There are two main types of oxidizers: Thermal & Catalytic. Multiple model variations of these oxidizers are used based on factors such as: the material being produced, volume of the exhaust stream, and the concentration of the exhaust, to name a few.

Thermal Oxidizer model variations are: Thermal Oxidizer without heat recovery, a Recuperative unit, a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer, or a direct-fired unit, known as an Afterburner. In general, Thermal Oxidizers heat the exhaust gases to high temperatures in order to break down the harmful substances present in the airstream.  Thermal Oxidizers can be used in more industries than Catalytic Oxidizers and are typically used with higher temperature exhausts and for more production hours. Cement, ceramics, glass, detergents, alcohol, fertilizers, inorganic and organic chemicals, petrochemical, pharmaceuticals, polymers, resins, and PVC manufacturing make up some industries that require Thermal Oxidizers.

The Catalytic Oxidizer is also available in Recuperative and Non-Recuperative variants. Apart from this, Selective Catalytic Reduction Oxidizers are also available on the market and are used to get rid of toxic NOx.  Catalytic Oxidizers are employed on relatively slow flowing exhaust streams. The exhaust passes over catalysts, made up of precious metals, which oxidizes the polluted gas via a chemical reaction.  Catalytic Oxidizers cannot be used in industries that include chlorinated compounds, sulfur, phosphorus or heavy basic metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, antimony, zinc, copper, tin, iron, nickel and chrome because they are all known for being catalyst poisons/deactivators.

Stelter & Brinck is one environmental equipment manufacturer that provides Thermal and Catalytic Oxidizers. Along with designing and manufacturing oxidizers, Stelter & Brinck also provides rebuilds, upgrades and retrofits of oxidizer systems, the oxidizer’s heat exchanger, or afterburners.

Stelter & Brinck also offers combustion services and parts to keep oxidizers well-maintained. Combustion services are important because they keep your oxidizer up-to codes and standards, thus, helping you avoid fees.  Stelter & Brinck’s combustion services include:

• Burner tuning for efficiency
• NFPA and insurance safety checks
• Burner operation reliability
• Burner and pilot inspection
• Troubleshooting
• Preventative Maintenance and Service Contracts
• Spare Parts

Below are two oxidizers (a catalytic & thermal) that Stelter & Brinck manufactured and services.

For more information on oxidizers, or combustion services for your oxidizer, please call Stelter & Brinck at 513-367-9300 or visit http://www.stelterbrinck.com/thermoxi.htm

Ceramics begin as powders, mostly made up of a base of Zirconia or Alumina, which are mixed with other materials before being processed. After being ground, mixed, filtered and granulated, these powders are dried via spray dryer. Ceramics are not chemically sensitive materials and thus, the by-products of combustion will not alter the output. Therefore, direct fired air heaters are the most economical and effective type of heater used in this process.
The “Forming” process usually involves applying the same amount of pressure from all directions to the powder. The high force causes the powders to be compressed into the desirable shape.
Next, during the “Green Body” phase, the un-sintered ceramic is taken out of the die casting and glazed. This phase is called the “green” phase because no firing equipment is used.
The “Sintering” process is where the most intensive action happens. Sintering, or firing, is where the mixture of the ingredients is exposed to over 2500oF – over 3000oF for long periods of times in a kiln. The kiln used in ceramics manufacturing typically uses a direct fired air heater, as well. Use of other
methods has being explored, but direct fired heating remains the most efficient option, as it does with the spray dryer.

The firing or sintering is responsible for the mechanical strength, abrasive resistance, dimensional stability, water another chemical resistance and resilience, and finally, heat resilience.
The last two steps consist of “Finishing” and “Final Quality Control”. During the “Finishing” phase the ceramic form is altered to fix blemishes and to remove unwanted residue. This phase also involves glazing. Glazing is done by covering the ceramic item with a glass coating and then re-firing the item to 1500oF to over 2500oF in order to sinter the glazed coating. This re-firing process also uses a direct fired air heater. The final step is an examination of the end product to ensure the ceramic piece is up to standards.

As we discovered, direct fired air heaters are very important in ceramics manufacturing. For more information about direct fired air heaters, please call Stelter & Brinck at 513-367-9300 or visit: http://www.stelterbrinck.com/direct-fired-air-heaters.htm

Please note that Stelter & Brinck also manufacures oxidizers, which are also used in ceramic manufacturing, as the process emitts VOCs. You can learn more about catlaytic oxidizers here: http://www.stelterbrinck.com/thermoxi.htm
Key Words: Ceramics Manufacturing, Spray Dryer, Kiln, Direct Fired Air Heater, Forming, Sintering, Catalytic Oxidizers, Thermal Oxidizers, Stelter, Brinck, Stelter & Brinck

Since the beginning of farming, people have been using substances to enhance agricultural yields. Different organic items have been used in the past to fertilize plants such as animal excrement and clay. As people began to learn more about plants, it was discovered that fertilizers could be produced from the following minerals: nitrogen, saltpeter, lime, phosphoric acid and potash. Shortly after this discovery, inorganic fertilizers were developed using synthetic minerals.

