entropy

Article
Numerical Simulation of Heat and Mass Transfer in Sludge
Low-Temperature Drying Process
Zhenyu Wang 1 , Qiang Wang 2 , Ju Lai 3, *, Dong Liu 2 , Anjie Hu 2 , Lin Xu 2 and Yongcan Chen 1, *

1 School of Environment and Resources, Southwest University of Science and Technology,

Mianyang 621010, China
2 School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology,
Mianyang 621010, China
3 School of Economics and Management, Southwest University of Science and Technology,
Mianyang 621010, China
* Correspondence: [email protected] (J.L.); [email protected] (Y.C.)

Abstract: Based on the sludge mass transfer flux model, this paper conducts a simulation study on
the drying characteristics of sludge under low-temperature environment and compares it with the
previous experimental results. It is found that when the sludge moisture content is low, the change of
its drying curve is basically consistent with the experimental results, but there is a large error when
the sludge moisture content is 0.4–0.6. In order to better simulate sludge drying characteristics, a
model of cracking and shrinkage coefficients based on sludge moisture content is proposed, and
the effective diffusion coefficient and mass transfer coefficient are modified. The maximum error
between simulation and experiment is reduced to 23.78%. Based on this model, the sludge drying
mechanism was studied. It was found that heat transfer and diffusion played a major role in the
initial stage of sludge drying, and diffusion played a major role in sludge drying 30 min later.

Keywords: sludge; low temperature drying; COMSOL; numerical simulation; heat and mass transfer
Citation: Wang, Z.; Wang, Q.; Lai, J.;
Liu, D.; Hu, A.; Xu, L.; Chen, Y.
Numerical Simulation of Heat and
Mass Transfer in Sludge 1. Introduction
Low-Temperature Drying Process.
With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, the sewage treatment
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682. https://
capacity is increasing. In addition, sludge is the product of sewage treatment plant. Its
doi.org/10.3390/e24111682
treatment capacity is also increasing [1–3]. The 2015 Paris Agreement initiated a global
Academic Editor: Jean-Noël Jaubert commitment and effort to reduce CO2 emissions to lower the risks and impacts of climate
change by limiting the increase in global average temperatures to well below 2 ◦ C above pre-
Received: 14 October 2022
industrialized levels, aiming for 1.5 ◦ C and to reach net-zero emissions in the second half of
Accepted: 15 November 2022
the century [4,5]. The reduction, hazard-free treatment, stabilization, and low carbonization
Published: 17 November 2022
of sludge treatment are important environmental issues at present [6]. Sludge drying is an
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral important means of sludge reduction. It can reduce the mass and volume of sludge, kill
with regard to jurisdictional claims in pathogens, and reduce handling and transportation costs. At present, conventional drying
published maps and institutional affil- methods include high-temperature thermal drying, vacuum drying, radiation drying, etc.
iations.
However, there are many problems, such as large equipment investment, high drying
energy consumption, high operation cost, serious pollution, and low safety. With the
development of heat pump drying technology, low-temperature heat pump sludge drying
technology has attracted more and more attention due to its energy-saving, environmental
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
protection, safety and health, and good quality of drying products [7,8].
This article is an open access article
Sludge drying is a complex heat and moisture transfer process. In terms of heat and
distributed under the terms and mass transfer research, Khalil UrRehman [9–11] noticed that in non-porous and porous
conditions of the Creative Commons media, t Nusselt number has a direct relationship with the change of Prandtl number
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// for the mathematical model of heat transfer in Carreau fluid flow with physical effects
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ and the corresponding solutions. At the same time, they also used group theory analysis,
4.0/). human intelligence, and other methods to study heat and mass transfer problems. In

Entropy 2022, 24, 1682. https://doi.org/10.3390/e24111682 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy

Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 2 of 17

order to master the rules of sludge drying, many scholars have carried out research on
the drying characteristics of sludge, in which the description of the drying process is
the key [12]. Deng [13] and Vaxelaire [1] drew the drying curve through a large number
of experiments, divided the drying process into four stages, and analyzed the moisture
removed in different stages. However, Bennamoun [14] divided the drying process into
three stages: the increasing speed stage, constant speed stage, and decreasing speed stage,
and found that the decreasing speed drying stage accounted for a large proportion of
the whole drying process. Zheng Q [15] studied the sludge drying characteristics under
different air temperatures, wind speeds, and relative humidity. It was found that the
effect of relative humidity on sludge drying characteristics at low temperatures could not
be ignored, and the introduction of relative humidity into the drying model coefficient
improved the prediction ability of the drying process. At present, although the research
on sludge drying is very extensive, there is no widely applicable drying model. Even the
drying model of the same kind of sludge under certain conditions is difficult to determine.
From the above studies, it can be seen that the researchers’ research on sludge drying
is conducted through a large number of experiments, which are high in cost and low in
efficiency. However, using computer software to simulate the drying process of porous
media is a cheap, time-saving, and energy-saving method. In addition, it can also obtain
detailed and accurate information about the sludge drying process.
For heat and mass transfer in porous media, Farahani et al. [16] studied the pore scale
mechanism controlling heat transfer in partially saturated porous media under unfrozen
and frozen conditions and developed a numerical model for predicting effective thermal
conductivity (ETC). Jamaledine and Ray [17] studied several CFD analysis software to
simulate the drying process of wet materials and found that software such as ANSYS
FLUENT can be used to analyze fluid dynamics. However, FLUENT could not directly
simulate the drying process of wet porous media (food, agricultural products, etc.) because
FLUENT’s own control equations did not include energy source terms and water source
terms [18–20]. Assari et al. [21] calculated the wheat drying process using CFD software
based on the Euler two-fluid model, and the simulated values of temperature and humidity
were in good agreement with the experimental values. Zare et al. [22] conducted a lot of
research on the drying of porous media. However, their main research is carried out in a
one-dimensional model, and in the drying of porous media, three-dimensional modeling
and research are more consistent with the actual drying situation and more reliable. The
numerical simulation of sludge drying, especially the simulation of the mass transfer
mechanism, needs further research.
The numerical simulation of sludge drying characteristics can well predict the dry-
ing characteristics of sludge and analyze its heat and mass transfer mechanism from a
microscopic perspective. In this paper, a three-dimensional model of the thin layer sludge
drying model is established by numerical method, and its drying characteristics under
low temperatures are studied. Compared with the previous experimental results [12], the
convergence coefficient is proposed to optimize the model and the drying temperature.
The influence of air humidity and other factors on sludge drying characteristics.

2. Numerical Simulation
2.1. Geometric Model
Three-dimensional low-temperature drying model is built according to the size of
the thin layer sludge, and the size of thin layer sludge is 200 mm × 200 mm × 2 mm
cuboid. The middle position in the thickness direction is symmetrically simplified, so the
calculation area of sludge low-temperature drying is determined as 200 mm × 200 mm × 1
mm cuboid, as shown in Figure 1, where the bottom of the model is defined as a symmetric
boundary condition (boundary 1), and the surrounding boundary is a coupling boundary
condition, while the other boundary interfaces are water evaporation heat flux boundaries
(boundaries 2–6).
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 3 of 17

Figure 1. 3D model of numerical simulation of sludge drying at low temperature.

2.2. Control Equation of Heat and Mass Transfer in Sludge Drying

The sludge low-temperature drying process is a process of discharging water from
sludge, mainly including heat and mass transfer inside sludge and heat and mass transfer
between sludge surface moisture and environment [23,24]. The research purpose of the
sludge drying process is to obtain the temperature field and humidity field inside the
sludge, link them with the characteristic drying curve, reveal the drying law, and provide
the basis for the selection of drying technology and drying process. The sludge low-
temperature drying model is coupled with two transient interfaces describing temperature
and moisture concentration, respectively. This model does not model the convective
velocity field outside the sludge because the coefficient of convective heat and moisture
transfer with the surrounding air has been given.

