Quality and process managers from the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industry know the difficulty of keeping powders and granulates from clumping. Many bulk goods love water. They eagerly soak it up – and don’t give it up without a fight. When humidity meets strongly hygroscopic bulk goods in an uncontrolled environment, the desired free-flowing property of these products is a lost cause. But Trotec has the right professional solution for this as well.
To prevent hygroscopic bulk goods from clumping and clogging conveying channels, all air in chemical and pharmaceutical production must be dehumidified beforehand. A good dehumidification concept for the conveying channels thus begins during delivery of the hygroscopic raw materials and on their way to the silos: The pre-dehumidification of the conveying air of the pneumatic transport paths guarantees that powders and granulates reach the silo still in a free-flowing state. Even during storage the hygroscopic bulk goods must be kept dry by pre-dehumidification, so that they remain in usable condition.
We solve humidity problems
We use two examples to demonstrate the effects of excessive humidity: in pneumatic transport and silo storage – and how we solve the problem reliably with the adsorption dryers of the TTR series.
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Problems in pneumatic conveyance
Materials are often conveyed pneumatically from the bulk goods vehicle to the silo and from there into the production process. Pneumatic conveyance is done mostly using environmental air, which exhibits great temperature and moisture variation depending on the climate and time of day and year. Due to their hygroscopic structure, many materials have the tendency to absorb water from the conveying air. The materials clump and clog the pipelines − this causes a disruption in production flow as well as costly cleaning work.
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The solution from Trotec
Only sufficiently thorough pre-dehumidification of the conveying air can ensure successful transport, even in a sufficiently dry atmosphere. Therefore as soon as the product is being unloaded from the delivery vehicle as well as during its later transport to processing, the suction and conveying air is being dehumidified − by adsorption dryers from Trotec’s powerful TTR series specially designed for this. Only one centrally positioned adsorption dehumidifier must be used due to changeovers of the airways within the conveying channels.
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Problems in silo storage
When storing hygroscopic materials in silos and storage tanks, it is necessary to strictly preserve their free-flowing property. But in the silo, excessive humidity prevails due to products being conveyed with moist environmental air. Not to mention because the materials themselves give off moisture and because humid air penetrates the silo through ventilation openings as the materials are being removed. When the temperature falls below the dew point, particularly when the temperature drops at night, the humidity brought into the silo condenses in the headspace and on the silo walls. The product clumps into a so-called cake and sticks to the walls, which greatly impairs it’s free-flowing state and complicates its removal. In addition, the high air humidity is a breeding ground for microorganisms, which should be avoided at all costs, especially when dealing with food.
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The solution from Trotec
Pre-dehumidification of the conveying air as well as subsequent headspace dehumidification of the silos via the conveying line by means of an effective TTR adsorption dryer from Trotec ensures a constant humidity level. Since the product-free area of the silo is always filled with dry air, the risk of condensation and humidity absorption is averted − the materials maintain their free-flowing property and the hygiene requirements are completely fulfilled.
TTR series adsorption dehumidifiers – keep your powder dry
With our TTR series adsorption dryer units, Trotec offers the optimal application solutions for ensuring the constant free-flowing state of hygroscopic products in storage, conveying and metering systems, even in cool environments with a low dew point. The units of “Made in Germany” quality, exclusively available from Trotec, represent the current state of the art in adsorption dehumidifiers on the market. Thanks to extensive series equipment as well as numerous equipment options, they can be composed quickly and inexpensively into a customised solution for your individual requirements – for example with a bacteriostatic sorption wheel in the hygienic design. The smaller TTR models for mobile applications as well as the larger dehumidification units for stationary permanent operation can achieve effective permanent dehumidification with high capacities even at low dew points.
All TTR models are have an extremely long service life and can be configured flexibly and work according to the TTR Trisorp Dual Principle with dual air circuits for
pressure-neutral air recirculation, which is supplied via a separate ventilator,
which can be set separately and with infinitely variable electronic adjustment. For permanent outside operation, we offer our special weather protection equipment, which consists of: weather protection grille at air inlets, additional seals, moist air exhaust spouts, perspex flap in front of operating elements.
Want more information on the TTR series?
If you are interested in our TTR adsorption drying units, we are happy to provide consultation for you and your company. Just call us at +49 2452 962-777 or send us an email to info@trotec.de The Trotec team is happy to give you complete information!
Of course you are also welcome to rent any model from the TTR series for a temporary need – our rental centre TKL would be happy to inform you about this directly over the phone on +49 2452 962 160. The TKL team looks forward to hearing from you!
