Novatec Inc.'s IntelliPET wheel dryer for PET takes up only 55-60 percent of the floor space required for competing wheel-based PET dryers and uses 40-50 percent less energy than conventional dual-desiccant bed dryers.
IntelliPET has a desiccant wheel dryer similar to Novatec's NovaWheel, a two-zone drying hopper, an electric or gas-fired heater, a cyclone and an optional, self-cleaning “pulse” type of dust collector. One key to the efficient, simple design is the re-use of heat in the air returning to the dryer from the hopper.
According to Novatec, the air is filtered within the dryer, then enters a blower, where the air is split into two streams. The air in one stream is cooled before it passes through the desiccant wheel, and then is reheated before entering the lower zone of the hopper. Air in the other stream remains at such a high temperature that it requires only minimal reheating before entering the upper zone, which saves energy, the company said.
By comparison, Novatec said, the competing wheel-based system for PET has an entire additional drying circuit centered on a hot-air dryer, two cyclones, two low-efficiency gas heaters and two dust collectors with cartridges, which require periodic changing.
The competing wheel dryer is more expensive and costs more for maintenance during its lifetime, according to Mark Haynie, dryer product sales manager of the Baltimore company.
Tel. 410-789-4811, fax 410-789-4638, e-mail [email protected]