Lab-scale Dryer Offers Fully Continuous Drying

QbCon 1. Image courtesy of L.B. Bohle.

The QbCon 1 laboratory-scale, continuous twin-screw granulator and dryer uses patent-pending technology to create truly continuous drying that overcomes the challenges of semicontinuous systems, said Robin Meier, manager of Scientific Operations at L.B. Bohle Maschinen + Verfahren GmbH, in an interview. The new technology allows consistent drying over all particle sizes and fully automatic cleaning of filters during the drying process. The plug-flow system improves traceability of material. In addition, the near-infrared (NIR) sensors are only in contact with dry material, which eliminates the potential for sensor-fouling that can occur when wet material contacts the sensor.

The plug-and-play, modular unit has a flexible, movable feeder that allows the operator to adjust where powder is dosed and a special pump for continuous liquid application. The lab-scale dryer has a throughput of 0.5–4 kg/h. The company has built a prototype, commercial-size continuous dryer, with a throughput of approximately 5–30 kg/h. The first showcase of the new dryer in commercial scale will be at the company’s workshop on continuous manufacturing in September 2018 at L.B. Bohle’s Technology Center in Germany. The lab-size model will scale directly to the commercial-size equipment, says Meier.

Source: L.B. Bohle