Journal of Food Engineering 66 (2005) 2534 www.elsevier.

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Spray drying of tomato pulp in dehumidied air: I. The eect on product recovery
Athanasia M. Goula, Konstantinos G. Adamopoulos
Received 14 October 2003; accepted 23 February 2004

Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Laboratory of Food Process Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 University Campus, Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract This work investigates the performance of a modied spray dryer for tomato powder preparation by spray drying of tomato pulp. A pilot scale spray dryer (Buchi, B-191) with cocurrent operation and a two-uid nozzle atomizer was employed for the spray drying process. The modication made to the original design consisted in connecting the spray dryer inlet air intake to an absorption air dryer. Samples of tomato pulp with a 14% constant total solids concentration were used. Sixty-four dierent experiments were conducted keeping constant the feed rate, the feed temperature and the atomizer pressure, and varying the compressed air ow rate, the ow rate of drying rate and the air inlet temperature. Data for the residue remaining on the walls and for the product collected in the receiving vessel were gathered. Analysis of experimental data yielded correlations between product recovery and the variable operating conditions. The modied spray drying system was proved advantageous over the standard laboratory spray dryer. Preliminary air dehumidication reduced residue accumulation, allowing the product to be dried at lower air outlet temperatures. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dehumidication; Powder; Product recovery; Residue accumulation; Spray drying; Stickiness; Tomato pulp

1. Introduction Spray drying involves atomization of feed into a spray and contact between spray and drying medium resulting in moisture evaporation. The products to be spray dried can be categorized into two major groups: non-sticky and sticky products. Sticky products are generally dicult to spray dry. During the drying process they may remain as syrup or stick on the dryer wall, or form unwanted agglomerates in the dryer chamber and conveying system resulting in lower product yields and operating problems. Some of the examples of such sticky products are fruit and vegetable juice powders, honey powders and amorphous lactose powder. The non-sticky products can be dried using a simpler dryer design and the powder obtained is relatively less hygroscopic and more free owing.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +30-2310-996205/995903; fax: +302310-996259. E-mail address: costadam@eng.auth.gr (K.G. Adamopoulos). 0260-8774/$ - see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2004.02.029

The problem of powder stickiness is mainly due to the low glass transition temperature (Tg ) of the low molecular weight sugars present in such products, essentially sucrose, glucose and fructose (Bhandari, Senoussi, Dumoulin, & Lebert, 1993; Roos, Karel, & Kokini, 1996). Spray drying is a fast process, which produces dry product in an amorphous (glassy) from. Solids in an amorphous state have a very high viscosity (>1012 Pa s) and as the temperature rises during drying, the viscosity decreases to a critical value of around 107 Pa s where they rst become sticky (Bhandari, Datta, Crooks, Howes, & Rigby, 1997a). This critical viscosity is reached at temperatures 1020 C above Tg and these temperatures decrease with an increase in water content (Roos & Karel, 1991a). It can be, therefore, assumed that the temperature of the particle surface during drying should not reach 1020 C above Tg (Bhandari & Howes, 1999; Mitsuiki, Yamamoto, Mizuno, & Motoki, 1998). As a consequence, high molecular weight additives, which have a very high Tg and raise the Tg of the feed, are usually added to the spray dryer feed to achieve successful drying at feasible drying temperature condi-

