⚙️ Technological Process

The Drying Process

Drying is a critical step in biomass and food processing — it reduces moisture content to a level that enables safe storage, pelleting or packaging without the risk of mould and spoilage.

View Dryers Request a Quote
🌡️
200–10.000 kg/h Drying capacity
50–300 °C Radna temperatura
8–50% Moisture reduction
≤ 15 % Target outlet moisture
Process overview

Why is drying necessary before pelleting?

Fresh biomass and agro-raw materials contain 30–60% moisture. At such levels, the pellet mill cannot form a quality pellet because lignin remains inactive. In addition, high moisture causes mould growth during storage.

Optimal moisture for biomass pelleting is 10–15%. For animal feed and extrusion, 18–25%. The dryer efficiently reduces moisture from 50–60% to the target value with minimal energy consumption.

1

Raw material dosing

Wet biomass or feed is fed into the dryer by screw conveyor or belt conveyor

2

Heat Treatment

Hot air or combustion gases circulate through the mass and evaporate moisture

3

Moist Air Separation

Fans extract saturated air; dust filter prevents emissions

4

Dried Material Outlet

Dried biomass at target moisture goes directly to the mill or pellet press

🔑 Key advantages of drying

  • Prerequisite for quality pelleting without additives
  • Prevents mould and microorganism growth in storage
  • Increases the energy value of biomass per kilogram
  • Extends the shelf life of feed and livestock concentrates
  • Carousel dryer enables precise staged drying
  • Rotary Dryer ideal for high capacities and wet materials
  • Counterflow Dryer for fine fractions and animal feed
Inlet moisture (biomass)
30–60 %
Moisture izlaz
10–15 %
Air temperature
50–300 °C
Energy consumption
900–1.200 kcal/kg
Application

Which materials need drying?

Drying is essential in almost every industrial biomass and food processing operation.

🪵
Wood biomass
Fresh sawdust and wood chips contain 40–60% moisture. A dryer is mandatory before the pellet mill or boiler house.
Sawdust Wood chips Shavings
🌾
Agro-biomass
Straw, corn stalks, sunflower husks and agro-residues must be dried before pelleting or combustion.
Straw Corn stalks Husks
🐄
Animal Feed and Flour
Granules and flour after pelleting or grinding must be dried for safe long-term storage.
Animal feed Flour Granulat
Equipment

AM Tehnolog Dryers

Three types of dryers for different capacities, raw materials and quality requirements.

1
Carousel Dryer
Multi-stage dryer with rotating pallets. Precise zone-by-zone temperature control — ideal for fine fractions and animal feed.
200–3.000 kg/h Multi-stage Fine frakcije
Learn more →
2
Rotary Dryer
Drum rotary dryer for high capacities. Ideal for wet biomass (sawdust, straw) with initial moisture up to 60%.
500–10.000 kg/h Drum-type High moisture
Learn more →
3
Counterflow Dryer
Air and material flow in opposite directions — maximum heat exchange efficiency. Compact design for small spaces.
200–2.000 kg/h Counterflow air High efficiency
Learn more →
Technical details

Key Parameters of the Drying Process

💧
Inlet moisture
30–60 %
Fresh sawdust and agro-biomass. The Rotary Dryer is the only one that handles such high inlet moisture.
✅
Target outlet moisture
10–15 %
For biomass pelleting. For animal feed and extrusion, the target is 18–25%.
🌡️
Air temperature
50–300 °C
Lower temperature for feed (50–120°C) — preserves nutritional values. Higher for biomass (150–300°C).
⚡
Heat energy consumption
900–1.200 kcal/kg H₂O
Evaporating 1 kg of water requires approx. 1,000 kcal. The Counterflow Dryer achieves 900 kcal/kg.
⏱️
Residence time in dryer
10–45 min
The carousel dryer has a longer residence time (30–45 min) which gives a more uniform result.
🌬️
Airflow rate
5.000–50.000 m³/h
Higher airflow accelerates drying but increases fan electrical energy consumption.

Do you need a dryer for your facility?

We help you select the right dryer for your raw material, moisture level and capacity. Free technical consultation.

Request a Free Quote View all lines