Effects of the spray drying conditions of chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa L.) juice concentrate on the physicochemical properties of powders

A semi‐industrial spray drying process of chokeberry juice concentrate using maltodextrin was analysed. The influence of the content and dextrose equivalent (DE) of maltodextrin, inlet air temperature and rotary disc atomiser speed was studied on the physicochemical properties of the obtained powders. The size and structure of the powder particles, bulk density, moisture content, flowability, yield and total polyphenol content were analysed. An increase in carrier content from 50% to 70% caused a 4.9% increase in total polyphenol retention, better flowability (Hausner ratio decrease of 0.17) and greater yield of the powder (60%). An increase in the drying temperature (150–170 °C) caused larger particle size and improved powder flowability but also resulted in greater loss of total polyphenols. A decrease in rotary atomiser speed (11 000–15 000 rpm) had a moderate influence on particle size and improvement in flowability but had no effect on polyphenol retention. Changes in the DE (8–22) of maltodextrin as a carrier indicated a moderate growing dependence on particle size and worse flowability.