Comparing Continuous Fluid Bed Dryers:

Vibrating vs Static
GEA Process Engineering

Presented by
Jim Schak, GEA Process Engineering Inc. North America (GPNA)
Sales Manager for Chem System Division of GPNA
Instructor for University of Wisconsin Drying Technology Course
Email: james.schak@gea.com
Phone: 973-316-2499
Ananta Islam, GEA Process Engineering Inc. North America (GPNA)
Sales Engineer for Chem System Division of GPNA
Email: Ananta.Islam@gea.com
Phone: 410-997-6621
2

GEA Process Engineering

Comparing Continuous Fluid Bed Dryers: Vibrating vs Static

Webinar Outline:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Introduction
Fluid Bed Drying Principle
Static Fluid Bed Design
Advantages of Static Fluid Bed(SFB) Design
Vibrating Fluid Bed Design
Advantages of Vibrating Fluid Bed(VFB) Design
Hybrid Static Fluid Bed Design
Fluid bed with Integral Bag Collector
Closed Cycle Drying
Fluid Bed as a Second Stage Dryer
Design Table comparison(SFB/VFB) for air flow, energy,
capacity, bed area and retention time.
12. Summary
3

GEA Process Engineering

Introduction:
There are two types of continuous fluid bed dryer: Vibrating or Static.

Overlapping applications for both types, It is important to understand the

capabilities and shortcomings of each.

SFB is first choice.

GEA Process Engineering

Fluid Bed Drying Principle

GEA Process Engineering

Advantages of a Static Fluid Bed(SFB) Design:

* Bed depth is usually in 5 to 10+ times the bed depth of a VFB
* A backmix zone allows the handling of a wide range of feed moistures.
* The SFB does not need to be vibrated and has less moving parts than VFB.
* There are no flex connections required that may limit operating temperatures.
* Internal heat panel design reduces the amount of air exhausted.
* Special directional air plate aids in directing the flow of product.
* In a closed cycle SFB dryer the heat panels minimizes the amount of heat and
cooling required.

Video Clip

6
GEA Process Engineering

Static Fluid-bed Dryer System

GEA Process Engineering

Static Fluid-bed Dryers w/ Internal Heat Panels

Heating Coils to
add Heat without
using more Air

High Heat and mass transfer

due to wet material always in
contact with the drying medium

GEA Process Engineering

8

Static Fluid Bed Dryer: Back Mix Zones

Can accept non-fluidizable

feed
Can only dry off surface
moisture

GEA Process Engineering

Glass Fluid Bed Bench Top Test Unit

10

GEA Process Engineering

Calculating Retention Time in a Fluid Bed Dryer

Retention Time = Volume of bed/Flow Rate

Feed Rate: 3 cu.meters/min

Example: 6 cu.meters / 3 cu.meters/min = 2 minutes

3
1

11

GEA Process Engineering

Feed Distributor
Special Feed Distributor Designs to spread
the feed evenly in the backmix zone

12

GEA Process Engineering

Static Fluid Bed Dryer: Plug Flow Zone

Can only accept fluidizable

feed.
Can dry interstitially bound
moisture.

13

GEA Process Engineering

Static Fluid Bed Dryer: Back Mix & Plug Flow Zones

Combination of back-mix and

plug flow fluid bed
Provided with or without
heating panels.

14

GEA Process Engineering

Static Fluid-Bed Dryers w/ Heat Panels

15

GEA Process Engineering

VFB Advantages:
The VFB is a vibratory conveyor that has a holes in the pan to allow air to
bubble up through the holes and contact the wet feed solids.
Distribution of particle size The VFB relies on the vibrating action to
conveying the product, so the air velocity can be adjusted without greatly
affecting the conveying action of the VFB.
Particle Shape - The vibrating action will minimize the air channeling(rat holing)
effect of long L/D shapes
Small Particle Size The VFB can handle a smaller particle size than a SFB
since air flow is independent of transport.
Plug Flow Design The vibrating action is a more positive force that aids in
first in first out design..
Versatility
16

GEA Process Engineering

VFB Flow Diagram & Commercial Size Unit

17

GEA Process Engineering

Vibrating Fluid Bed Dryer Schematic

18

GEA Process Engineering

Vibrating Fluid Bed Dryer (Quick Clean)

19

GEA Process Engineering

Vibrating Fluid Bed Technology

Vibro-Fluidizer
1990

Air Distribution plate

20

GEA Process Engineering

Rice Fluidization - With & Without Vibration

21

GEA Process Engineering

Air Directional Plates

22

GEA Process Engineering

Barrier Gas Design

23

GEA Process Engineering

Advantages of Integrated Bag Filter Design

Full thermal treatment of fines
Compact design
Reduced pressure drop
lower power consumption
Lower dust emission and no
waste water compared to a
wet scrubber

