Maguire is rebranding its VBD vacuum dryers as Ultra low-energy dryers to emphasize their lower energy consumption when compared to traditional desiccant dryers.
Maguire will formally introduce the rebranded line at K 2019 next month in Germany.
Ultra dryers use significantly less energy than the newest desiccant dryers, the company said. The energy savings are even greater in comparison with many low-efficiency older dryers still operating around the world.
The company introduced the VBD line in 2013.
“Since 2013, the experience of customers around the world has demonstrated that the energy savings achieved with our dryers are even greater than originally claimed,” Frank Kavanagh, VP of marketing and sales, said. “While the energy needed to heat polymer to its required temperature is roughly the same for both vacuum and desiccant dryers, we now know that the Ultra low- energy dryer uses much less energy in the next stage, when the heated resin is actually dried.”
A desiccant dryer would use about 60 watts per pound of material versus an Ultra dryer that would use 19 watts per pound, Kavanagh said.
Each system uses the same amount of energy to heat a pound of the material from its ambient temperature, around 15 watts. However, when it comes to drying, a desiccant dryer would use another 45 watts per pound versus 4 watts required by an Ultra model.
If the average U.S. kilowatt (kW) price is 12 cents, then the energy bill for a desiccant dryer handling 220 pounds of resin per hour for 6,000 hours per year would be $7,128, versus $633.60 for the Ultra. That is for drying alone and does not include the cost of heating the resin.
In the 220-pound-per-hour example cited above, Maguire estimates that a user could save 54,120 kW per year.
In Maguire’s example, using an Ultra dryer would produce an annual savings of $6,494.40, or $64,944 over the 10-year projected lifespan of the dryer. This means the Ultra dryers can pay for themselves through energy savings, according to the company.
In addition, vacuum dryers require less maintenance and dry resin faster than desiccant systems, Kavanagh said.
Load cells incorporated into the dryer on the vacuum and retention hoppers allow the touch-screen controls to automatically control the process, Kavanagh said.
“The use of the data provided by the load cells allows the dryer to achieve many functions automatically, such as automatic startups, automatic stops and making cleaning and materials changes extremely rapid,” Kavanagh said. “It also makes possible automatic adaptive drying, which means the dryer is able to automatically regulate materials in process according to demand and to increase or decrease materials in process so only what’s required is dried.”
Ultra dryers are available for throughputs of 150, 300, 600 and 1,000 pounds per hour. They include a five-year warranty.
Bruce Geiselman, senior staff reporter
Contact:
Maguire Products Inc. Aston, Pa., 610-459-4300,
Bruce Geiselman | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
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