Munters Quantum desiccant drying wheel

The Quantum rotor, from Munters, is a high-performing desiccant drying wheel (rotor) that can dehumidify ambient air to very dry conditions (eg, from 12 to 2 g/kg) without the use of a pre-cooler.

It offers gentle and energy-efficient drying and is suitable for products such as vitamins, active ingredients and water-based paints. It is effective in high reactivation temperature applications (eg, ΔX up to 15 g/kg) and applications using 100% outdoor air.

Designed for all drying and cooling processes where a high ΔX is required, it effectively eliminates the need for pre-cooling, thus reducing energy consumption, and uses waste heat for reactivation. It features an insoluble desiccant that cannot be ‘washed out’ and can withstand very high reactivation temperatures.

It provides a dry and hygienic environment, due to there being no condensate in the system; and, as no condensate has to be drained away, periodic cleaning of the heat transfer surfaces of the pre-cooler is not required. The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology has certified the rotor to have both bactericidal and fungicidal properties.

The rotor consists of a honeycombed microporous substrate with a large surface area developed from zeolite (which adsorbs gases, vapours and dissolved substances with specific molecular sizes) and titanium stabilised silica gel (Ti-HPS). The rotor is divided into two segments: process air and regeneration air. A sealing system prevents mixing of the air flows. For the regeneration, an energy source such as natural gas or medium steam pressure is required.

During adsorption, the air in the Quantum rotor is dehumidified by up to 14 g/kg and is heated concurrently to a maximum increase in temperature of 42°C by the zeolite in the molecular sieve so that a post heater for the process air can have smaller dimensions or be restricted.

For fluidised bed dryers, which can be used for all types of powder and instant products, a low process air outlet temperature is required. For these applications Munter’s Power Purge self-contained purge air process uses purge air to transfer heat energy from the process air side to the regeneration side of the adsorption rotor.

The energy consumption on the regeneration side of the system is reduced by 30% and the temperature increase in the dehumidification process by 20% so that any post cooler can be of smaller dimension or supplied with less energy. The Power Purge process is suitable for the retrofitting of current rotor systems from 1000 mm rotor diameter.