Secure Drying of Cosmetic Articles Made of Aluminum

Thomas Cosmetica de Espana belongs to the globally operating Thomas Group. At the Valencia site, components made of tinplate and aluminum are manufactured for the cosmetics industry. These include, for example, sleeves and lids for lipsticks or mascara. After these are surface-finished, they require a drying step. Sleeves and lids are components that collect liquid. They are placed on their carriers in such a way that they have absorbed a certain amount of water after the last rinse. With condensation drying based on heat pumps, the manufacturer has now found a process that meets all requirements. The South German dryer manufacturer Harter developed this type of low-temperature drying more than 30 years ago. This alternative drying process dries in a defined temperature range between 40 and 75 °C. It is an air-technical closed system. This enables fast, safe and exhaust-free drying. Exhaust-free means almost no emissions and little CO2. A relief for the environment and the wallet alike. The heart of every dryer is a heat pump technology that works efficiently and energy-saving. It can be integrated into any type of process technology, i.e. in addition to rack dryers, also bulk material dryers of any kind or continuous variants. For extremely liquid-collecting components with complex geometries, Harter also integrates a blow-off technology in the dryers to remove an initial water load. This works without compressed air.

Thomas Cosmetica already had a rack dryer from Harter in use. The parameters for this were determined in tests in Harter’s in-house technical center. Based on this, the aluminum specialist equipped its new line with two rack dryers of this type. Connected to the dryers is a so-called heat pump module, which prepares the required process air and is also responsible for the condensation process. The dryers are equipped with a special circulating air system. The air flow inside the dryers is also important so that the process air can dehumidify successfully. At Thomas Cosmetica, waste heat from hot water is available. This waste heat is recovered from a separate process. In many places, this waste heat is simply released into the environment. Thomas now uses this waste heat for the additional heating of the dryer. It helps to heat the drying air faster at the beginning of the process. In this way, the manufacturer from Valencia saves additional money. The rack dryers are equipped with an automatic lid system that only opens to move the carrier in and out. This keeps the valuable heat in the system. Depending on the product, Thomas selects a temperature between 60 and 75 °C for drying its cosmetic accessories. After 14 minutes, the aluminum components are completely and spotlessly dry. The nominal power of the complete system is 27.1 kW.