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Drying Technology: An International Journal

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FULL CONTAINMENT SPRAY DRYING

a
Keith Masters
a
Niro Holding A/S , Gladsaxevej 305, Soeborg, 2860, Denmark
Published online: 27 Apr 2007.

To cite this article: Keith Masters (1999) FULL CONTAINMENT SPRAY DRYING, Drying Technology: An International Journal,
17:10, 2341-2348, DOI: 10.1080/07373939908917687

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07373939908917687

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 DRYING TECHNOLOGY,17(10), 2341-2348 (1999)

FULL CONTAINMENT SPRAY DRYING

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Keith Masters
Niro Holding A/S
Gladsaxevej 305,2860 Soeborg, Denmark

Key words and phrases: spray drying, environmental aspects, powder collection.

ABSTRACT

Aspecu of safety, environmental protection, and powder quality will continue to influence
ad&ces withinspray dryer design and operation,and the concept of full containment spray
d n.i n e offers a means to meet future industrial reauirements. Process air recycle and oowder
containment within the drying chamber leads to no process air discharge to atmosphere,
provides a more favorable operator environment around the spray dryer installation, reduces
regions within the dryer layout where potential explosive powdedair mixtures can exist,
improves yields, reduces powder losses, and provides easier cleaning operations with
reduced wash water requirements.

INTRODUCTION

As we honor Dr. Hall with this special issue, let us put his career and the history of spray
drying as an industrial process immediately into perspective. Developmenu that have raised
spray drying technology to its present industrial status have taken place in a period of time
that virtually coincides with the age of Dr. Hall. The technology may be considered mature
by many, but it is still young compared with other technologies drying liquids to solids. Dr.
Hall, whose contribution to the field of drying is universally recognized, has been witness to
all the landmarks that signal significant advancements within atomization, air dispersion, and
system design. In fact, only ten years separated Dr. Hall's birth with the design
breakthrough that created the fust commercially successful spray dryer: the Gray Jensen
mixed flow drying chamber with nozzle atomizer and roof air exhaust.

Spray drying has established for itself a leading position in industry, with hundreds of
applications covering numerous industries. It is one of the few continuous drying system

Copyright €3 1999 by Marcel Dekker. Inc

 2342 MASTERS

that not only convcns liquid feedstock into powder, but also has the unique capability of
forming dry products of spccific particulate for& Spray dryers are no longer restricted to
pruducins h e particle powders. but can also meet particulate size and structure
;equircmEnts in 'the form of agglomerates, granulates, br large mono-sized spherical
panicles. Spray drying is in fact a particulate forming operation. and a valuable tool in the
field of powder engineering
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The spray dryer designs of today reflect the needs of industry and development initiatives
arc markcl driven. Public opinion and the competitive nature of the market which dictate the
direction of industry arc inevitably going to continue to influence future developmenu due
lo the ongoing focusing on pcrsonnel safety on and around dryers, prevention of
envirmmental pollution from dryer operations, and greater emphasis on the commercial
ncccssity of producing competitively priced quality dried producu. AU this has to bc
produced on plant which represent investment levels that provide the fmancial returns
demanded.

All this will see industry moving towards adopting new concepts and one of the most likely
isfull containment spray drying.

Ccntnl to containment spray drying are three issues:

The need to reduce large volumes of drying air exhausted to atmosphere by reusing
process drying air within the dryer layout. This involves air,recycle technology. Drying
systems where all the process air is discharged to atmosphere (in opcn cycle layouts)
represent over 90% of the industrial spray dryers in operation today. Thjs figure is bound
lo decline as modernizing and increasing production capacity on well established
industrial sites near population areas will require spray dryers to be in a recycle mode
(fully closed or partially closed loops) so as to eliminate the exhaust air plumes and
associxted thermal, odor, and paniculate pollution.

The need to restrict the prcscnce of product in the spray dryer to a minimum number of
ucas, preferably to the drying chamber only. This has important implications regarding
greater ease of powder handling, higher product yields and product quality, simplifying
opcnlional safely and cleaning procedures. and reducing wash water effluent generation.

