Explicit analytical solution for drying kinetics of flat materials

Abstract

This research features a theoretical framework to describe the transport of moisture content in convective drying of flat materials. A new set of formulations is developed on the basis of the spreading-pressure concept as the driving force rather than using the traditional Fick's law. The suggested method also provides a possibility to abandon both conventional isotherms: the two-parameter Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and the three-parameter Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) models. As a result, the proposed procedure creates a moisture dependent diffusivity embedded in a certain non-linear diffusion equation which can be solved explicitly. © 2009 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.