Name and Surname: Masibulele Rixana

Group: L
Course: Diploma of Chemical Engineering Extended
Submission: 08 September 2023
Practical name: Tray dryer

DECLARATION
While all experimental work will be done in groups, the practical report must be the student’s
own individual work. The following undertaking must be incorporated into the cover page of
each report and must be signed by the student.

Short Report Mark allocation Student’s mark

Title page 5

Structure 10

Executive Summary 10

Experimental Procedure 10

Results and Sample 45

Calculations
Discussion 15

Total 100
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

1.0 Executive Summary

Try drying is commonly used in the industry to separate solids from liquids. It requires through
experimentation to optimize drying conditions without damaging the solids. Its flexibility allows it
to be used in pharmaceutical, chemical and food production industries. In this experiment sand
and carbon was used separately to determine and investigate their drying curves and its
effectiveness. Wet solids (activated carbon or silica sand) were loaded onto the tray compartment.
The heater and ventilators force a hot steam of hot gas over the tray at a carefully controlled
temperature and flowrate. Over a certain period of time, it was observed that the temperature in
Degrees Celsius was increasing while the mass in kilograms was decreasing. In the tray drier the
water fully escaped and evaporated due to the heat with a constant air velocity of 6,5m/s. Initially
the mass of the wet solid was 0,231 kilograms with a temperature of 47,5 degrees Celsius. Finally,
the wet solid was dried to completion and the mass goes back to its initial mass of the dry solid
of 0,200 kilograms.

The determination of the rate of drying

The laboratory experiment "hot air drying" is carried out with improved rack drying devices. In
this experiment, the drying speed is to be determined and this requires a derivation of the water
content as a function of time. The moisture content in the solid (in kg of water/kg dry solid) is
determined through:

𝑊 − 𝑊𝑠
𝑋𝑡 =
𝑊𝑠

Where Ws is the total mass of solids in kg at different times during the drying process and W is
the mass of dry solids in kg.

Then, the free moisture in kilograms of dry matter is calculated by subtracting the equilibrium
moisture content from the moisture content of the water at any point in time as follows:

𝑋 = 𝑋𝑡 − 𝑋 ∗

Where X is the internal equilibrium water content (kg moisture/kg dry matter), Xt is the moisture
content at time t (kg water/kg dry matter) and X is the internal free moisture (kg water/dry solid)

The water content in kg of dry matter as a function of time (dx/dt) was consistent with the test
data.
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

−𝑀𝑆 𝑑𝑋
Calculate drying speed:𝑅 = 𝐴
× ( 𝑑𝑡 )

Where d(X) is the change in water content in kg H2O per kg of dry matter, d (t) is the change
over time in minutes Ms is the mass of dry solids in kg, A is the contact surface in m2, and R is
the drying dose over time in kg of water per min/m2.
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

Apparatus:

1. Timer

2 .Water bottle

Materials used:

2. Activated Carbon

3. Silica Sand

Equipment’s used:

4. Metal Tray compartment

5. Tray drier

Safety Precautions:

Laboratory coats

Goggle glasses

Latex gloves

Figure 1: Timer (1)

Figure 2 : Activated carbon

LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

2 .0 Experimental Procedure

In order to preserve the consistency of the solid to be dried, sand was first filtered through a
mesh, removing bigger pebbles. The four test trays must be completely cleaned with water and
cooled before use. The weight of the empty trays was then calculated and recorded. Heater
temperature and airflow rate was determined by the experiment and treatment designs. For
each treatment, a 200g sample of sand was weighed, and 100 mL of water was then applied to
the sample. The dish was put into the apparatus, and dynamic information (temperatures,
weight, air speed, etc.) was recorded, at a time interval of 2 minutes of data logging.

