Brazilian Journal

of Chemical ISSN 0104-6632

Engineering Printed in Brazil
www.abeq.org.br/bjche

Vol. 25, No. 01, pp. 39 - 50, January - March, 2008

SIMULTANEOUS HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER

IN PACKED BED DRYING OF SEEDS
HAVING A MUCILAGE COATING
M. M. Prado and D. J. M. Sartori*
Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos,
Fax: +(55) (16) 3351-8266, Via Washington Luís km 235, PO Box 676,
CEP: 13565-905, São Carlos - SP, Brazil.
E-mail: sartorid@power.ufscar.br

(Received: March 09, 2006 ; Accepted: November 06, 2007)

Abstract - The simultaneous heat and mass transfer between fluid phase and seeds having a mucilaginous
coating was studied during packed bed drying. To describe the process, a two-phase model approach was
employed, in which the effects of bed shrinkage and nonconstant physical properties were considered. The
model took into account bed contraction by employing moving coordinates. Equations relating shrinkage and
structural parameters of the packed bed with moisture content, required in the drying model, were developed
from experimental results in thick-layer bed drying. The model verification was based on a comparison
between experimental and predicted data on moisture content and temperature along the bed. Parametric
studies showed that the application of correlations capable of incorporating changes in bed properties gives
better data simulation. By experimental-theoretical analysis, the importance of shrinkage for a more accurate
interpretation of heat and mass transfer phenomena in the drying of porous media composed of mucilaginous
seeds is corroborated.
Keywords: Heat and mass transfer; Shrinkage; Drying; Mucilaginous seeds; Physical properties.

INTRODUCTION has been developed for describing the heat and mass
transfer inside thick-layer bed dryers.
Fixed bed drying of moist particles is a solid-fluid Comprehensive reviews of these models and
contact technique widely applied in agricultural and simulation methods are available in the literature
chemical engineering in the form of thick-layer bed (Brooker et al., 1992; Cenkowski et al., 1993).
drying or thin-layer drying. Grains, seeds, coffee, The most rigorous mathematical models for
wood chips, coal and many chemical products are packed-bed drying of solid particles are based on
usually dried this way (Resio et al., 2005; Faria and principles of mass and energy conservation for the
Rocha, 2000; Saastamoinen and Impola, 1997). gaseous and solid phases in a controlled volume in
From a scientific point of view, drying of conjunction with empirical equations for
particulate solids is a complex process characterized thermodynamic equilibrium and heat and mass
by interactions of heat and mass transfer occurring transfer between phases. Unfortunately, the so-called
simultaneously between the particles and the drying two-phase models have been developed considering
medium during circulation through the porous bed. that the shrinkage and the changes in structural
Because of its great technological relevance, thick- properties of the particulate bed are negligible during
layer bed drying has been studied for many years removal of moisture. Under these assumptions, such
(Wang and Chen, 1999). A large variety of models modeling is valid only for thick-layer bed drying of

