Using Rotary Dryers to Preheat Materials for Your Kiln – Part 1

Depending on the materials you process in your rotary kiln, pre-heating them with a rotary dryer could be a relatively easy and economical way to save money while improving your treatment process.  In this two-part article series, we’ll be looking into the applications of rotary dryers within an industrial kiln setup, as well as the advantages, and decisions to make when choosing kiln parts and equipment.

Using A Rotary Dryer in Conjunction with Your Kiln

1 – The benefits of pre-heating

In many situations, pre-heating materials can lead to better results from the kiln, as well as potentially reduce your fuel costs.

The most common application is preparing materials for coating. In many situations, exposing materials to the extremely high temperatures within a kiln can cause sudden, even drastic, changes in their chemical composition.  This can subvert, or even prevent, the coating materials from adhering properly.

Warming them up more slowly within a rotary dryer improves the outcomes, particularly in processes such as producing roofing granules.

In addition, this is superior to trying to pre-heat them within the kiln itself because of the huge fuel costs in running a kiln. Industrial dryers are more energy-efficient and because they naturally run at lower temperatures than a full-powered kiln, they’re better suited for the job.  In some cases, they can even be powered primarily from waste heat coming off the kiln, for even better fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, trying to pre-heat by changing the kiln’s temperature is typically quite wasteful.

2 – Why utilize a rotary dryer?

There are several potential solutions for pre-heating, so why rotary dryers?

In short, because they’re high-capacity machines that are well-suited for the job.  Industrial dryers are robust and highly reliable while being easy to modify and customize to fit your specific needs.

In addition, they’re highly tolerant to faults in the feedstock and difficult to foul.  Add to this the relative ease of maintenance, and rotary dryers make for an excellent multi-purpose drying and heating tool.

This technique is relatively uncommon but is gaining acceptance in the industry for all these reasons.  In many cases, utilizing a rotary dryer is both the cheapest and most effective solution, with very few drawbacks.

Kiln Technology Company

In the next article, we’ll focus on different designs of rotary dryers, and how to choose the best one for your operation.  Until then, should you ever need kiln parts, repairs, or service anywhere in the United States, contact the Kiln Technology Company Company for help.