EP4303513A1

EP4303513A1 - Device for drying materials in granules

Info

Publication number: EP4303513A1
Application number: EP23176283.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giuseppe Eugenio Ferrari
Original assignee: Ferrari Kristian
Current assignee: Ferrari Kristian
Priority date: 2022-07-04
Filing date: 2023-05-31
Publication date: 2024-01-10

Abstract

A device (1) for drying materials in granules, which comprises a drying body (2) which defines internally a drying chamber (3); the drying chamber (3) defines, downwardly, a delivery port (4) which is connected to means for producing a flow of hot air (5), feeding means (6) being provided for feeding the materials in granules to be dried into the drying chamber (3), the drying chamber (3) defining, downwardly, a first region arranged above the delivery port (4), above the first region (3a) there being a second region (3b) which has an internal chamber (10) which extends axially, communicates downwardly with the first region (3a) and is designed to be crossed upwardly from below by the material being dried, the internal chamber (10) being provided upwardly with an outlet port (11) for the dried material, the second region (3b) defining, outside the internal chamber (10), a discharge region (12) for the dried material which communicates with the outlet port (11) of the internal chamber (10) and is provided with conveying means (13) for conveying the dried material toward at least one discharge port (14) for the dried material.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for drying materials in granules.
In particular, the device for drying is of the type used for drying cereals, seeds, farinaceous products and the like.
Several different types of devices for drying are known, in particular dryers that operate on a continuous cycle, in which the material in granules to be dried is loaded and the dried material in granules is progressively discharged, and dryers that operate intermittently, in which a certain quantity of material in granules is loaded in order to then be discharged all together, once dried.
With reference to the first type of devices for drying, the best-known are vibrating fluid bed dryers.
This type of device is adapted to handling materials with superficial humidity, granular products or fluidifiable powders, and are, furthermore, very effective for toasting soya seeds, hazelnuts, almonds etc.
The drying air is heated using air vein burners fueled by LPG or natural gas, or with exchangers based on steam or diathermic oil. Vibrating fluid bed dryers use working temperatures that are adapted to dry and sanitize and/or eliminate any contamination in the material.
In general, the material to be dried is fed at one longitudinal end of a perforated conveyor belt.
A flow of hot air is emitted below the conveyor belt while, above the belt, an aspirator removes the humidity-rich air that passes through the conveyor belt and the material to be dried.
Vibrating fluid bed dryers, although widely used, are not devoid of drawbacks, however.
First, the energy consumption is considerable, owing to the need to use both means for sending hot air to the fluid bed, and means for extracting air from above in order to make the air pass through the granular material so as to eliminate the humidity.
Furthermore, with conventional devices it is not always possible to rapidly bring down certain levels of humidity.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for drying which is capable of improving the known art in one or more of the above-mentioned aspects.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to make available a device for drying that makes it possible to reduce running costs.
Another object of the invention is to make available a device for drying that is capable of drastically, and rapidly, reducing the level of humidity of the material in granules to be dried.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device for drying that is highly reliable, easy to implement and low-cost.
This aim and these and other objects which will become more apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for drying according to claim 1, optionally provided with one or more of the characteristics of the dependent claims.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the device for drying according to the invention, which are illustrated for the purposes of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view from above of a first embodiment of the device for drying according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the device for drying, taken along the line II-II of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the device for drying, taken along the line III-III of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a front elevation view of the device for drying of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a side view of the device for drying of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a view from above of a second embodiment of the device for drying according to the invention;
Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the device for drying, taken along the line VII-VII of Figure 6;
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the device for drying, taken along the line VIII-VIII of Figure 6;
Figure 9 is a front elevation view of the device for drying of Figure 6;
Figure 10 is a side view of the device for drying of Figure 6;
Figure 11 is a side view of a portion of a variation of embodiment of the device according to the invention;
Figure 12 is a partially cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of Figure 11;
Figure 13 is a partially cross-sectional view taken along the line XIII-XIII of Figure 12.

