The spray dryer is a unique piece of equipment that converts liquids to powder. The operation is of utmost importance in various sectors such as food and medicine. Shandong Tianli is one company that makes such machines. Spray Dryer— HOW DOES A SPRAY DRYER WORK?
Spray drying is the use of heat to convert liquid to powder. How it works is pretty amazing! The fluid is first introduced into a specialty chamber, a large piece of equipment. Simultaneously, hot air is blown into this chamber. The heat dries out the liquid, converting it from a wet suspension to a dry powder. At the end of the drying process the powder settles to the bottom of the chamber, where it awaits use for a myriad of applications.
As it's essential to dry the product quickly, spray drying is very useful, as it transforms liquid into powder very rapidly. As the liquid enters the chamber and even sprayed it became fine small particle. These droplets are small enough to drag majority of air around them, which assists the drying process. That hot air just evaporates the liquid almost immediately, and then comes the formation of the powder. It happens so quickly that the liquid doesn’t solidify and the material becomes powder. This speed matters because it produces powder that we can use immediately.
To gain insight on how spray drying works, let’s take a closer look at the various stages involved in the process. To begin, the liquid to be turned into powder is pumped into the top of the spray dryer. That is, it is forced into the outlet and that it can then begin drying. The liquid then passes through a narrow nozzle. This nozzle is specifically designed to atomize the liquid into small droplets. The hot air then sweeps through the chamber, carrying these tiny droplets with it. As the droplets travel through the chamber, the hot air dries them out and, finally, the powder crystallizes.
Step 1: Preparatory Step- The first step involves preparing the liquid that should be converted into powder. When it is ready, it is pumped into the top of the spray dryer. So, this is the step that puts the liquid where it should be to begin the drying phase.
Drying: The third step is blowing hot air into the chamber. The hot air rotates and transports the liquid droplets. The droplets then travel through the drying chamber, where they lose the contents of their drops and become powdery. This step is key because that’s where the real drying occurs.
The spray drying process is interesting because it involves hot air and small liquid droplets. The hot air makes the liquid evaporate, which means it turns into gas and leaves behind the powder. The hot air also helps the liquid breakup into smaller droplets which dry faster. The hot air blows those droplets through the chamber, until they're totally dried and the powder forms. Lastly, the powder is collected at the bottom of the chamber for various uses.