The need for plant layouts lo become more compact. herehy having a positive efTect on
thc overall investment level in terms of equipment supporting structure, and building
nccds, especially for large in-door dryer installations.

Containment Concept to Enhance Environmental Protection

Con~i~inment
of Process Drvinc Air (Recvclinfi

The concept of recycling process air in a closed loop has been utilized in spray drying
layouts for more than the last three decades. The recyclc concept was initially developed in
thc fine ceramic industry not so much as an environment drivcn exercise, but as a safe and
 FULL CONTANMENT SPRAY DRYING 2343

economic way to dry organic solvent tiedstock sately. An inen drying atmosphere
(nitrogen) had to be used and utility and malerial costs dictated the reuse of this nitrogen
and its reconditioning to recover the evaporated solvenu

The closed cycle system (Figure 1 A) is not unique to spray drying since the layout
involving dry coUector followed by scrubber-condenser prior to re-heating the process pas
is used in other convection type dryers. e.g. flash, ring, or fluid bed systems. However.
when closed cycle layouts are used for drying o r g m c solvent based feedstock. there arc
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special design requirements of plant components being both gas and powder tight and the
need to apply indirect heating systems.

Recycle layouts are also applicable for handling aqueous based feedstock. Today, the
incentive for using such layouts has been the ability to economically and safely handle
products exhibiting powder explosion characteristics without the need for inert gas use, and
also those that are toxic or create odor during drying. This type of recycle layout is
classified as self-inenking where use of a direct gas fued heater operating at much reduced
excess combustion air levels creates a low oxygen atmosphere in the recycling processed
drying gas (Figure I B). However, recycle layouts need not be restricted to such specialist
safe handling applications. Open cycle spray drying can be conducted just as well in a
recycle mode and therefore, if an when the time comes for restrictions on exhaust air
emissions to atmosphere, the appropriate technology will be available to give full
containment of process air within this drying system.

Containment of Powder - No Particulate Emissions

The recovery of powder and maximking yields have long been central to the spray drying
operation in the interest of production efficiency as well as minimizing powder losses to
atmosphere. The cyclone has long been the standard dry collector followed by wet
scrubbers and police filters to recover fines that inevitably escape the cyclone.

Although improved cyclone efficiencies have been achieved through design advancements
over the years, bag fdters have always had a potentially higher collection efficiency.
However. reliability, bag wear, and cleaning difficulties. especially with product or grade
changes, have offset such advantages, but the simation is radically changing. A new
generation of in-place, cleanable bag fdters is being introduced to the market. Previously
effective in-place cleaning was best achieved with metallic or cartridge type fiters handling
fairly small air rates, but CIP fabric fdter elements have been developed, patented (I), and
are already installed in both small and large spray drying plants in such diversified industries
as for the drying of dyestuffs and dairy products. The possibility of effective in-place
washing of fiters will see the replacement of cyclones by such bag fiters in many
applications since the ease of cleaning of cyclones wlll no longer be such a signilicant
advantage.

Containment Concept to Enhance Safer Powder Handling

The development of in-placc cleanable bag idlers has offered opportunities for achieving
local containment of product in the drying chamber. Total powder containment simplilies
 MASTERS
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Figure 1. Air containment in recycle mode

A. with indirect heating

(drying of solvent based feed in inert process gas)
B. with indirect heating
(dryilig of aqueous feed in self-inertizingprocess gas)
 FULL CONTAINMENT SPRAY DRYING
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Product out

Figun 2 Fluidized Spray Dryer Concept with integrated fluid bed

and air exhaust from chamber top

powder handling, plant cleaning. and the overall dryer layout. Full powder convdtment by
using in-place cleanable bag mter elements in the drying chamber is most conveniently
achieved when the fdter elements can be mounted in the roof of the spray dryer (2).
Therefore, this development has particular significance since it is applicable to one of the
most important and well used spray drying designs today, the so-called Fluidized Sprsy
Dryer which features a fluid bed integrated into the base of the spray drying chamber. The
importance of this spray dryer design lies in its ability to produce dust-free agglomerated or
granulated products, and handle the more difficult drying operations, all at substantially
lower product temperatures than found in more conventional spray dryer designs.

