Spray dryers: Industrial and pilot spray drying systems

Dedert's new range of spray dryers, built around the innovative, patented high speed rotary atomizer, adds to its expansive portfolio of leading evaporation and drying technologies and enhances Dedert's reputation for quality and performance. Dedert’s new innovative Air Bearing Atomizer (ABA) incorporates a permanent magnet motor with advanced air-bearing technology. This innovative design eliminates the need for high-maintenance gear drives, belts, bearings, and lubrication systems. The ABA is a compact and mechanically robust design, offering low maintenance and high reliability compared with conventional atomizer technologies, and can accommodate a broad range of liquid feeds, including abrasive products. Dedert Atomizers are provided complete with variable speed drive and a fully automated PLC-based utility control and monitoring system. Learn more about spray drying.

Spray drying technology and innovations | Air bearing atomizer (ABA) - An oil free solution

Single and multi-stage spray dryers

The spray drying system can be in single or multiple stages with integrated fluid bed processing. The fluid bed system is typically provided for post drying, agglomeration, conditioning and cooling. Dedert's spray drying systems are available from pilot scale up to 20,000 kg/hr evaporation.

Single stage spray dryers

The single-stage spray dryer is the most common and flexible solution for drying a full range of products in the food and chemical industries. Dedert's spray dryers are equipped with a proprietary hot gas distributor, which ensures optimum contact with the drying medium in the drying chamber. The liquid feed is dried to a fine powder in the drying chamber and discharged from the cone bottom or conveyed with the exhaust air to a primary separator, either cyclones or a dust filter. The drying configuration is primarily co-current but can be offered in other configurations depending on the specific application. For heat sensitive and difficult-to-dry products, integrated cooling for the chamber, roof and hot gas distributor are provided.

Multi-stage spray dryers

Dedert's multi-stage spray dryers include the following equipment/features:

Rotary or nozzle atomization with adjustable design for optimal contact of atomized droplet and powder fines
Production of non-dusty, free-flowing products
Powder is easily dispersible and re-wetable
Lower bulk density and particle size from 100 - 500 microns
Agglomeration using fines recycle and re-introduction to an atomization zone and/or Fluid Bed
Integrated Fluid Bed design to handle more difficult products and improve drying efficiency
External Fluid Bed design for final drying, processing and powder cooling
Complete 'Clean In Place' systems available
Dust explosion protection to latest NFPA, Atex, VDI requirements
Direct and indirect heating using a wide range of heat sources
Proprietary 2-stage cyclone discharge systems for improved powder collection
Wet 'Clean In Place' dust collector available
Air dehumidification systems available
Energy recovery

Dedert offers spray dryers in a fully modular design for customers looking for a small scale production plant. The multi-stage dryer has the flexibility to operate as a single-stage, two-stage or three-stage dryer. It is pre-piped and pre-wired for ease of installation and has an evaporation capacity of 150-200 kg/hr water. It has both internal and external fluid bed units for drying, cooling and conditioning. The dryer features both rotary and nozzle atomization, and powder agglomeration is possible with a fines return system. Heating systems are either indirect or direct-fired with gas. An hygienic food-grade design is available with multiple heating options.

Advantages of Dedert’s air bearing atomizer:

Oil-free & contact-free: This atomizer is oil and contact free running on instrument air with no lubrication system necessary.
Simple & ultra-sanitary: The oil-free operation prevents risk of product contamination for food-grade applications while simplifying maintenance and sanitation requirements. All internal parts are FDA compliant, featuring stainless-steel construction and a lightweight Titanium disc.
Sustainable & energy-efficient: The permanent magnet motor technology is 95% efficient with the capability to achieve high power levels and high disc-tip speeds, which enhances the sustainability index value and lowers overall CO₂ emissions due to reduced energy consumption.
Reliable and low-maintenance: The robust atomizer has only one moving part, which eliminates premature wear-and-tear, reduces spare parts usage, and lowers maintenance requirements such as bearing-changes. In addition, a rotatable maintenance stand is provided for ease of servicing and cleaning.
Immediately compatible with existing installations.
Complete strategic units held in storage in Chicago, IL.
Easy to maintain and service.

Advantages of rotary versus nozzle atomization:

Product particle size can be easily adjusted via disc speed control.
Rotary atomization eliminates the need for a high pressure feed pump, piping and multiple nozzles.
Rotary atomizer can handle products with higher solids and viscosity.

Dedert can provide a complete liquid concentration to dry product plant for the food and chemical industries. Dedert spray dryers are used in the food industry for products such as: ingredients, spices, sweeteners, flavors, botanicals, nutraceuticals, vitamins, minerals, emulsions, flavors, proteins, yeast, starches and sugars. For the chemical industry, Dedert spray dryers are used for products such as: specialty chemicals, inorganic chemicals, minerals, pigments and dyestuffs, and ceramics.