Kiln Driers – Batch, Solid, Not Heat Sensitive
Industry: Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Mfg (NAICS 3114)
NAICS process:
311411 Frozen Fruit and Vegetables
311421 Canned Fruit and Vegetables
311422 Canned Specialty Products
311423 Dried and Dehydrated Products
Process Brief: Moisture in fruits and vegetables is removed using hot air.
Energy source: Natural gas
Energy Intensity: No data, but kiln driers are probably less efficient than other hot air driers.
Kiln driers are used to dry products such as apple rings and hops. A typical design will have a chamber 20 feet high constructed above a gas furnace. Hot air, including the products of combustion, flows through multiple beds of product. The product is piled about 8 inches deep on trays and is dried in batches that are manually loaded and unloaded.
Long drying times and uneven drying rates limit the use of kiln driers in the food industry. Advantages include simple construction and low installed costs.