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Modeling and Simulation of a Co-Current Rotary Dryer

Under Steady Conditions
a a a a
Carlos A. Bustamante , Alan F. Hill , Daniel F. Rodríguez , Mauricio Giraldo & Whady F.
a
Flórez
a
Energy and Thermodynamics Group , Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana , Medellín ,
Colombia
Published online: 12 Feb 2014.

To cite this article: Carlos A. Bustamante , Alan F. Hill , Daniel F. Rodríguez , Mauricio Giraldo & Whady F. Flórez (2014)
Modeling and Simulation of a Co-Current Rotary Dryer Under Steady Conditions, Drying Technology: An International Journal,
32:4, 469-475, DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2013.838584

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 Drying Technology, 32: 469–475, 2014
Copyright © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0737-3937 print/1532-2300 online
DOI: 10.1080/07373937.2013.838584
Modeling and Simulation of a Co-Current Rotary Dryer
Under Steady Conditions
Carlos A. Bustamante, Alan F. Hill, Daniel F. Rodríguez, Mauricio Giraldo,
and Whady F. Flórez
Energy and Thermodynamics Group, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia
A model which joins the overall design algorithm of a
rotary dryer with the drying kinetics equations derived from
experimental data and with a finite segment algorithm is
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implemented in order to verify the dryer dimensions obtained
from a basic sizing procedure. Total energy and mass balances
and well-known correlations for the overall heat transfer
coefficient are employed to develop it. Moreover, a one-
dimensional finite segment model is solved to obtain the length
profiles of temperature and water content for the air and
solid phases. An experimental correlation for the mass transfer
coefficient between solid and air phases is included in the finite
segment model. The chosen heat transfer unit number for the
basic sizing is verified with the outlet temperature and water
content calculated by the finite segment scheme.
Keywords Basic sizing; Drying coupled model; Finite segment;
Heat transfer coefficient; Mass transfer coefficient;
Rotary dryer
INTRODUCTION
The main aim of this paper was to develop an overall
design method for a rotary dryer based on well-known
correlations, and to verify the overall dimensions first obtained
by using a finite segment mathematical model, which includes
a mass transfer coefficient calculated from experimental
drying kinetics data. Rotary dryers are one of the most
employed drying technologies and, in consequence, their
design, performance, modeling, and simulation have been
addressed by many authors.
1−4 Drying rates and heat transfer
coefficients have been empirically calculated using correlations
depending on the gas velocity and its potential to remove
water from the solid.
56 The accuracy of those correlations is
a crucial aspect when designing dryer equipment to fulfill the
requirements of new installations in an optimal way. Hence it
is relevant to compare the basic sizing obtained by means of
an overall design algorithm to a finite segment approach which
Correspondence: Carlos A. Bustamante, Energy and Thermo-
dynamics Group, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Circular 1 No.
73–34, Medellín, Colombia; E-mail: carlos.bustamante@upb.edu.co
469
considers mass and heat transfer between phases by employing
experimental drying kinetics.
The first works which address the mass and heat transfer
along a rotary dryer are done by Myklestad,
7 assuming a
linear trend of temperature, and later by Sharples et al.,
8 who
solve the four differential equations that describe temperature
and moisture behavior in the air and the solid phases. Based
on these works, many authors have developed models for
simulation of rotary dryers, such as Turner,
9 who uses mass
transfer coefficients to compute the water flux between phases
instead of employing relationships among the volumetric heat
transfer and the mass transport phenomena.
Recently, dynamic models have been applied to the rotary
dryer simulation based on the aforementioned developments.
Cao and Langrish
10 employ the characteristic drying curve
proposed by Keey
11 and the Nusselt number given by the
Ranz and Marshall correlation
12 to compute the mass and heat
transfer coefficients. Excellent results are obtained, since the
root mean square error is lower than 20% with respect to the
experimental data. In this direction, Iguaz et al.
1 split the dryer
in control volumes along its length where transient mass and
energy balances are defined for both phases. The variation of
temperatures and water contents along the dryer are estimated
by computing inlet and outlet flows in each control volume,
and heat and mass transfer are found from empirical models.
In addition, they perform steady and transient state simulations
for a pilot-scale rotary dryer which allow them to analyze
the influence of the variables involved in the dryer process,
such as the air flow rate. Rastikian et al.
3 employ heat and
mass transfer coefficients calculated from experimental drying
kinetic data to find temperature and water content length
profiles within the dryer. They use control volumes in a similar
way to Iguaz et al.
1 to compare numerical and experimental
results, showing the active and passive zones in the dryer,
which cannot be estimated by global design methods. Based
on analogous domain description, Soares et al.
2 develop a
mathematical model by computing the heat transfer coefficient
from the empirical expression proposed by McCormick
13 and
the mass transfer coefficient from experimental drying kinetics.
Despite the fact that temperature and water content length
