Systems and processes for determining drying times for granulate materials based on initial moisture content of the materials
A moisture sensing system is configured to determine the moisture level in granulate materials, such as, but not limited to, plastic resin pellets and agricultural grains. The system is configured to measure various parameters relating to the environment around the granulate material, and to determine additional characteristics of the granulate material based on these parameters. In some embodiments, the system is configured as a multi-sensor array with the computational and communicative capabilities to process the acquired measurements and provide outputs to a process device, such as a dryer, to help optimize the drying or other processes performed on the granulate material after the moisture measurements and other data are acquired.
1 . A system for drying resin granulates, comprising:
a first humidity sensor communicatively coupled to the computing device and configured to measure an intergranular humidity of the resin granulates;
a resin dryer configured to receive the resin granulates and to subject the resin granulates to heated and/or dehumidified process air within the resin dryer; and
one or more computing devices communicatively coupled to the first humidity sensor and the resin dryer, wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to:
calculate the moisture content of the resin granulates prior being subjected to the process air, based at least in part on the output of the first humidity sensor,
determine a targeted drying time based at least in part on a difference between the calculated moisture content of the resin granulates and a targeted moisture content for the resin granulates, and
cause the resin granulates to be subjected to the process air for a time period approximately equal to the targeted drying time.
2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a force sensor communicatively coupled to the one or more computing devices and configured to be immersed in the resin granulates, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to calculate the moisture content of the resin granulates based at least in part on an output of the force sensor.
3 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a moisture sensor configured to generate an output relating to the moisture content of the resin granulates; and
a gyroscope communicatively coupled to the one or more computing devices and configured to measure an orientation of the moisture sensor, wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to calculate the moisture content of the resin granulates based at least in part on the orientation of the moisture sensor.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to display the targeted drying time.
5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second humidity sensor communicatively coupled to the one or more computing devices and configured to measure the humidity of the environment around the resin granulates;
wherein:
the one or more computing devices are further configured to adjust the calculated moisture content of the resin granulates based at least in part on a difference between the intergranular humidity and the environmental humidity, and
the one or more computing devices are further configured to determine the targeted drying time based at least in part on the difference between the adjusted moisture content of the resin granulates and the targeted moisture content for the resin granulates.
6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to adjust the calculated moisture content of the resin granulates based at least in part on the targeted drying time.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to adjust the calculated moisture content of the resin granulates based at least in part on a conveying distance between the first humidity sensor and a process device to which the resin granulates will be drawn.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing devices include a smartphone.
9 . A process for drying resin granulates, comprising:
inputting at least some of the following information into a computing device:
the type and/or grade of the resin granulates;
a recommended drying air temperature;
a moisture content at which the resin granulates become oversaturated and cannot be dried;
a recommended drying time;
a throughput of a resin dryer;
a volume of the resin dryer;
a target moisture content for the resin granulates; and
a type of storage vessel in which the resin granulates are or have been held;
measuring an intergranular humidity of the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to heated and/or dehumidified process air within the resin dryer;
calculating a moisture content in the resin granulates based at least in part on the measured intergranular humidity of the resin granulates;
determining a targeted drying time based at least in part on a difference between the calculated moisture content of the resin granulates and the target moisture content for the resin granulates;
introducing the resin granulates into the resin dryer; and
subjecting the resin granulates to the process air for a time period approximately equal to the targeted drying time.
10 . The process of claim 9 , further comprising: measuring a force exerted on a force sensor immersed in the resin granulates; wherein calculating a moisture content in the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air comprises calculating the moisture content in the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air based at least in part on the measured force.
11 . The process of claim 9 , further comprising measuring a capacitance of a moisture sensor immersed in the resin granulates; wherein calculating a moisture content in the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air comprises calculating the moisture content in the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air based at least in part on the measured capacitance of the moisture sensor.
12 . The process of claim 11 , further comprising measuring an orientation of the moisture sensor; wherein calculating a moisture content in the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air comprises calculating the moisture content in the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air based at least in part on the measured orientation of the moisture sensor.
13 . The process of claim 9 , further comprising:
measuring the environmental humidity around the resin granulates;
determining a difference between the intergranular humidity of the resin granulates and the environmental humidity around the resin granulates;
adjusting the calculated moisture content in the resin granulates based at least in part on the difference between the intergranular humidity of the resin granulates and the environmental humidity around the resin granulates; and
determining a drying time based at least in part on a difference between the calculated moisture content of the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air and the target moisture content for the resin granulates includes determining the drying time based at least in part on a difference between the adjusted moisture content of the resin granulates before subjecting the resin granulates to the process air and the target moisture content for the resin granulates.