For.

486, Lecture 3-7

Fiber, particle, and flake
drying
DRYING EQUIPMENT FOR PARTICLES AND FIBERS
All of these systems generally use high temperatures and short drying times
(~10 sec to 10 min)

ROTARY DRYERS Rotating drum

Particle, flake, and strand drying
Single- and triple-pass

JET DRYER Fixed drum with high air velocity

Particle drying

BUNDLE-TUBE DRYER Fixed drum with interior rotating bundle of heated tubes
No direct contact with heating medium
Particle drying

FLASH-TUBE DRYER Long fixed tube (100 to 200 ft.)

High velocity air for heating and pneumatic conveyance
Fiber drying

TRAY DRYER Trays comprised of porous screens move inside a heated tunnel
Flake and strand drying
Lower temperature than rotary dryers

Slide courtesy Dr. Fred Kamke, Virginia Tech

 Single-Pass Tube Dryer
(fiberboard)
Initial MC, approx 50%, final, 8-12%
Air/fiber ratio, 50 ft3/lb; 3,000 fpm air velocity
Wet end temp, 500-650 oF
Exit temp, 150-190 oF; drying time 5 sec.
 Multiple-pass Tube Dryer
(fiberboard)
Useful for furnish with large variation in
MC
 High Temperature Fiber Dying:
Considerations
Fire and explosion hazard adequacy and
maintenance of fire detection and
suppression systems cannot be
overemphasized!!
Particulate and VOC/HAP emissions
Danger of resin pre-cure in tube dryer
(blowline application of resin)
Rotary fiber dryers have been used, but
drying tubes/blowlines are most prevalent
 Flake/Particle Rotary Drum Dryer
Inlet temperature may vary with furnish MC:
175%MC, 1800 oF inlet; 67-100% MC, 700-1200
oF

Furnish residence time, 5-6 minutes; 30,000 lb H2O

removal /hr.
Cut-Away Diagram of Drum Dryer
 Three-Pass Drum Dryer
Furnish starts in center, then intermediate, then
outer drum cavity as it dries to 3-4% MC
 ROTARY DRYER (Bison)

ROTARY DRYER (MEC)

Rotary dryers are used for particles, strands, and hog fuel.

Slide courtesy Dr. Fred Kamke, Virginia Tech

Rotary Dryer with Particle Collectors

Slide courtesy Dr. Fred Kamke, Virginia Tech

Rotary Dryer with Particle Collectors

Slide courtesy of Metso Panelboard

 VOC Reduction Technology
Recent research has shown that multi-
stage drying, starting with low
temperature (70-150 C), may be used to
first generate, concentrate, and collect for
combustion a high proportion of VOCs.
This could obviate (eliminate) the need for
expensive emission control devices such
as RTOs.
Banerjee et al., 2000. Method of lowering
the VOCs emitted during drying of wood
products. U.S. Patent No. 6,029,368.