 470 BUSTAMANTE ET AL.
profiles are not shown, they obtain excellent local results in
comparison to the experimental data.
More recently, Castaño et al.
14 simulate, by dividing the
dryer in finite segments along its length, the response of
the final gas temperature and moisture content to changes
in time of solid and fuel mass flow rates. The authors are
not focused on studying the variable behavior throughout the
dryer length, since the main aim of the paper is not to present
a design methodology but to develop a tool for simulating
the unsteady operation of existing rotary dryer equipment.
An unsteady mass and energy balance for modeling a rotary
dryer as a lumped parameter system (i.e., only considering
inlet and outlet variables) is employed by Cubillos et al.
15 in
order to implement a control strategy for an industrial-scale
rotary dryer. Again, they are not concerned about the variable
profiles inside the dryer but the final temperature and moisture
content as a function of the initial conditions. Moreover, it
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is worthwhile to mention the mainly experimental works of
Sai
16 and Ademiluyi et al.
17 whereby useful methodologies
are developed in order to obtain correlations for the solid
residence time and hold up,
16 and correlations for the heat
transfer coefficient and the total heat transferred during the
drying process of cassava.
17 Although these correlations are
obtained for specific dryers, useful information is given in
terms of the influence on rotary drying process of variables,
such as inlet air temperature, air velocity, drum rotational
speed, inclination, and solid mass flow rate. As stated before, in
the mentioned works no relationship between the basic sizing
and the length temperature and humidity profiles is established,
since the main goal is not to validate the design procedure
based on empirical equations as described by Krokida et al.
4
As previously mentioned, it is very important to find
an experimental correlation to calculate the drying rate at
different temperatures. The above correlation allows the
verification such that the overall heat transfer coefficient
properly predicts the required dryer volume to achieve the
outlet temperature and humidity. In this sense, the success
of an initial dryer basic design must be coupled and agree
with the experimental correlation data that can be escalated
to other conditions. As mentioned earlier, the literature shows
that authors separately address overall design methodologies,
drying kinetics correlations, and numerical solutions of the
differential conservation equations which govern the drying
process. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of them
verify the overall methodologies in order to satisfy numerical
results and experimental drying kinetics data.
The novelty in the present work lies in the fact that it
conjugates and joins the overall design methodology with the
drying kinetics data and the finite segment method with the
aim of verifying that the basic dimensions obtained allows
achieving the conditions at the end of the process. This paper
provides, to the scientific community, a tool to accurately
calculate the basic sizing of a rotary dryer by following an
iterative process for checking the dimensions obtained by the
overall design algorithm.
First in this paper, the total heat and mass balance equations
for a rotary dryer are described. Then, the overall sizing
algorithm is explained and the design criteria are discussed.
Afterwards, the finite segment approach equations for the air
and the solid phases are obtained and the expressions for the
heat and mass transfer coefficients are presented. In the last
section, the empirical dryer sizing results are shown as well
as the temperature and humidity rotary dryer length profiles.
Finally, the outlet solid and air water content and temperatures
found by the finite segment model are used to verify the overall
design algorithm.
OVERALL DESIGN OF A CO-CURRENT
ROTARY DRYER
The overall design of a rotary dryer is based on well-known
empirical formulae whose constants are fixed according to
material properties and process conditions. The main goal is to
compute the characteristic dimensions of the dryer regarding
the global energy and mass flows required to achieve the final
water content in the product.
The overall water mass balance for the rotary dryer can
be expressed as (1), where the moisture content at the
beginning and at the end of the process (X1 and X2  and
the dry solid mass flow (mds  are known from the process
requirements. The air humidity ratio (1 ) is calculated from the
environmental conditions by considering the air pre-heating
process at constant humidity. The entrance air temperature is
fixed according to product characteristics, process needs, and
security considerations.
51819
mda 1 + mds X1 = mda 2 + mds X2 (1)
The energy balance is given by Eq. (2) in terms of the air
and solid enthalpies (ha and hs ) as well as the heat losses
(Ql ), which are calculated as a fraction of the air thermal
energy at the entrance. Enthalpies are linked to air and solid
temperatures, solid moisture, and air humidity ratio by the
thermodynamics relationships given by Eqs. (20) and (21).
mda ha1 + mds hs1 = mda ha2 + mds hs2 + Ql (2)
Equations (1) and (2) can be solved for the dry air mass flow
rate (mda ), the air humidity ratio (2 ), and the temperature
at the end of the dryer (T2 ) by introducing the heat transfer
unit number (NT ). The NT value is set between 1.5 and 2.5
for rotary dryers
6 and it is computed by using the following
expression
Ta − Tb
NT =  (3)
Tlm
where
T1 − Tb1  − T2 − Tb2 
Tlm =
 (4)
T1 − Tb1 
Ln
T2 − Tb2 
 CO-CURRENT ROTARY DRYER 471

