FACTORS GOVERNING SURFACE MORPHOLOGY OF SPRAY-DRIED AMORPHOUS SUBSTANCES

Changes in particle morphology (size, shape, and appearance) have been monitored during drying of drops of foods and food-related materials. The apparatus produces a single stream of drops of uniform size, using a vibrating-orifice device for drop production. The drop size and the time-temperature history of the drops as they fall can be varied and controlled.

Qualitative observations are reported for drying of aqueous solutions of lactose, maltodextrin, skim milk, and coffee extract, with different feed concentrations. Particular emphasis is placed upon the tendency for development of folds upon the particle surface. A mechanistic model is developed, relating the tendency for folding to the extent of viscous flow of surface material in response to a surface-energy driving force. This model gives semi-quantitative agreement with observations for solutes of different molecular weight (and hence different viscosity) and for different feed concentrations.     

FACTORS GOVERNING SURFACE MORPHOLOGY OF SPRAY-DRIED AMORPHOUS SUBSTANCES

ABSTRACT

Changes in particle morphology (size, shape, and appearance) have been monitored during drying of drops of foods and food-related materials. The apparatus produces a single stream of drops of uniform size, using a vibrating-orifice device for drop production. The drop size and the time-temperature history of the drops as they fall can be varied and controlled.

Qualitative observations are reported for drying of aqueous solutions of lactose, maltodextrin, skim milk, and coffee extract, with different feed concentrations. Particular emphasis is placed upon the tendency for development of folds upon the particle surface. A mechanistic model is developed, relating the tendency for folding to the extent of viscous flow of surface material in response to a surface-energy driving force. This model gives semi-quantitative agreement with observations for solutes of different molecular weight (and hence different viscosity) and for different feed concentrations.     

Spray Drying: Retention of Volatile Compounds Revisited

Retention or loss of trace volatile compounds during spray drying can be vital for product quality. Examples of cases where loss or retentions of volatile substances are important include retention of balanced flavor and aroma in food products, removal of odiferous substances, and control of the release of volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere. Factors and mechanisms determining losses of these substances are reviewed. Losses can occur during atomization, from undisturbed drops and as a result of morphological development. On the basis of this insight, several avenues for controlling the retention of volatile substances are identified and analyzed. These include control of atomizer pressure or rotation speed, choice of spray angle, configuration of air input, lteration of the air temperature profile, feed concentration, the presence of an oil phase and/or suspended solids, foaming of the feed, feed composition, and steam blanketing of the atomizer.

The quality of a spray-dried product can be strongly affected by the presence or absence of volatile compounds that were present in the feed to the spray dryer. For example, spray-dried coffee and tea have suffered from a air and thereby avoid bubble formation, expansion and bursting for deaerated feeds (20). This approach produces a product with high bulk density. If that result is cceptable, then it should also be a way of precluding volatiles loss due to morphological development.     

Influence of pore structure and impregnation–drying conditions on the solid distribution in porous support materials

Deposition of solids within porous materials from a drying solution is an important phenomenon in numerous natural and industrial processes. A profound knowledge about influences of different parameters on the solid distribution in the material is required for an effective targeted impregnation process. Experimental investigations and simulations are used to study the influence of pore structure, drying conditions, and solute concentration on the solid distribution in porous support materials after impregnation and drying. It is found that low drying rates lead to strong solid accumulation at the material surface, whereas high drying rates reduce the solute transport to the surface and result in more uniform solid distributions. A small pore diameter and distribution width reduce solute migration during drying and lead to uniform solid distributions without being influenced by the drying conditions. A higher initial concentration of the impregnation solution causes pronounced surface accumulation, while low initial solute concentrations result in more uniform distributions. Fundamental effects during drying are captured in an existing pore network model by adaption of experimental pore structures and impregnation–drying conditions, resulting in a good general agreement of experiments with simulations.     

Spray Drying: Retention of Volatile Compounds Revisited

ABSTRACT

Retention or loss of trace volatile compounds during spray drying can be vital for product quality. Examples of cases where loss or retentions of volatile substances are important include retention of balanced flavor and aroma in food products, removal of odiferous substances, and control of the release of volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere. Factors and mechanisms determining losses of these substances are reviewed. Losses can occur during atomization, from undisturbed drops and as a result of morphological development. On the basis of this insight, several avenues for controlling the retention of volatile substances are identified and analyzed. These include control of atomizer pressure or rotation speed, choice of spray angle, configuration of air input, lteration of the air temperature profile, feed concentration, the presence of an oil phase and/or suspended solids, foaming of the feed, feed composition, and steam blanketing of the atomizer.