Figure 3: Tray drier with labels

LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

3.0 Results

a) Mass of dry Activated carbon sand = 203 g

Mass of the Activated carbon + Mass of the water = 230 g

The surface area of the metal tray = 0,198m2

Table 1 : MOISTURE CONTENT AND TIME

Time intervals (min) Temperature Mass(kg) Moisture content

0 47.5 0.231 0.138
2 39 0.227 0.118
4 41.2 0.221 0.089
6 42.5 0.217 0.069
8 43.1 0.212 0.044
10 44.4 0.21 0.034
12 47.7 0.207 0.020
14 48.8 0.205 0.010
16 52.3 0.203 0
Time intervals (mins) Temperature Mass(kg) Moisture content
0 47.5 0.231 0.138
2 39 0.227 0.118
4 41.2 0.221 0.089
6 42.5 0.217 0.069
8 43.1 0.212 0.044
10 44.4 0.21 0.034
12 47.7 0.207 0.020
14 48.8 0.205 0.010
16 52.3 0.203 0
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

X moisture content vs Time

0.160

0.140
X (moisture) kg per dry solid

0.120

0.100

0.080

0.060

0.040

0.020

0.000
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Time(mins)

Series1

b) Mass of dry silica sand = 200 g

Mass of the wet silica sand + Mass of the water = 230 g

Surface area of the metal try = 0,198m2

Table 2 : Moisture content and time

Time intervals (mins) Mass

Temperature (kg) Moisture content
0 60 0,230 #VALUE!
2 57,5 0,225 #VALUE!
4 57,5 0,225 #VALUE!
6 55,3 0,220 #VALUE!
8 54,8 0,220 #VALUE!
10 54,8 0,220 #VALUE!
12 55,4 0,215 #VALUE!
14 53,9 0,215 #VALUE!
16 55,3 0,210 #VALUE!
18 54,0 0,210 #VALUE!
20 55,2 0,210 #VALUE!
22 54,5 0,205 #VALUE!
24 54,1 0,205 #VALUE!
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

26 54,0 0,205 #VALUE!

28 54,2 0,200 #VALUE!
30 54,0 0,200 #VALUE!

X moisture content vs Time

0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
X(moisture) kg per dry solid

0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Time(mins)

Series1

The rate of drying for Activated Carbon

c) Table 3: DRYING RATE AND MOISTURE CONTENT

Free moisture content(X) Rate of drying

0.128 0.01025
0.1035 0.01487
0.079 0.01025
0.0565 0.0128
0.039 0.00513
0.027 0.0072
0.005 0.00513
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

The rate of the drying vs Moisture content

0.016
R = rate of drying (kg moisture/m2/min

0.014

0.012

0.01

0.008

0.006

0.004

0.002

0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14
Free moisture/kg dry solid

Series1

Figure 3: The rate of drying against moisture content

LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

The rate of the Silica sand

d) Table 4 : RATE OF THE DRAYING AND MOISTURE CONTENT

Free moisture content

Rate of drying
0.1375 0.0128
0.1125 0.0128
0.0875 0.00427
0.0625 0.01282
0.0375 0.00641
0.0125 0.00427

The rate of drying vs Moisture content

0.014
R = rate of drying (kg moisture /m2/min

0.012

0.01

0.008

0.006

0.004

0.002

0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16
Free moisture/kg dry solid
Series1

Figure 4: The rate of drying against the moisture content

LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

4.0 Calculations

a) Silica Sand

Initial Total mass = Final total mass + Mass evaporated

Mass evaporated = 0,230 kg – 0,205 kg

𝑀𝐴𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑊𝐸𝑇 𝑆𝑂𝐼𝐿𝐷−𝑀𝐴𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐷𝑅𝑌 𝑆𝑂𝐿𝐼𝐷

Moisture of content = 𝑀𝐴𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐷𝑅𝑌 𝑆𝑂𝐿𝐼𝐷

Examples:
0,230−0,200
= 0,200
= 0,15

0,225−0,200
= 0,200
= 0,125

− 𝑀𝑆 𝑑𝑋
Rate of the drying curve (R) = ×
𝐴 𝑑𝑡

Examples:
−(0,230) (0,125−0,`15)
= 0,198
× 2
= 0,0145

−(0,230) (0,075−0,1)
= 0,198
× 2
= 0, 0875
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

