Miller Magazine Issue: 112 April 2019

28 NEWS APRIL 2019 gulation, whilst at the same time ensuring a good and highly uniform distribution of heat throughout the drying process. These advantages are particularly significant in connection with the size of the facility, which corresponds to a capacity of more than 100 TPH. The fans for aspiration and recirculation are equipped with frequency converters, so that the power consumption of the large fans is controlled according to exact requirements. The dryer is equipped with automatic control of the recirculati- on zone, which is controlled in increments depending on the product, as well as the temperature and humidity of the grain and dry air. Intelligent drying with optimum energy consumption A continuous flow dryer consists in principle of three secti- ons: The heating section, the dryer column and the exhaust section. In the heating section the ambient air is heated and mixed with the recirculated air and is led into the drying co- lumn via hot air ducts. In the drying column, the heat of the drying air evaporates the moisture in the grain, while at the exhaust section the drying air is expelled through the exhaust fan and the dust separation devices. Gentle and uniform drying The main objective in the heating section is to obtain a completely uniform temperature at the dryer column inlet. For the ECO-Logic™ dryer a hot air mixer was designed by utilising Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and this air mixer ensures a +/- 5Co tolerance of the drying air to guarantee even, accurate and gentle drying of the grain. The discharge device of the dryer column ensures an even discharge of the grain across the entire outlet area of the dr- yer. The discharge principle is based on Cimbria’s well-known volumetric discharge system, which provides a very accurate indication of capacity, since each discharge has a certain fixed volume. High grain quality is maintained, thus assuring ger- mination ability and grain quality. The ECO-Logic™ has been designed to redirect the hottest grain so that it changes place with the colder and wetter grain at the colder part of the dr- yer in order to ensure even drying of the grain. Energy-efficient Solution A prerequisite for achieving high dryer efficiency is to en- sure that the exhaust air humidity level is as high as possible and the volume flow of the exhaust air is as low as possib- le. With the very even temperature distribution and accurate control of the dryer, the drying temperature can be increased and kept at a high level without damaging the grain, thus ensuring high humidity in the exhaust air and hence high effi- ciency. To reduce the volume flow of exhaust air and to utilise the fact that the exhaust air at the lowest drying sections is not fully saturated and is relatively warm, the number of re- circulation sections has been optimised and is controlled by a sliding valve. In general, the new dryer is approximately 20 % more efficient than a traditional dryer such as the A-dryer and 10 % more efficient than a dryer like the ECO-Master. Low dust and noise The ECO-Logic™ is provided with fans of the centrifugal fan type with limited noise emission. For control of dust emis- sion, a dust guard is designed to capture the dust particles, thus ensuring that the ECO-Logic™ dryer complies with envi- ronmental regulations. Cimbria was established in 1947 and is today an inter- national organisation with 900 employees in 30 companies throughout the world. Since 2016, Cimbria has been a part of the AGCO corporation. Cimbria offers storage, equipment and processing plants for the grain and seed industry and transport and conveying equipment for bulk handling.