KDS Micronex™

The KDS Micronex comprises a chamber in which chains or blades spin in a horizontal plane. The resulting centrifugal force flings feed material against the sides of the chamber.  The process has repeating collisions between particles, chains, and chamber sides which literally blow apart a feedstock material. These impacts squeeze some of the water out of the material. Due to the impacts, the process generates heat which consequently dries the material. After pulverization, the process conveys pneumatically the material to a cyclone where it separates the moist air and product. The machine collects its product at the cyclone bottom. The process pumps air and water vapor/droplets back into the machine and the water leaves the machine through the vapor vents.

The process requires ZERO heat input. While the machine temperatures do not exceed 130 degrees Celsius (266 deg F).

The following are the strong points of the KDS Micronex:

• The KDS Micronex machine can dry organic substances from up to 80% moisture content down to 5% moisture without any additional heat.
• The machine is electrically driven yet the cost of drying per ton is less than that of drum dryers using natural gas or propane or fuel oil.
• The KDS Micronex removes the kilojoules of energy per kilogram of water 3 or 4 times LESS than other dryers. In fact, it requires the energy LESS than the latent heat of water.
• The machine almost completely eliminates the smell from the feedstock material.
• In addition, the KDS Micronex completely eliminates the germs in the feedstock material.
• The machine can achieve very small particle sizes in processing mineral ores, coal or glass (from 1 micron to 100 microns).
• While grinding coal or glass to very small particle sizes the KDS Micronex consumes 2-5 times LESS energy than with conventional grinders. In addition, we believe that the KDS Micronex is the only technology that can produce sub-micron glass powder efficiently.
• The KDS Micronex combines the functions of grinding and drying in a compact, simple to operate way. Our clients are able to achieve significant savings of space and energy by combining the two functions.

Power Requirements as a Dryer

The KDS Micronex combines in one machine the operations of a conventional dryer and a conventional grinder. So, it makes sense to compare it to such a dryer and grinder combination.

Because some of the water removal is due to mechanical forces, the KDS Micronex uses far LESS energy to dry than conventional dryers. Such dryers absorb 3550 to 9000 kJ of heat to remove one kg of water, i.e., 1700 to 4000 BTUs of heat per pound of water removed. In contrast, the KDS Micronex needs only 1200 to 3000 kJ of electrical energy to remove one kg of water, i.e., 0.15 – 0.384 kWhr per pound of water of water removed.

Assuming that conventional dryers use natural gas (Cost = US$11 per million BTUs, in Sep 2005), the drying energy cost is 1.9 – 4.4 cents per pound of water removed. Assuming that electricity costs US$0.06 per kWhr (in Sep 2005), the cost to dry in the KDS Micronex is 0.9 – 2.3 cents per pound of water removed. Thus, it is cheaper to dry using the KDS Micronex. While the cost advantage of the KDS Micronex does depend on the relative prices of natural gas and electricity, it must be pointed out that electricity prices are much more stable than natural gas or oil prices.

The KDS Micronex uses no additional energy for grinding. The above exposition shows that the KDS Micronex is more efficient than a regular dryer, so it goes without saying that it uses less energy than a dryer-grinder combination.

Power Requirements as a pure Grinder

The power requirements for the KDS Micronex as a pure grinder that does not need to do much drying are comparable to a conventional ball or hammer mills.

The KDS Micronex is able to process manures and other waste products to be free of salmonella, e-coli, and other coliforms and to virtually eliminate all other pathogens.

The air temperatures in the machine can reach 130 deg C (266 deg F), and the particle temperatures may briefly be much higher than that, due to kinetic heating during collisions. These high temperatures kill pathogens. The immense centrifugal accelerations also cause cell walls to rupture and die.

The KDS Micronex significantly reduces the smell from substances like paper sludge and manures after processing along with reducing moisture content and microbial activity.

Research Report    [ddownload id=”1185″ button=”green”]

The production rate depends on the type of feedstock material, initial moisture content, and feed size. The greater the moisture reduction required, the lower the production rate. So, the smaller the feed size, the higher the production rate. The 250 Horsepower model is able to obtain the production rates 1 to 3 tons per hour.

To match a customer’s specific processing needs the KDS Micronex comes in several sizes. Therefore, the customer should consider a number of factors when selecting a specific model, such as machine footprint, feedstock material, and output rates.

The product moisture content depends on the initial moisture content, feed rate, and classifier speed. The higher the classifier speed, the finer and drier the end product.

The product particle size depends on the feedstock material characteristics and the classifier speed. The higher the classifier speed, the finer the product. Woody products will have a particle size range of 150 microns to 2 mm (100 to 10 mesh). Other biomass products will have a similar size range. Soft minerals, oyster shells will have particle diameters ranging from less than 45 to 150 microns (325 to 100 mesh). Up to 15% of the glass powder made by the KDS Micronex can be finer than 1 micron and all of it will be less than 45 microns (325 mesh) in size.

The water removed from the material leaves the machine through the vapor vent in the form of a fine mist and vapor. Air emissions from most substances, including those from broiler litter and paper sludge, do not have any significant odors. However, while processing some other materials, it may be necessary to use a scrubber to remove this mist and vapor.

The measured noise level is 87 dB at 2 meters (6.6 ft), so we recommend ear protection.

The power consumption of the machine is about 150 kW while running at steady state at full capacity. Assuming an electricity cost of US$0.15 per kW hr, it would cost $22.50/hour to run the machine. In addition, certain parts wear with use, see FAQ 11.

The strike mechanism wear rate depends on the feedstock material. For soft moist materials like chicken manure or paper sludge, the blades last over 80 hours. Bar replacement is inexpensive and a simple maintenance task.

Other moving parts like rubber paddles, bearings, belts, and pulleys will last for thousands of hours before needing replacement. However, we recommend replacing these parts annually in order to maintain a high level of uptime. The annual cost of replacement parts is less than $2,000 (3/2015).

The KDS Micronex is available in 4 standard sizes. So, we can customize and build machines to match a customer’s specific needs and requirements.