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Annatto is composed of a natural reddish-yellow pigment, which is commonly used in thefood, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. This pigment is easily extracted from Bixa orellanu seeds by particle impact and attrition rather than by solvent extraction. Seeds must be dried at a safe temperature to preserve the pigment quality.
Annatto is composed of a natural reddish-yellow pigment, which is commonly used in thefood, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. This pigment is easily extracted from Bixa orellanu seeds by particle impact and attrition rather than by solvent extraction. Seeds must be dried at a safe temperature to preserve the pigment quality.
Annatto is composed of a natural reddish-yellow pigment, which is commonly used in thefood, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. This pigment is easily extracted from Bixa orellanu seeds by particle impact and attrition rather than by solvent extraction. Seeds must be dried at a safe temperature to preserve the pigment quality.
Production of Annatto Concentrates in Spouted Beds
G. MASSARANI, M. L. PASSOS21* and D. W. BARRET03 - PEQKOPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil - DEQ, Federal University of Minas Gerais, P.O. 1294, 30.000 - Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil - DPO/EQ, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil AnMttO is composed of a natural reddish-yellow pigment, which is commonly used in thefood, cosmetic and phar- maceutical industries. This pigment iseasily extracted from Bixa orellanu seeds by particle impact and attrition rather than by solvent extraction. Seeds must be dried at a safe temperature to preserve thepigment quality. Experiments show that the annatto powder produced in a non-conventional spouted bedhasa high pigment content and is thus suitable for commercial use. A comparativeanalysis of thebixin extraction in different systems demonstrates that this spouted bedunit can becompetitivefor commercial applications. Hydrodynamic and drying parameters werestudied to improve the powder production ratein this unit. Lannatto est composedun pigment nature1 jaune-rouge, qui est communkment utilisi dans lindustrie de lalimenta- tion, des cosmktiques et des produits phannaceutiques. Cepigment est facilement extrait des graines de Bku Orellanu par Iimpact et Iattrition des particules plutBt que par Iextraction au solvant. Les graines doivent Ctresichkes ?tune tempkraturepennettant de priserver la qualitk du pigment. Les experiences montrent que la poudredannatto produite dans un lit jaillissant non conventionnel prtsente uneforte teneur enpigment et quelleconvient 2 uneutilisation com- merciale. Une analysecomparativedelextraction debixine dans diffkrents systbmes montre quecette unitt de lit jail- lissant peut Ctrecompktitive pour des applications commerciales. On a 6tudi6 les parambtres hydrodynamiques et de skhage afin damtliorer letaux deproduction dannatto dans cette unitk. Keywords: conical spouted bed, particle attrition, annatto production, drying seeds. ixa orellana is a tropical shrub which grows quickly B in Brazil, the Caribbean, India, East Africa, etc. Its seeds are composed of an inner seed with a shelled kernel containing oils, waxy substances, mineral ash and a poisonous alkaloid (Dendy, 1966), a peel comprised of cel- lulose and tannins, and an outer covering containing pig- ments, moisture, cellulose, sugar and a small amount of oils. The chief pigment in this outer covering is the red carote- noid bixin (about 90% of the total pigments). The bixin must be removed and concentrated to form annatto. Annatto is widely used for coloring foodstuffs, wax polishes, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. The bixin is preferred to syn- thetic pigments due to its lack of toxicity. Annatto is avail- able in powders, pastes and oil or alkaline solutions. The