Germany‘s ambient-air drying potential
Due to substantial increases in the cost of fossil-fuel energy and to the necessity of reducing CO2 emissions, cost-cutting measures and alternative sources of energy for production processes are becoming more and more important in the ceramic industry. Since most of the overall cost of ceramic production goes for drying and firing the products, it is only logical to start looking there.
1 Introduction
For several years now, a proposal to “revive” ambient-air drying has been making the rounds. While “finished” drying is achievable in Central Europe, it is also very uneconomical. Nevertheless, much of the water can be removed from the green bodies by evaporation with the help of ambient energy.
2 Determination of available potential for an ambient-air dryer
For the purposes of investigating the potential feasibility of such a dryer, the following discourse presumes, as an example, a brick factory with a daily output of 500 tons and “average” material requirements. Assuming that...