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tions. Maltodextrins are the most common drying aids used at present (Bhandari, Datta, & Howes, 1997b; Roos & Karel, 1991b). Tomato pulp is a typical example of a product that is very dicult to be spray dried due to the low glass transition temperature of the low molecular weight sugars present. The sugars found in tomato products are mainly dextrose and levulose with a Tg of 31 and 5 C, respectively (Bhandari et al., 1997b). A spray drying plant capable of producing a free-owing product that on reconstitution compares favorably with tomato paste has been designed featuring a co-current drying chamber that has a jacketed wall for air-cooling. Cooling air intake is controlled to enable close maintenance of wall temperature in the range of 3850 C. The paste is sprayed into the drying air entering the chamber at a temperature of 138150 C (Gransmith, 1971; Jayaraman & Das Gupta, 1995; Masters, 1979; Spicer, 1974). The cool chamber wall will be favorable to minimize the thermoplastic particles from sticking, as the wall will be cold enough to cool and solidify the outer surface of the thermoplastic particles coming in contact. This method, however, was found to improve the process but not to resolve the problem. The reason is that the cold chamber wall will also cool the surrounding environment and cause an increase in the relative humidity of the air close to the wall surface. An alternative approach to the above process has been the Birs Tower process. The drying takes place in a very tall tower into which the tomato juice is introduced as a spray at a predetermined height. The whole drying process relies on the time-delayed fall of the product droplets and the very low temperature (not exceeding 30 C) of the upward airow. In this way, explosion-type evaporation is avoided and the particles are not exposed to high temperatures likely to damage their organoleptic properties (Goose & Binsted, 1964; Gransmith, 1971). The cost of building and operating such towers is so high today that this design of tomato dryer is no longer realistic (Bhandari et al., 1997b). Another system capable of producing a free-owing product is a scraped surface drying chamber. This method can be very useful for relatively less thermoplastic sugar such as lactose or sucrose. Karatas (1989) developed an experimental spray dryer with a chamber wall scraper specically to dry tomato juice. The product recovery was up to 77% with a low inlet air temperature (115 C). Introduction of cool air at the lower part of the dryer chamber resulting in the formation of a solid particle surface can also reduce the stickiness of the powder particles (Ponting, Stanley, & Copley, 1973). However, a limited amount of air can only be introduced because the cooling process will also raise the relative humidity of the air that can once again aggravate the situation by

increasing the surface moisture level (Bhandari et al., 1997b). According to Karatas and Esin (1994), during air drying of tomato concentrate droplets the constant rate period was passed within about half a minute in all cases. Upon termination of the surface drying, the diffusional falling rate period exhibited discontinuities with drying rate falling to zero occasionally and then restarting with a drying rate dierent from the previous period. This behavior is a typical consequence of case hardening phenomena. When moisture migration is directed from inside of the particle towards the surface and becomes lower than the rate of the moisture evaporation from the surface, the surface becomes very dry and hard. Hereby a thin layer which is non-permeable to water is formed which locks in the remaining moisture inside the particle or the drop. Drying stops at this point and the average moisture content becomes constant. Though there is no net drying during the case hardened state, internal diusion continues. Since rate of output is zero, moisture accumulates in the hardened volume and plasticizing action proceeds outward. When the surface layer is plasticized to a sucient degree, drying restarts and persists until rate of internal supply plus moisture accumulated in the surface shell volume can meet the drying rate. To provide a smooth drying operation any case hardening, drying rate must be low. For this, it is possible to operate either at low temperature or increase the humidity of the medium, or both as to keep the surface of the drying material plasticized (Karatas & Esin, 1994; Szentmarjay, Pallai, & Regenyi, 1996). Prolonged drying could, however, cause severe degradation in the sensory and the nutritional properties of the tomato. In experiments conducted using a standard laboratory spray dryer with inlet air temperatures of 110140 C, outlet air temperatures of 6691 C and drying air ow rates of 17.5022.75 m3 /h, product yields ranged from 13% to 28%, suggesting the existence of areas for improvement in the spray drying process (Goula & Adamopoulos, 2003). Moisture content of the tomato powders varied from 4.16% to 11.27% wb. In all experiments, tomato powder showed a noticeable tendency to stick to internal surfaces of the dryer, as the surface of the drying droplets remains plastic because of the high temperatures. Standard spray drying units do not allow ecient drying at low temperatures at the outlet due to the suciently high humidity content of air, and, therefore, preliminary dehumidication of air is necessary before its supply to the drying unit. The objectives of this work were to investigate the performance of a modied spray dryer for tomato powder preparation under various operating conditions, and study the eects of preliminary air dehumidication on product recovery. The eect of system modication on the main powder properties was investigated in

A.M. Goula, K.G. Adamopoulos / Journal of Food Engineering 66 (2005) 2534

27

the second part of the study (Goula & Adamopoulos, 2004).

