Rotary Dryer Rotary dryer is suitable to dry metallic and nonmetallic mineral, clay in cement industry and coal

in coal mine, etc. Rotary dryer can be widely used to dry various materials, and it is simple to be operated. Rotary Dryer Working Principle: Materials are sent to hopper of rotary dryer by belt conveyor or bucket elevator. The barrel is installed with slope to horizontal line. Materials enter the barrel from the higher side, and hot air enters the barrel from the lower side, materials and hot air mix together. Materials go to the lower side by gravity when the barrel rotates. Lifters on the inner side of barrel lift materials up and down to make materials and hot air mix completely. So drying efficiency is improved.Rotary dryer is handling by bringing it into direct contact with a heated gas. The dryer is made up of a large, rotating cylindrical tube. The dryer slopes slightly so that the discharge end is lower than the material feed end in order to convey the material through the dryer under. Working principle: Material to be dried enters the dryer, and as the dryer rotates, the material is lifted up by a series of internal fins lining the inner wall of the dryer. When the material gets high enough to roll back off the fins, it falls back down to the bottom of the dryer, passing through the hot gas stream as it falls. This gas stream can either be moving toward the discharge end from the feed end (known as co-current flow), or toward the feed end from the discharge end (known as counter-current flow). The gas stream can be made up of a mixture of air and combustion gases from a burner, in which case the dryer is called a direct heated dryer. Alternatively, the gas stream may consist of air or another (sometimes inert) gas that is preheated. When the gas stream is preheated by some means where burner combustion gases do not enter the dryer, the dryer known as an indirectheated type. Often, indirect heated dryers are used when product contamination is a concern. Vibrating Tray Dryer, Vacuum Band Dryer Drying is effected by circulation of hot air through a bed of material as it is carried through the dryer. Depending upon the requirement, the drying enclosure comprises of a single chamber or is divided into a number of drying sections each including an air heater and circulating fan together with fresh air inlet and exhaust facilities. These vacuum band dryer are of modular design to optimize drying efficiency by providing precise temperature control in each zone. The range of band dryers include: single-pass, single-pass-multi-stage and multi-pass conveyorized belt type and single pass single or multi stage rail guided moving trolley type. The belts can be of flat, chain, mesh or slat type. Drying efficiency is maximized by the use of upwards/downwards airflow, double skin insulated panels, effective sealing of dryer enclosure, even air distribution, variable speed conveyor drives and air recycle. Feeding can be effected by means of oscillating belt, oscillating rake, vibratory and apron feeders. Also by granulators and extruders. Conveyorized band dryers are best suited for continuous drying of temperature sensitive and sugar containing products at low temperatures under vacuum conditions. The vacuum band dryers consist of a vacuum chamber in which conveyer bands of food grade quality are arranged. The band passes over the hot plates heated internally by steam or hot water. Feed product is spread on the moving band and is dried as it moves on the hot plates. Dried product is obtained at the other end of the vacuum band dryers. 1. Feed type: Particulate/Solid Material Suitable for Free-flowing powders Suitable for granular, crystalline, or fibrous solids materials that can be conveyed on a vibrating tray Mode of Operation: Continuous Drying is accomplished by material passing through the dryer continuously and in contact with a hot surface Mode of Heat Transfer: Conduction Heating accomplished by steam or hot water Gas Flow Pattern: Cross flow The direction of gas flow is at a right angle to that of solids movement, across the solids bed

2. 3. 4.

5.

Applications: Vacuum Band Dryer are suitable for processes such as tempering, annealing, curing, preheating, paint drying, etc., and also for drying Fruits & Vegetables Pharmaceuticals Enzymes

Matted Milk Protein Extracts Gelatin Beverage Mix Highly Viscous Liquids

Vibrating Tray Dryer, Vacuum Band Dryer Drying is effected by circulation of hot air through a bed of material as it is carried through the dryer. Depending upon the requirement, the drying enclosure comprises of a single chamber or is divided into a number of drying sections each including an air heater and circulating fan together with fresh air inlet and exhaust facilities. These vacuum band dryer are of modular design to optimize drying efficiency by providing precise temperature control in each zone. The range of band dryers include: single-pass, single-pass-multi-stage and multi-pass conveyorized belt type and single pass single or multi stage rail guided moving trolley type. The belts can be of flat, chain, mesh or slat type. Drying efficiency is maximized by the use of upwards/downwards airflow, double skin insulated panels, effective sealing of dryer enclosure, even air distribution, variable speed conveyor drives and air recycle. Feeding can be effected by means of oscillating belt, oscillating rake, vibratory and apron feeders. Also by granulators and extruders. Conveyorized band dryers are best suited for continuous drying of temperature sensitive and sugar containing products at low temperatures under vacuum conditions. The vacuum band dryers consist of a vacuum chamber in which conveyer bands of food grade quality are arranged. The band passes over the hot plates heated internally by steam or hot water. Feed product is spread on the moving band and is dried as it moves on the hot plates. Dried product is obtained at the other end of the vacuum band dryers. 6. Feed type: Particulate/Solid Material Suitable for Free-flowing powders Suitable for granular, crystalline, or fibrous solids materials that can be conveyed on a vibrating tray Mode of Operation: Continuous Drying is accomplished by material passing through the dryer continuously and in contact with a hot surface Mode of Heat Transfer: Conduction Heating accomplished by steam or hot water Gas Flow Pattern: Cross flow The direction of gas flow is at a right angle to that of solids movement, across the solids bed

7. 8. 9.

