K 2019: Maguire dryer guarantees lower energy costs

Maguire's vacuum resin dryer designed for plastics processors has a new brand name that reflects its proven capability to pay for itself through substantial savings in energy costs. Now called ULTRA®, the dryer uses energy to dry resin at such a drastically lower rate than a comparable new desiccant dryer that its manufacturer, Maguire Products, Inc., says “with costs so low, it’s almost free.” The energy savings with the ULTRA dryer are even greater in comparison with the many low-efficiency old dryers still operating around the world. Maguire will formally introduce the brand at K 2019 (Hall 10, Stand A26).
 
ULTRA Low Energy Dryers are based on technology introduced by Maguire in 2013 under the name VBD™, noted Frank Kavanagh, vice president of marketing and sales. “Since 2013 the experience of customers around the world has demonstrated that the energy savings achieved with our dryers are even greater than originally claimed,” Mr. Kavanagh said. “While the energy needed to heat polymer to its required temperature is roughly the same for both vacuum and desiccant dryers, we now know that the ULTRA Low Energy Dryer uses much less energy in the next stage, when the heated resin is actually dried.”
 
Mr. Kavanagh cites a typical material drying example for a process running at 220lb (100kg) per hour, for 6000 operation hours per year. An average desiccant dryer might run at 60 watts per pound of material, versus the ULTRA Low Energy Dryer that would run at 19 watts per pound.
 
Each system uses the same amount of energy to bring the material up to temperature from ambient temperature – around 15 watts. This is the energy used to heat. However, the energy used to DRY is dramatically different: the desiccant dryer would use a further 45 watts to DRY the material so it can be processed, whereas to the same level the ULTRA would only use 4 watts – a 10 times difference in energy usage.

 
How this translates to a direct saving and return on investment is dramatic. If an average US kW price is $0.12, then the energy bill for the desiccant dryer per annum is $7,128, versus $570 drying the same material with an ULTRA Low Energy Dryer. “Over the course of an average lifespan of a dryer, that equates to $65,580,” said Mr. Kavanagh, “paying for itself just on energy savings multiple times over, without considering other benefits of significantly lower maintenance, faster drying times and intelligent operation.”
 
The ULTRA design is smarter too, by leveraging off Maguire’s years of experience with gravimetric controls, measuring materials movements by weight, as seen with the range of Maguire gravimetric blenders and feeders.
 
The adoption of load cells into the dryer on the vacuum hopper and retention hoppers allows the touchscreen controls of the dryer to automatically control the process in a way not seen with desiccant dryers, noted Mr. Kavanagh. “The use of data provided by the load cells allows the dryer to achieve many functions automatically, such as automatic startups, automatic stops, and making cleaning and materials changes extremely rapid. It also makes possible automatic adaptive drying, which means that the dryer is able to automatically regulate materials in process according to demand and to increase or decrease materials in process so only what’s required is dried.”
 
The energy savings provided by the ULTRA Low Energy Dryer have an environmental benefit too. In the case of the 220 lb./hr. example cited above, Maguire estimates that a saving of 55,200 kW per year is realized.
 
ULTRA Low Energy Dryers are available for throughputs of 150, 300, 600, and 1,000 lb./hr. (68, 136, 272, and 454 kg/hr). Like all Maguire products, they are protected by a five-year warranty.