popular technique to obtain this pigment is organic solvent extraction (Dendy , 1966). A high transportation cost for untreated seeds and a low percent (2 to 4%) of useful pigment extracted from the seed are the main reasons for reducing the applicability of this technique in Brazil. As a result, B. orellana seeds normally are exported. A search for a practical technique to produce annatto concentrates becomes economically interesting nowadays, because of increasing regulation of the use of synthetic additives in food products. As shown by GuimarIes et al. (1989), the bixin can be extracted from dried seeds by particle impact and attrition. This technique involves the use of simple equipment suitable to be installed at the plantation. This allows a low operation cost for annatto production. To apply this technique, seeds must be dried at a low temperature to preserve the pigment quality. As pointed out by McKeown and Mark (1962), the bixin undergoes a complex series of isomerization and degra- dation reactions at high temperature, resulting in a yellow product with a little pigmentary value. A high particle attrition rate and a safe seed drying tem- perature can be simultaneously achieved in a single spouted bed unit. The main objective of this work is to identify the ~. _ _ _ ~_ *To whomcorrespondence may be addressed appropriate hydrodynamic and drying operation parameters for producing annatto concentrates in a conical spouted bed. A draft-tube is also inserted in this unit in order to reduce the pressure drop and the air flowrate at minimum spouting. To analyze the applicability of this proposed system, a comparative study of the bixin extraction efficiency in different mechanical systems is developed. Experimental program EQUIPMENT Figure 1 shows a schematic of the experimental spouted bed unit. The spouted bed (SB) column with 60 conical base was made of galvanized iron. An acrylic window in the cylin- drical section allowed observation of the spouting regime operation. A standard 2 Sch. 40 pipe (i.e. =5.25 cm) was used as the inlet nozzle. Air flowrates were measured by a pitot tube connected to a water manometer. Static taps located at the inlet nozzle pipe and at the bed top recorded the total pressure drop and the spouting pressure drop. These taps were also connected to water manometers. The draft-tube used was 5.25 cm diameter by 50 cmlong, adjustable at three entrainment lengths (0.06, 0.08 and 0.11 m). EXPERIMENTS B. orellana seed properties are described in Table 1. Phys- ical properties were measured following the procedures presented by Barreto et al. (1989). The initial moisture con- tent (m,) was determined by weighing samples dried over 24 h in an oven at 105C. The correlations proposed by Becker (see Passos, 1991) were used to determine the seed solid density at m,. The seed bixin content (cb) was deter- mined by spectrophotometric methods following extraction using chloroform as the solvent (Guimariies, 1988). Seed A was composed of different B. orellana species from several 954 THE CANADIAN J OURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 70, OCTOBER. 1992 SB column spect ro- photometer concent rat e < pressure - 0 a Y Y 0.8 a 4 a 0 0.6- L u cz 3 m m 0. 4 a cont r ol E pv- t herio I pressure con t ro 1 l-, top vo I ve I X - I u p i l o t tube heat er t herwcoup I es b l o w Figure 1 - Schematic of experimental apparatus. (All dimensions in mm). TABLE 1 Seed Characterization Properties Experimental Measured value seed A seed B (%) d,, (mm) 3.32 3.21 1 E, , q ( -) 0.45 0.44 3 P, (kg/m3) 1310* 1310* 1 4 (-) 0.64 0.79 1-3 q, (kg waterikg dried seeds) 0.150 0.165 3-4 ch (%) 2.03 1.25 *at m =0.08 (kg water/kg dried seeds) plantations in Rio de J aneiro. Seed B was from a single plan- tation also located in Rio de J aneiro. Both seeds had an irregular pyramidal shape. The thickness of their outer covering was between 0.07 to 0.1 mm (Electronic Micro- scope, Cambridge - 250MK3). The minimum spouting conditions were determined from pressure drop vs. air flowrate curves obtained at different bed heights (0.20 <H <0.40 m). The blower (IBRAM - ER6) limited the experiments to H <0.30 m in beds without a draft-tube (NDT beds). The ambient air tem- perature and relative humidity were, respectively, 22C and 65%. The inlet air temperature (TG,) was maintained at 40C. Solids circulation rates (& were measured following the technique proposed by Muir et al. (1990). A conical sepa- rator collected the solids emerging from the spout top over a given time. This separator was located few centimeters above the spout or draft-tube top. Annatto powder rates ( I!'p) were determined from the amount of collected powder vs. operating time curves. The time elapsed for starting-up the system was calculated to be one hour. The bixin recovery was estimated by measuring the powder bixin content (chp) and comparing this with the seed bixin content (q,). Each experiment was replicated at least twice. The mean experimental errors were, respeccvely, 3%, 4.5% and less than 3% for AP vs. V; curves, M and The following procedure has been established to determine the maximum drying temperature (T,,,) above which the a a a SPOUT l a UNSTABLE 1 a 0.01 0 10 20 30 40 I NLEI RI R VELOCI TY, Vi ( d s ) Figure 2 - Spouting pressure drop vs. inlet spouting air veloclty curve in beds of seed B for decreasing the air flowrate. No draft tube. H =0.28 m. bixin thermal degradation occurs: ( I ) collect the amount of powder produced during the spouting operation performed at ambient temperature; (2) sample the powder fraction with size distribution lower than 100 standard Tyler mesh; (3) measure chp of these samples; (4) dry each sample in the oven over 24 h at a constant temperature (40 to l0OOC). The powder temperature is supposed to be equal to the oven tem- perature after 24 h; (5) measure cl,,, of each dried sample: (6) determine TM from the powder bixin content vs. drying temperature curve assuming 5% as the maximum permis- sible variation of Ch9. Batch drying experiments were also carried out in the con- ical SB unit to specify the time required to dry the seeds. The mass of seeds used (M) varied from 10 to 12.5 kg. Ambient air flowrate was fixed at 0.066 m3/s with 40 <TGi <120C. Samples collected each 10 minutes were used to determine the seed temperature and the moisture content as a function of the drying time. The seed tempera- ture was measured following the procedure described by Becker and Sallans (1961). Experimental results and discussion MI NI MUM SPOUTING A typical AP vs. V; curve obtained i n NDT beds by decreasing the air flowrate is illustrated in Figure 2. This curve can be divided into three regions based on the flow regimes observed: a stable spouting with well defined foun- tain, annulus and spout regions (Vi >V,, - I .5 Y,,,,,,); an unstable spouting characterized by large pressure fluctuations (Vi,,,, <V; <Vis.v); a fixed bed regime characterized by the decrease of the spouting pressure drop with the reduction of air flowrates (Vi <V,,n,$). Pham (1983) and Passos (1991) have reported a similar unstable regime at minimum spouting. The internal spout- jet discontinuously breaks the bed surface, resulting in pressure fluctuations. The annulus, fountain and spout regions are not well formed, and solids circulate around the internal spout cavity. Such an instability retards the traditional spouting regime. Passos (1991) suggests that this instability is characteristic of the SB systems with a low inlet jet momentum. Both the low sphericity of the B. orelluna seeds and the high inlet nozzle diameter used THE CANADIAN J OURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 70, OCTOBER, 1992 95s curv-e>--- I t w _J z curve I c1 /, c n I" L 1 I L L /' <*> 0 1 - *. LL /' 8 "' 0 6 . ' z . . 0.5L 0 70 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 BED HEIGHT - H ( n ) / I' , . . 