10. Applications: Vacuum Band Dryer are suitable for processes such as tempering, annealing, curing, preheating, paint drying, etc., and also for drying Fruits & Vegetables Pharmaceuticals Enzymes Matted Milk Protein Extracts Gelatin Beverage Mix Highly Viscous Liquids

SPRAY DRYING The development of spray drying equipment and techniques evolved over a period of several decades from the 1870s through the early 1900s. Spray drying comes of age during World War II, with the sudden need to reduce the transport weight of foods and other materials. This technique enables the transformation of feed from a fluid state into dried particulate form by spraying the feed into a hot drying medium. It is a continuous particle processing drying operation. The feed can be a solution, suspension, dispersion or emulsion. The dried product can be in the form of powders, granules or agglomerates depending upon the physical and chemical properties of the feed, the dryer design and final powder properties desired (Michael, 1993). Spray drying process mainly involves five steps: (i) Concentration: feedstock is normally concentrated prior to introduction into the spray dryer. (ii) Atomization: the atomization stage creates the optimum condition for evaporation to a dried product having the desired characteristics. (iii) Droplet-air contact: in the chamber, atomized liquid is brought into contact with hot gas, resulting in the evaporation of 95%+ of the water contained in the droplets in a matter of a few seconds. iv) Droplet drying: moisture evaporation takes place in two stages- 1) during the first stage, there is sufficient moisture in the drop to replace the liquid evaporated at the surface and evaporation takes place at a relatively constant rate (Keey & Pham, 1976), and 2) the second stage begins when there is no longer enough moisture to maintain saturated conditions at the droplet surface, causing a dried shell to form at the surface. Evaporation then depends on the diffusion of moisture through the shell, which is increasing in thickness. (v) Separation: cyclones, bag filters, and electrostatic precipitators may be used for the final separation stage. Wet Scrubbers are often used to purify and cool the air so that it can be released to atmosphere. Operation: The spray drying process is a continuous operation in which almost any pumpable liquid can be converted into a free flowing powder. The feed is pumped from the product feed tank to the atomizing device, located in the air disperser at the top of the drying chamber. The drying air is drawn from the atmosphere via a filter by a supply fan and is passed through the air heater to the air disperser. The atomized droplets meet the hot air and the evaporation takes place, while cooling of the air happen simultaneously. After the spray is dried in the drying chamber, the majority of the dried product falls to the bottom of the chamber and enters a pneumatic conveying and cooling system. The fines, which are the particles with a small diameter, will remain in the air, and it is therefore necessary to pass the air through cyclones to separate the fines. The fines leave the cyclone at the bottom via a locking device and enter the pneumatic system, too. The air passes from the cyclone to the atmosphere via the exhaust fan. The two fractions of powder are collected in the pneumatic system for conveying and cooling and are passed through a cyclone for separation, after which they are bagged off. The instrumentation comprises indication of the temperature of the inlet and outlet air, as well as automatic control of the inlet temperature by altering the steam pressure, amount of oil or gas to the air heater, and automatic control of the outlet temperature by altering the amount of feed pumped to the atomizing device. A conventional spray dryer consists of the following main components: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Drying chamber Hot air system and air distribution Feed system Atomizing device Powder separation system Pneumatic conveying and cooling system Fluid bed after-drying/cooling Instrumentation and automation

Key Components of Spray Dryers: Drying Chambers

The most common one is the cylindrical chamber with a cone of 40-60, where gravity forces the powder to leave the chamber. The drying chambers with a flat bottom require a scraper or suction device to remove the powder fraction from the chamber. Also horizontal box type drying chambers are seen, and they, too, operate with a forced powder removal system (i.e. scraper or screw). Hot Air System and Distribution

Before entering the drying chamber, the hot drying air must be filtered to ensure clean operation. Drying air is then heated by either indirect heating (air is heated using steam, oil and gas or hot oil) or direct heating (air is heated by gas heaters or by electric air heaters). Hot air is then distributed either co current, counter current, or mixed flow. Atomizing Device

The aim of atomizing the concentrate is to provide a very large surface, from which the evaporation can take place. The smaller droplets, the bigger surface, the easier evaporation, and a better thermal efficiency of the dryer are obtained. The ideal from a drying point of view would be a spray of drops of same size, which would mean that the drying time for all particles would be the same for obtaining equal moisture content. In practice, however, no atomizing device has yet been designed to produce a completely homogenous spray, although present designs have a high degree of homogeneity. From a powder bulk density point of view a homogenous spray is not wanted, as this would mean a powder with low bulk density, and that would mean an increase in packing material. It is, however, so that today's achievement of atomizing facilitates both the drying and the powder bulk density. As mentioned previously the air distribution and atomization are the key factors to a successful utilization of the spray dryer. The atomization is directly responsible for many distinctive advantages offered by the spray drying. First, the very short drying time of the particles can be mentioned, secondly a very short particle retention time in the hot atmosphere and low particle temperature (wet bulb temperature) and finally the transformation of the liquid feed into a powder with long storage stability ready for packing and transport. Common atomizing techniques and devices used in spray drying are the pressure energy as in pressure nozzles, kinetic energy as in two-fluid nozzles, and centrifugal energy as in rotating discs. Powder Separation System

As the drying air will contain a small proportion of powder (10-30%) when it leaves the chamber, it is necessary for economic reasons, but also because of pollution problems, to clean the drying air by separating the powder particles. This powder fraction is usually referred to as the fines, as they normally represent the smallest particles. The most used separators in the milk powder industry are Cyclone, Bag filter, Wet scrubber, and CIP-able bag filter. After separation, the powder are collected and bagged.

