PROCESSING | ENERGY MANAGEMEN`T


Right: Blue Air says its BBX dryer is more energy efficient than typical hot-air pellet dryers


speed is lower (550 mm/s against 1000 mm/s), the dynamics are higher, said the company – allowing a sub-2-second cycle time fast enough to support production of over 1 billion caps per year.


Composite gains An EU-funded project called Forest – coordinated by Aimplas of Spain – delivers biocomposite parts for automotive, aerospace and bus applications with reduced energy consumption. An EV battery cover, an aircraft cockpit ceiling panel and a bus roof profile show weight reduc- tions of up to 35% while cutting manufacturing energy use by up to 25%. The project has shown it is possible to make


transport components containing more than 50% sustainable materials by combining bio-based feedstocks, recycled carbon fibre and functional additives.


Manufacturing efficiency improved alongside


material sustainability. Process optimisation delivered a 15-25% reduction in energy consump- tion compared with conventional methods, thanks for faster curing chemistry that cut cycle times by 20-40%, one-shot manufacturing concepts that cut out intermediate processing steps and the removal of freezer storage requirements. At the same time, engineering costs fell by 15-20% through simpli- fied tooling, fewer mould iterations and increased process robustness. “Forest demonstrates that sustainability, light- weighting and safety are not competing objec- tives,” said Fernando Ramos, project coordinator at Aimplas. “By integrating bio-based chemistry, recycled carbon fibres and multifunctional perfor- mance, we are reshaping advanced composites for the future of mobility.”


Drying efficiency Blue Air says its BBX Dryer module increases the energy efficiency of pellet dryers by 50-70% compared to conventional hot-air pellet dryers. The module uses dry process air to convert conventional pellet dryers and opens up new potential for plastics processors keen to improve their profitability and maintain their competitive edge, says the company. It adds that the new dryer is an alternative to ‘energy-guzzling’ dryers. Conver- sion is simple, as existing pellet hoppers remain in use. Only the drying unit is replaced with the BBX Dryer module. Blue Air Systems has filed a patent for the innovative module – and says it is open to cooperation to cover markets in America and Asia. The main energy savings come from the drying method used. Unlike conventional drying strate-


16 INJECTION WORLD | September/October 2026


gies, it needs no regeneration energy. It enables a constant dew point without fluctuations and does not require cooling water or a molecular sieve during operation. Drying is very low-maintenance: the dryer only requires an air filter change after a long period of use. The compact modules can be used for a range of hopper sizes up to 10,000 kg/h. Installation of the module is also straightforward thanks to a plug-and-play design – and can be completed in one day. Depending on the application, a Blue Air BBX Dryer module can save 50-70% energy when replacing a conventional dryer, says Blue Air. “We see a very high potential for retrofitting installed drying systems with the Blue Air BBX Dryer module for energy-efficient drying,” said Bernhard Stipsits, managing director of Blue Air Systems. The dryer has optimised energy consumption which can be connected to any drying hopper. The advantage is that, thanks to intelligent digital pneumatics, only the exact amount of process air needed to complete the task is used. A finely stepped dry air volume flow control ensures maxi- mum transparency of the drying process. An optional database is available for plastic-specific and through- put-dependent dryer settings. There is also a fill level sensor, and, as standard, a display of the process parameters – including temperature, dry air volume flow, dry air dew point and energy consumption. “Based on our decades of experience develop- ing dry process air systems, we are convinced that using in-house process air for drying is the superior approach,” said Stipsits. “We see a high potential


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IMAGE: BLUE AIR


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