“One patented idea is to replace the usual 50-60mm fan shroud with a fan duct, up to 2m long,” said Nardi’s Alessandro Gomitoli. “This uses the Venturi principle to accelerate air, so the actual flow is boosted by 15%, reducing the energy needed to drive the fans. The payback is a year to 18 months and this is getting shorter as energy prices rise.”
Kilns save kilowatts
One of Nardi’s main research targets currently is cutting the energy consumption of its kiln drying systems, and latest developments were highlighted at Ligna.