2.2.1. Heat Transfer Control Equation

The heat transfer in sludge is calculated by the following energy conservation Equation
(1) [25]:
∂T
ρC p + ρC p u∇ T + ∇ ·q = Q + Qted (1)
∂t
In Equation (1), ρC p ∂T
∂t represents the change of the unstable term of solid with time,
ρC p u∇ T is the air convection heat transfer term in the sludge, and ∇ ·q is the heat transfer
term in the sludge. Q is the internal heat source of sludge and Qted is the external heat
source of sludge. Wherein, the heat flow density q is expressed by Equation (2):

q = −k∇ T (2)
where k is the thermal conductivity of sludge, W/(m·K).

2.2.2. Mass Transfer Control Equation

The law of mass transfer describes the relationship between the flux of diffusing matter
and the concentration gradient that generates mass transfer. Under the action of humidity
gradient and temperature gradient, the moisture in the sludge will migrate to the outside
in liquid form. The effective diffusion coefficient De f f [26,27] is introduced, and its mass
transfer follows Fick’s second law. The equation of the transient concentration field in
sludge is shown in Equation (3):

∂c j
+ ∇ · Jj + u∇ c j = R j (3)
∂t
∂c
In the formula, ∂tj is the change rate of the mass of water vapor in the unit volume
of sludge with time, ∇ · Jj is the water diffusion mass flux caused by the concentration
gradient of water vapor in the unit volume of sludge, and u∇ c j is the mass flux of water
vapor in the unit volume of sludge in three directions. R j is the external water vapor flux
of sludge. Wherein the expression of water diffusion mass flux Jj is Equation (4) [28]:

J j = − De f f ∇ c j (4)
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 4 of 17

2.3. Boundary Condition

.
The evaporation of water on the outer boundary of sludge generates heat flux, and I
is used in the boundary conditions of boundary 2–6 Term to represent this heat flux. Air
convection increases the heat passing through boundaries 2–6. According to the previous
assumption, another item is added to these boundary surfaces, which represents the heat
flux transferred to the outside of the sludge due to water evaporation. To sum up, the
boundary conditions of the heat transfer interface are expressed in Equations (5) and (6):

n·(−k∇ T ) = 0 Boundary 1 (5)

.
n·(−k∇ T ) = h T ( Tair − T ) + I Boundary 2–6 (6)
where h T is the heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2 ·K)) and Tair is the air temperature in the
drying oven.
.
Evaporative heat flux I As shown in Equation (7):
.
I = − Ida ·k (c0 − c) (7)

where Ida is the molar latent heat of evaporation, J/mol; c0 is the concentration of air and
water vapor in the drying oven, mol/m3 .
The diffusion boundary conditions are shown in Equations (8) and (9):
 
n· − De f f ∇ c = 0 Boundary 1 (8)
 
n· De f f ∇ c = hm (c0 − c) Boundary 2–6 (9)

where De f f is the water diffusion coefficient in the sludge, m2 /s; hm is the convective mass
transfer coefficient on the sludge surface, m/s; c0 is the concentration of air and water
vapor in the drying oven, mol/m3 .

2.4. Determination of Physical Characteristic Parameters of Sludge

It is assumed that the shrinkage of sludge is ignored during the drying process. That
is, the sludge volume remains unchanged. Measured according to the textbook Drainage
Engineering, the maximum density of sludge is generally the highest when the water
content is 65%, which is about 1220 kg/m3 , the unit weight of 80% water content is 1140–
1150 kg/m3 , the 90% water content is 1010 kg/m3 , and the 40% water content is 800–900
kg/m3 , the water content of 30% is about 750 kg/m3 , and it is concluded that the sludge
density changes with the sludge water content. Therefore, sludge density is defined ρ the
expression of is shown in Equation (10) [29]:

ρ = 1124 − 1036M2 + 924 (10)

where M is the water content of the sludge.

