Types of dryers for polymer powder from Niro A/S
Dryer Types for polymer powder
The main types of polymer powder dryers supplied by Niro are shown on some of the pages on this site.
When polymer drying involves wet powders (particles already created as a result of slurry polymerization or precipitation), water or organic volatiles are removed in flash and/or fluid bed dryers (figures 1 and 2).
When polymer powder drying involves formation and drying of particles of specific size and structure (polymers from emulsion and solution processes), spray dryers are used, often combined with fluid bed post-drying and cooling (figures 3, 4, and 5).
When processing involves molten polymers, spray congealing is adopted in plant designs that resemble spray dryers.
Dryer Cleaning
Dryers are designed for continuous operation with scheduled shutdowns for cleaning and grade changes. Automatic Cleaning-In-Place (CIP) systems can be incorporated in all dryers when required.
Dryer Capacities
Scale-up of polymer dryers presents no problems. Both present day and expected future process stream rates can be handled in single dryer units. Current dry product rates already exceed 35 tons an hour for slurry polymers, and 5 tonnes an hour for emulsion polymers.
Energy Savings
Contact heating (heating elements) can be incorporated in fluid beds to great advantage. Heat recovery and partial recirculation of the drying medium reduce energy consumption in spray and flash dryers.
Residual VOCs
Stripping of Volatile Organic Compounds from dry polymers is a growing requirement, and could well become a general processing standard due to concern about the release of VOCs during handling, storage and fabrication. Both integrated and separate stripping stages can be included in the dryer design.
Turnaround Time
Emptying, cleaning, and start-up times depend upon the dryer type, but special design features are incorporated into Niro dryers to minimize the turnaround time.
Read more about polymer powder.
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