Rotary dryer solutions built for everything from sawdust and alfalfa to bagasse, manure, sludge, EFB, distillers grains, and hundreds of other moisture-sensitive materials. From standalone machines to complete drying systems, we customize every solution around your raw material, capacity, moisture target, and production process.
A rotary dryer is one of the most adaptable drying solutions available for bulk solids, serving industries that process biomass, wood, agriculture, organic fertilizer, recycling, mining, environmental waste, and many other materials. Whether you need a small rotary dryer for a new production line or a high-capacity industrial rotary dryer integrated into a complete processing plant, every project begins with the characteristics of your material—its moisture content, particle size, bulk density, and the final moisture level you need to achieve. That is why every rotary dryer system we build is engineered around real production conditions instead of a standard specification sheet.
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From biomass and agricultural residues to fertilizer materials, food processing by-products, industrial minerals, and environmental waste, our rotary dryer can process almost any bulk material that requires moisture reduction. Typical materials include wood chips, sawdust, shavings, bark, straw, alfalfa, forage grass, EFB, bagasse, animal manure, beet pulp, distillers grains, fruit pomace, soybean residue, starch residue, organic fertilizer, municipal sludge, coal slime, peat, mushroom residue, biogas residue, and many other high-moisture organic or inorganic materials.
Wood Fiber Biomass Materials
High-Moisture Organic Waste
Crop Stalks and Straw Materials
Minerals and Inorganic Materials
Organic Fertilizer Raw Materials
Forage and Grass Feed Materials
Our rotary dryer machine is built for businesses that need to dry bulk materials before storage, pelletizing, composting, combustion, packaging, or further processing. Typical users include sawmills, wood product manufacturers, biomass pellet plants, forage processors, feed mills, livestock farms, organic fertilizer producers, sludge treatment companies, breweries, distilleries, sugar factories, grain and food processors, recycling facilities, mining companies, cement plants, ceramic manufacturers, and chemical producers.
Wood Processing Plant Facilities
Biomass Pellet Fuel Plants
Forage Crop Cultivation Bases
Sugar Refining Processing Plants
Beer Brewing Production Facilities
Organic Fertilizer Production Plants
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Every rotary dryer is more than a rotating drum—it is a complete thermal processing system where every component directly influences drying efficiency, energy consumption, operational stability, and equipment lifespan. From the drive assembly and drum body to the sealing system, support structure, lifting flights, and safety controls, each part is engineered to withstand continuous industrial operation while delivering consistent moisture reduction across a wide range of materials.
The rotary dryer uses a variable frequency drive with an adjustable drum speed of 3–12 rpm. Operators can optimize the rotation speed according to material moisture, bulk density, and required drying time. This improves heat utilization, stabilizes product moisture, reduces energy consumption, and allows one machine to process many different materials efficiently.
For combustible materials such as sawdust, straw, and biomass, the system can be equipped with a spark detector, controller, alarm, automatic water spray, and interlocking protection. Once sparks are detected, the rotary dryer system responds automatically to reduce fire risks, protect equipment, and improve operational safety.
Our rotary drum dryer handles fibrous, granular, powdery, lumpy, sticky, and irregular materials with high moisture content. By matching the drum structure and airflow to different material characteristics, it delivers reliable drying performance across biomass, fertilizer, sludge, minerals, agricultural products, and many other applications.
The riding rings and support rollers are manufactured from high-strength cast steel for excellent load capacity and wear resistance. Precision machining ensures smooth drum rotation, minimizes vibration, extends service life, and reduces maintenance requirements during continuous industrial operation.
Both the inlet and outlet are equipped with flexible, wear-resistant steel seals that effectively reduce heat loss, prevent material leakage, and compensate for thermal expansion. This design improves thermal efficiency while making installation, inspection, and routine maintenance more convenient.
Specially designed lifting flights continuously raise and disperse the material inside the drum, increasing contact between hot air and the product. The optimized arrangement improves heat transfer, shortens drying time, minimizes material residue, and helps achieve more uniform final moisture content with lower energy consumption.
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Every rotary dryer project has its own material characteristics, moisture targets, production capacity, and process requirements. Over the years, we have delivered drying equipment and complete production lines to customers across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. The following videos showcase real installations, giving you a closer look at our equipment design, manufacturing quality, commissioning, and on-site operation under different working conditions.
Built for a wood pellet plant drying fresh sawdust from local sawmills. The rotary dryer reduces moisture from about 50% to below 12% for stable pellet production and continuous operation.
