Method for the continuous drying of wet, granular and/or lumpy materials and device for carrying out the method
AssigneeKlockner-Humboldt-Deutz Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsRoland Pfeiffer, Wilhelm Bongert, Heinz-Dieter Waldhecker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for drying wet granular and/or lumpy materials, employs a chamber having a material inlet, a material discharge outlet, an inlet for a heated drying fluid and a vapor outlet. A perforate sieve-type material support extends along a path between the material inlet and the material discharge outlet to provide communication between the drying fluid and vapor outlet through the material and a microwave generating and transmitting device is located above the material path to irradiate the material with microwave energy as a part of the drying energy supplied to the material.
Claims5
In a method for the continuous drying of moist-to-dripping wet, granular and/or lumpy materials, particularly foodstuffs, in which a vibrating feed chamber is provided with a material inlet and a material outlet and with a heating gas inlet device and a heating gas outlet device, the improvement therein comprising the steps of:
- applying microwave energy as drying energy to the material in a first drying step, including the steps of generating microwave energy at a fixed point outside of said chamber, and flexibly coupling the microwave generator to the chamber to isolate the microwave generator from vibration and to prevent the escape of microwave energy;
- and
- applying hot gases to the material as the drying energy in a second drying step.
Apparatus for the continuous drying of moist-to-dripping wet, granular and/or lumpy materials, particularly foodstuffs, comprising:
- a closed vibrating drying chamber including a material inlet, a material outlet, a vibrating material support extending between said material inlet and said material outlet, a heating gas inlet, a heating gas outlet, and a microwave inlet;
- a stationary microwave transmitter and movable seals flexibly coupling said microwave transmitter to said microwave inlet of said chamber in an area adjacent and downstream of the material inlet for radiating the material adjacent said inlet with microwave energy;
- and
- a sieve-type support within said chamber and downstream of said microwave inlet for supporting the material to be dried so that the hot gases flow through the material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.