MATERIAL SOLUTIONS
The keys to success with terry towels
Tumble drying towels is fundamentally inefficient, according to LTC Worldwide’s Richard Neale, who explains how to achieve significant cost and quality improvements
urrent terry towel processing offers some of the most valuable opportunities for the modern launderer. The drying process itself is fundamentally inefficient, but the laundry operator could be doing so much more. We take an in-depth look at how to achieve significant cost and quality improvements, with a surprising productivity bonus. Moisture retention is the starting point. The closer you can get to 40% retention on 100% cotton towels the quicker the drying cycle can be, plus the optimum amount of energy will be consumed. We have in recent times seen levels as high
C
as 65% on undersized batches therefore ensure any monorail bag system or step conveyor weighing points are regularly calibrated, to ensure optimum loading. Don’t forget that towels are wet when they arrive at the sorting room, so there is the opportunity to slightly overload to consider the moisture in the towels. This should be checked regularly to ensure the risk of a blockage is eliminated. Also, LTC research determined that increasing an undersized batch progressively by 1 Kg improved the moisture retention from a 40bar press by 1% per additional kilo, in this case study up to 7%.
Thus it is vital, to keep tumbler times to the minimum and to routinely check the membrane press settings. Every new press should come with a pressure gauge showing the force being exerted on the cheese of wet textiles. The check is sadly neglected, and the result is widespread wastage of energy and time in the tumblers. Squeezing moisture out in the press uses only one fifteenth of the energy needed in the dryer, per litre of moisture removed. A 40-bar press needs to be at its full 40-bar pressure for at least 30 sec to dewater towels adequately (generally the longer the better), which may require
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PHOTO CREDIT: Kannegiesser
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