Stela Belt Dryer BT 8400

The Stela Belt Dryer BT 8400 is the next generation of belt dryers solving the biomass drying challenge. Stela Drying Technology, a global leader in low-temperature belt drying, continues to push boundaries with innovative solutions across a broad range of industries. Here we explore our collaboration with Berneck, a leading producer of composite panel and lumber, on a unique and challenging biomass drying project.

“Our experience with the Stela dryer has been very positive. Their support in maintenance, operation, and training has been effective. The heat exchanger and condensate return are also working very well. Overall, we are satisfied with the dryer’s performance,” Berneck representatives say.

Challenge: Berneck needed to efficiently dry large volumes of bark and wood chips (from 60% to 45% moisture) for fuel pre-drying at their Lages, Santa Catarina (Brazil) facility.

This posed several challenges:

Flexible Steam Usage: The process required utilizing low-pressure saturated steam (2.8 bar(a)) with varying usage patterns.

Site Constraints: The dryer design needed to fit within specific mechanical, load, and space limitations.

Safety and Efficiency: The design needed to balance efficient heat transfer (using low-pressure steam and indirect warm water heating) with fire prevention measures.

Solution: Stela’s innovative solution involved the development of a custom-designed 27.5 ft. (8.4 m) wide dryer tunnel, comprised of multiple 6.5 ft. (2 m) long segments. This modular design ensured easy overseas transport in standard 40-ft. containers, overcoming site limitations, and streamlining logistics. The robust framework provided exceptional load management, handling the large volumes of bark and wood chips efficiently. Additionally, alternating ventilation within the tunnel guaranteed uniform drying, regardless of material variations, ensuring optimal moisture reduction throughout. This comprehensive approach effectively addressed the project’s capacity, safety, and environmental compliance requirements.

Result: The system successfully achieved single-line capacities exceeding 27.5 metric tons per hour for water evaporation, with a maximum heat dissipation of 92.1 MMBtu (27.1 MW) at 60°F (16°C).

Conclusion: This project showcases Stela’s ability to deliver specialized solutions for complex industrial needs.

The wide drying system, our largest belt dryer to date, not only efficiently reduced wood chip moisture but also adhered to stringent safety and environmental standards without any additional emission control measures, representing a significant advancement in biomass processing technology.

Latest news

Enviva Announces First Quarter Setback

May 9, 2023

Enviva, the world’s largest producer of industrial wood pellets, released its quarterly report in early May, and it rippled through the wood-to-energy ranks. “The plans and initiatives underway to improve productivity and costs across Enviva’s current asset platform continue to fall behind expectations,” commented John Keppler, Executive Chairman of the board…

Dieffenbacher Names New Energy Unit Director

Apr 27, 2023

Wolfgang Lashofer has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Dieffenbacher Energy GmbH, which was formed at the beginning of the year following the acquisition of BERTSCHenergy, based in Bludenz, Western Austria. As Managing Director of Dieffenbacher Energy, Lashofer takes over the management of the newly established Energy Business Unit…

TP&EE Sets 2024 Show Dates

Apr 18, 2023

Hatton-Brown Expositions LLC announces that the next Timber Processing and Energy Expo (TP&EE) will be held September 25-27, 2024 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore. The 2024 show will be the sixth biennial TP&EE to be produced since 2012 by Hatton-Brown Expositions, LLC, an affiliate of…

FutureMetrics Releases Updated Interactive Map

Apr 13, 2023

Now updated with 2022 trade data, the very popular interactive map of the global wood pellet trade from leading consultancy firm FutureMetrics is now available for free online. Simply click on any country on the list on the left of the map to see where that country’s pellet exports went or where…

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

Find Us On Social

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Wood Bioenergy News Online hits the inboxes of subscribers in the wood-to-energy sectors.

Subscribe Now

Subscribe/Renew

Wood Bioenergy is published and delivered worldwide 6 times per year. Free to qualified readers in the U.S. Subscribers outside the U.S. are asked to pay a small fee.

Complete the Form

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.