The Cake Stand™ Dryer supports wet filter cake on a rigid perforated stainless steel stand plate inside a sealed jacketed vessel allowing simultaneous top-surface radiation heating and bottom-surface conductive heating from the heated stand, while vacuum (−0.85 to −0.98 bar) removes solvent from both surfaces simultaneously. Processing 5–500 kg/batch at 30–130°C, it reduces drying cycle time by 30–50% vs. standard tray dryers and eliminates manual tray loading.
ANFD or filter press cake is transferred directly onto the perforated Cake Stand plate via gravity or pneumatic transfer eliminating manual tray-spreading. The vessel lid is sealed and vacuum applied; the stand plate is heated conductively from below (jacket 30–130°C) while radiant heat panels above provide supplementary top-down heating. Vapour migrates through the cake and perforated stand to a condenser. Cake depth of 20–80 mm is accommodated with uniform LOD achieved across full cake thickness.
Challenges
Cake Cracking and Channelling During Drying
Shrinkage-induced cracks create vapour channels uneven LOD across cake depth.
Cake Adhesion to Perforated Stand Plate at Drying Endpoint
Dried cake bonds to stand perforations difficult discharge without cake fracture.
Limited Batch Flexibility for Variable Cake Thickness
Single stand-plate geometry cannot optimise heat-path length for different depths.
Radiant Panel Temperature Non-Uniformity
Edge cooling from vessel wall creates lower heat flux at cake periphery.
CIP of Perforated Stand Plate and Radiant Panel Assembly
Complex geometry requires validated CIP spray coverage.
Solutions
- Oscillating Radiant Panel (±5 mm) Above Cake Surface: Slowly reciprocating panel equalises heat flux eliminates edge cooling gradient.
- Anti-Stick PTFE Perforated Liner on Stand Plate: PTFE liner prevents cake-to-plate adhesion full cake release at LOD endpoint.
- Interchangeable Stand Inserts (20 / 40 / 80 mm Cake Depth): Three standard depths optimise conductive heat path for each product's cake thickness.
- PLC LOD Trend Monitoring via Condenser Weight Balance: Continuous mass balance determines real-time LOD auto-terminates at target.
- Full-Bore CIP Lance + Ultrasonic Cleaning for Perforated Plate: Ultrasonic CIP tank for stand plate; in-vessel spray lance covers radiant panel.
Applications
- Pharmaceutical: Direct cake-to-dryer from ANFD or filter press API final isolation drying without tray spreading.
- Biotechnology: Enzyme cake drying, biological intermediate direct-transfer without manual handling.
- Chemical: Specialty chemical filter cake drying with solvent recovery reduced cycle vs. tray dryer.
- Nutraceuticals: High-value botanical and extract filter cake drying with bidirectional heat flux.
- Agrochemical: Active ingredient filter cake drying with rapid cycle and high solvent recovery.
Models & Capacities
| Type 1B Cake Stand™ Dryer: Models & Capacities (* At jacket surface temperature 60°C) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Scale | Batch Size [kg] | Stand Plate Ă˜ [mm] | Cake Depth [mm] | Shelf Temp [°C] | Vacuum [bar abs.] | Max Evap. Water* [kg/h] | Max Evap. Ethanol* [kg/h] | Vessel Ă˜Ă—H [mm] | Overall H [mm] | Weight [kg] |
| CSD-LAB-5 | Lab | 5–15 | Ă˜300 | 20–80 | 30–130 | 0.02–0.15 | 1 | 3 | Ă˜400Ă—500 | 1,800 | 180 |
| CSD-PIL-30 | Pilot | 15–50 | Ă˜450 | 20–80 | 30–130 | 0.02–0.15 | 2 | 6 | Ă˜550Ă—650 | 2,200 | 380 |
| CSD-PIL-100 | Pilot | 50–120 | Ă˜600 | 20–80 | 30–130 | 0.02–0.15 | 4 | 10 | Ă˜750Ă—850 | 2,800 | 680 |
| CSD-P-200 | Production | 100–250 | Ă˜900 | 20–80 | 30–130 | 0.02–0.15 | 8 | 20 | Ă˜1,050Ă—1,100 | 3,600 | 1,400 |
| CSD-P-350 | Production | 200–400 | Ă˜1,100 | 20–80 | 30–130 | 0.02–0.15 | 14 | 35 | Ă˜1,300Ă—1,350 | 4,500 | 2,500 |
| CSD-P-500 | Production | 300–500 | Ă˜1,400 | 20–80 | 30–130 | 0.02–0.15 | 20 | 50 | Ă˜1,600Ă—1,600 | 5,500 | 4,200 |