(95b) An Experimental Investigation of Single Droplet Drying Above Boiling Point

An experimental method has been developed to enable dried particle structure, properties and drying rate to be predicted based on droplet drying history, particularly focusing on effects driven by boiling including bubble nucleation, growth and collapse. The method involves a single droplet drying rig which will be used to investigate drying kinetics above boiling point and across a broad range of drying conditions, drop size and composition space. The drying rig was improved as compared to previous apparatuses reported in literature, in that it is designed to measure droplet drying rates and morphological changes at high temperatures and under conditions that more closely resemble those found in industrial applications. The aim is to conduct drying experiment for droplets as small as 300µm diameter, in an air stream which temperature may be as high as 350°C.

Drying kinetics and morphological evolution will be determined, particularly focusing on the second drying stage as well as inflation/deflation periods. Initially, the constructed drying rig is checked and evaluated by conducting experiments on droplets of pure water. Afterwards, experiments will be conducted on solutions of different materials such as Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC), sodium sulphate and sucrose. An assessment of morphologies, transformations and drying behaviour under isothermal drying would be completed at a wide space of process condition, initial water content, initial drop size and composition space. The investigation will look to link material properties, particle size, initial moisture content and drying history to morphology. Results will be compared with single droplet drying models reported in literature.

An initial investigation has focused on mapping the morphological drying behaviour of HPMC, sodium sulphate and sucrose. It has shown that the three materials show different behaviour; sucrose showed deflation and inflation cycles, sodium sulphate droplets supersaturated and crystallized while HPMC showed inflation and rupture. Differences in drying behaviour is due to difference in material and transport properties. Therefore, the next stage of this work is focused on conducting some physical properties measurement at different water concentrations and temperature. In addition, different materials will be dried on the rig and the drying behaviour will be determined. The experimental data from this work will be used to develop, a universal morphology regime map which will link material properties, particle size, initial moisture content and drying history to morphology.