9 Photo: Christina Brandin Englund, Svenskt Trä PRINCIPLE The timber is dried during transport through the various climates in a drying channel that has 2 separate zones. Once loaded on trolleys, the timber is fed into the channel from a buffer track at the kiln’s input end. A fully automatic feed system carries the wood through the stainless steel kiln and out through its output end. Via heat coils, axial fans in each zone blow circulation air through the timber. In the first zone, the air is blown in the direction of timber travel. In the second zone, it is blown in the opposite direction to timber travel. The OTC model (optimized two-stage continuous) is a patented solution developed to create a climate profile that resembles a batch kiln’s drying schedule. The blowing direction is opposite to that of the conventional 2-zone FB model. Larger dimensions. The solution has enabled the development of a continuous kiln that minimizes the risk of checking in larger dimensions. The combination of the continuous kiln’s high capacity and the batch kiln’s high quality provides a kiln that also manages rapid drying to a low final moisture content. The kilns can advantageously be equipped with a heat recovery system. Unique in the market. OTC continuous kilns are a good example of Valutec’s ambition and long-term investments aimed at putting new ideas and opportunities from the cutting edge of research to good use. Valutec introduced the OTC principle to the market, which combined with smart technical detail solutions, has resulted in a unique product concept that meets all of the high standards we demand of our products (see Technical Solutions on page 14–15). Lumber types and capacity. Valutec’s OTC kilns were developed for boards and planks and have an annual capacity of up to 100,000 m3 (42.5 MMBF) and a target moisture content down to approx 8–18%.
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