0.5L 0.70 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 BED HEIGHT - H ( n ) contribute to reduce the inlet air jet momentum at minimum spouting . obtained are presented in Figures 3a and 3b, as a function of H. The effect of bed height on these parameters has been analyzed by PovrenoviC et al. (1987). These authors developed a semi-theoretical model to predict the minimum spouting conditions in conical beds of spherical particles. Charbel (1992) modified this model by introducing the effect of particle sphericity in the equa- tions proposed by PovrenoviC et al. (1987). The predicted curves (APlns vs. H and vi m, vs. H ) obtained from this modified model are also plotted in Figures 3a and 3b. As seen in Figure 3a, this model can predict quite well AP,,, vs. H data. However, it underestimates the V,,n,, vs. H data (Figure 3b). This disagreement between the predicted and experimental data should be related to the inlet fluid-jet characteristics. PovrenoviC et al. (1987) have assumed that the fluid velocity in the top of the spout at minimum spouting is equal to the minimum fluidization velocity. However, this velocity should behigher than the minimum fluidization one The values of AP,, and TABLE 2 Minimum Spouting in Conical Beds with Draft-tubes (Seed B) - L,. =0.06 m M H v,,,, AP,,,, v,,,,, AP,,,, (kg) (m) Ws) (Pa) (in/\) (Pa) 10.0 0.28 12.0 302 13.9 359 15.0 0. 33 12.8 331 16.3 406 20.0 0.36 12.8 354 16.3 434 L, =0.08 I l l in SB systems with a low inlet jet momentum, as suggested by the results of Epstein and Chandnani (1987). The best equation for predicting V;,,,s vs. H data is that of Wan- Fyong et al. (1969) (Mathur and Epstein, 1974). as shown in Figure 3b. The experimental values of AP,,, and V,,,,, obtained in beds with a draft-tube are presented in Table 2 . A compar- ison between these data and those predicted in Figure 3 yields: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AP, , , , =kl APtIlsINDT ( 1 ) V,,,,/L, =k2 Vlnr~NDT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 2 ) with k l =0.43 and k2 =0.66 for L , =0.06 m; k , =0.52 and k2 =0.82 for L, =0.08 m. Equations (1) and (2) are in agreement with the results of Claflin and Fane (1984). As pointed out by these authors, minimum spouting is reached at lower pressure drop and air flowrate due to the reduction of the amount of fluid flowing from the spout to the annulus with the insertion of the draft-tube. The experiments show a considerable reduction of the total pressure drop (up to 40%) when a draft-tube i s inserted. This pressure drop is required to operate the unit. and it includes mainly the frictional loss for nozzle enlargement and top con- traction, the cyclone and the spouting pressure. Therefore, the use of a draft-tube assures lower investment and opera- tion costs for the blower for producing annatto concentrates. SOLIDS CIRCULATION AND ANNATTO POWDER RATES Solids circulation rates (& obtained in beds with a draft- tube are presgnted in Figure 4, as a function of V, , L,, and H. Data of M in NDT beds are too few to be plotted in Figure 4. As mentioned earlier, the blower power capacity limited these experiments to H <0.30, m and V, - V, , , . However, for H =0.28 m, the value of Mobtained is almost constant (= 0.47 kgi s) in the range of 35.6 5 V, 5 42.6 m/s. From Figure 4, it %an beinferrsd that the effect of draft- tubes is to decrease M (0.09 <M <0.3 kg/s). The effect of bed height on solids circulation seems negligible in the range of 0.23 5 H 5 0.39 m. Muir et al. (1990) developed a very elucidative analysis about the effect of draft-tubes on solids circulation. They have shown that the spout-jet expazsion at the draft-tube inlet affects decisively the value of M. The solids circulation rates increases, passes through a ma5imum and then decreases as Vi increases. The maximum M occurs when thc spout-jet diameter equals to draft-tube diameter. The solids motion at the draft-tube entrance is characterized by fluctuations of the solids inflow to the jet and by the formation of particle 956 THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 70. OCTOBER. I9Y2 TABLE 3 Annatto Powder Production in Conical Beds with Draft-tube (Seed A) 0.01 1 19.5 24.5 29.5 34. 