Quik 'n' Dri™ Tower
Using Quik 'n' Dri™ to dehydrate your WVO or BD can be a truly plug and play affair that eliminates the need for intense heat or long settling times.
Tower Design:
Upflow or Downflow? While the outline below details a downflow design, many users of QnD have had great success with an upflow design that allows them more control over residence time and resin compacting. The design below is not meant to be authoritative only indicative so please use it as a guide to come up with that which works best for your environment.
Recommend a
minimum diameter tube of 4".
To achived the ideal ratio of bed height to diameter of tower, please use the rule of thumb of 1lb of Quik 'n' Dri™ for every 4" of tower diameter. Therefore if you have a 10" diameter you will require 2-1/2lbs of Quik 'n' Dri™ to attain the ideal bed height.
Tower height should be a minimum of 4ft but a height of 5ft would be ideal.
Parts & Tools:
PVC Tube: diameter: 4", length 5ft ::: Cap: diameter: 4" ::: Reducer Cap: 4 - 1 1/2" ::: 1 1/2" Adapter ::: 1/2" Elbow ::: 35 mesh ::: Tubing ::: (click here to view parts )
Top Cap:
Drill
3 holes in the cap. One at the center and two tiny holes at the outer
edge. Center hole will be used to connect inflow tubing via which the WVO
or Biodiesel enters the tower. The remaining two holes are for
venting:
(TIP: instead of a flat cap a reducer cap with adapter and T-coupler could be used. T-coupler will be used for fluid in flow as well as ventiliation. Attaching a one-way vavle to the air-intake/ventilation portion of the couple would serve to protect against fluid over flow).
Bottom Cap:
Instead of a cap, the bottom of
the tube is outfitted with a 4" inch to 1 1/2" PVC reducer. The reducer
and the tube is separated by a fine mesh (35 mesh for maximum throughput).
Exit tubing is attached to the end of the reducer connector. <
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Instruction: (Single Tower) :
Optional Equipment: Pump
Decant free water from BD or WVO. It's important that no free water enters the tower to cause premature expansion and/or clogging of the top most layer.
Flow wet BD or WVO top down into tower. To aid the flow of the BD/WVO through the Quik 'n' Dry tower bed a pump may be attached to the exit hose at the bottom of the tower.
Test output sample of BD or WVO for wetness, if desired dryness is not reach simply re-circulate through the tower a second time.
Instruction: (Dual Tower):
Same as single tower excepting the pump is attached
to the nipple filter on the lag tower and therefore re-circulation is
unnecessary. The lead tower exit hose connects to the lag towers feed
connector.
Quick Tips:
(1) Prep & Rotate: For smooth continuous
dehydration take 5 - 10 minutes to prep your granule bed by removing
granules that have expanded to 50% - 70% of their maximum size and place
them in your regeneration box. Add fresh granules if required.
(2) To avoid cross contamination used different
drying towers (and granules) for WVO and BD.
(3)
Please note, the PVC tower design is ideal for WVO only. While the same
design can be used for biodiesel, a more compatible material such as
stainless steel is recommended.
(4) Remember to
keep in mind that you will need to be able to clean your mesh/filter and
prep your granule bed, so make sure it can be pulled apart and cleaned
easily.
(5) Be sure to regulate the inflow and
outflow so as not to pump more liquid in the tower than is
leaving.
Warning: To prevent clogging do NOT run 100% water through your tower. Otherwise the top layer of granule will expand rapidly causing clogging. Please exercise good judgement for a trouble free operation.
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Facsimile: 800-288-7729
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