4.0 Calculations

b) Activated Carbon

Initial total Mass = Final Total mass + Mass evaporated

Mass evaporated = 0,231 kg – 0,203 kg = 0,028

𝑀𝐴𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑊𝐸𝑇 𝑆𝑂𝐿𝐼𝐷−𝑀𝐴𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐷𝑅𝑌 𝑆𝑂𝐿𝐼𝐷

Moisture content (X) = 𝑀𝐴𝑆𝑆 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐷𝑅𝑌 𝑆𝑂𝐿𝐼𝐷

Examples:

0,231−0,203
= 0,203
= 0,1212

0,227−0,203
= = 0,1182
0,203

− 𝑀𝑠 𝑑𝑋
Rate of the drying curve = ×
𝐴 𝑑𝑡

−(0,203) (0,118−0,138)
= 0,198
× 2
= 0,128

−(0,203) (0,089−0,118)
= × = 0,1035
0,198 2
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

4.0 Discussion

Drying is essentially the process of removing relatively tiny amounts of water from material.
Throughout the drying process, air typically eliminates the water as a vapor. The material was
placed into the drying apparatus for this experiment's batch drying process, which has been
defined as continuing for an established duration of time. The drying curve based two materials
moisture content over the course of the experiment is the subject of this study. The drier in this
experiment theoretically works by supplying heat to the silica sand and carbon samples and using
the air velocity to pass past a heated element that acts as mass transfer to remove the moisture
present in both carbon and sand samples. In drying operations, heat transmission and mass
transfer are critical. The product is heated to evaporate the liquid contained within it, and the mass
is transferred as vapour into the surrounding gas.

The mass and temperature were recorded and collected every 2 minutes, as indicated in Table
3, while the drying of silica sand continued until the experiment was completed. It was discovered
that the temperature fluctuates throughout time. The sand mass was determined to be consistent
over numerous time intervals. This circumstance could have occurred due to the inefficiency of
the equipment. Because sand particles are permeable, the equilibruim moisture is ineligible due
to relative humidity. Wet sand's water content reduces with time.

Aside from the moisture vs. time graph, the moisture content of activated carbon, a non-porous
substance, is displayed. It was found that as the mas lowers, the temperature rises. Indirect
proportionality exists between temperature and moisture. It is a non-linear relationship. Activated
carbon is a non-porous substance that prevents liquid or gas particles from passing through it.
This translates to the fact that they are impermeable and waterproof, which explains why the
carbon dried completely faster than the silica sand.

In addition, the experiment also recorded the drying rate over time. Figure 4 shows the wet sand
drying curve under continuous drying circumstances. A certain product's drying properties under
a given set of circumstances can be defined by drying curves. It indicates that there is a non-
linear relationship between moisture loss and drying time. However, when the moisture was really
measured, it decreased and remained steady between 0,12kg and 0,14kg/dry solid. This can be
caused by a change in the system's mass or heat transmission conditions. The inaccuracy in
gathering data from the experiment causes the draying rate of activated carbon to fluctuate and
not be stable. Look at figure 3. The rate of drying theoretically rises with drying temperature and
falls with relative humidity. It is not the case in this experiment.
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

5.0 Conclusion

A tray drier unit was utilized in this experiment to examine the drying profiles of silica sand (non-
porous) and activated carbon (porous).Based on the data and graphs produced, it is possible to
conclude that the objectives were not met. The results of the drying process on the solid
samples did not match the theory, which states that moisture content and drying rate decrease
over time. The drying unit's fan greatly influences the air velocity, because the speed of the air
or fan is fixed, all fluctuations in velocity are caused by malfunctioning equipment. Unfortunately,
the goal was not met with success.
LAB REPORT ON TRY DRYER

Reference List

Jove.com. (2019). JoVE | Peer Reviewed Scientific Video Journal - Methods and Protocols.
[online] Available at: https://www.jove.com/.

StuDocu. (2016). StuDocu. [online] Available at: https://www.studocu.com/.

Jove.com. (2019). JoVE | Peer Reviewed Scientific Video Journal - Methods and Protocols.
[online] Available at: https://www.jove.com/.