Commercial drying equipment is crucial for so many industries and jobs. Removing moisture from materials is often one of the first steps in the manufacturing process. Additionally, moisture removal from solid and pasty materials allows for lower transportation costs while still providing the necessary qualities. You can remove moisture by mechanically squeezing, settling, or filtrating the materials. However, heat drying through drying equipment achieves complete dehydration by evaporating water and removing vapors.
Types of Drying
There are many different classifications of drying.
1) Convective Drying – Convective drying is achieved by contacting the wet material directly with a drying agent. The drying agent most commonly used is heated air.
2) Radiant Drying – Radiant drying is heat transmission via infrared rays.
Infrared heating, often known as radiant heating, has to do with the energy transferred between a source and an item by electromagnetic radiation. Most materials absorb heat in the infrared waveband, which makes radiant drying possible. Radiant heating (electric, gas, steam, and oil) uses the infrared waveband to dry materials such as fabrics, ceramics, paint (wood and metal), hardened powder paint, and heat treat plastics. Radiant heat is the most beneficial when a product needs to be heated quickly and directly.
3) Dielectric Drying – Dielectric drying is heat transfer via high-frequency current fields.
Radiofrequency heating, also known as dielectric heating, uses radio frequencies ranging from 10 to 100 MHz to dry or heat a substance. Products with significant loss factors such as wet materials, vinyl, plastics and adhesives, and other non-electrically conductive materials use radio frequency drying.
4) Fluid-Bed Dryers – Fluid-bed dryers use the process of fluidization for drying.
Fluid bed dryers operate on the fluidization concept. This concept involves converting material from a static solid-like state to a dynamic fluid-like one. To complete the process: hot gas or air is supplied into the material-holding area via a perforated distribution plate in this method. The heated gas then pushes its way through the gaps between solid particles. The upward forces on the particles rise as the velocity of the gas or air increases, causing them to equal the gravitational force below. This process converts the material to a dynamic, fluid state exposing more of the material’s surface area for faster drying.
Choosing The Right Method
With many different types of drying equipment available on the market, it may be hard to know which one is right for you. The experts at General Kinematics can help you narrow down the options and choose the perfect machine for your task! Contact us today to get started.