2. Materials and methods 2.1. Materials Medium concentrated tomato pulp with a constant total solids mass concentration of 14 0.05%, containing 1.40 0.02% insoluble solids, 5.61 0.07% sugars, 1.53 0.03% acid, 2.20 0.02% protein and 1.10 0.01% salt, obtained from a local manufacturer, was used as feed to the spray dryer in all experiments. During spray drying, the feed solution held on a hot plate was maintained at constant temperature being continuously agitated. 2.2. Air dryer An Ultrapac 2000 adsorption dryer (Model 0005, Ultralter International AG, Haan, Germany) was employed for the air drying process. The air was led through the inlet of the dryer and across a prelter, where it was cleaned from particles. Via a shuttle valve, the air was led into desiccant cartridges, in which it was dried to a dewpoint of )70 C. Via another shuttle valve, the air got into an afterlter, in which particles from the desiccant were retained. While one vessel with cartridge was in the drying phase (adsorption), the other cartridge was being dried again (regeneration). A partial stream of dried air was expanded via an orice and led across the desiccant cartridge for regeneration and via a solenoid valve and a silencer system to atmosphere. 2.3. Spray drying A Buchi mini spray dryer (Model 191, Buchi Laboratoriums-Technik, Flawil, Switzerland) was employed for the spray drying process. A peristaltic pump pumped tomato pulp to the atomizer, and atomization was performed using a two-uid nozzle (inside diameter 0.5 mm), which used compressed air. The compressed air ow rate was controlled by a variable area ow meter, and cooling water was circulated through a jacket around the nozzle. The main chamber and the cyclone were made of thick transparent glass. Inlet drying air, after passing through an electrical heater, owed concurrently with the spray through the main chamber. Dried powder samples were collected from the base of the cyclone. The controlled parameters were the feed rate (feed pump setting), the initial feed solids concentration, the feed temperature, the atomizer pressure, the compressed air ow rate in the atomizer, the ow rate of drying air (aspirator setting), and the inlet air temperature. The

design of the dryer is such that the outlet air temperature, contrary to the inlet temperature, cannot be set with a temperature regulator, but results from a combination of the inlet temperature, the aspirator setting, the pump setting, as well as the concentration of the feed. The modication made on the original design consisted in connection of the dryer inlet air intake nipple with the air drying unit by a exible plastic air duct. The compressed air was also dehumidied before its supply to the two-uid nozzle. The scheme of the modied spray drying system is given in Fig. 1. Sixty-four dierent experiments were conducted in triplicate. In all experiments the atomizer pressure, the feed rate and the feed temperature were kept at 5 0.1 bar, 1.75 0.05 g/min, and 32.0 0.5 C, respectively. Four inlet air temperatures (Tinlet ), 110, 120, 130 and 140 C (1 C), were used. The drying air ow rate (Qa ) was varied between 17.50 0.18 and 22.75 0.18 m3 /h, and the compressed air ow rate (Qc ) was varied from 500 20 to 800 20 L/h. Outlet air temperatures (Toutlet ) were continuously monitored. Inlet and outlet air temperatures were read and manually logged from the digital displays on the dryers control panel with an accuracy of 1 C. 2.4. Spray dryer performance The weights of the drying chamber, the cyclone and the receiving vessel for powder were determined before and after spray drying by an electronic balance with an accuracy of 102 g. Product (np ) and residue (nr ) yield were determined by dividing the weight of solid mass collected in each part of the spray dryer with the total amount of solid mass to be spray dried. The exhausted air carries the remaining part of feed solids away.

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the modied spray drying system.