The specific heat capacity at constant pressure is the internal energy absorbed or
released when the unit mass object changes the unit temperature, and the specific heat
capacity is the physical quantity representing the thermal property of the material, J/(kg·K).
This model assumes that the specific heat capacity of sludge increases with the increase in
temperature, and the specific heat capacity of sludge at constant pressure C p is shown in
Equation (11) [30]:  
C p = 2301 + 2.05T + 0.24T 2 + 0.002T 3 (11)

The thermal conductivity of sludge, k, W/(m·K) [31], is the heat transmitted through
a unit area in unit time under the action of a unit temperature gradient, which increases
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 5 of 17

with the increase in water concentration. Therefore, the expression for defining the thermal
conductivity k of sludge is shown in Equation (12) [32]:

cM H2 O
 
k = 0.194 + 0.436 (12)
ρ

where, c is the water concentration of sludge, mol/m3 ; M H2 O is the molar mass of water,
kg/mol.
The effective sludge diffusion coefficient De f f is considered to change with the change
of sludge moisture content. The sixth-order polynomial is used to fit the rule of 12 groups
of experimental data De f f –Mt, and the sixth-order polynomial function expression of
De f f –Mt is obtained as shown in Equation (13) [33]:

De f f = P1 Mt6 + P2 Mt5 + P3 tMt4 + P4 Mt3 + P5 Mt2 + P6 Mt + P7 (13)

where Mt is the moisture content of sludge at time t during drying (g/g).

In the drying process under the same working condition, the convective mass transfer
coefficient hm [34] on the sludge surface is a constant value. The convective mass transfer
coefficient hm of the sludge surface of 12 groups of experimental data is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. The estimated value of convective mass transfer coefficient on sludge surface under different
air temperatures and relative humidity.

Temp (◦ C) Relative Humidity (%) hm (m/s∗10−7 )

30 3.89
40 3.01
40
50 1.56
60 1.17
30 5.56
40 4.42
50
50 3.05
60 2.70
30 6.50
40 6.09
60
50 5.20
60 4.57

2.5. Simulation Using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.5

Select the dilute material transfer module and solid heat transfer module in COMSOL
Multiphysics 5.5. COMSOL Multiphysics is used to divide the mesh freely. The mesh is a
tetrahedron mesh. The number of free meshes of the model is 91,925, and the volume is
40,000 m3 . Set the calculation time and step size under different working conditions and
enable the unsteady calculation method for calculation.

3. Analysis of Simulation Results

3.1. Analysis of Simulation and Experimental Results
The drying process under different air temperature and air relative humidity condi-
tions with a sludge thickness of 2 mm and inlet wind speed of 1.5 m/s was simulated and
analyzed. Analyze and compare the simulation value and experimental value [9], and
compare the change rule of sludge water ratio MR with drying time t so as to verify the
accuracy of the model. Figures 2–4 show the simulated and experimental values of sludge
water ratio MR changing with drying time under different relative humidity conditions
when the air temperature is 40 ◦ C, 50 ◦ C, and 60 ◦ C, respectively. It can be seen from the
diagram analysis. During the simulated drying process, the change in the drying curve
was basically consistent with the experimental results before the sludge water ratio MR
was 0.6. However, when the sludge water ratio MR is 0.4–0.6 during the drying process, it
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 6 of 17

is found that the deviation is large. Specifically, the simulated drying rate is slower than the
experimental drying rate. When the sludge moisture ratio MR is below 0.4 during drying,
the error becomes larger and larger. This is because the internal structure of sludge changes
during the actual drying process. When the sludge moisture ratio MR is 0.4–0.6 during the
drying process, cracking [35] and shrinkage [36] occur in the sludge. During the process of
hot air convection drying of sludge, with the diffusion and evaporation of water, the sludge
will become smaller, shrink internally, and the structure of pores and pores between solid
skeletons will change. When the sludge is dried to the stage where the sludge-water ratio
MR is 0.6–0.4, the internal diffusion mechanism is mainly the loss of sludge-adsorbed water.
At this time, the void caused by water loss can only be compensated by sludge shrinkage.
Therefore, the sludge will crack and shrink. In the whole drying process under the same
drying condition, the value of the effective moisture diffusion coefficient, considering the
regular shrinkage of sludge, is smaller than that without sludge shrinkage. The appearance
of cracking increases the contact area between sludge and hot air further increases the
convective mass transfer coefficient, and also reduces the resistance of water diffusion. The
water in sludge is easier to escape due to cracking. Sludge shrinkage and cracking have a
continuous impact on the drying rate during sludge drying, and this impact will continue
to increase.

