UNIT OPERATION II:

DRYING
DRYING- is the process of removing most, if not all
of the moisture (H2O) content of the material.
BONE DRY MATERIAL (bdm) – a material that is
absolutely dry that it does not contain any moisture.
WET MATERIAL – composed a bone dry material
plus the moisture content.
WEIGHT of WET MATERIAL – weight of bdm +
weight of H2O.
Percent moisture (% water) – an expression of the
H2O content of material. (wet material)
a.) % H2O (wet basis) = wt. of H2O in wet material / wt. of
wet material x 100%

b.) % H2O (dry basis) = wt. of H2O in wet material / wt. of

bdm in wet material x 100%

Process Equipment: Dryer or Oven

Process Streams:
1. Feed (F) – the wet material to be dried.
2. Dried Product (P) – the material that has been
dried w/ H2O or moisture; very much lower that
the feed.
3. Water Removed (W) = the moisture (H2O) that
was removed from the material.
W (water)

F (wet material) P (dried material)

DRYER
- Bdm - Bdm
- H2O - H2O (in small amount)

OMB: F = W + P
Bdm balance: bdm / F = bdm / P
GIVEN: wt. of bdm = 100 kg.
wt. of H2O = 10 kg.
wt. of wet material = wt. Of bdm + wt. Of H2O.
= 100 + 10 = 110 kg
Calculate the % moisture dry basis (% H2O dry basis).

% H2O dry basis = wt. of H2O / wt. of bdm x 100%

= 10/100 x 100% = 10% (db)

Calculate the % moisture wet basis (% H2O wet basis)
% H2O wet basis = wt. of H2O/(wt. of H2O + wt of bdm) x 100%

= 10/(10 + 100) x 100% = 9.1%

Sample Problem # 1
A batch of laundry weighing 350 kg contains 70 kg
of H2O. Express the moisture content in both wet
and dry basis.
Solution:
Wt. of wet laundry = wt. of dry laundry (bdm) + wt.
of H2O
350 kg = wt. of laundry + 70 kg.
Therefore: wt. of dry laundry = 350 – 70 = 280 kg
% H2O (wb) = 70 / 350 x 100% = 20%
% H2O (db) = 70 / 280 x 100% = 25%
 NOTE:
For a given wet material sample,
% H2O (db) > % H2O.

% H2O (wb) = 20% H2O = 20 kg H2O

/ 100 kg wet material

% H2O (db) = 25% H2O = 25 kg H2O

/ 100 kg bdm
Sample Problem # 2
3600 kg of a wet material containing 80% moisture, dry basis,
is dried such that 75% of its moisture content is removed.
Calculate the:
a.) weight of the H2O removed.
b.) weight of the dry product obtained
c.) percentage moisture, dry basis of the product.
W (75% of H2O |F)

F, wet material
DRYER P, dry product
Wt = 3600 kg - H2O
- 80% H2O - bdm
Solution : Basis ~ 3600 kg of wet material
80% H2O (db) = 80 kg H2O/100 kg bdm
Analysis of F:
H2O|F = [80 kg H2O/180 kg wm*] x 3600 kg wm
= 1600 kg H2O
Bdm|F = [100 kg bdm /180 kg wm] x 3600 kg wm
= 2000 kg bdm
a.) W = 75% of H2O|F = 0.75 (1600 kg H2O)
= 1200 kg H2O
b.) OMB: P = F – W
= 3600 – 1200 = 2400 kg.
c.) Analysis of P
H2O|P = 1600 – 1200 = 400 kg H2O
Bdm|P = Bdm|F = 2000 kg bdm
%H2O (db) = 400/2000 x100% = 20% Moist. (db)
*wet material
Sample Problem # 3
Soap bars for distribution to supermarkets
were left accidentally under the rain and thus
absorb some unwanted moisture. Analysis of the
wet soap bars must contain only a maximum of
5% H2O, once drying is required to meet
specifications. If the cost of drying is P2.00 per
kg of H2O removed, how much will it cost to
dry 20,000 pcs of wet soap bars 100 cm3 each?
(ρ = 1.026 g / cm3) 30% H2O and 70% bdm.
 W, H2O

F, wet soap bars P, dry soap bars

OVEN
20,000 pcs. 5% H2O
V = 100 cm3/pc 95% bdm
Ρ = 1.026 g/cm3
30% H2O; 70% bdm
Required: total drying cost
Solution: Basis ~ 20,000 pcs of wet soap bars.
F = V x no. of pcs x ρ
= 100 cm3/pc x 20,000 pcs x 1.026 g/cm3
x 1 kg/1000g
= 2,052 kg
Bdm balance: bdm|F = bdm|P
0.7 (2052) = 0.95 P
P = 1512 kg.
OMB: F = W + P; W = F – P
W = 2052 – 1512 = 540 kg H2O
Therefore:
Total drying cost = P2.00 / 1 kg H2O x
540 kg H2O
= P1,080.00
 Seatwork:

Wheat having 15.5% moisture have to be

dried to 4% moisture before storing in
grain silos. How many tons of fresh wheat
must be dried to fill a 200-ton silo?
 Homework:
a) Gold ore being mined in one of the mountains of
Benguet contains 250 grams gold per metric ton. What
is the weight percentage of gold in the ore? How
many tons of ore will give 100 lbs of gold?
b) A cook in an inter-island ship is wondering how to
prepare a batch of instant coffee with 5% sugar, 4%
coffee, 3% cream. He already has a 10-kg coffee
solution containing 6% coffee. How many kilograms
of sugar, cream and water must he add to his coffee
solution to attain the target proportions?
c) Salt cake with 89.4% salt is fed at a rate of 180 kg per
hour in a dryer. The outcome is totally dried salt.
Determine the weight of water removed and the weight
of the dried salt collected in one day of 8 hours
operation.
Salt cake with 89.4% salt is fed at a rate of 180 kg per
hour in a dryer. The outcome is dry salt with 5%
moisture. Determine the weight of water removed and the
weight of the dried salt collected in one day of 8 hours
operation.