YC-1800 Low Temperature Spray Dryer

Low Temperature Spray Dryer: The Complete Buying Guide

As a professional lab spray dryer in China, Pilotech has been in spray dryer design and manufacturing industry for over 15 years.

In 2008, Pilotech developed China’s first low-temperature spray dryer, suitable for heat-sensitive materials.
For ordinary spray dryers, the inlet air temperature is above 180 °C and the outlet temperature is above 100 °C. At these temperatures, many heat-sensitive materials will experience a change in properties, structure, and color, or even poor dissolution after drying, among other problems.

If you have heat-sensitive materials, you need YC-1800 low-temperature spray dryer. We have two types of low-temperature spray dryers: vacuum system and non-vacuum system.

The minimum inlet air temperature of non-vacuum low-temperature is 105 °C ,and vacuum ones is 50 °C.
Materials like enzyme preparations, probiotics, heat-sensitive polymer materials, proteins, natural product extracts and sugar-containing samples are often heat- sensitive and can be spray dried using a low-temperature spray dryer equipment.

As water boils at 100 °C under normal pressure and spray drying only needs a second. Ordinary spray dryers have a relatively high inlet air temperature, but Pilotech low-temperature spray dryers are designed under negative pressure and achieve an inlet air temperature of low as 105 °C. Our spray dryers also achieve rapid drying and prevent property or color change of materials.

YC-1800 low-temperature spray dryers can be fitted with a fluidized bed drying module (optional) if you need it. A low cost increase will give you one with fluidized bed drying.

If your lab needs both low-temperature and high-temperature spray drying, don’t worry! YC-1800 low temperature spray dryers have a maximum inlet air temperature of 200 °C. You won’t have to buy an ordinary spray dryer machine anymore.
If you choose our low-temperature spray dryers, we have all the parts including the air compressor designed for you. Just make sure your lab has electricity.

All the parameters of our low-temperature spray dryers can be set through the touch screen panel. It will be easy and convenient for you to adjust the parameters during the experiment. The drying chamber, cyclone separator, and collection bottle are all clamped, making it convenient to install, disassemble, and clean. The whole cleaning process takes no more than 10 minutes.

As we know the stable operation of spray dryers is important to you, our crucial parts, including touch screen, PLC, air compressor, blower, and heater, are from world-renowned brands.
Pilotech YC-1800 low-temperature spray dryers work quietly with noise below 60 db and won’t affect your working environment.

In order to send you best low-temperature spray dryer, we will carry out a series of strict test before shipment. First, the equipment will run for 72 hours without processing any materials. After that, we will conduct the spray drying test with the extracting solution of Chinese medicine. The shipment will be arranged after we ensure that the equipment delivers high recovery rate even with the materials that are the most difficult to dry.

If you are looking for the right low-temperature spray dryer and the best price for your applications and needs! Get a quote now, we will reply you within 8 hours.

Low-Temperature Spray Dryer: The Ultimate FAQs Guide

If you’re looking for any information about a low-temperature spray dryer, you will find it right here.

This guide covers everything about spray drying machines, from parts, working principle, increasing efficiency to process parameters.

So, if you want to be an expert in a low-temperature spray dryer, read this guide.

What is a Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Low-temperature spray dryer

Low-Temperature Spray Dryer is equipment that dries slur or liquid into powder in a single step under low temperature.

It consists of a nozzle that sprays air at a temperature below 80^o C, making it ideal for thermally sensitive materials.

It finds a wide range of applications in different industries right from agriculture, chemicals, and medicine.

Is there a Difference Between a No-Heat Spray Dryer and Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Yes, temperature differences primarily distinguish between the No-Heat Spray Dryer and Low-Temperature Spray Dryer.

The No-Heat Dryer pulverizes liquid to powder at room temperature without heat.

In contrast, the Low-Temperature Spray Dryer uses heat to convert liquid to powder at temperatures below 80 degrees Celsius.

In addition, the No Heat Spray Dryer uses less water and energy than the Low-Temperature Spray Dryer.