This triple-pass rotary dryer processes eucalyptus sawdust with limited installation space. The compact design provides higher thermal efficiency while reducing fuel consumption.
Designed for an alfalfa pellet line processing freshly harvested forage. The system dries high-moisture alfalfa while preserving fiber quality and meeting pelletizing moisture requirements.
This drum dryer machine was supplied for a Malaysian EFB pellet factory processing high-moisture empty fruit bunches from palm oil production. The system reduces EFB moisture before pelletizing, improving biomass fuel quality and production stability.
Installed at a large agricultural farm drying alfalfa, crop straw, grass, and other seasonal biomass. The rotary dryer helps convert agricultural residues into valuable feed and biomass fuel materials.
Installed in a commercial wood pellet factory handling mixed sawdust and wood shavings. The drying system ensures stable moisture control for high-capacity pellet production throughout the year.
Delivered to another South African wood processing facility handling mixed wood offcuts and planer shavings. The rotary dryer machine provides reliable continuous drying with low operating costs.
This rotary wood dryer was installed for a Turkish wood processing company handling sawdust, wood chips, and cutting residues. The system reduces raw material moisture before further processing, helping improve biomass utilization and production efficiency.
Supplied for a cattle feed pellet plant using fresh alfalfa, straw, and forage mixtures. The rotary dryer delivers uniform drying before grinding and pelleting to improve feed quality.
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Every rotary dryer is designed according to your raw material, initial moisture, target moisture, capacity, fuel type, and plant layout. We deliver solutions that fit your production instead of forcing your production to fit the equipment.
Beyond manufacturing the rotary dryer machine, we provide process design, equipment integration, installation guidance, commissioning, operator training, and long-term technical support for complete drying systems.
From compact small rotary dryers to large industrial drying plants, our equipment covers a broad production range. The design can also be expanded later as your production capacity increases.
Every rotary dryer is manufactured using precision machining, strict quality inspections, and industrial-grade materials. This ensures stable operation, long service life, and dependable performance under continuous production.
Our drying solutions have been supplied to customers processing wood, forage, fertilizer, sludge, agricultural waste, and many other materials. Extensive project experience allows us to recommend practical solutions for different applications.
Our engineers evaluate your material characteristics, moisture requirements, heat source, and production process before recommending a solution. This ensures the rotary dryer system performs efficiently from the first day of operation.
Choosing a rotary dryer is not only about buying equipment—it is about selecting a reliable drying solution that matches your materials, production goals, and future expansion plans. At RICHI Machinery, we combine equipment manufacturing, process engineering, and complete production line experience to deliver drying systems that are efficient, dependable, and built for long-term industrial operation.
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We offer a complete range of models to match different materials, moisture levels, and production requirements. Every rotary dryer can be configured with the appropriate drum size, heating method, airflow arrangement, insulation, and control system, while custom dimensions and special designs are available for demanding applications. The following specifications represent our standard models, which can be further customized to fit your project.
| Model | Drum Diameter (m) | Drum Length (m) | Drum Configuration | Rotary Speed (rpm) | Hot Air Inlet Temperature (°C) | Hot Air Outlet Temperature (°C) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Φ0.6×6 | 0.6 | 6 | Single Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ0.8×8 | 0.8 | 8 | Single Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ1.2×12 | 1.2 | 12 | Single Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ1.5×15 | 1.5 | 15 | Single Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ1.8×18 | 1.8 | 18 | Single Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ1.8×20 | 1.8 | 20 | Single Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ1.8×36 | 1.8 | 36 | Single Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ1.8×12×3C | 1.8 | 12 | Triple-Pass Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
| Φ1.8×24×3C | 1.8 | 24 | Triple-Pass Drum | 3–12 | 400–500 | 70–80 |
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This project was developed for a Indonesia biomass pellet producer using sawdust and wood processing residues collected from local sawmills. The rotary dryer reduces raw material moisture from approximately 45%-50% to around 10%-12%, preparing stable feedstock for continuous wood pellet production.
The dryer runs continuously with locally sourced sawdust and wood residues. Fuel consumption is lower than we expected, and the moisture is ideal for our wood pellet line.
A Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer installed this rotary dryer for drying wet sugarcane bagasse from the crushing process. The system reduces bagasse moisture from around 50% to below 15%, improving combustion efficiency for biomass boiler fuel applications.
The rotary dryer integrates perfectly with our sugar mill. The dried bagasse burns much more efficiently, helping us improve boiler performance throughout the crushing season.
A South African ethanol and feed processing company uses this drying system for wet distillers grains produced during alcohol production. The rotary dryer reduces moisture from approximately 65%-70% to around 10%-12%, allowing the dried product to be reused as a high-value animal feed ingredient.