*To whom correspondence should be addressed

40 M. M. Prado and D. J. M. Sartori

rigid inorganic particles or seeds with a relatively literature, but references to evaluation of equations
low initial moisture content, where changes in for predicting the convective heat transfer coefficient
volume can be neglected. (h) are relatively scarce (Krokida et al., 2002).
Recent experimental and theoretical studies have The convective heat transfer coefficient is one of
demonstrated the importance of considering shrinkage the most critical parameters in air drying simulation,
for a more realistic analysis of drying phenomena, but since the temperature difference between the air and
most of these studies are concentrated on single solid varies with this coefficient (Akpinar, 2004).
particles of foods such as fruits and vegetables Reliable values of h are, thus, needed to obtain
(Chemkhi et al., 2005; Wang and Brennan, 1995). accurate predictions of temperature during drying.
There are few works on shrinkage of particulate food in The use of empirical equations for predicting h is a
bulk (Ratti, 1995) and even less on bulk shrinkage of common practice in drying, since the heat transfer
seeds (Lang et al., 1993). Hence, the influence of coefficient depends theoretically on the geometry of
shrinkage on heat and mass transfer in the drying of the solid, physical properties of the fluid and
packed beds is not yet well understood. characteristics of the physical system under
A type of thick-layer bed that offers important consideration, regardless of the product being
challenges for a combined analysis of heat and mass processed (Ratti and Crapiste, 1995). In spite of the
transfer and shrinkage in drying, but that has large number of existent equations for estimating h
received relatively little attention in modeling, is that in a fixed bed, the validity of these, for the case of
formed by gel-coated particles. These particles are the thick-layer bed drying of shrinking particles has
produced mainly by coating the core particles with still not been completely established.
polymeric matrices containing gelling binders. Within this context, the objective of the present
Particles with an artificial coating are widely applied work is to analyze the processes of heat and mass
in, for example, chemical, pharmaceutical, transfer between fluid phase and particles coated by
agricultural and food industries. Particles naturally a deformable mucilaginous coating in a fixed bed
coated by a mucilaginous outer layer with highly dryer. For a complete description of the process, the
deformable gel characteristics can also be found in, two-phase model proposed should take into account
for example, papaya seeds. Besides acting as a the effects of bed shrinkage and moisture on the
physical protection and contributing to extend seed porous bed properties. The introduction of these
germination, the mucilage found in the seed coat is effects in the mathematical description, their
also rich in pectin. importance and the adequacy of the two-phase model
Gel-coated seeds are not generally dried in thus obtained are discussed in regard to the drying of
moving beds due to the mechanical damage that can papaya seeds. Before turning to a more elaborate
occur in this type of dryer. By avoiding friction model, changes in thickness and structural
between the seeds, which can induce undesirable parameters of the packed bed composed of these
fissures to form in the outer layer and loss of seed seeds are characterized experimentally. In what
quality, fixed bed drying is viewed as a feasible follows, a method for solving the resulting partial
technique to reduce the high moisture content of equations system is presented. Next, to verify the
papaya seeds to appropriate levels for safe storage or validity of the model, predicted results are compared
further processing. to experimental data on temperature and moisture
Mathematical modeling of fixed bed dryers content throughout the bed. Different empirical
applied to this type of particle is thus essential to equations for predicting the heat transfer coefficient
achieve a better understanding of the fluid-solid heat in packed beds are also evaluated for use in drying
and mass transfer in deformable porous media as simulation in order to obtain the best reproduction of
well as for the study of their optimum operation and the experimental data. Finally, the question of to
process design. what extent heat and mass transfer characteristics are
Besides an understanding of shrinkage, other affected by the shrinkage phenomenon is discussed.
fundamental information required in a two-phase
model is the knowledge of equations for heat and
mass transfer and for thermodynamic equilibrium MATHEMATICAL MODELING
between phases. According to Brooker et al. (1992),
the choice of these equations strongly affects the The physical problem under consideration is
validity of simulation results for thick-layer bed illustrated in Figure 1, in which a packed bed of
drying. Several studies related to evaluation of mucilage-coated seeds is percolated by a drying fluid
drying rate equations have been reported in the flowing upward. The detail of a volume element

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer in Packed Bed Drying of Seeds 41

extracted from the packed bed shows that part of this tend to be susceptible to changes in size and shape
volume element is composed of solid particulate during moisture removal that modify both the
material, whereas the remaining void space is thickness and structural properties of the packed bed
occupied by the fluid phase. Interactions between the in the dryer and, consequently, the fluid-solid heat
solid and fluid phases by heat and mass transfer and mass transport. Shrinkage and variable physical
occur simultaneously during drying. properties such as bulk density, porosity and specific
Due to the highly deformable polymeric structure area, are thus important transient parameters in the
of mucilage coating, the particles (detail in Figure 1) modeling of drying.

Figure 1: Sketch of the drying problem.

