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An optimization model of the operating costs of a fluidized bed steam‐drying plant
Author(s) -
Heinrich Stefan,
Ihlow Matthias,
Henneberg Markus,
Krüger Gerhard,
Mörl Lothar
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450800221
Subject(s) - superheated steam , fluidized bed , mass transfer , process engineering , moisture , water vapor , superheating , process (computing) , waste management , environmental science , mechanics , petroleum engineering , thermodynamics , materials science , engineering , computer science , physics , meteorology , composite material , operating system
A model is developed to determine an optimum apparatus geometry and, for given apparatus dimensions, a financially optimal fluidized bed height. The parameters that effect the operating costs are the bed mass, the apparatus diameter and the gas mass flow rate. To implement such cost optimization, a physics‐based mathematical model for describing the thermodynamic processes in fluidized bed steam‐drying is briefly explained and presented. The most important conclusion is not to operate the fluidized bed for a drying process below a certain minimum cost, calculated with the help of the modelling. The problem, when describing the drying process and consequently the mass transfer, is that in the superheated steam drying case studied here, water is evaporated as moisture and withdrawn into an atmosphere of vapor water.