Bühler Ecothermatik pasta dryer

Conventional pasta dryers hit wet pasta with a blast of dry air. This brings moisture levels down rapidly, but it can cause tensions on the pasta’s surface that need to be ‘healed’ in a lengthy stabilisation process. Bühler’s Ecothermatik uses smaller volumes of moister air, so the pasta’s moisture drops more slowly and thus avoids tensions. According to the company, this can reduce stabilisation time by half.

The Ecothermatik re-uses the hot air, piping it to a heat exchanger to recycle its energy back into the process. Aerodynamically designed fans and dryer elements have less pressure drop, which can reduce power demand.

Bühler claims the dryer yields end products with good firmness and cooking stability as the pasta is kept in a rubbery - as opposed to a glassy - state throughout the drying, which allows proteins to coagulate and cross-link. The moist atmosphere of the dryer and the gentler progression of temperature and humidity can avoid stress and cracking. Pasta colour can be adjusted by changing the settings of the stabiliser.

Control of the dryer is fully automated, allowing replication of process conditions as well as rapid startup, shutdown and shape change operations. The inner machine is easily accessed through the insulation panels for maintenance.