Dryer Design
Dryer Design
Dryer Design
I. Introduction
Drying is the removal of water, or
other volatile liquids, by evaporation. Most
solid materials require drying at some stage
in their production. The choice of suitable
drying equipment cannot be separated from
the selection of the upstream equipment
feeding the drying stage.
The overriding consideration in the
selection of drying equipment is the nature
and concentration of feed. Drying is an
energy-intensive process, and the removal
of liquid by thermal drying will be
Figure 1. An Industrial Dryer
Source: pharmabasics.com
more costly than by mechanical
separation techniques. [1]
When the feed is solids, it is important to present the material to the dryer in a
form that will produce a bed of solids with an open, porous structure. For pastes and
slurries, some form of pretreatment equipment will normally be needed, such as extrusion
or granulation.
Accordingly, the process of drying can be divided into two stages. During the first
stage, in which the material surface is wet, the rate of evaporation is constant. This is
known as constant rate period. In the next stage the surface being dry, the water must
force itself to the surface by diffusion, which is slower than evaporation. This is therefore
known as falling rate period. The entire process therefore involves heat transfer as well
as material transfer. [2]
steam, hot water, etc. On the basis of the method of heat transfer, dryers can be
classified as (a) direct dryers (b) indirect dryers. In each category they can further be
divided into batch and continuous types. As a general rule, production rates of 5000 kg
per day (0.06 kg/s) are best handled by batch dryers and rates over 50,000 kg per day
(0.06 kg/s) in a continuous dryer.
supported. The shelf must be sufficiently rigid to avoid deflection of the framework due to
dead load of trays and the material. It is necessary to ensure that the trays remain flat
under the load of the materials.
Table 1.1. Features of Tray Dryers
OPERATING CONDITIONS
Method of Operation
Conduction
Evaporation Rate
0.02-2.5 (lb/hr)/sq ft
Thermal Efficiency
18-41 %
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
Used for a wide range of materials
Close control can be maintained over the
drying conditions and the product Have high labor requirements
inventory
Suitable for drying valuable products
OPERATING CONDITIONS
Method of Operation
Conduction
Evaporation Rate
0.8-1.6 (lb/hr)/sq ft
Thermal Efficiency
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
The minimal agitator to wall clearance
keeps the wall free from product crust.
The pan bottom can be easily lowered
for fast cleaning and inspection.
Rotational speeds will range from 12 rpm for small units to 3 to 4 rpm for large
commercial installations. The horse powers vary between and 15. The base cylindrical
diameters are about 1 m to 3 m.
2. Continuous Dryers
OPERATING CONDITIONS
Method of Operation
Conduction
Evaporation Rate
Thermal Efficiency
46-58 %
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
Uniform drying due to movement of
product
Effective use of drying air circulation fans Bed of wet material can be permeable
Can easily be controlled belt speed and Importance to distribute carefully since
drying time
there is no opportunity to rearrange it
Very versatile and can handle a wide
range of materials
OPERATING CONDITIONS
Method of Operation
Conduction
Evaporation Rate
1.4-5.1 (lb/hr)/sq ft
Thermal Efficiency
36-73 %
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
Takes less time to dry
Occupies less space
High maintenance cost
Rapid drying takes place due to rapid heat Skilled operators are essential to thickness
and mass transfer
control of film
Can be enclosed in vacuum chamber to Not suitable for less solubility products
reduce the drying temperature
[3]
With such understanding on the types of dryers, one would have a good idea of
which type of dryer to use in given applications. The dryer selection criteria based on
major operating parameters are highlighted in this section.
1. Scale of Production
Design of a rotary dryer only on the basis of fundamental principle is very difficult.
Few of correlations that are available for design may not prove to be satisfactory for
many systems. The design of a rotary dryer is better done by using pilot plant test data
and the full scale operating data of dryer of similar type if available, together with the
available design equations. A fairly large number of variables are involved such as solid
to be dried per hour, the inlet and exit moisture contents of the solid, the critical and
equilibrium moisture contents, temperature and humidity of the drying gas. The design
procedure based on the basic principles and available correlations is discussed below. In
this case we assume that the solid has only unbound moisture and as shown in Figure
12 in stage II the solid is at the wet bulb temperature of the gas.