For a complete description of the process, the Energy conservation for the solid fluid
two-phase model proposed should take into account
the effects of bed shrinkage and moisture content on v g ρg ∂T
the physical properties. Other assumptions adopted Sb
( Cpg + Yg Cpv ) ∂ξg +
in the model formulation were as follows: the airflow
is one-dimensional with uniform distributions of ∂Tg
velocity, humidity and temperature in the cross (
ρg ε Cpg + Yg Cp v ) ∂t
= (3)
section of the bed; heat losses through dryer walls
are negligible; the fluid-solid heat transfer in the  ∂X 
packed bed is predominantly convective; and heat  
(
 ha − ρb Cp v ∂t  Ts − Tg )
and mass transport is one-dimensional.
Under the assumptions outlined above, the Thin-layer drying equation
resulting system of coupled differential equations
describing the mass and energy conservation ∂X
balances for the solid phase and the fluid phase are ∂t
(
= f X, v g , Yg , Tg ) (4)
summarized below.
Boundary and initial conditions
Mass conservation
Initial profile (t =0)

{
 vg ∂Yg ∂Yg  ∂X
ρg  +ε  = −ρb (1) X = X ; Ts = Ts0
z = 0 Y = Y0 T
 Sb ∂ξ ∂t  ∂t g g0; g = Tg0
(5)
Energy conservation for the solid phase X = X ; T = T
z ≠ 0 Y = Y0 s T s0; T = T
 g sat ( s0 ) g s0
∂TS
ρb ( CpS + XCp w )
∂t
(
= ha v Tg − TS + )
Boundary condition
(2)
∂X
ρb  L p + ( Cp v − Cp w ) Ts  z = 0 ∀ t, Yg = Yg0 and Tg = Tg0 (6)
∂t

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 25, No. 01, pp. 39 - 50, January - March, 2008
42 M. M. Prado and D. J. M. Sartori

To incorporate the movement of bed contraction, In addition, the desorption isotherms were
the model equations were written in Lagrangian analyzed according to principles of thermodynamics
formulation. The dimensionless moving coordinate to obtain the following equations representing the
system, ξ, is related to the spatial coordinate by the latent heat of vaporization of water in mucilaginous
following equation (Ratti and Mujumdar, 1995): seeds:

dz =
ρ b0
dξ =
Vb
dξ = Sb dξ (7) (
L p = 2500.8 + 2.39 Tg )
ρb Vb0 (9)
1 + 3.2359 exp ( −33.6404 X ) 
The adequacy of the two-phase model thus
obtained is verified in the present work with regard
b) Drying-Rate Equation
to the packed bed drying of papaya seeds, which are
selected as model mucilaginous particles.
The equation which gives the evolution of
Numerical Solution moisture content in a volume element of the bed with
time, also known as thin-layer equation, strongly
The numerical solution of the model equations affects the predicted results of deep-bed drying
provides predictions of the following four drying models (Brooker, 1992). According to Prado and
state variables: solid moisture (X), solid temperature Sartori (2000), because of the high moisture content
(Ts), fluid temperature (Tg) and air humidity (Yg) as of papaya seeds, two equations are needed to cover
functions of time (t) and bed height (z). the entire drying period: one for the constant rate
The model equations were solved numerically period and the other for the decreasing rate period.
using the finite-difference method. From the The drying rate equation for the constant rate period
discretization of spatial differential terms, the initial is described as
set of partial differential equations was transformed
into a set of ordinary differential equations. The dX
resulting vector of 4 (N+1) temporal derivatives was = − k c k c = 1.3 × 10−9 Tg 4.112 vg 0.219
dt
solved using the DASSL package (Petzold, 1989), (10)
which is based on the integration method of valid for 0.5 < vg < 1.5 m/s 30 < Tg< 50 oC
backwards differential formulation.
Solution of the mathematical model requires For the decreasing rate period, a thin-layer
knowledge of the thermodynamic equilibrium and equation similar to Newton’s law for convective heat
interphase transport parameters. A summary of these transfer is used, with the driving force or transfer
parameters, whose equations were obtained from potential defined in terms of free moisture as
previous studies, is given below. The development of
the equations for predicting the shrinkage parameter dX
(Sb) and structural properties of the packed bed as a
dt
(
= − K X − X eq ) (11)
function of moisture content, required in the
approach used, was based on experimental results of
the present work. where the relationship between drying constant K
and temperature is expressed as
Model Parameters
a) Sorption Equilibrium Properties
(
K = 0.011exp −201.8 Tg ) (12)

