Desiccation apparatus and method

A method for desiccating materials, comprising:

• placing material in a bed formed from a plurality of generally spherical plastic supports, retained within a plurality of bins and a perforated bottom, the plurality of bins formed by a pair of sidewalls and a plurality of vertical vanes held between the pair of sidewalls, the plurality of bins each having a rectangular cross-section, the bed formed on an outer surface of an endless conveyor belt positioned at a level allowing a worker to place materials on the belt without bending over, the conveyor belt supported by support legs and held by a plurality of rollers, the plurality of bins formed continuously along the outer surface of the conveyor belt;
• advancing the bed of generally spherical plastic supports and material into a first drying chamber by turning a powered roller of the plurality of rollers, the first drying chamber including an input duct and an output duct, a heat exchanger positioned on the output duct, wherein the step of advancing the bed of generally spherical plastic supports and material into a drying chamber includes:
• circulating a heated gas at a first temperature for a first amount of time through the bed of generally spherical plastic supports and material from the input duct to the output duct, the heat exchanger on the output duct transferring heat to the gas entering the input duct;
• exposing the bed of generally spherical plastic supports and material to at least one ultrasonic frequency through at least one ultrasound emitter placed below the perforated bottom within the range of approximately 20 KHz to approximately 100 KHz for approximately fifteen minutes to approximately ninety minutes;
• advancing the bed of generally spherical plastic supports and material into a second drying chamber and a third drying chamber, the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber separated by a first partition and the second drying chamber and the third drying chamber separated by a second partition;
• separating desiccated material from the generally spherical plastic supports of the bed of generally spherical plastic supports on a perforated vibrating table;
• returning the generally spherical plastic supports to a staging area;
• cleaning the generally spherical plastic supports;
• and
• taking the material to be inspected and packaged.