Brazilian Journal

of Chemical ISSN 0104-6632

Engineering Printed in Brazil
www.abeq.org.br/bjche

Vol. 24, No. 01, pp. 95 - 100, January - March, 2007

DRYING IN THE ROTATING-PULSED

FLUIDIZED BED
M. C. B. Ambrosio-Ugri1* and O. P. Taranto2
1
Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade Estadual de Maringá,
UEM, Maringá - PR, Brazil.
E-mail: miriamugri@uol.com.br
2
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, UNICAMP, Faculdade de Engenharia Química,
Departamento de Termofluidodinâmica, Cx. P. 6066,
CEP: 13083-970, Campinas - SP, Brazil.
E-mail: val@feq.unicamp.br

(Received: March 28, 2005 ; Accepted: December 19, 2006)

Abstract - There are particulate materials that are cohesive when wet. Although they are Geldart’s group A
dry powders, they show difficulties in fluidizing in a conventional fluidized bed, which could be diminished
by modifying the fluidization equipment. Therefore, the objective of this work was to study the drying of
cohesive particulate material using a rotating-pulsed fluidized bed. The material used in the drying study was
2-hydroxybenzoic acid because its cohesive forces are stronger when wet. The drying experiments were
carried out according to the following parameters: frequency of disk (5 and 15 Hz), initial moisture content of
the material (high and low) and gas temperature at 85°C. From the drying kinetic curves and visual
observations during the experiments, it could be concluded that the rotating-pulsed fluidized bed is an
alternative for the processing of cohesive solids that preserves the final quality of the dry solids.
Keywords: Drying; Fluidized bed; Particulate material.

INTRODUCTION moisture content and also for materials which do not

contain this type of moisture. The scientific literature
The chemical industry uses the thorough is also limited and more research is necessary to
fluidization of particulate materials with a gas stream discover the real advantages and disadvantages of
because it offers high rates of heat and mass transfer pulsofluidized bed equipment.
between the gas and solid phases. In addition to the Pulsation of the gas current offers advantages
technological and economic advantages of using a over the conventional fluidized bed, especially due to
fluidized bed, the increase in the active surface of the a considerable reduction in the gas flow. Industrial-
solids, the rapid movement of solid particles in the scale studies using the pulsed fluidized bed showed
contact areas, its use in continuous processes and the an energy savings greater than 50% (Jezowska,
possibility of automating the process can also be 1993).
mentioned. In the rotating-pulsed fluidized bed, the
According to Strumillo and Kudra (1986), dryers multiorifice gas distributors are divided into two
with gas stream pulsation are called pulsofluidized independent elements: a conventional multiorifice
bed dryers. As the vibrations caused by them affect gas distributor for static bed support and a flat
the drying process, fluidization of the material is rotating disk, which periodically distributes the gas
easier and the structure of the bed is improved. They over the cross-sectional area of the supported plate.
can be used for materials with a high unbound When the rotating disk is fixed, one or more spouts