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2.5. Statistical analysis The data were analyzed using the statistical software MINITAB (Release 13.32). Regression analysis was used to t a full second order polynomial, reduced second order polynomials containing the three linear terms and linear models to the data of each of the variable evaluated (response variables). F values for all reduced and linear models with an R2 P 0:70 were calculated to determine if the models could be used in place of full second order polynomials to predict response of a variable to compressed air ow rate, ow rate of drying rate and air inlet temperature (independent variables). The F value was calculated as F SSRf SSRr =k q SSEf =n k 1 1

model should have a high R2 , a small S , and a Mallows Cp statistic close to the number of predictors contained in the model.

3. Results and discussion 3.1. Temperature drop across the drying chamber The values of the variable operating conditions and the measured outlet air temperature for each experiment are listed in Table 1. Data for Toutlet represent average values of the three replications. The repeatability for Toutlet expressed as the average standard deviation of the three replications was 0.29 C. Variations in the inlet and outlet air temperatures occurred while the drying was running and there had been no change in settings. These variables were monitored on the dryers control panel, and average values for each run were calculated. The question that arose was whether or not the observed uctuations caused the average values of inlet air temperature to deviate from the desired setting point. A result of the correlation analysis of these data with the actual dryer setting was close to unity, thus proving the controllers accuracy in maintaining the desired setting at the level tested in this study. As it can be drawn from Table 1, outlet air temperature increased with increases of aspirator setting, since with lower gas-to-feed ow ratio, air cools o more in passing through the chamber. Additionally, higher compressed air ow rate caused an increase in outlet air temperature. This observation suggests a direct relation of the outlet temperature not only with the inlet temperature but with the compressed air ow rate, as well (Goula & Adamopoulos, 2003). During the falling ratedrying period, the rate of heat transfer exceeds that of mass transfer and the particle begins to heat up. With smaller compressed air ow rates, the particles are more massive and demand the transfer of more energy from the air, thus resulting in lower air temperatures. A mathematical model was developed to describe the relationship, which exists between operating variables during spray drying and the response variable Toutlet . In deciding whether to develop an empirical model or a mechanistic model, it is important to determine the ultimate goal for its use. Mechanistic models provide more from a basic understanding of a given system, a greater basis for extrapolation and a representation of a response function that is more precise than one attained empirically (Hawkes & Villota, 1989). In the food industry, on the other hand, if it is desired to optimize a given unit process, the process of developing an empirical model would most likely be more economically feasible. Such models may be more limiting than mechanistic models. However, for the purposes of the

where SSR is the sum of squares due to regression, SSE is the sum of squares due to error, k is the number of terms of the full model, q is the number of terms of the reduced model, and the subscripts f and r refer to the full and the reduced model, respectively. The F value indicates no signicant dierence between the reduced second order polynomial or linear model and its corresponding full model (p < 0:05) if: F < F0:05;kq;nk1 2

where n is the number of measurements, and F0:05;kq;nk1 is the value of the F -distribution with k q and n k 1 degrees of freedom. The reason that a subset of variables rather than a full set would be used is because the subset model may actually estimate the regression coecients and predict future responses with smaller variance than the full model using all predictors. Typically, R2 always increases with the size of the subset. Therefore, R2 is most useful when comparing models of the same size. The square root of mean square error (S ) and the Mallows Cp statistic (Cp ) can be used as comparison criteria to compare models with dierent numbers of predictors. S is an estimate of the standard deviation of the error term in the model. The Cp statistic is given by the formula: Cp SSEp n 2p MSEm 3

where SSEp is the SSE for the model with p parameters (including the intercept, if it is in the equation), and MSEm is the mean square error for the model with all m predictors. If the model is adequate, then the expected value of Cp is approximately equal to p. A small value of Cp indicates that the model has small variance in estimating the true regression coecients and predicting future responses. This precision will not improve much by adding more predictors. Models with considerable lack of t have values of Cp much larger than p. A good

A.M. Goula, K.G. Adamopoulos / Journal of Food Engineering 66 (2005) 2534 Table 1 Experimental drying conditions No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64
a

29

Tinlet (C) 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140 110 120 130 140

