Pre-conditioning, or preparing material for agglomeration, is critical to agglomeration success; it can help improve further processing, and create a more refined end product.
FEECO offers the following pre-conditioning equipment:
Rotary Dryer. A material must fall within a set moisture range to agglomerate effectively. Materials at or near this imperative moisture point will require drying to accept more moisture (in the form of binder) without going over the range that will allow for effective agglomeration.
Rotary dryers reduce a material’s moisture by tumbling it in a cylindrical drum with a drying air. Flights pick up the material, and drop it through a heated air stream to maximize heat transfer and dry the material to the desired moisture range.
Paddle Mixer. Paddle mixers, also known as pugmill mixers, use a kneading and folding over motion to mix demanding materials. Their pre-conditioning capabilities include wetting, standard mixing, granulating, and back mixing dried material (recycle) into the process.
Pin Mixer. Pin mixers use a high speed spinning action to thoroughly mix material, and create tiny, dense agglomerates. They offer similar capabilities as the paddle mixer, including standard mixing, granulating, and conditioning, but are more ideal for fine material processing.
Pre-conditioning is an important factor to the success of many agglomeration processes. To learn more, download our agglomeration e-book, or contact a FEECO expert today!