Drying of solids in vacuum fluidized bed

A drying process in a fluidized, bed under vacuum conditions is experimentally and theoretically studied. A fluidized bed operating in reduced pressure presents a possibility for a better quality of production, with safer process conditions. A mathematical model is developed for the reduced-pressure drying process in a fluidized bed. Some parameters were analyzed by comparing experimental results with model predictions. The predictions from the model agreed quite closely with the experimental data. The results showed that a decrease in pressure reduces the interparticular resistance. A good agreement was also found applying the model to data, at atmospheric pressure, from other authors.