DRYING TECHNOLOGY, 20(2), 381–402 (2002)

OPTIMUM OPERATING CONDITIONS

IN DRYING FOODSTUFFS WITH
SUPERHEATED STEAM

D. M. Elustondo,1 A. S. Mujumdar,2,* and

M. J. Urbicain1,y
1
PLAPIQUI (UNS-CONICET), Camino
La Carrindanga Km 7, C.C. 717, (8000),
Bahı́a Blanca, Argentina
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National University of Singapore, Singapore

ABSTRACT

It is inferred from experimental data that in drying foodstuffs

with superheated steam, the initial drying rate has a direct
effect on the rate at which the overall drying takes place.
That is, the faster the initial drying rate, the shorter the overall
drying time. This criterion is very convenient because at the
beginning, water moistens the sample external surface so eva-
poration does not depend on internal sample characteristics,
but only on external convective heat and mass transfer rates.
Mass and energy balance equations are solved and the result
converted into a general initial drying rate equation, in which
all dryer characteristics are grouped into one dimensionless
parameter. The initial drying rate equation is mathematically

*E-mail: mpeasm@nus.edu.sg
y
Corresponding author. Fax: 54-291-4861600; E-mail: urbicain@criba.edu.ar
381

Copyright & 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com

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382 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

maximized and the optimum working conditions determined.

The result shows that initial drying rate always increase
with increases of either the superheated steam temperature
or velocity, but once these two variables are fixed, there
exists at least one ‘‘optimum’’ pressure at which the initial
drying rate is a maximum. Finally, the initial drying rate
and optimum condition equations are applied to three
model dryers, a dryer for a flat sheet, a fixed bed dryer and
a rotary dryer. In each case, numeric values are computed and
plotted as drying rate versus pressure curves, in which the
optimum drying rate is also included. Also presented is a
chart to compare the optimum pressures as functions of
temperature and steam velocity for the three dryers.

Key Words: Drying rate; Energy; Fixed bed dryer; Opti-

mum pressure; Packed bed; Rotary dryer; Steam drying

INTRODUCTION

The concept of using superheated steam as the drying medium in place

of hot air was first proposed over a century ago in a German book. Yet,
practical applications at the commercial and recently at pilot scale with
different dryer types are only a couple of decades old (Mujumdar (1990);
Mujumdar (1991); Woods et al. (1994)). Chen et al. (1992) proposed
and tested at a laboratory scale the drying of silk cocoons, which are
heat-sensitive. They used low pressure superheated steam and showed
the flexibility of the idea. They found that the silk thus produced was
brighter and stronger as well. Woods et al. (1994) have discussed the
low pressure steam drying process for wood and also examined its techno-
economics. Hosseinalipour and Mujumdar (1997) studied numerically the
effect of operating pressure for superheated steam drying of particulate
solids in a novel impinging stream dryer. They showed the existence of an
optimum pressure from the drying standpoint. However, for heat-sensitive
materials it is the quality of the dried product that decides the operating
pressure in steam drying. The reader is referred to Mujumdar (2000) for
an extensive bibliography on superheated steam drying. More recently
Tatemoto et al. (2000) and Senda et al. (2001) have reported on experimen-
tal studies of drying kinetics in a laboratory-scale superheated steam dryer
at reduced pressures.
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 383

