Spray Dryer Maintenance

Spray Dryer Maintenance – Deposition problem in the dryer chamber and how to counter it

If you pay for a full glass of milk and receive only about 3/4, you know there is a problem. Food and pharmaceutical industry has been battling the same problem over the past many years, and the core of this problem lies a single most vital component in spray drying system: The drying chamber.

When a huge industrial spray dryer is producing milk powder of around 28 tones per hour, the potential loss caused due to product being deposited on walls of drying chamber is immense. Thus, avoiding the problem of wall deposition forms the backbone of a quality drying chamber design.

Spray Dryer Deposition Cleaning

Large amount of deposition makes it difficult for the dryer to operate smoothly. Thus, downtime taken in cleanup operations causes further loss of production time. Additionally, in some cases, deposition can also cause or elevate the risks of fire hazard.

Researchers have previously tried using nylon walls to reduce deposition, but that did not work. One key solution of this problem is to predict the particle flow pattern using CFD technology. Shachi Engineering uses advanced simulation and technology (CFD) to predict the internal flow field of spray chamber from which ejected droplet and track this information to reduce or eliminate deposition and deliver better end products.