Fluid-bed dryer on display at Hillhead

VENTILEX BV will be showing one of their highly successful fluid-bed dryers at Hillhead on stand C14, which will be shared with their sole UK agent Orthos (Engineering) Ltd.

The Ventilex fluid-bed dryer features a shaking bed with a pneumatic suspension system that provides high-amplitude with low frequency, to keep mechanical stress to a minimum.

The design, which has been applied to the drying of a range of industrial minerals, particularly the preparation of sands for dry silo mortars, generates a plug-flow movement of material through the dryer with sub-fluidization of the bed.

These characteristics, together with the system’s ability to heat the drying air to temperatures exceeding 500°C, ensure high efficiency, reduced fuel/power consumption and uniform product quality. The actual drying area is also reduced compared to lower temperature machines, resulting in reduced capital cost; this is said to be particularly apparent when compared to rotary dryers of similar capacities.

The fluid-bed dryer, which can handle materials up to 15–20mm in size, has also proved successful in a number of applications in the asphalt industry, where the aggregate is dried and heated before being mixed with bitumen.