Moreover, during the atomization process, the No-Heat Spray Dryer retains the liquid’s vital attributes better than the Low-Temperature Spray Dryer.

What are the Features of the Low-Temperature Spray Drying machine?

The main properties of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer include:

• The minimum temperature of air outlet is 60 degrees Celsius
• Maximum temperature of inlet air is 200 degrees Celsius
• Made of stainless steel
• Controlled either manually or automatically
• Integrate optional fluidized bed drying device
• Uses PLC system
• Produce noise below 60 db
• Incorporate dehumidifier that helps in removing moisture from the inlet air

Which are the Types of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

There are two main types of Low-temperature Spray Dryer including:

i. Vacuum Low-Temperature Spray dryer

This type of low-temperature spray drying machine works on the principle of water vaporization in a substance.

It functions under reduced atmospheric pressure with a minimum inlet air temperature of 50 degrees Celsius.

This makes it suitable for thermally sensitive materials.

The drying equipment is particularly ideal for spray drying high fat, high viscosity, and high sugar materials.

It can efficiently retain the consistency and stability of the batch of products.

ii. Non-vacuum Low-Temperature Spray Dryers

A low-temperature spray dryer of this type employs direct heat during the spray drying of products.

Here, Hot air comes in contact with the product you are drying.

The convection process transfers heat to a substance, which eventually converts it into powder.

Most non-vacuum low-temperature spray dryers have a minimum temperature of inlet air of 105 degrees Celsius.

What are the Advantages of a Low-Temperature Spray dryer?

Some of the benefits of a low-temperature spray drying machine consist of:

• Suitable for heat-sensitive materials because heat degrades or destroys vital ingredients, especially in pharmaceutical products.

Heat causes molecular degradation resulting in profile, stability, and solubility issues of the powder.

• It enhances large-scale production of powder with good attributes (density and size).
• Food products dried using Low-Temperature Spray Dryer retain their color, taste, texture, flavor, nutrition, and color.
• It has a higher conversion rate of volatile liquids into powder due to the low temperature.
• Improved thermal efficiency
• Suitable for a wide range of production.
• Has high energy efficiency
• Product quality and attributes can be effectively controlled, manipulated, and maintained throughout the entire processing operation.
• The dry products and instant drying process minimize corrosion problems.

Which are the Main Components of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Some of the main parts of low-temperature spray dryer are:

 Parts of spray drying machine

1) System Control Panel

Controlling most low-temperature spray drying machines is through Programmable Logic Control (PLC) systems.

You can configure all the variables of the low-temperature spray drying machine via the touch screen panel of the PLC system.

2) Drying Chamber

The drying chamber is the key part of any type of spray drying machine.

It consists of a hot air supply system, supply fan, heater, filter, and air dispenser.

3) Feed Supply System

The components making the feed supply system comprise of a feed tank, heater, pump, and feed line.

4) Atomizer Or Spray Nozzle

Atomizer helps in optimizing the process of evaporation transforming the liquid into small droplets.

It is as well instrumental in developing an end product having desirable properties.

There are different designs of spray nozzles depending on the amount of energy used for creating the droplets.

The nozzles short drying time by increasing surface area to accelerate evaporation.

5) Product Recovery System

This part comprises the cyclone, bag filter, and wet scrubber.

It is in this component of the low-temperature spray dryer where you separate the formed granules from the hot air.

The mixture (hot air and powder) inlet shape and dimension and number of cyclones influence the effectiveness of powder separation.

Powder and air blend inlets into the cyclonic system have a wrap-around and tangential shape.

The design of wrap-around inlets enhances the entered air amount and eventually increase air velocity and system efficiency.

Moreover, the cyclones number relies on the rate of powder and air mixture and commonly varies from 1 to 4.

You can achieve the best separation efficiency utilizing cyclones having diameters lower than 1 meter.

The separation efficiency will be around 95 percent if you meet all the optimum parameters in designing cyclones.

6)  Powder Return System

This part consists of a powder sieve, lecithin treatment system, fluid bed, pneumatic transport, and cooling.

How Does Low-Temperature Spray Dryer Work?

