MODELLING AGGLOMERATION IN SPRAY DRYING INSTALLATIONS

M. Verschueren, R.E.M. Verdurmen, M. Straatsma, M. Gunsing, S. Blei, M. Sommerfeld
Spray drying is an essential unit operation for the manufacture of many products with specific powder properties. During spray drying, agglomerates of dry particles are formed, which determine the instant properties of the powder. Agglomeration is a complex process which is difficult to control. In 2001 an EC-sponsored project started, coordinated by NIZO food research, entitled EDECAD (Efficient DEsign and Control of Agglomeration in spray Drying machines, www.edecad.com). The aim of the project was to develop an industrially validated CFD model which establishes the relations between process parameters, the degree of agglomeration and the final powder properties. Experiments on both pilot-plant and industrial scale dryers were carried out to produce validation data for the model.
In this paper the results of test calculations are shown and compared to experimental results. The calculated agglomerate sizes are similar to the experimentally observed sizes.
Verschueren, M., Verdurmen, R.E.M., Straatsma, M., Gunsing, M., Blei, S. and Sommerfeld, M. (2005). MODELLING AGGLOMERATION IN SPRAY DRYING INSTALLATIONS. Acta Hortic. 674, 131-138
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.674.14
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.674.14
spray drying, agglomeration, modelling, CFD
English

Acta Horticulturae