The modified Halsey equations developed for c) Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient
predicting the equilibrium moisture content (Xeq) of
Due to the limited number of reports dealing with
papaya seeds with mucilage (Prado and Sartori,
external heat transfer in through-flow drying of beds
2000) was used in the thick-layer bed drying
consisting of particles with a high moisture content
simulation:
and susceptible to shrinkage, three correlations found
1 in the literature to predict h in packed beds,

X eq =
(
 − exp −1.77 × 10−2 T + 4.25 )  1.90
(8)
Equations (13) to (15) (Table 1), were tested in
drying simulation in order to obtain the best
 ln ( RH ) 
  reproduction of the experimental data.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer in Packed Bed Drying of Seeds 43

Table 1: Empirical equations for predicting the fluid-solid

heat transfer coefficient for packed bed dryers.

Correlation Range of validity Reference

20<Rep< 80000
(
Nu p = 0.5 Re1p 2 + 0.2 Re2p 3 ) Pr 23 (13)
ε<0.78
Whitaker (1972)

h = 3.26 Cp G g Re−0.65 Pr 2 3 (14) 20<Re<1000 Sokhansanj (1987)

 Cpg G g   2.876 0.302  (15)

h =    + 0.35  Pr −2 / 3
 ε   Re Re  10<Re<10000 Geankoplis (1993)

where Re = ρg vg dp ,  ρg vg dp  , h dp , h ⋅ dp ⋅ φ ⋅ ε and Cpg µ

Rep =   (1 − ε ) Nu = Nu p = Pr =
µ  µ  Kg K g ⋅ (1 − ε ) Kg

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY unit, airflow is supplied by a 0.75 HP blower (1).

Flow-regulating valves (V1, V2) control the
In this study, two groups of deep-bed drying airflow, which is measured indirectly in terms of
experiments were carried out. The objective of the pressure drop over an orifice plate (2). The drying
first group was to determine the physical
air is heated in an electrical heater (3) attached to a
characteristics of porous media composed of papaya
2500 W voltage regulator. The vertical duct has a
seeds during drying and to develop equations
relating shrinkage and properties of the packed bed flow-homogenizing section containing perforated
with moisture content in order to incorporate them steel plates that assure that temperature and
into the mathematical model. The objective of the humidity are uniform and distributions enter the
second group was to evaluate the numerical solution packed bed (8) at about 92% of the cross section.
of the two-phase model by comparison with The cylindrical wall of the whole unit is thermally
experimental measurements of moisture content and insulated with fiber glass to minimize heat loss,
temperature along the bed. thus assuring no radial temperature gradients
inside the packed bed.
Preparation of Material A psychrometer (5) is placed at the inlet of the
dryer to determine the absolute humidity of the
Papaya seeds were extracted from ripe fruits, drying air by measurements of wet and dry bulb
using the wet procedure. The fruits were cut into two temperatures. The inlet air dry bulb temperature is
longitudinal halves and the seeds removed by hand. measured using a copper-constantan thermocouple
After manual extraction of the seeds, significant (7). The temperature sensors are connected to a set of
amounts of fibrous pulp and sugar residual were selector key and digital milivoltimeter (6).
removed by washing with repeated soakings in The experiments were conducted at air
water. After the last soaking, the suspension of seeds temperatures ranging from 30 to 50oC and air
was passed through a set of wire meshes to drain off velocities from 0.5 to 1.5 m/s, defined by a 23
the excess water and to separate the seeds by size, factorial design. These operational conditions
thus avoiding the effect of seed size variability on satisfy the quality standard for papaya seeds as
the phenomena under study. Whole seeds were then well as the validity range of the equations used in
allowed to stand for one hour at room temperature
the model.
prior to each drying test. The moisture content of
According to Prado and Sartori (2000), the thin-
papaya seeds used in these tests ranged from 80 to
83% (wet basis). layer drying conditions for papaya seeds are satisfied
by using a bed depth of 0.01m. Thus, in the studies
Experimental Setup of shrinkage and transfer phenomena involved in
thick-layer bed drying, in which gradients of
A scheme of the thick-layer bed dryer used to temperature and moisture content exist, an initial bed
conduct the experiments is shown in Fig. 2. In this height of 0.05 m was used.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 25, No. 01, pp. 39 - 50, January - March, 2008
44 M. M. Prado and D. J. M. Sartori