In drying foodstuff with superheated steam we have found (Elustondo

and others (2001)) that for a given product, the ratio between the drying
rate (m) and initial drying rate (m0) depends mainly only on the fraction
of available moisture (
). This means that under the tested range of
experimental superheated steam conditions (pressures between 0.1 and
0.2
105 Pa, temperatures between 60 and 100 C, and velocities between 2
and 6 m/s), all drying rate values can be fitted in the form of a unique
function, m/m0 ¼ f (
), valid over the entire range, where f (
) ¼ 1 for
¼ 1
and f (
) ¼ 0 for
¼ 0. Other researchers (Cemkowski et al. (1996); Moyne
et al. (1990); Shibata et al. (1988, 1990); and Perry (1950)) have found that
for a relatively long period that starts when drying starts and ends at a
characteristic critical moisture content, the drying rate remains constant
and is equal to the initial drying rate, m/m0 ¼ 1.
These data suggest that for all fractions of available moisture, the
drying rate is approximately proportional to the initial drying rate,
m ¼ m0f (
), and therefore the maximum initial drying rate conditions can
be assumed to be the optimum working conditions. This criterion is very
convenient because at the beginning evaporation starts on the external sur-
faces, and while these surfaces remain wet, the evaporation temperature
remains close to initial saturation temperature and the drying rate only
depends on the convective heat transfer rate from superheated steam.
The initial drying rate depends on the superheated steam condi-
tions, but as general rule, drying rate tends to increase when either the
superheated steam temperature or velocity increases. The other important
superheated steam condition is the pressure, and it has an ambiguous effect
on the initial drying rate. Low pressure reduces steam density and
diminishes its heat transfer capacity, so in theory, zero pressure results in
a null initial drying rate. On the other hand, a higher pressure increases
water equilibrium temperature, thus reducing the heat transfer driving
force (the difference between superheated steam temperature and food sur-
face temperature). In theory, there is another point with null drying rate that
corresponds to the pressure at which the water saturation temperature is
equal to the superheated steam temperature. Drying can only take place
between these two limiting pressures, and therefore there is at least one
optimum pressure at which the initial drying rate reaches its maximum
value.
In this paper a mathematical model is developed to find the criterion
for optimal pressure. Two general equations are deduced; one to calculate
the initial drying rate and the other to find the optimum operating condi-
tions. Finally, these equations are used to simulate the initial drying rate for
some simple model dryers.
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384 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

MATHEMATICAL MODEL DEVELOPMENT

The proposed model is based on the following assumptions:

1. The process is assumed to be steady and one-dimensional. This
means that superheated steam conditions change only in one direc-
tion, while conditions over the cross sectional area are uniform.
2. The drier is assumed to be adiabatic, i.e., well insulated.
3. Superheated steam pressure is assumed constant through all
drying zones.
4. It is assumed that all drying solid has the same initial equilibrium
temperature.
5. Changes of steam heat capacity with temperature are neglected.
6. Superheated steam is assumed to be an ideal gas.
7. Contribution of radiation was estimated to be under 2% and
hence neglected.
During evaporation, sensible heat is transferred from superheated
steam to food external surfaces, and while these surfaces remain wet, the
amount of heat transferred per unit time (dQ) can be calculated as the
difference between superheated steam temperature (Tss) and water equili-
brium temperature (T eq), multiplied by the external area for heat/mass
transfer (dA) and the external heat transfer coefficient (h):
dQ ¼ dAhðTss  T eq Þ ð1Þ
As the superheated steam flows past a food sample, its temperature is
reduced due to the heat transferred and its mass flow is increased due to the
amount of vapor produced by evaporation. This effect is shown schemati-
cally in Figure 1. Here with any portion of the food area (dA) there are
associated two temperatures and two mass flows, the inlet superheated
steam temperature (Ti) and mass flow (Fi), and the outlet superheated steam
temperature (To) and mass flow (Fo). Changes due to the heat transferred

Superheated steam flow

To , Fo Tss , F Ti , Fi

dm dQ dA

eq
T Wet product

Figure 1. Mass and energy balance over a portion of total food external area.
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 385