Figure 2. The simulated and experimental values of the change of the sludge moisture ratio MR
with the drying time t when the air temperature is 40 ◦ C: (a) RH 30%, (b) RH 40%, (c) RH 50%,
(d) RH 60%.

It can be seen in Figure 2. During the first 70 min of the experimental and simulated
values, the change rule of sludge water ratio MR with time is basically consistent, which
indicates that the numerical simulation model of sludge drying is applicable, while the
selection and calculation of physical parameters (sludge density, specific heat, thermal
conductivity, diffusion coefficient and convection mass transfer coefficient on the sludge
surface) are in line with the reality of the sludge drying process. However, after 70 min, the
difference between the sludge water content of the experimental process and the simulated
process became larger and larger, with the error ranging from 5.6% at the beginning to
110% at the end of drying. This shows that the shrinkage and cracking of sludge have a
continuous impact on the drying rate during the sludge drying process, and this impact
will continue to increase. Because the numerical model of sludge drying assumes that
the volume of sludge does not change and shrinkage cracking is not considered in the
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 7 of 17

calculation process, it is the main reason for large errors. The phenomena reflected in
Figures 3 and 4 are basically consistent with the above.

Figure 3. Changes of sludge moisture ratio MR with drying time t when the air temperature is 50 °C:
(a) RH 30%, (b) RH 40%, (c) RH 50%, (d) RH 60%.

Figure 4. Variation of sludge moisture ratio MR with drying time t when the air temperature is 60 ◦ C:
(a) RH 30%, (b) RH 40%, (c) RH 50%, (d) RH 60%.

3.2. Model Modification

According to the above analysis, cracking during sludge drying will increase the
convective mass transfer coefficient of the sludge surface, while sludge shrinkage will
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 8 of 17

reduce the effective diffusion coefficient of sludge. Therefore, the cracking phenomenon
and shrinkage phenomenon are described by modifying the physical parameters. Therefore,
when defining the sludge surface convection mass transfer coefficient, hm, and the effective
sludge diffusion coefficient De f f , the sludge cracking coefficient is added α. And sludge
shrinkage coefficient β. To control the convective mass transfer coefficient hm on the sludge
surface and the effective diffusion coefficient De f f of sludge so that the model calculation
can reflect the cracking and shrinkage phenomena generated during the sludge drying
process. Among a > 1, 0 < β < 1.
(1) Modification of convective mass transfer coefficient hm on sludge surface in
the model
In this experiment, when the sludge water ratio is 0.6, the corresponding sludge dry
basis moisture content is 1.073. As the sludge shrinks, its influence on the drying rate
becomes greater and greater, so the sludge cracking coefficient is defined α The sludge
shrinkage coefficient at the beginning of shrinkage is α0 . Sludge cracking coefficient α the
expression of is shown in Equation (14):

α = α0 exp( aMt ) + b (14)

where a and b are parameters, and the values of a and b are different under different
working conditions.
The modified definition of the effective sludge diffusion coefficient hm 0 is shown in
Equations (15) and (16):
hm 0 = hm Mt ≥ 1.073 (15)
hm 0 = αhm Mt < 1.073 (16)
(2) Modification of sludge effective diffusion coefficient De f f in the model
As the effect of sludge shrinkage on drying rate becomes greater and greater, the sludge
shrinkage coefficient is defined β. The sludge shrinkage coefficient at the beginning of
shrinkage is β 0 . Sludge shrinkage coefficient β. The expression of is shown in Equation (17):

β = cβ 0 + dMt (17)

where, c and d are parameters, and the values of c and d are different under different
working conditions.
The modified definition of the effective sludge diffusion coefficient De f f 0 is shown in
Equations (18) and (19):

De f f 0 = P1 Mt6 + P2 Mt5 + P3 tMt4 + P4 Mt3 + P5 Mt2 + P6 Mt + P7 Mt ≥ 1.073 (18)

 
De f f 0 = β P1 Mt6 + P2 Mt5 + P3 tMt4 + P4 Mt3 + P5 Mt2 + P6 Mt + P7 Mt < 1.073 (19)

Coefficient under different working conditions α and coefficient β. The determination

is shown in Table 2.
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 9 of 17

Table 2. Coefficient α and coefficient β under different working conditions.

