CHEM3012

Separation Process (II)

Learning Materials-Topic 2-Week 2
Humidity & Humidity chart

Course Learning Outcomes

Evaluate efficiency and energy requirements of evaporators and drying systems

encountered frequently in process engineering.

Lecturer Name: Dr Mostafa Ghasemi Baboli

Academic Year: 2022-2023
Course Coordinator Name: Dr Mostafa Ghasemi Baboli

References:
1.Geankoplis, C.J., (2003). Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles. Prentice Hall PTR, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
2. McCabe W, Smith J, and Harriott P,(2001). Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering. 7th Edition, McGraw Hill.
Equilibrium Moisture Content
of Materials
• Equilibrium moisture content X*
the lowest moisture content
obtainable at equilibrium under the Figure 9.4-2. Typical equilibrium moisture
drying conditions used. contents of some food materials at
expressed on a dry basis (kg of water approximately 298 K (25°C): (1) macaroni,
per kg of moisture-free solid) (2) flour, (3) bread, (4) crackers, (5) egg
depends upon the structure of the albumin.

solid, the temp. of the gas, & the

moisture content of the gas.
varies greatly with the type of material
for given % relative humidity (Fig. 9.4-1
& 9.4-2)
decreases with an increase in
temperature.

Assumed constant for moderate temp. ranges. 2

Equilibrium Moisture Content of Materials

• Bound water
the minimum moisture a material can carry.
obtained by intersecting the 100% humidity line in equilibrium
water content vs relative humidity.
exerts a vapor pressure less than that of liquid water at the same
temperature.

• Unbound water
excess moisture content than indicated by intersection with the
100% humidity line.
held primarily in the voids of the solid

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Equilibrium Moisture Content of Materials
• Hygroscopic materials
 substances containing bound water.

• Free moisture contents X

 moisture above the equilibrium moisture content.
 moisture that can be removed by drying under the given % relative
humidity.
X = Xt – X*
where,
Xt = total-moisture content
X* = equilibrium-moisture content

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Rate of Drying Curves
Experimental determination
 solid placed on a tray
 only top surface exposed to air stream
 tray suspended from a balance
 record loss in weight during drying
 conditions closely resemble actual large-scale operations
 ratio of drying to nondrying surface, bed dept, velocity,
humidity, temperature, & direction of air.

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Rate of Drying Curves
• Data: W total weight of wet solid vs time, t.
WS = weight of dry solid.
• To obtain data as free moisture X vs time t:
- total moisture Xt
W  WS
Xt 
WS
- free moisture content X = Xt – X*
• To obtain rate of drying R:
- get slopes of tangents at different values of t.

LS dX
R
where, A dt
Ls = kg of dry solid used
A = exposed surface area for drying.
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Rate of Drying Curves for Constant-Drying Condition

0.5 A’
A B
0.4
Free moisture X
 kgH 2O  0.3
 
 kgdrysolid  0.2
C
0.1
D E
00 4 6 8 10 12 14
2
Time t (h)
(a)
Fig. 9.5-1:(a) Plot of data as free moisture versus time.

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Rate of Drying Curves for Constant-Drying Condition

2.0 constant
falling
rate rate
1.6 A’
C B
Drying rate 1.2
A
R
(kg H2O/h.m2) 0.8
D
0.4
XC
E
0 0.4
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.6
Free moisture X (kg H2O /kg dry solid)
(b)
Fig. 9.5-1 : (b) Rate of drying curve as rate versus free moisture content.

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Rate of Drying Curves for Constant-Drying Condition

Point A : t = 0 & initial free moisture content at colder temp.

