Spray drying is a unique liquid-to-powder process that requires both skill and attention to detail. At its core, it involves an initial ingredient conversion through specialized chemical reactions and processing. This liquid is then dried into a custom food-grade powder through water evaporation.
PacMoore has developed a deep understanding of the spray dry technology. Through it, are able to offer highly customized outputs based on your specifications.
The Spray Drying Process
Here is a general breakdown of the contract spray drying process:
- Develop a customized liquid in-feed. The chemical reactions and processes that take place in liquid batching prior to your product hitting the dryer is where much of the magic happens. Our team will help you perfect your formulation to achieve the particle size, texture and flavor characteristics you require.
- Next comes atomization. During this stage, the liquid is fed into the dryer, where a rotary atomizer spins rapidly, dispersing the product into small liquid droplets. The rotational velocity allows us to control particle size.
- Third is drying. Hot air runs up the length of the dryer as the droplets fall, causing product moisture to evaporate quickly, converting the liquid into a powder. We can control moisture during this phase by fine-tuning the temperature of the heated air.
- Last is recovery. After drying is complete, a bag filter or cyclone recovers the powder from the exhaust, which is then sent to be packaged.
PacMoore Spray Drying Capabilities
Our GEA designed full-scale and pilot spray dryers are capable of handling a wide range of inputs. The liquid blend that you send us or that we can create for you is fed into the system and atomized using a rotary atomizer on our production system or via a nozzle on the pilot dryer. A primary cyclone collects and discharges powder that is passed over a sifter and magnet before packaging.
Our production spray dryer has a nominal water evaporative capacity of up to 3,000 pounds per hour with a 400°F inlet temperature and a maximum temperature of 500°F. After completion, our Clean-In-Place (CIP) system and trained operators thoroughly clean the system for the next scheduled production.
For product development projects where yield is crucial, PacMoore’s GEA (FSD™) 4.0 pilot spray dryer handles smaller batches effectively. The system has a nominal water evaporative capacity of approximately 30 pounds per hour. This makes it easy to cost-effectively validate products before producing large batches on our full-scale system. Whether you’re early in product development or producing for grocery shelves, PacMoore has the ability to scale to meet the demand.
WHY PACMOORE?
As an expert spray drying company, the PacMoore team knows the spray drying process inside and out through years of producing for some of the nation’s top food manufacturers. Contact us today to learn more about our contract spray drying services and how PacMoore can help you meet your goals.
More Information:
Download our Spray Drying Sell Sheet or the Buyer’s Guide to Spray Drying here.