EFFECTS OF TYPE OF ATOMIZATION AND PROCESSING TEMPERATURES

ON THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND STABILITY OF SPRAY-DRIED

FLAVORS

ABSTRACT:

Type of atomization (centrifugal wheel and spray nozzle) and processing

temperatures (2 different sets of inlet and exit temperatures) of spray drying were
investigated for their influence on the physical properties and oxidative stability of
encapsulated orange oil in a modified starch matrix. The former determined particle
size and surface oil, whereas the latter affected density (both absolute and bulk) and
moisture content. Total oil retention did not depend on either parameter. Processing
temperatures had an effect on shelf life as they influenced parameters that determine
oxygen porosity of the matrix.

INTRODUCCION

ENCAPSULATION IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH ONE MATERI-al or mixture of

materials is coated with or entrapped within another material or system. The
encapsulation of flavors serves to retain the aroma in a food product during storage,
protect the flavor from undesirable interactions with food, minimize flavor/flavor
interactions, guard against light-induced reactions and/or oxidation, and to effect a
controlled release (Anandaraman and Reineccius 1986)

Spray drying is the major process employed to produce dry flavorings. The popularity
of spray drying is partially historic be-cause it was the first process used in the flavor
industry to obtain encapsulated flavorings. However, the merits of the process have
ensured its dominance, including availability of equipment, low process cost, wide
choice of carrier solids, good retention of vola-tiles, and good stability of the finished
product (Reineccius1989).

There are many types of spray dryers used in the flavor in-dustry. They differ in size,
shape, and type of atomization. Dry-ing chamber shape is either conical, flat-
bottomed, or box. While the conical and flat-bottomed dryers predominate, there are
stilla few of the box dryers in use. The flat-bottomed and box dryers accumulate dry
product on the floor of the dryer, which is re-moved during the drying process by
either air conveyance or me-chanical scrapers. These dryers subject the product to
significantly more heat than do the coned-bottomed dryers. While formany types of
dry flavorings this additional heat is insignificant, thermally labile materials may suffer
from the additional heat (Masters 1985).

Virtually all spray dryers used in the flavor Indus-try are co-current in design, that is,
product enters the dryer flow-ing in the same direction as the drying air. This results
in very rapid drying and does not subject the flavoring to as much heatas would a
countercurrent system. In the co-current dryer, the flavoring never exceeds the exit
air temperature of the dryer (Reineccius 1989).

Atomization of the infeed material is typically accomplished by either a single-fluid

high-pressure spray nozzle or a centrifu-gal wheel. The configurations of the drying
chambers used with

These 2 atomization processes are quite different. A nozzle atomization spray dryer
is narrow and tall (tower configuration; 3:1 to4:1 width to height ratio) as opposed to
short and wide for awheel atomization dryer (Schmidt 1973).

Flavor retention is influenced by inlet and exit air tempera-tures. In general, a high
enough inlet air temperature should be used to allow rapid formation of a
semipermeable membrane on the droplet surface but yet not so high as to cause
heat damage to the dry product or “ballooning” of the drying droplet. Balloon-ing
occurs when steam is formed in the interior of the drying droplet, causing the droplet
to puff. The result is a thin-walled, hollow particle that will not retain flavor compounds
as well as the non-ballooned counterpart. The ballooning temperature is primarily a
function of carrier material and dryer design (Thijs-sen 1972; Rulkens and
Thijssen 1972).

The influence of dryer exit air temperature on flavor retention is not as well
documented. Retention of small soluble flavorants such as diacetyl increases with
increasing exit air temperatures, probably due to the fact that the dryer air is at a
lower humidity, which implies a more rap-id drying and, therefore, a better retention
(Reineccius and Coulter 1969).

However, the influence of dryer air temperatures appears less significant in the
drying of less volatile flavorantssuch as orange oil (Anker and Reineccius 1988).

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of type of atomization
coupled with processing temperatures on the physicochemical properties of
encapsulated orange oil by spray drying.
Publication History

 Issue online:20 July 2006

 Version of record online:20 July 2006

 MS 20010233 Submitted 5/11/01, Revised 7/9/01, Revised 10/6/01, Accepted

10/11/01, Received 10/15/01

Authors

 J. Finney
 R. Buffo
 G.A. Reineccius