Introduction
Flash drying and is also known as pneumatic drying
Convective drying
Gas–solid transport systems - characterized by
continuous convective heat and mass transfer
processes
Hot air - indirect heating or direct firing
Superheated steam – drying medium
large surface area for heat and mass transfer – high
drying rates - high drying capacity
10–500 mm - particulate size for drying
short contact time between the hot air and the
particulate materials - 0.5–10 s
Material temperature stays always low
drying - granular, crystalline, pasty, and powdery
products, etc.
Used in - chemical, pharmaceutical, ceramic, gypsum,
wood, and mining industries
Advantages - Flash drying
Short contact time
Possible to dry thermolabile materials
Very small area for installation
Drying - easy to control
Less moving parts
Maintenance cost is low
Capital costs are low
Simultaneous drying and transportation
Disadvantages – Flash drying
High efficiency of gas cleaning system
Powder emission – not suitable for toxic materials
Lumped materials difficult to disperse
Risk of fire and explosion
When recirculation is applied, not all material
particles have the same residence time
DESIGN OF FLASH DRYERS
The materials –different properties and each
product requires specific design solutions.
Design depends on
➢the initial and final moisture
➢temperature sensitivity,
➢size and shape of the particles
For design, we need to find
Dimensions of flash dryer
type and amount of drying agent
Requirement of energy supply
Inlet & outlet parameters of drying
medium & mtrl
temperature
Moisture content
velocity
Major components
Gas-heating unit
Wet feed section
Gas & particle separation section
the product collection system
Drying chamber
Feeding section
Feed system - supply the wet material -at the
required rate
Metering and feed elements
Mixing devices -wet product into the flash dryer
For free flowing powders
a screw feeder or a rotary valve
For Pasty or sticky materials
preconditioned - by blending - dried product using
single- or twin-shaft paddle blender
dispersed mechanically rotating disperser
1- wet feed
7- Disc feeder
6- dryer tube
Gas & particle separation section
Separation of gas and particle depends on
Material characteristics
Degree of separation
Concentration of solids
Moisture content of solids
Environmental regulations
Cost
Gravity separators
Different types of cyclones separators
Fabric filters
Wet scrubbers
Combination of any of the above separators
Optional
Rapid decrease of drying force – tube
Pipe design – such that – hot drying agent is
flowing leads to an increase of the driving
force
Increase the drying force - heat up the tube -
dryer through the wall.
To decrease the dryer height & increase the
drying time- mtrl - recirculated.
Recirculation
Solid particles- pass through vertical tube -
separated in the upper part of the dryer
Then fall down - directed to the second stage
I stage : Wet material - by a special feeding system
Each drying stage is equipped with its own heat
generator
II stage: drying agent from the second drying stage
is fed to I stage
Efficient - agent is superheated steam
Separation - cyclone separators
1- wet feed
2- metering
3- recirculated
material
4- mixer
5- sling
6- dryer tube
Second drying stage –cooling stage
Two-stage flash dryers - products difficult to
dry, e.g., for methylcellulose
two stage resistance time of the particles will
not be the same.
TWO STAGE PNEUMATIC DRYER WITH VAPOR
UTILIZATION
For longer resistance times the duct can be formed
into a continuous loop - ring dryers
material is re-circulated until it is dried
high-temperature short-time ring dryers
SPIN FLASH DRYER
SPIN FLASH DRYER
A rotor -to disperse the feed, which falls into the
agitated fluidized bed by gravity
Hot drying air enters tangentially and spirals
upward, carrying and drying the dispersed
particles
The exhaust air containing the dried powder is
entering into a separation device
separates the powder from the exhaust air
Heavier wet particles remain -longer time and are
broken up by the rotor
Suitable for (without the use of an atomizer)
drying sludge
pulps
pastes
filter cakes
High viscosity liquids
Care taken – avoid accumulation on walls
spin-flash dryer units are more expensive
Advantage of Superheated steam
as drying medium
Superheated steam as drying medium –
advantageous
No fire or explosion risk
higher efficiency
Normal air-drying units the latent heat in exhaust
gases is difficult to recover
Quality of the dried product in superheated steam
dryers - superior in comparison to air-drying units.
Limitations of Superheated steam
as drying medium
Using SH steam system and the operation -
more complex
The feeding and discharge process must not
allow infiltration of air
Start-up and shutdown processes are more
complex than for air dryers
MATERIALS DRIED IN FLASH
DRYERS
Flash dryers are suitable for drying
Granular
Powdery
Pasty
Crystalline products
Product with surface moisture
chemical, food, pharmaceutical, mining, ceramic, and
wood industries
FOOD PRODUCTS
Bone meal
bread crumbs
cornstarch
corn gluten
casein
gravy powder
soup powder
vegetable protein
spent tea
wheat starch
soybean protein
