LEACHING THEORY

Separation of components/solute
from solid by contacting with a liquid
phase
The two phases are in intimate
contact and the solute(s) can diffuse
from the solid to the liquid phase,
resulting the separation of
components originally in the solid
called as liquid-solid leaching or
leaching
When an undesirable component is
removed from a solid with water,
the process is called washing
Example leaching process
leaching of sugar from sugar
beets
vegetable oil leaching from
peanuts/soybeans/sunflower/
etc using solvent
hexane/acetone/ether/etc
metal processing industries
copper salts leached from
ground ores by sulfuric acid
or ammoniacal solutions

This depends on the proportion

of the soluble constituent
present, its distribution
throughout the original solid, the
nature of the solid, and the
original particle size.
If the soluble material is
surrounded by a matrix of
insoluble matter, the solvent
must diffuse inside to contact
and dissolve the soluble material
and then diffuse out.
This is common in leaching
metal salts from mineral ores. In
these cases crushing and
grinding of the ores is used to
increase the rate of leaching
since the solution portions are
made more accessible to the
solvent.
Biological materials are cellular
in structure and the soluble
constituents are inside the cells.
Because the cell walls provide
another resistance to diffusion,
the rate of leaching may be
slow.
In this case the biological
materials are cut into thin
wedge-shaped slices to reduce
the diffusion distance of solvent.

Fixed bed leaching

Generally there are five rate steps in

the leaching process:
1. The solvent is transferred
from the bulk solution to the
surface of the solid.
2. The solvent penetrates or
diffuses into the solid
(intraparticle diffusion).
3. The solute dissolves from the
solid into the solvent.
4. The solute diffuses through
the mixture to the surface of
the solid (intraparticle
diffusion).
5. The solute is transferred to
the bulk solution.
Step 1 is usually fast. The controlling
rate process is generally the
intraparticle diffusion or the
dissolving step.

Moving bed leaching

Assumption
Sufficient solvent present so that all
the solute in the entering solid can
be dissolved into the liquid,
equilibrium is reached when the

Agitated solid leaching

solute is dissolved. Hence, all the

solute is completely dissolved in the
first stage.
The solid is insoluble,
No adsorption will happen for the
solute in the solid, meaning that the
solution in the liquid phase leaving a
stage is the same as the solution
remaining with the solid matrix in
the settled slurry leaving the same
stage.
The settled solid leaving a stage
always contains some liquid. This
solid-liquid stream is called the
underflow or slurry stream.
The liquid is called the overflow
stream.
The concentration of oil or solute in
the overflow stream is equal to that
in the liquid solution accompanying
the slurry or underflow stream.
Hence, on an xy plot the equilibrium
line is on the 45o line.

DRYING THEORY
Purposes of Drying
1. Removal of water from process material
and other substances.
2. Removal of other organic
liquids/solvents from solids.
3. Removal of small amounts of water
from material.
4. Water usually removed as vapor by air.
(note: EVAPORATION removal of large
amounts of water.
the water is removed as vapor at its boiling
point)
5. Usually the final processing step before
packaging.
6. As a preservation technique especially
for food.
7. Freeze-dried for biological &
pharmaceuticals materials.

Please give others method for drying

material
1)
PRESSES
2)
CENTRIFUGING
GOOD or NOT GOOD???
CHEAPER THAN DRYING BY THERMAL/HEAT

General methods of drying

1)
Batch
Material is inserted into the
drying equipment
and drying proceeds for
given period of time.
2)
Continuous
Material is continuously added
to the dryer and dried
material continuously removed.

DRYING
Drying - categorized according to the
physical
conditions used to add heat and
remove water vapor;
1. Direct contact with heated
air at atmospheric pressure,
and water vapor removed by
the air.
2. Vacuum drying heated
indirectly by contact with a
metal wall or by radiation.
3. Freeze drying water is
sublimed from the frozen
material.
EQUIPMENT FOR DRYING
1. Tray dryer.
2. Vacuum-shelf indirect dryers.
3.Continuous tunnel dryers.
- tunnel dryer trucks with
countercurrent air flow.
- through-circulation screen
conveyor dryer.
4. Rotary dryers.
5. Drum dryers.
6. Spray dryers.
7. Vertical continuous-flow grain dryer.

1.Tray Dryer
-spread uniformly by range 10-100mm depth
-steam heated recirculated by a fan
-after drying-cabinet opened and tray are
replaced with new batch of trays
Application:
Tray Dryer are used for the best drying results
in conventional process. Drying oven is
specially designed for Bulk Drug,
Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Food, Paints,
Textiles & other industries. It is well accepted
for economical drying of powder, granules,
food material & chemicals.

2. Vacuum-shelf indirect dryers

Same concept with tray dryer but
operate in vacuum condition.
Normally is used to dry expensive
or temperature-sensitive or easily
oxidizable materials.Also useful for
handling material which toxic or
valuable solvent

3.Continuous Tunnel Dryers

- Solids are placed on trucks which move
continuously through a tunnel with hot gases
passing over each tray

5. Drum Dryers
-consist of a heated metal roll
-suitable for handling slurries or pastes of solid
in fine
suspension and for solution

VAPOR PRESSURE OF WATER & HUMIDITY

Introduction
- In a number of the separation
processes and transport, it is necessary to
make calculation involving the properties of
mixtures of water vapor and air. The
calculations involve knowledge of

4. Rotary Dryers
-consist of hollow cylinder which is rotated
slightly inclined
toward the outlet
Application:
Rotary dryers are used for drying
wet powders and cakes, which are
easily breakable and dispersible.

The rotary dryer consists of a

rotating drum with angle lifting
blades which lift the feed as the
drum rotates and showers it in the
stream of hot air flowing through
the drum.

The rotary dryers can be used as

calciners using direct or indirect
firing.

6.Spray Dryers
Principle of Spray Dryer:
After fresh air is filtered and heated,
it enters into the air distributor
which on the top of the drier.
The hot air in spiral form equably
enters into the drying room. When
liquid raw material are passed
through the high-speed centrifugal
sprayer on the top of the tower, it
will be rotated and sprayed into the
extreme slim mist liquid beads.
Raw material can be dried to the
final products instantly while it
contact with the heated air.
Finished products are discharged
continuously from bottom of the
drying tower and cyclones
segregator. Wasted air is discharged
from blower.
.

if the material contains more

moisture than its equilibrium
value in contact with gas of
given humidity and
temperature,it will dry until it
reaches its equilibrium value

concentration of water vapor in air under

various conditions of T and P, thermal
properties of these mixture and the changes
occurring when these mixtures are brought
into contact with water or with wet solids in
drying.
Humidification
- Transfer of water from the liquid phase
into a gaseous mixture of air and water vapor.
Dehumidification
- Reverse transfer where the water
vapor is transferred from the vapor state to the
liquid state.
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-material
contains more water than indicated by
intersection with the 100% humidity line.
-held primarily in the voids of the solid

if the material contains less

moisture than its equilibrium
value ,it will adsorb water until it
reaches its equilibrium value