The low-Temperature Spray Dryer operates on the moisture elimination concept under low heat.

In three stages, it efficiently converts liquid into particles.

· Atomization

From a feedstock, a liquid or slur enters into a spray nozzle or Atomizer.

The Atomizer breaks the solution into fine droplet sprays to increase surface area for evaporation.

This process takes advantage of the low-temperature air.

The spray drying equipment can introduce the hot air in a co-current or counter-current drying manner.

· Droplet to Particle Conversion

In this stage, the droplets go to a drying gas chamber for moisture vaporization, forming the dry particles.

The atomized sprays in contact with hot air instantly dry up into a fine powder.

·  Particle Collection

Finally, the spray drying process moves to the particle collection stage for separation from the drying medium.

Cyclone and filter bags separate the final product from the drying gas.

Low-temperature spray dryers run silently emitting noise less than 60 dB and will not impact your working environment.

Which Materials can you Dry using Low-Temperature Spray Dryers?

Low-temperature spray dryer is ideal for drying the following materials:

• Enzymes
• Probiotics
• Natural extracts
• Heat-sensitive polymer substances
• Sugar-containing materials
• Proteins
• Pharmaceuticals
• Detergents

What are the Applications of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Low-Temperature Spray Dryer has a wide range of applications in different industries including:

• Food Industry
• Medical Industry
• Chemical Industry
• Biotechnology Industry, and
• Pharmaceutical Industry

Some of the uses of low-temperature spray dryer include:

• To prepare food such as spices, coffee, fruits and vegetables, milk, tea, herbal nutrition, eggs, etc.
• Manufacture of paint pigments, ceramic materials, chemicals, etc.
• Manufacture of Vitamins, Enzymes, Encapsulation, Antibiotics, etc.
• Useful in Fertilizer production, e.g., ammonium salts, nitrates, phosphates, etc.
• To produce detergent and soaps, e.g., detergent enzymes, emulsifying agents, bleach powders, etc.
• Removing pollutants in products, for example, used in the desulfurization of petroleum products and seawater.

How Do You Troubleshoot a Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Troubleshooting Low-Temperature Spray Drying Equipment entails the intervention of production parameters to obtain the intended results.

Every day, you have to make a troubleshooting analysis based on the final product, e.g., moisture content.

Significant problems in the particle attributes need more outstanding analysis and solutions.

Such issues include bacteriology, large amounts of deposits in the dryer, lack of capacity, among others.

It is difficult to give a detailed analysis of each case.

However, for common problems, adopt the following procedure:

 Low-temperature spray drying machine

• In case of an issue, critically analyze production records at the time the problem arose.

This includes log-sheets, laboratory analysis, maintenance log-books, and control instrument calibrations.

• In the event of lack of production caused by a drop in evaporation heat.

The drop can be due to either lack of drying air, or too high outlet or too low inlet temperature.

In such circumstances, check airflow measurements, inlet temperature, and outlet temperature.

• Poor optimization mostly caused by a change in feeding properties or malfunction of Atomizer.

Check Atomizing pressure, condition of atomizing device, and Sizes and conditions of nozzles.

Also, check the feed properties, particularly viscosity.

What are the Factors to Consider when Choosing Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Let’s look at the key factors that you must consider during the selection of a low-temperature spray dryer:

i. Dehumidifiers

Low-Temperature Spray Dryer needs a constant hot air supply, which affects the final product’s quality.

A dehumidifier helps to supply dry air without contamination and humidity.

ii. Energy Efficiency

A highly energy-efficient Low-Temperature Spray Dryer reduces production costs making your product more competitive in the market.

Factors of production affect the price of a commodity, and low power consumption reduces production cost.

iii. Automatic Control

Modern designs of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer have an automatic control system.

This minimizes dependency on the operator to continually monitor and adjust parameters.

iv. Spray Nozzles

Spray nozzle affects droplet size and uniformity.

The recent invention of a Four Fluid Nozzle drastically altered drying time and eliminated wet deposits in chamber walls.

Furthermore, it enables uniformity and minimization of droplet size for improved drying time.