per unit time (dQ), and mass of water evaporated per unit time (dm) are also
shown.
Steady state is assumed, so on average, the drying area can be assumed
fixed. Under these conditions, a mass balance can be written as:
Fo ¼ Fi þ dm ð2Þ
In the energy balance, each mass flow carries a certain amount of
circulation energy (Bird et al. (1960)), equivalent to the product of each
mass flow and their respective entalphy,
Fi Hi þ dmH eq ¼ Fo Ho þ dQ ð3Þ
where the H ’s are enthalpies of each stream.
Transferred heat, dQ, can be related to the evaporation rate via its
latent heat of vaporization (
H ):
dQ ¼ dm
H ð4Þ
It is assumed that superheated steam pressure holds constant through
the entire drying zone, so steam enthalpy change can be calculated by its
heat capacity Cp and a temperature difference. Then, Eq. (5) can be written as:
Hi  Ho ¼ Cp ðTi  To Þ ð5Þ
The same relation is applied to the generated vapor, but now it is
produced at equilibrium conditions. For the general case, the difference
between the superheated steam entalphy (Hss) and equilibrium vapor
enthalpy (H eq) is obtained through the mean value of generated vapor
heat capacity (Cpv ) as:
Hss  H eq ¼ Cpv ðTss  T eq Þ ð6Þ
Now, Eqs (2)–(4) are combined and simplified using relations (5)
and (6). If Eq. (2) is solved for Fi and replaced into Eq. (3), an expression
for the mass and energy balance is obtained:
Fi Cp ðTi  To Þ ¼ dQð1 þ Cpv ðTo  T eq Þ=
HÞ ð7Þ
Otherwise, the procedure can be applied to obtain Fo instead of Fi, and
the resulting mass and energy balance is given by Eq. (8):
Fo Cp ðTi  To Þ ¼ dQð1 þ Cpv ðTi  T eq Þ=
HÞ ð8Þ
To solve Eqs (7) and (8) the inlet and outlet temperatures must be known.
To solve this problem, mass and energy balances are combined with the
empirical heat transfer Eq. (1). To do this, Eq. (7) is applied to a differential
portion of the food area: the temperature difference is written as tempera-
ture differential, Ti  To ¼ dTss , and generic values, Tss and F, are used
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386 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

for the steam temperatures and mass flows respectively. Then, differential
amount of transferred heat (dQ) is replaced by Eq. (1), and after some
rearrangements the following expression is obtained:
h 1
dA ¼ dT ð9Þ
FCp ðTss  T Þð1 þ Cpv ðTss  T eq Þ=
HÞ ss
eq

Neglecting changes in heat capacities with temperature, Eq. (9) is

integrated over the total external area (A), between inlet (Ti) and outlet
(To) superheated steam temperatures which yields
ZA  
h 1 þ Cpv ðTo  T eq Þ=
H Ti  T eq
dA ¼ ln ð10Þ
0 FCp 1 þ Cpv ðTi  T eq Þ=
H To  T eq
In case the sample external area does not cover a continuous surface,
integration is performed by addition of partial integrations over smaller
portions of the continuous area. To simplify this equation three dimension-
less numbers are defined. The first dimensionless number (Nq) is the ratio
between the convective heat transfer capacity and the sensible heat transport
capacity of superheated steam flow:
ZA
h
Nq ¼ dA ð11Þ
0 FCp

The second dimensionless number (Nt) is the ratio of respective differ-

ences between inlet and outlet superheated steam temperatures and the
sample equilibrium temperature:
To  T eq
Nt ¼ ð12Þ
Ti  T eq
And finally, a third dimensionless number (Nc) is defined as the ratio
between the sensible heat used to rise the temperature of the released water
vapor to the latent heat required for its formation:
Cpv ðTi  T eq Þ
Nc ¼ ð13Þ

H
Dividing Eqs (7) and (8) a dimensionless relation between inlet and
outlet superheated steam flow is obtained as follows:
Fo 1 þ Nc
¼ ð14Þ
Fi 1 þ NtNc
Although Eq. (14) can be used to calculate the steam mass flow
change, Nc is usually very small and Nt can vary between 0 and 1 only;
so this equation is approximately equal to 1 and hence superheated steam
mass flow can be assumed constant for most practical purposes.
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 387

A relation between the three dimensionless numbers is obtained insert-

ing Nq, Nt and Nc definitions into Eq. (10):
 
1 þ NtNc 1
Nq ¼ ln ð15Þ
1 þ Nc Nt

The drying rate is calculated replacing Eq. (4) into Eq. (7) and rewrit-
ing the result as:
Fi Cp ðTi  T eq Þð1  NtÞ ¼ m0
Hð1 þ NtNcÞ ð16Þ

where m0 is the initial amount of water evaporated per unit time, used
instead of dm to indicate that the former equation was applied to the
whole area and at the initial time.
Finally, combining Eqs (15) and (16), and recalling that F represents
the constant mass flow rate, a general expression to predict the total initial
drying rate is obtained:
FCp ðTi  T eq Þ  
m0 ¼ 1  eðNqÞ ð17Þ