Temp (◦ C) Relative Humidity (%) Parameters a0 β0

a = −1.1423, b = 1.2644
30 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.9012, d = 0.1123
a = −1.3523, b = 1.2325
40 1.2000 0.9000
40 c = 0.8862, d = 0.1089
a = −1.4011, b = 1.2089
50 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.8726, d = 0.1012
a = −1.4628, b = 1.1843
60 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.8012, d = 0.0989
a = −1.1177, b = 1.3049
30 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.8912, d = 0.1045
a = −1.2265, b = 1.2410
40 1.2000 0.9000
50 c = 0.864, d = 0.1012
a = −1.2847, b = 1.1654
50 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.8499, d = 0.1001
a = −1.3014, b = 1.1543
60 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.8162, d = 0.1013
a = −1.0875, b = 1.3785
30 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.874, d = 0.1011
a = −1.1236, b = 1.3461
40 1.2000 0.9000
60 c = 0.864, d = 0.1036
a = −1.2548, b = 1.2977
50 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.858, d = 0.1044
a = −1.2998, b = 1.2413
60 1.2000 0.9000
c = 0.826, d = 0.0984

3.3. Analysis of Simulation and Experimental Results after Model Modification

Figures 5–7 show the simulated and experimental values of sludge water ratio MR
changing with drying time t under different air relative humidity conditions at 40 ◦ C, 50 ◦ C,
and 60 ◦ C after considering the shrinkage and cracking phenomena during sludge drying.
According to the results in the figure, after modifying the effective diffusion coefficient
De f f of sludge in the model and the convective mass transfer coefficient hm of sludge
surface in the model, the experimental and simulated values of sludge water ratio change
with drying time are basically consistent. Table 3 shows the error between the simulated
value and the experimental value. It can be seen from the table that the error between
the simulated value and the experimental value is within 23.78%. The simulated drying
process enters the drying equilibrium state earlier than the actual drying process. This is
due to experimental errors. During the experiment, due to the rapid drying of the sludge
surface, part of the sludge is transformed into powder dust. With the drying process, this
powder dust-like sludge is blown away by the flowing air, resulting in a lower sludge
quality during the measurement, so the measured sludge drying rate is faster than the
actual drying rate.

3.4. Average Temperature Analysis

Figure 8 shows the average temperature rise curve inside the sludge at different
air temperatures under the condition of 30% relative air humidity. The results showed
that the average temperature of sludge increased to an equilibrium temperature about
30 min after drying. In the initial stage of drying, the internal temperature of sludge
quickly reaches the temperature of drying air, which indicates that the internal heat transfer
resistance of sludge is very weak under specific drying conditions. This also shows that
the water transfer mechanism in the sludge drying process is controlled by heat transfer
and diffusion mechanisms 30 min before the drying time, while it is mainly controlled by
diffusion mechanisms 30 min after the drying time.
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 10 of 17

Figure 5. The simulated and experimental values of the change of the sludge moisture ratio MR
with the drying time t when the air temperature is 40 ◦ C after considering the shrinkage effect and
the crack phenomenon during the sludge drying process: (a) RH 30%, (b) RH 40%, (c) RH 50%,
(d) RH 60%.

Figure 6. The simulated and experimental values of the change of the sludge moisture ratio MR with
the drying time t when the air temperature is 50 ◦ C after considering the shrinkage effect and the
crack phenomenon in the sludge drying process: (a) RH 30%, (b) RH 40%, (c) RH 50%, (d) RH 60%.
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 11 of 17

Figure 7. The simulated and experimental values of the change of the sludge moisture ratio MR with
the drying time t when the air temperature is 60 ◦ C after considering the shrinkage and cracks during
the sludge drying process: (a) RH 30%, (b) RH 40%, (c) RH 50%, (d) RH 60%.

Table 3. Error table between simulated and experimental values.

