DRYING OF SOLIDS IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS

Solids are dried in batch and in continuous fluidized beds corresponding to cross-flow and countercurrent flow of phases covering a wide range in drying conditions. Materials that essentially dry with constant drying rate and then give a falling drying rate approximately linear with respect to solids moisture content (sand) as well as those with an extensive falling rate period with the subsequent falling rate being a curve with respect to the moisture content (mustard, ragi, poppy seeds) are chosen for the study. The performance of the continuous fluidized bed driers is compared with that of batch fluidized bed driers; the performance is predicted using batch kinetics, the residence time distribution of solids, and the contact efficiency between the phases.