Study the effect of material/temperature on rate of drying

YASHIB YOUSAF KAMRAN SIBTAIN KHALID SOHAIB MUSHTAQ PG09-10E06 CE09-10E23 PG09-10E04

INSTITUTE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB

Contents

Drying Reasons for drying Drying Equipments Air Dryer Construction Procedure for preparation of sample Working Observations & Calculations Graphs Summary of Graph Things to remember

Drying
Drying of Materials is the final operation in a

manufacturing process which is carried out immediately prior to packaging or dispatch. Drying refers to the final removal or water or any other solute. The drying operation often follows evaporation, filtration or crystallization.

Reasons for Drying

The major reasons for drying are as follow

1). To reduce the cost of transport. 2). To make the material more suitable for handling. 3). To provide definite properties e.g maintaining the free-flowing nature of salt. 4). To remove moisture which may otherwise lead to corrosion.

Drying Equipments
The equipments which are mostly used for drying are given below. Air dryer Tunnel dryer Rotary dryer Drum dryer Spray dryer Pneumatic dryers Fluidized bed dryers Turbo-shelf dryers Centrifuge dryers Vacuum dryer

Air Dryer
Air dryers are also known as

Tray or shelf dryers Air dryers are more commonly used for granular materials and for individual articles.

Construction
Air dryer consists of a well-insulated cabinet with

integral fans and trays which are stacked on racks which are pushed into the dryer. Tray areas are 0.3-1m2 with a depth of material of 10100mm, depending on the particle size of the product. Air velocities of 1-10m/s are used and, in order to converse heat, 85-95% of the air is re-circulated. Even at these high values, the steam consumption may be 2.53.0kg/kg moisture removed. The capacity of tray dryers depend on nature of material, the loading and external conditions. Air dryer consists of a thermostat which is used for fixing desired temperature.

Sample Preparation
GRANULAR Material
Take a petri dish and tare it at 105 degrees till

constant weight and record its mass. Take sand and dry it on a flame till it is bone dry. Take 50gm of it add certain amount of water to wet the solid. Compute the composition of the sample from known masses of bone-dry sand and added water Xd=(mass of water in sand)/(mass of bone dry sand) Xw=(mass of water in sand)/(mass of wet sand)

Fibrous Material 4 g of cotton is taken and it is made wet by adding known quantity of water in it. Xd=(mass of water in cotton)/(mass of dry cotton) Xw=(mass of water in cotton)/(mass of wet cotton)

Working
Check the dryer for fitness (Door seals, thermometer, thermostat,

blower etc.). If all the components are functional proceed to the next step. The operating temperature is decided and the temperature is adjusted above 100 degrees on thermostat controller Air dryer is then switched on. One petri dish was filled with wet sample of sand and other petri dish was filled with wet sample of cotton. When the operating temperature is attained, the door was opened and both the samples were placed on the shelf in dryer chamber and the door was closed. At fixed intervals (say 2 minutes) take the sample out, carefully weight it, and put it back for further drying. Keep recording the time and remaining mass of the sample. Continue the procedure till three consecutive readings were attained and once it was attained the drying was completed.

Sample After Drying is Completed

Observations & Calculations

Granular Sample ( Sand )
Diameter of petri dish = 10.3 Weight of petri dish = 48g Weight of sample before drying,M1= 50g Weight of sample after drying, M2=43g

Fibrous Sample ( Cotton )

Diameter of petri dish = 10.95 Weight of petri dish = 43g Weight of sample before drying,M1=12g Weight of sample after drying,M2=6g

For SAND

dy/dx=-0.0052*(x^3)+0.171*(x^2)-1.177*x+0.7798

For COTTON

dy/dx=-0.021*(x^3)+0.41*(x^2)-2.1808*x+1.8664

Things to remember
Following are few points which should be kept in mind during performing this practical. The weighing balance which is to be used during this practical should be in milligrams. The sample should be placed uniformly onto petri dish to increase the available surface area. The door of the air dryer should not be left open for longer time .