Spray Dryer
Spray drying is a method of producing a dry powder from a liquid or slurry by rapidly drying with a hot gas. This is the preferred method of drying of many thermally-sensitive materials such as foods and pharmaceuticals. Spray Dryer takes a liquid stream and separates the solute or suspension as a solid and the solvent into a vapor. The solid is usually collected in a drum or cyclone. The liquid input stream is sprayed through a nozzle into a hot vapor stream and vaporized.
Solids form as moisture quickly leaves the droplets. A nozzle is usually used to make the droplets as small as possible.
Applications of Spray Dryers
- Food and Beverages: Production of milk powder, coffee, tea.
- Pharmaceutical: Antibiotics, medical Ingredients.
- Industrial : paints, ceramic materials
Advantage :
- Effective for viscous, fibrous and crystalline products
- High heat transfer rates due to film boiling
- Compact design
- Complete solvent recovery
- Easy for maintenance
- Final product in complete dried form