With reference to the figures, the device for drying materials in granules according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a drying body 2 which defines internally a drying chamber 3.
In particular, the device for drying 1 is adapted for drying seeds, farinaceous products, shells and material intended for the food chain in general.
According to the present invention, the drying chamber 3 defines, downwardly, a delivery port 4 which is connected to means for producing a flow of hot air 5.
Advantageously, the means for producing a flow of hot air 5 are configured so that, inside the drying chamber 3, a flow of hot air exits from the delivery port 4 and is directed downwardly from above and, predominantly, along a vertical direction.
The device for drying further comprises feeding means 6 for feeding the materials in granules to be dried into the drying chamber 3.
The drying chamber 3 defines, downwardly, a first region 3a arranged above the delivery port 4; above the first region 3a there is a second region 3b which has an internal chamber 10 which extends axially.
The internal chamber 10 communicates downwardly with the first region 3a and is designed to be crossed upwardly from below by the material being dried, by virtue of the action of the flow of hot air originating from the delivery port 4.
The internal chamber 10 is provided upwardly with an outlet port 11 for the dried material.
The second region 3b defines, outside the internal chamber 10, a discharge region 12 for the dried material which communicates with the outlet port 11 of the internal chamber 10; the discharge region 12 is provided with conveying means 13 for conveying the dried material toward at least one discharge port 14 for the dried material.
Advantageously, the device for drying 1 comprises, at the outlet port 11, at least one redirection device 20 which is adapted to redirect the dried material that exits from the outlet port 11 toward the discharge region 12.
The redirection device 20 comprises, for example, a first conical surface 21 with the base directed upward and with the tip arranged substantially at the outlet port 11.
In this manner, the dried material that tends to pass through the outlet port 11 is brought outside by the redirection device so that it can then fall into the discharge region 12.
Above the first conical surface 21 there can be a second conical surface 22, with the base directed toward the base of the first conical surface 21.
Advantageously, adjustment means are provided along the vertical direction of the position of the redirection device 20, for adapting its position with respect to the outlet port 11 as a function of the characteristics of the material to be dried and/or of the operating parameters of the device 1.
Conveniently, as shown in the figures, the means 6 for feeding comprise a loading region 6a and a region for feeding 6b the granules to be dried into the drying chamber 3.
The region for feeding 6b leads, in particular, into the first region 3a of the drying chamber 3.
Conveniently, the feeding means 6 comprise a screw feeder.
Advantageously, the conveying means 13 comprise at least one chute 13a which leads into at least one discharge port 14.
The discharge port 14 is, in turn, conveniently connected to a discharge duct 14a which is adapted to discharge the dried material.
Conveniently, the device 1 is of the type comprising a continuous feeding of the material to be dried and a continuous discharge of the dried material.
According to a preferred practical embodiment, there are drive means 13a functionally connected to the conveying means 13, which are configured to produce a vibration of the conveying means 13 so as to facilitate the discharge of the dried material toward the discharge port 14.
With reference to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 11 to 13, it is possible to have, above the second region 3b, a third region 3c which is substantially contoured in a manner similar to the second region 3b.
In particular, the third region 3c has an upper internal chamber 10', which extends in a radial direction correspondingly to the outside diameter of the second region 3b, and which has, upwardly, an upper outlet port 11' for the dried material that has not been unloaded by the means for conveying 13.
The third region 3c defines, outside the upper internal chamber 10', an upper discharge region 12' for the dried material which communicates with the upper outlet port 11' of the upper internal chamber 10'; the upper discharge region 12' is provided with upper conveying means 13' for conveying the dried material toward at least one upper discharge port 14' for the dried material.
The upper discharge port 14' can be connected, for example by way of an elongated body 15, to a containment body 16.
Advantageously, the device for drying 1 comprises, at the upper outlet port 11', at least one upper redirection device 20' which is adapted to redirect the dried material that exits from the upper outlet port 11' toward the upper discharge region 12'.
The upper redirection device 20' comprises, for example, an upper first conical surface 21' with the base directed upward and with the tip arranged substantially at the upper outlet port 11'.
In this manner, the dried material that tends to pass through the upper outlet port 11' is brought outside by the redirection device so that it can then fall into the upper discharge region 12'.
The means for producing hot air 5 comprise, for example, a blower device 5a and means for heating 5b the flow of air sent by the blower device 5a toward the delivery port 4.
The means for producing hot air 5 further comprise a delivery duct 5c which connects the blower device 5a to the delivery port 6, while the means for heating 5b comprise at least one heat exchanger 5b' which is arranged along the delivery duct 5c.
The heat exchanger 5b' can be an electric exchanger or a gas-powered exchanger.
Preferably, the delivery duct 5c defines a U-shaped portion 5d which is arranged below the delivery port 4.
Specifically, the U-shaped portion 5d has an access hatch 5e which can be removed for cleaning the delivery duct 5c.
The operation of the device 1 for drying materials in granules, according to the invention, is the following.
The material in granules to be dried is fed continuously, through the means for feeding 6, into the drying chamber 3, and in particular at the first region 3a arranged above the delivery port 4 connected to the means for producing a flow of hot air 5.
The flow of hot air in output from the delivery port 4 pushes the material in granules to be dried upward, in such a manner that the material remains suspended at the first region 3a.
The flow of hot air that strikes the material in granules to be dried makes it possible to remove its humidity, as a consequence reducing its weight so as to result in the rising upward of the material, as it progressively gets drier, until it is brought to the second region 3b with the axially-extended internal chamber 10.
Still moving upwardly from below by virtue of the flow of hot air flowing out from the delivery port 4, the dried material then passes through the outlet port 11 and is brought, with the aid of the redirection device 20, to the discharge region 12 which is defined outside the internal chamber 10.
By virtue of the means for conveying 13, the dried material is then sent to the discharge port 14.
In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, by providing a device for continuously drying materials in granules, which is extremely efficient.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.
In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.
The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102022000014086 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

