May 15, 2007

Geelen Counterflow gets Victam award for innovation
 

Press release
 

Geelen Counterflow has been awarded the Victam International 2007 Innovation Gold Award for its Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) for dryer/cooler systems.

Held at Jaarbeurs Exhibition Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from May 8-10, Victam International 2007 attracted key players from the feed industry worldwide.

Presentation of the Victam International 2007 Innovation Awards was organised by Feed Tech, the leading international magazine for the feed compounding industry.

Dick Ziggers, editor of Feed Tech and chairman of the jury panel, presented the awards, which were given based on newness, originality, fundamental principles, importance to the sector, and complexity.

The EEI gives operators a visual and numerical indication of the efficiency of the current drying process. On the control display, the operator can check how many kilojoules (kJ) of energy the dryer currently consumes for every kilogram of water that is evaporated. This unit of measure (kJ/kg evaporation) is the critical indicator of efficiency for every dryer.

Unanimously placing the EEI on top of their list, the jury commented, "The system measures energy and moisture, which are very important items in today's modern feed production, not only from a cost perspective, but also from a quality perspective."

The jury said that the EEI measured all drying variables in real time, which allowed the operator to immediately adjust the drying process to required quality standards. "And even in an already efficient counterflow dryer, a 10 percent extra energy efficiency can be obtained," the jury added.