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Vibrating vs Static
GEA Process Engineering
Presented by
Jim Schak, GEA Process Engineering Inc. North America (GPNA)
Sales Manager for Chem System Division of GPNA
Instructor for University of Wisconsin Drying Technology Course
Email: james.schak@gea.com
Phone: 973-316-2499
Ananta Islam, GEA Process Engineering Inc. North America (GPNA)
Sales Engineer for Chem System Division of GPNA
Email: Ananta.Islam@gea.com
Phone: 410-997-6621
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Introduction
Fluid Bed Drying Principle
Static Fluid Bed Design
Advantages of Static Fluid Bed(SFB) Design
Vibrating Fluid Bed Design
Advantages of Vibrating Fluid Bed(VFB) Design
Hybrid Static Fluid Bed Design
Fluid bed with Integral Bag Collector
Closed Cycle Drying
Fluid Bed as a Second Stage Dryer
Design Table comparison(SFB/VFB) for air flow, energy,
capacity, bed area and retention time.
12. Summary
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Introduction:
There are two types of continuous fluid bed dryer: Vibrating or Static.
Video Clip
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GEA Process Engineering
Heating Coils to
add Heat without
using more Air
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Feed Distributor
Special Feed Distributor Designs to spread
the feed evenly in the backmix zone
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Static Fluid Bed Dryer: Back Mix & Plug Flow Zones
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VFB Advantages:
The VFB is a vibratory conveyor that has a holes in the pan to allow air to
bubble up through the holes and contact the wet feed solids.
Distribution of particle size The VFB relies on the vibrating action to
conveying the product, so the air velocity can be adjusted without greatly
affecting the conveying action of the VFB.
Particle Shape - The vibrating action will minimize the air channeling(rat holing)
effect of long L/D shapes
Small Particle Size The VFB can handle a smaller particle size than a SFB
since air flow is independent of transport.
Plug Flow Design The vibrating action is a more positive force that aids in
first in first out design..
Versatility
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Vibro-Fluidizer
1990
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Feed Tank:
Exhaust Fan
Cyclone
Baghouse
Vibrating Fluid Bed
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Table 1
The data shows how the design factors vary for a standard static fluid-bed
dryer and vibrating fluid-bed dryer when drying wet organic salt crystals from
5 percent to 1 percent moisture at the same production rate.
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Table 2
The data in Table II shows how the design of a hybrid static fluid-bed dryer with
conductive heat panels. The data is based on drying polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
powder from about 26 percent to less than 2 percent moisture at the same
production rate.
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In Summary
It seems to be clear that a SFB has many technical design
advantages over a VFB but its applications are very limited.
The versatility of the VFB gives a bigger window of operation.
Feasibility, laboratory, pilot plant testing and a good understanding of
the design limitations will be important in the final determination of
equipment selection and scaleup.
Question
Do you need a feed rotary airlock to minimize air
inleakage?
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Answer
OK, I am glad that you brought this point up. First of all let me say that the feed entry point in
a dryer is usually the most problematic area. Great attention should be made concerning the
feed. If you can get a uniform consistent feed without large lumps into the dryer usually you
are able to dry the material successfully. So Hopefully you have this consistent feed and now
you want to make sure that you are not sucking in a lot of air which can rob you of heated
drying air going through the burner. There are different ways to minimize air inleakage at the
feed entry point. One is using a rotary air lock. Rotary airlocks can be a problem though. If the
material is sticky or pasty, you can have some buildup issues in the pockets of the valve.
You can go to a larger valve with smooth shallow pockets to try to avoid buildup, but in any
case there is some air leakage in all rotary airlocks. When dealing with an abrasive material it
is difficult not to have leakage.
Another is to balance the fans and zero point the inlet as mentioned above. Maybe the best
way is to use a screw feeder and fill up the screw flights with material to create a seal to
prevent air from passing back the screw flights. An intermeshing co-rotating twin screw with a
wet material should be enough to achieve this air lock. This design has a positive conveying
action that will promote the flow into the dryer. The multiple screw design has many discharge
points so there is less plopping of the wet free which can translate to less fluctuations of the
product moisture.
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Question
Why dont we use a closed cycle dryer with no exhaust
on every dryer?
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Answer
OK There are some engineers that think that in 15-20 years from now that you
will not be able to exhaust anything into the air, so why not start now. I do have
one company that does not need a closed cycle system since he is using
water, and wants to go to a closed cycle system. Maybe eventually we will
have to go in that direction, but there is a high premium for going to a closed
cycle system. Cooling BTUs are more expensive then heating btus.
Refrigeration can get very expensive especially if you need to go to low air
temperatures to condense out the solvent. It is sometimes tough enough to
justify the money to build a plant on its own merits, putting on an additional cost
could break the bank.
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Question
What is an underflow weir?
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Answer
Most fluid beds use an overflow weir especially at the end of the dryer. It
is basically a dam. The weir is to aid in controlling the bed depth in the
dryer. If you are dealing with a heat sensitive material like a food
product, you can buildup some of the large particles at the base of the
weir and may degrade over a period of time. In these cases you can
have a plate timed to rotate up off the bed to allow possible buildup of
material to flow under it. This reduces the possibility of off spec material.
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Question
Do you need an air directional holes in a Vibrating fluid
bed?
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Answer
OK, Do you need gill type holes in a VFB? Not necessarily. In a SFB it
becomes more important but in the VFB, you do have the vibrating
conveying action to promote the flow of the material, but you usually
still have a residue of material in the dryer. The air directional gills due
aid in the cleanout and does it faster. It may also help in getting difficult
to flow feeds to convey at the feed entry point.
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