A suitable Nozzle improves the atomization process, energy usage, and complete particles drying at lower temperatures below 80 degrees Celsius.

v. Material Type

The material used to make the low-temperature spray dryer helps to counter common problems experienced during operation.

Nickel alloy and stainless steel eliminate corrosion worries on nozzles and drying chambers.

On the other hand, tungsten carbide has superb resistance to corrosion and abrasions against feedstocks.

vi. Cost

Moreover, you cannot overlook the cost of a Low-temperature Spray Dryer during selection.

It is advisable to inquire from various suppliers since Different manufacturers produce products with varying tag prices.

Which Factors Affect the Particle Size and Bulk Density of Materials Dried in Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

In Low-Temperature Spray Dryers, several factors affect the particle size and bulk density of the final product.

Low-temperature spray drying machine

· Spray Dryer Design

The Spray dryer design directly affects the final product size and bulk density.

Two factors affect the droplet size including the feeding pressure and type of nozzle.

Nozzles come in different sizes and shapes to produce three sizes of particles: fine, medium, and coarse.

Higher feeding pressure produces smaller droplets leading to smaller particles.

To achieve the desired particle attributes, use appropriate nozzle size, and adjust the feeding pressure accordingly.

· Processing Parameters

In addition to low-temperature spray dryer design, essential parameters such as air temperature, viscosity, and humidity affect particles’ properties.

Drying time increases with reduced temperatures, while high humidity, on the other hand, increases drying time.

However, the latest technological designs include humidifiers to reduce humidity in the inlet air.

Several factors affect bulk density (dry powder weight /unit volume).

The bulk density has a significant impact on the cost of the container, handling, and shipping.

Here are the factors that affect the bulk density of materials dried in low-temperature spray dryer:

• High feed rate
• High inlet temperature
• Low outlet temperature
• Dryer Type – counter-current dryers produce higher density particles than co-counter
• Powder cooling
• Coarse particles
• Feed suspensions
• High residual moisture

What are the Standard Specifications of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Here are the key information which you need to include when specifying a low-temperature spray drying machine:

• Inlet Temperature
• Voltage
• Airflow
• Frequency
• Evaporating capacity
• Compressed air
• Atomizer material
• Sound
• heating power
• temperature precision
• Particle size range
• nozzle type
• mean residence time
• operational mode automatic/manual
• nozzle jet standard 0.07mm
• maximum product feed
• minimum product feed
• Body material
• Deblocking
• Thermal protection
• LCD for heat, air pressure, pump, spray, and adblocker frequency

How Does Spray Flow Rate Affect Particle Size in Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

The flow rate in a Low-Temperature Spray Dryer directly affects the particle size of the final product.

Increased flow rate produces fine particles, and reducing the flow rate produces large particle sizes.

Thus to achieve the desired particle size, adjust the spray flow rate accordingly.

Low-temperature spray drying machine

What are the Safety Features of Low Heat Spray Dryer?

In every manufacturing plant, safety is of utmost importance.

For that matter, let’s look at some of the safety features of Low Heat Spray Dryer:

· Noise

The design and material used in the Low-temperature Spray dryer ensure minimum sound emission.

Typically, the spray drying machine produces noise below 60db hence guaranteeing a safe working environment.

· Explosion Risk

High temperatures can easily ignite organic solvents.

Nitrogen gas helps to eliminate explosions risks posed by organic solvents.

Modern designs of low-temperature spray dryers have explosion vent panels and automatic explosion suppression systems.

· High-Temperature Protection

The entire Low Heat Spray drying process generates a lot of heat.

Automatic air blowers help to minimize High Temperature caused by heaters and to maintain system temperature at default safe range.

Higher temperatures can compromise the quality of products and might cause products to ignite.

· Process Controls and Alarms

Low-Temperature Spray Dryer has an elaborate control and alarms system.

The system provides the first line of defense against potential danger to your machine and employees.

· High-Quality Material

The drying process presents many hazards.

In line with international safety standards, most manufacturers use the best materials to minimize safety hazards.

· Safety Warnings

The Low-Temperature Spray Dryer comes with a manual which also addresses anticipated safety issues.

