International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666 675

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Mathematical modeling of a continuous fluidized bed dryer

L. Garnavi, N. Kasiri, S.H. Hashemabadi
Computer Aided Process Engineering Lab., Department of Chemical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology,
Narmak, Tehran, 16846, Iran
Available online 29 March 2006

Abstract

In this work, a numerical simulation of a fluidized bed dryer based on the two-phase theory of fluidization has been proposed.
Solid particles in the emulsion phase are considered lumped and in the bubble phase is assumed plug while in the emulsion phase is
considered totally mixed. Moreover, the bubble size variations along the bed height are taken into consideration. Influence of the
superficial gas velocity, input temperature of drying gas, particle size and mean residence time of solid particles on the drying
process have been reported. The simulation results show an improvement to the prediction of other models that consider uniform
size bubble and other simplification assumptions.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Non-uniform bubble size; Fluidized bed dryer; Mathematical modeling

1). Introduction

The topic of fluidized bed dryer simulation has been the subject of significant research [16]. However, until
now, no satisfactory model or correlation, that would be valid over a wide range of operating conditions, has been
reported. Palancz [7] proposed a mathematical model for continuous fluidized bed drying based on the two-phase
theory of fluidization. According to this theory, the fluidized bed is divided into two phases, a bubble phase and
an emulsion phase, which consists of gas and solid particles. The emulsion phase remains at the minimum
fluidization condition while the excess flow of fluidizing fluid passes through the bed as bubbles. An
improvement in Palancz's model [7] has been done by Lai and Chen [8] with the following simplification
assumptions:
1) The bubble phase is solid-free and bubble flow through the bed is plug. 2) The cloud around the rising bubbles is
very thin; therefore, the bubble phase exchanges mass and energy only with the emulsion gas. 3) Particles are
considered to be uniform in shape, size and physical properties. 4) The internal resistance of solid particles to heat and
mass transfer is negligible. 5) The emulsion phase is considered perfectly mixed. 6) Input and output flow rates of solid
and all of the physical properties are constant.

Communicated by W.J. Minkowycz.

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Hashemabadi@iust.ac.ir (S.H. Hashemabadi).

0735-1933/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2006.02.014
 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675 667

Nomenclature

A Cross section (m2)

Ar Archimedes number (dp3g(sg)g/g2)
C Moisture concentration (kg m 3)
Cp Specific heat (J kg 1 C 1)
D Molecular diffusion coefficient (m2 s 1)
d Diameter (m)
G Mass flow rate (kg s 1)
g Acceleration gravity (m s 2)
H Volumetric heat transfer coefficient (J s 1 m 3 C 1)
Hf Height of the bed (m)
h Heat transfer coefficient (Js 1m 2 C 1)
E Enthalpy (Jkg 1)
Ior Distance between centers of orifices (m)
jh Colburn factor
K Volumetric coefficient of gas interchange (s 1)
k Thermal conductivity of the drying gas (Jm 1s 1 C 1)
m Mass (kg)
Nor Number of orifices per unit area of distributor (m 2)
Nup Nusselt number (hpdp/k)
N Rate of evaporating moisture from particle surface (kgm 2s 1)
Prg Prandtle number (Cpgg/k)
P Saturated vapor pressure (mmHg)
q Heat flux (Jm 2s 1)
Rep Reynolds number (dpuing/(1mf)g)
S Heat surface (m2)
T Temperature (C)
t Time (Sec)
u Velocity (ms 1)
V Volumetric flow rate (m3s 1)
v Volume (m3)
x Moisture content
z Elevation (m)

Greek symbol
Latent heat of evaporation (kJkg 1)
mf Void fraction in the emulsion phase
Viscosity (kg m 1s 1)
Density (kg m 3)
Evaporation coefficient (kg m 2s 1)
s Sphericity of a particle

Superscript  Rl   
Time average f t1 0 f exp tt s dts
 s R s
e
Volume average f vb vb dvb
f

Interface of particle and gas phase

668 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675

Subscript
b Bubble phase
bc Bubble-cloud phase
be Bubble-emulsion phase
bed Bed of dryer
br Bubble rise
bt Total gas bubble
c Critical
ce Cloud-emulsion phase
e Emulsion
ex External
g Drying gas
in Inlet
M Maximum
m Minimum
mf Minimum fluidization
or Orifice
out Outlet
p Solid particle
ref Reference
s Solid phase
t Total
w Water
wall Dryer wall
we Vapor in emulsion gas
wg Wet gas
ws Vapor on the particle surface
wv Water vapor

The aim of the present study is to develop a numerical simulation with the above simplifications but also taking into
consideration the variation of bubble size along the bed height. The model is able to predict and determine temperature
and humidity of the output gas as well as the average moisture content and temperature of the output solid particles. In
addition, this model predicts profiles of these variables with time. It will be shown that the predictions of this model are
more reliable compared to those obtained by Lai and Chen [8].

