See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260317855

9 Superheated Steam Drying

Article · July 2014

DOI: 10.1201/b17208-23

CITATIONS READS

39 1,433

1 author:

A. S. Mujumdar
McGill University
749 PUBLICATIONS 11,212 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Numerical investigation of impinging drying with intermittent input View project

Food Drying View project

All content following this page was uploaded by A. S. Mujumdar on 22 November 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Superheated Steam Drying
19 Arun S. Mujumdar

CONTENTS

19.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 439

19.2 Classification and Selection of Superheated Steam Dryers .................................................................. 440
19.2.1 Drying of Sludges.................................................................................................................... 441
19.2.2 Drying of Coal ........................................................................................................................ 441
19.2.3 Drying of Beet Pulp ................................................................................................................ 443
19.2.4 Drying of Lumber ................................................................................................................... 444
19.2.5 Drying of Peat ......................................................................................................................... 444
19.2.6 Drying of Paper and Tissue..................................................................................................... 446
19.2.7 Drying of Wood Particles and Wood Wafers ......................................................................... 447
19.2.8 Quality Considerations............................................................................................................ 448
19.3 Miscellaneous Applications.................................................................................................................. 449
19.4 Utilization of Exhaust Steam ............................................................................................................... 449
19.5 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 451
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................... 451
References ...................................................................................................................................................... 451

19.1 INTRODUCTION potential, and research and development (R&D)

needs for SSD technologies [1]. Special consideration
Although the concept was originally proposed over is given to potential applications for use of electricity
100 years ago and the first industrial applications and reuse of the exhaust steam from an SSD. Kumar
were reported some 60 years ago in Germany, super- and Mujumdar have provided an extensive bibliog-
heated steam drying has emerged only in the past raphy and discussed the basic principles and applica-
decade or so as a viable new technology with immense tions of SSD [2].
potential. Essentially, superheated steam drying (SSD) One of the obvious advantages of SSD is that the
involves the use of superheated steam in a direct dryer exhaust is also steam, albeit at lower specific
(convective) dryer in place of hot air, combustion, or enthalpy. In air drying, the latent heat in the exhausted
flue gases as the drying medium to supply heat for steam is generally difficult and expensive to recover.
drying and to carry off the evaporated moisture. Any Indeed, at current world prices of energy sources, it is
direct or direct and indirect (e.g., combined convection often more expensive to recover energy in the exhaust
and conduction) dryer can be operated as an SSD, in steam than to waste it in the stack gases for most direct
principle. The technology involved is more complex dryers with low-to-medium-temperature exhausts.
and hence this conversion is not simple. Additional If air infiltration is avoided (or minimized to an
criteria must be considered when selecting a dryer for acceptable level), it is possible to recover all of the
SSD operation. latent heat supplied in the SSD from the exhaust by
Currently there are fewer than ten major dryer condensing the exhaust stream or by mechanical- or
manufacturers around the world that offer SSD tech- thermocompression to elevate its specific enthalpy for
nology on a commercial scale. Often, it is necessary to reuse in the dryer. As SSD will necessarily produce
custom design an SSD for a new application, which steam equal in amount to the water evaporated in the
may involve a new dryer type or an application to a dryer, it is necessary to have a useful application for this
new product. The author has presented an exten- excess steam in the process plant. If this steam is used
sive review of principles, practice, industrial applica- elsewhere, the latent heat recovered is not charged to
tions, potential new applications, market penetration the SSD, leading to a net energy consumption figure of

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

the 1000–1500 kJ/kg water removed for SSD compared . Products that may require oxidation reactions
with 4000–6000 kJ/kg water removed in a correspond- (e.g., browning of foods) to develop desired
ing hot-air dryer. Thus, reduced energy consumption is quality parameters cannot be dried in super-
a clear advantage of SSD. heated steam. However, it may be possible to
Other key advantages of SSD are as follows: consider a two-stage drying process (e.g., steam
drying followed by air drying). For drying of
. No oxidation or combustion reactions are pos- silk cocoons, for example, such a process
sible in SSD. This means no fire or explosion appears to yield a higher quality product.
hazards and often also a better quality product. . If the steam produced in the dryer is not needed
. Higher drying rates are possible in both con- elsewhere in the process, the energy-related
stant and falling rate periods, depending on advantages of SSD do not exist. Also, steam
the steam temperature. The higher thermal con- cleaning may not always be a simple task. The
ductivity and heat capacity of superheated chemical composition of the condensate must
steam leads to higher drying rates for surface be carefully evaluated.
moisture above the so-called inversion tempera- . Cost of the ancillaries (e.g., feeding systems,
ture. Below the inversion temperature, drying in product-collection systems, exhaust steam recov-
air is faster. In the falling rate, the higher prod- ery systems, etc.) is typically much more signifi-
uct temperature in SSD (over 1008C at 1 bar) cant than the cost of the steam dryer alone. In
and lack of diffusional resistance to water vapor most cases, SSD is a justifiable option only for
(no air) lead to faster drying rates. Also, it is very large tonnage, continuously operated sys-
known that many products that form ‘‘case- tems because of the technoeconomics of the ancil-
hardened skin’’ in rapid drying do not form lary equipment needed.
such water-impermeable skins in SSD. . There is currently limited field experience with
. For products containing toxic or expensive SSD for a smaller range of products. This data-
organic liquids that must be recovered, steam base is expected to increase significantly in the
drying avoids the dangers of fire and explosion coming decade. In the mean time, more pilot
although allowing condensation of the off testing is recommended for an SSD application.
streams in relatively smaller condensers.
. SSD permits pasteurization, sterilization, and
deodorization of food products. 19.2 CLASSIFICATION AND SELECTION
OF SUPERHEATED STEAM DRYERS
Accompanying the advantages above are several
limitations: As noted above, any direct dryer, in principle, can be
converted to superheated steam operation (e.g., flash,
. The system is more complex. No leaks can be fluid bed, spray, impinging jet, conveyor dryers, etc.).
allowed. Feeding and discharge of SSDs must Thermal efficiencies can be improved and the unit size
not allow infiltration of air. The product itself reduced by supplying a part of the heat indirectly
may bring in noncondensables. Start-up and (e.g., by conduction or radiation). Note that the in-
shutdown are more complex operations for version temperature is lowered in the presence of
SSD than for an air dryer. indirect heat supply, which is a further benefit. For
. Because feed enters at ambient temperature, example, in the presence of appropriate radiant heat-
there is inevitable condensation in the SSD ing, the inversion temperature dropped from 250 to
before evaporation begins. This adds about 1708C for a specific case reported in the literature.
10–15% to the residence time in the dryer. At However, it is not necessary to operate an SSD
1 bar operating pressure, the drying begins at a above the inversion temperature to benefit from the
product temperature of 1008C in the constant advantages of SSD. Aspects other than higher drying
rate period when surface water is removed. rates or lower energy consumption, such as quality or
. Products that may melt, undergo glass transi- safe operation, may dominate the selection procedure
tions, or be otherwise damaged at the saturation in most cases. For relatively low-value products (e.g.,
temperature of steam at the dryer operating sludges, coal, peat, hog fuel, etc.) that are also readily
pressure cannot clearly be dried in superheated combustible in hot air and dried in large tonnages, the
steam even if they contain only surface mois- reduced net energy consumption in SSD is particu-
ture. Operation at reduced pressure, however, is larly advantageous as this also reduces the environ-
a feasible option that may also enhance the mental emissions of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2) as
drying rate. well as toxic gases (NOx, SOx, etc.). However, the

