A novel approach for the reduction of powder deposition in spray drying chambers

Abstract

This study aims to introduce a new dryer configuration to mitigate the particle deposition problem. Three new geometries (single-rib, double-ribs, and triple-ribs dryers) are compared with the typical cylinder-on-cone dryer. The equations governing the transient flow field are solved using the Eulerian approach, while particles are tracked through a Lagrangian coordinate system. The characteristic drying curve approach is used to model the drying of skim milk within the chamber. The sticky point curve of skim milk is chosen as a criterion for the detection of sticking or bouncing particles. The obtained results are validated using both experimental and numerical data, showing that particle deposition is significantly reduced in all-new geometries compared to the base design. More specifically, deposition is reduced by 56.8% in the double-ribs dryer, and the dryer’s yield has increased by 41.7% in the triple-ribs dryer.

Keywords:

• Spray drying
• particle deposition
• sticky point curve
• numerical simulation
• discrete phase model

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.