2). Problem statement

Fig. 1 shows three control volumes for the mass and energy balance of the bubble, emulsion and particle phases.

a. Mass balance for the bubble phase

The steady state moisture balance over bubble and emulsion phase is:
 
AGb xb Veb Ce Vbe Cb dvb
1
Az vb vb

Where

p
Gb Ab ub qg ; C qg x; Ab db2
4
 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675 669

(a)

GbEb
Vbe gEb dvb/vb z + dz

Tb(z)
Veb gEe dvb/vb
z
GbEb

(b)
GeEe
gVebEe z=Hf

Solid
Tp Phase

gVbeEb qes NwgEwg

Emulsion
z=0
GeEgin

(c)
Nwg Ewg Boundary
Layer
Nwg Ews
hp(Te- Tp)
Tp Te
qs

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of energy balance for the bubble, emulsion and solid phase.

And the volume of bubble has been changed along the bed height as follow:

 
4 db m 3
vb Ab z k Nor 2
3 2

Where the bubble diameter db, is given by Mori and Wen [9] as follow:

 
0:3z
db dbM dbM dbm exp 3
dbed

0:3bdbed V1:3 m; 0:005Vumf V0:2 m=s; 60Vdp V450 lm; u0 umf V0:48 m=s

According to the two-phase theory of fluidization, the rise velocity of a single bubble in the bubbling beds is
estimated as follows [3]:
ub uin umf ubr 4
Substitution into Eq. (1) gives the variation of the moisture content in the bubble (see Appendix A):
dxb kdb n h pio
qg Kbe xe xb 2db 4zwxb qg w 4uin umf 3:6 gdb 5
dz 8Ab ub qg
670 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675

Where
 
Vbe xb Veb xe 0:3 0:3z
Kbe ; w dbM dbm exp
vb xb xe dbed dbed

Subject to the boundary condition:

z 0; xb xgin

In other hand, Kbe is the mass transfer coefficient between the bubble phase and the emulsion gas based on the
bubble volume and is defined [3]:
1
Kbe
1=Kce 1=Kbc

b. Mass balance for emulsion gas

From the moisture balance for the emulsion gas, the moisture content of the emulsion gas can be obtained as
follows:
   
Abed umf qg vt vbt
xgin qg Kbe xeb dp d1emf
6
x p
vbt vbt
xe     6
Abed umf qg vt vbt
qg Kbe dp d1emf
6
vbt vbt
Where the evaporation coefficient , is obtained by [7]:
hp q g D g
d
k
The heat transfer coefficient between the drying gas and solid particles, hp, is obtained by:
2
hp Cpg uin qg jh Prg 3
c. Mass balance for a single solid particle

The moisture content variation of the solid particles would be obtained as follows [8]:
 
dxp 6 q
qs 1 s xp dxp xe 7
dt dp qw

With the following initial condition:

t0 ; xp xpin

d. Energy balance for the bubble phase

The steady state energy balance for the defined control volume (Fig. 1a) gives:

 
AGb Eb Veb Ee Vbe Eb dvb
qg 8
Az vb dz
 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675 671

Substituting related equations in Eq. (8), finally the bubble temperature equation would be as follows:
dTb 1  k 
 Ab zdb w
dz qg Ab uin umf ubr Cpg xb Cpwv 2
8 9
> dxb >
>
> H T T q K gx x q Cp T g  u u u A >
< dz >=
be e b g be e b g wv b in mf br b
2 3
 9
1

>
> 4k 5k 6
5 >
>
: qg 2 db uin umf 8 ubr db wCpg Tb xb Cpwv Tb g
> >
;