Spray Dryer illustrations Applications: Food: milk powder, coffee, tea, eggs, cereal, spices, flavorings, starch and starch derivatives, colorings... Pharmaceutical: antibiotics, medical ingredients, additives Industrial: paint pigments, ceramic materials, catalyst supports, microalgae vitamins, enzymes,

TRAY DRYER A tray or compartment dryer is an enclosed insulated chamber in which trays are placed on top of each other in trolleys. The material to be dried either wet or solids are placed in the trays. Heat transfer is by circulation of hot air by electric heaters or steam in radiator coils. Blower fans are installed inside to ensure proper circulation and transfer of heat. A control panel to control the temperature and other parameteres is fixed outside the dryer. Tray dryer principles The dryers are made of trays held in a cabinet which is connected to a source of air heated by gas, diesel or bio-mass such as rice husk. The air temperature is usually controlled by a thermostat which is normally set between 50 and 700C. The air enters the bottom of the chamber below the trays and then rises, through the trays of food being dried, and exits from an opening in the top of the chamber. In the Practical Action systems the trays are designed to force the air to follow a longer zigzag route which increases the air/food contact time and thus improve its efficiency. This system also reduces back pressure which means that cheaper, smaller fans can be used. The airflow in a typical system is shown in the figure above.

Batch Tray Dryer Batch cabinets are the simplest and cheapest to construct. The cabinet is a simple large wooden box fitted with internal runners to support the trays of food being processed. The trays are loaded into the chamber, the doors closed and heated air is blown through the stack of trays until the entire product is dry. As the hot air enters below the bottom tray, this tray will dry first. The last tray to dry is the one at the top of the chamber. The advantages and disadvantages of this system are: * simple, low cost chamber * low labor costs simply load and then unload * a tendency to over-dry the lower trays * low efficiency, in terms of fuel consumption, in the later stages of drying when most of the trays are dry The Semi-Continuous Tray Dryer Semi-continuous cabinets were developed by Practical Action in order to overcome some of the disadvantages of the batch system. In a semi-continuous cabinet a lifting mechanism allows all of the trays except the bottom tray to be lifted. It is thus possible to remove the lowest tray as soon as the product is dry. The mechanism then allows all the trays to be lowered (now tray 2 is at the bottom of the stack). This leaves a space at the top of the stack to load a tray of fresh material. The advantages/disadvantages of this system are: * over-drying is avoided * product quality is higher * fuel efficiency is considerably increased * a higher daily throughput is possible * the cabinet is however more expensive to construct * labor costs are higher due to loading and unloading trays at regular intervals * in order to maximize output 24 hour working is recommended STEAM-TUBE ROTARY DRYER Working Principle: Based on the structure of a traditional rotary dryer, steam tube rotary dryer/ calcinator is equipped with some steam heating tubes inside of the dryer. The heating tubes run through the dryer with pattern of 1 to 5 concentric circle(s), supplying heat needed by drying process. The heating tubes rotate along with the rotary drum. The material entrained in calcinator is lifted and agitated by the heating tubes in the rotary drum. Being dehydrated/calcined by heat from the tubes, the product will move by inclination of the dryer/calcinator from the upper end to the lower one and discharged from the outlet at the lower end. The vaporized water will be vented by fans or in way of natural ventilation. As for the organic solvent, it can be recovered by airtight steam tube rotary dryer/calcinator. The circulation of inert gas can be used against explosion. Steam tube dryers have a series of tubes running down the length of the rotating shell and passing through the bed of feed material. Steam passes into the tubes, condenses and uniformly heats the feed material. Characteristics: 1. Large heat transfer area, high thermal efficiency 2. High handling ability, suitable for the continuous operation 3. Low drying temperature, simple operation, easy to use 4. The gas is only used to transfer the volatile component, little amount of gas is used, and the dust removal system is simple. 5. High efficiency of the airtight system, extremely suitable for the recycling of organic solvents such as ethane. Material to be dried: Applied to material of large handling capacity which needs continuous drying, for example: Polyethylene, PTA, POM, ABS resin, pentaerythritol, gypsum, copper extract powder, iron extract powder, nickel extract powder, active carbon, soda ash, potassium carbonate, DDG and etc. A steam tube dryer is a constant temperature drying process. The drying process always takes place at the steams saturation temperature for the steams pressure. Steam Tube Dryers use a rotary drum for the drying vessel and product is handled in a Steam Tube Dryer similar to a Rotary Dryer. Product can be conveyed with gravity, screw flig hting, or pneumatics. The Steam Disc Dryer is a variation of the Steam Tube Dryer.

Freeze Dryer Freeze drying involves the removal of water or other solvent from a frozen product by a process called sublimation. Sublimat occurs when a frozen liquid goes directly to the gaseous state without passing through the liquid phase. In contrast, drying at ambient temperatures from the liquid phase usually results in changes in the product, and may be suitable only for some

materials. However, in freeze drying, the material does not go through the liquid phase, and it allows the preparation of a stable product that is easy to use and aesthetic in appearance. The advantages of freeze drying are obvious. Properly freeze dried products do not need refrigeration, and can be stored at ambient temperatures. 3 stages of freeze drying o Freezing

The freezing phase can be considered as the most critical step in the freeze drying process. Proper freeze drying can reduce drying times by 30%. There are various methods to freezing the product. Freezing can be done in a freezer, a chilled bath (shell freezer) or on a shelf in the freeze dryer. Cooling the material below its triple point ensures that sublimation rather than melting will occur. This preserves its physical form. Large ice crystals are easiest to freeze dry. Slow freezing or annealing will produce larger ice crystals. For Biological materials, if the crystals are too large, they may break the cell walls which will offer less than favorable freeze drying results. To prevent this from happening, the freezing is done rapidly. For materials that tend to precipitate, Annealing can be used. Fast freezing, then raise the product temperature to allow the crystals to grow. o Primary Drying

Primary drying (sublimation) is the phase in which the pressure is lowered and heat is added to the material in order for the water to sublimate. The vacuum speeds sublimation. The cold condenser provides a surface for the water vapor to adhere and solidify. The condenser also protects the vacuum pump from the water vapor. About 95% of the water in the material is removed in this phase. Primary drying can be a slow process. Too much heat can alter the structure of the material. o Secondary drying

During Secondary drying (adsorption), the ionically-bound water molecules are removed. By raising the temperature higher than in the primary drying phase, the bonds are broken between the material and the water molecules. Freeze dried materials retain a porous structure. After the freeze-drying process is complete, the vacuum can be broken with an inert gas before the material is sealed. Most materials can be dried to 1-5% residual moisture. Application and Uses The applications of freeze drying are numerous, but are generally employed when the requirements demand: Preservation of temperature sensitive products, particularly those of biological origin, such as enzymes, blood plasma, vaccines, etc. To provide a practical solution for certain delivery problems, for example, the packaging of constituents that cannot be mixed in the liquid state, but which are solidified in successive stages and then freeze dried. To improve storage life and improved marketing of the end product.

