Title: Numerical study of sago pith waste drying process in a fluidised bed dryer

Authors: Angnes Ngieng Tze Tiong; Eunice Ke Xin Lou

Addresses: Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, 98009 Miri Sarawak, Malaysia ' Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, 98009 Miri Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract: Research on the drying of sago pith waste (SPW) using a fluidised bed dryer (FBD) is relatively scarce. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to scrutinise the drying of SPW in the FBD with varying diameter and height through computational fluid dynamic modelling. The simulations were conducted by using the multiphase Eulerian-Eulerian approach. The effects of bed dimensions, air velocity, and air temperature on the drying performance of SPW were investigated. Better drying of SPW is attained in FBD with a larger height and smaller diameter. Besides, the drying performance is better when the air temperature increases from 50°C to 100°C. Higher inlet velocities of 3 m/s to 4 m/s are not recommended. The recommended diameter and height for FBD are 180 mm and 190 mm, respectively. The optimum operating conditions to achieve the desired final moisture content are 1-2 m/s of air inlet velocities and an inlet temperature of 50°C.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; CFD; drying; fluidised bed dryer; FBD; sago pith waste; SPW.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPM.2023.134526

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2023 Vol.20 No.1, pp.31 - 38

Received: 24 Oct 2022
Accepted: 21 Mar 2023
Published online: 26 Oct 2023 *