Cooling is as important for sugar storing and sugar quality as the drying process.
The fluidized bed offers excellent conditions for perfect heat and mass transfer, with the special feature that granular and crystalline solids are moved in a current of air. Since the bed of whirling particles behaves like a fluid, this process is also referred to as fluidization. While the sugar crystals are transported in this whirling current from the drum intake to the discharge end, they are cooled to the intended outlet temperature. With integrated cooling tube bundles, the performance of the fluidized-bed cooler can be improved considerably, and at the same time the air requirements and, consequently, the size of the dryer units can be substantially reduced. The sugar leaves the cooler at a temperature which is suitable for storage in a silo. Fluidization in the air current has the added effect of secondary sugar drying. This effect can be enhanced with additional drying zones so that the unit can also operate as a (secondary) dryer/cooler. The temperature load to which the sugar is exposed in the drying drum can thus be reduced.
Benefits:
- Effective cooling in the fluidized bed
- Cooling to a constant sugar temperature
- Reduced air volume
- Compact system design
- No moving parts
- Secondary drying and cooling within the same system
- Cooler exhaust air can be utilized in upstream drying plants
- Separation of dust particles from the sugar stream
