Analysis and Modeling of Wangqing Oil Shale Drying Characteristics in a Novel Fluidized Bed Dryer with Asynchronous Rotating Air Distributor

In order to replace the conventional distributor, a novel asynchronous rotating air distributor, which can optimize the drying ability of fluidized bed and strengthen the drying performance of oil shale particles, is creatively designed in this study. The rotating speed of the asynchronous rotating air distributor with an embedded center disk and an encircling disk is regulated to achieve the different air supply conditions. The impacts of different drying conditions on the drying characteristic of Wangqing oil shale particles are studied with the help of electronic scales. The dynamics of experimental data is analyzed with 9 common drying models. The results indicate that the particles distribution in fluidized bed can be improved and the drying time can be reduced by decreasing the rotating speed of the embedded center disk and increasing the rotating speed of the encircling disk. The drying process of oil shale particles involves a rising drying rate period, a constant drying rate period and a falling drying rate period. Regulating the air distributor rotating speed reasonably will accelerate the shift of particles from the rising drying rate period to the falling drying rate period directly. The two-term model fits properly the oil shale particles drying simulation among 9 drying models at different air supply conditions. Yet the air absorbed in the particles’ pores is diffused along with the moisture evaporation, and a small amount of moisture remains on the wall of fluidized bed in each experiment, thus, the values of drying simulation are less than the experimental values.