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

excess steam produced must have a viable application dewatered sludge per day. Steam at 3608C at flow
in or near the process. rates up to 3600 kg/h enters the dryer and exits at
The following dryer types have been successfully 1508C, giving a volumetric heat transfer coefficient
tested at pilot scale and commercialized for at least of up to 90 kcal/(m3 h 8C). Unlike a fluid bed, the
some products: low-steam velocities cause little entrainment in the
exhaust steam, which is cleaned in a cyclone. To
. Flash dryers, with or without indirect heating of avoid leakage of unpleasant odor, the dryer is held
dryer walls with high-pressure steam at a pressure of 10–100 mm water column below
. Fluidized bed dryers, with or without im- atmospheric pressure. For start-up, hot air is circu-
mersed heat exchangers; operated at low, near- lated and then water is injected into the hot air until
atmospheric, or high (up to 5 bar) pressures the system is full of steam. It is important to note that
. Spray dryers (operated at near-atmospheric sludges come in various chemical and biochemical
pressures; for drying of whey; pilot scale only) compositions as well as physical characteristics. It is
. Impinging jets (for newsprint, tissue paper, etc. important to dewater (nonthermally) as much of the
at small scale; for textiles at commercial scale) water as possible before the sludge is fed to a thermal
. Conveyor dryer, operated at near-atmospheric dryer. Not all sludges can be combusted to provide a
or high pressures part or all of the heat required for drying.
. Agitated bed dryers, operated at near-atmospheric There are advantages as well as limitations to each
pressure dryer type and a careful technoeconomic evaluation
. Packed bed and through circulation dryers is necessary when a final selection is to be made. The
. Impinging stream (opposing jet concept) dryers well-known Carver–Greenfield process (discussed else-
. Vibrated fluid bed dryers with immersed heat where in this handbook), utilizing the multiple-effect
exchangers evaporation concept as well as several indirect dryers
provides competing technologies for drying of sludges.
Because of space limitations, this chapter discusses It should be noted that use of high-temperature air can
steam dryers only for a selected range of products. lead to significant fire and explosion hazards in drying
The references cited provide detailed information. of sludges of all types. Atmospheric emissions of or-
Also, other chapters in this handbook include discus- ganic volatiles and fine particulates are problems of
sion of some steam-drying technologies (e.g., energy special concern as well. For very large cities in devel-
aspects, novel dryers, etc.). oped countries, steam-drying technologies, which util-
ize dried sludge as fuel and yield vitrified, easy-to-
19.2.1 DRYING OF SLUDGES handle dry product for landfills, appear to be especially
attractive. Vitrified sludge particles do not leach their
Sludges can be dried continuously in large tonnages undesirable chemicals into the soil, which is a major
in flash, fluid bed, or agitated trough-type dryers advantage of such a process.
using superheated steam. Hirose and Hazama have Although no details are available, an impinging
reported on a sewage sludge treatment plant that used stream dryer for sludges using super-heated steam as
a steam-fluidized bed dryer [3]. The sludge, containing the drying medium has been operated at pilot scale
400% water (dry basis), was mechanically dewatered successfully in Russia. Mujumdar has presented
and then evaporated to 75% before it was fed to the additional information on these special types of
dryer to obtain a final moisture level of about 5%. dryers [1] (see chapter on impinging stream drying in
The sludge had calorific values of 8.4–19 MJ/kg. A this handbook).
sludge with a calorific value of 12.6 MJ/kg required
auxiliary energy of 420 kJ for per kg of sludge in- 19.2.2 DRYING OF COAL
cinerated. The steam evaporated in the dryer was
used as a heat source in the evaporator. The heat for Coal is a raw material for many chemical syntheses
the dryer was obtained by incinerating the dried as well as a fuel. Depending on its initial moisture
sludge. The incineration process in a cyclone furnace content, coal is dried to increase its calorific value and
vitrifies the sludge (by melting and solidification), simplify loading, unloading, transport, and improve
thus reducing the volume of waste to be sent to a boiler combustion efficiency. Although not com-
landfill. Further, the waste product is not leached monly required in North America, drying of low-
into the soil. grade coals containing high levels of moisture is
An agitated multistage steam dryer with co- necessary in many parts of the world. Coal is also
current flow of steam and the product has been dried for briquetting, coking, gasification, carboniza-
developed successfully in Japan to dry 15 tons of tion, liquid fuel synthesis, and so on. Coke oven

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

efficiency can increase 30–50% in preheating and 10– lower. No credit was given to the steam produced in
15% in drying, if coal is predried. Direct dryers (e.g., the steam dryer.
rotary, pneumatic, fluid bed, vibrating fluid bed, shaft Faber et al. also report on a successful industrial
dryers, etc.) are used commonly with hot air or com- installation using a steam dryer for activated carbon
bustion gas at 700–9008C before the dryer and at 60– pellets (2000 kg/h, dry basis) from an initial moisture
1208C after the dryer. Rotary dryers with indirect content of 50% to 2% (dry basis) [6]. The pellets are
heating are used for hard coals. These have higher dried to 8% (dry basis) before they are fed to an evacu-
energy efficiency, about 3100 kJ/kg water evaporated. ated chamber in which the final moisture content of 2%
For air fluidized bed dryers, the corresponding figure is achieved. The steam enters the dryer at 3008C and
is 3100–4000 kJ/kg water evaporated. A commercial leaves at 1508C. The steam discharged is used to preheat
vibratory dryer for hard and brown coals (manufac- the feed. The authors report smooth operation of the
tured by Escher-Wyss of Switzerland) uses a vibra- dryer since 1985. The installed cost of the steam drying
tional frequency of 50–100 Hz and an amplitude of steam was 40% lower than that for a conventional air
0.5–3 mm, giving a conveying velocity of 0.01–0.3 m/s dryer. The air dryer can operate at a maximum tem-
with an angle of inclination of 58 to the horizontal. Low perature of 1258C to avoid combustion in the dryer. The
gas velocities are needed, as vibration suspends most of energy costs (1986 data) were estimated to be about $3.6
the pseudofluidized beds. The efficiency is better than in per ton of dry product in South Africa.
a conventional fluid bed employing high gas velocities. Woods et al. have reviewed steam-drying tech-
Attrition is reduced and gas-cleaning requirements are nologies for coal and presented interesting results on
minimized in a vibrated bed dryer. steam drying of 1–13-mm coal particles and the evo-
In pilot trials, Potter et al. have shown that ex- lution of volatiles during drying [7]. They note that, in
tremely favorable heat transfer rates as well as drying steam drying, the drying time (actually residence time
efficiencies are obtained when drying brown coal in a in dryer) does not affect the volatiles’ liberation, un-
steam-fluidized bed with internal heat exchanger like air drying. Further, they found that, under the
tubes immersed within it [4,5]. Typical processing conditions of their experiment, the constant rate dry-
conditions were reported as follows: ing period is 6–7 times longer in steam drying than in
air drying and the heat transfer rate in steam drying is
1.7–2 times that in air drying. They also report favor-
Heating tube temperature 140–1708C
Bed temperature 110–1278C
able industrial experience with steam-fluidized bed
Minimum fluidizing velocities 0.57 m/s (approximately) drying of brown coal with an evaporative capacity
Steam temperature 130–1508C of 25 t/h. No details are given about the use of steam
Steam velocity 0.20–0.30 m/s produced by the dryer.
Coal feed rate (wb) 40–70 kg/h Black coal generally has low water content,
Product (wb) 16–28 kg/h whereas brown coal may have 60–80% (wet basis,
wb) moisture. Regardless of whether brown coal is
burned, gasified, coked, or liquefied, the wet raw coal
Using steam exhausted from one dryer stage as car- should be dried to 5–10% moisture for economic
rier steam for another stage, multiple-effect operation utilization. For some gasifiers, the additional require-
(similar to that common to evaporators) can be ment of free flowability for a well-metered feed rate
achieved yielding a steam economy of 1.9 for a means that the pulverized coal must be 5% or below
triple-effect dryer. Potter et al. used a continuous in moisture content. Coal drying in a steam-fluid bed
fluid bed dryer for drying Victoria brown coal [5]. of coal containing 65% moisture (wb) is estimated to
The fluid bed dryer was 0.3 m by 0.3 m by 3 m reduce energy wastage in the subsequent combustion
(high) with four bubble caps to distribute steam. step by two thirds, resulting in some 15% increase in
The disengaging region was 2.5 m. Both horizontal overall power plant efficiency, a similar level of re-
and vertical tube bundles were tried. duction in CO2 emission, and a 30% reduction in flue
Faber et al. have compared drying rates in air and gas generation for the same thermal output.
in steam-fluidized beds of pulverized coal [6]. They In some reports, steam drying is claimed to reduce
confirmed existence of the inversion temperature power consumption for milling as the grindability index
above which steam drying is faster than air drying. is increased due to steam drying. At elevated degrees of
Above about 1808C, the steam drying rate in the superheat and prolonged exposure times, some studies
constant rate period in fluid bed drying exceeds that have reported a reduction in the sulfur content of coal.
in (dry) air drying. For a 2000-kg/h dryer for alumina, This is not necessarily an advantage as the sulfur will
they found the capital cost to be 20% lower for the then enter the dryer-exhaust steam. Additional data
steam dryer, whereas the total energy cost was 15% are needed to evaluate this aspect in detail.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

