Cereal dryers are machines that utilize large volumes of air and heat to dry cereals for preservation. This process has become increasingly important due to rising costs of electricity and natural gas, which significantly affect management expenses.
For this reason, improving dryer performance is increasingly important, as there is a need for greater energy recovery and reduced consumption.
All modern cereal dryers feature heat recovery systems that typically involve drawing air from the lower part of the dryer, which serves as the cooling section.
This recovery can lead to energy savings of up to 20-25% compared to dryers without recovery or those that use a separate cooling process.
With this type of partial recovery, the average thermal efficiency of the dryer is approximately 850 kcal to evaporate 1 kg of water from the cereal (3.558 kj/kg).
The BONFANTI cereal dryers, specifically the ECOS and ECOS BIO models, operate using a traditional system. The ECOS BIO model is designed for installation with external heat exchangers or biomass boilers, functioning in this manner.
For many years, our company has also produced the BONFANTI models with total recovery, known as the CE type.
What does “total” recovery mean, and what is the difference between it and “partial” recovery?
For the first time in 1982, we implemented this working system, distinguishing it from systems that only recover air for cooling. We coined the term “total recovery” to describe it.
Other manufacturers use this definition incorrectly; in fact, having two burners alone is not enough to achieve total recovery functionality.
“Total” refers to the recovery of all the air from the dryer. To better understand this concept, we can think of a CE dryer with total recovery as being equivalent to two overlying dryers:
- The first upper dryer dries the cereal and expels very humid air outside.
- The second lower dryer completes the drying process and the cooling.
- All the air is drawn in and recovered from the lower section, then pushed to the upper part of the dryer.
The recovered air is 100% reused within the dryer, the air enters to the lower part of the dryer is used for the cooling and to complete the drying process, in fact is pushed in the upper part of the dryer and reheated. Only the burners draw the cool ambient air, to optimize the gas combustion.
With this type of the total recovery, the middle thermal efficiency of the dryer is of 750 kcal to evaporate 1 kg of water from the cereal (3.140 kj/kg).
To refine this system and enable the quality improvement of the dried cereal, between the upper dryer and the lower was drawn a rest and recovery area.
Another advancement to improve the quality of dried cereal is our ANISCHOK system. This system provides gradual cooling of the cereal by mixing the final hot air from the drying process with ambient air. It is well known that sudden temperature changes are a key cause of cereal breakage, especially when the cereal is hot and dry.
The BONFANTI CE dryers with total heat recovery feature several innovations and advancements, including:
- Two-stage drying at two different working temperatures.
- Smart burners that automatically adjust based on the cereal’s temperature.
- Continuous humidity sensors to monitor the moisture level of the cereal.
- Automatic adjustment of the drying speed.
- Centrifugal ventilators located in the middle of the drying cycle for increased dynamic efficiency and easy maintenance.
In Europe, some companies have chosen to copy our product, construction techniques, and management software. This is extremely detrimental to us, as achieving the high performance of our dryers required significant investments of time, resources, and experience.
In a short time, these companies offer copies of our products – similar, even identical – but without understanding the true potential of our design choices and functionality.
Choosing a BONFANTI dryer means investing in the original machine, reached by 45 years of experience from both the designer and manufacturer.
Keeping choosing dryers BONFANTI help us to proceed with the research and development, enabling the creation of new techniques and working systems for the future.
Thanks to its heat recovery features and low electricity consumption, the BONFANTI dryer is capable of meeting the standards for Transition 5.0.
The BONFANTI dryer installation permits the reduction of energy consumption up to 40% compared to older dryers, and a further 10% compared to dryers from other manufacturers.