New concepts for potato flake drying

When taking a closer look at the developments drum dryers have experienced in recent years, it will be evident that one trend, in particular, has had a major effect on the efficiency of the drying process: the dryers tend to become larger. This is a continuous trend which has not only yielded new model sizes, but also new performance characteristics.

The specifications of the new BMA dryer series considers such important aspects as user friendliness, accessibility, maintenance and servicing, cleaning and hygiene, energy utilization and minimization, in addition to functional and performance characteristics.

	A completely new drive concept has simplified the design and has improved access to many dryer components.
	A new system for distribution of the cooked and mashed product provides for quicker and more uniform distribution across the dryer, including its outer zones.
	Discharging of the vapour produced has been adjusted to the new situation.
	To improve the efficiency of downstream heat recovery systems, the amounts of air that are discharged are well adjusted to the prevailing operating conditions.
	Measures taken for improved user friendliness, include a larger swivel range for the knife support and reduced fan noise pollution levels.
	Automatic control of the application roller scrapers by control and monitoring of the drum dryer filling ratio.

The automation concept allows monitoring of the drying process on the basis of measured data. The drying process can be analysed more objectively and controlled as required.

Process automation is an important step for a higher level of overall plant efficiency and controlled high-quality production.

BMA drum dryers offer heating surfaces of around 32 to 50 m², and thus achieve flake production rates of 800 kg/h and over.