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 atomizer
air heater air out

air air out

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 0.1

 Γ   µ   αρl L 
Da =12.2 ×10 r 4
    2 
2
 ρl Nr   Γ   Γ 
Da=average particle size (µm)
α = surface tension of liquid (lb/min 2)
ρl = liquid density (lb/ft 3)
r = disk radius (ft)
Γ = spray mass velocity per foot of disk periphery (lb/ft.min)
N = disk speed (rpm)
L = disk periphery (ft)
 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 (µm)
∆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 (µm)
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 countercurrent
F G
G F
G S
S G
G G

P 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 -
countercurrent F G
Oif size of dryer is limited - mixed S G
flow P
 5- CALCULATION OF HEAT INPUT

q = ha (T −θ ) As
ha = dry air film coefficient (J/m^2K)
θ = 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
ν=
G(T − Twb )CPA + m& (θ − Twb )CPF
MCH=chamber evaporation capacity (kg water/s)
hfg = latent heat of vaporization (J/kg)
G = airflow rate (kg/s)
. = feed flow rate (kg/s)
m
CPA = heat capacity of air (J/kgK)
CPF = heat capacity of the feed (J/kgK)
T = air temperature (C)
θ = 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
ρh d 2
L fg o ρ d h (Mcr −Me)
2
p c fg
t= +
8ka(T −Twb) 12ka∆Tave

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 ε ( ρ w − ρ )
2
v =
180 µ (1 − ε )
f

gD 2
p (ρ s − ρ)
ve =
18 µ