 Following are some of the key advantages claimed residence time of up to 720 s is needed for a bed of
for steam-fluidized bed drying of brown coal: 120 mm with effective evaporation capacity of
16–20 t/h. The pulp is brighter than air-dried pulp.
. Better energy utilization by condensing steam However, the dryer costs are high, with payback
generated in the dryer; overall efficiency up periods of up to 6–7 years.
from 36%, typical for a brown-coal-fired power Recently, Niro A/S of Denmark has successfully
plant, to 42%. commercialized a pressurized-steam-fluid bed dryer
. Ability to couple the dryer with power plants to for particulate and sludgelike or pulpy materials [9].
use latent heat of condensed low-pressure steam The fluid bed has a special ‘‘cellular’’ design and
(cogeneration potential). operates at 3 bar. The fluid bed is driven by super-
. Coal moisture is discharged as liquid water heated steam flow that is recycled through a heat
rather than as dusty vapor. No biological or exchanger by a fan and blown up through the fluid
chemical treatment is needed for the condensate bed. Capacities of 2–40 t/h water evaporation are
water. available. Initiated at pilot scale in 1982, the full-
. Large-capacity dryers (up to 15 t/h) are feasible. industrial-scale dryer (6-m diameter) for drying beet
. The dryer is compact (e.g., heat transfer coeffi- pulp came on stream in Denmark in 1985.
cients in the order of 200 W/(m2 K) versus 20–50 Compared with conventional rotary dryers, energy
W/(m2 K) in steam-tube rotary dryers). savings of up to 90% are feasible. The product quality
. The operation is safer (reduced insurance costs). is found to be better in steam drying (i.e., appearance
. Product is dried to greater uniformity and better and texture, as well as digestibility by cattle).
briquette strength. Although existing dryers using this concept are
currently operational in Europe for drying of beet
The coal dryer itself is not the most expensive pulp, pilot tests indicate that this dryer can successfully
component of the drying system; coal grinding prior dry the following products as well:
to drying, milling after drying, and cleaning the efflu-
ents are by far the most expensive steps in the process. . Spent grain from brewery
Commercial-scale dryers for this application are . Grass, alfalfa
operational in Australia and Germany. . Fish to produce fish meal
. Peels and pulp from citrus fruits
19.2.3 DRYING OF BEET PULP . Apple pomace
. Bark, wood chips
Drying of wet, pressed beet pulp after extraction . Bagasse from sugarcane
of sugar in a conventional high-temperature dryer . Municipal sewage sludge
requires 9 kW h/100 kg beet, which amounts to
over 33% of the energy consumption in a sugar fac- Among some of the specific advantages claimed of
tory. BMA AG of Germany has developed a high- this dryer are
pressure superheated steam dryer for beet-pulp drying
that consumes only 2900 kJ/kg water evaporated, . Closed-system drying eliminates odor emission
compared with nearly 5000 kJ/kg in conventional air . Automatic, reliable, maintenance-free operation
drying. The BMA dryer is a horizontal pressure vessel feasible
made of mild steel and is 6.5 m in diameter and 37 m . No danger of fire or explosion
long [8]. Special airlocks are provided at entry and . Purer product; no contamination or oxidation
discharge of feed. The feed pulp is preheated to 1058C in flue gases as in conventional dryer
in a screw conveyor and then deposited on the drying
screen—this avoids condensation and corrosion It is interesting to compare the energy flows in the
problems. Three traveling screens of stainless steel rotary dryer versus the pressurized-steam dryer for
have a total area of 240 m3 for a throughput of 32 t/h of water evaporation. If 16-bar-gauge steam is
32 t/h of pressed beet pulp with 30% solids to be supplied to the steam dryer, it will generate 3-bar-
dried to 90% solids. The pulp bed is between 40 and gauge steam, which could have produced 2 MW. In-
120 mm, which affects the dryer throughput. The stead, it is available as low-pressure steam, although
steam is made to circulate through the bed of beet the 2 MW is not used by the dryer. Rotary drying will
pulp, causing it to dry as the screen moves. Nine consume 26 MW of fuel none of which can be recov-
parallel fans capable of handling 200,000 m3/h of ered. Of course, all the advantages are gained at
steam circulate the steam in the dryer. Heat exchan- increased capital costs; as the cost of energy rises,
gers are used to reheat the recirculating steam. A mean the high-energy efficiency of steam drying becomes