1. Blower
2. Flowmeter
3. Electrical Heater
4. Voltage Regulator
5. Phychrometer
6. Selector Key and Miuvoltimeter
7. Thermocouples
8. Drying Cells
V1, V2, V3. Gate Valves

Figure 2: Experimental apparatus of the fixed bed dryer (Silva, 1997).

Physical Properties and Bed Shrinkage measurement of moisture content and temperature
Measurements within both the solid phase and the drying air phase.
To assure the accuracy of model predictions,
The shrinkage of the packed beds during drying techniques for measuring solid moisture and
was determined from measurement of its height at temperature were adopted in this study.
three angular positions. From the weighing and
vertical displacement of the packed porous bed with a) Moisture Distribution
time, the parameter of shrinkage (Sb) was obtained as
a function of bed-averaged moisture content. The To avoid one of the major problems during
mass of the packed porous bed was measured using a experimentation on the fixed bed, associated with
balance with a 0.001 g accuracy and a scale range of determination of solid moisture content distribution
400 g and its dry mass was determined at the end of by continuously taking seed samples from each layer
each experiment by the oven method at (105 + 3)oC of the deep bed, which can modify the porous
for 24 hours. From packed bed volume and mass structure, possibly causing a preferential channel, a
measurements the bulk density was also determined, stratification method was used. To this, a measuring
while seed density was measured with an air cell with a height of 0.05 m was constructed with
comparison pycnometer. Bed porosity was then subdivisions of 0.01 m to allow periodical bed
calculated from the ratios of the aforementioned fragmentation and measurement of the local moisture
densities. by the oven method at (105 + 3)oC for 24 hours.
Since in the present work a packed bed is Afterwards the measuring cell was refilled with a
regarded as an ensemble of deformable particles, nearly equal mass of seeds and reinstalled in its dryer
shrinkage of individual particles was also position. By adjusting the intervals of bed
characterized. The size and shape of individual fragmentation appropriately, a moisture distribution
particles as a function of moisture content were history was produced for the packed bed.
determined by image analysis. Although it is a method that requires a large
number of experiments and the use of a packing
Measurements of Moisture Content and technique to assure the homogeneity and
Temperature reproducibility of the refilled beds (Zotin, 1985),
stratification provides experimental guarantees for
Although a two-phase model is more realistic for model validation.
considering interaction between solid and fluid
phases by heat and mass transfer, describing each b) Temperature Distributions
phase with a conservation equation, it is not simple
to use. In addition to the complexity of it solution, Unprotected thermocouples were inserted into the
there is an additional difficulty, with regards to its center of the packed bed at the top to determine the
experimental validation, more precisely with the solid temperature distribution and its dynamic

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer in Packed Bed Drying of Seeds 45

behavior during drying. A helical arrangement of the average moisture content.

