Dryers Industry Information
IQS Newsroom Articles on Dryers
Dryers are used to remove liquids or moisture
from bulk solids, powders, parts and sometimes other liquids by evaporation
and sublimation processes. The particular drying technologies
can vary greatly, depending on the type of dryer needed for
the drying process. Often, dryers work very much
like home clothes drying units, by using either gas dryers
or electric dryers to heat the air that dries the clothing.
Other types of fuels are also used in large dryers, such as
wood or coal to heat the rotary drums that dry grain and other wet processed
crops. Compressed air dryers and
infrared
heat dryers are additional types used in the bulk drying of materials.
The use of infrared heat is unique from other dryers in that
it is most commonly used for the curing of wet coatings or inks in processes
such as silk screening.
The most important thing for many dryer manufacturers is to
remember the amount of exposure to heat for a period of time. In the
case of flash dryers, the process is extreme but fast, in that the material
is exposed for a very short amount of time but given enough heat to be
dried almost instantaneously. In some processes, materials can be dried
without the use of heat or even cool air. These types of dryers
use a process called desiccation, which uses tiny moisture-drawing granules
to absorb moisture in a way that is similar to how cat litter reacts
with fluid. Many drying units are custom made for maximum efficiency
and profitability.
The use of
conveyer
systems by dryer manufacturers is very common.
Conveyor
belts
carry the desired material through the different stages of the drying
process in order to dry products in an easy and efficient way. Using
conveyor systems to dry materials is especially useful for food and
agricultural industries. Contamination is a minimal concern because
most drying systems are very sanitary. Dryers are, and should be,
cleaned often, in between each drying procedure.
There are two types of dryers: those that come into direct contact with
heat (direct industrial dryers) and those that do not (indirect
dryers). Each of these dryers have different types of dryers used for
different applications. Dryer manufacturers design products to be used
in a variety of industries, such as the food processing,
pharmaceutical, paper, pollution control and agricultural sectors.
Diverse materials need to be dried in completely different businesses,
such as chemicals for research and medical concerns, paper for printing
and packaging operations and edible materials for further processing
into popular foods and snacks. Dryers have important uses all over the
world.