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

economically more attractive. Potential for significant is heated by steam or hot water coils located in the
energy savings exists only when the steam produced autoclave to a temperature above the saturation tem-
by the dryer can be used effectively elsewhere in the perature of steam. At the operating pressure (around
process or at a nearby location. 3–5 millibar pressure) used, the boiling point of water
is lowered to below 508C. The process is controlled
19.2.4 DRYING OF LUMBER automatically.
Among the advantages claimed for the process are
Drying is an important step in processing lumber.
Atmospheric steam dryers have been studied for . Fast drying rates (2–5 times faster)
drying green softwoods and hardwoods. Effects . Simple process control
on resin exudation, surface discoloration, loosening . No risk of fire or explosion
of knots, and other quality parameters have been stud- . Staining, mold attack avoided
ied to varying extents for a variety of wood species. . No oxidative discoloration (e.g., oak, beech,
High-temperature drying of lumber (above 1008C) etc., do not discolor)
in air–steam mixtures causes greater defects, such . Minimal danger of corrosion
as collapse, honeycomb, and checking in high- . Minimal removal of extractables
temperature-dried lumber than in lumber dried at . Reduced stresses, cracking, warpage, and the like
lower temperatures.
Rosen has given pilot-scale data on pressure steam The autoclaves come in diameters up to 4 m and
drying of lumber for 27-mm-thick, green, yellow pop- lengths up to 24 m. The autoclave is equipped with
lar, and red oak [10]. He also made a technoeconomic a rubber air tube that is pressurized to hold against
study based on a number of plausible assumptions. the top part of the timber stack with a pressure of
Essentially, he showed that the capital cost of the 1000 kg/m2 to reduce danger of deformation. The
steam dryer was about the same as that of a conven- moisture coming out of the timber is condensed.
tional kiln, although the drying times were reduced. The drying time ranges from one to several days
The electrical energy usage was only about 0.82 kW h/ depending on the wood species and the thickness of
kg (2.95 MJ/kg) water evaporated for the electric the wood. At the end of the drying cycle, prior to
heater. Because steam flow rates used were higher unloading of the charge, the vessel is filled with at-
than those in conventional kilns, the blower power mospheric air.
was about 40% higher for steam dryers. However, as The faster drying rates result in energy savings of
the dryer system is a closed one (in which dryer exhaust about 50% over conventional kilns. One of the limi-
is recirculated after electrical heating), this energy is tations of the process is that the autoclaves are much
also useful for evaporation. It is important to note that smaller than the conventional hot-air kilns. However,
the electrical energy requirements for drying depend as the drying cycles are several-fold shorter, this is not
on the type of lumber and the moisture range. Rosen a major limitation. In fact, the shorter drying times
dried yellow poplar from 100% moisture content to 5% give the user flexibility in drying different species or
(dry basis) in 28–30 h, whereas red oak was dried from sizes of wood while reducing the cost of inventory,
19% moisture control to 5% (dry basis) in 21 h. About especially for wood species requiring several weeks of
4% of the dollar value of the lumber was lost because of drying time in air drying. Lack of oxygen in the dryer
degradation associated with drying. The total energy may also help kill microorganisms or insects in wood,
requirements for red oak were estimated to be triple although experimental verification is needed. Because
those for yellow poplar. the drying temperatures may be lower, thermal distri-
In the past decade, a low-pressure steam dryer for bution may not be adequate in some instances. This
timber has gained momentum in Southeast Asia and process appears to be especially attractive for species
Europe. The so-called Moldrup process marketed by and timber dimensions that take very long (weeks) to
Iwotech Limited of Denmark (1992) is carried out in dry in conventional kilns.
an enclosed autoclave in which the sawn timber is
stacked on trolleys for easy feeding and discharge 19.2.5 DRYING OF PEAT
[11]. The drying process is initiated by evacuation of
the autoclave with a low-power vacuum pump, which Peat is usually dried at power plants and briquette
takes 1–2 h. It is then filled with superheated steam, factories with flue gases (300–6008C) from the boiler.
which is heated in the range of 50–908C. Heat for More recently, steam flash dryers have been commis-
drying is supplied by recirculating the steam at vel- sioned in Sweden using back-pressure steam. The first
ocities up to 20 m/s at 4 millibar pressure using a industrial pulp dryer utilizing superheated steam as
series of fans within the chamber. The drying steam the carrier for conveying the pulp to be dried was

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

installed in 1979 at the Rockhammars in Sweden. water evaporated, which is much lower than that for
Drying is accomplished by indirect heating with a flue gas dryer (3–4 MJ/kg water). Electrical power
steam extracted from a turbine at 10 bar. Steam demand for the compressors used for pneumatic con-
formed by evaporation within the dryer tubes is cir- veying is high.
culated in the dryer, where it acts as a convective Another dryer for peat (or lignite) is the tubular
drying medium. A part of the steam generated is steam dryer generally used in Germany. It is a rotat-
used elsewhere in the mill as the dryer operates at ing inclined cylinder in which the material flows in
5 bar. Even after allowing for the energy loss in the 100-mm diameter pipes, whereas steam flows in the
turbine, it is found that this dryer consumes less than shells at a pressure of 0.60 MPa. Air is drawn through
half of the energy used in flue gas drying—the con- the pipes to remove evaporated water. The energy
ventional technology. Drying times are 10–30 s. This consumption is reported to be 2.9–3.2 MJ/kg water
type of dryer has also been used successfully for dry- removed. The exhaust energy is generally not utilized.
ing of peat, sawdust, and forest biomass that, when It is interesting to note that the flow properties of peat
pulverized, can be used as fuel in existing oil- depend on the presence of wood and fiber content. If
fired thermal power plants. there is low content of fiber and wood with a bulk
According to Munter, flash dryers for pulp can be density of 400 kg/m3, such dryers operate well.
designed and operated economically at evaporation The pressurized-steam flash dryer originally devel-
capacities of the order of 400 t/d [12]. If the steam oped at the Chalmers University of Technology,
produced is used elsewhere in the process, then the Gothenburg, Sweden, in the early 1970s is ideal for
‘‘net’’ energy consumption chargeable to the steam drying peat as well as pulp, bark, and so on. This
dryer can be very low. Currently, no full-scale indus- dryer is a closed, pressurized system in which the peat
trial installation appears to exist that utilizes vapor is exposed to indirectly heated superheated steam.
recompression technology for the steam flash dryer The dryer consists of transport ducts, heat exchan-
similar to that commonly employed in multiple-effect gers, a cyclone, and flans. The superheated steam
evaporators. The higher capital costs associated with recirculates at a pressure of 2–6 bar. The primary
steam flash dryer units coupled with the lower energy heating steam is condensed (usually 8–15 bar) on the
consumption result in the cost of drying pulp by air or shell side.
steam about the same, that is, of the order of U.S.$23 Dry steam and material are separated in a cyclone
per ton of water removed (in Quebec in 1989). and the steam is recirculated, whereas the excess
Possible operating problems for such dryers steam is bled off. If the material is dried from
include deposit formation and erosion of the flash 45–50% dryness to 85–90% dryness, about 1 ton of
tubes due to high-velocity transport of particles steam is generated per ton of material processed. This
that may contain abrasive impurities such as sand. steam is available as process steam at 2–6 bar pres-
Erosion, particularly in bends, can be minimized or sure. Typical drying time is 10–30 s. The transport
taken care of by using special materials or replaceable velocities are 20–40 m/s. If excess steam is used (e.g.,
elbows. Deposits may form within the dryer walls if for district heating), then the net dryer energy con-
the transporting steam temperature falls to saturation sumption is only 0.5–0.7 MJ/kg water removed, which
level. Corrosion is also a problem to be considered. may be compared with 3.5–4.8 MJ/kg common to
Often, stainless steel construction is required. It is flash dryers using air. Dust and explosion hazards
important to disintegrate the solids prior to feeding are eliminated in steam drying, thus reducing the
in the flash dryer as the transport steam does not insurance costs as well.
suspend large lumps and the like. A recent installation in Sweden uses peat (replacing
Briquetting industries in Ireland and the former coal) as the fuel in a 440 MW thermal power plant. The
Soviet Union have used the so-called Peco dryer for peat is dried, briquetted (3 million tons/year) at source
peat for over seven decades [13]. The Peco dryer is a about 400 km from the power plant, and then milled
two-stage dryer. The latent heat of evaporated water for combustion. Peat is dried from 60% to 10% (dry
from the second stage is used as the drying energy in basis) moisture for briquetting at an output level of
the first stage. The dryer contains five columns, each 20 t/h per drying unit. Two dryers are used in parallel.
containing about 500 pipes of about 70-mm diameter. The total tubular heat exchanger area is 5500 m2.
The milled peat is carried by airflow or air–steam The electricity demand of the compressors and
mixture in the pipes, while the energy for drying is blowers is 10 MW. About 3.6 MW district heat is
supplied by condensing steam outside the pipes (sec- produced, giving a net energy demand of the dryer of
ond stage) or from hot water (first stage). Peat is about 0.50 MJ/kg water, which is only about one sixth
separated by cyclones after each stage. The energy to one seventh the energy consumption of typical flue
consumption for the Peco dryer is 1.7–1.8 MJ/kg gas drying systems.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