The quality of a spray-dried product can be strongly affected by the presence or absence of volatile compounds that were present in the feed to the spray dryer. For example, spray-dried coffee and tea have suffered from a air and thereby avoid bubble formation, expansion and bursting for deaerated feeds (20). This approach produces a product with high bulk density. If that result is cceptable, then it should also be a way of precluding volatiles loss due to morphological development.     

Transient rise velocity and mass transfer of a single drop with interfacial instabilities - experimental investigations

An experimental study of transient drop rise velocities and mass transfer rates was carried out in the system toluene/acetone/water which is known to show interfacial instabilities. The rise velocity of toluene drops was studied without added solute (acetone) in the diameter range 1-3 mm and with added solute for 2 mm drops. The initial concentration of the transferred solute was varied from 0 to 30 g/L. The transient drop rise velocities were used to quantify the Marangoni effect since the drag coefficient depends on the strength of the Marangoni convection patterns caused by interfacial tension gradients. In addition, mass transfer measurements were carried out in order to determine the modification of the mass transfer rate due to Marangoni convection. Velocity and mass transfer measurements were then correlated via the contact time. Results reveal the existence of a range in which a critical value for the solute concentration can be defined for Marangoni convection.     

The influence of the interfacial resistance on the liquid—liquid mass transfer of carboxylic acids

The instantaneous solute concentration in freely suspended single droplets were measured as function of the exchange time by means of a radionuclide technique with and without chemical reaction in liquid—liquid systems in several drop sizes covering the range of Reynolds numbers 114–443.The transfer rates of benzoic acid and/or caprylic acid from toluene drop into water as well as of caprylic acid into aq. NaOH solution were investigated. Benzoic and caprylic acids prevail in the toluene phase as dimers and in the water phase as monomers. In case of the mass transfer of the benzoic acid the chemical reaction of the dimer to the monomer causes an interfacial resistance which has the same order of magnitude as the mass transfer resistance in the continuous phase.In case of the mass transfer of the caprylic acid the solute forms a monolayer at the interface. The rate determining step is the desorption of the solute from this monolayer.In case of the mass transfer of the caprylic acid to aq. NaOH solution the mass transfer resistance of the continuous phase can be neglected due to the enhancement of the mass transfer by the instantaneous reaction in this phase. The mass transfer rate is very high at the beginning of the mass exchange due to the interfacial turbulence caused by the chemical reaction. Also at longer contact times the mass exchange rate is high probably due to the reduction of the free desorption energy (increase of the desorption constant) caused by electrically charged monolayer.     

HIGH-INTENSITY DRYING OF PAPER

High-intensity contact drying denotes drying under suf- ficiently intensive heating conditions that, following a brief warmup period, the mist paper web operates at internal tem- peratures in excess of the ambient boiling point. A simplified, two-zone analytical model is first presented. The paper is depicted as having a dry layer, of ever-increasing thickness, adjacent to the hot surface. Heat conduction through this layer (the rate-limiting step) causes evaporation at the interface with the “wet zone.” The vapor is then considered to flow through the wet zone into the ambient. Results of bench-scale experiments are discussed. Drying rates as much as twenty times conventional rates are indicated. The drying rate increases with hot surface/boiling point tem- perature difference and applied mechanical pressure. The instsn- taneous drying rate decreases continuously after a brief warmup period. The vapor pressure at the hot surfacelpaper interface rises quickly to a peak value, followed by a continuously- diminishing level. The heat flux shows a rapid rise to boiling- like conditions, followed by a drop to a range compatible with measured drying rates. The temperature of the open side of the sheet is constant during drying, after its initial rise to the boiling point. The experimental results are compatible with pre- dictions of the model.     

HIGH-INTENSITY DRYING OF PAPER

High-intensity contact drying denotes drying under suf- ficiently intensive heating conditions that, following a brief warmup period, the mist paper web operates at internal tem- peratures in excess of the ambient boiling point. A simplified, two-zone analytical model is first presented. The paper is depicted as having a dry layer, of ever-increasing thickness, adjacent to the hot surface. Heat conduction through this layer (the rate-limiting step) causes evaporation at the interface with the “wet zone.” The vapor is then considered to flow through the wet zone into the ambient. Results of bench-scale experiments are discussed. Drying rates as much as twenty times conventional rates are indicated. The drying rate increases with hot surface/boiling point tem- perature difference and applied mechanical pressure. The instsn- taneous drying rate decreases continuously after a brief warmup period. The vapor pressure at the hot surfacelpaper interface rises quickly to a peak value, followed by a continuously- diminishing level. The heat flux shows a rapid rise to boiling- like conditions, followed by a drop to a range compatible with measured drying rates. The temperature of the open side of the sheet is constant during drying, after its initial rise to the boiling point. The experimental results are compatible with pre- dictions of the model.     

