Fluid Bed Dryer

Fluid Bed Dryer

The GEA Barr-Rosin Fluid Bed is designed to dry products as they float on a cushion of air or gas.

The process air is supplied to the bed through a special perforated distributor plate and flows through the bed of solids at a velocity sufficient to support the weight of particles in a fluidized state. Bubbles form and collapse within the fluidized bed of material, promoting intense particle movement. In this state, the solids behave like a free flowing boiling liquid. Very high heat and mass transfer values are obtained as a result of the intimate contact with the solids and the differential velocities between individual particles and the fluidizing gas.

For even greater thermal efficiency and where inertisation is required, recycling of exhaust gases can be used. This can be implemented on all our airstream drying systems and retrofitted on customer's existing drying operations.

Contact tubes can be incorporated with non-cohesive materials that can be processed at temperatures approaching the fluid within the tubes. The result is a significant reduction in airflow compared with the typical standard fluid bed.

Many materials begin at or pass through a sticky, softening or cohesive phase during processing. Vibrating beds are extremely effective in keeping the material in a live fluidized state during this transitionary phase.

Batch and continuous units ranging from pilot scale to 300 ft² (28 m²) have been supplied.

The fluid bed has been used to dry products in many industries including food, chemical, mineral and polymer. A broad range of feed materials including powders, crystals, granules and prills can be processed.

This technology can also be used for cooling applications; either as a separate unit or combined with drying in a single zoned bed.

Open circuit fluid bed dryer / cooler

The GEA Barr-Rosin Research and Development Center is equipped with pilot scale fluid bed systems.

For a copy of our online brochure, please click on the appropriate link:

• Fluid Bed Dryer Section
• Airstream Drying Brochure

For other types of fluid bed dryers and fluid bed processors handled by our sister company, Niro, please access page titled Fluid Bed Processing Systems