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Drying Technology

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A NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING

H. Groenewolda; E. Tsotsasa a Institute of Process Engineering, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany

To cite this Article Groenewold, H. and Tsotsas, E.(1997) 'A NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING', Drying

Technology, 15: 6, 1687 1698 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/07373939708917318 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07373939708917318

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DRYING TECHNOLOGY,15(6-8), 1687-1698 (1997)

A NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING

H. Groenewold and E. T s a w
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Lnnitute ofPr-

Engineering, Otto-von-Gucricke-Udvcrsity, Magdcburg Germany

Key Words: backmixing drying fluidization, mass uansfer

ABSTRACT
A n m modcl is prapovd which calculates fluid bed drying n w e s wilhout any adaplation of l. the S h e d number befuroen panicles and gas. Even thc finosuuctun ofuperimental &a i.e. lhe influence of bed bcigbt and @ flow rate, is p d n e d reliably. This is achieved by considering badvnixing of lhe wpcnsion gas in lhe kinetic parameter and not in lhc driving potential. A vaditional derivation w l h reduced driving potenlial fails in lhe comparison wilh experimental results.

INTRODUCTION
A common finding of previous fluidbation research

a She& x

or Nusstlt numbers for

pdcloto-fluid mass or heat vansfer which lie far below mndard correlations (e.g. Gnielinski, 1980). This f a n has inhibited the dcvclopmenl of reliable models for fluidired bed unit operations mnsidcrably. In the present paper an existing hw-phase modcl for fluid bed m g is extended in

a aay which o v e m m s lhis pmblcm. The uansition from the exisling to lhc ncw model as well a hpdormance of the laner in comparison with urperimcntal data are explained and d i r s
Nsud.

Copyright 0 1997 by Marcel Dckkr. Ine.

GROENEWOLD A N D TSOTSAS

THE OLD MODEL AND ITS SHORTCOMINGS

Slaning p i n t of the prcvnt work is a -phase are: model for batch fluid bed drying r o l d

model"), as introduced by Tsolsas (1994). we also Tsolsas and kllgardt (1995). Its main f c a W

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The bed is subdivided into a panicle-free bubblc phase and a (dense) suspension phase. Thc gas passes the bubbles in plug flow. The gas in thc suspension phase is modelled either as plug flow or as pcrfeclly backmixed. The panicles are perfecUy backmixed. The kinetic parameter of mass transfer between the panicles and lhe suspension gas is, as

usual. lhe Shcnrood number Sh, or the respecUve number of uandcr units

- For the description of nwrs lransfer between the suspension and the bubbler a number of
uansfcr mils N N , is used which includes. besides a mass transfer melficienl. the surface arca of the bubbles and the superticid gas velocity.

Drying kinetics insidc chc particles are introduced into the model by a single-panicle normalized drying c w e

L(q) as first used by van Meel (1958):

The nuin resulting equations calculale the autlcl moisturc content of the gas from the suspension and from lhe bubbles. They are:

For perfectly backmixed suspension gar:

NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING

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Wilh the mixing rule

r,., = vS" .,.,+ ( 1 - v)Ss.,.,

and the definition

it is possible lo calculate h e moisore conlenl a1 lhc outlet Y , lion leads lo the funclions Y,(I). Y,(X).

for a given X. Slepuiw inlegra-

in(1). or ih(X) . i.e lo lhc fluid bed drying curve

which is different from the dying curve of a single panicle. A convc!!icnl rcduclio!l is lil/til* where m * is the drying raw for s a a n l e d outlel gas. Heal lnnsfer is implicitly xcauntcd for in mSp.l and in

. ovcr the adiabatic salura-

lion temperature. In the application of the "old model" by Tsalsas (1994) the four neccssay pn-

s ramctcrs have been determined a follawr:

The n o d i z e d single panicle dying curve \.(TI) (a producl propem) Im been mexurcd separately uilh a microbalancc.
Thc b a s ratio v (thc volume flow rate lhrough the bubbles related to thc total flow mtc) has ps

bcen sel lo values which appeared lo be reasonable, considering fluidiution literalurc.

