DRYING
ANIL JINDAL, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)
BITS Pilani Pilani Campus, Pilani-333031
Pilani Campus
[Link]@[Link]
DEFINATION
Removal of a liquid from a material by the
application of heat, and is accomplished by the
transfer of a liquid from a surface into an
unsaturated vapor phase.
Non-thermal methods of drying
• Expression of a solid to remove liquid
• The extraction of liquid from a solid by use of a solvent
• The adsorption of water from a solvent by the use of
desiccants
• The absorption of moisture from gases by passage through a
sulfuric acid column
• Desiccation of a moisture from a solid by placing it in a
sealed container in a moisture removing material
Application
• Preparation of granules
• Processing of materials e.g. preparation of dried aluminum
hydroxide, spray drying of lactose, preparation of
powdered extract
• To reduce the bulk weight
• Preservation of animal and vegetable drugs
• To make the material suitable for milling
• To improve the stability of the product
Psychrometry
• Vapor carrying capacity of the air passing over
the drying material
• Determination of the vapor concentration and
carrying capacity of the air is termed a
psychrometry
• Concentrationn of the water vapour in the gas is
termed as humidity of the gas
Psychrometry Chart
• Graphic representation of the relationship
between the temperature and humidity of air-
water vapour system at constant pressure
Psychrometry Chart
• Saturation humidity: curve CDE
• Dew point: Point C
• Percent relative humidity
• Wet bulb temperature
• Dry bulb temperature
Drying of solids
• Loss on drying
• Moisture content
Drying of solids
Classification of dryer
Method of solid handling during drying
Major criteria: presence or absence of agitation
• Static bed dryer
• Moving bed dryer
• Fluidized bed dryer
• Pneumatic bed dryer
Static bed dryer
TRAY DRYER
Tunnel and conveyor dryer
Tunnel dryer: Trucks are moved progressively through the
drying tunnel by a moving chain- Semi continuous
Conveyor dryer: An endless belt or screen carriers the wet
material through the drying tunnel.- Continuous
Fluidized bed dryer
PROCESS VARIABLES
Process-Related Variables
Process inlet-air temperature
Atomization-air pressure
Fluidization-air velocity and volume
Liquid spray rate
Nozzle position and number of spray heads
Product and exhaust-air temperature
Filter porosity and cleaning frequency
Bowl capacity.
Department of Pharmaceutics 16
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Moving bed dryer
Turbo tray dryer
Series of rotating trays,
arranged in vertical stack
Heated air is circulated over
the trays by fans
Wet fed through the roof of
the dryer and leveled by the
stationary wiper
Pneumatic dryer
Spray dryer
Can handle only fluid materials like solution,
slurries and thin pastes.
Spray dried material consist of intact spheres,
sphere with buds, ruptured hollow sphere or
sphere fragments
Spray dryer
Components
• Feed delivery system
• Atomizer heated air supply
• Drying chamber
• Solids gas separator
• Product collector system
Spray dryer
Applications
• Drying of heat sensitive materials
• Changing the physical form of materials for use in
tablet and capsule manufacture
• Encapsulating solid and liquid particles
Spray dryer
Advantages
• Can be used for heat sensitive products
• Powder with uniform and controllable
particle size
• Improved flow properties of the powders
Spray dryer
Disadvantages
• Equipment is very bulky and costly
• Thermal efficiency is low
Drum dryer
Drum dryer is used for the drying of dilute solutions
Drum dryer
• The method gives rapid drying
• The equipment is compact
• Heating time is short
• Product is obtained in flake form which is
convenient for many purposes
Drum dryer
Factor affecting operation
• Feed rate
• Film thickness
• Speed of rotation and
• temperature differences
Drum dryer
Applications
• Milk products
• Starch products
• Ferrous salts
• Suspension of kaolin or zinc salt
FREEZE DRYING
• Suitable for heat sensitive, moisture sensitive
and oxygen sensitive materials
• Used for drying of blood serum, plasma,
antibiotics, hormones, vaccines and bacterial
cultures
FREEZE DRYING
FREEZE DRYING
Components
• A chamber for vacuum drying
• A vacuum source
• A heat source
• A vapor removal system
FREEZE DRYING
Advantages
• Decomposition is minimum
• Light and porous product
• Highly soluble product
Disadvantages
• Very hygroscopic product
• Process is very slow, very expensive
A tunnel dryer is being designed for drying apple halves from the initial
moisture content of 70% (wet basis) to a final moisture content of 5%
(wet basis). An experimental drying curve for the product indicates that
the critical moisture content is 25% (wet basis) and the time for constant
drying is 5 min. Based on the information provided, estimate the total
drying time for the product.
A sheet of material, initially containing 45% of moisture was being dried. In 1 hour its
moisture content was came down to 10% which is the critical moisture content. In
the next 1 hour, the moisture content fell to 5%. Estimate how much more time is
needed to dry the material to a moisture content of 1.5%. Assume that the EMC of
the material is zero.
