Patent ID: 9567562
Date: 2017-02-14
CPC Classifications: C12M,C12N,F26B

Claim:
1. A drying and harvesting apparatus for a large scale conversion of a liquid slurry into a dried product, the apparatus comprising: a ground support frame; a cylindrical drier vessel mounted upon said ground support frame in an elevating diagonal position from a lower end to an upper end, said lower end defining a lower central aperture and said upper end defining an upper central aperture, said drier vessel further defining an upper outer surface, a lower outer surface, two lateral outer surfaces, an inner wall and a drier vessel slot in said lower outer surface at said lower end; an upper steam chamber attached to said upper outer surface and said two lateral outer surfaces, said upper steam chamber defining a steam cavity supplied by at least one steam manifold providing steam from an outer steam generator, said steam cavity in direct communication with said outer surfaces of said drier vessel conductively heating said inner wall of said drier vessel with a steam outlet port through which exhaust steam may be diverted for recovery, recycling and reuse; an insulating blanket layer over said upper steam chamber to eliminate heat loss to said upper steam chamber regardless of the environment within which said apparatus is located; a scraper and sprayer assembly defining having a central rotating tube extending through said lower central aperture and said upper central aperture, said central rotating tube providing a lower end having an end cap and attaching to a universal hose connection attached to a hose supplying said liquid slurry into an inner longitudinal bore within said central rotating tube and an upper end having an end cap, with said upper end of said central rotating tube defining an outer drive portion connected to a rotating drive motor rotating said central rotating tube within said drier vessel, said central rotating tube further attaching a scraper and spray bar member, said scraper and spray bar member defining an inner throat from which a plurality of liquid spray ports are defined along a lower margin within and an angular scraper defined on an outer margin of said scraper and spray bar member, said scraper and spray bar member attached to said central rotating tube by at least two hollow transfer struts providing a liquid communication between said inner longitudinal bore of said central rotating tube through said at least two hollow transfer struts into said inner throat and out said plurality of liquid spray ports, directing said liquid slurry onto said steam heated inner wall of said drier vessel for flash drying of said slurry, after which said dried product is removed by said scraper on said scraper and spray bar member at the next rotational pass into said lower end of said drier vessel; and an auger assembly defining a lower dry product bin positioned below said drier vessel slot, an auger having a lower end within said lower dry product bin and an upper end having an auger drive motor to direct said dried product to a release outlet for transfer to a directed location.