 At Helsinki University of Technology, successful
TABLE 19.1
demonstration of fluidized bed drying of peat has been
Effluents from Steam Peat Dryers
reported at the pilot-plant level (100 kg/h of water
evaporation). A tubular heat exchanger immersed in Fluid Bed Pilot Fluidized Industrial
the bed provides indirect heat for drying. It uses con- Steam Dryer Bed Dryer Peat Dryer
densing steam at 0.8 MPa. Steam evaporated from
Temperature, 8C 100–140 140–170 170
peat is used as the fluidizing medium. Wet peat is fed
Pressure, bar — 2–8 5.7
into the lower zone of the fluid bed while dry peat is
pH of 4.1 5.7 3.8
withdrawn from the upper zone by a screw. The milled condensate
peat is about 1 mm in average size. The bed-to-tube Solids, mg/l 80 220–400 70–170
heat transfer coefficient is rather low at 100 W/m2 K NH3-N, mg/l 1.2 28.0 11.0
(i.e., of the same order as that in a flash dryer but very P, mg/l 0.04 1.60 0.07
low for a fluidized bed due to the poor thermal prop- BOD, mg/l 520 130–190 —
erties of peat). Sand may be used as a bed material to COD, mg/l 880 470–630 440–1300
increase the drying rate but separation of peat from TOC, mg/l 310 90 310–450
sand is not very effective. If a fluidized bed combustor BOD, biochemical oxygen demand; COD, chemical oxygen
with sand is used, then this is not a problem. Fine-size demand; TOC, total organic carbon; P, phosphorus
magnetite as a bed material increases the bed-to-tube
heat transfer coefficient to 350 W/m2 at the same time
allowing easy magnetic separation from dry peat [14].
This dryer is claimed to be economically justified for yields higher solids content (~ 400 mg/l), higher COD
use on new, large power plants. The investment costs (~2600 mg/l), and higher TOC (~450 mg/l) than cor-
are high and a demonstration plant is necessary to responding figures for peat; other effluent levels are
study the reliability and technoeconomics of the pro- comparable.
cess. The fluid bed installation is likely to be more In general, increased bed temperature leads to
compact than the flash dryer but with net energy con- increased load of organics in the condensates. In-
sumption of the same order. creasing bed temperature from 1108C to 120–1308C
Aside from differences in the flow characteristics, can increase BOD, COD, and TOC values nearly
similar conclusions should apply for drying of lignite, threefold. The longer residence time in a fluidized
biomass, and the like in steam flash or steam-fluid bed bed as compared with a flash dryer is likely to result
dryers. The cost and net energy consumption should in higher organic loading of the condensate. Finally, a
be of the same order for the same production capacity novel high-pressure steam flash dryer (25 bar) has
(i.e., in the order of 0.5–0.7 MJ/kg water evaporated), been operated successfully in Finland for drying of
provided the steam generated by the dryer is used milled peat, which is then fed continuously to a high-
elsewhere. pressure gasifier. Clearly, such a sophisticated dryer is
One important consideration in drying of peat is not warranted for a drying application.
the evolution of organic compounds when flue gases
are discharged into the stack or if the energy is recov- 19.2.6 DRYING OF PAPER AND TISSUE
ered and the condensate sent as a waste stream. In-
deed, such a problem exists whenever the material No commercial dryers exist for direct drying of paper
that is dried can result in evolution of organic com- webs with superheated steam. For the first time,
pounds due to heating or due to interaction with Mujumdar proposed a variety of possible configur-
steam at elevated temperatures. The quality of the ations for direct and direct and indirect drying of
condensate is affected by drying conditions (e.g., paper using superheated steam [15]. These include
time, residence time in dryer, etc.), by the amount of
moisture removed, type of peat, and so on. Acetic 1. Pure impingement with steam jets with web
acid, formic acid, and furfurals are the main organic supported on a heated roll
compounds in the condensate. The average bio- 2. Impingement and through drying (so-called
chemical oxygen demand (BOD) is 140–150 mg/kg Papridryer configuration but using steam ra-
dry peat, chemical oxygen demand (COD) is 500– ther than hot combustion gases, which pose
850 mg/kg dry peat, and the total organic carbon serious fire hazards)
(TOC) is 90–300 mg/kg dry peat in different dryers. 3. Pure through drying with steam drawn under
Table 19.1 is a summary of the effluents from steam suction with web (assumed permeable at rea-
peat dryers based on the Fagernäs and Wilen data sonable pressure drop) supported on a perfor-
[13]. Note that drying of bark in steam-fluidized beds ated roll or honeycomb roll

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

 All of the above processes have been tested at pilot pressurized-steam dryer in which the particle–steam
scale or are already in commercial operation using hot mixture is conveyed through a series of vertical heat
air or hot combustion gases. All of these are highly exchangers in which the mixture is heated to maintain
energy-intensive processes requiring 4800–5700 kJ/kg sufficient superheat. Upon exhaust, the particles are
water evaporated. Also, the electrical power consump- separated from steam in cyclones and recirculated,
tion is high for the fan power that is needed for jets, except for an amount equivalent to that produced
throughflow, as well as the high recirculation ratios by the dryer. A 13-m long single-tube dryer was
(up to 90% in some high-performance impingement used in the pilot tests, giving a residence time of
dryers). Such dryers are in use for drying of highly 12–15 s; a second pass was needed to achieve the
permeable grades such as tissue and toweling. The required dryness in 25–30 s. The final desired dryness
Papridryer process, which is of above-mentioned sec- of 2% was achieved for both softwood and hardwood
ond type, has been tested at pilot scale for newsprint (birch) particles. About 408C superheat was found to
[16,17]. The author has discussed the superheated be adequate in the dryer. Fouling of heat exchanger
steam drying of paper in some detail including its surfaces was minimal, although this should be exam-
history, current status, and potential [18]. ined closely for industrial-scale operations. For bark
Aside from the higher drying rates and lower net drying in a similar dryer, no problems have been
energy consumption in a superheated steam dryer, reported on heat exchanger surface encrustation
two additional major advantages of interest to the even after six years of operation in Sweden.
papermaker are the elimination of fire hazard and Salin compared the quality of particleboards
improvement in product quality as measured by its manufactured from steam-dried versus air-dried
strength and optical properties. Cui et al. [19] and wood particles [26]; the bending and tensile strength,
later David [20] confirmed this in laboratory-scale and water absorption properties of the former were
static drying tests. Cui and Mujumdar [21], and found to be superior. This results in a 9% reduction in
Loo and Mujumdar [22] employed simple models to glue consumption in particleboard making. Optimal
calculate the drying rates (under several assumptions selection of dryer temperature and heat treatment can
later validated experimentally) and energy consump- further enhance the board quality. No industrial-scale
tion for different steam-drying configurations. They steam dryers appear to be in operation anywhere at
concluded that if the steam produced in dryers is fully this time for this application.
utilized elsewhere (without vapor recompression), Figure 19.1 classifies superheated steam dryers
the net energy consumption for paper drying can be based on their operating pressure. The product tem-
as low as 1500 kJ/kg water evaporated. This energy perature necessarily exceeds the saturation tempera-
requirement is mainly to account for leakage, sensible ture of steam at the corresponding operating pressure.
heating of the web, other losses, and energy for steam So, for products that may undergo undesirable phys-
recycle. Pilot and mill tests are needed before the ical transformations (e.g., melting) or chemical trans-
results can be confirmed. formations (e.g., hydrolysis) at elevated temperatures,
Bond [23] and Poirier [24] have presented valuable a low-pressure operation is desirable.
data and analyses of steam drying of handsheets in
static laboratory test rigs. No pilot-scale data exist at
this time on steam drying of paper or tissue. Applica- Superheated Steam Dryers
tion to tissue drying (impingement and through
drying) appears to be the more imminent industrial-
Near atmospheric
scale operation. Another potential near-term applica- Low pressure
pressure
High pressure
tion is as a booster dryer to increase the productivity
of a dryer-limited mill. Vacuum steam Fludized bed dryers Flash dryers for
dryers for wood* for coal* peat (25 bar)****

