Drying
| Technology | |
| |
| Technology details | |
| Name: | Drying |
| Category: | Pre-processing (Separation technologies), Post-processing (Separation technologies) |
| Feedstock: | Biowaste including liquids |
| Product: | Dry biomass |
Drying technologies are based on the vaporisation/evaporation or sublimation of different liquids or solids under different gas atmospheres and physical conditions resulting in dry products or products with a desired humidity.
Feedstock
Origin and composition
Pre-treatment
In view of the energy costs involved in drying, this technology is of limited use in pre-treatment. The need to dry biomass feedstocks before they can for example be gasified, can place a large energy and capital cost burden on small-to-medium scale biomass gasification plants for the production of heat and power. Drying may not always be unavoidable, but as biomass moisture content to the gasifier increases, the quality of the product gas deteriorates along with the overall performance of the whole system.
Process and technologies
Air drying
Process that involves the evaporation of liquids under an oxygen atmosphere. The exchange of oxygen with low humidity accelerates this process, but may lead to an (unwanted) oxidation of the product.
Nitrogen drying
Process that involves the evaporation of liquids under an nitrogen atmosphere. The exchange of nitrogen accelerates this process. Since nitrogen is an inert gas, unwanted reactions such as oxidation of the product are avoided.
Freeze drying
Also known as lyophilisation. The technology represents a low temperature and pressure dehydration process that involves freezing the product, lowering pressure ("vacuum"), then removing the ice by sublimation and condensing.
Thermal drying
Process that involves the vaporisation/evaporation of liquids through the application of heat under different atmospheres. With increasing application of heat, the process can be accelerated. Very high temperatures may lead to unwanted reactions of the product. Examples for thermal drying technologies are flash (pneumatic) drying, radiative drying, solar drying, drum drying, and supercritical drying.
Vacuum drying
Process that involves the evaporation of liquids under a vacuum atmosphere. The vacuum atmosphere allows the evaporation of liquids at lower temperatures than under atmospheric pressure.
Product
Post-treatment
Drying is a widely used process in industry worldwide, with many different reasons: to save weight, to make transport easier, to extend the shelf life of food, to obtain a product that can be further processed, etc.
The importance of drying efficiency has increased significantly due to high energy costs and increasingly stringent customer quality requirements.
Technology providers
| Company name | Country | City | Technology category | Technology name | TRL | Capacity [kg/h] | Processable volume [L] | Processable mass [kg] | Temperature [°C] | Pressure [Bar] | Feedstock: Food waste | Feedstock: Garden & park waste |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company 1 | Germany | Cologne | Freeze drying | Powerdry 5000 | 9 | 0.00138 | 100 | 1 | -20 | 0.0004 | ● | ● |
| Company 2 | France | Paris | Nitrogen drying | Nitrodry | 9 | 0.003 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 20 | 1 | ● | ● |
Andritz
| General information | |||
| Company: | Andritz | 
| |
| Country: | Austria, Sweden | ||
| Contact: | Andritz AB, Sweden, Kvarnvägen, SE-351 87 Växjö; Email: flakt.drying{at}andritz.com | ||
| Webpage: | https://www.andritz.com | ||
| Technology and process details | |||
| Technology name: | ANDRITZ | Technology category: | Pre-processing (Separation technologies), Post-processing (Separation technologies) |
| TRL: | Commercial | Capacity: | kg·h-1 |
| Atmosphere: | Evaporable substances: | ||
| Pressure: | bar | Processable mass: | kg |
| Processable volume: | L | Temperature: | °C |
| Other: | |||
| Feedstock and product details | |||
| Feedstock: | mixed biomass, sawdust | Product: | dried biomass |
Andritz is an international technology group providing plants, systems, equipment, and services for various industries. The company is one of the technology and global market leaders in the hydropower business, the pulp and paper industry, the metal working and steel industries, and in solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial segments. The listed Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria. Since its foundation 170 years ago, Andritz has developed into a Group with approximately 27,400 employees, and more than 280 locations in over 40 countries worldwide.
ANDRITZ offers several different drying technologies to match the application and heat source available, mainly for pulp and paper industries. The different technologies are:
- Rotary drum
- Belt dryer
- Pneumatic
- Fluidbed
Information: Andritz biomass drying
Dorset Group
| General information | |||
| Company: | Dorset Group | 
| |
| Country: | The Netherlands | ||
| Contact: | Dorset Green Machines BV, Weverij 26, 7122 MS Aalten, The Netherlands; Email: gm[at]dorset.nu | ||
| Webpage: | https://www.dorset.nu | ||
| Technology and process details | |||
| Technology name: | Dorset Drying | Technology category: | Pre-processing (Separation technologies), Post-processing (Separation technologies) |
| TRL: | Commercial | Capacity: | kg·h-1 |
| Atmosphere: | Evaporable substances: | ||
| Pressure: | bar | Processable mass: | kg |
| Processable volume: | L | Temperature: | °C |
| Other: | |||
| Feedstock and product details | |||
| Feedstock: | mixed biomass, sawdust | Product: | dried biomass |
Dorset was founded in 1984 for the import of Daltec feeding systems for pig feeding. In late eighties and early nineties more divisions were founded that started the development and production of a variety of machinery and electronic products. Today the group consists of two divisions, each with their own development and production. The group is globally active with a headquarters in the Netherlands.
Dorset offers drying technologies for several biomass streams like digestate, sewage sludge or mixed biomass. It has a lot of experience with drying several biomass materials incl. grass, compost, fats and food residues. The warm air required for the use of a conveyor belt dryer, can be supplied by the use of either warm stable air or air heated in another way.
Information: Dorset dryers, Biomass solutions
Mastershred GmbH
| General information | |||
| Company: | Mastershred GmbH | 
| |
| Country: | Germany | ||
| Contact: | Raphael Barth, Managing Director, Tel.: 07173 186-140, Email: barth(at)mastershred.de
Michael Schubert, Managing Director, Tel.: 07173 186-70, Email: schubert(at)mastershred.de | ||
| Webpage: | https://mastershred.de/ | ||
| Technology and process details | |||
| Technology name: | Mastershred | Technology category: | Pre-processing (Separation technologies), Post-processing (Separation technologies) |
| TRL: | Capacity: | kg·h-1 | |
| Atmosphere: | Evaporable substances: | ||
| Pressure: | bar | Processable mass: | kg |
| Processable volume: | L | Temperature: | °C |
| Other: | |||
| Feedstock and product details | |||
| Feedstock: | mixed biowaste | Product: | - Bio-Liquid for methane production
- dried and pressed briquettes for bioenergy |
Mastershred offers a technology to valorize biowaste for energy supply. With a mobile compact plant in the size of a container they use novel shredding and squeezing process to produce three fractions from the biowaste:
- a bio-Liquid for methane production
- pressed material for composting, soil improvement or peat replacement
- dried and pressed briquettes for bioenergy
Open access pilot and demo facility providers
Pilots4U Database (Evaporation)
Patents
Currently no patents have been identified.