The wet bulb temperature (Tb ) is expressed in terms of the speed, which is suggested by Nonhebel and Moss
18 and the
air temperature (Ta ) and its humidity ratio () by means of particle diameter of the material can be obtained from the
Eq. (5).
20 The air saturation humidity ratio (s ), its saturation experimental particle size distribution.
enthalpy (hs , and the liquid water enthalpy (hw  are known
functions of Tb . Therefore, Tb can be calculated by solving Vf s

r = (9)
Eq. (5) for given Ta and  values. ms
023L BLG
ha + s − hw = hs (5)
r = − 06 (10)
Si N 09 D F
Once the unknown quantities (T2 , mda and 2  are obtained
where
from the mass and energy balances, it is possible to compute
the main dryer dimensions. The transferred energy from the air B = 5Dp −05  (11)
to the solid is quantified according to the following equation:

QT = ṁds
X1 − X2 
@TW + Cpw Tw − Ts1  FINITE SEGMENT MODEL

The finite segment model is proposed under the following
+Cps hs2 − hs1  (6) assumptions: steady-state conditions; the properties’ variations
along the radial and tangential directions are negligible; the
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The procedure used to calculate the diameter, the length, and

phases are moving in co-current flow with constant velocity
the inclination of the dryer is described below. The sizing
along the dyer; the system is working at atmospheric pressure
of the dryer is based on Eq. (7), which is the relationship among
and the specific heat and density of the dry solid are considered
the total heat transferred (QT , the dryer volume (V , and
constant along the dryer as well as the particle diameter. Hence,
the logarithmic mean temperature difference (Eq. (4)). Those
the rotary dryer length found with the overall algorithm is
quantities are linked by the overall heat transfer coefficient
divided into finite segments which enclose the gaseous (air)
(U  and the interfacial area between the air and the material
and the solid phases as separated systems. The schematic view
per volume unit of dryer (a. Their product (Ua) is known as
of a dryer finite segment regarding the mass and energy fluxes
the volumetric heat transfer coefficient.
and each phase properties is presented in Fig. 1, where L
QT = UaVTlm (7) is the dryer length divided by an arbitrary integer number of
segments.
From experiments on rotary dryers, several empiric equations The water balance for the solid and the gaseous (air) phases
have been proposed to relate the volumetric heat transfer to in a typical segment are described by Eqs. (12) and (13), where
the air mass flow rate and the dryer diameter.
71321−23 The the solid total superficial area in the segment and the water
model stated by McCormick
13 (Eq. (8)) has been widely used mass flux are denoted as At and Rw , respectively. The water
in rotary dryers’ design
24 where G is the air mass flux, D mass flux, which is mainly a function of the air temperature
the dryer diameter, and k and n are constants that depend on (Ta  and the solid moisture content (X, is determined from the
the number of flights,
21 size of flights, and the hold-up.
5 available experimental data, as explained in the next section.
However, in the present design, k and n are set according to
the typical values found in the literature.
131924
kGn
Ua = (8)
D
The dryer length and diameter can be obtained from Eqs. (7)
and (8) by fixing the L/D ratio within the range suggested
by Perry et al.
24 The obtained dimensions and air mass flux
are checked by comparing to those reported in the literature.
4
In addition, the air velocity is limited by the particle terminal
velocity, which is calculated as a function of the average
material density ( p ) and the particle diameter.
1825
Finally, the residence time is found by Eq. (9), where the
hold-up (f  is set according to experimental measurements.
5
The inclination angle (Si  is calculated by the empirical
equation (10) reported in the literature.
2426 If the obtained
inclination angle is in the reference interval,
18 the residence
time is considered suitable. The dryer rotational speed (N 
is computed based on a recommended value of the perimeter FIG. 1. Scheme of a finite segment of the co-current rotary dryer.
1
 472 BUSTAMANTE ET AL.