5 39.5 INLEI AIR VELOCITY. V ; ( d s ) Figure4 - Solids circulation rates vs. inlet spouting air velocity curves in beds of seed B with draft tube. fl 10 20 30 40 OPERRTING TI ME. 1 ( h ) Figure5 - Annatto powder production vs. operation timecurves in beds of seeds A. Curves 1 , 2 and 3: 6 =33.4 m/s, L, =0.06 m and H =0.23; 0.30 and 0.39 m, respectively. Curve 4: V, =33.4 m/s, L, = 0.08 m and H =0.40 m. Curve5: V, =29.3 m/s, L, =0.11 m andH =0.40 m. clusters. The intensive motion at the draft-tube entrance can improve the impact and attrition between the seeds and the draft-tube wall. Therefore, an increased production should occur in beds with a draft-tube. To analyze the powder production mechanism in beds with a draft-tube, Wp vs. t is plotted in Figure 5 as a function of H and L, . (Seed A had to be used in these experiments due to the large amount of seed required). As shown in Figure 5, the initial period of producing annatto powder is character- ized by a constant value of kp (=dWp /&). This initial period extends up to Wp - 50 g/kg, where kp changes to a lower value. Upon decreasing L,, kp increases, at least for the initial period. From Figures 4 and 5, it can be inferred that be$ with a draft-tube of L, =0.06 m should present a low M, but a high kp. Experiments confinnoan increase of 15% in kP against a reduction of 53% in M, when the draft-tube has been inserted into the bed at L, =0.06 m. The inten- sive solids motion at the draft-tube entrance is presumed to bethe main reason for this result. A reduction of L, causes: (a) the draft-tube entrance to be closer to the inlet solids M H " i L, % t (kg) (m) (m/s) (m) (g/kg . h) (h) 25.0 0.40 29.3 0.11 2.6 6 - 15 25.0 0.40 33.4 0.08 3.9 6 - 12 23.5 0.39 33.4 0.06 6.1 3 - 8 12.5 0.30 33.4 0.06 12.4 2 - 5 6.0 0.23 33.4 0.06 26.4 I - 2.5 TABLE 4 Bixin Recovery in the Conical Spouted Bed Unit (Seed A) ~~ ~~ 6.0 0.06 30 164 11.0 89 12.5 0.06 30 118 12.4 72 23.5 0.06 30 90 15.7 70 25.0 0.08 30 92 14.8 67 25.0 0.11 30 64 18.3 58 entrainment region; (b) the amount of inlet air to be larger in the draft-tube entrance. Both should contribute to improve the particle-wall impact and attrition. Experiments are in progress in a half conical column to analyze the effect of the draft-tube and spout-jet dimensions on the particle-wall attrition. From Table 3, it is seen that kp increases monotonically with the reduction of H (or M) at the initial powder produc- tion period. This behavior can be explained by the decreay of the average particle cycle time as Hi s reduced. Since M does not vary with H for a given L,, the average particle cycle time (= M/M) is directly proportional to M or H. There- fore, in a given time interval, more powder is produced as there are more particle passes through the draft-tube inlet. These results also suggest the use of internal solid baffles and/or inert rigid particles to improve the particle-wall impact and attrition. However, caution is needed to prevent particle grinding and breakage. BIXIN RECOVERY The annatto production and the bixin recovery results obtained at 30 hours of spouting operation in beds with a draft-tube are presented in Table 4. The first observation is about the high level of the bixin recovery obtained, mainly with L, =0.06 m. Measurements of cbp in the four different size fractions of the powder produced indicate the following distribution: Particle size cbp (%o) (Tyler standard sieve) +48 mesh 6.1 fine size -48 +65 mesh -65 +100 mesh ::::I ultrafine size -100 mesh 20.2 ( cbp =16.1%). ("+" =greater than or equal to, "-" =lower than). THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 70, OCTOBER, 1992 957 TABLE 5 Annatto