H
Assuming also Cp ¼ constant with temperature, the dimensionless
number Nq (Eq. (11)) can be rewritten using a mean value of heat transfer
coefficient (hm):
hm A
Nq ¼ ð18Þ
FCp

The steam mass flow can be calculated as the superheated steam

velocity (), times steam density () and the drying zone cross sectional
area (S ). Thus,
F ¼ Sv ð19Þ

Optimum Operating Conditions

The next step is to find the optimum operating conditions. We maxi-

mize the initial drying rate as a function of the operating variables. One of
these operation variables is the superheated steam pressure (Pss), which is
assumed constant within the entire drying zone. Others are the superheated
steam velocity and temperature, and since these parameters can vary, one
measurable point must be chosen. To maintain agreement with Eq. (17), the
inlet operating variables Ti and vi are selected. Then, using ideal gas law to
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388 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

estimate steam density, Eq. (19) is applied to the inlet cross sectional
area (Si):
W i Pss
F ¼ Si ð20Þ
R Ti
where W is the molecular weight of water and R is the universal gas
constant. Now, Eq. (20) is inserted into Eqs (18) and (17), and then partial
derivative of m0 respect to operation variables, is performed, neglecting
Cp variation with temperature for simplicity. Therefore, initial drying rate
variation with respect to i , Ti, and Pss is given by the following expressions:
vi @m0  
¼ 1  <ðNqÞ ð1  N v Þ ð21Þ
m0 @vi

Ti @m0 Ti  
¼ eq  1  <ðNqÞ ð1  N T Þ ð22Þ
m0 @Ti Ti  T

Pss @m0   Pss @T eq Pss @
H

¼ 1  <ðNqÞ ð1  N P Þ  eq  ð23Þ
m0 @Pss ðTi  T Þ @Pss
H @Pss
where some new terms have been defined. One of them is the function ð<ðNqÞ Þ
that results from mathematical manipulation when deriving Nq exponential
function. Its definition is shown in the following equation, and it is advan-
tageous that only can vary between 0 and 1:
NqeðNqÞ
<ðNqÞ ¼ ; ð0
<ðNqÞ
1Þ ð24Þ
1  eðNqÞ
The remaining new factors (Nv, NT, NP), are the relative variations of
the mean outside heat transfer coefficient with respect to the three operating
variables defined below:
vi @hm
Nv ¼ ð25Þ
hm @vi

Ti @hm
NT ¼  ð26Þ
hm @Ti

Pss @hm
NP ¼ ð27Þ
hm @Pss
Defining the usual dimensionless groups used in fluid mechanics and heat
transfer, Nu, Re and Pr:
hm DH
Nusselt number, Nu ¼ ð28Þ
k
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 389

Cp 
Prandtl number, Pr ¼ ð29Þ
k
DH 
Reynolds number, Re ¼ ð30Þ

Combining Eqs (30) and (19) Re can be written as function of the super-
heated mass flow (F ):
DH
Re ¼ F ð31Þ
S
Now, combining Eqs (18), (28), (29) and (31), parameter Nq can be
expressed:
A Nu
Nq ¼ ð32Þ
S Pr Re
Factors Nv, NT, and NP can also be expressed as functions of Nu and
Re. This procedure is performed for NP as an illustration. Solving Eq. (28),
hm and differentiating with respect to Pss by the chain rule we obtain:
 
@hm @h @Nu @Re @Nu @Pr @h @k
¼ m þ þ m ð33Þ
@Pss @Nu @Re @Pss @Pr @Pss @k @Pss
Since Pr and k do not vary much with pressure, this equation can be
simplified to:
@hm @h @Re @Nu
¼ m ð34Þ
@Pss @Nu @Pss @Re
Then, calculating the partial derivatives in the RHS of Eq. (34), from
Eqs (28), (20) and (31), it can be shown that NP is equal to a combination of
Nu and Re numbers and their derivatives, defined as a new parameter (N ) in
Eq. (35):
Re @Nu
NP ¼ N ¼ ð35Þ
Nu @Re
If the same procedure is performed for Nv and NT, the result is similar
and Eq. (35) holds, though in the case of NT it is necessary to neglect the
dependence on temperature of the viscosity, thermal conductivity and heat
capacity.
Hence expression (36) can be written as follows:
NT  Nv ¼ NP ¼ N ð36Þ
where N in many cases matches the exponent of Re in the usual Nu ¼ f(Re)
correlations.
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390 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