*To whom correspondence should be addressed

96 M. C. B. Ambrosio-Ugri and O. P. Taranto

are formed – depending on the number of holes – Jinescu et al. (2000) studied the process of drying
and the process behaves as a spouted bed. When the powdered biomaterials, and they verified an
rotation velocity of the disk is low, the spouts rotate intensification of the fluidization process due to
and between them there are areas of fixed bed. When pulsation of the gaseous stream. A decrease in
the rotation velocity of the disk is high, the total pressure drop and in minimum fluidization velocity
system is fluidized as a conventional fluidized bed with the increase in disk rotation frequency was
(Elenkov and Djurkov, 1992). observed as well as the energy contribution of the
The main advantage of the rotating-pulsed pulses to the decrease in interparticle forces.
fluidized bed over the spouted bed and the The objective of this work was to study the
conventional fluidized bed is that in the whole area drying of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid in a rotating-pulsed
of the bed the gas in the holes of the rotating disk fluidized bed (RPFB). The drying experiments were
reaches high speeds. In this case areas with a low conducted for two different frequencies of the
filtration of the gas through the bed do not exist. A rotating disk (responsible for the pulsation effect),
high disk rotation speed produces an internal and two values of initial moisture content of the solid and
uniform movement of the particles inside the bed a constant inlet air temperature of 85°C.
(Elenkov and Djurkov, 1992).
The pulsed fluidized bed creates new perspectives
for the drying of granular materials of different MATERIAL AND METHODS
types, as studied by Blacha-Jurkiewicz et al. (1987)
and Gawrzynski et al. (1989). In these studies it can Material
be observed that batch drying in a pulsed fluidized
bed is characterized by the uniform distribution of The material used in the drying study in the
moisture throughout the whole solid mass being rotating-pulsed fluidized bed (RPFB) was 2-
processed with a considerable reduction in the hydroxybenzoic acid, which is obtained as white
consumption of gas. crystals and fine needles or fluffy white crystalline
The rotating-pulsed fluidized bed can be applied powder. This material has been used in the paints,
in the drying of crystalline products that have the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and perfume industries,
capacity to aggregate and stick together (crystal among others.
sugar, sea salt, etc) as well as high-moisture In Table 1 the solids properties that were very
biological products (wet-separated sesame and important for this work (Kirk-Othmer, 1982) are
sunflower seeds, cocoa, etc) (Djurkov, 1998; shown.
Gawrzynski and Glaser, 1996; Elenkov and Djurkov, In spite of belonging to Group A dry powders,
1992). according to Geldart’s classification (Geldart, 1986),
Gawrzynski et al. (1996) studied the drying of preliminary tests showed that this solid shows
crystal sugar and they observed that the pulsation of difficulties in fluidizing in a conventional fluidized
hot air caused fluidization of the bed, providing an bed (CFB) due to its cohesiveness when wet. In
intense mixing of the solids and the development of addition, channeling occurred when the gas flowed
an interfacial area that improved the drying process. through the bed, lowering the quality of fluidization.

Table 1: Properties of the solids

d p (µm) Ts (°C) ρs (g/cm3)

80 76 1.443

The Rotating-Pulsed Fluidized Bed Dryer (RPFB circle with 60º angle – through which the gas passes.
Dryer) As the disk rotates, the gas is alternately distributed
between the sections of the drying chamber, which
The main difference between a rotating-pulsed causes the pulsation effect.
fluidized bed dryer and a conventional fluidized bed The experimental apparatus used in this work is
dryer is the gas distribution system. The distribution shown schematically in Figure 1.
of air is possible due to a disk installed upstream of The experimental system has as its main elements
the drying chamber. This disk has an opening – a a stainless steel cylindrical bed with an internal

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Drying in the Rotating-Pulsed Fluidized Bed 97

diameter of 14.3 cm and a height of 70 cm, which is the The multiorifice gas distributor (15), located in
drying chamber (7); a system of pulsed air distribution the lower part of the cylinder, is divided into two
(5, 6 and 15); and a blower (1) that feeds the bed with parts, both of stainless steel: a perforated distributor
air. As the drying gas used is air with a variable relative plate to support the bed of particles and to distribute
humidity, a bed of silica gel is introduced into the the gas uniformly and a flat rotating disk with an
feeding line (3) with the objective of removing the opening of 60°,, coupled to the axis of the motor (6),
moisture from the air. In the electric heater (4), the air which periodically distributes the gas over the cross-
is heated up to the desired temperature. sectional area of the supported plate.

1. blower
2. air cooler
3. sílica gel bed
4. electrical heater
5. electrical motor
6. axis of the motor
7. cylindrical bed
8. temperature indicator
9. U tube manometer
10. sampler
11. cyclone
12. globe valve
13. orifica plate
14. static pressure
15. perfurated plate + rotative disk

Figure 1: A schematic diagram of the drying system

Drying Experiments according to the lot used.

