Heating, drying and curing apparatus and methods

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR REMOVING A VOLATILE SUBSTANCE FROM SHEET MATERIAL, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: (A) PASSING THE SHEET MATERIAL FROM WHICH THE VOLATILE SUBSTANCE IS TO BE REMOVED THROUGH AN ELONGATED ENCLOSED STRUCTURE; (B) APPLYING SUFFICIENT RADIANT ENERGY TO SAID SHEET MATERIAL AS IT PASSES THROUGH SAID STRUCTURE TO SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY VOLATILIZE SAID SUBSTANCE AND THEREBY RENDER SAID MATERIAL NON-TACKY BEFORE IT EXITS FROM SAID STRUCTURE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONAL HEAT ENERGY; (C) INTRODUCING HEATED GAS INTO SAID STRUCTURE TO ENTRAIN AND DILUTE SAID SUBSTANCE; AND (D) EXHAUSTING SAID GAS AND THE ENTRAINED SUBSTANCE FROM SAID STRUCTURE; (E) SAID RADIANT ENERGY BEING PROVIDED DIRECTLY FROM AT LEAST ONE PRIMARY SOURCE WHICH IS LOCATED ADJACENT SAID MATERIAL AND WHICH HAS A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM PATTERN OF RADIANT ENERGY EMISSION, SAID SOURCE BEING AT A TEMPERATURE SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THE BOILING POINT OF THE VOLATILE SUBSTANCE AND THE APPLICATION OF RADIANT HEAT AND THE RATE OF MOVEMENT OF THE MATERIAL THROUGH SAID STRUCTURE BEING SO CO-ORDINATED THAT THE LAST OF SAID VOLATILE SUBSTANCE IS NOT EVOLVED FROM SAID MATERIAL UNTIL IT IS SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE EXIT FROM SAID STRUCTURE TO PREVENT SAID MATERIAL FROM BEING HEATED TO A TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE BOILING POINT OF SAID VOLATILE SUBSTANCE EVEN THOUGH SAID RADIANT ENERGY SOURCE IS OPERATED AT A SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER TEMPERATURE; (F) SAID HEATED GAS BEING INTRODUCED INTO SAID STRUCTURE AT A TEMPERATURE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE BOILING POINT OF THE VOLATILE SUBSTANCE TO AVOID THE ADDITION OF SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONAL HEAT TO AND THE OVERHEATING OF SAID MATERIAL AND TO SIMULTANEOUSLY PREVENT SAID GAS FROM EXTRACTING HEAT FROM AND THEREBY COOLING THE EVOLVED SUBSTANCE; (G) THE HEATED GAS INTRODUCED INTO SAID STRUCTURE BEING DIRECTED IN A PATH NORMAL TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID MATERIAL AND SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE OF SAID MATERIAL AT A SUFFICIENTLY HIGH VELOCITY TO SCOUR THE EVOLVED VOLATILE SUBSTANCE FROM ADJACENT SAID MATERIAL AND THEREBY INCREASE THE RATE OF RADIANT HEAT TRANSFER TO SAID WEB AND THE RATE OF REMOVAL OF THE VOLATILE SUBSTANCE THEREFROM BY PREVENTING THE FORMATION OF A STAGNANT INSULATING LAYER OF THE EVOLVED VOLATILE SUBSTANCE ADJACENT SAID MATERIAL; AND (H) SAID GAS BEING EXHAUSTED FROM SAID STRUCTURE AFTER IT HAS MADE A SINGLE PASS ACROSS SAID MATERIAL.