temperature sensors, as detailed in Figure 1, Figure 3 shows the dynamics of bed shrinkage
attempted to minimize their interference with the associated with the loss of moisture during the
airflow inside the porous bed. drying of papaya seeds. The contraction of the
The overall error in temperature measurements packed bed was exponential with respect to time,
was 0.25oC. For airflow, air humidity and solid similar to the drying kinetics. Bed shrinkage
moisture measurements, the estimated uncertainties occurred mainly in the constant rate period.
were 4%, 4% and 1%, respectively. Contraction of the volume of the porous media
composed of mucilaginous seeds was associated with
changes in size and the seed shape factor (φ = dp/dl)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION of the seed as verified in Figure 4 (a). However, the
magnitude of volumetric shrinkage of the packed
The assumptions used in the model formulation beds, of about 30%, was not directly proportional to
were that the shrinkage and changes in physical that of individual particles, nearly 50%. This is due
properties of the packed bed were not negligible. The to the rearrangement of particles within the bed,
validity of these assumptions can be proved by the defining a void space between the particles and,
results shown in Figures 3 and 4, which illustrate consequently, the packing conformation. The
significant variation in bed depth, bulk density, relationship between the Vl/Vl0 ratio and the bed-
porosity and specific area with moisture content. averaged dimensionless moisture content,
The deviation within the experimental data XR = ( X − X eq ) ( X 0 − X eq ) , was represented by a
obtained under different drying conditions was
smaller than the measurement uncertainties. This second-order polynomial, expressed as
assures that in the experimental range studied the
structural properties can be correlated with only the Sb = Vb / Vb0 = 0.713 + 0.347XR − 0.056XR 2 (16)

Figure 3: Dimensionless moisture content and bulk shrinkage ratio (Sb) as functions of time.

Figure 4 (b) contains typical results for the the contraction of their volume on removal of
particle and bulk densities as a function of moisture.
dimensionless moisture content under different Typical experimental data on porosity during
drying conditions. The density of packed beds was packed bed drying of papaya seeds are plotted
found to vary from 777 to 218 kg/m3, while the against bed-averaged moisture content in Figure 4
particle density varied from 1124 to 400 kg/m3 as (c). As can be observed, there was a significant
drying proceeded. The decrease in densities may be increase in porosity in the packed bed of
attributed to the greater decrease in weight for both mucilaginous seeds, which varied between 0.20 for
individual particle and packed bed in comparison to wet porous beds and 0.50 for dried porous beds. The

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 25, No. 01, pp. 39 - 50, January - March, 2008
46 M. M. Prado and D. J. M. Sartori

low porosity of the wet packed beds can be comparison with other seed beds (Deshpande et al.,
explained in terms of the agglomerating tendency of 1993).
the particles at high moisture contents. In addition, The relationship between the calculated specific
highly deformable and smooth seed coat facilitates surface area and dimensionless moisture content is
contact between particles within the packed bed, shown in Figure 4 (d). The specific surface area
resulting in a higher compaction of the porous media decreased by about 15% during drying. This
and, consequently, in a reduction in porosity. reduction can be attributed to the significant increase
The increase in bed porosity during drying is due in bed porosity in comparison with the variation in
firstly to deformation of the mucilage coating, which seed shape and size.
modifies seed shape and size, resulting in larger The equations developed to characterize the
interparticle air voids inside the packed bed. effects of moisture content on the shrinkage and
Secondly, packed bed and particle shrinkage structural parameters were then implemented in
behaviors are not the same, so the space taken by the mathematical modeling so as to obtain more realistic
evaporated water is filled with air. The variation of results on heat and mass transfer characteristics in
about 150% in porosity is extremely high in the packed bed drying of papaya seeds.

(a) (b)

(c)
(d)
Figure 4: Structural properties during packed bed drying of mucilaginous seeds.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer in Packed Bed Drying of Seeds 47