Qa (m3 /h) 17.50 17.50 17.50 17.50 19.25 19.25 19.25 19.25 21.00 21.00 21.00 21.00 22.75 22.75 22.75 22.75 17.50 17.50 17.50 17.50 19.25 19.25 19.25 19.25 21.00 21.00 21.00 21.00 22.75 22.75 22.75 22.75 17.50 17.50 17.50 17.50 19.25 19.25 19.25 19.25 21.00 21.00 21.00 21.00 22.75 22.75 22.75 22.75 17.50 17.50 17.50 17.50 19.25 19.25 19.25 19.25 21.00 21.00 21.00 21.00 22.75 22.75 22.75 22.75

Qc (L/h) 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 600 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800

Toutlet (C)a 47.33 49.00 54.33 58.33 48.33 51.17 56.67 62.00 49.17 51.50 58.17 63.00 51.00 53.17 59.17 64.17 48.00 50.17 55.83 59.67 49.00 51.50 57.67 63.33 50.17 53.00 59.00 64.17 52.33 55.17 60.00 65.00 49.00 51.17 57.17 62.00 50.17 53.33 59.17 64.17 51.00 54.00 60.17 65.33 53.00 56.33 61.17 65.83 50.17 52.00 58.17 63.17 51.17 53.67 59.67 65.00 52.00 55.17 61.33 66.00 54.17 57.00 62.17 67.83 (0.58) (0.00) (0.29) (0.58) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.50) (0.29) (0.00) (0.29) (0.00) (0.50) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.00) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.50) (0.00) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.00) (0.50) (0.29) (0.58) (0.29) (0.00) (0.50) (0.00) (0.29) (0.29) (0.00) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.00) (0.50) (0.29) (0.58) (0.50) (0.58) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.00) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.29) (0.50) (0.50) (0.29) (0.29) (0.00) (0.29) (0.50) (0.29) (0.29)

Means of three replicates and standard deviation (in brackets).

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manufacturer, the main concern is narrowing the range of processing variables to produce the best product possible. The best model predicting response of the variable Toutlet to the process variables air inlet temperature, ow rate of drying rate and compressed air ow rate was the following: Toutlet 70:6 1:15Tinlet 1:59Qa 0:00158Qc
2 0:00591Tinlet 0:0315Q2 a

50.00 45.00 40.00 n r (%) 35.00 30.00 25.00

Qa: 17.50 m /h

0:00407Tinlet Qa 0:000075Tinlet Qc

20.00 110

120

Eq. (4) has a R2 value of 0.988, and F , Cp and S equal to 0.135, 6.3 and 0.657, respectively. Outlet air temperature was 1924 C lower when dehumidied air was used in the modied spray drying system instead of undehumidied air in the standard system. In a spray drying system, removal of moisture from the spray depends upon the humidity of the drying air. The drier the air the more rapid is the rate of drying, since dry air is capable of absorbing and holding moisture, whereas moist air is close to saturation and so can absorb and hold less additional moisture than if it is dry. Hot air enters the drying chamber and due to moisture evaporation from the spray the air temperature falls as air passes through the chamber. The more rapid is the spray evaporation, the more the lowering of the air temperature, and so the drier the air, the drying air cools more. 3.2. Product recovery Residue data were gathered as an indication of the process performance. Retention of product at the chamber wall over lengthy time is undesirable. First, it is not cost eective due to more frequent shut down of the dryer for cleaning. Secondly, it aects product quality, as deposits can become scorched and when dislodged, mix in and contaminate the entire product. Accumulated product receiving a more intense heat treatment may have dierent properties such as moisture content, color, and solubility and cannot considered as product. Furthermore, deposits inuence drying volume and heat transfer processes between the chamber walls and the moving uids. The residues that occurred in the drying chamber and in the cyclone (nr ) varied from 20.17 to 45.83%. Figs. 2 5 show the achieved values of nr against inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for each level of the drying air ow rate. Each data point in the gures represents average values of three replications. The repeatability for nr expressed as the average standard deviation of the three replications was 0.17%. Residue accumulation decreased with increases of drying air ow rate. In a spray drying system, the liquid droplets emerge from the atomizer with velocities much

130 Tinlet ( C)

500 600 700 Qc (L/h) 800 140

Fig. 2. Residue accumulation (nr ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 17.50 m3 /h.

