Effect of the Outlet Air Reuse on Thermal Efficiency of a Pilot Plant Spray Dryer with Rotary Atomizer

Abstract

The thermal efficiency of a spray drying process is related to operating parameters such as the temperature and the mass flow rate of the inlet air of the dryer and the increase of these values will result in higher energy costs. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of recycling the outlet air of a pilot plant spray dryer with rotary atomizer on the thermal efficiency of the drying process. The results showed that the thermal efficiency is related to inlet air properties and it can be improved with the recirculation of the outlet air.