Furthermore, the dryer has warning signage fixed on its body.

How Do You Reduce Stickiness in Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

The thermoplastic effect causes the powder to stick together and onto walls hindering the production process.

Furthermore, it reduces molecular weights in addition to reduced production.

You can apply the following tips to reduce the stickiness in low-temperature spray drying equipment:

· Low-Temperature Air

Low temperature eliminates the problem of plastic characteristics that cause stickiness in powder.

But on the flip side, low temperatures increase drying time.

Increasing the drying chamber’s height enables the complete drying of powder when using low-temperature air.

· Cold Air

Introducing cold air in the spray drying process to help in the formation of solid particles significantly reducing stickiness.

At the last stages of the drying process, introduce cold air at the dryer’s bottom part.

However, do it in moderation because a lot of cold air also causes stickiness due to increased humidity.

· Cooling Walls of Drying Chamber

To minimize thermoplastic particles sticking together, reduce the temperature of the spray chamber’s walls.

The cold walls cool and solidify the thermoplastic materials’ outer surfaces, thus eliminating stickiness.

However, though not 100% effective, it provides satisfactory results.

On the downside, the cold walls increase humidity and lower the surrounding air temperature.

· Scrapping Of Chamber Wall

Scrapping wall chambers significantly reduces stickiness, especially in relatively lower thermoplastic materials such as sucrose and lactose.

Use dehumidified cold air to clean the walls and scrape the loose sticky residues.

· Drier Design

When processing thermoplastic materials, consider two crucial dryer design elements.

Utilize a conical type of spraying nozzle in conjunction with a co-current spray dryer design.

· Droplet Size

Larger droplets lead to larger particles that may not dry sufficiently.

Due to their partial dryness and wetness, large particles often become sticky.

How do you Optimize Low-Temperature Spray Dryers?

Optimization implies improving the Spray Dryer’s production capacity, which in turn leads to lower workforce input and greater energy efficiency.

Evaporation rate affected by temperature difference (△T) between inlet and outlet air ultimately affects spray dryer capacity.

The bigger the △T, the better the Spray Dryer’s capacity.

Optimize your Spray Dryer capacity by either reducing the temperature of outlet air or increasing the temperature of inlet air.

Each Spray Dryer and product type has a specific outlet temperature.

Set your dryer to operate on the safe side “dry enough” because “too dry” settings lead to underutilization.

Increasing the temperature of inlet air ensures there is more evaporation energy, but do so within a safer range.

Besides, increasing the feed temperature as high as possible while considering thermal sensitivity increases production capacity.

What is the Difference between Counter-current and Co-current Design in Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Differences in these two types of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer Designs stem from flow patterns between atomized spray and hot air.

In the Counter-current design, you will introduce hot air and atomized spray from the Low-Temperature Spray opposite ends.

Atomized spray enters at the top while hot air enters from below.

The counter-current flow of the hot air and spray makes this design highly efficient.

Inside the drying chamber, the air and dried particles continue in opposite directions.

Dried particles escape at the bottom, meeting hot air, making this design suitable for thermal-resistant materials like soaps and detergents.

But since dried powder interacts with hot air at the bottom, this design is not suitable for thermal sensitive products.

However, in co-counter design, both the heated air and atomized spray enter via the top of the drying chamber.

The hot air and dried particles flow together inside the chamber before being released at the bottom.

The co-counter flow suits thermal-sensitive materials such as dairy products.

 Spray drying system

How does Low-Temperature Spray Dryer compare to Freeze Dryer?

While both drying equipments operate under the principle of solvent evaporation, there are some differences between them.

On energy efficiency, a low-Temperature Spray Dryer uses less energy than the Freeze Dryer.

Freeze Dryers preserve essential ingredients of thermal sensitive and delicate materials.

The critical advantage of Freeze Dryer includes better product uniformity, higher yield, and higher quality (water content and stability).

It has a much lower processing temperature (below 30^o C) in comparison to Low-temperature Spray Dryer.

However, these advantages come at a higher cost and processing time.