Production in Different Equipment (Seed A) n Lu 2 4 - D a ~~ ~~~ Mill'b' 25.0 - 35 65 23.9 77 50.0 - 35 42 22.2 46 (120 L; 12.5 6.25 10 97 14.5 69 0.7 s-I) 21.0 10.50 10 74 14.4 53 Lab. 0.500 0.732 2 21 11.4 12 Mill"' 0.500 0.732 3 41 8.7 18 (1 L; 0.500 1.027 3 83 7.7 31 1.2 s-I) 0.335 1.540 2 215 5.4 57* (a) porcelain balls with diameter =2 cm. (b) "Metalin Indlistria de MBquinas Ltda.", J aragua do Sul, (c) "Chiarotti", MauB, Sfio Paulo, Brazil. *seed grinding. Santa Catarina, Brazil. The commercial annatto powder concentrate (Meer Cor- poration, 1980) has a cbp between 8 to 12%, with 97% of fines lower than 60 mesh. These data assure a possible com- mercialization of the ultrafine annatto powder produced in the unit proposed. A sample of the powder produced here has been used to color cheeses by a Brazilian butter and cheese producer. The results obtained are excellent, sur- passing the annatto powder color quality used in that specific industry. The results obtained by Barreto et al. (1989) in other mechanical systems suitable to perform the bixin extraction are summarized in Table 5. The ball mill equipment is com- petitive with the SB unit. The operating time to produce the same amount of annatto powder at the same bixin recovery is one-third that of the conical bed with L, =0.06 m. Although the ball mill equipment seems more attractive, the powder must be safely dried in other equipment; the conical SB unit can perform both processes, the safe seed drying and the mechanical bixin extraction. The powder obtained in the SB unit has a lower moisture content (- 0.06) and is ready for storage. DRYING The maximum temperature to dry B. orellanu seeds without loosing the bixin pigment quality is 60"C, as shown in Figure 6. The preliminary data from the batch drying operation in the conical beds show that m varies linearly with the drying time form, I m I 0.75 m, and 40 <TGi <120C. One hour is the time required to reduce m to 0.75 m,. The maximum TGi to assure a safe seed drying operation is 114C. Experiments are in development to identify the effect of TGi on the amount and size of the powder produced in the unit with draft-tube. Conclusions The conical spouted bed unit with a draft-tube can well perform mechanical bixin extraction from Bixu orellanu seeds, especially when Le =0.06 m and 0.23 I H 5 0.30 m. The use of a draft-tube assures a good hydrodynamic operation, a low blower power requirement 8 30 45 60 15 90 I05 DRYING PDYDER TEMPERnTURC ('C) Figure 6 - Powder drying temperaturevs. bixin content curve (Seed B). TABLE 6 Operation Conditions for the Conical Spouted Bed Unit Geometric parameters L, (m) 0.06 H (m) (or M =6 kg) 0.23 Air flowrate (m3/s) 0.07 Hydrodynamic parameters* Total pressure drop (Pa) 4,400 Drying parameters TGI ("(3 60- 114 Drying time (h) 2 - 1 Bed Temperature ("C) 5 60 Final moisturecontent 0.75 ni,, *reference: ambient air. and a high annatto powder production rate. The mechanism of powder production in these beds seems to be governed by the characteristics of the spout formation in the inlet nozzle region. A low draft-tube entrainment length and a low bed height lead to a large annatto powder production rate. The powder bixin content and the bixin recovery are high, and permit commercialization of the proposed conical spouted bed with draft-tube process. The minimum spouting parameters required to operate the unit are specified as a function of draft-tube entrainment lengths and bed heights. For L, =0.06 m and 0.23 I H I 0.30 m, 9.5 I Vim, I 12.2 m/s; 263 I APmr I 318 Pa and the blower power less than 0.3 kW. The maximum seed temperature for preserving the bixin pigment and the maximum air inlet temperature for one hour of drying seeds are also determined as being 60 and 114"C, respectively. The appropriate hydrodynamic and drying operation parameters obtained here for producing annatto concentrates in the proposed conical SB unit are summarized in Table 6. Under