The boundary condition is:

z0 ; Tb Tgin

Where
Vbe Tb Veb Te Cpg Vbe xb Tb Veb xe Te Cpwv
Hbe qg
vb Tb Te

Hbe, is calculated using the Kunii and Levenspiel [3] equation as follows:
1
Hbe
1=Hbe 1=Hce

e. Energy balance for emulsion gas

Since emulsion gas is assumed as a medium between the solid particles and bubble phase, there is heat transfer
between the gas and bubble phases as well as between the gas and solid particles. Moreover, emulsion gas can
exchange heat with the dryer wall. So according to Fig. 1b, from the steady state energy balance for emulsion gas can
be obtained as follows:
1
Te n A u q   o
vt vbt xe Cpwv hwall wall
Sex
bed mf g
Cp g x e Cp wv H be 6
1e mf h p dx
8vbt dp Vbt p
  vbt
9
>
>
Abed umf qg 6 v v >
hp T p dx p xe g >
t bt
< fCpg xgin Cpwv Tgin xgin xe gg 1emf
=
 v bt d p v bt
>
> Sexwall >
>
: hwall Twall qg Kbe xeb xe g Hbe Teb ;
vbt
10

f. Energy balance for single solid particle

According to Fig. 1c, the energy balance for a single particle is expressed as:
dEp
ms qs Nwg Ews Ap 11
dt
By combination finally, the following differential equation is obtained:
  
dTp 1 1 6
xp hp Te Tp dxp xe Cpwv Te Cpw Tp g 12
dt qs qw dp Cpp xp Cpw

With the following initial condition:

t0 ; Tp Tpin
672 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675

The moisture content and temperature of the outlet gas can be evaluated from the mass and energy balances,
respectively:
umf xe ub xb jzHf
xgout 13
uin

8  9

Tgout
1 < Abu b jzHf Cp g Tb x b Cp wv T

b g =
14

uin Cpg xgout Cpwv : umf Cpg Te xe Cpwv Te g uin xg g ;
out

Eqs. (5), (6), (7), (9), (10) and (12) with the initial and boundary conditions comprise the model. To obtain the
drying characteristics, it is necessary to solve these equations simultaneously. However, due to the complexity and non-
linearity of the equations the numerical solution methods should be used.

3). Solution and discussion

Now, the solution of governing Eqs. (5), (6), (7), (9), (10) and (12) with the corresponding boundary and initial
conditions would be obtained by using the 4th order RungeKutta method [11]. Initially data consisting of physical

(a)
0.45
0.4
Lai & Chen model
0.35
Present model, uin = 1
0.3
0.25 Present model, uin = 1.2
xp

0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 50 100 150 200
t
(b)
80

70

60

50
Tp

40
Lai & Chen model
30

20 Present model, uin = 1

10 Present model, uin = 1.2

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
t

Fig. 2. Comparison of the present work with the Lai and Chen model [8] and the effect of superficial gas velocity on the particle drying behavior.
 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675 673

properties, bed dimensions and boundary conditions are entered and the values of unknown parameters such as xe
and Te are guessed. The calculated values through Eqs. (6) and (10) compared with the initial guess. The program
running is finished while the difference between the old and calculated values of xe and Te is within the acceptable
tolerance.
To validate the numerical solution, the results of the model has been compared with that of Lai and Chen [8]. Fig. 2a
and b illustrates the time variation of particle moisture content and temperature for various superficial gas velocity uin,
respectively. The results present, the prediction of the Lai and Chen model [8] for the moisture content of the particle is
less than the present model (Fig. 2a) and the temperature of solid particle is higher (Fig. 2b). This can be explained by
the increase in the bubble size (present model) leading to more probable used spaces in the bed. As a result, the contact
between particles and drying gas decreases, therefore the heat and mass transfer rates are reduced in the bed. The model
predicts that a promotion in the superficial gas velocity increases the rate of heat and mass transfer, (Fig. 2a and b). But
at the same time, increasing in the superficial gas velocity causes a growth in the bubble size and in the bubble rise
velocity. As a result, coalescence and bubble size growth promote, which means that bubbles occupy a bigger volume
of the bed and the zones which can be used for heat and mass transfer reduce and the effective area of the bed decreases.
This leads to less contact between gas and solids and hence the heat and mass transfer rates are reduced. Further
promotion of the superficial gas velocity causes more reduction in the contact time for heat and mass transfer. As it's
shown in Fig. 2a and b, the three drying stages can clearly be observed in xp(t) and Tp(t) curves. The first step in the
temperature curve, which is relatively short, acts as a preheating stage for the particles that results in a sharp increase in
particle temperature. In this short period an increase in the moisture content of the particle is observed. Because of the
counter current flow direction, at the preliminary stages the solid particles contact a moisture-rich gas and the mass
transfer direction is from the gas to solid particles but after a short period of the downward movement of solid particles,