Inorganic fertilizers still represent the majority of commercial fertilizers produced. Today, most fertilizer production uses compounded forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which have been made with various raw materials.  Ammonia, an inexpensive raw material that is produced from air and natural gas, is commonly used as the synthetic source of nitrogen. The second component of fertilizer, phosphorus, is typically derived from phosphate rock. The third mineral, potassium, is derived from potassium chloride.

In order to create fertilizer, each of these compounds are granulated and blended together. The blend is then passed over a screen to separate composite pieces that are inadequately sized. A protective coating is then applied to the particles to keep each compound discrete and to stop them from retaining moisture. The particles are then put through an industrial dryer, which utilizes a direct fired air heater. Finally, other nutrients may then be added into this composite mixer in order to enhance the fertilizer before being sent to the bagging machine.

It is important to note that many intermediate materials can be produced along the way of the fertilizer manufacturing process with minimal to no extra processing. These materials include: potash, urea, ammonium sulphate, calcium ammonium nitrate, and many others. The manufacturing equipment used from plant to plant will slightly differ, based on the goal end product(s) of the fertilizer manufacturing facility. For example, depending upon the end product, the industrial dryer implemented into the manufacturing process can range from fluid bed dryers, rotary dryers, flash dryers, ring dryers, and many others. However, because fertilizers are not chemically sensitive, direct fired air heaters will always be implemented into the production system over indirect fired air heaters.

For more information about direct fired air heaters, please call Stelter & Brinck at 513-367-9300 or visit http://www.stelterbrinck.com/direct-fired-air-heaters.htm

Duct Air Heaters

Duct air heaters are primarily available in two distinctive configurations: fresh air duct heaters and recirculating duct air heaters. The fresh air model uses the oxygen present in the process stream and the recirculating model is used in processes with low oxygen levels. These heaters are called duct heaters because they are designed to fit into the process ductwork. Duct air heaters are for applications which generally require 1000^o F or less outlet temperatures, including heat treating, baking, drying, curing and many more.

Packaged Air Heaters

Packaged air heaters are complete with all the necessary combustion equipment parts, controls, and wires essential for the application. Packaged air heaters arrive on location ready for utility connection and start-up. These heaters are available in the 4 configurations listed below.

1. Natural Gas, Butane or Propane Fired
2. Heat with Steam
3. Heat or Cool with Liquids
4. Dehumidify and reheat air

A few of the industries that use packaged heaters are: chemical, dyes, paints and molds processing.

Gun Style Air Heaters

Gun style air heaters are used in processes in which oxygen content is low or the air stream is dirty.  As the name suggests, these types of air heaters look like a barrel, built around the traditional heating components. These units are most commonly used in glass and metal curing, melting, smoldering, annealing and other applications that require higher process air temperatures, fuel oil operation, and/or mass flows than the other two styles of direct fired air heaters.

For more information about direct fired air heaters, including gun style, duct style or packaged heaters, please call Stelter & Brinck at 513-367-9300 or visit http://www.stelterbrinck.com/direct-fired-air-heaters.htm

Thursday, December 22nd- 8AM to 1PM

Friday, December 23rd – Closed

Monday, December 26th – Closed

Monday, January 2nd – Closed

Feel free to contact us with your process heating needs.

www.stelterbrinck.com

513-367-9300

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Today, lime has many end uses, such as: steel manufacturing, plaster, mortar, and asphalt. We’re not talking about the food, but instead the product that originally began as a sedimentary rock. The National Lime Association has posted a fantastic diagram (see below) on their website (http://www.lime.org) to illustrate how lime is produced.

BOX 1: The limestone is first mined from the quarry. It is then placed into a crusher, which breaks the rocks into smaller particles. The feed is screened and separated into various sizes. The divided stones are then washed.

BOX 2: The washed stones are then transported to the lime kiln. At the kiln, the limestone is subjected to heat in 3 different stages. According to the National Lime Association, the 3 stages are:

“Preheating – limestone is heated by direct contact with kiln exhaust gases that enter the preheater kiln.

Calcining – the kiln fuel is burned in the preheated air from the cooling zone and, as the limestone moves down the kiln the heat turns the limestone into quicklime and carbon dioxide (CO2).

Cooling – quicklime leaving the calcining zone is cooled by direct contact with ‘cooling air.’”

