Countercurrent drying

In contrast to TSP interface, no extensive temperature optimization is needed with APCI. For systems providing a countercurrent drying gas, it is claimed that volatile as well as nonvolatile buffers can be used. Uncharged volatile material is swept away from the nozzle by the countercurrent drying gas, whereas nonvolatile contamination deposited in the source chamber can readily be wiped away without the need to switch off tire vacuum system. 

The steam produced is removed from the molten ammonium nitrate (m.p. 170°C) via the vortex finder of a cyclone separator, and the 99+% molten salt proceeds to either a cooled stainless steel belt to produce a flaked product (Fig. 11.10), or to a 30-m-high prilling tower where droplets of melt fall through a countercurrent dry air stream to produce shot-sized prills (beads) of ammonium nitrate. A hot concentrated solution of ammonium nitrate is explosively sensitized by traces of acid so care is taken to add sufficient ammonia to the wet melt to keep the pH above about 5. 

The choice of co- or countercurrent drying is determined by the product properties. Cocurrent drying leads to high drying rates and limits the maximum product temperatures, while countercurrent drying allows lower final moisture contents to be achieved. 

FIGURE 3.7 Process paths and longitudinal distribution of parameters for countercurrent drying of sand in air. 

No differences occur between cocurrent and countercurrent drying, as long as the product surface is at the wet-bulb temperature. 

Countercurrent Drying air and particles move through the drying chamber in opposite directions. This mode is suitable for products that require a high degree of heating. 

Collection of products. H2 is obtained 99.9% pure by countercurrent scrubbing with cooling water. CI2 is obtained 97% pure (1.5% O2) by direct or indirect cooling with water followed by countercurrent drying with 98% sulphuric acid. It is then compressed and liquefied in steel pressure tanks. NaOH is obtained in 50-70% concentration by evaporating in nickel or ferritic steel evaporators. 

Tunnel dryers are shown in Fig. 3.15a. Wet material on trays or a conveyor belt is passed through a tunnel, and drying takes place by hot air. The airflow can be countercurrent, cocurrent, or a mixture of both. This method is usually used when the product is not free flowing. 

The heated polymer solution emerges as filaments from the spinneret into a column of warm air. Instantaneous loss of solvent from the surface of the filament causes a soHd skin to form over the stiU-Hquid interior. As the filament is heated by the warm air, more solvent evaporates. More than 80% of the solvent can be removed during a brief residence time of less than 1 s in the hot air column. The air column or cabinet height is 2—8 m, depending on the extent of drying required and the extmsion speed. The air flow may be concurrent or countercurrent to the direction of fiber movement. The fiber properties are contingent on the solvent-removal rate, and precise air flow and temperature control are necessary. 

Commercial soy protein concentrates typically contain 70 to 72% cmde protein, ie, nitrogen x 6.25, dry wt basis. Soy protein isolates are prepared from desolventhed, defatted flakes. A three-stage aqueous countercurrent extraction at pH 8.5 is used to disperse proteins and dissolve water-soluble constituents. Centrifugation then removes the extracted flakes, and the protein is precipitated from the aqueous phase by acidifying with HCl at pH 4.5. 

Larch Gum. Larch gum [37320-79-9] (larch arabinogalactan) is obtained by water extraction of the western larch tree, iLarix occidentalism the heartwood of which contains 5—35% on a dry wood basis. In the early 1960s, a countercurrent hot water extraction system was developed, and the gum was produced commercially by the St. Regis Paper Co. under the trade name Stractan. The potential production capacity of this gum is 10,000 t/yr based on the wood residues from the lumber industry. However, the product could not compete with gum arabic, and commercial production is now limited to small batches for a specific medical appHcation. 

Burners and combustion air ports are located in the walls of the furnace to introduce either heat or air where needed. The air path is countercurrent to the sohds, flowing up from the bottom and across each hearth. The top hearth operates at 310—540°C and dries the feed material. The middle hearths, at 760—980°C, provide the combustion of the waste, whereas the bottom hearth cools the ash and preheats the air. If the gas leaving the top hearth is odorous or detrimental to the environment, afterburning is required. The moving parts in such a system are exposed to high temperatures. The hoUow central shaft is cooled by passing combustion air through it. 

The vegetable-tanning materials are commercially extracted using hot water. The extraction is normally done in countercurrent extractors that permit the final removal of the extracts with fresh water. The dilute extracts are then evaporated to the desired concentration in multiple effect evaporators. Some extracts may be further dried by spray drying or any other means that proves effective without overheating the extract. Extract preparation depends on the type of extract, the si2e of the operation, and the desired concentration of the final product. 

The softened seawater is fed with dry or slaked lime (dolime) to a reactor. After precipitation in the reactor, a flocculating agent is added and the slurry is pumped to a thickener where the precipitate settles. The spent seawater overflows the thickener and is returned to the sea. A portion of the thickener underflow is recirculated to the reactor to seed crystal growth and improve settling and filtering characteristics of the precipitate. The remainder of the thickener underflow is pumped to a countercurrent washing system. In this system the slurry is washed with freshwater to remove the soluble salts. The washed slurry is vacuum-filtered to produce a filter cake that contains about 50% Mg(OH)2. Typical dimensions for equipment used in the seawater process may be found in the Hterature (75). 

The common types of dryers are rotary, hearth, flash (spray), and fluidized beds (10). Hot gases are used invariably to remove moisture. The gas flow can be either cocurrent or countercurrent to the flow of soHds, the former tends to be more efficient. In the hearths, the gas flow is countercurrent as the soHds are raked down from one hearth to the next below. Flash dryers are very rapid because the soHds are exposed only briefly to the hot gases. Fluidized-bed dryers, which use hot gases to suspend the soHds, are rapid and efficient, but require elaborate dust coHection systems. These are preferred when fine soHds are involved, and are used commonly for drying fine coal. Indirect-fired dryers are used when the soHds are heat sensitive or combustible. 

Manufacture. Aqueous sodium hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, or sodium sulfite solution are treated with sulfur dioxide to produce sodium metabisulfite solution. In one operation, the mother Hquor from the previous batch is reinforced with additional sodium carbonate, which need not be totally in solution, and then is treated with sulfur dioxide (341,342). In some plants, the reaction is conducted in a series of two or more stainless steel vessels or columns in which the sulfur dioxide is passed countercurrent to the alkaH. The solution is cooled and the sodium metabisulfite is removed by centrifuging or filtration. Rapid drying, eg, in a stream-heated shelf dryer or a flash dryer, avoids excessive decomposition or oxidation to which moist sodium metabisulfite is susceptible. 

Process air in sulfur-burning plants is dried by contacting it with 93—98 wt % sulfuric acid in a countercurrent packed tower. Dry process air is used to minimise sulfuric acid mist formation in downstream equipment, thus reducing corrosion problems and stack mist emissions. 

Firing. A hot-air oven having forced circulation in a countercurrent mode is used to dry the fermented tea leaves and inactivates the key enzymes required for fermentation. The firing process generally occurs over an 18—20-min period, which is optimum for normal process efficiencies. 

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