Tunnel Dryers A tunnel dryer is basically a group of truck-and-tray batch dryers, operated in a programmed series so as to be quasicontinuous. Truckloads of freshly prepared material are moved at intervals into one end of the long, closely fitting enclosure, the whole string of trucks is periodically advanced a step, and the dried truckloads are removed at the other end of the tunnel. The hot drying of air is supplied to the tunnel in any of several different ways, known as the counter flow, concurrent or parallel-flow, centre exhaust, multistage, and compartment arrangements. In operation, thin layers of food dried on trays, which are stacked on trucks programmed to move semi-continuously through an insulated tunnel. The trays are fabricated of wood or light metal, with thin slat or open-mesh bottoms, and are designed so that when they are properly stacked a clear air passage is left between trays. The loaded trucks are pushed either manually or mechanically, one at a time, into the wet end of the drier. The passageway, which constitutes the tunnel, is just large enough to accommodate the loaded trucks; clearances are kept small so that hot air will not circulate uselessly around the stacks of trays but will be forced to flow mainly between trays. Typically a 20 m tunnel contains 12-15 trucks with a total capacity of 5000 kg of food. This ability to dry large quantities of food in a relatively short time (5-6 h) made tunnel drying widely used. However, the method has now been largely superseded by conveyor drying and fluidised-bed drying, as a result of their higher energy efficiency, reduced labour costs and better product quality. Working Principle

After the air is exchanged by heat exchanger, the air in the drying chamber is heated through heat radiation and heat convection. Under the function of fan, the hot air is diffused in the whole drying chamber and the hot air and materials carry out sufficient heat exchange. Under the function of humidity removing fan, the vapor is discharged outside the drying chamber so as to achieve the purpose of drying. Several other tunnel arrangements have been used to take advantage both of the high wet-end evaporate capacity characteristics of the concurrent arrangement and the good final drying capability of the concurrent arrangement and the good final drying capability of the counter flow tunnel. The combination generally preferred consists of a concurrent wet end a counter flow dry end. Many other tunnel arrangements have been proposed. One is a closed-cycle system-that is, there is no exhaust to the atmosphere; instead, the exhaust air from the drying section is partially dehumidified and returned to the fresh-air intake. The system has been proposed for onion and garlic dehydration, in order to diminish the nuisance aspect of the highly odorous exhaust from an ordinary tunnel drier. Closed-cycle drying has also been investigated as part of a system for dehydration foods in an atmosphere of inert, oxygen-free gas, the closed cycle being necessary to diminish the cost of supplying fresh inert gas. The major advantage of such an arrangement probably is its flexibility with respect to the drying a wide variety of different products under nearly optimum conditions for each Materials to be dried Tunnel type dryer is a continuous dryer, for processing wet solid materials. It is used for processing sliced vegetables, fruits, coconuts (for copra), rubber (for making crumb rubber), pharmaceuticals, enzymes, protein extracts, noodles, gelatin, beverage mix, highly viscous liquids, processed foods, cashew, vermicelli, macaroni, seeds, coir, onion, garlic, ginger, cardamom, spices, ceramic fiber papers, ceramic fiber boards, molded paper products, rayon staple, and cotton linters. SCREEN-CONVEYOR DRYER It is truly continuous in operation, carrying a layer of solids on an endless conveyor. Air flow can be totally cocurrent, countercurrent, or a combination of both as shown in Fig. 12-54. In addition, cross-flow designs are employed frequently, with the heating air flowing back and forth across the trucks in series. Reheat coils may be installed after each cross-flow pass to maintain constant-temperature operation; large propeller-type circulating fans are installed at each stage, and air may be introduced or exhausted at any desirable points. Tunnel equipment possesses maximum flexibility for any combination of air flow and temperature staging. When handling granular, particulate solids which do not offer high resistance to air flow, perforated or screen-type belt conveyors are employed with through circulation of gas to improve heat- and mass-transfer rates. In tunnel equipment, the solids are usually heated by direct contact with hot gases. In high-temperature operations, radiation from walls and refractory lining may be significant also. The air in a direct-heat unit may be heated directly or indirectly by combustion or, at temperature below 475 K, by finned steam coils. Applications of tunnel equipment are essentially the same as for batch tray and compartment units previously described, namely, practically all forms of particulate solids and large solid objects. In operation, they are more suitable for large-quantity production, usually representing investment and installation savings over (multiple) batch compartments. In the case of truck and tray tunnels, labor savings for loading and unloading are not significant compared with batch equipment. Belt and screen conveyors which are truly continuous represent major labor savings over batch operations but require additional investment for automatic feeding and unloading devices. Auxiliary equipment and the special design considerations discussed for batch trays and compartments apply also to tunnel equipment. For size-estimating purposes, tray and truck tunnels and furnaces can be treated in the same manner as discussed for batch equipment. Operation: Conveyor drying uses a perforated belt to transfer feed materials through the dryer. Heated air is either passed under and through, or over and through the belt and product bed before being reheated and re-circulated. Units are normally multi-zoned and may have differing airflow's in successive zones. Additionally each zone may use a different temperature profile and control. Saturated or close to saturated air is exhausted from the dryer via a central exhaust duct. Conveyor dryers may be multi-pass units, in which the feed is transferred from one belt to another belt below it by gravity. These dryers are usually two or three pass machines. Additionally certain conveyor dryers, such as those used in vegetable dehydration have multiple belts in line, and the feed is transferred from one belt to another. Feed Characteristics: Large granules, agglomerates, pellets, preformed (extruded) products (pressure agglomerates), small solid particles, large solid particles, agricultural products. Low to high feed rates. Heat Source: Steam, electrical, coal, liquid fuels, or gas. Exposure: Mostly Direct. Flow can be through the bed (under to over, over to under, or both), cross, counter current or co-current. Indirect systems available for certain products. Residence time:

Highly Controllable. Residence time can be altered by varying the feed and discharge rates affecting the bed depth. Belt can be slowed and modulated. Benefits: Very intimate contact with air/gas stream. Multiple zones offer flexibility for temperature and process control Excellent transfer of energy Can vary flows between zones Gentle handling of product Self contained with distributed foundation loading Unit can have integral cooling section Limitations: High temperature units can be troublesome. Heater can clog on carryover. Belt tracking can be problematic. Pneumatic-Conveyor Dryers

A pneumatic-conveyor dryer consists of a long tube or duct carrying a gas at high velocity, a fan to propel the gas, a suitable feeder for addition and dispersion of particulate solids in the gas stream, and a cyclone collector or other separation equipment for final recovery of solids from the gas. The solids feeder may be of any type; screw feeders, venturi sections, highspeed grinders, and dispersion mills are employed. For pneumatic conveyors, selection of the correct feeder to obtain thorough initial dispersion of solids in the gas is of major importance. For example, by employing an air-swept hammer mill in a drying operation, 65 to 95 percent of the total heat may be transferred within the mill itself if all the drying gas is passed through it. Fans may be of the induced-draft or the forced-draft type. The former is usually preferred because the system can then be operated under a slight negative pressure. Dust and hot gas will not be blown out through leaks in the equipment. Cyclone separators are preferred for low investment. If maximum recovery of dust or noxious fumes is required, the cyclone may be followed by a wet scrubber or bag collector. In ordinary heating and cooling operations, during which there is no moisture pickup, continuous recirculation of the conveying gas is frequently employed. Also, solvent-recovery operations employing continuously recirculated inert gas with intercondensers and gas reheaters are carried out in pneumatic conveyors. Pneumatic conveyors are suitable for materials which are granular and free-flowing when dispersed in the gas stream, so they do not stick on the conveyor walls or agglomerate. Sticky materials such as filter cakes may be dispersed and partially dried by an air-swept disintegrator in many cases. Otherwise, dry product may be recycled and mixed with fresh feed, and then the two dispersed together in a disintegrator. Coarse material containing internal moisture may be subjected to fine grinding in a hammer mill. The main requirement in all applications is that the operation be instantaneously completed; internal diffusion of moisture must not be limiting in drying operations, and particle sizes must be small enough so that the thermal conductivity of the solids does not control during heating and cooling operations. Pneumatic conveyors are rarely suitable for abrasive solids. Pneumatic conveying can result in significant particle-size reduction, particularly when crystalline or other friable materials are being handled. This may or may not be desirable but must be recognized if the system is selected. The action is similar to that of a fluid-energy grinder. Special type: ContinuousConveyor Dryers (Belt Dryer)

Belt dryer is continuous drying equipment. Belt Dryer is widely used for chemical, food, pharmaceutical industries. It is especially suitable for drying raw materials that are good in breathability and in the shapes of piece, strip or granule. It is also possible to dry the pasted raw material such as filter cake after shaped through granulator or extruder. Continuous conveyor dryers are up to 20 m long and 3 m wide. Food is dried on a mesh belt in beds 5-15 cm deep. Wet material supplied to the spreader device at the left-hand end is loaded evenly and in a relatively deep layer on the surface of a slowly moving conveyor belt . The air is initially directed upwards through the bed of food and then downwards the last 1 or 2 sections so as to prevent light-weight, nearly dry pieces from blowing out of the bed, although sometimes the drier is designed to produce up-through and down-through flow in alternate sections in order to improve the uniformity of drying of a thick layer of

wet material. Sectionalising the drier makes it possible to control air temperature, humidity, and velocity independently in several stages to give optimum output and quality. The first section can be supplied with air at high temperature and moderate humidity because rapid evaporation from the wet material keeps its temperature down. The final stage can be operated with very dry air at a low enough temperature to avoid damage during the long, slow approach to the desired final level of moisture content. Foods are dried to 10-15 % moisture content and then transferred to bin dryers for finishing. Construction of the dryer as two separate conveyors in series makes it possible to discharge the partly dry material at the end of the first stage. This is an important feature. Not only does the mixing aid in making a uniform product, but also the repiling makes possible a great saving in the flour space required. For example, potato strips originally piled on the conveyor in a layer 4 in. deep will shrink by the time they reach the end of the first stage to layer less than 2 in. deep; some 90% of the original moisture will have been evaporated, but more than of the total required drying time is still to go. If, at this point, the material is stacked to a depth of 10-12 in., the conveyor area needed for the second stage will be only 1/5 or less of that which would have been necessary without the restacking. Centrifugal fan wheels are ordinarily used. A large proportion of the air passing through the layer of moist material recirculates into the fan; dampers into the next section, to lattes into fan, may divert part of it; dampers into the next section, to be replaced by heated fresh air, may divert part of it. The fact hat air temperature is uniform makes it necessary to control this temperature at a level which is safe to apply to the moist material leaving the first section and already partly dry. This equipment has good control over drying conditions and high production rates. It is used for large scale drying of foods (e.g. fruits and vegetables are dried). Some soft, starchy or sugary materials may benefit by being subjected first to very rapid surface drying in such equipment as the belt through drier so that the working surfaces of the conveyor drier will remain clear and free of sticky build-up. It has independently controlled drying zones and is automatically loaded and unloaded, which reduces labour costs. As a result it has largely replaced the tunnel drier.

