| 摘要 |
An apparatus for drying solid and liquified products using heating gas and a plurality of spherical balls having contacting surfaces. A drying chamber is established between a housing and a central body which is coaxially positioned through the center of the housing. Located within the drying chamber are a plurality of balls which form a drying bed. A screw auger is coaxially positioned through the center of the central body to circulate the balls through the drying chamber by moving them from the bottom to the top of the drying chamber where they are redeposited into the bed. A rotatable balls dispersing chute is coupled to the screw auger at the upper end of the central body to evenly distribute balls over the top of the bed of balls as it rotates. The central body includes an annular skirt toward its lower end to deflect balls which are moving downward through the drying chamber and to create a restriction in the lower end of the drying chamber so that the balls recirculate at an even rate in relation to each other rather than having some balls move downward more quickly than others. The auger shaft includes a hollow upper end which serves as a product inlet and through which a product dispersing tube extends outward and over the bed of balls. As the auger rotates, so does the product dispersing tube to distribute the product evenly over the top of the bed of balls. A plurality of drying tubes extend between the dryer housing and the central body in evenly spaced radial positions in the drying chamber at approximately the vertical midpoint thereof to inject heated gas into the bed of balls. The drying tubes include outlets through the injected gas enters the drying chamber to permeate the bed of balls for drying. The drying tubes are coupled to a gas duct which extends around the circumference of the dryer housing and which is coupled to a heater/blower unit for heating and introducing drying gas into the gas duct. A grid or grating is included at the bottom of the drying chamber to retain the balls for recirculation but permit dried product to pass for conveying out of the dryer. Product which is introduced at the upper end of the drying chamber coats the balls and moves downward through the bed as the balls recirculate. As the balls move downward, the product is dried by the heated gas, and shrinks and separates from the balls. The product passes through the grid at the lower end of the drying chamber and is air conveyed out of the dryer.
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