New Zealand’s Fletcher Building Limited recently ordered a complete CEBRO plant from DIEFFENBACHER to produce Fine OSB. To support New Zealand’s goal of a low-carbon circular economy, Fletcher Building’s order includes DIEFFENBACHER’s new, highly sustainable Belt Dryer.
Featuring low thermal energy consumption, the new Belt Dryer dries wood particles for particleboard and pellet production (e.g., mini chips, recycled material), strands and wafers for OSB production, and disintegrated seasonal annual crops and other biomass. It saves costs and supports sustainability because it works at lower temperatures than drum dryers and can use low-calorific energy from the waste heat of other plant components that would otherwise remain unused. Furthermore, it can be used in combination with cogeneration.
In addition to its high capacity and variability, the new Belt Dryer features easy and product-friendly material transport. Wet material is fed onto the lower belt of the Belt Dryer. At the end of the lower belt, the material moves by means of a pulley onto a second belt above that, which travels in the opposite direction. The drying air is drawn through the material from above. Heat is transferred to the material for water evaporation through convection from the drying gases. The material is transported out of the dryer at the end of the upper belt. Continuous cleaning of the level beneath the belt keeps the Belt Dryer clean and makes it easy to maintain. The Belt Dryer’s self-supporting construction requires only a small footprint, and its modular design makes it adaptable to different capacity requirements and easily expandable.
“It’s only a small part of our new plant, but the Belt Dryer is a perfect example of DIEFFENBACHER’s advanced solutions,” says Paul Thorn, Fletcher Wood Products, Capital Works Manager at Fletcher Building. “We chose DIEFFENBACHER because we are assured that they will help us move our business forward.”