Figure 12. Temperature profile for solid and gas in a counter current rotary dryer
2. Design Proper
DESIGN DESCRIPTION
Rotary dryers have the feed materials pass through a rotating cylinder together
with a stream of hot gas. Internal lifters or flights elevate the feed and drop it in a curtain
from the top to the bottom cascading along the length of the dryer. Material moves from
one end of the dryer to the other by the motion of the material falling due to the angle of
inclination of the drum.
DESIGN SELECTION
A cocurrent direct-heat rotary dryer will be used to dry the raw material. This will
be used because it is suited for relatively free-flowing and granular materials. Also, it is
suited for low and medium temperature operations. It is relatively low capital cost and
labor cost. Cocurrent dryers are more suitable for material that must be dried to very low
moisture contents or where the last traces of moisture are difficult to remove.
PARTS
PARTS
Dryer Shell
Material lifters
Wet Feed
Air Seal
Support Roller
Riding Ring
Thrust Roller
FUNCTION(S)
It can be made from a variety of materials, including
carbon steel, or special stainless steel alloys.
It is used to pick up material, carry it over, and shower it
through the stream of gas. It also helps maximize
efficiency of heat transfer between the material and the
gas.
It includes chain and sprocket, reducer, and motor. This is
the motor behind the actual rotation of the drum. A gear
and pinion setup could also be used here in place of the
chain and sprocket. A reducer takes down the speed of
the motor for higher torque applications.
It is where feedstock is fed into the system, typically by a
feed screw or chute.
It is where the entering steam meets the drum.
It supports the weight of the drum which made out of
steel.
It adds structural support for the drum, and a place for
pressure to be absorbed. The riding ring rides on the
support roller.
It pushes on the riding ring to stop the drum from drifting,
Exhaust Gas
Product Discharge
or moving horizontally.
It is where spent gases and hot air (and small
particulates) exit the system. Typically goes to a scrubber
or bag house. Exhaust gas almost always needs to go
through some sort of ventilation system before it is
expended into the atmosphere, in order to clean the
exhaust air and remove anything hazardous from it.
It is where product exits the system.
DESIGN CONSIDERATION
1. Rotary dryers usually operate with 10 to 15 percent of their volume filled with material
(Perry and Green, Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 7th ed., sec 12-55).
2. The mass velocity of the gas is in the range of 2000 to 25000 kg/m 2-h (400 to 5000
lb/ft2-h) (Harriot, McCabe & Smith, Unit Operations in Chemical Engineering, 5 th ed., pp.
795).
3. Rotary dryers are operated most economically when the number of heat transfer units
is between 1.5 and 2.5 (Harriot, McCabe & Smith, Unit Operations in Chemical
Engineering, 5th ed., pp. 796).
4. Air-mass velocities in rotary dryers usually range from 0.5 to 5.0 kg/m 2s. An air rate of
1.4 kg/m2s can usually be safely used (Perry and Green, Perrys Chemical Engineers
Handbook, 7th ed., sec 12-55).
5. Dryer diameters range from 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) (Harriot, McCabe & Smith, Unit
Operations in Chemical Engineering, 5th ed., pp. 796).
6. The L/D (length-diameter) ratio found most efficient in commercial practice lies
between 4 and 10. Slopes of rotary-dryer shells vary from 0 to 8cm/m. (Perry and Green,
Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 7th ed., sec 12-54).
7. The flights are usually offset every 0.6 to 2 m to ensure more continuous and uniform
curtains of solids in the gas (Perry and Green, Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook,
7th ed., sec 12-53).
8. The radial flight heights in a direct dryer will range from one-twelfth to one-eighth of
the dryer diameter (Perry and Green, Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 7th ed.,
sec 12-56).
9. A value of 30 product rpm and diameter with a typical range between 25 and 35
(Walas, Chemical Process Equipment, pp.247).