Low-Temperature Spray Dryer produces bulky products making it unsuitable for formulating products into vials and containers.

Therefore, it is not effective in ensuring the non-contamination of products.

On the other hand, a Freeze Drying machine conveniently suits products that do not need additional processing after drying.

Subsequent processing after drying into vials and containers increases costs, reduces quality, increases contamination, and accuracy limitations.

Freeze drying enables large production of micro-filled vials and containers, a big challenge in powder dispensing in smaller quantities.

However, the Low-Temperature Spray Dryer enables the manipulation of particles to the desired sizes.

Freeze drying consumes a lot of time, is in-efficient, and produces bulky dried materials requiring additional grinding.

What is the Maximum Inlet Air Temperature in Low-Temperature Spray Dryers?

Most low-temperature spray drying machines have a maximum inlet air temperature of 200 degrees Celsius.

However, some such as our YC-1800 low-temperature spray dryers have an inlet temperature of 105 degrees Celsius.

Which are the Types of Nozzles Used in Low-Temperature Spray dryers?

Different types of Nozzles exist in the market, each with unique applications.

• Ultrasonic Nozzles: Produce droplets and particles with unique and large spherical shapes. It has less clogging issues.
• Four Fluid Nozzles: Breaks a solution into fine droplets with high uniformity. It produces micro mist and easily atomizes two different liquid types.
• Inkjet Nozzles: An atomization nozzle based on inkjet technology
• Rotary disk nozzle: A high speed rotating wheel to dispense liquids at high speed.
• Whirl Nozzles
• The single-fluid nozzle or hydraulic nozzle: Utilizes liquid’s kinetic energy to break a substance into a fine spray.
• Two fluid nozzles: Mix high-speed air with liquid.

How Do You Maintain The Nozzle of Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Here are some of the ways of ensuring that your spray nozzles stay in good condition for the longest time:

 Components of spray dryer nozzle

• You can do some kinds of nozzle cleaning daily, and others annually using a dilute caustic solution. To prevent sticky substances, clean immediately after shut down.
• Replace worn out parts such as swirl and nozzles immediately.
• Replace seals and rings every time you disassemble a nozzle
• lubricate rings
• operate within recommended temperature

What is the Difference Between Droplet Size range and Droplet Size Distribution in a Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

In comparison, the droplet size range refers to variations in droplet sizes from the smallest to the largest.

On the other hand, droplet size distribution refers to the uniformity in droplet sizes spread in a spray.

What is the Role of CIP in Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

The process of spray drying requires that you routinely wet clean the low-temperature spray dryer, particularly during changeovers.

Modern spray drying equipment comes fitted with a fully automatic clean-in-place (CIP) system to guarantee efficient cleaning.

CIP system makes sure that the cleaning solutions get into contact with every contact surface.

It ensures that you perform the cleaning at the right flow rate and temperature to eliminate all product residues.

Moreover, CIP system equally helps prevent time-consuming dismantling and reassembly of equipment parts for manual cleaning.

The system washes and then dries every orifice and surface area of the low-temperature spray dryer.

The design of CIP system enables it to remove all moisture after cleansing, thus preventing bacterial growth.

It uses warm, compressed air that you add to drain all liquid out of the spray drying machine.

This leaves the whole low heat spray dryer totally without residual moisture.

Can you Customize Low-Temperature Spray Dryer?

Yes, we offer the capability to facilitate a high level of customization to conform to specific requirements.

We provide a wide range of alternatives, add-ons, and components to satisfy unique demands.

For example, you can customize the low-temperature spray dryer to generate powder having low bulk density.

In some instances, a custom spray dryer is the best option for achieving the desired physical properties of the product.

Specifically, in scenarios of a larger low-temperature spray dryer, you need to adapt installations to your site.

You can share your 3-D drawings to help us in integrating CIP liquid skids, powder handling equipment and feed preparation systems.

At Pilotech, we design and manufacture a range of low-temperature spray dryer machines.

Depending on your unique requirements and specification, Pilotech will optimize the machine to your unique spray drying requirements.

For any questions or inquiries, contact Pilotech team now.