Vacuum steam Impingement and/or Conveyor dryers for

19.2.7 DRYING OF WOOD PARTICLES dryers for silk through dryer for beet pulp (5 bar)****
AND WOOD WAFERS cocoons** textiles, paper***
Fluidized bed dryers
for pulps, slugers*
Salin has reported on a significant study on steam
drying of small wood particles for particleboard * Extensive commercial applications
** Laboratory scale testing
to very low moisture levels (2–3% water) [25,26]. *** Pilot scale testing
The conventional process uses direct contact flue gas ****At least one major installation
drying or indirectly heated air drying; both pro-
cesses do not permit economic energy recovery from FIGURE 19.1 Classification of superheated steam dryers
dryer exhaust. Wood particles were dried in a based on their operating pressure.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

 The vapor evolving from the product may be
TABLE 19.2
withdrawn from the chamber, condensed, and the
Summary of Tests Carried Out at McGill University
latent heat recovered. Alternatively, the vapor is
reheated within the drying chamber by tubular or Property Effect of Steam Drying
plate heat exchangers and recirculated as a convective (Relative to Air Drying)
drying medium to enhance the drying rate. Such a
system is used commercially, with very attractive re- Bulk Slight increase
Surface roughness Marginal increase
sults, to dry timber. Although the net energy con-
Burst 20% enhancement (typical)
sumption is reduced several fold, the product quality
Tensile index 20–30% improvement
is enhanced and the environmental problem of emis- Stretch No significant effect
sion of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pro- Folding endurance No noticeable difference
duced during drying is also eliminated. The volatile Scott internal bond strength 10–20% higher
organic components (boiling point ranging from Wet strength Little effect
room temperature to over 2008C) are condensed out Permeability Little effect
with the steam. Because the two are immiscible, Crystallanity No measurable change
simple decantation allows recovery of the condensa- Brightness Above 3008C, a little worse
bles (e.g., terpenes, essential oils), which may be sold Fiber strength (zero span) Little change
separately.
In general, superheated steam drying is worth
considering as a viable option only if one or more of
the following conditions apply: Extensive results have been reported in the litera-
ture on drying of wood as well. Again, all quality
. Energy cost is very high; product value low or indicators are positive. Several vendors world-
negligible (e.g., commodities like coal, peat, wide have already commercialized the vacuum-
newsprint, tissue paper, waste sludges, which superheated steam-drying systems. It is noteworthy
must be dried to meet regulatory requirements). that besides enhancement of the product quality, the
. Product quality is much superior if dried in drying times are reduced two- to five-fold resulting in
steam rather than air (e.g., newsprint, which significant reduction in cost of inventory in the dryer.
yields superior strength properties in steam For drying of silk cocoons, laboratory-scale testing
and permits use of lower chemical pulp content in the People’s Republic of China has proven the en-
to attain same strength and runnability). hancement in quality of the silk produced (e.g., bright-
. Risk of fire, explosion, or other oxidative ness, strength of fiber, etc.) in steam drying at a
damage is very high (e.g., coal, peat, pulps). temperature of around 458C. For certain food or vege-
Lower insurance premiums may partially offset table products, the yielded porous structure of the prod-
added investment costs of a steam dryer. uct dried in superheated steam (due to evolution of
. Quantity of water to be removed as well as pro- steam within the product that enhances porosity) is a
duction capacity required is high. This affords desirable characteristic. This decreases the bulk density
economy of scale. Clearly, such dryers are worth of the product while enhancing its rehydration charac-
considering only for a continuous operation be- teristics. The color and texture of the product may also
cause of the inherent problems associated with become more desirable. Thus, the increased cost of
start-up and shutdown when water condensation steam drying may be offset by the additional credit
on the product as well as presence of nonconden- received for the better quality of the dried product.
sables (air) cause problems. As noted above, any direct dryer, in principle, can
be converted to a superheated steam dryer (e.g., flash,
19.2.8 QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS fluidized bed, spray, impinging jet, conveyor dryers).
Thermal efficiencies can be improved and the unit size
It is impossible to generalize the effect of steam drying reduced by supplying a part of the heat indirectly (e.g.,
on product quality. Table 19.2 gives a summary of by conduction or radiation). Note that the inversion
tests carried out at McGill University on batch drying temperature is lowered in the presence of indirect heat
of handsheets in a static apparatus in which the sam- supply, which is a further benefit. For example, in the
ples were dried under an impingement flow of super- presence of an appropriate radiant heating, the ‘‘inver-
heated steam. Note that the effects are all positive sion temperature’’ dropped from 2508C to 1708C for a
relative to air drying or, at most, comparable. In specific case reported in the literature.
Finland, similar tests on paper dried on a dynamic It is not necessary, however, to always operate an
pilot-scale apparatus have yielded comparable results. SSD above the inversion temperature to benefit from