The segment water mass flux is calculated as a function of the Expression (21) is used to compute the enthalpy of the solid
average property values (Tai−1/2 , Xi−1/2 . phase.
 
mds Xi−1 − mds Xi = At Rw Ta i−1   X i−1 
2 2
 
mda i−1 − mda i = −At Rw Ta i−1   X i−1 
2 2
The energy balances for the solid and the gaseous phases in
each segment are expressed by Eqs. (14) and (15), respectively.
The convective heat flux (q from the air to the solid
phase is calculated by using the average properties (Tai−1/2 ,
Tsi−1/2  and the convective heat transfer coefficient (h. The
calculation of this coefficient is detailed in the next section.
As in the global energy balance, the heat losses (Ql  to the
surrounding environment are estimated as a fraction of the air
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ha = Cpa Ta − Tref  + ref + Cp Ta − Tref  (20)
(12)
hs = Cps + XCpw Ts − Tref 
(21)
(13)
When L approaches zero, the proposed equation system is
equivalent to the differential equation set presented in
5 . The
resulting nonlinear equations system from applying expressions
(16)–(19) to each finite segment is solved by means of
the homotopy continuation method proposed by Seader and
Wayburn
27 and Henao.
28
By using the finite segment method, an iterative
methodology must be performed whereby the overall sizing
satisfies the experimental kinetic data that can provide the inlet
and outlet flow conditions (moisture and temperature). For
a better understanding, the mentioned iterative procedure is

enthalpy change in each segment.

described as follows: first, the dryer length and diameter are
 
mds hsi−1 − mds hsi = −At q h Ta i−1   Ts i−1  found by employing the overall design algorithm presented in
2 2 the second section; then, the finite segment equations (16)–(19)
 
+ At Rw Ta i−1   X i−1  Tw  (14) are solved in order to obtain the temperature and moisture
2 2 content for air and solid phases along the dryer; and finally, the
 
mda hai−1 − mda hai = +At q h Ta i−1   Ts i−1  outlet air and solid temperatures and moistures are checked to
2 2 be close to the process requirement values. If they are almost
 
− At Rw Ta i−1   X i−1  the same, the basic dimensions are correct. If not, the heat
2 2 transfer unit number or the length-diameter radio must be
× Tw  + Ql (15) modified in order to find new basic dimensions with the overall
design algorithm.
The final equation system (16)–(19) is obtained after dividing
equations from (12) to (15) by the segment volume (V), HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
and after defining the interfacial area per dryer volume as The heat and mass transfer phenomena involved in the
a = At /V and the volume as V = SL, where S is the drying process are modelled by empirical equations and
dryer transversal area. available experimental data. The required energy for the drying
  process is transferred from the drying agent to the wet solid by
Xi−1 − Xi SaRw Ta i−1   X i−1  heat convection. Thus, the moisture content on the wet particle
=−
2 2
(16) surface is transferred to the air mainly by evaporation and
L mds mass convection transport. These are the mechanisms which
 
characterize the first drying period in which the water mass flow
i−1 − i SaR w T i−1
a 2   X i−1
 2
=− (17) rate is almost constant. At the end of this stage, the superficial
L mda moisture decreases and the internal mass diffusion becomes
the predominant mass transfer mechanism. Hence, the moisture
transfer rate starts decreasing. This stage is known as the second
hsi−1 − hsi
drying period.
L
      From convective drying experiments, it is possible to
Sa q h Ta i−1  Ts i−1 − Rw Ta i−1  X i−1 Tw  obtain the moisture rate transfer (Rw  in terms of the process
=−
2 2 2 2
(18) variables such as air temperature, relative humidity, and
mds
velocity. Commonly, the expression for moisture transfer rate
hai−1 − hai
is defined by computing the temporal derivative of the moisture
L
     content and by doing a multiple variable regression.
142930 In
Sa q h Ta i−1  Ts i−1 −Rw Ta i−1  X i−1 Tw  +Ql general, the water flux rate (Rw  should be approximated by
=
2 2 2 2
(19) the correlation which fits the experimental data with the highest
mda
correlation index and relates all the relevant variables.
The thermodynamic relationship between the air enthalpy and In the present work, the drying rate expression is obtained
the air temperature and humidity ratio is given by Eq. (20). experimentally in terms of the air temperature and the solid
 CO-CURRENT ROTARY DRYER 473

