- 7 February 2007 -
Novatec Inc signs licensing agreement for IRD dryer

Novatec Inc has signed a licensing agreement with Stricker IRD Patent GbR in Germany and UPM Holdings Ltd in the UK to be the only US builder of a new type of dryer/crystallizer. The Infrared Rotary Drum (IRD) dryer, developed by Stricker IRD Patent GbR, is said to simplify the processing of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin and regrind.

The central component of the dryer is a large, horizontal, stainless steel rotating cylinder with a helical arrangement of flights that transport PET through the length of the drum. The resin is tumbled in the drum, exposing all surfaces to radiation from a central bank of infrared heaters around which the drum rotates.

"The drying process takes only minutes instead of the hours needed in conventional equipment and it uses up to 65% less energy than dessicant systems," claims Conrad M. Bessemer, Novatec president and chief executive officer. The technology is also said to eliminate the need for large insulated drying hoppers and separate crystallizers, which often require large ceiling clearances.

In test runs, an IRD crystallizer/dryer and twin-bed dessicant dryer with buffer hopper was compared with a standard system, sized for comparable throughput, which included a conventional crystallizer and twin-bed dessicant dryer with three times the capacity of that used in the IRD system.
The first test involved sheet regrind with an initial moisture content of 3,838 ppm. After 14 minutes in the IRD dryer and 30 minutes in the buffer hopper the moisture content was reduced to 91 ppm. The IRD system used 225.2 kW and the conventional system 516.3 kW. In the second test, bottle regrind was used with an initial moisture content of 1,997 ppm reduced to 53 ppm after 14 minutes in the IRD dryer and 45 minutes in the buffer hopper. The energy used was 142.8 kW and 260.7 kW for the IRD system and conventional system respectively. In both tests complete crystallization took place in the IRD dryer.

www.novatec.com