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

TABLE 19.3
Factors Contributing to the Feasibility of Superheated Steam Drying

Factor Description of Impact

Product-Related Factors
Low temperature sensitivity To avoid higher steam temperature, more expensive vacuum systems are required
High moisture content As the latent heat of the moisture can be recovered with SSD, the bigger the portion it
represents, the greater will be the efficiency improvement
High thermal resistance Higher surface temperature with SSD reduces heating and drying times
High sensitivity to oxidation Lack of oxygen with SSD improves product quality
Undesirable taste or aroma SSD strips more of the acids which contribute to bitter tastes
High product values Drying time reductions provide biggest inventory cost savings with higher value products
Process-Related Factors
Other uses of steam available Energy consumption for the process is small and the capital costs are minimized
Environmental emissions from dryers SSD provides easier recovery of solvents and particulates
Combustion and explosion hazards Lack of oxygen significantly reduces fire and explosion hazards
Expensive source of thermal energy Thermal energy savings with SSD will offset greater the energy costs than with waste fuels
(e.g., hog fuel)

the advantages of SSD. Aspects other than higher odor is due to oxidation of lipids. Akao also showed
drying rates or lower energy consumption, such as that the quality of green tea and vegetables dried in
quality or safe operation, may dominate the selection steam (e.g., color, odor, etc.) was acceptable.
procedure in most cases. For relatively low-value Takahashi et al. dried a slurry of fine silica (0.1–5
products (e.g., sludges, coal, peat, hog fuel) that are mm) in a steam-fluidized bed using inert particles as
readily combustible in hot air and dried in large ton- bed material. The quality of the dried silica particles
nages, the reduced net energy consumption in SSD is was as good as that obtained commercially in air
particularly advantageous, as this also reduces the drying. Also, it was noted that food powders can be
environmental emissions of greenhouse gases (e.g., sterilized in superheated steam conveyors. Among
CO2) as well as toxic gases (NOx, SOx). However, other applications of steam drying developed in
the excess steam produced must have a viable appli- Japan, one may cite drying of potato slices in which
cation in or near the process. color and vitamin C are preserved due to lack of
Table 19.3 summarizes the key factors contribut- oxygen. Lack of formation of a case-hardened skin
ing to the feasibility of superheated steam drying. on the product in solvent drying was applied to ad-
Both product- and process-related factors must be vantage in dry spinning of synthetic fibers in super-
considered. Laboratory testing is required before pro- heated solvent vapor. Yoshida and Hyodo reported
ceeding with any decision to consider superheated that stronger and finer fibers without surface wrinkles
steam drying. were obtained in this process [29].

19.3 MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS 19.4 UTILIZATION OF EXHAUST STEAM

Furukawa et al. reported on a commercial steam Evaporated moisture in steam dryers, assuming no
drying and deodorization plant to process soy sauce losses, becomes excess superheated steam at lower
cakes as feedstock [27]. An agitated trough steam specific enthalpy. Economic use of this steam gener-
dryer (1.5 t/h dry product capacity) was used. ally holds the key to the success of the steam-drying
Deodorization commenced at a moisture level below process. This steam is typically at near-atmospheric
4% (dry basis) and a temperature of 1358C. The oils pressure and is likely to be dusty (e.g., in paper drying
and fats distilling from the cake result in deodoriza- it will pick up fibers and dust). It must be cleaned for
tion. Indeed, the fats and oils were used as auxiliary reuse. In high-temperature drying of tissue paper, for
fuels for the process. Concurrent steam drying and example, the fibrous debris picked up by the drying
deodorization of rice bran, fish meal, and pupa were gases gets incinerated prior to recycling. This cannot
also reported by Akao [28]. In these products, the occur in steam-drying systems. The degree of cleaning

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

required (using bag filters, cyclones, or electrostatic dryer-exhaust steam was split off and compressed;
precipitators, etc.) depends on how the steam is the high-pressure steam gave up its latent heat to the
recycled or utilized in the process. It is important to incoming steam. He modeled two designs for com-
ensure that no condensation occurs in the vapor- parison. One used a standard compressor that with-
cleaning systems. Following is a brief discussion of stood the superheat. The other considered a
potential systems for steam utilization for dryer ex- compressor with water injection into the suction
hausts. A detailed discussion is beyond the scope of vapor to cool the steam during compression. The
this chapter. The significance of this aspect, however, latter is about 10% more efficient due to reduction
cannot be overemphasized. in steam volume at the reduced temperature.
Vapor recompression technology is widely used in Anthony has summarized the virtues of vapor-
continuous evaporators. Billet has discussed this sub- compression evaporation (VCE) followed by crystal-
ject in considerable detail [30]. In the pulp and paper lization to treat waste brines from chemical process
industry, there are currently two major application plants [33]. Anthony compares VCE followed by a
areas in which mechanical vapor compressors are crystallizer with other options, such as reverse osmo-
employed to achieve significant energy savings. One sis and crystallizer, crystallizer plus centrifuge plus
is use of compressors in conjunction with the black- air-flash dryer, steam-heated crystallizer, and so on.
liquor evaporators, which results either in a decrease He also compares the process performance, utility
in the number of evaporators or in increased evapor- requirements, and initial and utility costs of treating
ator efficiency. The compressor is used to compress cooling tower blowdown at utility plants for five dif-
the vapor leaving the evaporator and, under appro- ferent methods utilizing VCE. It is interesting to note
priate conditions, the mechanical energy (or electrical that the capital costs of all combinations are within
power) required by the compressor in significantly 10% of each other although the operating utility costs
lower than the recoverable heat value in the vapor. of steam, electricity, and natural gas or oil can vary
The second major application area is in the thermo- by a factor as high as 5. A reverse osmosis/VCE/
mechanical pulp (TMP) plants in which a compressor crystallizer/solar pond combination consumes only
can be used to recover heat from the TMP vapor one fifth the electrical power consumed by a combin-
normally vented to atmosphere. In this system, heat ation of VCE and spray dryer. The selection among
exchangers are needed to generate low-pressure steam different systems is thus dictated by the relative costs
using the latent heat of the TMP vapor. The steam of fossil fuel versus electricity.
compressor boosts the clean low-pressure steam to It is impossible to arrive at generalized guidelines
the pressure required in the paper mill. According to at the present time regarding the technoeconomics of
van Gogh, either screw or centrifugal compressors steam compression by thermocompression (e.g.,
can be used [31]. Table 19.4 is a summary of the steam jet ejectors) versus mechanical recompression
key features of these two types of compressors for for steam-drying plants. The costs of installation of
vapor (steam). such systems are such that they should be considered
Note that other types of compressors can also only for large-scale continuous steam dryers, that
be used for steam (e.g., lobe, reciprocating, axial, is, those with evaporation capacities of 100 t/d or
turboblowers, etc.). Benstead has reported on some higher. The steam compressors for such service
preliminary studies at the Electricity Council are expected to cost over $500,000 (1990 estimate
Research Center, Capenhurst, Chester, England, on for North America). To this cost, one must add the
a pilot steam-spray dryer for a ceramic [32]. The costs of spares and maintenance.

TABLE 19.4
Characteristics of Screw versus Centrifugal Compressors

Feature Screw Centrifugal

Suction capacity 500–25,000 m3/h 2000–100,000 m3h

Maximum pressure ratio 6:1 2:1
DT ~60K ~20K
Capacity control Variable-speed driver Large variation possible without
loss of efficiency
Other Water droplets, dust may cause Dry steam needed to avoid impeller erosion.
damage. No surge line. Bypass control to avoid compressor surge.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