The final moisture stays consistent, making storage and transportation much easier. Our dried distillers grains have become a valuable feed product instead of a disposal problem.
An agricultural recycling company in Argentina installed this drying system to process high-moisture chicken manure from large poultry farms. The rotary dryer reduces moisture from about 70% to below 25%, allowing the material to be processed into organic fertilizer products for crop farming.
The complete drying solution solved both moisture and odor challenges. We can now produce consistent organic fertilizer while handling much larger volumes every day.
Designed for an agricultural enterprise in Kazakhstan, this project handles abundant corn straw and crop residues after harvest. The drying system lowers moisture from around 40%-50% to approximately 12%-15%, preparing biomass materials for pellet fuel production.
Our straw moisture varies throughout the harvest season, but the rotary dryer handles it without difficulty. The dried material feeds directly into pellet production with stable results.
This project was supplied to an environmental treatment company in Australia for municipal sludge drying. The rotary dryer system processes sludge with moisture content above 80%, reducing volume and improving handling efficiency for further utilization or disposal applications.
RICHI customized the system around our sludge characteristics and plant layout. The equipment operates reliably, and the reduction in volume has significantly lowered disposal costs.
A sugar processing company in Germany selected this rotary dryer to handle wet beet pulp generated during sugar production. With moisture reduced from nearly 75% to around 12%, the dried beet pulp becomes a valuable ingredient for cattle feed instead of industrial waste.
The drying performance is exactly what our production requires. Instead of treating beet pulp as waste, we now supply a reliable feed ingredient with consistent quality.
A Norwegian seafood processing company adopted this rotary dryer to process fish processing residues generated from the aquaculture industry. The system reduces moisture from over 70% to about 10%-12%, preparing dried fish waste for fish meal production and resource recovery.
The drying process is gentle and consistent, which helps preserve product quality. RICHI also provided excellent technical support from installation through production startup.
A Russian forage processing company invested in this rotary dryer for drying freshly harvested alfalfa with moisture content around 55%-60%. The dried alfalfa is used for producing high-quality alfalfa pellets for livestock feed, with final moisture controlled below 12% to improve storage stability.
The moisture control is very stable, even during peak harvest season. RICHI's engineers adjusted the drying parameters to match our alfalfa, and pellet quality improved noticeably.
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A complete rotary dryer system is more than a single drying drum. It is an integrated solution that combines the rotary dryer with feeding equipment, heat generation units, fuel systems, exhaust treatment, conveying systems, and automatic controls to create a continuous drying process. RICHI Machinery provides modular drying system design, equipment selection, manufacturing, and integration based on your material characteristics, moisture requirements, production capacity, and existing factory layout.
Different conveyors are selected according to material conditions and layout requirements. They ensure smooth material feeding, transfer, and discharge throughout the drying process.
It provides a stable heat source. Available options include biomass furnaces, gas burners, coal-fired furnaces, and other heating solutions designed for different fuels and operating costs.
Burner systems generate and control combustion heat for drying applications. Gas, diesel, and other fuel burners can be configured with automatic temperature control to maintain stable drying conditions.
Dust removal equipment helps separate fine particles from exhaust air. It reduces dust emissions and supports cleaner, safer, and more environmentally friendly operation.
Every material behaves differently during drying. Moisture content, particle size, stickiness, and final application all affect the equipment configuration. RICHI provides complete engineering solutions from process design and equipment manufacturing to system integration, ensuring your rotary dryer system works efficiently with your actual production conditions.
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Different materials require different drying methods, heat sources, airflow designs, and equipment configurations. RICHI provides complete rotary dryer system solutions based on material characteristics, moisture content, production capacity, and final application. From process design and equipment manufacturing to installation guidance and operator training, we help customers build efficient drying systems for biomass, agriculture, fertilizer, food processing, environmental treatment, and industrial materials.
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The rotary dryer price usually ranges from around $10,000 to over $500,000, depending on capacity, material type, heating system, and automation level. The rotary dryer cost is different for every project because drying sawdust, sludge, manure, minerals, or food by-products requires different designs. We provide customized quotations based on your actual production requirements.
The main factors include drying capacity, initial moisture content, final moisture requirement, heat source, drum size, auxiliary equipment, and installation conditions. A small rotary dryer for agricultural processing requires a different investment compared with a large rotary dryer system for industrial production.
