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. Air is the heated drying medium; however, if
the liquid is a flammable solvent such as ethanol or the product is oxygen-sensitive
then nitrogen is used.

All spray dryers use some type of atomizer or spray nozzle to disperse the liquid or slurry
into a controlled drop size spray. The most common of these are rotary disk and single-fluid
high pressure swirl nozzles. Atomizer wheels are known to provide broader particle size
distribution, but both methods allow for consistent distribution of particle
size.[2] Alternatively, for some applications two-fluid or ultrasonic nozzles are used.
Depending on the process requirements, drop sizes from 10 to 500 μm can be achieved
with the appropriate choices.

A 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, maximizing heat transfer and the rate of water vaporization. Droplet sizes can
range from 20 to 180 μm depending on the nozzle.[3] There are two main types of nozzles:
high pressure single fluid nozzle (50 to 300 bars) and two-fluid nozzles: one fluid is the
liquid to dry and the second is compressed gas (generally air at 1 to 7 bars).
Spray dryers can dry a product very quickly compared to other methods of drying. They
also turn a solution (or slurry) into a dried powder in a single step, which simplifies the
process and improves profit margins.

Spray drying applications[edit]

Food: milk powder, coffee, tea, eggs, cereal, spices, flavorings, blood,[10] starch and starch
derivatives, vitamins, enzymes, stevia, nutracutical, colourings, animal feed, etc.
Pharmaceutical: antibiotics, medical ingredients,[11][12] additives
Industrial: paint pigments, ceramic materials, catalyst supports, microalgae
 Laboratory-scale spray dryer.
A=Solution or suspension to be dried in, B=Atomization gas in, 1= Drying gas in, 2=Heating of drying
gas, 3=Spraying of solution or suspension, 4=Drying chamber, 5=Part between drying chamber and
cyclone, 6=Cyclone, 7=Drying gas is taken away, 8=Collection vessel of product, arrows mean that
this is co-current lab-spraydryer

Feed is pumped to the top center of the chamber, where it is dispersed into droplets or
particles from 2 to 2,000 mm by any of three types of atomizers:

(1) single-fluid pressure nozzles, (2) pneumatic nozzles, and (3) centrifugal disks or spray
wheels. Hot gas enters the chamber, causing moisture in the atomized feed to rapidly
evaporate. Gas flows cocurrently to the solids, and dried solids and gas are either partially
separated in the chamber, followed by removal of dust from the gas by a cyclone separator, or,
as shown in Figure 18.13a, are sent together to a cyclone separator, bag filter, or other gas –
solid separator.

Principal components include:

 a high pressure pump for introducing liquid into the tower

 a device for atomizing the feed stream
 a heated air source with blower
 a secondary collection vessel for removing the dried food from the airstream
 means for exhausting the moist air
 usually includes a preconcentration step i.e. MVR evaporation

Atomizing devices are the distinguishing characteristic of spray drying. They provide a
large surface area for exposure to drying forces:
1 litre = 12 billion particles = >300 ft2 (30m2)
The exit air temperature is an important parameter to monitor because it responds readily
to changes in the process and reflects the quality of the product. Generally, we want it high
 enough to yield desired moisture without heat damage. There are two controls that may be
used to adjust the exit air temperature:

 altering feed flow rate

 altering inlet temperature

If heat damage occurs before the product is dried, the particle size must be reduced;
smaller particle dries faster, therefore, less heat damage. This can be accomplished in
three ways:

 smaller orifice
 increase atomizing pressure
 reduce viscosity - by increasing feed temperature or reducing solids

Spray drying is defined as the process by which a product or feed is converted from an
initial liquid state to another spray. Almost instantaneously, a dry solid is obtained using hot
air as a means of supplying the heat necessary for drying. In the case of spray drying for
food, the temperature of the hot air varies between 200ºC and 300ºC.
The effect that the spray drying process has is the fine spraying of the original liquid
material. Spraying produces a mist that comes into contact with hot air.
In general, the steps for spray drying are as follows:
- You have an initial product in a liquid state
- The initial product comes into contact with hot air
- It dries to the degree that is needed
- The final product is recovered

The main components of a modern spray dryer, powder handling and storage
as shown in Fig. 4.1. are:

Drying chamber
Hot air supply system

 Supply fan
 Air filters
 Air heater
 Air disperser

Feed supply system

 Feed tank(s)
 Feed pump/supply pump
 Concentrate heater
 Filter
 Homogenizer/high pressure pump
 Feed line

Atomizing device

 Rotary atomizer
 Pressure nozzle atomizer
 Two-fluid nozzle atomizer

Powder/fines recovery system

 Cyclone
 Bag filter
 Wet scrubber
 Combinations of the above

Fines return system

Powder after-treatment system

 Pneumatic transport and cooling

 Fluid bed after dryer/cooler
 Lecithin treatment System
 Powder sieve