50.00 45.00 40.00 nr (%) 35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 110

Q a: 19.25 m /h

120

130

500 600 700 Qc (L/h) 800 140

Tinlet (C)
Fig. 3. Residue accumulation (nr ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 19.25 m3 /h.

50.00 45.00 40.00

Qa: 21.00 m3/h

nr (%)

35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 110 500 600 700 Qc (L/h) 800 140

120

130

Tinlet (C)
Fig. 4. Residue accumulation (nr ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 21.00 m3 /h.

larger than that of the inlet air. Because of momentum exchange the air inside the spray envelope is accelerated axially to a large extent as the droplets slow toward terminal velocities. A large pumping eect is imparted to

A.M. Goula, K.G. Adamopoulos / Journal of Food Engineering 66 (2005) 2534

31

50.00 45.00 40.00 nr (%) 35.00 30.00 25.00 20.00 110

Qa: 22.75 m /h

Product yield (np ) varied from 36.62% to 65.86%. Figs. 69 show the achieved values of np against inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for each level

70.00 65.00

Qa: 17.50 m /h

np (%)

120 Tinlet (C)

130

500 600 700 Q c (L/h) 800 140

60.00 55.00 50.00 45.00 40.00 140 130 120 T (C) inlet 110 800

Fig. 5. Residue accumulation (nr ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 22.75 m3 /h.

35.00 500

600 Qc (L/h)

the air by the deceleration of the droplets within the spray envelope. The resulting forward displacement of air results in a large amount of air being entrained into the spray from outside the spray envelope (Oakley & Bahu, 1991; Papadakis & King, 1988). By decreasing the air ow rate, the major part of the air entrained into the spray comes from a recycling of the air from lower parts of the drying chamber and so, backow at the wall persists up to much higher levels in the chamber. This airow pattern inuences droplet trajectories. Smaller droplets are drawn toward the wall by the strong backow circulation eect, larger ones pass back upward with the backow before evaporating, whereas medium size droplets strike the wall before evaporating fully, thus causing residue accumulation. As it can be drawn from Figs. 25, residue formation decreased with increases of compressed air ow rate. With higher compressed air ow rate, smaller droplets having less inertia do not reach radially outward as far and as a result narrow spray cones are formed and relatively little air is drawn inside. The trajectories are similar in shape to those for lower compressed air ow rates, but are narrower. Droplets strike the wall at lower parts of the drying chamber, where their moisture content is much lower. Wall deposits decreased by increasing the inlet air temperature, as due to the higher temperature the droplets are drier when they hit the wall, and deposits that are attributable to inadequate drying of particles decrease. The best model predicting response of the variable nr to the process variables air inlet temperature, ow rate of drying rate and compressed air ow rate was the following: nr 293 1:87Tinlet 8:98Qa 0:0137Qc
2 0:00738Tinlet 0:253Q2 a 0:0225Tinlet Qa

700

Fig. 6. Product recovery (np ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 17.50 m3 /h.

70.00 65.00 60.00 np (%) 55.00 50.00 45.00 40.00 35.00 500

Qa: 19.25 m /h

140 130 120 Tinlet (C) 600 Qc (L/h) 700 110 800

Fig. 7. Product recovery (np ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 19.25 m3 /h.

70.00 65.00 60.00 np (%) 55.00 50.00 45.00 40.00 35.00 500

Qa: 21.00 m /h

140 130 120 Tinlet (C) 600 Q c (L/h) 700 110 800

Eq. (5) has a R2 value of 0.979, and F , Cp and S equal to 0.144, 4.4 and 1.007, respectively.