The most common kiln used in United States lime manufacturing plants is the rotary kiln. In box two you can see that the kiln is placed horizontally on an incline. A process air heater (either directly or indirectly fired, depending on the lime’s end use) is placed at the bottom of the kiln and sends heat up the kiln, against the flow of the limestone. As the limestone travels down the heated kiln it is “calcined” into quicklime, or burnt lime. From here, depending on the end use, the quicklime is sold as is or it is further processed.

BOX 3: When the end use calls for further processing, the quicklime is made into hydrated lime.  By crushing the quicklime and adding water, hydrated lime is produced.  The hydrated lime is classified by size and then transported to the customer.

For more information on indirect fired or direct fired air heaters used in lime processing, please call 513-367-9300 or visit Stelter & Brinck at http://www.stelterbrinck.com/process-air-heaters.htm

Metal casting and molding dates back to 3000 B.C. and was originally used to make weapons and cult products. Ever since its inception, the metal casting industry has been continuously changing and growing, with improved equipment and different applications. Today metal casting and molding is used to manufacture weapons, construction structures, art work, automotive parts, and much more. A very important part of this industry is the use of ladles; and consequently, ladle preheaters, dryers and dryer-preheaters.
Ladles, typically found in foundries, are containers which handle the transfer of molten metal. Like other equipment in the metal casting industry, the shape, design, and handling of ladles has evolved over the years. Ladles were originally hand operated. Currently, industries use hydraulics as well as automated rack and pinion assemblies, to transfer and navigate these ladles. The insides of ladles are typically coated with refractory linings to be better equipped for handling the molten metal. Depending on the end product, production rate, and atmospheric conditions, ladles may require a dryer, preheater, or a combination, dryer-preheater.
Ladle preheaters, as the name suggests, are responsible for preheating the ladles to increase the temperature of the container to be comparable to that of the molten metal. This is done to prevent temperature loss from the molten metal, and consequent beading, cracking, oxidation and/or flaking of the end product.
After handling molten metal and contacting air, the lining of ladles will become moist with vaporized steam. In order to ensure the end product is not compromised and that there’s no chance of any water molecules coming into contact with molten metal, the ladle lining must be completely dry between batches. Thus, ladle dryers dry the lining of ladles at a fast and even rate using rapid air circulation at lower temperatures.
Ladle dryer-preheaters are a combination of the two units. They are designed to achieve the high temperatures required for ladle preheating, but include rapid air circulation at lower temperatures required for ladle drying.

For more information on ladle dryers, preheaters, or dryer-preheaters, call 513-367-9300 or visit http://www.stelterbrinck.com/ladle-preheaters.htm

The US Department of Energy initiated the Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) which is working to decrease the country’s carbon footprint by increasing industrial energy efficiency. This program is doing research in and providing energy efficient suggestions for companies by industry and by technology. The industries the ITP works with are: aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, metal casting, mining, petroleum refining, and steel. The technologies the ITP has been evaluating are: boilers & steam systems, combustion, compressed air, distributed energy/combined heat & power, energy intensive processes, fuel & feedstock flexibility, information & communications technology/data centers, naturals for industrial use, motors, fans & pumps, nanomanufacturing, process heating, sensors & automation.

Today, we’re going to focus on combustion/process heating. The ITP has put together “Best Practices”, which reports research efforts and breakthroughs that offer the process heating industry significant energy savings. The resources have been classified under: tip sheets, educational articles, technical publications, and one very indigenous tool, PHAST (Process Heating Assessment and Survey Tool). These resources/tools can be find at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices/process_heat.html

The tip sheets are meant to help engineers, technicians, and other plant workers better understand, analyze, and incorporate energy saving techniques into the operation of their process heating equipment. Tips on how to check air to fuel ratios, furnace pressure controllers, and how to reduce waste heat are some of the sheets found in this section of the site. These sheets explain how altering different parts of the system can affect production volumes, temperature, energy costs, carbon foot-print, and other process variables. Each of the tip sheets uses lucid examples and elaborates with graphs and illustrations.

The articles listed on the site are brief, easy-to-read papers centered around the topic of process heat, in general. They discuss the process heating goals of the ITP, describe what process heating is and where/when it is used in industry, seven ways process heating systems can be optimized, and gives an example of how one company cut process heating costs.

The technical publications are meant to be read by those who deal process heating on a regular basis. The aforementioned tip sheets and articles are simplified papers which have been extracted from these original, longer technical publications. Ranging from ‘Waste Heat Recovery and its Relevant Implications’ to ‘Roadmap to Improve Process Heating Technology’, these papers shed light on the technical research, results, and future research goals that have been done to improve process heating in industry. Supported by facts, tables and graphs from research & experiments on equipment across every conceivable industry, these papers give the greatest analytical insight on the process heating tips/ recommendations given by ITP.