General concept: In the Belt dryer, the raw material to be treated is distributed on the conveyor belt through right mechanism such as star distributor, swing belt, crusher or granulator. The conveyer passes through the channel consisting of one or several heating units, which are equipped with air heating and circle system. Each channel has one or several damp discharge systems. When the conveyer passes through it, hot air will pass through the raw material up and down. In this way the raw material can be dried evenl Air Conditioning System

Air conditioning is the removal of heat from indoor air for thermal comfort. In another sense, the term can refer to any form of cooling, heating, ventilation, or disinfection that modifies the condition of air An air conditioner (often referred to as AC) is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area, and thus there is also a need to handle the accumulated condensate in the drain pan or drain hose. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle. Newer high-efficiency window units use the condensed water to help cool the condensing coils (warm side) by evaporating the water into the outdoor air, while older units simply allowed the water to drip outside. Central air conditioning units typically need to be connected to a drain. In construction, a complete system of heating, ventilation and air conditioning is referred to as "HVAC". Parts of Air Conditioning Unit Pump (Compressor) Air conditioners use a liquid called the refrigerant, which is circulated continuously by a powerful pump called the compressor. Most air conditioners use centrifugal compressors, which look like fan turbines. The centrifugal compressor spins very fast, and as it turns, the refrigerant is forced outward along its curved blades and propelled into the evaporator. Condenser The fluid in the condenser is pressurized, which causes it to heat up. The condenser is a long coil made out of metal, and heat leaks through it very easily. In most air-conditioning units, the condenser coil is kept outside so that this waste heat can flow out into the air. In some cases, the condenser is kept underground instead and the waste heat flows into the earth. Evaporator At the end of the condenser is a narrow nozzle that sprays the refrigerant into a low pressure chamber called the evaporator. When fluids such as the refrigerant go from a high pressure area to a low pressure area, they expand and drop in temperature. Like the condenser, the evaporator is a long metal coil. Air is blown over the coil by a fan. As the air passes the coil, its heat gets

sucked into the refrigerant. This creates a stream of cold air. At the end of the evaporator, the refrigerant is sent into the condenser again, starting the cycle over. Expansion Valve

The function of expansion valves is to regulate the internal temperature of air, and it controls the refrigerant flow inside the system. There are certain anti-freezing agents as well like coolant or condensed gases, which pass through these valves.

Fans and Blowers Fans function as air movers. This equipment will enable forced convection to occur, thus improving the heat transfer rate. In addition to that, it makes compact design of evaporator and condenser, possible. Depending on natural convection would otherwise mean very large evaporator and condenser design. Not only that, youll have to wait almost forever before cool air reaches you. Blowers have the exact same function as a fan. Only the construction is different. Fans are normally used at condensing units, while blowers are used for evaporation units. Evaporator Coil The evaporator coil is a series of piping connected to a furnace or air handler that blows indoor air across it, causing the coil to absorb heat from the air. The cooled air is then delivered to the house through ducting. The refrigerant then flows back to the compressor where the cycle starts over again. Condenser Coil The condenser coils are tubes to carry the refrigerant through so it can be cooled. The fins on the tubes make it happen with great efficiency in that they have become so well designed that they transfer a lot of heat very rapidly. They are soft aluminum and must be keep free of damage and must be kept clean for them to work well. Air Conditioners Flow System In an air conditioner, air passes over the cooling coils (the evaporator) and then directly into the room. Spent refrigerant then is pumped by the compressor through a tube to outside the space being cooled (cooiling coils), to where the heating coils (the condenser) are located. The waste heat is transferred to the outside air, which passes over the condenser coils and remains outside. The water that condenses on the evaporator in an air conditioner is usually routed thorough a drain channel to the outside of the window, thus removing extracted water from the conditioned space. Whether in a car or building, both use electric fan motors for air circulation. Since evaporation occurs when heat is absorbed, and condensation occurs when heat is released, air conditioners use a compressor to cause pressure changes between two compartments, and actively condense and pump a refrigerant around. A refrigerant is pumped into the evaporator coil, located in the compartment to be cooled, where the low pressure causes the refrigerant to evaporate into a vapor, taking heat with it. At the opposite side of the cycle is the condenser, which is located outside of the cooled compartment, where the refrigerant vapor is compressed and forced through another heat exchange coil, condensing the refrigerant into a liquid, thus rejecting the heat previously absorbed from the cooled space. By placing the condenser (where the heat is rejected) inside a compartment, and the evaporator (which absorbs heat) in the ambient environment (such as outside), or merely running a normal air conditioner's refrigerant in the opposite direction, the overall effect is the opposite, and the compartment is heated. This is usually called a heat pump, and is capable of heating a home to comfortable temperatures (25 C; 70 F), even when the outside air is below the freezing point of water (0 C; 32 F). Batch Through Circulation Dryer Type of Feed Batch Through Circulation Dryers are suitable only if material can be preformed. It is usually not suited for materials smaller than 30- mesh (0.5 mm). It is also primarily useful for small objects. Application Pharmaceutical, Food, Dye Materials, Pigment, Sea Food Products, Garlic, Pesticide, Agricultural Products and Fruits. Theory The drying objects either powder or granules are placed on the drying trays which are made of special screens or punch hole plates and covered around by filter clothes. The drying trays are placed in a special designed trolley which has several layers perfectly matched with the drying chamber. The air suction is drawn by the exhaust blower which is located beside the drying chamber, the drying function is carried out by suction of air through the filter and heater. The hot air will then pass though the drying objects from top to bottom and takes away the moisture from each tray.