Surface Stickiness of Drops of Carbohydrate and Organic Acid Solutions During Convective Drying: Experiments and Modeling

Drying kinetics of low molecular weight sugars such as fructose, glucose, sucrose and organic acid such as citric acid and high molecular weight carbohydrate such as maltodextrin (DE 6) were determined experimentally using single drop drying experiments as well as predicted numerically by solving the mass and heat transfer equations. The predicted moisture and temperature histories agreed with the experimental ones within 6% average relative (absolute) error and average difference of ± 1°C, respectively. The stickiness histories of these drops were determined experimentally and predicted numerically based on the glass transition temperature (T_g) of surface layer. The model predicted the experimental observations with good accuracy. A nonsticky regime for these materials during spray drying is proposed by simulating a drop, initially 120 µm in diameter, in a spray drying environment.     

SOME CRITERIA OF SPRAY DRYER DESIGN FOR FOOD LIQUID

Spray drying has many applications for a wide variety of dried food powders. The quality of spray dried food is quite dependent on the atomization characteristics and the heat and mass transfer on drops inside the spray dryer. This paper deals with some design criteria of the spray dryer such as the atomizer, the drop trajectory and the heat/mass transfer between the drop and the drying air.     

DRYING KINETICS OF A MULTICOMPONENT MIXTURE OF ORGANIC SOLVENTS

Drying kinetics of volatile organic solvents have been examined during the drying process of a pharmaceutical coating containing a multicomponent mixture of ethyl acetate, n-heptane, propanol-2, and toluene. A complete set of experiments was performed in two drying apparatuses, a laboratory air-dryer and an oven dryer, for a wide range of drying temperature, air velocity, initial coating thickness and drying time. An empirical kinetic model is used to predict the concentration of each organic solvent in the mixture during the drying process. The results show that both drying conditions and sample characteristics affect significantly the drying rate of solvents.     

Aerosol Synthesis of Lipid Nanoparticles: Relating Crystallinity to Simulated Evaporation Rates

The degree of crystallinity of nanometer size lipid matrices governs drug loading and release rates. Recently, droplet-phase aerosol synthesis was used to prepare lipid nanoparticles of stearic acid and achieve control over their crystallinity using precursor solvents with differing vapor pressures. The present work aims at examining relationships between solvent evaporation rate and extent of evaporative cooling, during drop evaporation, on the crystallinity of the resulting lipid nanoparticles. A stationary drop model was developed to study evaporation of submicron-sized solution drops, of stearic acid in organic solvents, by including mechanisms of solvent vapor pressure depression by the solute, heat and mass transfer between the drop ensemble and suspending gas, Kelvin (curvature) effect, noncontinuum vapor transfer effects, and changes in activity coefficients of solute and solvent with changing concentrations. It was found that increasing estimated evaporation rates correlated with decreasing measured crystallinity. Higher evaporation rates also led to greater evaporative cooling and lower drop temperatures. The rate of change of supersaturation in solution drops under fast evaporation was shown to be an order of magnitude higher than that for slow evaporation. The modeled evaporation rate and drop temperature depend primarily on vapor pressure and enthalpy of vaporization of the precursor solvent. This suggests that selection of precursor solvents, with desired physical properties, can be used to control crystallinity, and related drug release behavior of lipid nanoparticles made through aerosol synthesis routes.

Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research     

SOME CRITERIA OF SPRAY DRYER DESIGN FOR FOOD LIQUID

Abstract

Spray drying has many applications for a wide variety of dried food powders. The quality of spray dried food is quite dependent on the atomization characteristics and the heat and mass transfer on drops inside the spray dryer. This paper deals with some design criteria of the spray dryer such as the atomizer, the drop trajectory and the heat/mass transfer between the drop and the drying air.     

DRYING KINETICS OF A MULTICOMPONENT MIXTURE OF ORGANIC SOLVENTS

ABSTRACT

Drying kinetics of volatile organic solvents have been examined during the drying process of a pharmaceutical coating containing a multicomponent mixture of ethyl acetate, n-heptane, propanol-2, and toluene. A complete set of experiments was performed in two drying apparatuses, a laboratory air-dryer and an oven dryer, for a wide range of drying temperature, air velocity, initial coating thickness and drying time. An empirical kinetic model is used to predict the concentration of each organic solvent in the mixture during the drying process. The results show that both drying conditions and sample characteristics affect significantly the drying rate of solvents.     

ON THE EFFECTIVE CONDUCTIVITY OF A DILUTE SUSPENSION OF SPHERICAL DROPS IN THE LIMIT OF LOW PARTICLE PECLET NUMBER

In this paper we consider the effective conductivity of a dilute suspension of neutrally bouyant spherical drops which is undergoing a simple shear flow. The thermal conductivity, viscosity and specific heat capacity of the drops are assumed to be different from those of the suspending fluid, though it is assumed that the local Peclet and Reynolds numbers are small both inside and outside the drop. The analysis consists of three parts: a derivation of the relationship between bulk heat flux on the one hand and the thermal and momentum fields at the microscale of the suspended particles on the other; a calculation of the local temperature field near a single neutrally buoyant spherical drop in shear flow with an imposed transverse temperature gradient at large distances; and a synthesis of the general relationship for bulk heat flux and the calculated local temperature field to determine an effective conductivity for a dilute suspension of spherical drops.     