The number of lranrfer units NTU, has k e n also sel lo n "reasonnble" consun1 v:hc. irrc-

spectivc of bed hcight and flow vclocily The She& number Sh, has been used lo 81 the modcl to measured dam.

GROENEWOLD AND TSOTSAS

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Figure I : Drying c w c r mcasurcd at R ~ mI5 and calculated with the old model. l

The Mllting comparison is documented in Fi-

1 and 2. Five experimental runs with dif-

ferent bcd heights and gas flow ratcs are depicted. Experimental conditions and material propertics arc sllmmariscd in Tablcs 1 and 2 a1 the end of this paper. All calculations haw b a n carried out for plug flow in the suspension gas In Tablc I the fined Sh,-values are lined, along with the respnivc values of NIV,. Table I meals the main shonmmiog ofthe old model: The She& numbers, wtich are necessary for a good f i are small (Gnielinski's quation yields Sh,= 17.9 at incipient bcd height ~ and on flow velocity Sin= bypassing is included in the model, it is reasonable to asswnc that the low overall mass transfer may be due to backmixing, and olculatc with quations (3). (4) instead of (5). (6). (7).

Companding results (with Sh, = 17.9) are compared with runs 1 and 2 in Figure 3. The mmparisnu is bad, primarily because of the high drylng rates which are predicted for ihc s m n d ~IYing period. Variations of v or NTVido not improve this khaviour. Hence. the classical mnsideration of suspension gas backmixing acmrding to quations (3). (4) fils sublimation. to dacribc the drying experiments. This failure would not bccome obvious with Vaditional techniques LiLe naphWenc

THE NEW MODEL AND ITS PERFORMANCE

In the new model the following changm are made:

The bypass ratio v is set onto a more reliable base by calculating it fmm

NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING

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Figure 2: Drying c w c s measured at R%;i235 andralculatcd uilh the old model

Table 1: Compuison of filled (Twlsas 1994) and predicted (eq. (14)) SheNvmd nwnbcn; &=25~ni'inallcawr.

With v. = 1.0. Ulis formula assigns all c x m r gas to the bubbles. As this wry mugh csiimation e is not m and as the W o n of gas that really f o m bubbles depends on the bed height and particle size, Hilligardt and Wenher (1986) made extensive investigations on the volume W o n of bubbles in the bed using capacitance pro& and suggated velues for v. depending on thc bed hcight and on thc Gcldart-group of the panicles. For the prcwnt cxpsrimcntal mndilions (see Tables 1 and 2) v. = 0.26 is obtained, and the parameter v is calculated from equation (LO).

GROENEWOLD AND TSOTSAS

Table 2: Experimental cnnditions and material prnpenies acmrding to TsoIsas (1994) orous aluminium silime, w e d with water
.44 mm. 1667 kglm' (dry). Geldart-group D
-

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i. = 0.733q + 0.386 0.3331 +0.666 I

23331 132q+0.152

for for

for for for

q <O.I5 0.15 5 q c 0.40 0.40 5 1 < 0.70 0.70 5 q < 1 121

Uuidiation gas lried air. 40 'C at inlct. 10' Pa

Figure 3: The same data as in Figure I, wmparcd vvlth thc old model, with p e ~ f m backmixing of

the suspension gas and Sh, = 17.9.

NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING

1693

- For the w n d p m a e r . NTU,. currently only two comlations are k n o w from the literature
that seem to be r-nable. The first has been proposed by Werthcr (1984) and is valid for --A so callcd "simple model" fmm van Calculating KN, with these q u a and typo-B panicla (Geldan's clasriIication), the -nd Swxij @ublished in Davidson 1985) is only valid for * A

lions leads to very different resulls. Bcsidw h i s discrepancy, the reruicted validity of the q u a lions is ihe main reason to say that h e r e are no reliable correlations available. Therefore, m

main the value of NTUi = I used More, but we assign it to the expanded bed height of L = 50
and correct it proponionally for other bed heights.
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The third, and most impanant change concerns the very aructure of the model. The latter is

tom apan by neglecting the bubbles. neglecting all intrapanicle phenomcnq and regarding only