The rotary dryer working principle is based on continuous heat exchange between hot air and rotating materials. Inside the drum, lifting flights raise and scatter the material while hot air passes through, allowing moisture to evaporate evenly before the dried material is discharged.
Common types of drum dryer include single drum dryer, triple pass drum dryer, direct heated rotary dryer, steam drum dryer, electric rotary dryer, and specialized designs for materials such as sand, sludge, biomass, and food products. The best choice depends on material properties and production goals.
A single drum dryer is commonly used for large-volume materials with stable drying conditions, while a triple pass rotary drum dryer provides better heat utilization and a more compact structure. We select the design according to your moisture requirement, fuel cost, and installation space.
A small rotary dryer is suitable for lower production capacities, pilot projects, or farms, while an industrial rotary dryer is designed for continuous large-scale production. Both can be customized according to material characteristics and customer requirements.
Yes. A rotary dryer for sawdust is one of the most common applications. For wood pellet plants, fresh sawdust with moisture around 40%-55% can usually be dried to approximately 10%-12% before pelletizing.
Yes. A rotary wood chip dryer or rotary dryer for wood chips can handle different particle sizes from forestry residues. We adjust the drum structure and airflow according to chip size, moisture level, and required production capacity.
For biomass fuel plants, a rotary biomass dryer is commonly integrated before the pellet mill. Materials such as sawdust, straw, wood chips, and agricultural residues are dried to improve pellet quality and ensure stable operation of the biomass pellet production process.
Yes. A rotary sludge dryer is designed for reducing moisture in municipal sludge, industrial sludge, and similar materials. The system configuration depends on sludge characteristics, treatment capacity, and whether the dried material will be recycled or disposed of.
We provide complete rotary dryer systems, not only individual equipment. A complete solution may include feeding conveyors, hot air furnace, burner, dust collector, control system, and discharge equipment, all designed according to the customer's production process.
Different projects can use biomass fuel, natural gas, diesel, coal, steam, or electricity. We can supply direct heated rotary dryers, electric rotary dryers, and steam drum dryers according to local energy availability and operating costs.
A direct heated rotary dryer is widely used for biomass materials because hot air directly contacts the material and provides efficient moisture removal. It is commonly applied for sawdust, wood chips, straw, and other fuel-related materials.
Yes. A rotary dryer in food industry applications can process materials such as beet pulp, distillers grains, fruit residue, and other food by-products. For sensitive materials, temperature control and customized designs are considered during engineering.
Yes. Our equipment is used for chicken manure, cattle manure, organic fertilizer materials, and other agricultural wastes. The drying system is customized according to odor control requirements, moisture reduction targets, and downstream fertilizer production needs.
Installation space depends on the model, capacity, and auxiliary equipment layout. A small rotary dryer machine requires limited space, while complete industrial systems need areas for heating units, conveyors, dust collection, and maintenance access.
We are professional rotary dryer manufacturers with experience in equipment production, engineering design, and complete project delivery. We manufacture the main machine and related systems instead of simply providing standard trading products.
Yes. We provide installation guidance, operation training, technical support, and production assistance. Whether it is a small drum dryer machine or a complete industrial drying line, customers receive support throughout the project lifecycle.
A rotary drum dryer uses a rotating cylinder and hot airflow for continuous drying, while a rotary paddle dryer uses internal paddles for indirect heat transfer. The suitable option depends on material characteristics, moisture level, and processing requirements.
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As a global leader in pelletizing solutions, RICHI represents a fully integrated technology partner that masters every dimension of modern production systems. From pioneering research in material science to precision engineering and industrial-scale manufacturing, we build complete production ecosystems that transform raw materials into high-value pellets. Our holistic approach ensures each project is founded on three pillars: engineering precision that guarantees operational efficiency, continuous innovation that adapts to evolving market demands, and uncompromising reliability that sustains production for decades. With vertically controlled manufacturing and end-to-end project management, we deliver not just equipment, but fully optimized production assets that drive profitability across industries worldwide.
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Founded in 1995, RICHI Machinery has evolved from a specialized manufacturer into a global engineering provider for complete pelletizing systems. With two major manufacturing bases spanning over 60,000 m², we control every step from design to delivery, ensuring unmatched quality and depth of production. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in our global impact, serving clients in over 140 countries with more than 2,000 successful projects and 10,000+ equipment units delivered worldwide.
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For nearly three decades, RICHI has mastered the complexities of diverse materials across global industries. We provide end-to-end pelletizing systems, delivering the complete technological and engineering support needed to transform raw materials into high-value products. From initial concept to operational plant, we are your single partner for launching and scaling a successful pellet processing business.
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