Empirical Nusselt number equations found in the literature (Valentas

et al. (1997)) show that factor N usually is positive and lower than 1.
Therefore, taking into account that function <ðNqÞ (Eq. (24)) only can
vary between 0 and 1, we have:
 
0 < N
1  <ðNqÞ ð1  NÞ
1 ð37Þ
Hence, from Eq. (21), the inequality (38) holds. Taking into account
that Ti =ðTi  T eq Þ is always greater than 1, Eq. (22) also yields the inequa-
lity (39):
@m0
>0 ð38Þ
@vi

@m0
>0 ð39Þ
@Ti
This means that the total initial drying rate m0 increases monotonically
when either the velocity, vi, or the superheated steam temperature, Ti,
increases.
However, dependence of m0 on Pss is not so straightforward. In fact, it
is apparent that terms other than those containing <ðNqÞ on RHS of Eq. (23),
which are also function of Pss, contribute to determine whether the LHS
is positive or negative.
From the physical point of view, for Pss ¼ 0, there is no steam mass
flow process and m0 ¼ 0. And for Pss ¼ Peq, such that T eq(Peq) ¼ Tss, m ¼ 0,
since the thermal driving force is zero. Hence there must be a certain value
Pss, satisfying 0<Pss<Peq, at which m0 is maximum. In that case LHS of Eq.
(23) is equal to zero; so optimum working conditions are represented by the
following condition:
  Pss @T eq Pss @
H
1  <ðNqÞ ð1  NÞ   ¼0 ð40Þ
ðTi  T eq Þ @Pss
H @Pss
To simplify this expression the chain rule is applied to the latent heat
of evaporation. Thus,
@
H @
H @T eq
¼ ð41Þ
@Pss @T eq @Pss
Latent heat partial derivative with respect to temperature is equal to
the difference between the vapor and water heat capacities under equili-
brium conditions,
Cpv , (Lewis and Randall (1961)):
@
H
¼
Cpv ð42Þ
@T eq
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 391

The equilibrium temperature partial derivative with respect to pressure

can be expressed by the Clapeyron equation. (Lewis and Randall (1961)),
which in this case can be applied assuming ideal gas behavior:
dT eq R ðT eq Þ2
¼ ð43Þ
dPss W
H Pss
Finally, combining and rearranging Eqs (40)–(43), an expression is
obtained involving the optimum operating conditions. It is solved for Ti,
that is, the optimum steam inlet temperature (Ti,op) that makes m0 a max-
imum, for given i and Pss values:
  
R 1 þ Nv
Ti,op ¼ ðT eq Þ2 þ T eq ð44Þ
W
H 1  <ðNqÞ ð1  NÞ
Here Nc is the ratio between the sensible heat to the latent heat, the
former being the difference between temperatures of steam and water at
equilibrium, respectively:

Cpv ðTi  T eq Þ
Nc ¼ ð45Þ

H

NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS

In order to test the model some numerical experiments were performed

using three schematic arrangements that represent different real dryers. One
is a fixed bed tray dryer with parallel steam flow (Figure 2); the second is a

Si

Superheated
steam flow

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of a parallel flow tray dryer.

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392 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

fixed bed tray dryer with cross steam flow (Figure 3), and the third one is a
rotary dryer with a mixed steam flow (Figure 4).
The idea is not to calculate the precise values, but to compare the
relative magnitude of the results under different conditions. Hence, very
simplified but well-know heat transfer correlations are used. In practice,
these calculations should be repeated with more accurate data, especially
in the case of the fixed bed dryer with parallel flow.
In this case, the estimation of the convective heat transfer coefficient
was based on the boundary layer theory for flat sheets (Valentas and others,
1997). Since the tray dryer surfaces are rough, this equation is not exact, but
under laminar conditions the behavior should be estimated well. On the

Superheated steam flow

Si

Figure 3. Schematic diagram of a cross flow tray dryer.