(a)
0.2 64

0.195 63.5

0.19 63

0.185 62.5
xp
xp

Tp
0.18 62
Tp

0.175 61.5

0.17 61

0.165 60.5
150 300 450
t
(b)
0.4
0.35 d p =0.0005 m

0.3
dp =0.001 m
0.25
xp

0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0 50 100 150 200
t

Fig. 3. Effect of particle residence time and particle diameter on the drying behavior.
674 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675

(a) (b)
0.5 70
0.45
xp,in =0.25 60
0.4 xp,in =0.35
0.35
xp,in =0.45 50

Tp
xp

0.3 40 xp,in =0.25

0.25 xp,in =0.35
30
0.2
xp,in =0.45

0.15 20

0.1 10
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
t t
(c) (d)
0.45 70
0.4 Tp,in =10 C 60
Tp,in =20 C
0.35
Tp,in =30 C 50
xp

0.3
Tp

40 Tp,in =10 C
0.25
Tp,in =20 C
30
0.2 Tp,in =30 C

0.15 20

0.1 10
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
t t

Fig. 4. Effect of particle inlet humidity and temperature on the drying behavior of the particle.

they come in contact with the dry gas, so the direction of moisture transfer changes and solid particles loose their
moisture. At the next stage, temperature is leveled off implying a stage with constant drying rate. In this stage moisture
content is evaporated from the surface of particle at constant temperature. The final stage shows drying with falling
rate, which temperature rises again because the transfer of moisture occurs from inside to outside of the particles.
Fig. 3a indicates the effect of variation of residence time on dryer performance. Increasing of the feed flow rate reduces
residence time in constant height of bed. This causes a reduction in the contact time between the solid particles and
drying gas. Therefore a relative reduction in the average particle temperature and an increase in the moisture content
occur. Influence of the particle diameter on xp has been depicted in Fig. 3b. In general, as the particle diameter is
increased, the drying rate speeds down. Fig. 4 illustrates the effect of the promotion of inlet moisture content and inlet
temperature of the solid particle. A comparison of results demonstrates that the inlet moisture content of particles has
significant effect on the dryer performance (Fig. 4a and b) but influence of the inlet temperature of the particle is
negligible (Fig. 4c and d).

4). Conclusion

A mathematical model based on the two-phase theory of fluidization is presented for the continuous fluidized bed
dryers. In contrast to the previous models, the uniformity of the bubble size along the height of the bed is not
assumed. Therefore, the bubble diameter varies along the bed height. The numerical solution of the model shows
that dryer performance is affected by the superficial gas velocity, average residence time, humidity, temperature and
diameter of solid particle. The results obtained from variations in the superficial gas velocity imply that the
performance of the fluidized bed dryer is largely affected by the drying at the constant rate drying stage. Besides,
while the bubble size increases in the bed, causes reduction in the mass and heat transfer rate, leads to a relative
 L. Garnavi et al. / International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 33 (2006) 666675 675

reduction in particle temperature as well as a relative increase in the moisture content of particles compared to the
Lai and Chen model [8].

Appendix A

Equation, [Ref] Equation, [Ref]

umf qg Cpg kqg Cpg 0:5 Ewe Cpwv Te Tref g; [8]

Hbc 4:5 5:85 ; [3]
db db1:25
 0:5 0:622
emf ubr u1 Tp ;
Hce 6:78kqg Cpg 0:5 ; [3] 7:5Tp [8]
db3
181  10 238 Tp 1
p xpc n2
xn1 n1 u2 xp 1; xp Nxpc ; [8]
u2 xp ; n1; n2 const:; xp Vxpc ; [8]
pc xp n2
xn1 n1

Z    
1 tV t t V qwall hwall Twall Te ; [8]
x p xp exp dt xp jtt Vexp ; [8]
t 0 t t
Egin Cpg Tgin Tref xgin Cpwv Tgin Tref g; [8] qes hp Te T p ; [8]
hwall dp
Eb Cpg Tb Tref xb Cpwv Tb Tref g; [8] 0:16Re0:93 ;
k [10]
Ee Cpg Te Tref xe Cpwv Te Tref g; [8]

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