wet weight is the relationship between the weight of the water in a wet solid and
the total weight of the wet solid.
• Dry weight is the relationship between the weight of the water in a wet solid and
the weight of the same solid once it has been completely dried.
• Internal diffusion is the movement of liquid or stain, which takes place inside a
solid as a result of different levels of humidity concentration.
1.2 Application of psychrometry to drying processes

• In any drying process, the temperature and the speed in which the
vaporization of liquid is made depend on the concentration of the
vapor in the surrounding atmosphere imagining that the heating supply
is correct.
• In many drying operations, water is the liquid and the air is the purge
gas.
• For drying objectives there are psychrometric chart, which are really
useful.
1.2.1 Evaporation from a wet surface
• The evaporation grade of a wet surface in the open-air surrounding is
determinate by the liquid surface (saturation pressure that corresponds to the
surface) and the pressure of the vapor in the surrounding air.
• In a close place, the process would continue until that two vapor pressure is
leveled, that is said, until the air is saturated with the same temperature than
wet surface.
• However, if saturated air circulates constantly, wet surface would reach a
balance temperature.
• The cooling effect caused by evaporation is equal to the transfer of heat from
liquid by conduction and convection from the air; under these conditions the
temperature will be higher.
• The balance temperature reached by the wet surface under these adiabatic
conditions that is without losses or profits of external heat, it is the
temperature of wet bulb that is well known in hygrometry.
1.3 Humidity

• The water vapor contained in the air is showed by the “Humidity”. Then,
some important concepts over the humidity:
• “Absolute or specific humidity”: (w) defined as the proportion of Mass of
Water Vapor / Dry Air Mass (kg/kg)
• Relative humidity (ф): is the relation between the partial pressure of water
vapor in the air and pressure of vapor saturation of water with the same
temperature.
• Saturation of percentage: it is defined by the proportion of mass of water
vapor of air / mass of saturated water vapor in the same volume and
temperature.
• The conditions in which the air conditioning works are considered, there are
a little difference between the relative difference and the percentage of
saturation and, so it is considered the same.
Hygrometers
• Hygrometers are instruments in order to measure the content of the
water in the atmosphere.
• In this hygrometer, the wet bulb is in a cotton material connected to a
deposit with distilled water. The evaporation originated in the shirt
makes that the temperature indicated in that thermometer is inferior
than the one to the indicated in the dry bulb, corresponding to the
temperature of the saturated vapor.
• The pressure of the water vapor in the atmosphere can be obtained
using Regnault, August and Apjohn equation, that is:
Cont…
Psychrometric chart
• Dalton and Gibb Laws allow calculating the properties of the wet air, in
the practice in more convenient the use of psychrometric charts.
• These maps are valid for a determinate pressure. If the pressure of the
work is different a lot from that is used for obtaining the chart (superior
or inferior to 20 mbar) is convenient to use the psychrometric chart
corresponding to that pressure.
Effect of the air speed in the reading of wet bulb
• The temperature of wet bulb, used in the psychometric charts is that is
indicated in the sensor of wet bulb put in an air current that circulates
with a speed superior to 3.5 m/s.
• For high humidity, can be error, if the sensor is put in a current that
circulates with a speed more reduced, but with humidity more reduced,
an important error can be produce.
Use of psychrometric charts
1. The wet bulb temperature line shows the maximum weight of water
steam a kilogram of dry air can contain in the intersection with the
dry bulb temperature line, which is shown in the humidity saturation
x-axis [Fig. 1]. Water partial pressure in the air is equivalent to the
water steam pressure at the same temperature. Saturation humidity
can be obtained as follows:

Where:
• Hs [kg/kg dry air] is saturation humidity,
• ps is the water steam pressure at a temperature t s,
• P is the absolute pressure, and
• 18/28.9 is the relationship between water and air molecular weights.
Cont….
2. The percentage of relative humidity is expressed with the following
equation:

Where:
• p is the water steam pressure in the air,
• ps is the water steam pressure at the same temperature, and
• HR is the relative humidity percentage.
 Cont…
3. Wet volumes are obtained with the curves “m3/kg dry air volumes”.
Volumes are graphically represented as humidity and absolute temperature
functions. The difference between the dry air specific volume and the wet
air specific volume at the same temperature is the water steam volume.
4. Enthalpy are stipulated over the base of kJ/kg of dry air. Enthalpy
figures are precise only when they are obtained from humidity and
temperature figures, which are in humidity, and temperature saturation
figures.
In order to correct the enthalpy for humidity under saturation figures, the
enthalpy correction diagrams shall be used. These diagrams also show that
wet bulb temperatures diagram does not fit the constant enthalpy adiabatic
cooling
5. In some psychrometric charts there are no curves for wet heats. In order
to obtain them, use the following equation:
 Cont….
6. Wet bulb temperatures also represent the adiabatic saturation lines for air
and water steam. The relationship can be expressed in the following equation:

Where:
Hs and ts are the adiabatic saturation humidity and the adiabatic saturation
temperature, under the air conditions represented by H and t,
Cs is the wet heat at humidity H,
Cs/λ is the slope of the curve, in which λ is the evaporation latent heat at a
temperature ts. These lines show the relationship between temperature and
humidity of the air, which goes through an adiabatic dryer.
Wet bulb temperature is set by the dynamic balance of heat transmission and
mass transference when the liquid evaporates from a small mass towards a
big gas mass, so that the latter does no undergo a serious temperature or
humidity variation. This is expressed as follows:
1.3 General drying conditions
• Solids drying consist of two simultaneous and essential processes:
1) Heat transfer for the liquid to evaporate.
2) Mass transfer either as a liquid or as steam inside the solid and as steam from
the solid surface.
• The factors, which control the speed of this kind of processes, also establish the
drying speed. Industrial processes can use conduction, convection or radiation
heat transfer, or even a combination of the three methods.
• But regardless of the methods you use, the heat must flow first towards the
surface of the solid, and then, towards the inside of the solid.
• During the process, the mass is transferred as a liquid or as steam inside the
solid, or also as steam which leaves the surface of the solid. The movement
inside the solid is caused by a humidity concentration gradient, which depends
on the characteristics of the solid.
 Cont…
• A study of the drying of a solid can be based on the internal liquid
flow mechanism or on how do external conditions, such as
temperature and humidity, affect the drying speed of a solid. The most
commonly used is the second one, as its results are more easily
applicable to units design and evaluation.
1.3.1 Drying process periods

• When drying a solid, one must note down some figures with which
one can draw the curves humidity content (W) according to time (ϴ),
drying speed (dW/dϴ ) according to humidity content, and drying
speed according to time.
• The first curve shows how wet solids loose humidity: first, the
evaporation from the saturated surface of the solid, then the
evaporation from the saturated surface whose area is gradually
smaller, and finally, the evaporation in the inside of the solid.
• The other two diagrams show that the drying process is not a soft
continuous process, along which the same mechanism is the only one
which predominates.
1.4 Dryer
• There are several methods of classifying drying units. The most useful
ones are based on:
• The way of transferring heat to wet solids, and
• The wet material being easy to use and its physical characteristics.
The first method stresses the design and operation differences, whereas
the second one is more useful when choosing among a group of dryers,
which are going to be under a specific drying consideration.
There is another method of classifying dryers: direct dryers and
indirect dryers.
Direct dryers are characterized by a direct contact between the hot gas
and the wet solid, whereas in the indirect ones the heat is transferred by
conduction through a liquid retaining wall, normally made of metal.
1.4.1 Batch tray or compartment dryers

• A tray or compartment dryer is a completely isolated and closed unit, in which

solids are placed on trays and big solids are placed piled up on one single tray.
• Heat transference can be either direct –from the waste of the solid by using large
amounts of hot air- or indirect –by using pre-heated trays, heating coils or
refractor walls.
• In direct heat units, except in vacuum tray units, it is necessary a little amount of
gas in order to eliminate the streaming from the drying tunnel and to avoid
saturation and, therefore, condensation.
• The compartment units are used to dry and heat wood, pottery, materials which
have been cut into sheets, painted objects and metal objects.
• It is essential that the load is uniformly spread along the trays when treating
particle materials.
1.4.2 Direct heat tray dryers

• Keeping a constant temperature and an uniform air speed greatly

influence the proper working of dryers, but above all is the solid being
dried itself which influences the process.
• It is very advisable that the air speed is between 1m/s and 10m/s, in
order to improve the heat transfer coefficient of the surface and to
avoid the creation of bubbles. The main problem of these kinds of
dryers is the difficulty of achieving a uniformity of the airflow.
• Tray dryers can either have stationary trays or movable trays.
• In the first one, trays are loaded on fixed frames, in the second one,
trays are loaded on movable shelves, which are placed inside the dryer.
• The shelves can be loaded with two rows of trays, each row,
depending on the size of the trays, including from 18 to 48 trays.
 Cont…

• Trays can be square or rectangular, with a surface from 0.5 m 2 to 1 m2,

and can be made with any material corrosion and high temperature
resistant, preferably metallic.
• The space between trays must be 4 cm. When possible, trays with
orifices shall be used, in order to have more contact between the air
and the wet solid.
• The load of the trays shall be between 1 cm and 10 cm deep.
Fig1: Psychrometric chart
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