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Spiral Flash Drying of rare earth concentrate: Fast and accurate drying to any moisture content.
Extracting rare earth elements from ore is a demanding, multi-step process in which every stage influences downstream efficiency and recovery. One of the earliest and most decisive operations is the drying of concentrate. By conditioning the moist rare earth concentrate into a stable, free-flowing product, this step ensures that subsequent roasting or acid baking can proceed in a controlled and predictable way. When processed correctly, the dried concentrate is also suitable for dust-free transport, allowing it to be handled safely, stored securely, and delivered for further processing off-site.
Ingetecsa’s Spiral Flash Dryer is especially suited to this duty. Drying takes place in just a few seconds, with precise control to reach any required residual moisture level. The dryer is robust enough to handle variations in feed moisture, particle size, or throughput, yet still delivers consistent results within a guaranteed range.
Being a static technology with no moving parts in the hot zone, the Spiral Flash Dryer achieves exceptional reliability, very high uptime, and minimal maintenance requirements. Its compact design, complete with its own support system, makes it easy to install outdoors, inspect, and maintain — adding further value to operators of rare earth beneficiation and hydrometallurgical plants.
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The critical role of the concentrate dryer
At the front end of rare earth processing, the moisture content of the concentrate is more than a detail — it determines the efficiency of the entire downstream flowsheet. Ingetecsa’s Spiral Flash Dryer is engineered to deliver rapid and highly accurate drying, transforming moist, fine-grained concentrate into a stable, free-flowing feed that is perfectly conditioned for roasting or acid baking.
Within just a few seconds of residence time, the Spiral Flash Dryer can achieve any specified residual moisture level, from surface-dry to extremely low moisture contents. This precision is made possible by the unique spiral flow design, which ensures intensive contact between hot gas and particles while preventing product degradation.
Rare earth concentrates, whether from bastnäsite, monazite or xenotime, are challenging materials: they are abrasive, dusty, and variable in feed composition. Unlike conventional drying systems, the Spiral Flash Dryer is designed to cope with these variations in feed rate, particle size distribution and moisture without compromising on product uniformity.
The result is a consistently dried concentrate, with minimal entrainment and radiation losses, ready for the critical chemical transformations that follow. Ingetecsa’s Spiral Flash Dryer brings together extremely fast drying, precise moisture control, and robust mechanical design in one system. For operators handling fine and mildly abrasive and radio active rare earth concentrates, it represents the most reliable and safe way to secure stable feed conditions and safeguard recovery yields across the entire beneficiation and hydrometallurgical process.
Accurate drying in the Spiral Flash Dryer provides significant process advantages:
Process stability
A controlled, low and uniform moisture level prevents dilution of sulphuric acid in the bake and ensures predictable reaction kinetics.
Proven to deliver precise moisture control
The Spiral Flash Dryer dries in seconds to any target moisture content, from bone-dry to any required moisture level, ensuring consistent feed quality for downstream roasting or acid baking.
Product quality
A free-flowing moisture free concentrate avoids caking, blockages and irregular feed behaviour in downstream mixing and thermal equipment.
Adaptable to varying feed conditions
Designed to cope with fluctuating concentrate moisture, particle size, and feed rate, the SFD delivers uniform drying performance even with difficult and abrasive materials.
Flexibility for off-site roasting or acid baking
When roasting or acid baking is performed off-site, the concentrate must be conditioned to ensure safe handling and efficient transport. Ingetecsa’s Spiral Flash Dryer provides exactly that flexibility. It can dry the concentrate to any specified moisture content — including higher residual levels when required — delivering a dust-free, stable product that arrives in the right condition for downstream processing. Starting with Ingetecsa's acid bake mixer.
Preventing steam surges in downstream processing
Removing free moisture before roasting or acid baking prevents steam surges.
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Why choose Ingetecsa for drying of rare earth concentrate?
Static technology, extremely reliable
With no moving parts inside the drying chamber, the Spiral Flash Dryer is exceptionally robust. This static design translates into very high uptime and minimal maintenance, even in demanding environments.
Compact and easy to maintain
The Spiral Flash Dryer is inherently low and space-efficient. It comes with its own support structure, is typically installed outdoors without issue, and can be easily inspected and maintained thanks to its compact design.
Global expertise
Ingetecsa has decades of experience in flash drying across minerals, chemicals, and industrial solids, with proven references where process reliability and product consistency are critical.
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