The issue of high steam consumption for equipment drying
Thread Content
Hello, teachers. We are a food processing factory that uses steam to dry sunflower seeds, with a set temperature of 105 degrees. The equipment supplied by the manufacturer for drying sunflower seeds features finned heat exchangers. The power plant supplies steam at 0.8 MPa and 172 degrees, and centrifugal fans of type 4-72-6A are used to blow air into the drying oven. At present, we use around 330 kg of steam per hour; other manufacturers using similar equipment only need 230 kg of steam. I would like to know what could be the reasons for this difference. Thank you
Check whether the steam trap is working properly, if there are any leaks in the cooling tubes, and whether the circulating air is functioning Is the moisture content of the materials the same?
Hello, thank you for your reply. The steam trap that has been installed is a new TLV type with a free-floating ball mechanism. We use recycled air in combination with fresh air; the humidity level of the roasted sunflower seeds remains roughly the same in all cases. We use 105 degrees for drying. If the pressure is reduced to 0.4 MPa, will this help reduce the amount of steam used? Thank you
Reducing pressure will only affect the heat transfer efficiency. Since it’s the same as for others, you should check whether there are any leaks in the heat exchange equipment, and whether the insulation material used in the drying room is of the same quality Is the dehumidification set to a higher level? Adjust the fresh air ratio to see where the heat is going!
What are the brands of pressure relief valves? Equipment insulation? Hot air distribution structure? Is the thickness of the material bed reasonable?
Thank you for your interest. What happens if the thickness of the material is large? Disc-type steam traps are used for this purpose
The heat exchange equipment is all new, as is the insulation equipment; that’s fine. What does \"dehumidification\" mean? Additionally, we have opened one-third of the fresh air intake; the rest is air from the circulating oven. Thank you
I checked and everything else seems fine; perhaps you haven’t installed heat recovery, which is why the energy consumption is high!
This post was last edited by Love Drying on 2022-4-6 at 13:28. All of the points mentioned above need to be taken into consideration. As a manufacturer of drying equipment, I would like to add that there are air distribution plates inside the oven, which have a significant impact on the distribution of air.
Add a waste heat recovery device for dried exhaust gas to use the exhaust gas at 70-80°C after drying to heat the fresh air. We often work for the drying industry