these conditions, the annatto powder production rate is expected to increase (up to 1.5 of the powder production rate obtained at 40C) due to the reduction of the seed moisture content. Nomenclature cb Cb,, =seed bixin content (kg bixin/kg wet seed) =powder bixin content (kg bixinikg wet powder) 958 THE CANADIAN J OURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 70, OCTOBER, 1992 =volume-equivalent particle diameter (mor mm) =expanded bed height (m) k , and k, =constants in Equations (I ) and (2) (-) =draft-tube entrainment length (m) =seed moisture content - dry basis (kg water/kg =initial seed moisture content - dry basis (kg =mass holdup (kg) =solids circulation rate (kg/s) =no draft tube =spouted bed =time (h or min) =temperature (C) =inlet spouting air temperature (C) =maximum temperature for drying seeds (C) =inlet spouting air velocity, based on the inlet =inlet minimum spouting air velocity (m/s) =inlet stable spouting air velocity (m/s) =amount of powder produced/amount of seed =rate of powder produced/amount of seed processed dried seed) waterlkg dried seed) nozzle area (m/s) processed (g/kg) Wkg h) Greek letters AP AP,,,, h Z / P, =solid density (kg/m3) 4 =particle sphericity (-) References =spout pressure drop (Pa) =minimum spouting pressure drop (Pa) =void fraction at minimum fluidization or minimum spouting (-) Barreto, D. W. , L. M. J aeger and G. Massarani, Production of Bixin Concentrates, in Proceedings of XVII Meeting of Flow through Porous Medium, D. J . M. Sartori and A. M. Silveira, Eds., Sio Carlos, SP (1989), pp. 175-184. Becker, H. A. and H. R. Sallans, Drying Wheat in a Spouted Bed, Chern. Eng. Sci. 13(3), 97-112 (1961). Charbel, A.. Modeling a Conical Spouted Bed for Drying Pastes, Master Thesis, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG (1992). Claflin, J . K. and A. G. Fane, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer and Drying inSpouted Beds with Draft Tubes, in Drying 84. A. S. Mujumdar, Ed., Hemisphere McGraw-Hill, New York Dendy, D. A. V. , Annatto, the Pigment ofBi , w orellarici, East Afr. Agric. For. J ., 126-132 (Oct., 1966). Epstein, N. and P. P. Chandnani, Gas Spouting Characteristics of Fine Particles, Chem. Eng. Sci. 42, 2977-2981 (1987). Guimaries, I. S. S., General Information about the Pigment from Bixa orellana Seeds, Technical Report, EMBRAPA, Rio de J aneiro, Brazil (1988). Guimaries, I . S. S., A. L. S. Barbosa and G. Massarani, Notes about the Production of Bixin Concentrates in Spouted Beds, Rev. Bras. de Eng. Quim. (Brazilian J . Chem. Eng.) 12(2), 22-23 (1989). Mathur, K. B. and N. Epstein, Spouted Beds, Academic Press. New York (1974), p. 38. McKeown, G. G. and E. Mark, The Composition of Oil-Soluble Annatto Food Colors, J . Assoc. Off. Agric. Cheni. 45, 761-766 (1962). Meer Corporation, Annatto Technical Information Catalog. North Bergen, NJ (1980). Muir, J . R., F. Berruti and L. A. Behie, Solids Circulation i n Spouted and Spout-Fluid Beds with Draft-Tubes. Chem. Eng. Commun. 88, 153-171 (1990). Passos, M. L., Flow Characteristics of Two-Dimensional Spouted and Spout-Fluidized Beds of Particles, Ph.D. Thesis, McGill University, Montreal, PQ (1991). Pham, Q. T., Behaviour of a Conical Spouted-Bed Dryer f or Animal Blood, Can. J . Chem. Eng. 61, 426-134 (1983). PovrenoviC, D. S. , DZ. E. HadiismajloviC, Z. B. GrbavtiC, D. V. VukoviC and H. Littman, Minimum Fluid Flowrate. Pressure Drop and Stability of a Conical Spouted Bed, in Proceedings 91h Int. Cong. of Chem. Eng. (CHISA 87), E9.27, Prague. Czechoslovakia, August 31 - September 4 (1987). Wan-Fyong, F., P. G. Romankov and N. B. Rashkovskaya. Research on the Hydrodynamics of the Spouting Bed. Zh. Prikl. Khim. (Leningrad) 42, 609 (1969). (1984), pp. 137-141. Manuscript received October I , 1991; revised manuscript received J une 12, 1992; accepted for publication J une 16. 1992. THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 70, OCTOBER, 1992 959