, the mass wander from the s d a a of the panicles -where a constant gas moistwc content Y
prwails - to the gas bulk. We assume that reality is described by perfcalculate ihe reduced outlet mncenUation (cflicicncy) of

backmixing of this gas

and by a (large) S h e d number according to the correlation of Gnielinski. In this way wc

Even an unrealistic model must yield this e[ficiency. Assuming that the unrealistic model is the plug flow one, a different (laucr) number of wander unils must be used, in order to fufill Ute equivalence criterion of 5, =idem. For the p u p a of dininction the symbol N?W8 is inlro. duced for this "apparent" quantiry. It is then:

c ,
leading to the relauonship

=~-exp(-mi)

NTU; = In(l+NTUs) In terms of "real" (ShJ and "apparent" (Shp) S h e d numbers it follow (eq. (I)):

The real S h e d number is calculated aaording to Gnielinski at minimum fluidization (here: Sh,= 17.9) and is held constant far any aclual superficial gas velwity. Then. Shg is o b mined from equation (14). Finally. this "apparent" S h e d number is insened into the plug flow equations already discussed. and the fluid bed drying cwves are calculated.

G R O E N E W O L D A N D TSOTSAS

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Figure 4: Thc &w of Figurc 1. as calculated with lhc new modcl.

In the lalal. the new modcl operales 081 two levcls. On lhc lirsl lctel (lhc submodel. q s . (I1)-

(14)) backmixing o f lhc gas is accounted for. on lhe second (Ihe nncl,;~aged eqr. (5)-(7)) il is neglected. The S h e d number serves .s the link betwen lhese l a o levclr. a To check the new model the calculalions for the experiments of Figures I and 2 sere repealed. The results arc s h o w in Figures 4 and 5. Obviously. Ihc agreement with mcasurcmcst i n Figures 4. 5 is not w r w tkul i n Figurer I.2. The m j o r dilTerena is t t u l the ealculatians of Figures 4. 5 (new model) havc been done on first principles, while lhase of Figures 1. 2 (old model) havc been filled. The good agremenl lo previous calculalions and lo the &w is not surprising. Aclually. q u a tion (14) predicts quile cxaclly thosc Shewood numbers which h;wc becll lilted by Tsolsls i n 1994. On the other hand. the changes i n v or NTU; have only s&dl itnpxt. The cantparison of S h e d numbers is documented i n Table I.and (partly) in Figure 6 . I n lhe laner. equation (14) is ploltcd for &L = 100 (cormpanding lo runs I and 4) between incipient fluidiwlion

(h) and

cntrainmcnl (RcA). Funher curves point oul the intenclaled influences o f bed height (holdup) and gas flow rate (excess velocity). For vcry shan beds ( A,L + O ) Sh, = ShJR%,v,.d (here Sh,=
= consl.

17.9) is obtained Only i n this cax. real and apparesl S h e d inutnbers ;we equal

la wchathcr. The shadowed area correspands coarsely lo various literalure dnta calleacd by Schwarrbach (1989). As we see. Ihe problem afsmall Shenrwd numbers i n nuid beds is no1 mw.

NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING

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Figwc 5: The data of Figure 2, as calculated with the new model

Figure 6: S h e d numberr in fluidizedbeds. The nwcr at diEercnt Mlucs of AJ. have t e n calculated according to cq. (14).

GROENEWOLD A N D TSOTSAS MERITS AND lMPLlCATlONS OF THE NEW MODEL The new model offers several advantages:

- It is fully predictive, with the exception of some remaining uncertainty a b u t the parameter NTU;.

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It describes the fine-structure of drying data, i.e. the impact of bed hcight and gas flow ratc. It explains mass transfer inhibition in all kinds of fluidized beds - drycrr, heat cxchangcrs. mctors ctc. It baws the explanation of this inhibition on axial dispersion, permitting a coherent thmreu-

cal lreaunent of fluidized beds and packed beds (for the laner we e.g. Tsotras, 1992).

