Measurement of Drying Rates in a Domestic Scale Fluidized Bed Dryer

A domestic scale fluidized bed dryer is designed, fabricated and used to measure the drying rates of wood chips and ground nuts at various operating conditions. Experiments were conducted at two different bed temperatures viz. 100C and 115C and also at three different fluidization velocities. The design was carried out using SOLIDWORKS and fabrication was done in a workshop using most basic processes. The purpose of keeping the cost of the facility was achieved. Different drying rates at different times, conditions, and materials were noticed. Drying times were lower for higher fluidization velocities and also at higher bed temperature. However, the influence of fluidization velocity is found to be greater than bed temperatures.