Method and apparatus for conditioning bulk material

An apparatus for conditioning bulk material containing vaporizable ingredients, the apparatus including a vertical vibrating plate drier have a plurality of generally horizontally extending, circular plates, each of said plates formed with at least one discharge opening therein, said plates being mounted in spaced apart relation along a generally vertically extending vibrating shaft passing through a central portion of each of said plates, a shell enclosing the plates and the shaft, an inlet for bulk material formed in an upper portion of the shell, an outlet for the bulk material formed in a lower portion of the shell, an inlet formed in the shell and adapted to be connected to a source of heating fluid, and an outlet formed in the shell for withdrawing the heating fluid, comprising:

• at least an uppermost two of a plurality of circular plates enclosed in a shell defining a heating section and the remaining ones of said plates defining a drying section;
• a jacket enclosed by the shell and in turn enclosing the ones of said plates forming the heating section, said jacket having an inlet in communication with the bulk material inlet and having an outlet for bulk material;
• at least one of said plates in the drying section having a radially extending slot-type grid formed therein for passing a fine fraction of the bulk material and for preventing passage of a coarse fraction of the bulk material;
• at least one of said plate in both the heating section and the drying section including a mixing jib;
• and
• a plurality of chutes each positioned between an adjacent pair of said plates and attached to an upper one of said pair of plates, each said upper plate having a discharge opening formed therein adjacent an associated one of said chutes.