Drying characteristics of bean-curd refuse

Drying characteristics of bean-curd refuse were investigated using a thermo-gravimetric analyzer in order to determine the drying rate. Drying temperature and the physical sample size were the controlled experimental variables. The drying mechanism of bean-curd refuse was found to closely follow the unreacted core model that considered the zero order on gas reactant concentration and a solid particle of unchanging size. The drying reaction step was found to be the dominant factor in the drying mechanism. The activation energy of the drying rate was 21.25 kJ/g mol. The following empirical correlation was proposed for the fractional conversion of drying t = 4.644 x 10(6) R-p(2.628) e(E/RT) {1 - (1 - X)(1/3)}. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.