The superheated steam velocity in the upper part of the drying chamber cannot be considerably higher than 1.6 m s−1.
A heat transfer analysis indicated that only about 70% of the surface area of the material was in thermal contact with the steam. This was confirmed in visual observations. Visual observations also showed that the fraction of the material in the annulus increased with more material in the dryer.
Furthermore, under identical conditions regarding in- and outgoing steam temperatures, steam flow, material flow and moisture content, the spouted bed dryer can operate under different sets of operating conditions than the mass of the material in the dryer and the residence time.
The outlet moisture content interval of interest for pellet production shows a linear relationship between the dried sawdust moisture content and the outlet steam temperature.
Two control parameters for the outlet moisture content were tested: (1) the pressure drop over the drying chamber, and (2) the outlet temperature of the drying gas. It should be favourable to use the pressure drop over the drying chamber, as the outlet drying gas can be reduced to levels close to condensation. Accordingly, the full temperature difference between the boiler and heat demand can be utilised. Our tests, however, showed that this method was unreliable. We did not succeed in finding technical solutions that solved the problem of reliability. Thus, our recommendation is to use the outlet steam temperature as the control parameter for the outlet moisture content, even if it means that the full temperature difference between the boiler and heat demand cannot be used.
The heat flux into the bed has proven to be a limiting factor for the drying capacity. The drying capacity is therefore indirectly limited by the diameter of the drying chamber. A reason for this is the inability to scale up the apparatus beyond 1 m in diameter [14]. Stable outlet moisture content when drying unscreened sawdust has been documented. These conditions can be achieved without using a distribution plate at the inlet of the drying chamber. Multiple spouted bed dryers with a diameter of 1 m could therefore be connected in parallel or in serial to increase the capacity.