 It is important to note that existing steam- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
compressor technologies may not meet the require-
ments of some of the steam-drying systems, especially The author is grateful to Purnima Mujumdar for her
if very high degrees of superheat are needed. Often, extensive help in the preparation of this chapter. For
two centrifugal compressors will be needed to boost full details on steam-drying technologies, the reader is
the steam pressure to a level that is useful (e.g., 3 bar referred to the Canadian Electrical Association Re-
absolute from nearly atmospheric pressure). To in- port, CEA 817 U 671, September 1990, authored by
crease the discharge pressure typically entails increas- A.S. Mujumdar [1]. Exergex Corporation supported
ing the rotational speed of the impeller; in some cases, the preparation of this publication.
this may exceed the design speeds of commercially
available compressors. Thus, some new design
problems may arise to obtain discharge steam pres- REFERENCES
sures desired. 1. Mujumdar, A.S., 1990, CEA Report, 817 U 671,
Detailed design and technoeconomic calculations Montreal, Canada.
in close association with manufacturers of compres- 2. Kumar, P. and Mujumdar, A.S., 1990, Superheated
sors, steam jet ejectors, and steam dryers and with steam drying—A review. In Drying of Solids (A.S.
utility companies are required to make confident con- Mujumdar, ED.), Sarita, Meerut, India.
clusions regarding the optimal steam reuse and re- 3. Hirose, Y. and Hazama, H., 1983, A Suggested System
cycle systems for steam dryers. for Making Fuel from Sewage Sludge, Kagaku-Kogaku
Ronbunshyu, 9(5):583–586.
4. Potter, O.E. and Beeby, C., 1986, Modelling Tube-to-
19.5 CONCLUSIONS Bed Heat Transfer in Fluidized Bed Steam Drying, IDS
’86 (Fifth International Drying Symposium), Cambridge,
Although touted as the drying technology of the Massachusetts, August 13–15, 1986.
future some two decades ago, the continuing low- 5. Potter, O.E., Guang, L.X., et al., 1988, Some Design
to-moderate cost of energy has kept this technology Aspects of Steam-Fluidized Heated Dryers, IDS ’88
(Sixth International Drying Symposium), France, 1988.
from developing faster as low net-energy consump-
6. Faber, E.F., Heydenrych, M.D., Seppa, R.V.I., and
tion is one of the key advantages of this technology, Hicks, R.E., 1986, A techno-economics compression
aside from quality enhancement and safe operation of air and steam drying. In Drying ’86, Vol. 2 (A.S.
due to lack of fire and explosion hazards. Further, Mujumdar, Ed.), Hemisphere, New York, pp. 588–594.
there are both product and process limitations to be 7. Woods, B., Husain, H., and Mujumdar, A.S., Technoe-
overcome. conomic Assessment of Potential Superheated Steam-
The cost of electricity as well as fossil fuels clearly Drying Applications, CEA Report No. 9138 U 888,
drives the choice of the system chosen. There are March, 1994. 100 p.
significant capital costs involved in both superheated 8. Bosse, D. and Valentin, P., 1988, The thermal dehydra-
steam operation as well as in the energy recovery tion of pulp in a large scale steam dryer, IDS ’88,
process. Development in newer and more efficient 337–343.
9. Jensen, A.S., 1992, in Drying ’92 (A.S. Mujumdar, Ed.),
compressors for steam will give a boost to vapor
Elsevier, Amsterdam.
recompression technology for steam dryers. Cleaning 10. Rosen, H.N., Bodkin, R.E., and Gaddis, K.D., 1982,
of the steam is another obstacle to be overcome. Pressure dryer for steam seasoning lumber U.S. Patent
Overall, it appears that there are some niche markets 4,343,095.
for superheated steam dying but much laboratory, 11. Iwotech Limited, 1993, Technical Bulletins on Moldrup
pilot scale as well as engineering design studies are Process, Iwotech Limited, Brande, Denmark.
needed before the technology can become wide- 12. Munter, C., 1989, personal communication.
spread, e.g., drying of paper and tissue using super- 13. Fagernäs, L. and Wilen, C., 1988, Steam drying for peat
heated steam is a new technology that shows promise and their organic condensates, Eighth International
as shown by Kiiskinen and Edelmann [34]. The en- Peat Congress, Leningrad, USSR, August 1988,
pp. 14–20.
ergy savings depend greatly on process integration
14. Jahkola, A., Isoniemi, M., and Wilen, C., 1989,
and the cost of energy. Depending on available heat
Improving Performance and Economy of Heating
sinks the energy savings potential in paper drying can Power Plants by Steam Fluidized Bed Drying of
range from 15 to 85%. Despite significant R&D of the Fuels, in Proceedings of the Symposium on Low-Grade
process many major problems remain, e.g., cleaning Fuels, June 12–16, 1989, Helsinki, Finland.
of the exhaust steam, fouling of heat transfer surfaces, 15. Mujumdar, A.S., 1981, 100th Anniversary Issue: Tita-
and sealing of the dryer at the high speeds currently ghar Paper Mills, Calcutta, India. Also, Plenary Lecture,
in practice. Indian Institute of Chemical Engineering, Madras, India.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

 16. Burgess, B.W., Chapman, S.M., and Seto, W., 1972, 26. Salin, J.G., 1988, Steam drying of wood for improved
Pulp Paper Mag. Canada, 73(11): T314–T323. particle board and lower energy consumption, Paperi ja
17. Crotogino, R.H. and Allenger, V., 1979, CPPA Trans., Puu (Paper and Timber), 9:806–810.
5(4):Tr.84. 27. Furukawa, T., Akao, T., and Watanabe, H., 1981,
18. Mujumdar, A.S., 1991, Keynote Lecture, in Inter- Concurrent steam drying and deodorization of soy
national Symposium on Alternate Methods for Drying sauce cakes, 15th Fall Meeting, Society of Chemical
Pulp and Paper, Helsinki, Finland. Engineering, Japan, pp. 239–240.
19. Cui, W.K., Douglas, W.J.M., and Mujumdar, A.S., 28. Akao, T., 1983, Applications of pressurized super-
1985, Drying Technology, Vol 3, No 2, pp 307–319. heated steam to food processing, in Chemical Engineer-
20. David, M., 1987, Exploratory Study of Effect of Super- ing Symposium Series I (S. Shimizui, Ed.), Society Of
heated Steam Drying on Properties of Paper, M.Eng. Chemical. Engineering, Tokyo, Japan, pp.239–240.
thesis, McGill University, Montreal. 1988. 29. Yoshida, T. and Hoydo, T., 1963, Superheated vapor as
21. Cui, W.K. and Mujumdar, A.S., 1984, A novel steam a drying agent in spinning fiber, Ind. Eng. Chem. Pro-
jet and double-effect evaporation dryer part I—math- cess Des. Dev., 2(1):53–56.
ematical model, in Drying ’84 (A.S. Mujumdar, Ed.), 30. Billet, R., 1989, Evaporation Technology: Principles,
Hemisphere, New York, pp. 468–473. Applications, Economics, VCH Verlagsgesellschaft,
22. Loo, E. and Mujumdar, A.S., 1984, A simulation model for Germany.
combined impingement and through drying using super- 31. van Gogh, F., 1985, Mechanical vapor compression for
heated steam as the drying medium, in Drying ’84 (A.S. the pulp and paper industry, Appita, 38(5):372–376.
Mujumdar, Ed.), Hemisphere, New York, pp. 264–280. 32. Benstead, R., 1982, Steam compression drying, in Pro-
23. Bond, J.-F., 1990, Ph.D. thesis, McGill University, ceedings Of Third International Drying Symposium, Au-
Montreal. gust 1982, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
24. Poirier, N., 1991, Ph.D. thesis, McGill University, 33. Anthony, D., 1989, Evaporate and crystallize waste
Montreal. brines, Chemical Engineering, 96(4): 138–144.
25. Salin, J.G., 1986, Steam drying of wood particles for 34. Kiiskinen, H.T. and Edelmann, K.E., 2002, Super-
particle board, in Drying ’86 (A.S. Mujumdar, Ed.), heated steam drying of paper web Dev. Chem. Eng.
Hemisphere, New York, pp. 575–576. Mineral Process., 10(34): 349—365.

ß 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

View publication stats