Performance increase with drying kiln upgrade

Investment measure promises short amortisation period, conservation of resources and long-term energy savings during operation

An ageing drying kiln can be brought up to the current state of the art quickly and cost-effectively by means of an innovative upgrade with heat recovery technology. The result: higher performance of the existing kiln, i.e. shorter drying times and higher throughput - and this with the recycling of many existing elements, such as housing, gates or foundations. The drying kiln upgrade from Mühlböck is a quick and resource-saving solution to achieve an optimised energy-saving level.

Mühlböck's new drying kiln upgrade enables wood processing companies to continue using an existing drying kiln and still save energy costs. Older drying kilns can be older designs can be upgraded to a higher energy efficiency level with efficient heat recovery technology level.

"The current combination of a weak economy and high energy and operating costs is extremely challenging for many companies in the timber industry," says Richard Mühlböck, Managing Director of Mühlböck Holztrocknungsanlagen GmbH.

For the Upper Austrian manufacturer of wood drying systems, this was a reason to integrate the existing heat recovery solutions into existing systems in order to help its customers reduce production costs through energy-efficient wood drying: "With our newly developed drying kiln upgrade, we have created a unique solution in the industry that allows existing drying kilns to be brought up to an optimum energy-saving level quickly, cost-effectively and in a resource-saving manner," says Mühlböck.

The housing of an existing drying system continues to be used, but the entire upper technology unit is converted to a high-performance Mühlböck heat recovery system. The costs remain manageable, but the system performance increases in terms of capacity and energy efficiency: Up to 25% thermal energy savings can be achieved with an upgrade to the new "1306 Pro" heat recovery system, for example. Upgrading to the "1003 Premium" technology can even save up to even up to 50% energy can be saved.

First dryer upgrade at Paletten-Service Hamburg

Paletten-Service Hamburg (PSH) has already implemented the drying kiln upgrade at its site in Wismar.  SH produces at several German sites and delivers more than 10 million pallets a year to million pallets to customers throughout Europe every year. Six Mühlböck drying kilns have been in operation at the Wismar site for 17 years. Last year, four of these kilns underwent an efficiency upgrade with the "1306 Pro" heat recovery system. New fans, new heating coils, service flaps, the supply and exhaust air units and numerous other system elements were installed.

"The basic housing of our old drying kilns was still in good condition even after 17 years in operation. Being able to use them in the future, and in a more energy-efficient way than before, is a prime example for us in terms of sustainability and resource conservation," says Ingo Mönke, CEO of Paletten-Service Hamburg AG.

For PSH, the savings in the dryer area are also a decisive competitive advantage. In the pallet industry, nuances in production costs are already of great economic importance. According to Mühlböck's initial calculations, more volume can now be dried with less energy as a result of the upgrade.

"Another benefit of our dryer upgrade was the particularly low downtime during the conversion," emphasises Mönke. There were virtually no major disruptions during ongoing production. The advantages of the energy-efficient system were quickly and fully utilised.