Biomass drying systems — frequently asked questions

Biomass burners from 200,000 to 900,000 kcal/h, specified against your calculated heat demand. Tunnel chambers are typically 1,500 kg per batch, with plants configured from a single chamber upward. The generator between them moves 2,500 to 3,000 m³/h and delivers air across a controlled 50 to 150 °C.

Primary design fuel is cashew shell. Validated alternatives are briquetted mango peel (4,200 kcal/kg), rice stalk (3,800), corn cob (4,100), groundnut shell (4,500) and cotton stalk (3,900), plus wood and commercial pellets in 6–8 mm. All fire in the same burner without mechanical change; feed rate, ash volume and cleaning interval shift between them. Other residues can be assessed on request.

Yes, but it must be designed for it from the outset, with genuine zone segregation, separate preparation areas, dedicated tunnels and independent waste and drainage streams. Retrofitting this into a single-product facility is difficult and usually fails food-safety audit.

Yes. Installation supervision is available globally, and outside West Africa the buyer covers return air tickets, local accommodation and board, and entry permits for the team. That is stated up front because it is a real line in the budget rather than an afterthought, and it does not change the 12-month warranty from date of shipment.

Manufacture in 10–18 weeks from confirmed order and receipt of advance payment. Installation and commissioning follow, scheduled with the buyer. Site survey and design sizing happen before that clock starts, so the useful question at enquiry is how soon the survey can be booked. Warranty runs 12 months from date of shipment.

One. A 900,000 kcal/h cashew shell burner fires the steam boiler at Premium Cashew Commodities Limited in The Gambia, running on the empty shell the factory already produces. That is a boiler application, not a dryer: we have not yet built a drying line, and a mango demonstration unit is planned in Burkina Faso. Drying figures on this site are engineered design targets, not measured results.

Through a Delta PLC system with dedicated temperature controllers, monitoring at multiple points and adjusting both fuel feed rate and airflow. Control is closed-loop against setpoint.

No. Heat transfers indirectly through an air heat exchanger. Combustion products are exhausted separately and never enter the process air stream.

With proper maintenance, 15–20 years for the main structure. Consumable high-wear items such as burner and boiler grills require periodic replacement depending on usage intensity and fuel ash content.

Yes, with scheduled maintenance windows. Continuous operation requires disciplined ash removal and heat-exchanger cleaning; skipping these degrades efficiency well before anything fails.

Configuration dependent. A six-tunnel example configuration draws 75.5 HP (56.323 kW) total: 39.5 HP on the burner and hot-air side, 36 HP across twelve 3 HP chamber blowers.

The critical list covers PLC, HMI, VFD, temperature controller, SMPS, timer, relay board, line choke, vibrator, contactors, MCBs, and burner and boiler grills. A full recommended holding is supplied with each installation.

Where the site has internet connectivity, the PLC supports remote diagnostic access, which resolves many control-side faults without a site visit.

Daily visual checks, weekly mechanical and control routines, monthly major component servicing. Full schedules are supplied in the documentation package.

Standard installation includes operator and maintenance training covering daily operation, routine servicing, troubleshooting and basic repairs. Advanced technical training is available separately.

Twelve months from date of shipment, with spare parts dispatched alongside the machines.