Glazpart recently undertook a trial to compare their existing dehumidifier drying range with an Intelicare WD Series Honeycomb dehumidifier dryer. With the aim of improving drying efficiency and reduing costs, the comparison took place during normal production time, using two products for actual customer orders.
Dehumidifier dryers are used for drying hydroscopic materials. The Intelicare WD Series dryers are based on the use of a rotating drum infused with mixtures of molecular sieves which help to draw moisture from within the granule.
The Comparison: Existing set-up vs WD Series
Sample 1:
- Moisture content during production reduced from 0.21% to 0.16%
- 57% reduction in drying cost from 42.7p per hour to 18.4p
- Existing dryer required switching on at 8pm on Sunday evening.
- Intelicare WD Series dryers only required switching on at 0400 on Monday morning – 8 hours of energy saving.
Sample 2:
- Moisture content and drying cost reduced, as in sample 1.
- Existing dryer causes severe oxidisation which turns the material yellow, causing a potential reject situation.
- WD Series dryer significantly improved the finished product quality and in turn reduced rejects, thanks in part to the automatic RCE function.
The Benefits
- Uses less than half the energy of the existing dryer.
- The material is also being dried to the recommended moisture content levels in reduced time.
- WD Series can be used on difficult production runs or on jobs with small throughputs without fear of over-drying due to the RCE function.
- The RCE function, once activated, can reduce power consumption considerably.
- The dryer does not require compressed air.
- An electronic timer is built into the dryer, enabling drying operation start at any time.