Feasibility of energy efficient steam drying of paper and textile including process integration

This article deals with a feasibility study on superheated steam drying of paper and textile. Drying with superheated steam in direct contact with the paper or textile web offers great advantages over conventional ways of drying with respect to energy efficiency, drying rate and quality aspects. The evaporated water in this drying process comes available as slightly superheated steam, whose energy can be recovered, assuming sufficient need for low temperature heat. The results indicate that superheated steam drying of a paper web on a small pilot scale seems feasible, though many technical problems have still to be overcome. Fitting the process in the energy infrastructure of existing paper or textile plants is also possible. For paper drying up to 50% of the energy input of the steam drying process can be recovered, for textile drying a 75% saving on drying energy is expected. Upscaling to an industrial scale forms the next challenge to be studied in the coming years. (C) European Communities 1997. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.