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[VTche]

Background: Final product is a polymer that sticks to dryer beds. Dryer bed is a single pass apron with 1430 sq ft drying area. Capacity is 12,500 lb/hr with 100 min res. time.

Current Situation: A surfactant delivery system was installed to act as a lubricant between the bed and product to mitigate sticking issues. The fluid is drawn into a pressurized pot and then distributed to the nozzles to spray the bed. The nozzles are not in continuous use. Rather, they spray in 7 second bursts every 30 seconds.

This system has a lot of reliability issues requiring frequent maintenance with line clogging and replacing nozzle seats. We have used leather/Teflon seats, neither one seems to work that well. In addition to reliability issues, the fluid is aerated into an open environment which is a possible health/safety concern.

My Goal:I want to design a more robust delivery system. I’ve consider changing the current system to a continuous flow process as well as moving the system inside of the oscillator feeding area, which is an enclosed area. However, I'm not certain that utilizing a nozzle delivery system would be any more robust due to maintenance issues. Another issue to consider when moving the system inside of the hopper delivery areas is maintenance. We would have to be schedule around down time to fix clogged nozzles if in the feeding area.

I'm looking for any advice on other delivery systems besides nozzles to dryer beds (maybe sponge rollers? not really sure). I'd appreciate any help and thanks in advance.

Thanks,

vt