Our India office shares the following success story: Titan’s jewelry division at Hosur now dries gold powder more efficiently with a Fluid Bed Dryer and value-added services from Cole-Parmer.
Customer Snapshot: Titan Industries, the fifth largest integrated watch manufacturer in the world, offers two of the most recognized brands: Titan and Tanishq. Its jewelry division at Hosur, Tamil Nadu, was using a traditional oven method for drying gold powder, which is used to make gold coins.
The process of producing gold coins includes melting gold bars at a very high temperature of 1400 to 1600°C. The gold is then cooled and reduced to gold powder. The powder has a moisture content of 20 to 30%, and needs to be dried with minimal product loss.
Challenge: The company used a conventional oven to dry the gold powder, which was time-consuming and resulted in more product loss than expected. With increased production, they wanted a method that involved scientific instrumentation.
Solution: Titan approached Cole-Parmer. Our application specialist suggested the Fluid Bed Dryer. If the powder was pre-dried in an oven, samples could then be loaded into the Fluid Bed Dryer. To counteract product loss, the application specialist recommended that the Fluid Bed Dryer be fitted with 500 mesh (30 µm) stainless steel inlet and outlet filters.
Up to 2 kilograms (kg) of powder can be dried easily in this unit, which has a maximum tub size of 5 kg. Because the samples expand during drying, it was suggested the tub be filled only up to a third of its capacity. Also, due to the low density of gold powder, the user should maintain low velocity to minimize loss and control the powder flow. The drying time may be slightly increased, but this method would prove more efficient than using a conventional oven.
With this customized solution and the complete Fluid Bed Dryer System, Cole-Parmer enhanced the company’s efficiency with a golden touch of service.
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