Polymer Drying Systems 

Polymer drying is one of the most commercially critical pre-processing steps in plastics and synthetic rubber manufacturing. Engineering thermoplastics such as nylon (PA), polyester (PET), polycarbonate (PC), ABS, and PBT are hygroscopic materials that absorb atmospheric moisture and must be dried to very low moisture levels, typically 50–200 ppm, before melt processing in injection moulding, extrusion, and blow moulding operations. Even minute traces of residual moisture cause hydrolytic degradation of polymer molecular weight during melt processing at 200–300°C, resulting in splay marks, silver streaking, reduced mechanical properties, and in extreme cases catastrophic depolymerisation that ruins entire production batches. At the upstream end of the polymer supply chain, freshly polymerised pellets or powder from the reactor must also be dried to specification before compounding, packaging, or sale. Kerone Engineering Solutions provides polymer drying systems across both these application domains, post-reactor polymer drying and pre-moulding pellet drying with equipment engineered for the specific hygroscopicity, bulk flow characteristics, and temperature sensitivity of each polymer family.