A common question: "how many dryer cylinders for a 100 TPD machine?" The honest answer is it depends on the evaporation load, not a simple capacity formula.
What dryers actually do
Paper leaves the press section at roughly 40–55% dryness and must reach ~92–95% before the reel. The dryer section removes the remaining water using steam-heated cylinders. The water to remove scales with tonnage and with how wet the sheet enters.
Key variables
- Entering dryness — a strong press/shoe press reduces dryer load.
- Speed — faster machines need more drying area per minute.
- Grade — fluting/testliner carry more water than tissue at equal width/speed.
- Dryer size — 1.5 m and 1.8 m cylinders give different areas.
Rough guidance only
For a 100–150 TPD fluting line you will typically see 30–45 cylinders in the main section, often split into groups with a size press or breaker stack. But a well-pressed machine can need fewer, and a higher-speed machine more. Treat any fixed number as a starting point to verify against the actual drying calculation.