The process
Spray dryers turn body slip into pressing powder with hot gas from a burner. The exhaust fan handles warm, humid gas with fine powder that sticks below dew point, after cyclones and a bag filter or wet scrubber.
The gas at the fan
Exhaust from a spray dryer carries fine product that is hygroscopic and sticks to any surface below dew point. A blade form that sheds deposit, insulation on the casing and easy access for cleaning.
Selection for this duty
| Blade form | Radial tipped, or backward inclined where the fan sits after the collector |
| Material of construction | Stainless steel wetted parts, with drains in the casing and a shaft seal |
| Drive and bearings | Direct coupled or belt driven; belt drive where the duty point may need tuning at site |
| Also specified | Access doors on the scroll and a wheel that can be cleaned in place; casing drain at the lowest point |
| Density at the fan | At about 100°C the gas density is close to 0.95 kg/m³, 79% of standard air. Pressure developed and power drawn fall in the same ratio, so the selection is made at this density and the motor is checked at cold start. |
Feeds a burner with air at the pressure the burner register needs. Sized for the burner turndown range, and often fitted with an inlet silencer. Client-stated blade types for the Combustion Air Blower in general: Backward curved and radial tipped.
Industries
Other fans in ceramic body spray dryers
Combustion Air Blower in other processes
Bagasse Fired BoilersRice Husk Fired BoilersAFBC BoilersCFBC BoilersPulverised Coal Fired BoilersOil and Gas Fired BoilersBiomass Fired BoilersThermic Fluid HeatersHot Air GeneratorsRotary Lime KilnsVertical Shaft Lime KilnsSponge Iron Rotary KilnsBlast Furnace Hot Blast StovesSinter PlantsCoke Oven BatteriesSteel Reheating FurnacesHeat Treatment FurnacesForge ShopsFerro Alloy Submerged Arc FurnacesAluminium Smelters and Cast HousesIron and Non-ferrous FoundriesHot Dip Galvanising LinesGlass Melting FurnacesCeramic Tunnel and Roller Kilns
Information needed to select or quote
- Duty point. Volume flow and static pressure at the fan inlet, with the gas density and temperature or the conditions to derive it.
- Operating conditions. Site altitude, normal operating temperature and continuous or intermittent duty.
- Gas stream. Dust loading and particle size, corrosive species, moisture, upset temperature and any tendency of the material to deposit on the impeller.
- Mechanical. Rotation viewed from the drive end, discharge orientation and motor power.