Determination of moist air drying ability using chemical potential of water vapour

Abstract

A thermodynamically simple method for calculation of chemical potential of water vapour, contained in the unsaturated moist air used as a drying medium in convective dryers, is developed. The introduced concept enables determination of the moist air drying potential for different patterns of air state change in convective drying processes and tracing new lines in psychrometric and similar diagrams that enables prediction of the optimal drying process. The proposed method also facilitates the evaluation of air consumption and efficiency of the specific drying process.