Stelter & Brinck is one company that implements the suggestions of the DOE in their process heat equipment and combustion field services. For more information on S&B’s process heat equipment or services please call 513-367-900 or visit www.stelterbrinck.com

All images have been taken from “Best Practice Manual-Dryers”

Pneumatic/Flash Dryers are used in processes where the feed is susceptible to easy/ quick
drying. The material is dried within seconds when it is mixed with heated air and sent through a
drying duct at rapid speeds. Direct fired air heaters are most commonly used with flash dryers.
Filter cakes, sludges, granules, and pastes are a few of the products dried using flash/
pneumatic dryers.

All images have been taken from “Best Practice Manual-Dryers”

Spray dryers are the most widely used drying system in the food and dairy powder industries. These dryers use an atomizer to feed the liquid into a drying chamber. When the small drops of liquid enter the chamber, they are subjected to hot air, which turns the feed into power by means of water evaporation. The hot air is generated, indirect or direct fired air heaters; depending upon the sensitivity of the feed. Powdered colors, inorganic chemicals, insoluble organic dyes, and instant mixes in the food and dairy industries are just a few of the items that require spray drying.

All images have been taken from “Best Practice Manual-Dryers”

Fluidized bed dryers are used across all industries, employing gas or oil fired, indirect or direct configured air heaters. The hot air is passed through the bed of particles at a velocity high enough to suspended them and make them flow as if they are fluid. This batch drying process is used for products that do not vary much in size; cement, clay, pigments, and powders are a few of the products dried with fluid beds dryers.

All images have been taken from “Best Practice Manual-Dryers”

From pharmaceutical powders to sand ores, these dryers produce many diverse products, across various industries. However, regardless of the application or the dryer type, each of these four dryers uses hot air produced from indirect or direct fired air heaters.

For more information on indirect or direct fired process air heaters, please call Stelter & Brinck at 513-367-9300 or visit www.stelterbrinck.com

Process Heating Resources
http://www.process-heating.com/ – A wonderful resources to keep up with all the latest developments pertaining to process heating industry. The website serves as a good source for many major industrial OEM contacts in the process heating arena that focus on applications of up to 1000°F.
http://www.industrialheating.com/ – As a subsidiary of the above website, this is a source for processes that use heat in excess of 1000°F. Manufacturers and heat treating companies can be found on this website.
http://www.connectingindustry.com/ – Another well crafted website which provides viewers with regularly updated industrial stories and content. Connecting Industry has 9 branches, all of which focus on a different niche interest in the industrial world.
http://www.directindustry.com/ – This website is a self-proclaimed “virtual industrial exhibition”, which is a great source for general & specific industrial supplies & equipment. Every item for sale on the website has a picture and a detailed description.
http://www.globalspec.com/ – An engineering search engine that allows you to search by product, company or even part number.
http://www.thomasnet.com – An industrial search engine that provides very detailed information on products, services & suppliers including specifications, CAD drawings, and more.
http://www.stelterbrinck.com – Stelter & Brinck can help you with your process heat equipment and combustion field service needs. They have been in business for over 90 years and have experience in vast industries.
Associations & Institutes
http://www.asme.org/ – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers official website provides a large source of journals and whitepapers, pertaining to industrial norms and processes. The website also provides information on events and group pertaining to mechanical engineers.
http://www.astm.org/ – ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) International develops international standards for materials, products, systems and services used in construction, manufacturing and transportation.
http://www.eere.energy.gov/ – The Office of Energy and Renewable Energy works to increase energy efficiency throughout the US, while always striving for cleaner, more affordable energy technologies. The website offers many tips for saving energy, new regulation details, and many energy incentives put in place by the US government.
http://www.ihea.org/ – The Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) is a national trade
association that provides news, events, general resources and a supplier directory for those interested
in industrial heat processing & equipment.
http://www.gastechnology.org – The Gas Technology Institute is very prestigious organization which has
been developing breakthrough gas technologies in order to solve energy challenges and achieve a
secure energy future.
Popular, General Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page – The largest & most exhaustive source of information spanning
almost every domain. Also, the most trusted source for information!
http://www.scribd.com/ – An online article, journal & whitepaper submission forum.
http://issuu.com/ – Very similar to scribd, Issuu is yet another reliable source for users to upload their
publications and whitepapers.
http://www.docstoc.com/index.aspx – Again, Docstoc is another popular source of digital documents
uploaded by people.
http://www.getabstract.com/ – A paid service website which supplies abstracts & summaries of business
books. Recommended for in-depth knowledge building!