Drying requires heat to remove the water or solvent and usually an air flow, or another gas, to carry the water or solvent away from the dried solid product.
Drying is used extensively in industry, with many applications and different types of equipment. It can be a high consumer of energy. Examples include:
- Paper Drying. This can consume over 70% of the process heat used in a typical paper mill. This is about 30% of the overall energy consumption of the industry.
- Laundering. The process consumes large quantities of hot water and hot air for washing and drying clothes.
- Textile dyeing and finishing. This industry has a variety of treatments and processes which include drying.
Good Housekeeping
- If possible, schedule processes to maintain a constant drying demand so that equipment is not idling.
- If drying equipment is idling, turn the heat off until the next batch arrives.
- Investigate removing as much moisture as possible from the product before it is dried, as this will reduce the drying time and the energy consumed.
- Investigate if large areas of exposed metal on drying equipment could be insulated.
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