Point A’ : hot solid.
Point A-B : unsteady-state period – solid temp. reaches its
steady-state.
Point B-C : constant-rate-of drying period~ straight line.
slope & rate = constant.
surface very wet initially ( saturated with water).
continuous film of water on surface.
unbound water acting as if no solid.
rate of evaporation = rate of a free liquid surface.
roughness of solid surface , rate .
water continuously replaced by liquid from interior.
surface temp.  TW. 9
 Rate of Drying Curves for Constant-Drying Condition

Point C : critical free moisture content XC.

insufficient water on surface for continuous film.
surface no longer wetted.
Point C-D-E :falling-rate period.
Point C-D : first falling-rate period.
linear.
surface more & more depleted of water.
rate of water to surface slower than rate of evaporation
from surface.
Point D : surface completely dry.
Point D-E : second falling-rate period evaporation from interior of solid.

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Rate of Drying Curves for Constant-Drying Condition

Point E: equilibrium moisture content X*.

X = X* - X* = 0
no further drying.
vapor pressure over solid = partial pressure of vapor in the
incoming drying gas.

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Calculation Methods for Constant-Rate Drying Period
• To determine the time t required for drying from X1 to X2:
- experimental drying curve.
- predicted mass-and-heat coefficients.

• Experimental drying curve – actual experimental data under conditions

similar to actual process,
- drying curve X vs t
- rate-of-drying curve R vs X

t
LS
X1  X 2 
ARC
where, R = constant = RC

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Predicted mass-and-heat coefficients

mass transfer of water vapor from saturated surface thru air film to
environment.
heat transfer furnishes the latent heat of evaporation.
at steady state,
Rate of mass transfer = rate of heat transfer.
assumptions:
1. Only convective heat transfer to solid surface from hot gas to
surface.
2. Mass transfer is from surface to hot gas.
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Predicted mass-and-heat coefficients
- Rate of drying RC
hT  TW 
 k y M B H W  H 
q
RC  
AW W
where,
A = exposed drying area (m2)
T, Tw = temperature of gas & surface of solid, respectively (ºC).
w = latent heat at Tw (J/kg)
MA, MB = molecular weight of water & air, respectively.
h = heat-transfer coefficient (W/m2.K)
q = (W or J/s)
ky = kmole/s.m2Convective heat transfer
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Predicted mass-and-heat coefficients
- more reliable to use heat transfer coefficient, h can be
determined from;

i) air flowing parallel to the drying surface,

T = 45 – 150 ºC
G = 2450 – 29,300 kg/h.m2.
v = 0.61 – 7.6 m/s
h = 0.0204G 0.8
ii) air flowing perpendicular to the surface,
G = 3900 – 19,500 kg/h.m2.
v = 0.9 – 4.6 m/s
h = 1.17G 0.37

where, G = mass velocity = v

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Predicted mass-and-heat coefficients
- time of drying

LS W  X 1  X 2  LS  X 1  X 2 
t 
AhT  TW  Ak y M B HW  H 

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Example:Prediction of Constant-Rate Drying

An insoluble wet granular material is dried in a pan 0.457 x 0.457

m and 25.4 mm deep. The material is 25.4 mm deep in the pan, and
the sides and bottom can be considered to be insulated. Heat
transfer is by convection from an air stream flowing parallel to the
surface at a velocity of 6.1 m/s. The air is at 65.6 ºC and has a
humidity of 0.010 kg H2O/kg dry air. Estimate the rate of drying for
the constant-rate period.

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Example:
Solution
For a humidity H= 0.010 and dry bulb temperature of 65.6 ºC and
using the humidity chart, the wet bulb temperature TW is found as
28.9ºC and HW = 0.026 by following the adiabatic saturation line
to the saturated humidity. The humid volume is calculated as

vH = (2.83 x 10-3 + 4.56 x 10-3 H) T (K).