moisture content data for a material in which its drying kinetics TABLE 1
data is available. In this case, the best correlation (i.e., the one Input data for the global mass and energy balances of
with the highest correlation index) is the following polynomial the rotary drying
equation
Type Parameter Units Value
RW = a3 T  · X 3 + a2 T  · X 2 + a1 T  · X (22)
Requirement X1 kg water/kg 0.42
where the coefficients ai are polynomial functions of air dry solid
temperature defined as X2 kg water/kg 0.17
dry solid
ai = b2i · T 2 + b1i · T + b0i  (23) mds kg dry solid/h 8225.00
On the other hand, the convective heat transfer flux (q is Design conditions 1 kg water/kg 0.08
computed by the following expression dry air


T1 C 400.00
q = hc Ta − Ts  (24) NT − 2.00
with the convective heat transfer coefficient (hc  obtained from
Eq. (28) in terms of the volumetric heat transfer coefficient Ua TABLE 2
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r s
employed in the overall design algorithm (Eq. (8)) and the ratio Global mass and energy balance results
between the total particle surface area and the dryer volume a.
Parameter Units Value
Ua
hc =  (25) T2

C 105.00
a
2 kg water/kg dry air 0.15
The coefficient hc is set as a constant along the dryer, since mda kg dry air/h 20250.00
its variation is not meaningful for the temperature range of
operation regardless of the correlation employed. For instance,
a variation of 7% is obtained by using the correlations reported
It is necessary to fix the length to diameter ratio (L/D and the
by Mujumdar
5 for rotary dryers with Reynolds number from
solid hold-up (f  as well. Reference values for these parameters
10 to 300, which is the valid range for the present design.
can be found in the literature,
41824 in this case L/D = 8 and
f = 01. After checking that all design criteria are satisfied, the
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
dimensions and the other characteristics reported in Table 3 are
In the first part of this section, the dryer dimensions obtained
obtained.
by the overall design algorithm (section 2) are presented.
The above results are calculated by employing empiric
Afterwards, the dimensions are verified by solving the resulting
relationships among total variables and, as a consequence, no
equation system of dividing the dryer in finite segments
information about temperature and water content along the
according to the methodology shown in section 3.
dryer is known. Hence, having more realistic results implies
a detailed description of the transfer phenomena involved in
Overall Dryer Design
the dryer process and the solution of the related mathematical
The input data for the overall design algorithm are split into
model.
dryer requirements and design conditions. Dryer requirements
are the input and output solid moisture content (X1 and X2 
Local Verification
and the dry solid mass flow rate (mds . The design conditions
are the temperature and the humidity of the gaseous drying The dryer dimensions, the material drying kinetics, and
agent (air) at the entrance (T1 and 1 ) and the heat transfer unit the heat transfer coefficient have to be provided to solve the
number (NT . The input parameter values presented in Table 1 local balances presented in section 3. In this case, the dryer is
are fixed according to the drying requirements and the material
characteristics.
TABLE 3
With the above data, the dry mass flow rate (mda  of the
Dryer sizing results
drying agent, its output temperature (T2  and humidity ratio (2 )
are calculated employing the total energy and mass balances Characteristic Units Value
equations. The calculated values are presented in Table 2. With
the data from Tables 1 and 2, the net heat transferred in the L m 23
drying process (QT  is calculated by using Eq. (6). D m 2.9
The sizing of the dryer is done by following the algorithm
90
explained in section 2 with the net heat value QT as an input. Si cm/m 0.8
 474
FIG. 2. Air and solid water content along the dryer.
Downloaded by [Universidad de Sevilla] at 03:43 27 October 2014
discretized in 10 finite segments. The boundary conditions are
given by the air and solid properties at the inlet; i.e., temperature
and water content.
The length profiles of temperature and humidity content for
solid and gaseous phases are found after solving the nonlinear
equation system arising from the finite segments discretization
of the dryer. The water content profiles obtained are presented
in Fig. 2. As the material particles are flowing through the
dryer, their water content flows by diffusion from the interior
of each particle towards the surface, where it evaporates and
is transferred to the air by convection. Hence, the solid water
content decreases with higher gradient at the beginning of the
process, where diffusional mass transfer through the particles
does not control the surface water evaporation, and the air
relative humidity is lower than downwards, demonstrating that
the water lost by the material is gained by the air.
Due to the temperature difference between phases, heat
is transferred to the solid promoting water evaporation.
FIG. 3. Air and solid temperature along the dryer.
BUSTAMANTE ET AL.
Nevertheless, an amount of that energy is required to heat
the material and the water in it until the system reaches the
wet bulb temperature, the temperature at which the drying
process is carried out. This effect is shown in Fig. 3, where
an increase in temperature happens at the first 10 meters
of the dryer before reaching an almost constant value. The
air temperature decreases along the dryer, mostly because of
the energy required for evaporation, but also due to the heat
transferred to the material to increase its temperature up to the
wet bulb value and to the heat lost through the dryer shell.
No outlet boundary conditions are specified since the
governing ordinary differential equations are of first order. The
results presented in Figs. 2 and 3 can be used to verify the dryer
sizing by comparing the temperature and the humidity content at
the dryer outlet to the values obtained with the global balances.
As a consequence, the attained profiles verify that the computed
size of the dryer is appropriate for the process needs since the
variable values are near to the ones employed in the overall
algorithm.
CONCLUSION
A finite segment discretization method was developed to
verify the sizing of a co-current rotary dryer for a material
with available experimental drying kinetics. The sizing is made
based on the process requirements (material water content
and mass flow rate), mass and energy total balances, and an
empirical correlation for the volumetric heat transfer coefficient
frequently used to design rotary dryers. The computed diameter
and length are inputs for the finite segment model, which is
obtained after performing energy and mass local balances for
the gaseous (air) and the solid phases in discrete segments along
the dryer. Experimental drying kinetics data and a constant
volumetric heat transfer coefficient are used to calculate mass
and energy transport through the air solid interphase. The
presented methodology allows the achievement of a proper
design of a rotary dryer since both the global and the local
balances as well as the experimental drying kinetics are
considered. This model can predict the behavior of the humidity
and the temperature profiles along the drying equipment,
which satisfies the final conditions of the solid product on the
basis of the overall sizing calculations. The above fact also
allows the improvement of the dryer operation by measuring
temperatures and moisture contents along the equipment length.
Therefore, the methodology presented is a useful strategy to
verify the dryer dimensions obtained by employing global
design algorithms.
NOMENCLATURE
a: Interfacial area between the air and the material
per volume unit of the dryer, m2 /m3
At : Solid total superficial area, m2
Cp : Specific heat, kJ/kg K
Dp Particle diameter, m
D: Dryer diameter, m
f: Solid hold-up
 CO-CURRENT ROTARY DRYER 475