The solids mass used (900 g) in the drying study
In this study, the effect of frequency of pulsation in the RPFB was defined based on a fluid dynamic
and of initial moisture content of the solid, maintaining study conducted for the same dry material, as
the temperature of the drying gas constant, were described in Ugri (2003).
analyzed. The combination of variables used in each For the construction of the drying kinetics curves,
experimental run are listed in Table 2. samples were taken every 2 minutes at the beginning
The airflow used in the experiments was about of then at drying and ten-minute intervals, starting at
1.40 m/s, based on fluid dynamic studies of the same 15 minutes and continuing until the end of the
dry material, as described in Ugri (2003), and experiment at about 1h 20min.
assuming vg ≈ 3* vpmf. Each sample removed was analyzed by the Karl-
The initial moisture content (Xi) of the material Fischer method to determine the moisture content at
was classified as high (6.5-10.0 % d.b.) and low (3.5- each point in the experiment (Ugri, 2003). After
5.5 % d.b.) for the two different lots. The value of Xi obtaining the value for moisture content, the curve
for each experimental run was also defined X/X0 versus t was traced for each experiment.

Table 2: Operational parameters

Experimental run Xi (% d.b.) frotation (Hz) Tgas (°C)

1 9.61 5 85
2 3.72 15 85
3 10.0 15 85
4 4.52 5 85

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 24, No. 01, pp. 95 - 100, January - March, 2007
98 M. C. B. Ambrosio-Ugri and O. P. Taranto

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION drying time during the constant rate period, because
the larger the Xi of the solid studied, the longer the
The curves obtained for the drying kinetics of 2- drying constant rate period.
hydroxybenzoic acid in the rotating-pulsed fluidized The effect of frotation on the drying curves,
bed (RPFB) are shown in Figures 2 and 3 for the maintaining the values of Tgas, Xi and vgas constant, is
experiments where the initial moisture content (Xi) shown in Figures 4 and 5.
varied and Tgas, frotation and vgas were maintained Analyzing Figure 4 it can be observed that the
constant The drying curves show two drying periods, drying curve profiles were close when Xi (high
a constant rate period and a falling rate period, and moisture content) was maintained approximately
most of the moisture was removed from the solid constant and the value of frotation varied and the
during the constant rate period, which was the constant drying rate period for a frotation of 15 Hz
predominant period during the drying process. ended slightly before the experiment carried out for a
In Figure 2 the two experiments carried out with frotation of 5 Hz.
the smallest frotation, 5 Hz, under the process In Figure 4, the value of the constant drying rate
conditions described in Table 2 are shown. In this period for experimental run 3 was longer than the
figure it can be observed that the value of Xi had an value obtained for experimental run 1; this ocurred
effect on drying time, since the larger the value of Xi, because a higher rotation frequency facilitates the
the longer the drying constant rate period, about 20 movement of the particles and improves the change
minutes. in heat and mass during the drying process.
Figure 3 contains the drying curves obtained for In Figure 5 the behavior for low values of Xi, is
the largest frotaion value (15 Hz) and for the process the same as that in the results presented in Figure 4.
conditions described in Table 2. The results obtained In Figure 5 it should be observed that the constant
show the same behavior as that shown in Figure 2, drying rate period for the experiment with a frotaion of
since for the highest value of Xi the constant rate 15 Hz was much longer than that found in the
period was the longest, about 20 minutes. experiment with a frotaion of 5 Hz.
Comparing the results presented in Figures 2 and The results for the drying process obtained in this
3, it can be concluded that maintaining the external work show that the values of final moisture content
conditions constant (Tgas, frotation and vgas) the (Xf) were around 2000 ppm, which is the accepted
variation in the value of Xi, had an effect on the commercial range for 2-hydroxybenzoic acid.

1.0

0.8

0.6
X / X0

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80
time (min)
experimental run 1: Xi = 9.61% d.b.; Xf = 0.19% d.b
experimental run 4: Xi = 4.52% d.b; Xf = 0.19% d.b.