In the Fluidized Spray Dryer design (Figure 2), the feed liquid is sprayed into high velocity
air being directed downwards within the central part of the drying chamber towards the
fluid bed. Most particles enter the fluid bed when still moist where agglomeration occurs
and drying continues. The natural elutriation effect of the fluid bed operation causes fm
dried la re-enter the flow of air passing upwards to the exit ducts located in the
dryer roof.
 2346 MASTERS
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Figure 3 Spray drying chamber with integrated fluid bed

and particulate filters
A. Powder containment mode
8. Full containment mode

1. Drying chamber
2. Integrated particulate filter
3. Atomizer
4. Integrated fluid bed dryer
5. Liquid feed
6. Drying air
7. Exhaust air
8. Powder dischuge (single point)
9. Condenser - evaporated volatiles recovery

When the Fluidized Spray Dryer was fust introduced, the exhaust air. containing a fairly
high proportion of fine particles, passed out of the drying chamher for recovery in an
external cyclone followed by a secondary cyclone in series, or a hag tiher. This layout was
necessary to complete the cleaning of exhaust air. Powder collected from the cyclones was
returned to the drying chamber being introduced via the air disperser into the regions of
spray to achieve a particlddroplet agglomeration or returned to the chamber cone to assist a
particldparticle agglomeration process in the fluid bed.
 FULL CONTAINMENT SPRAY DRYING
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Figurn 4. Plant Layouls

A. Conventional layout where exhaust system f e a m cyclones, bag liiters, powder

transport, and extensive ducdng to meet powder collection and environmental
reguirements.

B. Powder containment layout where inlegrated bag lidten simplify exhaust air and
powder handling.

This exhaust air system required a complex powder handling and transportation
arrangement, and the dry collectors mounted in series represented a high pressure drop
operation.. The exhaust system can be significantly simplified, however, by replacing the
external cyclones with bag mter elements located inside the drying chamber (Figure 3 A).
Each filer element can be individually dry cleaned (by reverse air jet pulsing) to prevent
excessive pressure fluctuations during dryer operation, and also fitted wi1h.h-place wet
cleaning capabilities. Experience lo date shows that both dry and wet in-place clcaning of
filter elements can be successfuUy accomplished, even in operations which require the
meeting of high hygienic standards.
 2348 MASTERS

If and when the times comes for total containment of powder in the d r j n g chamber to meet
environmental and safer product handling requiremens, the appropriate technology will be
available. Furthermore, the simplified plant layout (Figure 4) reduces installation and
operating cost and, ii the chamber is incorporated within n drying air recycle system. full
containment spray d ~ y i n gis achieved (Figure 3 B).
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CONCLUSIONS

Every era brings its challenges, and during Dr. H a s era spray drying has developed from a
contiiuous method of producing powders from fluid feeds to become a major player within
engineered powder production, i.e. where end product specifications require a specific
particulate suucture. size, and physical propenies.'

To date, the vast majority of spray dryers are operating in the open cycle mode, with the
exhaust air being discharged directly to atmosphere. This brings the possibility of powder
emissions to atmosphere and extensive cleaning operations since there is powder contact
with all parts of the dryer downstream of the air disperser and atomizer. There are
advantages to be gained by integrating bag fdters within the drying chamher which then
becomes the only pan of h e spray dryer in contact with powder.

Aspects of heath, safety, and environmental protection will continue to influence spray dryer
design and operation in the future, but the concept of full containment spray drying with air
recycling and containing powder just within the drying chamber offers u tcchnology solution
to further enhance the use of spray dryers in the new millennium.

REFERENCES

(I) lnternnuonal Patent Application WO 97114288 publishcd April 24, 1997

(2) International Pacent Application WO 98100001 published January 8. 1998