How do energy costs compare between flameless catalytic infrared systems and conventional convection heating/drying systems?
A typical convection conveyor dryer or column dryer requires as much as 50 horsepower just to move heated air. Flameless catalytic infrared energy is transferred directly to the product without the requirement to heat large volumes of air. Therefore, horsepower requirements are greatly reduced. In typical applications, CDTs system uses 12 – 25 horsepower to move the conveyor and operate small recirculation and ventilation fans. Regarding fuel use, conventional convection dryers that use open flame burners or heat exchangers are much less efficient at utilizing all of the energy in the fuel when compared to the direct energy transferred using flameless catalytic infrared energy systems. Of course this requires the proper kind of catalytic system such as developed by CDT. Fuel costs can be reduced 30-50% in some applications due to the efficiency of the direct energy transfer and lower heat losses, which are minimized by vastly reducing the required air handling.
