Plastics Processors Switch to Maguire ULTRA Dryers for Better Efficiency and Quality
13 April 2022
The ULTRA Dryers, low-energy vacuum dryers, from Maguire can save you an average of 70% energy, increase sustainability within your plastic processes and provide a rapid return on investment.
At a time when plastics processors are noting as high as 75% increase in energy costs, the ULTRA dryers from Maguire and the best vacuum dryer on the market, with ultra-low energy usage to help tackle the current soaring energy prices.
Key Benefits of the ULTRA Dryers
- Extreme energy savings – an average of 70%!
- Enhanced sustainability.
- Increased production hours.
- Rapid ROI compared to other drying methods.
- Drying rate always matches the process rate.
- Maintain energy efficiency at reduced throughputs.
- Avoid material wastage with better control of raw materials.
- Greater speed reduces heat exposure and problems from thermal degradation.
- Minimal maintenance required.
Increase Sustainability within your Plastic Processes
The ULTRA dryers boasts extreme energy reductions, when compared to traditional desiccant dryers, which significantly improves sustainability. For example, on a process running 100 kg/hr an ULTRA dryer provides savings of 54,120 kW per year, this equates to saving 38.6* tons of CO2e every year. That is the equivalent of planting 645 new trees, every year, for 10 years!
Reduce your CO2e carbon footprint by choosing the ULTRA dryers, which requires 50% less physical space than conventional dryers where the hopper is placed separately.
Make Radical Energy Savings
Energy for plastics drying can be split into 2 sections to really see where power is constantly consumed when drying material. First you have the energy to HEAT material – and generally to heat a kg of plastic it’s the same whatever the drying system. Secondly there’s then the energy to then DRY the material – so once it’s up to temperature the energy used to remove the moisture to the required PPM level.
The ULTRA dryers run at an astonishingly low 8 watts per kg in to DRY materials – 32 watts per kg total to HEAT and DRY (example based on drying ABS at 80°C). Whereas a late-model, energy-efficient desiccant dryer typically runs at 60 watts per kg of material, and a new desiccant dryer with only standard energy performance, can run at 100 watts per kg. When compared to a 10- to 15-year-old desiccant dryer with energy use as high as 150 watts per kg.
Replacing an older model with a new ULTRA dryer could see the ULTRA dryer paying for itself in a matter of months, with average energy savings of 70%. During the current economic climate as we see energy prices soar, these savings will have massive and growing impact to your business. The ULTRA dryer will continue to deliver these savings throughout its entire lifecycle.
Increase Production Hours
Although both desiccant and vacuum systems use heat to bring the plastic up the temperature, the ULTRA uses a low energy venturi to pull a high vacuum on the heated plastic creating a pressure and temperature differential that releases the moisture from the material. This fast, modern, and efficient process takes a fraction of the time compared to traditional desiccant dryers. A desiccant dryer process, relying on dry air monitored by dew point, requires constant circulating airflow through a large drying hopper. This process can take 4-6 hours to achieve the same drying results that the ULTRA can do in under 60 minutes, freeing up many production hours.
Additional Key Features:
- ULTRA load cell technology provides complete material usage data and allows for real time optimisation of the drying process.
- Drying conditions are constant keeping energy requirements to a minimum.
- When drying temperature reaches target value, heater and blower units shut off automatically, using only the exact amounts of energy required.
- Start-up time is significantly lower (e.g., polycarbonate can be dried from a cold start up in 40 minutes, compared to 3 hours in a desiccant dryer).
- ULTRA Touchscreen technology for viewing and recording live materials usage data from load cells, and the speed and efficiency of vacuum drying.
- Schedule automatic shutdown with the touchscreen control.
- Efficient clean-out process allows for faster material changes, avoiding material cross contamination.
- If correct vacuum levels are not achieved, the ULTRA alarms and stops the drying process to alert the operator.
A simple three-stage process...
Working on a unique, patented drying technology, stage one of the process sees the material pre-heated for around 35 minutes until it reaches the target temperature. The heat at this stage provides the catalyst to efficient moisture release, creating an efficient temperature differential. The dryer only heats the required amount of material for the processes current demands, resulting in no excess heating, no energy waste and eliminating the chances of oxidation from over-drying raw materials.
The second stage, the main drying element, is done by vacuum. Under vacuum, moisture boils at 56°C, resulting in less heat stress on material and fast removal of moisture, a process that happens typically within 15-20 minutes. The vacuum is usually only active for 1-2 minutes per cycle, requiring minimal energy consumption.
Finally, the material passes to a heavily insulated retention hopper with a transparent shroud to protect it. For hygroscopic materials, a membrane purge option is available. Live usage data indicates when the material is released from the vacuum chamber and will automatically adjust material still in process, minimising the energy usage once again.
ULTRA Dryers Summary
- Most energy efficient dryer available on the market today.
- Simple vacuum drying technology.
- Ultra-low energy usage, resulting in fast ROI and savings for life.
- Faster start-ups and drying times.
- Requires minimal maintenance - no desiccant, no filter, no chilled water.
- ULTRA smart features and controls.
- Industry leading 5-year warranty.
Mike Jordan, Managing Director of Summit Systems, “When I discovered that these low-energy vacuum dryers are proven to dry all types of polymer materials six times faster and with 85% energy than desiccant dryers, I knew we were talking about something pretty impressive. Running this dryer for one week uses the same energy as an existing, conventional dryer uses in one day. That’s an unbelievable saving.”
“Being able to ‘cherry-pick’ the very best equipment from industry suppliers is the biggest asset when it comes to providing the technology needed by plastics companies in order to meet the challenges of cost, energy, and time savings,” Jordan explained, “We have worked with Maguire for many years and knowing the capabilities of its products. We’ve now got customers in the market using this technology and seeing the full range of benefits it can bring, so we can prove that the huge percentage savings offered are achievable.”