The viscoplastic properties of crude oil-water interfaces

The breaking of water-in-crude oil emulsions is a major challenge in the conventional petroleum industry, while oil-in-water emulsions present similar issues in commercial oilsands extraction processes. The stability of these emulsions can be attributed to complex rheological properties of the crude oil-water interface. Novel micromechanical techniques are developed that allow direct measurements of interfacial behaviour of emulsion drops. In these techniques, individual emulsion drops are elongated using micropipettes, where one micropipette is shaped into a cantilever for force measurements. As such, the surface behaviour of a drop is recorded in stress-strain experiments. In an alternative technique, the extended drop is released from a micropipette, and its natural, tension-driven relaxation is observed.The surface behaviour of bitumen (a heavy crude oil) emulsion drops in aqueous environments, that include dissolved calcium ions and suspended montmorillonite clays, is studied. The plasticity and other surface properties of these bitumen drops are discussed. A simple, lumped-parameter model is developed to describe the recovery of a bitumen drops to their final non-spherical shapes.     

MEASUREMENT OF TRANSPORT PROPERTIES FOR THE DRIED LAYER OF COFFEE SOLUTION UNDERGOING FREEZE DRYING

A mathematical model has developed to determine the thermal conductivity and permeability for the dried layer of liquid sample undergoing sublimation dehydration. A microcomputer-based automatic measurement system has developed for the data acquisition as well as determination of these transport properties applying the drying data to the model. Aqueous solutions of 29-45 % soluble coffee solid were freeze dried under drying conditions used in commercial operations.

Thermal conductivity decreased in proportion to the porosity of the dried layer, and its temperature and pressure dependances were not appeared. The permeability increased with increasing the porosity, pressure and temperature of the dried layer. The results indicated that in commercial operations the solute concentration is one of the critical processing factors since this factor decisively governs the structure of a solute matrix formed during freezing of coffee solutions and the transport properties mainly depend upon the nature of this structure during drying.     

BUOYANCY-DRIVEN MOTION OF DROPS AND BUBBLES IN A PERIODICALLY CONSTRICTED CAPILLARY

Buoyancy-driven motion of viscous drops and air bubbles through a vertical capillary with periodic constrictions is studied. Experimental measurements of the average rise velocity of buoyant drops are reported for a range of drop sizes in a variety of two-phase systems. The instantaneous drop shapes at various axial positions within the capillary are also quantitatively characterized using digital image analysis. Periodic corrugations of the capillary wall are found to have a substantial retarding effect on the mobility of drops in comparison with previous experimental results in a straight cylindrical capillary. For systems characterized by small Bond numbers, drop deformations are found to be periodic. In large Bond number systems, however, drop breakup eventually occurs as the drop size is increased beyond a critical limit. The observed mode of breakup is a tail-pinching process similar to that observed by Oibricht and Leal (1983) for pressure-driven motion of low viscosity ratio drops through a sinusoidally constricted capillary. In contrast to their results, however, the same mode of breakup was also observed for systems with O (1) viscosity ratios,     

Drag Correlation of Drop Motion on Fibers

The objective of this article is to correlate a drag coefficient to the Reynolds number for axial motion of barrel drops on fibers. This work includes effects of vibration-induced motion of droplets and coalescence. The study of motion of drops is important to understand the drainage behavior of droplets. Drainage of liquid helps to eliminate moisture from media samples before applying thermal energy and hence reducing the drying cost. A significant amount of literature describes the mechanisms of droplet capture, coalescence, and drainage from filter media and models are developed at a scale that accounts for the liquid held in the filter through averaged parameters such as saturation. Few papers discuss the motion of individual drops attached to fibers.

The study of drop motion on fibers is of scientific and economic interest for many possible applications like printing, coatings, drug delivery and release, and filters to remove or neutralize harmful chemicals or particulates from air streams. Gas convection-induced drop motion in fibrous materials occurs in coalescing filters, clothes dryers, textile manufacturing, convection ovens, and dewatering of filter cakes. Droplet removal can significantly reduce drying costs by reducing the free moisture contained in fibrous materials prior to applying thermal drying techniques.

In this article, the experimental drag coefficient versus Reynolds number data are compared for 1-D and 3-D cylindrical drop models. The results show that 1-D models are inadequate to predict the drag coefficient but do show the same general trends.