Fig. 8. Product recovery (np ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 21.00 m3 /h.

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3

70.00 65.00 60.00

Q a: 22.75 m /h
65 60 55

n p (%) for the modified system

17.50 21.00 17.50 21.00 17.50 21.00 17.50 21.00

m^3/h, m^3/h, m^3/h, m^3/h, m^3/h, m^3/h, m^3/h, m^3/h,

500 500 600 600 700 700 800 800

L/h L/h L/h L/h L/h L/h L/h L/h

19.25 m^3/h, 500 L/h 22.75 m^3/h, 500 L/h 19.25 m^3/h, 600 L/h 22.75 m^3/h, 600 L/h 19.25 m^3/h, 700 L/h 22.75 m^3/h, 700 L/h 19.25 m^3/h, 800 L/h 22.75 m^3/h, 800 L/h

Tinlet : 110 C 45

np (%)

55.00 50.00 45.00 40.00 35.00 500 140 130 120 Tinlet (C) 110 800

40

35 50 30 45 40 35 25 np nr 20

600 Qc (L/h)

700

np (%) for the modified system

40

55 35 50 30 45 40 35
np nr

np 276 1:93Tinlet 14:7Qa 0:00817Qc

2 0:00735Tinlet 2

25

0:371Q2 a

0:0210Tinlet Qa

Eq. (6) has a R value of 0.983, and F , Cp and S equal to 0.003, 4.0 and 1.060, respectively. In experiments conducted under the same operating conditions using the standard laboratory spray drying system, residue accumulation varying from 60.08% to 70.81% was 21.4949.50% higher, whereas product recovery ranging from 13.00% to 28.02% was 19.90 48.23% lower. Graphic comparison between the yields of the two drying systems for each level of the air inlet temperature is shown in Figs. 1013. The modied system decreased the residue accumulation, which allowed product yield to increase. This was due to the lower temperatures in the drying chamber when dehumidied air was used as a drying medium instead of undehumidied air. During spray drying, initially the droplets are dispersed individually in a large volume of the dryer, avoiding agglomeration although the high moisture content particles are sticky. Towards the lower parts of the dryer or in the recirculation zones, the particles are already solid and should not stick together or agglomerate. However, due to the

20

Fig. 11. Comparison between yields of the two drying systems for air inlet temperature of 120 C. Symbols are the same as in Fig. 10.

presence of high sugar content, the surface of the droplets may remain plastic because of the high product temperature, which is generally approaching the outlet air temperature. There is a narrow range of outlet air temperature for a successful drying operation. Use of outlet air temperature below this region is not economical, and above this region the air temperature will be at higher than Tg 20 C, which mean that the particles will exhibit sticky behavior. The extent of stickiness or the consequence on structural change of the powder depends on the dierence between the temperature of the product and the glass transition temperature. Thus, a small change in outlet air temperature may have a major eect on the sticky behavior of the product

13 .0 17 .8 18 .6 20 .8 21 .6 22 .3 23 .1 23 .4 24 .2 63 .6 63 .9 64 .1 64 .2 64 .4 64 .6 65 .3 65 .6 71 .0

n (%) for the standard system

nr (%) for the modified system

of the drying air ow rate. Each data point in the gures represents average values of three replications. The repeatability for np expressed as the average standard deviation of the three replications was 0.21%. As it can be drawn for Figs. 69, the eect of the various operating conditions on product recovery is determined by their eect on residue accumulation, since attachment of sprayed droplets and dry powder to the walls is the main cause of total product loss. Product recovery increases with increases in drying air ow rate, in air inlet temperature and in compressed air ow rate. The best model predicting response of the variable np to the process variables air inlet temperature, ow rate of drying rate and compressed air ow rate was the following:

Fig. 10. Comparison between yields of the two drying systems for air inlet temperature of 110 C.