Si Superheated steam flow

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of a rotary dryer.

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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 393

other hand, transition between laminar to turbulent flow depends strongly

on surface roughness, and the equation is not appropriate.

Operating Parameters

To use the model, it is necessary to use an appropriate correlation for

Nusselt number, Nu. This empirical Nu function, together with the sample
external area (A) and the dryer cross sectional area (S ), are necessary to
calculate the Nq (Eq. (32)). The second step is to calculate the parameter N
applying the empirical Nu function with Eq. (35), and usually it is equal to
the exponent on Re. Finally, a characteristic length (DH) is needed to relate
Re to the superheated steam flow (Eq. (31)).
Since all other parameters are steam properties or operating condi-
tions, these experimental data (Nu (Re, Pr), N, DH, A and S ) suffice to
calculate the initial drying rate (Eq. (17)) and the optimum drying condition
(Eq. (44)).
In our examples, all dryers are assumed to be filled with a total of
20 000 wet spherical particles of diameter dp ¼ 2 cm, representing a total
particles external area A ¼ 25 m2. All dryers have the same total length,
L ¼ 1 m and inlet cross sectional area, Si ¼ 1 m2. The fixed bed dryers have
10 trays each (np ¼ 10). Note that these are idealistic conditions chosen
solely for illustrative purposes.
The superheated steam inlet velocity is set to i ¼ 2 m/s as a practical
value. Steam inlet temperatures were varied between 60 and 90 C, the
former being a practical lower limit and the upper set by the product sensi-
tivity to thermal degeradation.

Dryer No. 1: Parallel Flow Tray Dryer

Average Nusselt number is predicted by the boundary layer theory

(Kreith (1969)), and under laminar conditions it is given by the following
equation:
Nu ¼ 0:664Re1=2 Pr1=3 ; ðRe < 2
105 Þ ð46Þ
Parameter N is calculated by Eq. (35):
N ¼ 0:5 ð47Þ
The characteristic dimension DH is defined as the dryer total length (L):
DH ¼ L ¼ 1 m ð48Þ
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394 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

Cross sectional area is the free area left by the trays. Therefore it is
calculated as:
S ¼ Si  np e ¼ 0:86 m2 ðfor Si ¼ 1 m2 ,
np ¼ 10 and e, layer thickness ¼ 0:014 mÞ ð49Þ

Dryer No. 2: Cross Flow Tray Dryer

A useful empirical correlation to predict Nusselt number in the design

of fixed bed dryers with transverse flow is proposed by Bird (Bird and others
(1960)):
1:51
Nu ¼ 0:91 Pr1=3 Re0:49 ; ðRe < 50 Þ ð50Þ
1:41
Nu ¼ 0:61 Pr1=3 Re0:59 ; ðR e > 50 Þ ð51Þ
Parameter N is calculated through definition (35) applied to both Re
ranges:
N ¼ 0:49; ðRe < 50 Þ ð52Þ

N ¼ 0:59; ðRe > 50 Þ ð53Þ

Parameter is an empirical coefficient that depends on particle shape,
but in the particular case of spheres it is
¼1 ð54Þ
The characteristic length is defined as the ratio between total drying
zone volume (SiL) and total food external area (A):
Si L
DH ¼ ¼ 4 cm ð55Þ
A
In this case, Re is calculated using the velocity before the vapor enters
the fixed bed, thus the cross sectional area corresponds to the inlet cross
sectional area:
S ¼ Si ¼ 1 m2 ð56Þ

Dryer No. 3: Rotary Dryer

In rotary dryers there is no correlation universally accepted for Nu

number, due to the uncertainty on the actual contact area with the gas, so it
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 395

is common to use the following correlation (Valentas and others (1997)):

