Design of Dryer

DESIGN OF DRYER
Design of a rotary dryer only on the basis of

fundamental principle is very difficult. Few of
correlations that are available for design may not
prove to be satisfactory for many systems. The
design of a rotary dryer is better done by using
pilot plant test data and the full scale operating
data of dryer of similar type if available, together
with the available design equations. A fairly large
number of variables are involved such as solid to
be dried per hour, the inlet and exit moisture
contents of the solid, the critical and equilibrium
moisture contents, temperature and humidity of
the drying gas. The design procedure based on
the basic principles and available correlations is
discussed below. In this case we assume that the
solid has only unbound moisture and as shown in
fig 2.7 in stage II the solid is at the wet bulb
temperature of the gas.
Figure 2.7 : Temperature profile for solid and
gas in a counter current rotary dryer
1.1. Heat losses from dryer surfaces are

neglected.
2.
3.
4.
5.2. Once the capacity of the dryer is known, the
drying gas flow rate, its temperature and humidity
are decided considering a number of factors. And
the following moisture & enthalpy balances need
to be satisfied.
Here, Gs = flow rate of air (dry basis, kg/h), Ms =
flow rate of solid (kg/h, dry basis), Hs = humidity
of air (kg/H2O/kg dry air)
3. The gas and solid temperatures at the stage

boundaries are obtained by moisture and energy
(enthalpy) balances. The number of heat transfer
unit for each zone is calculated. for the stage II.
The number of heat transfer units is given by
4. The total length of dryer is given by
5. The shell diameter is calculated from the dry

gas flow rate (from step I) and suitable gas flow
velocity or gas mass flow rate
Some useful correlations for the design of a rotary
dryer are given below.
Volumetric gas-solid heat transfer coefficient.
Here, cH= average humid heat, and d = dryer
diameter
Solid retention time:
( +ve sign is for counter flow;

ve sign is for parallel flow of the gas and solid)
Where,
= retention time (min); L = dryer length (m)
S = slope of the dryer (m/m); N = speed (rpm)
G' = gas mass flow rate (Kg/m2 .h)
F = feed rate (Kg/m2 . h) dry basis
B = 5 (dp) -0.5
dp = weight average particle diameter (micron)

d = dryer diameter (m)
E xample 2.1 : Size of the rotary dryer can be

estimated for the following case. A moist non
hygroscopic granular solid at 26C is to be dried
from 20% initial moisture to 0.3% final moisture
in a rotary dryer at a rate of 1500 kg/h. The hot
air enters the dryer at 135C with a humidity of
0.015. With condition that the temperature of the
solid leaving the dryer must not exceed 110C
and the air velocity must not exceed 1.5 m/s in
order to avoid dust carry over. Cps = 0.85 kJ/kg.K.
Recommend the diameter, length and other
parameters of the dryer.
Solution:
Basis of calculation is 1 hr operation
Solid contains 20% initial moisture
Mass of dry solid = MS = 1500 (1-0.2) = 1200
kg/hr
Moisture in the wet solid = X1 = 20/80 = 0.25
Moisture in the dry solid = X2 = 0.3/99.7 = 0.00301
Water evaporated, mS, evaporated = MS (X1 X2)
= 1200 (0.25
0.00301) = 296.4 Kg
Given data:
TS1 = 26C; TG2 = 135C; Y2 = 0.015
Let us assume that the exit temperature of the
gas is TG1 = 60C and for solid TS2 = 100C
Now enthalpy of different streams (suppose ref
temp = 0C)
Overall mass balance

Shell Diameter
Heat Transfer Unit

Dryer is divided into three zones and therefore,
the stage wise calculation of temperature and
humidity of the stream can be obtained by
material and energy balance.
Stage III
Very less water left for vaporization in stage III.
Consider solid is at TSB, the wet bulb temperature
of the air at location between III & II.
assume TSB = TSA = 41C
Enthalpy of solid at the inlet to stage III
HSB = [0.85 + (0.00301) (4.187)] (41-0)
= 35.37 KJ/kg dry solid
Humid heat of gas entering stage III
CHB = [1.005 + (1.88) (0.015)]
= 1.003 KJ/kg.K
Heat balance over stage III
MS [HS2 - HSB ] = GS (CHB )III (135 TGB )
TGB = 129C
Adiabatic saturation temperature of air entering
stage II (129C & humidity of 0.015) is 41.3C.
At the boundary B, TB = 129 -41 = 88C
At end 2, T2 = 135 -100 =
35C
LMTDIII = (T)m = 88-35/ln(88/35) = 57.5C
(NtG )III = T2 TGB / (T)m = 135 -129/57.5 = 0.104
Stage II
Use heat balance equation over stage II to
calculate the value of TGA . The
calculated TGA value can be use to estimate the
number of transfer units.
Enthalpy balance:
Once H-GA value is known then TGA can be

calculated using the following equation
At section A temp diff. TA = 63 -41 = 22C and
TB = 88C
(T)M = (88-22)/ ln(88/22) = 47.6C
Number of transfer unit = (NtG )II =
TGB TGA /(T)M
= (129 63)/47.6 = 1.386
To validate the assumed value of exit gas
temperature i.e. TG1 = 60C, first do an energy
balance over stage I.
Stage I
Length of Transfer Unit :

Avg. mass flow rate = [10560 (1.015) + 10560
(1.04306)]/2
= 10867 Kg/h
The gas mass flow rate, G' = (10867/3600)/ / 4
(2)2
= 0.961 Kg/m2.S
Volumetric heat transfer coeff. = = ( 237
(G')0.67 )/d
= (237 (0.961)0.67)/2 = 115 W/m3.K
Humid heat at the ends
CH2 = 1.005 + 1.88 (0.015) = 1.033
CH1 = 1.005 + 1.88 (0.04306) = 1.083
Avg. humid heat,
CH = (1.033 + 1.083)/2 = 1.058 KJ/Kg. K
Length of transfer unit, LT = G'. CH / = (0.961
1058)/115 = 8.84 m
Length of dryer, L = NtG . LT
= 1.56 8.84 = 13.8 m
D = 2 m and L = 14 m

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Design of Dryer

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DESIGN OF DRYER

Design of a rotary dryer only on the basis of

1.1. Heat losses from dryer surfaces are

3. The gas and solid temperatures at the stage

4. The total length of dryer is given by

5. The shell diameter is calculated from the dry

Solid retention time:

( +ve sign is for counter flow;

dp = weight average particle diameter (micron)

E xample 2.1 : Size of the rotary dryer can be

Overall mass balance

Heat Transfer Unit

Once H-GA value is known then TGA can be

Length of Transfer Unit :

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