Is Your Dryer Optimized to get Your Desired Product?

Presented by Pete Walter, National Adhesives

Drying pressure sensitive adhesive is a complex phenomenon which has been studied extensively and in increasing depth in recent years.1,2 However, translating this increasing understanding to pragmatic information usable by the practitioners of commercial drying has been limited. While advances in the theory and design of dryers and instrumentation can result in improved processing economics, most coating companies have not acted on them, usually due to reluctance to invest more money in an existing, apparently satisfactory process. It is the purpose of this paper to select a single aspect of this improved understanding which, with minimal equipment costs, can improve coater
operating economics.