For through-circulation drying, where the drying gas passes upward or downward through a bed of wet granular solids, both a constant-rate period and a falling-rate period of drying may result. Often the granular solids are arranged on a screen so that the gas passes through the screen and through the open spaces or voids between the solid particles. The gas penetrates and flows through interstices among the solids, circulating more or less freely around the individual particles. Batch dryers are most often used when the product ion rat e o f dri ed solid is les s t h a n 150 to 200 k g / h ( 3 0 0 to 400 lb/h); continuous d ryer s are n early alway s chose n for pr oduction ra tes grea ter tha n 1 or 2 tons/ h. In ge ne ral, batc h d ryer s ar e pr efer red for smal ler sca le ope ration s, long re sid en ce time s, an d also wh en qual ity i nte grity wi thi n a b atch is es sen tial. Continuous Tray Dryer Continuous tray dryers are used for bulk and fibrous materials (artificial fibers, certain polymers). Here, the material being dried moves over an endless belt (or over several consecutively arranged belts) stretched between a driving drum and a driven drum. Hot air or flue gases that move either parallel or perpendicular to the belt accomplish drying.

Continuous tray dryer: (1) Drying chamber (2) Endless belt (3) Driving drums (4) Driven drums (5) Heater (6) Feeder (7) Support rollers Working Principle of Continuous Tray Dryer: The working principle of continuous Tray Dryer is a mixed system of tray dryer and conveyor dryer. The system has continuous trolleys. Products can be dried by using different air sections (bottom - top - right - left). Each trolleys stay at all of air sections by using continuous trolley system. Continuous Sheeting Machine

Material Form: Web/Continuous Sheets -webs are continuous-sheets such as paper, cardboard, textile, plastic films, metal sheets, strip, nonwoven mats orprinted newspaper. Webs are usually processed with festoon, cylinder or strenter

Equipment: Continuous conveyor dryers are up to 20 m long and 3 m wide. Food is dried on a meshbelt in beds 5-15 cm deep. Wet material supplied to the spreader device at the lefthand end isloaded evenly and in a relativelydeep layer on the surface of a slowly movingconveyor belt. The air is initially directed upwards through the bedof food and then downwards the last 1 or 2 sections so as to prevent light-weight, nearly dry pieces from blowing out of the bed, although sometimes the drier is designed to produce upthrough and down-through flow in alternate sections in order to improve the uniformity of drying of a thick layer ofwet material. Sectionalizing the drier makes it possible to control air temperature, humidity, and velocity independently in several stages to give optimum output and quality. The first section can be supplied with air at high temperatureandmoderatehumiditybecauserapidevaporationfromthewetmaterialkeepsitstemperaturedown. Figure1:ActualContinuousConveyorDryer

Figure2:InsideofContinuousConveyorDryer The final stage can beoperatedwithvery dry air at a low enough temperature to avoid damage during thelong, slow approach to thedesired finallevelof moisturecontent. Foodsaredriedto 10-15%moisturecontentand thentransferredto bin dryersforfinishing. Constructionof thedryerastwo separateconveyors inseriesmakesitpossibleto dischargethepartlydrymaterialattheendofthefirststage.Thisisanimportantfeature.Notonlydoesthemixingaidinmakingauniformproduct, butalso therepilingmakes possibleagreatsavinginthefloorspacerequired.Forexample,potatostripsoriginallypiledontheconveyorinalayer4in.deepwillshrinkbythetimetheyreachtheendofthe first stage to a layer 4in. deep will shrink by the time they reach the end of the first stage to layer less than 2 in. deep; some 90% of the original moisture will have been evaporated, but more than of the total required drying time is still to go. If, at this point, the material is stacked to a depth of 10-12 in., the conveyor area needed for the second stage will be only 1/5 or less of that which would have been necessary without the restacking. Centrifugal fan wheels are ordinarily used. A large proportion of the air passing throughthe layer of moistmaterial recirculates into thefan; dampers into the next section, to lattes into fan, may divert partof it; dampers into the next section, to be replacedbyheatedfreshair, maydivertpartofit.Thefactthatairtemperatureisuniformmakesitnecessaryto controlthistemperatureatalevelwhichissafeto applyto the moistmaterialleavingthefirstsectionandalready partlydry.Thisequipmenthasgoodcontroloverdryingconditionsandhighproductionrates. Itisusedforlargescaledrying offoods(e.g.fruitsandvegetablesaredriedin2-3.5hatupto5.5th-1).Somesoft,starchyorsugarymaterialsmaybenefitbybeingsubjectedfirsttoveryrapidsurfacedryingin suchequipmentasthebeltthroughdrierso thattheworkingsurfacesoftheconveyordrierwillremainclearandfreeofstickybuild-up.Ithasindependentlycontrolleddrying zonesandisautomaticallyloadedandunloaded,whichreduceslaborcosts.Asaresultithaslargelyreplacedthetunneldrier

VACUUM ROTARY DRYERS

Classification Batch; rotary agitation; conduction; conical An agitated dryer is defined as one on which the housing enclosing the process is stationary while solids movement is accomplished by an internal mechanical agitator. A rotary dryer is one in which the outer housing rotates. Many forms are in use, including batch and continuous versions. The batch forms are almost invariably heated by conduction with operation under vacuum. Vacuum is used in conjunction with drying or other chemical operations when 1. low solids temperatures must be maintained because heat will cause damage to the product or change its nature; 2. air combines with the product as it is heated, causing oxidation or an explosive condition; 3. solvent recovery is required; 4. materials must be dried to extremely low moisture levels. Vertical agitated pan, spherical and conical dryers are mechanically agitated; tumbler or doublecone dryers have a rotating shell. All these types are typically used for the drying of solvent or waterwet, free flowing powders in small batch sizes of 1000 L or less, as frequently found in the pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, and fine chemicals industries. This type of dryers is widely used to dry such materials as free-flowing powders, granules, and crystals. Due to the gentle tumbling motion this type of dryers, however, is not suitable for processing sticky materials, which may stick to the dryer walls or form lumps. Corrosion resistance and cleanability are often important. The batch nature of operation is of value in the pharmaceutical industry to maintain batch identification. WORKING MECHANISM The rotating (or double cone) batch vacuum dryer is essentially a rotating vessel containing materials to be dried. Rotating batch vacuum dryers consist of a heated vacuum chamber, which rotates about a horizontal axis. Wet material is loaded through the charge opening and the vessel is closed and evacuated down to the desired operating pressure. Heat for drying is supplied by a surrounding heating

