Lab Spray Dryer

MODEL ESDT1 LAB SPRAY DRYER European SprayDry Technologies LLP launched their latest model spray dryer at the Powtech Exhibition in Nuremburg in Germany last month and in a step away from their traditional high end bespoke larger capacity spray dryers the latest offering is aimed at the R&D and academic markets. The goals for the design team was to produce a lab spray dryer that could operate anywhere, assembled with ease whilst retaining an operational simplicity to allow even relative novices to produce powders quickly and easily. The production machine appears to have met all aspects of the designers’ aspirations, being able to operate in any location with a single phase electricity supply, even home kitchens, requiring no additional pumps or compressors which are integral to the unit. The machine has a main body fabricated from enamelled panels in which all mechanical component including peristaltic pump, fan unit and compressor are contained. A stainless top mounting bracket connects the intake air tube to the chamber. The unit is supported by base plate with rubber feet. The main drying components are manufactured from borosilicate glass 3.3. due to its high corrosion resistance and clarity of glass, these include the chamber, conveying tube and cyclone. The glass components connect by push fit clamps while the chamber is locked in place using a sanitary main clamp. The final component is an electrical panel that slips onto the side of the main body and connects with jack plugs. The power supply is a standard 13A single phase plug for mains connection. A simple collection bottle screws onto the cyclone powder discharge. Space requirements for the machine is a lowly 0.2m2 of bench space and the whole machine can be assembled by a single person in less than 5 minutes. Atomisation is by two fluid nozzle located above the chamber with push in connections for air and liquid, the nozzle typically produces a range of particle sizes from 3 micron to 70 micron with the Sauter mean diameter being 47.4 micron, this based on water pumped at 1 bar and an air feed of 1.1 bar, this will differ dependent upon feed concentration, viscosity and air pressure. As you would expect from Euro SprayDryers both chamber and cyclone are highly efficient and effective. Ease of operation, how simple can you make it, plug in the machine, switch on the fan, adjust the air flow using a speed dial, switch on the heater, allow the machine to heat up in the meantime prepare your solution. Once at temperature inset the feed tube into the jar of solution, switch on the compressed air and adjust using regulator, finally switch on the pump and increase the speed using the speed dial, as simple as we can make it. For those requiring a higher degree of sophistication the machine comes with CALgrafix Process Monitoring Software as standard. This windows based user interface provides logging, charting, recording, alarms, networking and full configuration options The electrical heater is capable of producing drying temperatures up to 200oC which allows the drying of most products. The machine is highly adaptive with a bag filter option and closed circuit currently in development and hope to be launched in the New Year. Customisation of the machine is also available where customers require special adaptations.