13 .0 15 .8 16 .7 18 .6 19 .4 19 .9 20 .7 21 .0 21 .8 65 .9 66 .1 66 .3 66 .4 66 .5 66 .6 67 .0 67 .2 71 .0

Fig. 9. Product recovery (np ) as a function of inlet air temperature and compressed air ow rate for drying air ow rate of 22.75 m3 /h.

n (%) for the standard system

Tinlet: 120 C 65 60 45

nr (%) for the modified system

A.M. Goula, K.G. Adamopoulos / Journal of Food Engineering 66 (2005) 2534

Tinlet : 130 C 65 45

33

n p (%) for the modified system

55 35 50 30 45 np nr 25

40

35
13 .0 20 .7 21 .5 24 .3 25 .1 26 .0 26 .8 27 .2 28 .0 60 .1 60 .4 60 .6 60 .9 61 .2 61 .6 62 .7 63 .0 71 .0

20

n (%) for the standard system

Fig. 12. Comparison between yields of the two drying systems for air inlet temperature of 130 C. Symbols are the same as in Fig. 10.

Tinlet : 140 C 65 n p (%) for the modified system 60 55 35 50 30 45 40 35

13 .0 13 .2 14 .1 15 .7 16 .5 16 .9 17 .6 17 .8 18 .7 69 .7 69 .8 70 .0 70 .2 70 .2 70 .4 70 .5 70 .7 71 .0

45

n r (%) for the modified system

60

40

requirement for successful spray drying, as solidication of the surface does not allow formation of liquid bridges between contacting particle surfaces or particle adhesion on the inner surfaces of the drying equipment. As a result, use of dehumidied air as a drying medium enhancing the rapid removal of water contributes to the reduction of residue accumulation. As it can be drawn form Figs. 1013, the increase in product recovery was higher for experiments conducted with air inlet temperature of 140 C. This was due to the eect of air inlet temperature on residue accumulation. In experiments conducted in the modied system, wall deposits always decreased by increasing the inlet air temperature. In the standard spray drying system, residue formation was larger for experiments conduced with inlet air temperatures of 110 and 140 C. Wall deposits decreased by increasing the inlet air temperature from 110 to 130 C, whereas the increase from 130 to 140 C resulting in much higher air outlet temperatures (Toutlet > 80 C), led to an increase of residue accumulation (Goula & Adamopoulos, 2003).

4. Conclusions
40 n r (%) for the modified system

np

nr

25

20

n (%) for the standard system

Fig. 13. Comparison between yields of the two drying systems for air inlet temperature of 140 C. Symbols are the same as in Fig. 10.

(Bhandari et al., 1997b). As a result, the much lower air outlet temperatures in the modied system might result in the formation of a solid particle surface and so, decrease the residue accumulation minimizing the thermoplastic particles from sticking. Furthermore, according to Karatas and Esin (1994), the slow removal of water during spray drying of tomato pulp in a medium of high humidity provides a smooth drying operation without discontinuities, since the surface of the drying material remains plasticized. However, this can also result in high residue formation. Roos (2003) reported that the rapid removal of water results in vitrication of liquid droplets within a short time and formation of a solid particle surface. Rapid formation of a dry surface layer around the particle increases the glass transition temperature at the surface and so is the basic

An experimental spray dryer was modied for drying tomato concentrate. The modication made on the original design consisted in connection of the spray dryer inlet air intake with an absorption air dryer. Products yields ranged from 36.62% to 65.86%, whereas residue accumulation varied from 20.17% to 45.83%. The eect of the various operating conditions on product recovery was determined by their eect on residue accumulation, as attachment of sprayed droplets and dry powder to the walls was the main cause of total product loss. Product recovery increased with increases in drying air ow rate, in air inlet temperature and in compressed air ow rate. In experiments conducted under the same operating conditions using the standard laboratory spray drying system, product recovery was 19.9048.23% lower and residue accumulation was 21.4949.50% higher. It appears that the modication improved product recovery. The much lower outlet temperatures and humidities of drying air in the modied system resulted in the formation of a solid particle surface and so, decreased the residue accumulation minimizing the thermoplastic particles from sticking.

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