Fast and gentle

Dryers with a closed drying circuit, which are operated independently of the ambient air, offer high process reliability. The humidity of the ambient air, varies depending on the weather and time of year. On a foggy winter day at - 5 °C and 100 % RH in the fresh air, the humidity in the warm production hall at 20 °C is just 15 % RH. On a hot and humid summer day, on the other hand, a room climate of 40 °C and 80 % RH must be taken into account for the drying process. When the weather changes, the surrounding air can change within a very short time.

Condensation drying based on heat pumps

A conventional dryer draws in the ambient air and heats it - accordingly, the drying result tends to be good when the ambient humidity is low, and the effectiveness drops on hot and humid days. The lower the permissible temperatures for a product with regard to storage or drying, the more pronounced this effect is. The heat pump based condensation drying system K-Dry developed by Horo Dr. Hofmann GmbH offers gentle drying with shortest drying times due to the extremely low humidity of the drying air, even at low temperatures. High-quality results are achieved by the optimal air flow, at low operating costs, with the integrated heat pump technology in energetically closed systems. The extremely low humidity level, described by the dew point of the dry air, is generated by the closed dry air circuit and at the same time drying times are reduced to a minimum. K-Dry is suitable for drying all types of solids, and the system also shortens drying times. As a result, K-Dry can save up to 90 percent of total energy consumption compared to conventional dryers. Low-temperature drying ensures safe drying, which conserves resources.

The K-Dry drying system is universally applicable and can also be used for very wet parts. Part of the chamber air is fed into the dry air generator. This has a dehumidification module in which the air is subcooled and then the moisture is separated fluid-mechanically. The dehumidification module works like a condensation dryer in the household. To avoid the need for unnecessary heating energy to reheat the now dried air, the waste heat from the dehumidification unit is used for the heat pump: the previously extracted air heat and the energy input of the refrigeration unit can now be used to heat the air. The preheated air goes back into the drying chamber and is mixed with the air circulation there via the highly efficient recirculation system without forming vapor.

Several operating modes of the K-Dry are possible: constant dew point or maximum dehumidification performance with variable dew point. In the case of a constant dew point, this is detected via a dew point measurement and adjusted to the specified setpoint. At maximum flow rate, the cooling capacity in the dehumidification module increases by 50 percent with very high humidity loading. The cooling capacity increases without any additional effort.

Horo Dr. Hofmann GmbH
www.horo.eu