G: Air mass flux, kg/m2 s 4. Krokida, M.K.; Maroulis, Z.B.; Kremali, C. Process design of rotary dryer
for olive cake. Drying Technology 2002, 20(4&5), 771–788.
hc : Convective heat transfer coefficient, kW/m3 K
5. Mujumdar, A. Handbook of Industrial Drying; Taylor & Francis Group:
h: Enthalpy, kW New York, 2006.
k: Constant of Eq. (8) 6. McCabe, W.L.; Smith, J.C.; Harriot, P. Operaciones Unitarias en
L: Dryer length, m Ingeniería Química; McGraw-Hill: Madrid, 1991.
mda : Dry air mass flow rate, kg/s 7. Myklestad, O. Heat and mass transfer in rotary dryers. Chemical
mds : Dry solid mass flow rate, kg/s Engineering Progress Symposium Series 1963, 59(41), 129–137.
8. Sharples, K.; Glikin, P.G.; Warne, R. Computer simulation of rotary
n: Constant of Eq. (8) dryers. Transactions of the Institute of Chemical Engineers 1964(42),
N: Dryer rotational speed, rpm T275–T284.
q: Convective heat flux, kW 9. Turner, G.A. The thermal history of a granule in a rotary cooler. Canadian
Qt : Heat losses, kW Journal of Chemical Engineering 1966, 44(1), 13–16.
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FUNDING
The present work is supported by COLCIENCIAS and
Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) as part of the funding
provided to the project Energetic Assessment of the San
Fernando Plant Bio-solids, which has been developed by a
consortium of local academic institutions and the public utility
company EPM, known as the Energy Research and Innovation
Centre (CIIEN).
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