Figure 5 shows typical experimental and resulting in an overpredicted rate of heat transfer
simulated temperature profiles throughout the within the bed (Ratti and Crapiste, 1995).
packed bed with time, employing in the drying Experiments show that, in the drying of shrinkable
model different empirical equations for predicting porous media, application of correlations capable of
the convective heat transfer coefficient (Table 1). incorporating the effects of changes in structural
Different predictions were obtained, showing the properties, such as Whitaker (1972) and Geankoplis
significant effect of h on the numerical solutions. (1993) equations, gives better prediction of the
These results are counter to findings for the temperature profile. Of these two equations, the
modeling of thick-layer bed drying of other grains Geankoplis equation was chosen, based on a mean
and seeds, specifically rigid particles (Calçada, relative deviation (MRD) of less than 5%, to be
1994). In these findings a low sensitivity of the two- included as an auxiliary equation in drying
phase model to h is generally reported. simulation.
When the correlation of Sokhansanj (1987) is From Figure 5 it can also be verified that during
used, both the solid and fluid temperatures increase the process of heat transfer, from the increase in
rapidly towards the drying temperature set. However, saturation temperature up to a temperature
when the correlations given by Whitaker (1972) and approaching equilibrium, the predicted values for the
Geankoplis (1993) are applied, the increase in solid phase were closest to the experimental data.
temperature is gradual and thermal equilibrium This corroborates the interpretation adopted that the
between the fluid and solid phases is not reached, so temperature measured with the unprotected
there is a temperature difference between them. thermocouple is the seed temperature.
Based on the differences in model predictions, the In Tables 2 and 3 experimental and simulated
effects of shrinkage on the estimation of h during values of moisture content and temperature and their
drying can be discussed. It should be noted that the respective mean relative deviations are presented for
Sokhansanj equation is based on the physical two typical drying runs. The mean relative deviations
properties of air and the diameter of the particle. are less that 7% and the maximum absolute error is
Thus, it is capable of taking into account only the less than 12% for all the data tested. These results
deformation of individual particles during drying, demonstrate the reliability of the two-phase model to
which produces turbulence at the boundary layer, simulate moisture content and temperature profiles
increasing the fluid-solid convective transport and during thick-layer bed drying of mucilaginous seeds.

Figure 5: Dynamic evolution of experimental and simulated temperature profiles obtained from different
correlations for h. Drying conditions: vg = 1.0 m/s, Tg0 = 50oC, Yg0 = 0.01kg/kg, Ts0 = 18oC and X0 = 3.9 d.b.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 25, No. 01, pp. 39 - 50, January - March, 2008
48 M. M. Prado and D. J. M. Sartori

Table 2: Experimental and predicted moisture content at various positions in the bed. Drying
conditions: Tg0 = 50oC, Yg0 = 0.01 kg/kg, vg0 = 1.0 m/s, Ts = 20oC and X0 = 4.1db.
t = 2.5 h t = 7.5 h t = 12.5 h
z Xexp Xsim Error z Xexp Xsim Error Xexp Xsim Error
z (m)
(m) (db) (db) (%) (m) (db) (db) (%) (db) (db) (%)
0.010 2.55 2.62 2.82 0.010 0.30 0.31 3.67 0.010 0.05 0.052 5.52
0.020 3.01 2.92 1.32 0.020 0.59 0.61 2.54 0.020 0.06 0.065 10.70
0.030 3.17 3.12 0.26 0.030 1.10 1.08 8.70 0.030 0.08 0.092 8.24
0.040 3.30 3.25 0.55 0.037 1.54 1.35 12.10 0.035 0.12 0.130 4.24
0.047 3.37 3.32 1.36 - - - - - - - -
MRD = 0.92 % MRD = 6.75% MRD = 7.11%

Table 3: Experimental and predicted temperature at various positions in the bed. Drying
conditions: Tg0 = 35oC, Yg0 = 0.005 kg/kg, vg0 = 0.8 m/s, Ts = 20.8oC and X0 = 3.5 d.b.
t = 5 min t = 15 min t = 60 min
z Texp Tsim Error (%) z Texp Tsim Error Z Texp Tsim Error
(m) (oC) (oC) (m) (oC) (oC) (%) (m) (oC) (oC) (%)
0.013 29.5 30.8 4.41 0.013 33.5 33.7 0.60 0.013 34.0 33.6 1.18
0.031 24.2 22.8 5.78 0.031 31.8 32.1 0.94 0.031 33.2 32.3 2.71
0.050 20.8 20.7 0.48 0.050 28.2 29.0 2.84 0.050 32.5 31.3 3.69
MRD = 3.56% MRD = 1.46% MRD = 2.53%

