Drying 2004 Proceedings of the 14th International Drying Symposium (IDS 2004)

So Paulo, Brazil, 22-25 August 2004, vol. A, pp. 366-373

366






PNEUMATIC DRYING OF SOLID PARTICLES


I. Skuratovsky, A Levy and I. Borde

The Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev,
P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva, Israel
E-mail: borde@bgumail.bgu.ac.il


Key words: pneumatic drying, two-dimensional model, drying parameters, tube diameter


ABSTRACT

Pneumatic or flash dryers, one of the most common types of industrial drying units,
are characterized by continuous convective heat and mass transfer processes. To
improve design procedures for these dryers, reliable models are needed. A two-
dimensional, two-fluid model was developed for modeling the steady-state flow of
particulate materials through a vertical pneumatic dryer. Two-dimensional flow field
interpretations provided information about the properties of the continuous and
dispersed phases at every point of the flow field. Axial and radial profiles were
obtained for the flow variables. The gas phase was treated as a mixture of gas and
liquid vapor. The wet particles were composed of a porous solid structure that
contained a saturated liquid. The drying model considered a two-stage drying process.
In the first drying stage, heat transfer controls evaporation from the saturated outer
surface of the particle to the surrounding gas. In the second stage, the particles are
assumed to have a wet core and a dry outer crust. The evaporation of the liquid from a
particle is assumed to be governed by diffusion through the particle crust and by
convection into the gas medium. As evaporation proceeds, the wet core shrinks as the
particle dries. Following the models successful validation the influence of tube
diameter on the properties of the continuous and dispersed phase in the axial and
radial direction was investigated.

INTRODUCTION

Drying in general is an energy-intensive process and has important implications on the environment
since the thermal energy needed for drying is mostly obtained by combustion of fossil fuels, leading to
emission of carbon dioxide. Well-designed drying equipment with high thermal efficiencies is becoming
very important. The two dimensional two-fluid model was used to describe the steady state, dilute phase
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flow of a wet dispersed phase (solid particles) in a continuous gas phase through pneumatic dryer. The
gas phase was assumed to be a mixture of gas and liquid vapor. The wet particle is a porous solid
structure, which contains saturated liquid. The drying model considered a two-stage drying process. In the
first drying stage, heat transfer controls evaporation from the saturated outer surface of the particle to the
surrounding gas. In the second stage, the particles are assumed to have a wet core and a dry outer crust. It
is assumed that the evaporation of the liquid from a particle is governed by diffusion through the particle
crust and by convection into the gas medium. As evaporation proceeds, the wet core shrinks as the
particle dries.
The developed model was solved numerically and validated by simulating the drying process of wet PVC
particles in a large-scale pneumatic dryer and of the drying process of wet sand in a laboratory-scale
pneumatic dryer. The predictions of the numerical solutions were compared with the results of
independent numerical and experimental investigations.
It is well known that many parameters affect the drying process. So, following the models successful
validation, the two-dimensional distributions of the flow characteristics were examined such as gas
velocity, solid moisture content, gas moisture content and gas temperature in the vertical and radial
distribution. In the present study the influence of the tube diameter on the two-dimensional distribution
of the flow characteristics were investigated.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL PNEUMATIC DRYING MODEL

Owing to the fact that detailed derivations of the governing equations can be found in Skuratovsky et
al. (2003), in the following, only the final form of the two-dimensional governing equations and the
assumptions on which their derivation was based are presented.
The pneumatic drying model is based on the following assumptions:
The gas behaves as an ideal gas.
Steady-state flow.
The gas phase is a mixture of water vapor with air.
Influence of gravity on gas phase is neglected.
Dispersed phase behavior is like continuous phase behavior.
The particles are made from a substance containing a solid porous matrix and liquid or gas with
liquid-vapor.
At the first drying stage, the particle is isothermal and at the second drying stage the particle wet
core temperature is different from that of dry crust.
The specific densities of the liquid and the solid, which compose the particle, are constants.
The influence of the pressure gradient on the inertia of the solid particles is negligible in
comparison to that of the drag force.
Mass, momentum and heat transfer occur only between the two phases and not between the
particles themselves.
Heat transfer can occur between the pipe wall and the continuous gas phase.
Conductive heat flux is negligibly small in comparison with the convective heat flux in the Z
direction.
The flow in the dryer is vertical, two-dimensional, non-rotational and axi-symmetrical.
Non-slip and non-penetrating wall conditions.
Electrical and surface tension forces are neglected.

