Air drying apparatus
AssigneeAMF Incorporated
InventorFrank C. King, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for the drying of a slurry being conveyed on a movable support including a steam producing arrangement below the movable support forming a steam atmosphere. A film of condensed vapor is produced above the slurry caused by heat transfer through the movable support, and an air drying arrangement is adapted to propel a stream of air across the slurry surface so as to entrain the vapor therein and to remove it from the slurry.
Claims22
An apparatus for the removal of moisture from an aqueous slurry to provide a uniformly dried material, comprising
- a horizontally movable support means having an upper surface supporting said slurry thereon;
- a chamber arranged below and closed at its top by said movable support means, and steam ejecting means for forming a steam atmosphere in said chamber uniformly heating said slurry moving across said chamber on said support means thereby forming a condensing vapor from said slurry above said support means;
- means disposed on opposite sides of said support means for creating a flow of drying air open to atmosphere along parallel paths first in one direction and then in the opposite direction transverse to the direction of movement of said support means;
- and
- the flow of drying air moving across the upper surface of said support means being of sufficient velocity to create a continuous turbulent flow resulting from the Coanda effect from one side of said support means to the other at the surface of said slurry thereby removing and entraining said condensing slurry vapor and providing a uniformly dried material.
A method of removing moisture from an aqueous slurry to provide a uniformly dried material, comprising the steps of
- applying a layer of slurry on to the top run of an impervious endless belt conveyor;
- moving said slurry through a drying zone by said conveyor;
- uniformly heating with a steam atmosphere below the upper run of the conveyor said slurry as it moves through said drying zone thereby forming a condensing vapor;
- providing a flow of drying air along parallel paths in opposite directions open to atmosphere within said drying zone of sufficient velocity to create a continuous turbulence resulting from the Coanda effect across the width of said conveyor thereby removing and absorbing said condensing vapor from the surface of said slurry and providing a uniformly dried material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.