Apparatus for conditioning hygroscopic plastic material

Apparatus for removing moisture from granules of plastic resin comprising a barrel with a peripheral wall which is vertically oriented in use and having means for receiving granular resin into an upper region thereof whereby such granular resin moves downwardly of said barrel under the influence of gravity, discharge means for discharging granular resin from a lower region of said barrel, a plurality of longitudinally extending spaced-apart means providing fin-like projections internally of and integrally with said barrel wall a plurality of spaced apart apertures in the barrel wall, channel means insertable lengthwise into said barrel to define a channel for permitting a flow of gases thereinto and therealong, said channel means being a perforated tube of an external dimension slightly less than the internal dimension defined by the extremities of the internally projecting fin-like means to permit insertion thereof and to locate thereby said tube centrally of said barrel, said fin-like means being a plurality of inwardly projecting fins, each of which extends substantially the length of the interior of the barrel wall, said fins being sufficiently spaced apart to permit downward passage of such granular resin between said fins, means for effecting a flow of gases for drying granular resin through the apertures in said barrel wall, over granules of resin in said barrel and into and along said channel means, said channel means being adapted to exhaust directly such gases away from such granular resin and outwardly of said channel means.