It should be pointed here that based on the assumption that the two dimensional vertical flow is non-
rotational and axi-symmetrical both phases velocities have only one component, which is in the Z
direction and they are a function of both the axial and the radial location in the pipe. Based on the above-
mentioned assumptions the conservation equations of the gas and the solid phases were written.
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Mass balance of the gas-phase
( )
g g g
m
u
S
z

=

(1)

Momentum balance of the gas-phase
In dilute phase flow, the cross sectional area of the particles in the pipe is usually small and therefore the
influence of the pressure gradient on the inertia of the solid particles is negligible in compare to that of the
drag force. Hence, it was assumed that the pressure gradient contributes only to the momentum of the gas
phase.
2
( )
1
g g g g g
g g g m d g g
u u u
P
r F S u
z z r r r z z


( | | | |
= + + + +
( | |

\ . \ .
(2)
Energy balance equations of the gas phase.
2
2
1
2 2
g g
d
g g g g g g g g m gd
u T
u
u H k r Q W S H
z r r r

( | | | | | |
+ = + + +
( |
| |

\ . \ . (
\ .
(3)
Mass balance of the dispersed phase
( )
d d d
m
u
S
z

=

(4)
Momentum balance equation of dispersed phase
2
( )
d d d
d d d m d
u
g F S u
z

= +

(5)
Energy balance equations for dispersed phase:
2 2
2 2
d d
d d d d d d d d d m gd
u u
u H Q W u g S H
z

( | | | |
+ = +
( | |

\ . \ .
(6)
Subtracting the momentum balance equation of the dispersed phase (eq. 5) multiplied by the dispersed
phase velocity from its energy balance equation results in:
[ ]
d d d s d d m gd
u c T Q S H
z

(7)
In order to solve the mass, momentum and energy balance equations, several complimentary equations,
definitions and empirical correlations were required. These complementary information were presented
by Skuratovsky et al. (2003). In order to obtain the water vapor distribution at the gas phase the water
vapor diffusion equation was added. During the second drying period, the model assumed that the particle
consists of a dry crust surrounding a wet core. Hence, the particle is characterized by two temperatures
i.e., the particle's crust and core temperatures. Furthermore, it was assumed that the heat transfer from the
particle's crust to the gas phase is equal to that transferred from the wet core to the gas phase. Based on
this assumption, an additional heat balance equation was written.
The mass transfer source term was obtained by multiplying the evaporation rate from a single particle by
the total number of particles per unit volume. Two-stage drying process was applied for calculating the
mass transfer from a wet particle to the gas phase (Levi-Hevroni et al., 1995). In the first drying period,
the gas phase resistance controls the evaporation rate. When the liquid evaporated from the particle
surface and fills all the voids inside the porous particle the second drying period starts. During this drying
period, the dry crust causes additional resistance to heat and mass transfer. This resistance, which occurs
between the outside diameter of the particle and the diameter of the wet core is governed by a diffusion
process. The evaporation rate from a particle with a dry crust was expressed by Stephan-type diffusion
rule (Abuaf et al., 1987). The mass transfer coefficient was calculated in analogy to the heat transfer
coefficient from the Sherwood number, which is equivalent to the Nusselt number. It should also be noted
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that both the gas and the dispersed phases are mixtures and hence all their thermodynamics properties
were calculated using the mixture theory.

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS

The pneumatic drying model was solved numerically for the drying processes of sand particles. The
numerical procedure includes discretization of the calculation domain into torus-shaped final volumes,
and solving the model equations by implementation of the SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-
Linked Equations) algorithm (Patankar, 1980). The numerical procedure also implemented the
Interphase Slip Algorithm, IPSA, of (Spalding, 1983) in order to account the various coupling between
the phases. The simulation stopped when the moisture content of a particle falls to a predefined value or
when the flow reaches the exit of the pneumatic dryer.
To validate the theoretical and the numerical models, the predictions of the numerical simulations were
compared with experimental data. Comparison between the results of the two-dimensional pneumatic
drying model and the results of experimental data and other one-dimensional models requires a
representation model for presenting the two-dimensional data in one-dimensional terms. Thus an
averaging technique was used to obtain the average values of the various solution properties at the dryer
cross section. The average value of a property, , at the dryer cross sectional area was obtained by
mass weighted method and an average temperature of a phase was evaluated by the mean bulk
temperature across the tube.
0 0
2 2
R R
u rdr urdr =
} }
;
0 0
2 2
R R
ave p p
T uc Trdr uc rdr =
} }
(8)



Figure 1 - Comparison between the numerical predictions, DryPak model, Rocha (1988) and Levy & Borde (1999) models
and the experimental data for changes of (a) gas temperature, (b) solid temperature, (c) gas humidity and (d) particle's
moisture content with length under known wall temperature operating conditions (Suratovsky and Levy, 2004).

The predictions of the numerical simulations with Baeyens et al. (1995) correlation for heat transfer
were also compared with the experimental results of Rocha (1988) (presented by Silva & Correa (1998)),
that were obtained in a 4m high pneumatic dryer with diameter of 5.25cm. In this study, 380m sand
(b) (a)
(c) (d)
370
particles having density of 2622 kg/m3 and solid mass flow rate of 4.74x10-3 kg/s were dried with 3.947
x10-2 kg/s air mass flow rate.

Comparison between the predictions of the numerical simulations and the experimental data for changes
of gas temperature, solid temperature, gas humidity and particle's moisture content with length under
known wall temperature operating conditions are presented in Figs. 1 (Suratovsky and Levy, 2004).
From this study we concluded that the predictions of the two-dimensional numerical simulations fit fairly
well with the experimental data and both one-dimensional DryPak (Pakowski, 1996) and Levy & Borde
(1999) models. Detailed comparison between the various one dimensional models can be found at Levy
& Borde (1999). Since the theoretical pneumatic drying model and the numerical simulations done in the
course of this study predicted successfully the most important flow parameters (gas temperature, solid
temperature, gas humidity and particle's moisture content) of the drying process it was concluded that the
presented model could be used for further investigations. The radial distributions of the dispersed phase
and the gas phase velocities, particles and gas moisture contents and gas phase temperature after 1, 2, 3
and 4 m from the pipeline inlet were investigated by Suratovsky and Levy (2004).

THE INFLUENCE OF THE PIPE DIAMETER ON THE DRYING PROCESS

The comparison was made for the same initial and boundary conditions. By changing the pipe
diameter, the gas and solids flow rates per unit area of the pipe inlet were kept constant in all the
investigated cases. The simulation has shown that the tube diameter in the range of our investigation
(from 1" to 6") has very small influence on the velocities of the gas and solid phase. From Fig. 2a it can
be seen that the decrease in gas temperature along the length of the dryer is smaller for larger diameters
of the pipe.
Regarding the radial distribution, a significant temperature difference between the central dryer region
and near the wall region (boundary layer) can be seen (Fig. 2b).
From Fig. 3(a) and 3(b) it can be seen that the axial temperature of the solid phase increases significantly
until the height of 1 m from the pipe inlet. After that the axial temperature of the particles decreases by
about (1-2 degrees). The decrease is higher for smaller pipe diameters. From 3(b) it can also be seen that
the temperature of the particles is higher for larger diameters of the pipe. Regarding the gas humidity
Fig. 4 and the particle moisture content Fig. 5, we can see that the drying process is faster for larger
diameters of the pipe. As a consequence the particle diameters are smaller in larger pipe diameters (Fig.
6). From Fig. 5b it can be seen that the solid particles at the proximity of the wall have higher moisture
content than in the dryer central area. The lower velocities and temperatures of the gas and particles
phase in this area lead to lower heat and mass transfer at the boundary layer.


Figure 2 Gas temperature along the pipe length (a) and radial distribution (b) after 3m from the pipe inlet.
(a) (b)
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Figure 3 Solid temperature along the pipe length (a) and radial distribution (b) after 3m from the pipe inlet.

Figure 4 Gas humidity along the pipe length (a) and radial distribution (b) after 3m from the pipe inlet.

Figure 5 Solid moisture content along the pipe length (a) and radial distribution (b) after 3m from the pipe inlet.
(a) (b)
(a) (b)
372

Figure 6 Particles diameter along the pipe length (a) and radial distribution (b) after 3m from the pipe inlet.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed two-dimensional drying model was used to examine various flow characteristics of the
pneumatic dryer in the vertical and the radial distribution. The investigation has shown that changing the
pipe diameter in range 1" to 6" has very small influence on the velocities of the gas and solid phase. It
was shown that the decrease in gas temperature along the length of the dryer is smaller for larger
diameters of the pipe. Regarding the radial distribution, a significant temperature difference between the
central dryer region and near the wall region (boundary layer) was evident.
It was shown that the axial temperature of the solid phase increases significantly until the height of 1 m
from the pipe inlet. After that the axial temperature of the particles decreases by about (1-2 degrees).
The decrease was higher for smaller pipe diameters. It was also shown that the temperature of the
particles is higher for larger pipe diameters.
The gas humidity and the particles moisture content in the drying process were changed faster for larger
pipe diameters. As a consequence the particle diameters were smaller in larger pipe diameter. It was
shown that the solid particles at the proximity of the wall have higher moisture content than in the dryer
central area. The lower velocities and temperatures of the gas and particles phase in this area lead to
lower heat and mass transfer at the boundary layer.

NOTATION

c
p
specific heat at constant pressure J/kgK
D particle diameter M
D
i
diameter of the wet core particle M

F force per unit volume of the -phase N/m

3

g gravity acceleration m/s
2

H enthalpy of the -phase J/kg

H
gd
enthalpy of the water vapor J/kg
P Pressure Pa
Q

heat transfer between the phases per unit volume

3
W m
r Radius M
m
S

mass transfer term kg/m
3
/s

T temperature of the -phase K

u velocity of the -phase m/s

W

work per unit length done between the phases W/m

373
z Length M
Greek Symbols
void fraction of the particle (porosity)

g

gas dynamic viscosity kg/m/s

density of the -phase kg/m

3

volume fraction of the -phase

Subscripts
d the dispersed phase
g the gas phase

LITERATURE

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International Drying Symposium, Vol. 1, pp. 227-248.
Baeyens J., van Gauwbergen D. & Vinckier I., 1995 Pneumatic Drying: the use of large-scale
experimental data in a design procedure, Powder Technology, Vol. 83, pp. 139-148.
Levi-Hevroni D., Levy A., & Borde I., 1995, Mathematical Modelling of Drying of Liquid/Solid Slurries
in Steady Sate One Dimensional Flow, Drying Technology, Vol. 13, no. 5-7, pp. 1187-1201.
Levy A., Mason D.J., Borde I. & Levi-Hevroni D., 1988, Drying of Wet Solids Particles in a Steady-State
One-Dimensional Flow, Powder Technology, Vol. 85, pp. 15-23.
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Proc., Vol. 38, pp. 121-130.
Pakowski Z., 1996, DryPak v.3. Program for psychometric and drying computation.
Patankar S.V., 1980, Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, New
York
Rocha S.C.S., 1988, Contribution to the study of pneumatic drying: simulation and influence of the gas-
particle heat transfer coefficient, PhD Thesis, So Paulo University, So Paulo, Portugal, (in
Portuguese).
Skuratovsky I., Levy A., & Borde I., 2003, Two-Fluid, Two-Dimensional Model for Pneumatic Drying,
Drying Technology, Vol. 21, No. 9, pp. 1649-1672 2003.
Skuratovsky I. and Levy A., 2004, Finite Volume Approach for Solving Multiphase Flows in Vertical
Pneumatic Dryers, The International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, to be
published.
Silva M.A. & Correa J.L.G., 1998, Using DryPak to simulate drying process, Drying98 Proceeding of
the 11th International Drying Symposium, Vol. A, pp. 303-310.
Spalding D.B., 1983, Developments in the IPSA procedure for numerical computation of multiphase-flow
phenomena with interphase slip, unequal temperatures, etc. In: Numerical Properties and
Methodologies in Heat Transfer. Hemisphere, Washington DC, pp. 421-476.