Nu ¼ 0:33Re0:6 ð57Þ
The parameter N is calculated by definition (35):
N ¼ 0:6 ð58Þ
The characteristic length is taken as the particle diameter (dp):
DH ¼ dp ¼ 2 cm ð59Þ
The cross sectional area is estimated to be proportional to the drying
zone porosity ("), that is equal to the ratio between drying zone empty
volume and drying zone total volume. In this case " ¼ 0.89, hence:
S ¼ "Si ¼ 0:89 m2 ð60Þ

Simulated Optimum Conditions

Numerical values of the initial drying rate and the optimum operating
conditions were calculated for each dryer. The operating variables are the
inlet superheated steam velocity (vi), inlet superheated steam temperature
(Ti), and superheated steam pressure (Pss), and the total maximum drying
rate (m0) is obtained through Eq. (17), for which the following data are
required:
. Superheated steam mass flow (F ), calculated by Eq. (20); it depends
on the operating variables.
. Food equilibrium temperature (T eq) and latent heat of evaporation
(
H ) depend on superheated steam pressure. In foods, initial water
is mostly ‘‘free’’ water so T eq and
H can be estimated from water-
vapor equilibrium tables.
. Superheated steam heat capacity (Cp), viscosity (), and thermal
conductivity (k) depend on superheated steam temperature only.
. The number Nq, which is calculated from Eq. (32); it depends on
Re and Pr.
Equation (17) is not explicit since Nq and Cp vary with temperature
and they must be evaluated at a given intermediate point inside the drying
zone, for example, at the arithmetic mean of Ti and To. To estimate To,
Eq. (12) is used, once Nt is known. Since Nc is usually very small, Nt can be
obtained from Eq. (15) as:
Nt  eðNqÞ ð61Þ
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396 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

Nq and Cp dependence on temperature is small. For example, at

Pss ¼ 0.1 bar, and Tss ¼ 75 C, Cp varies 0.13% per degree centigrade and
Nq varies 0.21, 0.15 and 0.087% per degree centigrade for dryers No. 1, 2
and 3, respectively. Therefore, m0 can be evaluated using Nq(Ti) and Cp(Ti)
with no need of recursive calculations.
Using Eq. (17), the total initial drying rates for each dryer were calcu-
lated for different steam pressures and inlet temperatures, and results
are shown in Figures 5–7. In all cases isothermal plots of the initial dying
rates versus pressure show a maximum, the maximum shifts to higher pres-
sures as the inlet temperature is increased.
The optimum working conditions are obtained from Eq. (44), for
which the following data are required:
. Food equilibrium temperature (T eq), latent heat of evaporation
(
H ), and heat capacity difference between vapor and water in
equilibrium (
Cpv ): These depend on the superheated steam pres-
sure and can be obtained from steam tables.
. Parameter N (Eq. (35)): This is usually constant.
. Function <ðNqÞ (Eq. (24)): It depends on the dimensionless
number Nq.
Equation (44) is not explicit and must be solved by a recursive calcula-
tion. The easier way to do it is to calculate the inlet superheated steam
temperature as a function of superheated steam velocity and optimum pres-
sure. The procedure needed is the following:
1. Select Pss and vi that are to be optimized.
2. Choose Ti.

Figure 5. Initial drying rate in parallel flow tray dryer.

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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 397

Figure 6. Initial drying rate in cross flow tray dryer.

Figure 7. Initial drying rate in rotary dryer.

3. Calculate a new Ti with Eq. (44).

4. Return to step 2 with the new Ti.
And because Nq and Nc* are weak functions of Ti, convergence is fast.
Results of the optimum working conditions for the three dryers are
shown in Figure 8. This chart shows optimum pressure versus temperature
curves, calculated for two superheated steam velocities, vi ¼ 2 m/s (full line),
and vi ¼ 0 m/s (dotted line). In the dotted line, all dryer optimum curves are
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398 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

Figure 8. Optimum operating conditions.

identical, and this is a consequence of the fact that with vi ¼ 0, Nq ¼ 1 and

<(Nq) ¼ 0, so Eq. (44) is independent of the dryer characteristics.
Finally, maximum m0 at constant vi is calculated for different Ti using
the data on the optimum working condition into the total initial drying rate
equation. The results are drawn in Figures 5–7.