= (2.83 x 10-3 + 4.56 x 10-3 (0.01))(273 + 65.6).
= 0.974 m3/kg dry air

The density for 1.0kg dry air + 0.010 kg H2O is,

1.0  0.010
  1.037kg / m3
0.974
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 The mass velocity G is,
G = = 6.1 (3600) (1.037) = 22 770 kg/h. m2.
then,
h = 0.0204G0.8 = 0.0204(22 7700)0.8 = 62.45 W/m2. K
From steam table, at TW = 28.9 ºC, the latent heat W = 2433 kJ/kg.
Substituting into RC equation,

RC 
h
T  TW 3600  62.45
65.6  28.93600
W 2433  1000
= 3.39 kg/h.m2

Total evaporation rate for a surface area of 0.457 x 0.457 m2 is,

Total rate = RC A
= 3.39 (0.457 x 0.457) = 0.708 kg H2O/h

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Effect of process variables on constant-rate period1/2
Equations – predict the effect of changing process
variables.
- v  when their is no conduction & radiation
 h  G 0.8 for parallel air flow.
G=v
 hT  TW 
 k y M B H W  H 
q
RC  
AW W

 when there’s conduction & radiation, v

less important.

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Effect of process variables on constant-rate period
- H  Tw   Rc 
T  TW2 H W2  H 2
RC2  RC1  RC1
T  TW1 H W1  H1
- T  Tw   Rc 

T2  TW2 H W2  H 2
RC2  RC1  RC1
T1  TW1 H W1  H1
- Rc  independent of thickness x1
t  directly proportional to thickness x1, x  Ls

t
LS
X1  X 2 
ARC

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Calculation Methods for Falling-Rate Drying Period
Graphical integration

LS X1 dX
t 
A X2 R
where, R – varies
T – area under the curve 1/R vs X.

Special cases
i) rate is a linear function of X
- both X1 and X2 are less than Xc
- rate is linear in X

LS  X 1  X 2  R1
t ln
AR1  R2  R2 22
Calculation Methods for Falling-Rate Drying Period
ii) rate is a linear function thru’ origin
- a straight line from C to E at the origin.
- rate of drying directly proportional to X
LS X C RC
t  ln
ARC R2
or,
LS X C XC
t  ln
ARC X2
and,
X
R  RC
XC
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Example:
Graphical Integration in Falling-Rate Drying Period
A batch of wet solid whose drying-rate curve is
represented by Fig. 9.5-1b is to be dried from a free
moisture content of X1 = 0.38 kg H2O/kg dry solid to X2
= 0.04 kg H2O/kg dry solid. The weight of the dry solid
is LS = 399 kg dry solid and A = 18.85 m2 of top drying
surface. Calculate the time of drying. Note that LS/A =
399/18.85 = 21.5 kg/m2.

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Example:

2.0 constant
falling
rate rate
1.6 A’
C B
Drying rate 1.2
A
R
(kg H2O/h.m2) 0.8
D
0.4
XC
E
0 0.4
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.6
Free moisture X (kg H2O /kg dry solid)
(b)
Fig. 9.5-1 : (b) Rate of drying curve as rate versus free moisture content.

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Example:

Solution,
From Fig. 9.5-1b, the critical free moisture content is XC = 0.195
kg H2O/kg dry solid. Hence, the drying is in the constant-rate
and falling-rate periods.

For the constant-rate period, X1 = 0.38 and X2 = 0.195. From

Fig. 9.5-1b, RC = 1.51 kg H2O/h.m2. Substituting into time
equation,

3990.38  0.195
t
LS
X1  X 2    2.63h
ARC 18.581.51

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Example:
For the falling-rate period, reading values of R for various of X from Fig. 9.5-1b,
the following table is prepared:

X R 1/R X R 1/R
0.195 1.51 0.663 0.065 0.71 0.41
0.150 1.21 0.826 0.050 0.37 2.70
0.100 0.90 1.11 0.040 0.27 3.70

Then made a plot of 1/R versus X, and the area under the curve from X1 = 0.195
(point C) to X2 = 0.040 is determined.
Area = A1 + A2 + A3
= (2.5 x 0.024) + (1.18 x 0.056) + (0.84 x 0.075)
= 0.189
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Example:
5

3
1/R
2
D
1 A1
A2 C
A3
0 X
0 0.1 0.2
X2 X1

Substituting into time equation,

LS dX 399
0.189  4.06h
X1
t
A X2 R

18.58
The total time = 2.63 + 4.06 = 6.69 h
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