Conductive and radiant freeze dryers, What difference?

What is the difference between KEMOLO conductive freeze dryer and radiant freeze dryer? What should I choose?

Different sizes

Conductive freeze dryers are small machines; considering the convenience of tray loading, conductive freeze dryers cannot be too large. Radiant freeze dryers are all large machines (do not rule out the possibility of producing small radiant freeze dryers in the future).

Different heat transfer methods

The heat transfer method of the conductive freeze dryer is through the contact between the metals, and the heat is transferred from A to B. Without contact, the heat cannot be transferred effectively. The closer the contact, the better the heat transfer. Therefore, conductive freeze dryers have high requirements for the flatness of trays and partitions, and the leveling process and surface treatment process are relatively expensive. The radiant freeze dryer transfers heat through space. The closer it is to the heat source, the higher the heat; the farther the distance, the lower the heat. Radiation heat transfer, uniform heat.

Different heat transfer efficiency

The conductive type uses stainless steel as the heat transfer medium. The heat transfer coefficient of stainless steel 304 is: 14W-mK

The radiant type uses aluminum alloy as the heat transfer medium. The heat transfer coefficient of AL-6063-T5 is: 160W-mK

The heat transfer efficiency of aluminum alloy is higher than that of stainless steel.

Different shelf materials

The conductive freeze dryer uses stainless steel as the shelf

The radiant freeze dryer uses aluminum alloy as the shelf

Different configuration

Conductive freeze dryers are usually small machines, all-in-one, with refrigeration products in place and freeze-drying materials in place; users only need to load and unload, and the program is fully automatic. There are no tracks and trolleys, and no quick-freezing warehouse is needed. Radiant freeze dryers are usually large machines and are split machines. Equipped with tracks and trolleys, equipped with quick-freezing storage. Users with sufficient budget can also choose an additional independent refrigeration system to refrigerate the quick-freezer, thereby saving production time.

Different production time

Generally speaking, the production time of the radiant freeze dryer is shorter. If you particularly care about the production time, KEMOLO can also provide additional options, which can save more production time.