Drum dryer (flaker) for flakes
Drying liquid and paste-like products into flakes and powder: purées, porridges, starch, milk, feed
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Description
A drum dryer (roller dryer, flaker) is equipment for drying liquid and paste-like products on the surface of a heated drum. The product is applied to the rotating hot drum as a thin film, dries in one revolution and is scraped off by a knife as flakes. The flakes are packed as they are or ground into powder. Drying is fast and in a thin layer, so the product retains its flavour, colour and solubility well.
A drum dryer is used to produce: instant potato flakes and mashed potato; fruit and vegetable flakes and powders (apple, pumpkin, carrot and beetroot purée); flakes for instant porridges and baby food; pregelatinized (modified) starch; drum-dried milk powder and milk mixes; fodder yeast, distillers' stillage and other feed products; dietary fibres, extracts, and chemical products supplied as flakes or powder.
Design of the Milberg dryer: a heated stainless steel drum on bearing supports, driven by a geared motor, with a product tray under the drum. The doctor knife is pressed against the drum by pneumatic cylinders: the pressing force is adjustable and monitored with a pressure gauge, and the knife is raised and lowered by a lever on the control panel. The frame and covers are stainless steel.
Dryers are either single-drum — the product is applied to the drum from a tray or by top rollers (used, for example, for potato flakes and porridges) — or double-drum, where the product is fed into the nip between two counter-rotating drums (for example, milk, starch). The main parameter of a dryer is the heated drum surface area, determined by its diameter and length. Sizes range from a 300 mm drum (about 0.4 m², internal volume about 30 L) to a 1,500 mm drum (about 8 m², volume up to 3,000 L) — see the table. Product application schemes are shown in the photo gallery. Heating is by saturated steam; other heating media are possible depending on the task. A hood with an exhaust is installed above the drum to remove vapour.
The dryer configuration is selected and calculated individually for each product and task: drum size, product application method (feed tray, applicator roller, top distributor), knives or scrapers for removal, heating medium and drum heating, variable-speed drive, hood and vapour exhaust, discharge and grinding of flakes. We make drums from 300 to 1,500 mm in diameter.
If you want to produce flakes or powder from purée, porridge, starch, milk or feed raw materials, send us the product and the required output: our engineer will select the drum size and configuration and prepare a quotation.
Advantages
- Thin-film drying in one revolution — the product retains flavour, colour and solubility
- Ready flakes or powder from liquid and paste-like raw materials
- Purées, porridges, starch, milk, feed, chemicals — configuration for your product
- Knife or scraper removal; film thickness and drum speed adapted to the product
- Drums Ø300–1500 mm (0.4–8 m²), product-contact parts in AISI 304/316
- Calculation and selection of configuration for your task, manufactured at our factory in Yekaterinburg
Specifications
| Model | VSB 3/4 / 4/6 / 5/8 / 6/10 / 8/12 / 10/15 / 12/20 / 15/17 |
| Drying area, m² | 0.4 / 0.8 / 1.3 / 1.9 / 3.0 / 4.7 / 7.5 / 8.0 |
| Drum diameter, mm | 300 / 400 / 500 / 600 / 800 / 1000 / 1200 / 1500 |
| Drum length, mm | 400 / 600 / 800 / 1000 / 1200 / 1500 / 2000 / 1700 |
| Evaporated moisture, kg/h (approximate, depends on product) | 15–23 / 30–45 / 50–75 / 75–115 / 120–180 / 190–280 / 300–450 / 320–480 |
| Internal drum volume, L (for reference) | 28 / 75 / 157 / 283 / 603 / 1178 / 2262 / 3004 |
| Application | drying liquid and paste-like products into flakes and powder |
| Version | single-drum (dip feed, feed roller, top applicator rollers) or double-drum (nip feed, dip feed) — to suit the product |
| Drum heating | saturated steam; other heating media depending on the task |
| Drying time | from a few seconds to 1–2 minutes — set by drum speed and film thickness |
| Product removal | knife or scrapers; pneumatic knife pressing with force adjustment by pressure gauge |
| Drive | geared motor |
| Material | AISI 304 / AISI 316 — to suit the product |
| Options | hood with vapour exhaust, discharge screw or conveyor, flake-to-powder grinder, frequency speed control |
| Configuration | selected and calculated individually for the product and task |
FAQ
What is a drum dryer?
It is a heated rotating drum (roller): the product is applied to it as a thin film, dries in one revolution and is scraped off by a knife as flakes. It is also called a roller dryer or flaker.
What can be dried on a drum dryer?
Potato, fruit and vegetable purées, instant porridges and baby food, starch, milk and milk mixes, fodder yeast, distillers' stillage, extracts and other liquid and paste-like products.
What is the output product?
Flakes. They are packed as they are or ground into powder.
How does a single-drum dryer differ from a double-drum dryer?
In a single-drum dryer the product is applied to one drum from a tray or by rollers — this is how mashed potato, porridges and baby-food purées are dried. In a double-drum dryer the product is fed into the nip between two counter-rotating drums — convenient for liquid products such as milk and starch suspensions. We select the version for your product.
What output do the dryers have?
The drying area is 0.4 to 8 m². Approximately 40–60 kg of moisture per hour is evaporated per 1 m²; we calculate more precisely for your product: raw material moisture, required flake moisture and film thickness.
What drum sizes are available?
Diameter from 300 to 1,500 mm, drying area from 0.4 to 8 m², internal drum volume from 30 to 3,000 L. We calculate the size for your product and output.
How is the configuration selected?
Send us the product, its moisture content or consistency and the required output. Our engineer will calculate the drum size, application method, removal, heating and discharge and prepare a quotation.
Is there a drum for cooling melts?
Yes — the drum flaker (cooling drum): it is used to cool and flake fats, waxes, chocolate, soap base and sulphur. It has a separate page in the catalogue.
