摘要 |
A hot shelf tower dryer includes a casing (10) having substantially parallel shelves (48, 56) which alternately extend from opposite ends of the tower casing (10) to form a repetitively convoluted passage (58). At least one of the shelves has a hollow interior or chamber (18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30). Disposed in the chamber is at least one electrical heating element (32), where the power supplied to the heating element is regulated by a control system (31, 33, 46, 47). As controlled, the electrical heating elements (32) provide sufficient output to the tower casing (10) which result in a substantially constant temperature throughout the passage (58). With the heating elements, the hot shelf tower dryer does not require the burning of natural gas or some other fossil fuel to heat the tower dryer unless such heating is desired to heat the forced air that conveys the cotton through dryer. As a result, in comparison with hot shelf tower dryer's that use fossil fuels as a heating source, pollutant emissions, such as nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions, are eliminated or at least significantly reduced.
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