Figure 2: curves for the RPFB. Tgas = 85°C, frotation = 5 Hz, vgas = 1.4 m/s

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Drying in the Rotating-Pulsed Fluidized Bed 99

1.0

0.8

0.6
X/X0
0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80
time (min)
experimental run 2: Xi = 3.72 % d.b., Xf = 0.23 % d.b.
experimental run 3: Xi = 10.0 % d.b., Xf = 0.22 % d.b.
Figure 3: Drying curves for the RPFB. Tgas = 85°C, frotation = 15 Hz, vgas = 1.4 m/s

0.050
0.10
0.045

0.040
0.08
0.035
X (gwater / gdry material )

X (gwater / gdry material )

0.030
0.06
0.025

0.04 0.020

0.015 experimental run 2

experimental run 1 experimental run 4
0.02 experimental run 3 0.010

0.005
0.00 0.000
0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
time (min) time (min)
E x p e r i m e n t a l r u n 1 : frotation = 5 Hz, Xi = 9.61 % d.b., Xf = E xp e r i m e n t a l r u n 2: frotation = 15 Hz, Xi = 3.72 % d.b., Xf =
0.19 % d.b.,-(dX/dt)constant = 0.0042 (gwater / gdry material.min) 0.23 % d.b.,-(dX/dt)constant = 0.0071 (gwater / gdry material.min)
E xp e r i m e n t a l r u n 3 : frotation = 15 Hz, Xi = 10.0 % d.b., Xf = E xp e r i m e n t a l r u n 4 : frotation = 5 Hz, Xi = 4.52 % d.b., Xf =
0.22 % d.b.,-(dX/dt)constant = 0.0065 (gwater / gdry material.min) 0.19 % d.b.,-(dX/dt)constant = 0.0025 (gwater / gdry material.min)

Figure 4: Drying curves for the RPFB. Tgas = 85°C, Figure 5: Drying curves for the RPFB. Tgas = 85°C,
vgas = 1.4 m/s vgas = 1.4 m/s

CONCLUSIONS increase in frotation (inside the range studied and for a

constant Xi), which allows the reduction in the flow
The study of drying in a rotating-pulsed fluidized or the temperature of the drying gas. Maintaining the
bed showed that this equipment can be used to dry a external conditions constant (frotation, Tgas, vgas), the
cohesive particulate material, resulting in the drying time is decreased to the smallest values of Xi.
uniform distribution of the gas inside the bed and The drying curves obtained show the two drying
providing a uniform drying of the solid. periods and most of the moisture in the solid was
Analyzing the effects of Xi and frotation in relation removed during the constant drying rate period, the
to the time of drying in the constant rate period, it most important stage of this drying process. The
can be concluded that the time is reduced with the drying rate of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid was affected by

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 24, No. 01, pp. 95 - 100, January - March, 2007
100 M. C. B. Ambrosio-Ugri and O. P. Taranto

the frequency of disk pulsation under the conditions Bed. Drying’87, p. 109-114, 1987.
tested. Thus, the reduction in air consumption achieved Djurkov, T.G., Modeling of Bed Pressure Drops in
by the pulsation of the airflow is feasible, and as a Rotation-pulsed Fluidized Bed Dryer. Drying’98,
consequence the production yield increases. v. A, p. 160-167, 1998.
Elenkov, V.R. and Djurkov, T.G., Rotating-pulsed
Fluidized Bed Dryer for High-moisture Content
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Bioproducts. Drying’92, p. 1636-1641, 1992.
Gawrzynski, Z. and Glaser, R., Drying in a Pulsed-
We acknowledge the financial assistance received
fluid Bed with Relocated Gas Stream. Drying
from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento
Technology, v. 14, n. 5, p. 1121-1172, 1996.
Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).
Gawrzynski, Z., Glaser, R., Zgorzalewicz, J., Pelech,
Z., Stanislawski, J., Rogula, G. and Pieczaba, B.,
Operational Tests of a Pulsed Fluid Bed
NOMENCLATURE
Dryer/Cooler for Granulated Sugar. Drying’96, v.
B, p. 771-777, 1996.
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Gawrzynski, Z., Glaser, R. and Zgorzalewicz, J.,
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Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering