Application research on infrared drying in silk re-reeling process

Abstract

Drying is an indispensable part of the silk re-reeling process. The existing silk drying method, steam pipe drying, consumes large quantities of energy and adds considerable cost of raw materials. In order to overcome this shortcoming, re-reeled silk slices were dried via infrared radiation and the feasibility of infrared drying in silk re-reeling process was investigated. Compared with conventional steam pipe drying, infrared drying had no adverse effects on the formation of silk slices, the quality and micro-structure of raw silk. Furthermore, the drying temperature inside the infrared re-reeling machine compartments can be lowered more than 10°C and the energy consumption is less than one-sixth of that required by conventional steam pipe drying. The results indicated that infrared drying of re-reeled silk slices seems feasible and it is meaningful to reduce energy consumption and improve workers’ working conditions.