CONCLUSIONS

A mathematical criterion is developed to estimate the optimum work-

ing conditions for drying foodstuffs with superheated steam. A total initial
drying rate equation has been derived from mass and energy balances, and a
new dimensionless number Nq has been proposed to take into account all
key dryer characteristics.
The operating variables in drying with superheated steam are pressure,
temperature, and velocity. It is shown mathematically that the drying rate
always increases as either temperature or velocity increase, but for these two
variables, there exists at least one pressure at which the drying rate reaches a
maximum value.
An equation is proposed that permits one, after few recursive calcula-
tions, to obtain the optimum working conditions. This equation can be
easily applied to any dryer because the only terms that depend on the
dryer are: dimensionless number Nq, and a factor N that takes into account
the Nusselt variation with the to Reynolds number.
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 399

Numerical examples were developed as illustrations based on empiri-

cal Nusselt correlations found in the literature. Plots of dying rates versus.
pressure at temperature and velocity as parameters, showed that they
certainly have a maximum.
Finally, it is shown that at a very low superheated steam velocity
(Nq ¼ 1) all optimum conditions lie on a single curve, defining a limit
over which an optimum drying point cannot be reached, regardless of the
equipment and drying conditions. Experimental verification of the model
results needs to be carried out in future.

NOMENCLATURE

A Total food external area (m2)

Cp Mean value of superheated steam heat capacity (J/kg K)
Cvp Mean value of generated vapor heat capacity (J/kg)
DH Characteristic length (m)
de Spherical particle diameter (m)
e Mean value of plane thickness in the flat sheet dryer (m)
F Superheated steam mass flow (kg/s)
Fi Inlet Superheated steam mass flow (kg/s)
Fo Outlet Superheated steam mass flow (kg/s)
h Superheated steam heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)
hm Mean value of superheated steam heat transfer coefficient
(W/m2 K)
Hi Inlet superheated steam mass entalphy (J/kg)
Ho Outlet superheated steam mass entalphy (J/kg)
Hss Superheated steam mass entalphy (J/kg)
Heq Vapor mass entalphy in equilibrium conditions (J/kg)
L Drying zone total length (m)
m Drying rate, amount of evaporated water per unit time
(kg/s)
m0 Total initial drying rate (kg/s)
N Nusselt relative variation with respect to Reynolds
Nc Relation between sensible heat and latent heat of
evaporation
Nc* Relation between sensible heat and latent heat of
evaporation
Nq Relation between heat transferable and heat available in
superheated steam
Nt Relation between inlet and outlet temperature difference
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400 ELUSTONDO, MUJUMDAR, AND URBICAIN

Nu Nusselt number
NP Relative variation of heat transfer coefficient with respect
to pressure
NT Relative variation of heat transfer coefficient with respect
to temperature
Nv Relative variation of heat transfer coefficient with respect
to velocity
Pss Superheated steam pressure (N/m2)
np Number of planes in flat sheet and fixed bed dryers
Pr Prandtl number
Q Amount of heat transferred per unit time (W)
R Ideal gas constant (J/mol K)
Re Reynolds number
<ðNqÞ Dimensionless function of Nq
S Cross sectional area perpendicular to superheated steam
flow (m2)
Si Inlet cross sectional area (m2)
Tss Superheated steam absolute temperature (K)
Ti Inlet superheated steam temperature (K)
Ti,op Optimum steam inlet temperature for vi and Pss given (K)
To Outlet superheated steam temperature (K)
Teq Initial food equilibrium temperature (K)
 Superheated steam velocity (m/s)
i Inlet superheated steam velocity (m/s)
W Water molecular weight (kg/mol)

Cvp Heat capacity difference between vapor and water in equi-
librium (J/kg K)

H Food latent heat of evaporation (J/kg)
" Ratio between drying zone empty volume and drying zone
total volume

Fraction of moisture available to be evaporated
 Superheated steam density (kg/m2)
Empirical coefficient that depends on the particle shape

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Authors want to thank National Research Council of Argentina

(CONICET) and Universidad Nacional del Sur (Bahı́a Blanca, Argentina)
for the support given to the present work.
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DRYING FOOD WITH SUPERHEATED STEAM 401

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