Although the rotating disc dryer is a notable improvement over prior art fluid bed dryer
, it does cause increased amounts of product to fall through the screen-like bottom portion of the fluidizing chamber. This product is generally lost sinceit is difficult to recover and is often spoiled due to contamination at the bottom of the fluid bed dryer.
A method of salvaging what is otherwise waste product in a fluid bed dryer which includes a rotating air distribution disc is also provided and comprises mounting a product collector around the periphery of the disc, accumulating in the collectorwhat is otherwise waste product which falls on the disc during the drying operation, concentrating the product accumulated in the collector, and transferring the accumulated product from the collector to the fluid bed dryer.
Apparatus in accordance with the present invention salvages more than 90% of what otherwise would be wasted product. An additional advantage of the salvage apparatus is improved performance of the fluid bed dryer since air flow through the dryeris not restricted by the buildup of waste product in the bottom of the dryer. Another advantage is the virtual elimination of the time-consuming, manual clean-out operations periodically required to remove the waste product from the bottom of the dryerand to dispose of the waste product so removed.
This invention relates to fluid bed dryer and more particularly to a method and apparatus for salvaging product which is otherwise wasted in a fluid bed dryer utilizing a rotating air distribution disc to deliver rotating streams of air to thefluid bed.