It does not introduce any dispersion mcficient which would have lo be me -d lated.

and corre-

It uses common packed-bed correlations for the "reaY panicle-to-gas S h e d numkn. This parameter behaves in the same way as pressure drop, i.e. it does not change with gas flow rate. On the other hand, some theoretical implications must not be overseen. What the new d c u -

lation does, is keep the S h e w w d number which is insened in equations ( 5 ) to (7) at a small value. In h i s way the product i'N?lJg is alsa small. The cansequence is that falling single particle drying rates (the onset of the m n d drying period of the single panicle with $q) < I ) are immediately translated into falling drying rates of the fluid bed as a whole. This is not the c s ae with large S h e d numbers according to packed bed correlations, not even with the "traditional" backmixing equations (3). (4). That is why agreement with experiments in Figure 4 is good, while in Figure 3 it is not. In other wrds. we must uanslate backmixing into a reduction of the kinetic ccellicient, and not into a reduction of driving potential, in order to have the de-

. .

sired result. This is certainly not the usual way of acmunting for backmixing. The complexity of suspension gas flow, which interam both with the bubbles and the panicles. may k h e physical backgmund of this behaviour.

OUTLOOK
I t is planned to compare thc new model with drying data for small (group A, B) panicles. with

fluid bed reactor experiments, as well as with the numerous results which exin in literature for simplified situations likc naphthalene sublimation. Since the model docs not require any adaptation of the S h e d number it enables the targeted derivation of the parameter NTUi for mass transfer between suspension and bubbles from experimenlaJ data. The uncenainty about the S h e d number jeopardized this derivation in the past.

NEW MODEL FOR FLUID BED DRYING

A d L L,

th
k*

t, h

,
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panicle rwface area per unit bed volume panicle diameter bed height unexpanded bed height drying rate of the whole bed drying rate of a bed when the air is saturated a1 Ule oullet drying rate of a single panicle drying rate of a single panicle in the first drying period number of Uansfer u ~ l panicles - gas s number of transfer units suspension - bubblcs Reynoldsnumber. Re, = u,d/v Schmidt number, Sc = v/6 S h e d number bet ween panicles and suspension gar, Shs = P,d superficial gas vclociry volume flow ratio of the bubbles (bypass) relative volumc flow ratio of ihc bubbles mainwc cantent of the particles moisture content of the gas mlr m'h

NW,

Re Sc Sh,
u ,

/6

v
v.

X Y

Greek lerrers

masr uansfcr coefficient dilfurion caefficiel 1 normalized panicle moisture contcnl v kinematic viwosiw i. normalized drying rate of a single particle dimensionless moisture content of air, q. (9) bcd porosity o,, eigenvalues
6

entrainment bubbles critical point (end of first drying period) equilibrium between suspension gas and bubbles at the inlet at minimum fluidization at the ouUet suspension gas superficial apparent Shewnod or NTU number

LITERAWRE CITED Davidson, I.F.. Cl& R.. Harrison, D.. 1985. Fluidiration, 2nd ed.. Academic Press, London

1698

GROENEWOLD A N D TSOTSAS

GRielinski. V., 1980. W h e - und SloKibenragung in Festbelten. Chcm.-lng.-Tech. (52). pp. 228-236. Hilligardl, K.. Wenher. J.. 1986. Local bubble gas hald-up and epxnsian of g;ls/solid fluidked beds. German Chemical Engineering (91, pp. 215-221.
van Meel, D.A., 1958. Adiabatic convection balch drying with recirculation ofair. Chem. Engng.

Sci. (9). pp. 3 6 4 4 . S c h d a c h . J., 1989. Selektive Traknung in der Wirbclwhicht. Disserlation (PhD-Thesis). Univenity of K a r l s ~ h e . TSOIWS, 1992, On mass transfer, dispersion and macrarmpical flow maldislribution in packed E., lubes. Chem. Eng. P r w . (31). pp. 181-190. Tsotws. E., 1999. From single panicle to fluid bad drying kinetics. Drying Technology (12). pp. 1401-1426. TSOW, E., Bcllgardl. D.. 1995, Praclical and theoretical aspccls of fluid bed drying. P r a . Inl. Symp. of Engng Foundation "Fluidization Vlll", Tours, pp. 1043-IUSO. Wenher. 1.. 1984. Mathemalische Modellierung von Wirbclschichtcn. Chem.-hg.-Tech. (56). pp. 187-196

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