DESIGN REQUIREMENT
1. Flow rate of heating air
2. Outlet humidity
3. Dryer geometry
A. Dryer Cross-sectional area
B. Dryer Diameter
C. Dryer Length
D. Dryer Volume
4. Flight geometry
A. Flight arrangement
B. Number of flights
C. Height of flights
5. Rotational speed
6. Residence Time
7. Power Requirement
DESIGN CALCULATION
1. FLOW RATE OF HEATING AIR
The flow rate of heating air is found using Equation 24.2 (Harriot, McCabe & Smith,
Unit Operations in Chemical Engineering, 5th ed., pp. 772),
known values in Equation 24.2 to compute for the flow rate of heating air,
g=
m
qT
(1+ H b) c sb (T hbT ha)
2. OUTLET HUMIDITY
In computing for the outlet humidity, we have to determine first the average rate of
mass transfer,
m
v . It can be calculated using Equation 24.9 (Harriot, McCabe & Smith,
v =m
s ( X A X B )
m
where:
m
s = mass rate flow of bone dry solids
m
v
The outlet humidity, Ha, is determined using Equation 24.10 (Harriot, McCabe & Smith,
Unit Operations in Chemical Engineering, 5th ed., pp. 774),
H a=H b +
m
v
g
m
3. DRYER GEOMETRY
A. DRYER CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA
Since we have the flow rate of heating air and mass velocity of gas, we can now
compute for the cross-sectional area,
m
g
G
A=
B. DRYER DIAMETER
The dryer diameter can be found by using the cross-sectional area which is
computed as,
D=
4A
0.5
( )
C. DRYER LENGTH
The dryer length can be computed by using Equation 24.29 (Harriot, McCabe &
Smith, Unit Operations in Chemical Engineering, 5th ed., pp. 796),
qT =0.125 DL G0.67 T
where:
D= dryer diameter, ft
L = dryer length, ft
G = mass velocity of the gas of dryer cross-section, lb/h-ft2
McCabe & Smith, Unit Operations in Chemical Engineering, 5th ed., pp. 773),
(
T =
T hbT wb )(T ha T wa )
ln
T hbT wb
T haT wa
Therefore,
L=
qT
0.125 D G
0.67
Note: L/D ratio should be in the range between 4 and 10 according to Perry and Green
(1999).
D. DRYER VOLUME
We can solve for the dryer volume using Equation 24.29 (Harriot, McCabe & Smith,
Unit Operations in Chemical Engineering, 5th ed., pp. 796),
qT =
0.5 G0.67
V T
D
V=
DqT
0.5 G 0.67 T
4. FLIGHT GEOMETRY
A. FLIGHT ARRANGEMENT
Flights attached to the shell lift up the material and shower it as a curtain through
which the gas flows. The shape of the flights depends upon the handling characteristics of
the solids.
B. NUMBER OF FLIGHTS
Number of Flights=
Dryer Length
Distance
C. HEIGHT OF FLIGHTS
Flight Height=
1
D
12
5. ROTATIONAL SPEED
The rotational speed can be computed with the use of the product of rpm and
diameter value.
6. RESIDENCE TIME
The time of passage in rotary dryers can be estimated by the relationships
developed by Friedman and Marshall (Perry and Green, Perrys Chemical Engineers
Handbook, 7th ed., sec 12-56) as given here:
0.23 L
BLG
+0.6
0.9
F
SN D
where:
B = 5(Dp)-0.5 = a constant depending upon the material being handled
Dp = wt. average particle size of mannitol crystals, (microns)
F = feed rate to dryer (lb dry material/(hft2 of dryer cross section)
= residence time, min
S = slope (ft/ft)
N = speed (r/min)
bhp=
where:
bhp = brake horsepower required (1 bhp = 0.75 kW)
N = rotational speed, r/min
W = total rotating load (equipment plus material), lb
w = live load (material), lb
D = riding-ring diameter, ft (D = d+2)
d = shell diameter, ft