DRYER DESIGN

AGEN/CHEN-474
UNIT OPERATIONS IN FOOD
PROCESSING

SPRAY DRYER-SD
Oin a SD, foods are transformed from pumpable liquid

into powder
Othe liquid is pumped through a nozzle, where it is
atomized
Othe droplets are dried by hot air as they fall to the
bottom of the chamber

SPRAY DRYER
feed
air heater

atomizer
air out

air out

air
broom

product out

SPRAY DRYING
Oadvantageous for heat sensitive products because the

particles are never subjected to a temperature higher

than the wet-bulb temperature of the drying air
Oparticles residence time is short (3 - 30 s)

SPRAY DRYING OPERATION

Ois divided into 3 distinct processes
O- atomization
O-drying through the contact between the droplets and

heated air
O-collection of the product by separating it from the
drying air

ATOMIZATION
Othe type of atomizer is important because it

determines: the energy required to form the spray, size

and distribution of the droplets, available heat transfer
area, drying rate, droplet speed and trajectory, and
final product size
Otypes: hydraulic nozzles and rotary nozzles

Pressure Atomizer
Oused to create droplets by forcing the liquid trough a small

orifice (0.4-4mm)
Omaximum flow rate of 1L/h
Opressure range from 300 to 4000 psig
Oseldom used when feed is highly concentrated (clogging)
Odroplets have narrow range of diameter and the dried
product consists of hollow spheres
Ooperating costs lower than rotary nozzles

Rotary Atomizer
O liquid is fed to the center of the spinning wheel under centrifugal force
O droplets are guided and shaped by vanes in the wheel
O droplets are projected horizontally away at 100 to 200 m/s with

angular velocities of 10,000 to 30,000 rpm

O used for slurries and paste (no clogging)
O produces homogeneous spray
O mean particle diameter can be controlled by varying rotational speed
O widely used in the food industry because it can handle a wide range of
liquid viscosities and physical property

1- DROPLET-SIZE CALCULATION
O vary with nozzle type and feed material
O estimation can be with following equations, but actual test is required
O for rotating wheel atomizers:
0.6

0.2

l L
2
Da =12.2 10 r
2
l Nr
4

Da=average particle size (m)

= surface tension of liquid (lb/min 2)
l = liquid density (lb/ft 3)
r = disk radius (ft)
= spray mass velocity per foot of disk periphery (lb/ft.min)
N = disk speed (rpm)
L = disk periphery (ft)

0.1

1- DROPLET-SIZE CALCULATION
O for pressure atomizers
O it requires only the pressure drop across the nozzle

500
Da = 1/ 3
P
Da=average particle size (m)
P = pressure drop across the nozzle (psi)

2- DRYER CHAMBER DESIGN

Odepends on the type of atomizer, the airflow pattern,

the production rate, when drying heat sensitive

product, the temperature profile of the air in the
chamber
Othe shape of the drying chamber is a fnc of the
droplets trajectory angle as they leave the atomizer
Othe chamber must be sized so that the largest
droplets is dry before it contacts a wall

Range of Droplets and Particle Sizes

obtained in Spray Dryers (m)
rotating wheels

1-600

pressure nozzles

10-800

pneumatic nozzles

6-300

milk

30-250

coffee

80-400

3 - AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT
Ovaries with spray dryer design
Omost common are air heaters and fans
Omost common heater in FI is steam heater (saturated

steam at 150 to 200C is used to heat the air up to

10C bellow the steam temperature)
Ocentrifugal fans because they produce high air flow
rates

4- AIRFLOW PATTERNS
O3 airflow patterns: concurrent, countercurrent, mixed

flow

concurrent
F

countercurrent
G

G S
G
P

S G

G
P

4- AIRFLOW PATTERNS
Omost used for heat-sensitive

mixed (combined)

product is the concurrent because

G
product temperature is less than
inlet air temperature
Oif high-density products F
countercurrent
Oif size of dryer is limited - mixed
flow

G
S G
P

5- CALCULATION OF HEAT INPUT

q = ha (T ) As
ha = dry air film coefficient (J/m^2K)
= temperature of solid (K)
T = temperature of thedry air (K)
As = surface area of the solid (m^2)

6- CALCULATION OF THERMAL
EFFICIENCY
=

M& CH h fg

G(T Twb )CPA + m& ( Twb )CPF

MCH=chamber evaporation capacity (kg water/s)

hfg = latent heat of vaporization (J/kg)
G = airflow rate (kg/s)
m
. = feed flow rate (kg/s)
CPA = heat capacity of air (J/kgK)
CPF = heat capacity of the feed (J/kgK)
T = air temperature (C)
= feed temperature (C)

7- PRODUCT COLLECTION
Oif the product separates from the air at the bottom of

the conical chamber, it is removed through a auger

Oit is common to product to remain entrained in the air
stream, so cyclones are used to recover the product

8- USE OF SPRAY DRYERS

Oflavor encapsulation: food flavorings are combined

with gums and carbohydrates before drying to

prevent loss of volatile

9- FOOD QUALITY FACTORS

Ovolatile retention is a problem with SD - loss of

volatile is minimized by increasing the particle

diameter (as), decreasing feed temperature (lower
the liquid-phase diffusion coefficient), and
decreasing the air temperature (minimizing particle
expansion)
Othermal degradation is a problem for droplets that
remain in the hot portion of the dryer for too long

10- Drying Time

t=

h d

2
L fg o

8ka(T Twb)

d h (Mcr Me)
2
p c fg

12kaTave

do = initial diameter of droplet (m)

dc = droplet diameter at critical moisture Mcr (m)
ka = thermal conductivity of air (W/mK)
DTave = average temp. difference between air
and product (C)

FLASH OR PNEUMATIC DRYERS

Oin a PD the food, powder or particles, is continuously

dried in a vertical duct while being conveyed by the

heated air
Oone or more cyclones are used to separate the dried
material from the exhaust air
Osmall particle sizes (less than 2 mm) and concurrent
operation allow the use of relatively air temperatures
without overheating the product

SCHEMATIC OF A PNEUMATIC DRYER

wet product
fan

exhaust air

feeder
cyclone

burner
fan

dry product

VELOCITY CALCULATIONS
Otwo limit velocities are important in fluidization and

pneumatic transport of solids, the fluidization velocity,

vf, and entrainment velocity, ve

gD p ( w )
=
180 (1 )
2

ve =

gD

( s

18