Concurrent moving bed dryer modelling: Sensitivity of physicochemical parameters and influence of air velocity profiles

Modelling of heat and mass transfer in moving bed dryers is generally based on the application of mass and energy balance equations for both solid and fluid phases (two-phase model). Some classical hypotheses are assumed in the development of these equations, such as flat air velocity profiles and constant physicochemical parameters. The main goal of this work was to ascertain the validity of this assumption applied to the modelling of concurrently moving bed dryers. Comparisons of the experimental data and the simulated responses revealed the significant influence of the distribution of air velocity in the drying process. The influence of various physicochemical parameters of the model was also analyzed based on sensitivity studies using experimental design and derivative methods based on the DASPK 3.0 code.