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STORAGE
Gentle drying of soybeans
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Carouseldryer T200.4 right after final commissioning
by Ulrich Grahn, Consulting Manager, Germany
oybeans going to be treated in an oil press need to have a remaining moisture content of about 10 percent. Typical moisture content before a drying process comes close to about 13 percent. In order to reduce retention time in a dryer, soybeans are cracked either to half or just a quarter bean size. Paying attention to an increasing demand of typical soybean-based oil, an Austrian company decided and finally chose to adopt a carousel-dryer system. As available installation ground was limited, a carousel-dryer with a round cylindrical body offered the best solution. Additionally, the dryer guarantees very uniform and gentle drying. From the first inquiry
84 | September 2020 - Milling and Grain
up to putting the solution to function, less than a year took place. The T200.4 carousel dryer is doing extremely well, as of June 2020. Carousel-dryers have a basic design of a cylindrical crosssectional area containing a modular case. In its centre, a vertically fitted main shaft is driven by a frequency-controlled bevel gear box. Fitted onto this shaft, either 12 or 16 single installed screen trays compose the closed drying area. Depending on a number a customer requirement such as water evaporation, throughput rate, etc, up to seven different drying options are available through the tailormade carousel-dryer. A rotary valve serves as the carousel dryers production inlet, which avoids sucking in unwanted ambient air. Product to be dried enters first drying area whilst the inner design is continually