A device (1) for drying materials in granules, which comprises a drying body (2) which defines internally a drying chamber (3), characterized in that said drying chamber (3) defines, downwardly, a delivery port (4) which is connected to means for producing a flow of hot air (5), feeding means (6) being provided for feeding the materials in granules to be dried into said drying chamber (3), said drying chamber (3) defining, downwardly, a first region arranged above said delivery port (4), above said first region (3a) there being a second region (3b) which has an internal chamber (10) which extends axially, communicates downwardly with said first region (3a) and is designed to be crossed upwardly from below by the material being dried, said internal chamber (10) being provided upwardly with an outlet port (11) for the dried material, said second region (3b) defining, outside said internal chamber (10), a discharge region (12) for the dried material which communicates with said outlet port (11) of said internal chamber (10) and is provided with conveying means (13) for conveying the dried material toward at least one discharge port (14) for the dried material.
The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises, at said outlet port (11), at least one redirection device (20) which is adapted to redirect said dried material that exits from said outlet port (11) toward said discharge region (12).
The device (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said feeding means (6) comprise a loading region (6a) and a region (6b) for feeding said granules to be dried into said drying chamber (3), said region for feeding (6b) leading into said first region (3a) of said drying chamber (3).
The device (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said conveying means (13) comprise at least one chute (13a) which leads into said at least one discharge port (14).
The device (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a continuous feeding of the material to be dried and a continuous discharge of the dried material.
The device (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises drive means (15) which are functionally connected to said conveying means (13) in order to produce a vibration of said conveying means (13) so as to facilitate the discharge of said dried material toward said discharge port (14).
The device (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said means for producing hot air (5) comprise a blower device (5a) and means for heating (5b) the flow of air sent by said blower device (5a) toward said delivery port (4).
The device (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a delivery duct (5c) which connects said blower device (5a) to said delivery port (4), said means for heating (5b) comprising at least one heat exchanger (5b') which is arranged along said delivery duct (5c).
The device (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said delivery duct (5c) defines a U-shaped portion (5d) which is arranged below said delivery port (4), said U-shaped portion (5d) having an access hatch (5e) which is removable for cleaning said delivery duct (5c).