Full Article: http://www.ccur.iastate.edu/news/newsletters/2019/jan-feb/tray-dryer-donation.html
An industrial tray dryer once housed at the Center for Crops Utilization Research (CCUR) will now have a new life at the University of Illinois Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab (IBRL).
The IBRL, a Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation facility, enables researchers to focus on commercialization and de-risking of processes using chemical, physical and biological conversion of feedstocks into fuels and other byproducts. The donation of the tray dryer by CCUR will increase IBRL’s drying capacity.
The IBRL does a variety of bioprocessing projects, and the tray dryer will be used in many applications, but one specific example that they are excited about is the ability to dry larger quantities of corn fiber or corn starch coming off of their pilot-scale corn processing lines.
“We are happy to receive this dryer from our sister bioprocessing facility and will shortly start using it to support industrial projects in IBRL,” said Vijay Singh, director of the IBRL. “This equipment will supplement our much needed pilot-scale drying capacity.”
CCUR purchased the TY-3 Tray Dryer from the National Drying Machinery Company in 1994 and it was installed in the Dry Processing Pilot Plant. CCUR used the dryer to dry food materials, including one project focused on drying water-extracted crambe meal. In 2015 the dryer was decommissioned and relocated to the BioCentury Research Farm (BCRF) for possible future use there.
Unfortunately, there was no research program at Iowa State University needing this piece of equipment and it was taking up valuable space at the BCRF. It was suggested to ask the IBRL if they would have a need for a dryer at their newly constructed facility. The IBRL was interested and CCUR decided to donate the equipment.
Andy Suby, manager of the BCRF, organized the donation and made the arrangements for moving the tray dryer to the IBRL.
“We are happy to provide the tray dryer to the IBRL to help support their biofuels and bioproducts research program,” said Suby. “We also look forward to future collaborations between Iowa State and the IBRL.”