6877 Drying
6877 Drying
6877 Drying
Classification of dryers
Spray Dryer
The spray dryer provides a large surface area for heat and mass
transfer by atomizing the liquid to small droplets. These are sprayed
into a stream of hot air, so that each droplet dries to a solid particle.
The drying chamber resembles the cyclone ensuring good
circulation of air, to facilitate heat and mass transfer, and that dried
particles are separated by the centrifugal action.....
Uses:
compounds.
Freeze Drying
Thus a liquid to-vapour transition takes place, but here three states
of matter involved: liquid to solid, then solid to vapour
This will only happen if the pressure is prevented from rising above
the triple point pressure .
Freeze Dryer
2-Sublimation can only occur at the frozen surface and is slow process (1mm
thickness of ice per hour). So, the surface area must therefore be increased and
3-the liquid thickness prior to freezing be reduced in order to reduce the thickness
of ice to be sublimated.
4-At low pressure large volumes of water vapour are produced which must be
removed to prevent the pressure rising above the triple point pressure.
5-The dry material often needs to be sterile, and it must also be prevented from
regaining moisture prior to the final packaging.
3 - Sublimation stage:
Heat of sublimation must be supplied. Under these conditions the ice slowly
sublimes, leaving a porous solid which still contains about 0.5% moisture
after primary drying .
Primary drying: It can reduce the moisture content of a freeze-dried solid
to around 0.5%. Further reduction can be affected by secondary drying .
Heat transfer: Insufficient heat input prolongs the process, which is already
slow, and excess heat will cause melting.
Vapour removal: The vapour formed must be continually removed to avoid
a pressure rise that would stop sublimation.
Rate of drying: The rate of drying in freeze drying is very slow, the ice
being removed at a rate of about only 1mm depth per hour.
4- Secondary drying:
The removal of residual moisture at the end of primary drying is performed by
raising the temperature of the solid to as high as 50 or 60 C .
5- Packaging:
Attention must be paid to packaging freeze-dried products to ensure protection
from moisture. Containers should be closed without contacting the atmosphere.
Disadvantages:
Bound water :
Part of the moisture present in a wet solid may be adsorbed on
surfaces of the solid or be adsorbed within its structure to such an
extent to prevent it from developing its full vapour pressure and from
being easily removed by evaporation. Such moisture is described as
bound and is more difficult to remove than unbound water.
The EMC of a solid exposed to moist air varies with the relative
humidity (Fig 26.2, Aulton p.382). Ordinary atmospheric
conditions are of the order of 20 C and 70-75 RH
, so that if exposed to atmosphere a material such as kaolin will
contain about 1% moisture, whereas a starch based product may
have as much as 30% or more. Materials exposed to humid
conditions will regain moisture, and so there is no advantage in
drying to moisture content lower than that which the material will
have under the conditions of use
...........Fig.26.3...............(Aul
).
2- Efficient heat transfer per unit area (to supply sufficient latent heat
of vaporization or heat of sublimation in case of freeze-drying)
In Fig.26.4. tray drier. Air flows in direction of the arrows over each shelf in
turn. The wet material is spread on shallow trays resting on the shelves.
Electrical elements or steam-heated pipes are positioned as shown, so that the
air is periodically reheated after it has cooled by passage over the wet material
on one shelf before it passes on the next.
The rate at which drying occurs has been found to show certain
phases (fig.26.5, Aul) in which the change in moisture content is
plotted against time. From A to B
the relationship is linear, which is
known as the constant-rate period,
whereas from B to C the rate of loss
of moisture decreases and is known
as the falling-rate period. The end
of the constant rate period, B,is referred
to as the critical moisture content.
Good contact between the warm drying air and wet particles is
found in the fluidized bed drier.
Principles of fluidization. The particulate matter is contained in a
vessel, of which is perforated, enabling a fluid to pass through the
bed of solids from below.
If the air velocity through the bed is increased gradually and the
pressure drop through the bed is measured, a graph of the
operation shows several distinct regions, as indicated in the fig.
Fig.26.6..Effect of air velocity on pressure drop through a
fluidized bed........
At first, when the air velocity is low, (point A) , flow takes place
between the particles without casing disturbance, but as the velocity is
increased e point (B), is reached (gravity = force of fluidization on that
particle). Rearrangement of the particles occurs to offer least resistance
(C), and they are suspended in the air and can move.
At point (D), pressure drop through
the bed decreases slightly because of
the greater porosity. Further increase
in the air velocity causes the particles to
separate and move freely and the bed is
fully fluidized.
Any additional increase in
velocity separates the particles further,
that is, the expands without appreciable
change in the pressure drop, until (E),
when the air velocity is sufficient to transport
the particles to the top of the bed.
1- Efficient heat and mass transfer give high drying rates, so that
drying times are shorter than with static-bed convection driers.
Economic, heat challenge to thermolabile materials is minimized.
2-The fluidized state of the bed ensures that drying occurs from
the surface of all the individual particles and not just from the
surface of the bed. Hence, most of the drying will be at constant
rate and the falling rate period is very short.
3-The temperature of a fluidized bed is uniform and can be
controlled precisely.
3-The turbulence in a fluidized bed causes some attrition to the
surface of the granule. This produces a more spherical freeflowing product.
5-The free movement of individual particles eliminates the risk of
soluble materials migrating, as may occur in static beds.
1- Conduction:
The transfer of heat from one part of a body to another, without
appreciable displacement of the particle is referred as conduction.
This mode of heat transfer is called molecular heat transfer,
because it involves the transfer of kinetic energy from one molecule
to the one adjacent to it, e.g. conduction of heat along the length of
a metal rod when one end is heated.
2- Convection:
The transfer of heat from one point to another in a body of fluid,
such as a liquid or a gas, by a mixing process, is referred to as
convection heat transfer .In most cases convection involves the
transfer of heat from a solid surface to the bulk of the fluid, the
change in heat induce a change in the density of the liquid e.g.
the conventional currents observed when water is heated in a glass
beaker.
3- Radiation:
The transfer of heat by radiant energy in the form of
electromagnetic waves, which travel in straight lines at the speed
of light, is referred to as radiation heat transfer. As a body is
heated, it emits radiant energy, e.g. sun and infrared heat lamps.
When this radiation strikes another body, portions may be reflected
Vacuum oven
Infrared heating has been used to dry wet granules, but it suffers
from the disadvantage that it is absorbed very quickly and does
not penetrate far into the wet mass.
The surface layers dry quickly and the absorption of further energy
then raises the temperature of the dry material to a high value. For
this reason infrared radiation is now seldom used as a heat source
in pharmaceutical manufacture.
2- The thermal efficiency is high, as the drier casing and the air
remain cool. Most of the microwave energy is absorbed by the
liquid in the wet material.