24

GEA Process Engineering

Fluid Bed Dryer with an Integral Baghouse Design

25

GEA Process Engineering

Closed Cycle Fluid Bed Dryer

Whatever you put in,

you have to take out

26

GEA Process Engineering

Using a Fluid Bed Dryer as a Secondary Dryer

Fines Recirculation

Feed Tank:

Exhaust Fan

Cyclone

Static Fluid Bed

Baghouse
Vibrating Fluid Bed

27

GEA Process Engineering

Spray Granulator Static Fluid Bed

Spray layers of coatings on a particle like onion peels
0.5-5 mm pellets are achievable
The larger the particle the higher the
air flow the higher the evaporative rate
.
Spray Nozzles

28

28

GEA Process Engineering

Table 1
The data shows how the design factors vary for a standard static fluid-bed
dryer and vibrating fluid-bed dryer when drying wet organic salt crystals from
5 percent to 1 percent moisture at the same production rate.

29

GEA Process Engineering

Table 2
The data in Table II shows how the design of a hybrid static fluid-bed dryer with
conductive heat panels. The data is based on drying polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
powder from about 26 percent to less than 2 percent moisture at the same
production rate.

30

GEA Process Engineering

In Summary
It seems to be clear that a SFB has many technical design
advantages over a VFB but its applications are very limited.
The versatility of the VFB gives a bigger window of operation.
Feasibility, laboratory, pilot plant testing and a good understanding of
the design limitations will be important in the final determination of
equipment selection and scaleup.

Thank You for Your Interest.

GEA Process Engineering

Question
Do you need a feed rotary airlock to minimize air
inleakage?

32

GEA Process Engineering

Answer
OK, I am glad that you brought this point up. First of all let me say that the feed entry point in
a dryer is usually the most problematic area. Great attention should be made concerning the
feed. If you can get a uniform consistent feed without large lumps into the dryer usually you
are able to dry the material successfully. So Hopefully you have this consistent feed and now
you want to make sure that you are not sucking in a lot of air which can rob you of heated
drying air going through the burner. There are different ways to minimize air inleakage at the
feed entry point. One is using a rotary air lock. Rotary airlocks can be a problem though. If the
material is sticky or pasty, you can have some buildup issues in the pockets of the valve.
You can go to a larger valve with smooth shallow pockets to try to avoid buildup, but in any
case there is some air leakage in all rotary airlocks. When dealing with an abrasive material it
is difficult not to have leakage.
Another is to balance the fans and zero point the inlet as mentioned above. Maybe the best
way is to use a screw feeder and fill up the screw flights with material to create a seal to
prevent air from passing back the screw flights. An intermeshing co-rotating twin screw with a
wet material should be enough to achieve this air lock. This design has a positive conveying
action that will promote the flow into the dryer. The multiple screw design has many discharge
points so there is less plopping of the wet free which can translate to less fluctuations of the
product moisture.
33

GEA Process Engineering

Question
Why dont we use a closed cycle dryer with no exhaust
on every dryer?

34

GEA Process Engineering

Answer
OK There are some engineers that think that in 15-20 years from now that you
will not be able to exhaust anything into the air, so why not start now. I do have
one company that does not need a closed cycle system since he is using
water, and wants to go to a closed cycle system. Maybe eventually we will
have to go in that direction, but there is a high premium for going to a closed
cycle system. Cooling BTUs are more expensive then heating btus.
Refrigeration can get very expensive especially if you need to go to low air
temperatures to condense out the solvent. It is sometimes tough enough to
justify the money to build a plant on its own merits, putting on an additional cost
could break the bank.

35

GEA Process Engineering

Question
What is an underflow weir?

36

GEA Process Engineering

Answer
Most fluid beds use an overflow weir especially at the end of the dryer. It
is basically a dam. The weir is to aid in controlling the bed depth in the
dryer. If you are dealing with a heat sensitive material like a food
product, you can buildup some of the large particles at the base of the
weir and may degrade over a period of time. In these cases you can
have a plate timed to rotate up off the bed to allow possible buildup of
material to flow under it. This reduces the possibility of off spec material.

37

GEA Process Engineering

Question
Do you need an air directional holes in a Vibrating fluid
bed?

38

GEA Process Engineering

Answer
OK, Do you need gill type holes in a VFB? Not necessarily. In a SFB it
becomes more important but in the VFB, you do have the vibrating
conveying action to promote the flow of the material, but you usually
still have a residue of material in the dryer. The air directional gills due
aid in the cleanout and does it faster. It may also help in getting difficult
to flow feeds to convey at the feed entry point.

39

GEA Process Engineering