jacket. During the drying cycle the vessel rotates and imparts a tumbling motion to the drying material, aiding heat transfer, mixing, and vapor release. The speed of rotation may vary from 5 rpm for a large unit to 30 rpm for a smaller unit. The temperature of the heating jacket may be varied through the drying cycle; it is also common to replace the heating medium by cooling water in the final stage of drying to cool down the product. Vacuum Processing This type of dryer is operated under vacuum, especially when drying heat-sensitive materials or when removing flammable organic solvents rather than water. The heating medium is hot water, steam, or thermal oil, with most applications in the temperature range of 50 to 150C and pressures in the range of 3 to 30 kPa absolute. The vapors generated during the drying process are evacuated by a vacuum pump and passed through a condenser for recovery of the solvent. A dust filter is normally mounted over the vapor discharge line as it leaves the dryer, thus allowing any entrapped dust to be pulsed back into the process area. Standard cloth-type dust filters are available, along with sintered metal filters. Vacuum is applied and maintained by any of the conventional methods, i.e., steam jets, vacuum pumps, etc. A similar type, the batch indirect rotary dryer, consists of a rotating horizontal cylindrical shell, suitably jacketed. Vacuum is applied to this unit through hollow trunnions with suitable packing glands. Rotary glands must be used also for admitting and removing the heating medium from the jacket. The inside of the shell may have lifting bars, welded longitudinally, to assist agitation of the solids. Continuous rotation is needed while emptying the solids and a circular dust hood is frequently necessary to enclose the discharge-nozzle turning circle and prevent serious dust losses to the atmosphere during unloading. Sealing tends to be more difficult where the entire shell rotates compared to the horizontal pan, where only the central agitator shaft rotates, since the seal diameter is smaller in the latter case. Conversely, a problem with a stationary shell is that it can be difficult to empty the final heel of material out of the bottom of the cylinder. If batch integrity is important, this is an advantage for the rotary variant over the horizontal pan. In vacuum processing and drying, a major objective is to create a large temperature-driving force between the jacket and the product. To accomplish this purpose at fairly low jacket temperatures, it is necessary to reduce the internal process pressure so that the liquid being removed will boil at a lower vapor pressure. It is not always economical, however, to reduce the internal pressure to extremely low levels because of the large vapor volumes thereby created. It is necessary to compromise on operating pressure, considering leakage, condensation problems, and the size of the vapor lines and pumping system. Very few vacuum dryers operate below 5 mmHg pressure on a commercial scale. Air in-leakage through gasket surfaces will be in the range of 0.2 kg/(hlinear m of gasketed surface) under these conditions. To keep vapor partial pressure and solids temperature low without pulling excessively high vacuum, a nitrogen bleed may be introduced, particularly in the later stages of drying. The vapor and solids surface temperatures then fall below the vapour boiling point, toward the wet-bulb temperature. The dryer makes maximum use of the product-heated areasthe filling volume of the vessel (up to the knuckle of the dished head) is the usable product loading. In some recent applications, microwaves have been used to provide additional energy input and shorten drying times. In the bottom-drive system, the vessel cover is free of drive components, allowing space for additional process nozzles, manholes, explosion venting, etc., as well as a temperature lance for direct,

continuous product temperature measurement in the vessel. The top cover of the vessel is easily heated by either a half-pipe coil or heat tracing, which ensures that no vapor condensation will occur in the process area. Vacuum dryers are usually filled to 50 to 65 percent of their total shell volume. The standard scoping calculation methods for batch conduction drying apply. The rate of heat transfer from the heating medium through the dryer wall to the solids can be expressed by the usual formula Q = h A Tm (12-87) where Q = heat flux, J/s [Btu/h]; h = overall heat-transfer coefficient, J/(m2sK) [Btu/(hft2 jacket areaF)]; A = total jacket area, m2 (ft2); Tm = log-mean-temperature driving force from heating medium to the solids, K (F). The overall heat-transfer rate is almost entirely dependent upon the film coefficient between the inner jacket wall and the solids, which depends on the dryer type and agitation rate, and to a large extent on the solids characteristics. Overall coefficients may range from 30 to 200 J/(m2sK), based upon total area if the dryer walls are kept reasonably clean. Coefficients as low as 5 or 10 may be encountered if caking on the walls occur. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES The advantages of this type of dryers are uniform drying, short cycle time, no degradation due to over-exposure, more temperature and time, ease of handling, with condenser and receiver and recovery of solvent. On the other hand, this type of dryers also has disadvantages which are the limited heat transfer areas, especially in larger units. One possible solution to this problem is the addition of internal heating panels; however, this alternative is prone to fouling. The stickiness problem can be alleviated by rotating the vessel slowly or intermittently when the drying material is at high moisture content. However, truly sticky materials may not still be processed in this type of dryers. The overall heat transfer coefficients of this type of dryer, which may vary near 35 W/(m2 K), depend largely on the resistance between the inner jacket wall and the drying solids, which depends to a large extent on the solid characteristics. The overall heat transfer coefficients may drop considerably if the dryer walls are fouled; the values in the range of 510 W/(m2 K) are not uncommon.