Temp (◦ C) Relative Humidity (%) Error (%)

30 23.78
40 21.05
40
50 18.50
60 19.33
30 20.75
40 21.17
50
50 23.63
60 15.60
30 21.39
40 22.11
60
50 20.63
60 21.85

Figure 8. The average temperature rise curve inside the sludge at different air temperatures under
the condition of 30% relative air humidity.
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 12 of 17

3.5. Isothermal Surface Analysis of Sludge

The results of the temperature field in sludge under different time steps were analyzed
under the conditions of an air temperature of 40 ◦ C and air relative humidity of 60%.
Figures 9–11 show the sludge drying process to 10 min, 20 min, and 30 min, respectively.
The results show that the temperature distribution is a gradient from high outside to low
inside. The surface and boundary temperature of sludge will quickly approach the set
air temperature after drying. In the heat flow transfer process, the temperature in the
upper left and right corners of the sludge transfers fastest and has the highest temperature.
During the period of 10 min to 20 min, the change speed of the temperature field decreased;
After 20 min, the temperature of the sludge changed slowly. Finally, the temperature field
inside the sludge is completely stable at 30 min, and the temperature of the whole sludge
reaches the air temperature, with a temperature gradient close to 0.

Figure 9. Isothermal surface distribution cloud map of average sludge temperature at 10 min.

Figure 10. Isothermal surface distribution cloud map of average sludge temperature at 20 min.
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 13 of 17

Figure 11. Cloud map of the isothermal surface distribution of average sludge temperature at 30 min.

3.6. Analysis of Water Transfer in Sludge

The change of sludge water content is described by calculating the sludge water ratio
MR of different time steps. Figure 12 shows the diffusion direction of water in sludge at
10 min and 60 min under the conditions of an air temperature of 50 ◦ C and air relative
humidity of 50%. According to the above analysis, the average temperature of the sludge
reached the equilibrium temperature at 30 min, so the diffusion of water inside the sludge
at two stages before and after 30 min was observed. It can be seen from the figure that at
10 min and 60 min, the diffusion of water in sludge is one-dimensional diffusion in the
-direction. Since sludge drying can be regarded as one-dimensional diffusion, a section
of sludge center ZX is taken for analysis. Figure 13 shows the MR distribution cloud
diagram of sludge water ratio in one section of the sludge center at different times under
the working conditions of an air temperature of 50 ◦ C and air relative humidity of 50%.
It can be seen from the figure that when the sludge is dried for 10 min, the water ratio
MR of the sludge surface has reached the range of 0.6–0.7, while the water ratio MR of
the sludge interior is still in the range of 0.9–1. The reason is that 10 min before drying
belongs to the drying acceleration stage, and the main mechanism of water migration
in this stage is the evaporation of free water on the sludge surface. When the sludge is
dried for 20 min, it can be seen that the sludge surface water ratio MR rapidly drops to the
range of 0.3–0.4, while the sludge internal water ratio MR starts to change slowly, reaching
the level of 0.8–0.9, which can be seen that the diffusion in the sludge starts at this stage.
When the sludge is dried for 30 min, the sludge surface water ratio MR has nearly reached
the state of drying balance, and the water concentration inside and outside the sludge
has formed a significant gradient. This is because the free water on the sludge surface
has evaporated completely, and the main mechanism of water transfer at this stage is the
diffusion inside the sludge. During the 40–120 min stage of sludge drying, the sludge
surface water ratio (MR) is basically unchanged, maintained at about 0.1, and the water
in the sludge continues to diffuse, with the diffusion rate gradually decreasing. When the
sludge is dried for 120 min, the internal diffusion rate of the sludge is greatly reduced. The
reason is that at this time, the water content of the sludge quickly reaches a stable water
content, the free water content in the sludge is already very low, and the combined water
of the sludge can no longer be further dehydrated due to the effect of sewage temperature
and concentration difference. Therefore, the water content in the sludge changes slowly
from 120 min to 170 min until the sludge reaches the drying equilibrium state. To sum up,
during the period of 10 min–30 min, the distribution of water content inside the sludge
is that the water content on the sludge surface decreases rapidly, while the water content
inside the sludge changes slowly; During 30 min–40 min, the gradient of sludge moisture
content tends to be stable; During the period of 40 min–120 min, the moisture content
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 14 of 17

gradient of sludge on dry basis reached a uniform state; During the period of 120 min to
170 min, the moisture content of sludge on dry basis changes slowly until the sludge is
dried into a balanced state.

