METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY DRYING SOLVENT- CONTAINING GEL-FORMING POLYMER TO FORM GEL

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for drying an aqueous cellulose ether suspension to form a gel. SOLUTION: This method comprises weighing and charging a solvent- containing polymer having a solid content of 1-65 wt.% under a pressure of atmospheric pressure to 6,000 hPa at a polymer temperature of 20-100 deg.C into an evaporation zone 1 kept under a pressure of 0.1-800 hPa; cooling the polymer at a temperature lower than 93 deg.C; mechanically stirring the polymer to remove therefrom the solvent by 2-5 wt.%; mixing it; conveying the resultant mixture to the lower end of the evaporation zone 1 to form a dense (concentrated) gel-forming layer; mechanically taking out the polymer with a taking out apparatus 7; densifying the polymer at any time; and drying the gelled polymer in a drying apparatus to reduce the solvent content to 5 wt.% or lower.