Convective drying of iron ore fines: A CFD model validated for different air temperatures and air velocities

In this research, a granular Eulerian multiphase model coupled with heat and mass transfer was used to simulate the convective drying process of iron ore fines. The CFD model was validated with experimental data for different air temperatures and air velocities. Convective drying experiments were performed using laboratory-scale equipment in order to obtain drying kinetics data for iron ore fines at air temperatures up to 140 degrees C and air velocities up to 15 m/s. The drying system had combined characteristics of fluidized bed and pneumatic transport. Numerical results showed good agreement with experimental data (average RMSE of 3.9 x 10-3) for the moisture content for nine drying air conditions. Since the coupled momentum, heat and mass transfer model could accurately and validly estimate the drying rate for iron ore fines according to the local conditions of the drying air in laboratory-scale equipment, it has potential for application in CFD simulations of industrial-scale equipment.