Figure 12. Under the condition of an air temperature of 50 ◦ C and relative air humidity of 50%, the
diffusion direction of water inside the sludge at different temperatures of 10 min and 60 min.

Figure 13. MR distribution cloud map of sludge moisture ratio in a section of the sludge center at
different times under the conditions of air temperature 50 ◦ C and air relative humidity 50%.

3.7. Evaluation of Numerical Model for Sludge Low-Temperature Drying

The simulated sludge low-temperature drying numerical model considering the phe-
nomena of sludge cracking and sludge shrinkage in the sludge drying process was used for
simulation. The change in sludge moisture content obtained through comparative analysis
was basically consistent with the experimental drying process, reflecting the three stages
of sludge drying and accurately describing the distribution of sludge internal moisture
content at different times of sludge drying. It can be used in practical projects. In addition,
the numerical simulation of sludge low-temperature drying can also reflect the change
of internal sludge temperature, which provides theoretical support for the research of
sludge drying.
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 15 of 17

4. Conclusions
In this paper, the heat and mass transfer in the low-temperature sludge drying process
was numerically simulated. The conclusions are as follows:
1. Comparing the simulation results with the experimental results, it can be observed
that the change in the drying curve is basically consistent with the experimental results
before the sludge water ratio MR is 0.6 in the simulated drying process. However,
when the sludge moisture ratio MR is 0.4–0.6 during drying, a large deviation is
found. The reason is that the numerical simulation did not consider the phenomenon
of sludge cracking and sludge shrinkage during the sludge drying process.
2. Based on the phenomenon of sludge cracking and shrinkage, the sludge cracking
coefficient is defined α, and the sludge shrinkage coefficient β, the effective diffusion
coefficient, and the mass transfer coefficient were corrected, and the error between
simulation results and experimental results was within 23.78%.
3. Through the analysis of the average temperature change of sludge, it is concluded that
the average temperature inside the sludge rises to the equilibrium temperature about
30 min after the drying. The water transfer mechanism in the sludge drying process
is controlled by heat transfer and diffusion before 30 min of drying time, while it is
mainly controlled by the diffusion mechanism after 30 min of drying time. Through
the analysis of sludge’s internal isothermal surface, it is concluded that the surface
and boundary temperature of sludge quickly approach the set air temperature after
the beginning of drying. Through the analysis of the sludge concentration change
diagram, it is concluded that the water diffusion in the sludge is one-dimensional
diffusion in the z-direction, and the sludge drying characteristics can be observed,
which is consistent with the thin-layer sludge dynamics theory.

Author Contributions: Experimental test, Z.W.; writing—original draft preparation, Q.W.; writing—
review and editing, supervision, J.L.; acquisition and analysis of data, D.L.; analysis of data, A.H.;
supervision, data curation, L.X.; supervision, Y.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant num-
ber 11572269), the Project of Education Department in Sichuan (grant number 17ZA0405, 17ZB0439),
and Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Icing and Anti/De-icing (grant number IADL20190311).
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Nomenclature

ρ sludge density k thermal conductivity of sludge

Cp Specific heat capacity of sludge at constant pressure cj quality of water vapor
T temperature Jj expression of water diffusion mass flux
t time Rj external water vapor flux of sludge
u air flow velocity De f f effective moisture diffusivity
q heat flux hT heat transfer coefficient
Q internal heat source of sludge Tair air temperature in the drying oven
.
Qted the external heat source of sludge I evaporative heat flux
Ida molar latent heat of evaporation c0 concentration of air and water vapor in the drying oven
c sludge moisture concentration hm convective mass transfer coefficient on the sludge surface
M H2 O molar mass of water M water content of sludge
Mt moisture content of sludge on dry basis at any MR dimensionless sludge moisture content ratio
drying time
α sludge cracking coefficient β sludge shrinkage coefficient
Entropy 2022, 24, 1682 16 of 17

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