US-based Maguire Products has renamed its vacuum resin dryer ‘Ultra’ to spotlight its lower energy consumption, which it claims can save the user thousands of dollars in energy costs per year.

Ultra uses energy to dry resin at a lower rate than a comparable desiccant dryer, claims Maguire, while savings are even greater when compared with low-efficiency old dryers still in operation in the global market.

Vice president of marketing and sales Frank Kavanagh said: “While the energy needed to heat polymer to its required temperature is roughly the same for both vacuum and desiccant dryers, we now know that the Ultra Low Energy Dryer uses much less energy in the next stage, when the heated resin is actually dried.”

Kavanagh cited a typical material drying example for a process running at 220lb (100kg) per hour for 6,000 operation hours per year. An average desiccant dryer might run at 60 watts per pound of material, versus the Ultra Low Energy Dryer that would run at 19 watts per pound. 

Each system uses the same amount of energy to bring the material up to temperature from ambient temperature – around 15 watts. This is the energy used to heat. However, the energy used to dry is dramatically different: the desiccant dryer would use a further 45 watts to dry the material so it can be processed, whereas to the same level the Ultra would only use 4 watts – a ten times difference in energy usage according to Maguire. 

“Over the course of an average lifespan of a dryer, that equates to $64,944,” said Kavanagh, “paying for itself just on energy savings multiple times over, without considering other benefits of significantly lower maintenance, faster drying times and intelligent operation.”

Ultra holds less material in the process thanks to a smaller pre-heat hopper. This increases efficiency and uses less energy.

More information from Maguire Products, 11 Crozerville Road, Aston, PA 19014, USA. Tel: 1 610 459 4300. Email: info@maguire.com. Web: maguire.com