Apparatus and methods for drying materials

Abstract

A method for drying materials is disclosed. The method comprises introducing a material into a dryer chamber, creating steam from vaporizing moisture in the material by maintaining the chamber at a temperature, conditioning the material using the steam created from vaporing moisture in the material by conveying the material along a length of the chamber from an inlet end to an outlet end, exhausting steam near the inlet end of the chamber, exhausting steam near a dry-end exit end of the chamber, controlling a migration of moisture between the inlet and outlet ends by adjusting an exhaust flow rate near the inlet end of the chamber and/or an exhaust flow rate near the dry-end exit end of the chamber, and withdrawing the material from the chamber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.