Spray Dryer

Principle
The fluid to be dried is atomized into fine droplets, which are thrown radially into a moving stream of hot
gas. Temperature of droplets is immediately increased & fine droplets get dried in the form of spherical
particles. This process completes in few seconds before the droplets reach the wall of dryer.
Construction

It consist of a large cylindrical drying chamber with a short conical bottom, made up of stainless
steel. Diameter of 2.5- 9.0 meters & height 25.0 meters or more.

An inlet for hot air is placed in the roof of the chamber & another inlet carrying spray disk
atomizer is set in the roof.

spray disk atomizer is about 300 mm in diameter & rotates at a speed of 3000 to 50,000 rpm.
Bottom of the dryer is connected to a cyclone separator.

Figure: Spray Dryer

Working
Drying of material in spray dryer involves three stages.
a) Atomization of liquid
The feed is introduced through the atomizer either by gravity or by using suitable
pump to form fine droplets. The properties of final product depends upon the droplet form. Atomizer of
any type:
1. pneumatic atomizer

2. pressure nozzle type

3. spinning disc atomizer
Rate of feed adjusted in a such a way that droplets should be completely dried before reaching
walls of drying chamber.
b) Drying of liquid droplets

Surface of a liquid drop is dried immediately to form a tough shell. Liquid inside must escape
by diffusing through the shell at a particular rate.

Heat transfer from outside to inside takes place at a rate greater than liquid diffusion rate. As a
result, heat inside mounts up which allow the liquid to evaporate. This leads to increase in
internal pressure, which causes droplets to swell.

The shells thickness decreases where as permeability for

vapour increases. If the shell is
neither elastic nor permeable it ruptures & internal pressure escape.

c) Recovery of dried product

Centrifugal force of atomizer drives the droplet to follow helical path. Particles are dried during their
journey & finally fall at the conical bottom.
All these processes are completed in a few seconds. Particle size of the final product ranges from 2 to 500
mm.
Particle size depends upon solid content of the feed, liquid viscosity, feed rate & disc speed.
Capacity of spray dryer =2000 kg/hr
Advantages
1. It is continuous process & drying completes within 3 to 300 sec.
2. Labour cost is low.
3. Product of uniform & controllable size can be obtained.
4. Fine droplets form provide large surface area for heat & mass transfer. Product shows excellent
solubility.
5. Either solution or suspensions or thin paste can be dried in one step to get final product ready for
package.
1. It is continuous process & drying completes within 3 to 300 sec.
2. Labour cost is low.
3. Product of uniform & controllable size can be obtained.
4. Fine droplets form provide large surface area for heat & mass transfer. Product shows excellent
solubility.
5. Either solution or suspensions or thin paste can be dried in one step to get final product ready for
package.
6. Drying of sterile product & Reconstituted product.

7. Globules of an emulsion can be dried with the dispersed phase inside & layer of continuous phase
outside.
Disadvantages
1. It is very bulky & expensive.
2. Such huge equipment is not always easy to operate.
3. The thermal efficiency is low, as much heat is lost in the discharged gases.
Uses
Spray dryers are used compulsorily, if :
1. The product is better form than that obtained by any other dryer.
2. The quantity to be dried is large.
3. The product is thermolabile, hygroscopic or undergo chemical

decomposition.

A few products that are dried using spray dryer are:

Citric acid
Gelatin
Barium sulphate
Detergents
Methyl cellulose
Ferrous sulphate
Pepsin
Vaccines
Penicillin

Calcium sulphate
Acacia
Borax
Fruit juices
Sulphur
Blood
Pancreatin
Hormones
Chloramphenicol

Sodium phosphate
Extracts
Milk
Lactose
Plasma
Vitamins
Serum
Starch

Freeze Dryer
It is also known as lyophilization i.e. system is made solvent loving for removing the same.
Principle
In freeze drying, water is removed from the frozen state by Sublimation i.e. direct change of water from
solid into vapour without conversion to liquid phase. Solid-liquid- vapour equilibrium phase diagram of
water is useful to decide the experimental conditions. The drying is achieved by subjecting material to
temperature & pressure below the triple point. Under these conditions, any heat transferred is used as
latent heat & ice sublimes directly into vapour state. The water vapour is removed from the system by
condensation in a cold trap maintained at a temperature lower than frozen material.
Construction
Freeze dryer consist of:

Drying chamber in which trays are locked.

Heat supply in the form of radiation source, heating coils.

Vapour condensing or adsorption system.

Vacuum pump or steam ejector or both.

Figure: Freeze Dryer

Working
The working of freeze dryer consist of following steps.
1. Preparation & pretreatment
The volume of solution introduced into the container is limited by its capacity. Therefore
pretreatment is essential. The solutions are preconcentrated under the normal vacuum tray drying. This
reduces the actual drying by 8 to 10 times.
2. Prefreezing to solidify water
Vials, ampoules or bottles in which the aqueous solution is packed are frozen in cold
shelves (- 50C). The normal cooling rate is about 1 to 3 Kelvin/ minute so that large ice crystals with
relatively large holes are formed on sublimation of ice. This is also responsible for giving a porous
product.
3. Primary Drying
It means sublimation of ice under vacuum. The temp. & pressure should be below the
triple point of water i.e. 0.0098C & 4.58 mmHg for sublimation, when water is alone present.

When a Solution of a solid is dried, the depression of freezing point of water occurs.
Hence, it is essential that the temperature be brought below the eutectic point. The pressure & temp. at
which the frozen solid vaporizes without conversion to liquid is referred to as the eutectic point.
Depending on the drug substances dissolved in water, the eutectic point is determined. The usual range is
from -10C to -30C.
The conditions of 1 to 8 K below eutectic point is sufficient.
Vacuum is applied to the tune of about 3 mmHg on the frozen sample and the temperature is linearly
increased about 30C in a span of 2 hrs. Heat (About 2900 kilo joules/ Kg) is supplied which transfer as
latent heat & ice sublimes directly into vapour state. As the drying proceeds, thickness of dried solids
increases. Primary drying stage removes easily removable water, about 98% to 99%.
4.

Secondary Drying
It is removable of residual moisture under high Vacuum. The temp. of solid is raised to as
high as 50 to 60C but vacuum is lowered below that is used in primary drying. The rate of drying
is very low & it takes about 10 to 20 hrs.

5. Packing
After vacuum is replaced by inert gas, the bottles & vials are closed.
Uses
It is used for drying of number of product,
1. Blood plasma & its fractionated product.
2. Bacterial & viral culture.
3. Antibiotics & plant extracts.
4. Steroids, vitamins & enzymes.
Advantages
1. Thermolabile substances can be dried.
2. Denaturation does not occur.
3. Migration of salts & other solutes does not take place.
4. Moisture level can be kept as low as possible.
5. Product is porous & uniform.
6. Sterility can be maintained.
7. Material can be dried in its final container such as single dose & multiple dose
Disadvantages
1. The product is prone to oxidation, due to high porosity & large surface area. Therefore, the
product should be packed in vacuum or using inert gas.
2. Equipment & running cost is very high.
3. The period of drying is very high. Time can not be shortened.
4. It is difficult to adopt the method for solutions containing non-aqueous solvents.