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High Temperature Screw Heater | TIERMAX
High Temperature Screw Heater
The High Temperature Screw Heater is an advanced solution for the thermal processing of bulk solids, designed to outperform conventional thermal oil or steam-based systems. This patented electrically heated screw heater enables reliable operation across a wide temperature range from approximately 230 °C to 650 °C, making it ideal for demanding industrial heating applications.
Unlike conventional systems, the High Temperature Screw Heater uses a specially engineered screw shaft with a hermetically sealed core. Integrated electrical heating elements are embedded in a low-melting metal matrix, ensuring fast, uniform, and highly efficient heat transfer along the full length of the screw. An optional electrically heated trough jacket further enhances thermal performance and process stability.
A key advantage of the High Temperature Screw Heater technology is its fully electric operation, which eliminates the need for heat transfer fluids. This significantly reduces system complexity, maintenance requirements, and the risk of leakage while improving overall operational safety.
With precise temperature control, fast response times, and excellent energy efficiency, the High Temperature Screw Heater delivers consistent product quality and optimized process performance for a wide range of industrial applications.
High Temperature Screw Heater - Key Advantages
The High Temperature Screw Heater is an advanced electric heating solution that significantly outperforms conventional thermal oil and steam systems.
It enables process temperatures up to 600 °C, making it suitable for demanding applications such as pyrolysis, calcination, and PFAS treatment—well beyond the limits of traditional systems (typically 350–400 °C).
By operating on a fully electric principle, the High Temperature Screw Heater eliminates the need for thermal oil, boilers, pumps, and complex piping, resulting in a much simpler and more compact system.
It offers high energy efficiency (up to 90–95%), excellent temperature uniformity, and fast response times, while reducing maintenance needs by removing risks such as oil leakage, fluid degradation, and pressure vessel inspections.
In addition, the system supports sustainable and low-carbon operation when powered by renewable electricity, with no hazardous heat transfer fluids required.
Fields of Application of High-Temperature Screw Heater
Pyrolysis & Recycling: Processing of plastics, biomass, and industrial residues for waste-to-value conversion
PFAS Remediation: Thermal desorption of contaminated soils, reactivation of activated carbon, and treatment of sewage sludge
Chemical Industry: Calcination processes, catalyst thermal activation, and high-temperature chemical reactions
Energy & Raw Materials: Biomass torrefaction and thermal processing of ores and minerals
Technical Specification of High Temperature Screw Heater
Function
High-temperature thermal treatment of bulk solids
Maximum Operating Temperature
up to 650 °C (up to 700 °C when using Alloy 800H)
Capacity (Pilot Plant)
8-22 L/h (residence-time from 8-24 minutes)
Heating Principle
Direct electrical heating
Heat Transfer Medium
Low-melting liquid metal (hermetically sealed)
Heat Transfer Mechanism
Conduction via liquid metal core
Temperature Homogeneity
Excellent (isothermal core)
System Efficiency
approx. 90–95 %
Heating Element
Electric heating rods inside the shaft
Trough Design
Optional: Tubular or U-trough, heatable using same principle
Operating Principle of High Temperature Screw Heater
The heart of the patented High Temperature Screw Heater technology is an innovative screw shaft design:
– Electric heating elements are embedded inside the shaft in a hermetically sealed core containing a special, low-melting-point metal.
– In operating state (from approx. 230 °C), this metal is in liquid phase and serves as an ideal heat transfer medium.
– The extremely high thermal conductivity of the liquid metal distributes energy instantly and uniformly across the entire shaft length.
– The bulk material is conveyed by screw rotation, continuously mixed, and comes into intensive contact with the precisely tempered surfaces
The High Temperature Screw Heater is designed to customer specifications using heat-resistant materials, optimized screw geometries, and integrated control and regulation technology.
The High Temperature Screw Heater is suitable for processes such as pyrolysis, calcination, high-temperature drying, and the thermal activation of solids. A key area of application is the thermal desorption of persistent pollutants (e.g., PFAS), for example in the treatment of contaminated soil, sewage sludge, or the reactivation of loaded adsorbents.
