Universal Drying Systems Secures First Order for The Jumbo Dryer and Pyrodry 5000 Pyrolyzer
In February of 2022, Universal Drying Systems was contacted by Shane via their website. Shane is an independent farmer located in southern Illinois who along with his son farm 3500 acres of no till corn and soybeans. They also operate a separate company that hauls off the dewatered cake from three local wastewater treatment plants. This is land applied on their fields for fertilizer. Shane has been considering drying this cake for 8 years. Not only would the cake be turned into Class A but eliminate the odor during application which has been an issue with the adjoining homeowners. Also, if weather is uncooperative and he cannot get onto fields, the cake builds up and becomes more difficult to handle.
During initial conversations and site visit by Universal Drying Systems, it was determined that an STR-12 Dryer would be suitable for Shane. He owns several acres of reclaimed coal strip mine that has a large building that was the maintenance building for the coal mine. Next to this is his grain drying operation with a large propane tank to feed the grain dryer. Perfect for the installation of the STR-12.
Budgetary pricing and initial layout drawings were supplied. Shane had researched competitors and determined that due to the efficiency, smaller footprint, and proven track record of The Jumbo Group’s STR-12 in Europe, this was his best option. This heat for drying was to be supplied with a propane gas burner.
With The Jumbo Group’s addition of the PyroDry 5000 Pyrolyzer that would produce biochar and waste heat to feed the dryer and PFAS destruction, Shane considered this in addition to the dryer. Shane determined he and his wife should visit Germany to see the factory and visit installations including Frohnbach, Germany that has an existing STR-8 and Pyrodry 3000.
During their time in Germany, he was impressed with the factory, owner Franz Klaus and the entire German team. He learned that Frohnbach had considered five companies with different technologies and are very glad they chose The Jumbo Group. Shane was impressed with the reliability of the equipment, how clean and dust free the operation is plus the low noise and odor levels.
Shane did purchase the STR-12 with a moveable floor storage unit large enough to handle a second dryer. He also purchased the Pyrodry 5000 Pyrolyzer so he can use the waste heat from pyrolysis and see significant savings on propane plus produce the more valuable biochar and offer PFAS destruction to his customers who believe restrictions in Illinois on applying municipal sewage sludge to land for fertilizer is going to become a large issue. The customers agreed to an additional hauling and disposal cost of their sludge for the security of PFAS destruction. PFAS is a forever chemical that is gaining more attention and our pyrolysis process helps eliminate this concern.
Information including dimensions, operational costs and a video showing the Frohnbach facility is located at our website: www.universaldryingsystems.com.
We are looking to have this in operation by the end of the year.