Figure 6 shows a comparison of seed temperature increased because of the contraction of bed volume.
profiles within the packed bed for various drying A typical simulation for moisture content along
times predicted with and without incorporating the the bed is presented in Figure 7. The model that does
effects of bed shrinkage and moisture content on the not take into account variable physical properties and
physical properties in the model. When these effects shrinkage tends to describe a slower drying process
are ignored the predicted values of seed temperature than that accompanied by bed contraction and to
at a specific bed height are lower than those predict higher values of moisture content at all times.
simulated under the assumption of shrinkage. It From a practical point of view this would result in
should be noted that there is no difference in the higher energy costs and undesirable losses of product
region close to the bed inlet (z = 0.01 m), where quality.
drying occurs under constant drying conditions. In These results suggest that the assumptions of the
the upper layers of the porous media, where heat modelling are essential to simulate adequately seed
transfer is an important step in controlling the drying temperature and moisture content during drying,
dynamics, differences between the predictions which have to be perfectly controlled at all times in
become evident as the rate of heat transfer is order to keep the losses in quality to a minimum.

Figure 6: Simulated solid temperature profiles along Figure 7: Simulated moisture content profiles along the
the packed bed of mucilaginous seeds with and without packed bed of mucilaginous seeds with and without
consideration of shrinkage. Tg0 = 50oC, vg0 = 1.0 m/s, consideration of shrinkage. Tg0 = 40oC, vg0 = 1.5 m/s,
Yg0 = 0.01 kg/kg, Ts0 = 18oC and X0 = 3.9 d.b. Yg0 = 0.011 kg/kg, Ts0 = 20oC and X0 = 4.0 d.b.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer in Packed Bed Drying of Seeds 49

CONCLUSIONS z spatial coordinate, m

It is concluded from the experimental-theoretical Greek Symbols

study that, for packed bed drying of seeds having a
mucilage coating, such as papaya seeds, shrinkage ε porosity (-)
and changes in structural properties can not be φ sphericity (-)
ignored from the viewpoint of the process dynamics. ξ dimensionless moving (-)
Bed contraction and variable properties such as bulk coordinate
density, porosity and specific area must be ρ density kg m-3
implemented in modeling in order to obtain more
realistic results. Subscripts
The suitability of the two-phase model approach
to describe the heat and mass transport phenomena 0 initial (-)
associated with drying of shrinkable porous media is b bulk (-)
proven by well-predicted results compared with exp experimental (-)
experimental measurements for both moisture eq equilibrium (-)
content and temperature throughout the packed bed. g gaseous, fluid (-)
Parametric studies showed that the effect of h on p particle (-)
the numerical solutions is significant. The best s solid (-)
reproduction of the experimental data is obtained sat saturation (-)
when h is calculated using the empirical equation of sim simulated (-)
Geankoplis (1993), which has terms that allow the v vapor (-)
effects of changes in structural properties of the w liquid water (-)
packed bed to be taken into account. sat saturation (-)

Abbreviation
NOMENCLATURE
d.b. dry basis (-)
MRD mean relative deviation (-)
av specific surface area m-1 w.b. wet basis (-)
Cp specific heat J/kg oC sim simulated (-)
dp particle diameter m v vapor (-)
dl maximum linear length m w liquid water (-)
Gg air mass flow rate kg m-2 s-1
h heat transfer coefficient J/m2s oC
K drying constant s-1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
o
Kg thermal conductivity J/s m C
Lp latent heat of vaporization J/kg The authors acknowledge the financial support
N number of discretized cells (-) received from the Foundation for Support of Research
Nu Nusselt number (-) of the State of São Paulo, FAPESP, National Council
Pr Prandtl number (-) for Research, CNPq, Research and Project Financer,
Re Reynolds number (-) PRONEX/CNPq, and, Organization to the
RH relative humidity (-) Improvement of Higher Learning Personnel, CAPES.
Sb shrinkage parameter (-)
t time s
T temperature °C REFERENCES
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Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering