Effect of density and size of inert particles in an alternative rotary dryer applied to paste-like material

IF 3.5 2区农林科学 Q2 BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY

Food and Bioproducts Processing Pub Date : 2025-01-30 DOI:10.1016/j.fbp.2025.01.019

Isabela P. Menezes, Claudio R. Duarte, Marcos A.S. Barrozo

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The drying of pastes to produce powdered materials has become increasingly important in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. An attractive alternative to the conventional spray-drying technique is the use of inert particles for paste drying. In this work, a rotary dryer with an inert bed, a device developed at Federal University of Uberlândia, was used to dry a fruit pulp into a powdered material. However, the efficient use of this device still presents significant challenges to be overcome. Besides appropriate operating conditions, the correct choice of inert material is crucial. This study investigated the effect of inert particles of different densities and sizes on the performance of this alternative system. Simulations using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) were conducted to investigate the behavior of inert flow inside the drum, and experimental tests were performed to quantify the effect of operating variables on process yield, aiming for an optimization study. Spheres of stainless steel (ρ_s = 8000 kg/m³), ceramic (ρ_s = 2300 kg/m³), and polypropylene (ρ_s = 900 kg/m³) were used as inert materials, with west indian cherry pulp as the paste material. The DEM simulation results showed that when inert stainless steel particles were used, the collision forces were 424.77 % higher than those obtained with inert ceramic particles and 1209.27 % higher than those from polypropylene particles. The optimization study revealed that the highest process yield was achieved using a maltodextrin concentration of 21.7 %, a fraction of smaller inert particles of 75 %, and a temperature of 95.7°C. The nonconventional rotary dryer successfully produced powdered fruit, highlighting its potential as an efficient alternative to traditional drying techniques for paste-like substances. This research underscores the dryer’s innovative design offering promising applications in food processing and other industries requiring efficient solutions.

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来源期刊

Food and Bioproducts Processing 工程技术-工程：化工

CiteScore

9.70

自引率

4.30%

发文量

115

审稿时长

24 days

期刊介绍： Official Journal of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering: Part C FBP aims to be the principal international journal for publication of high quality, original papers in the branches of engineering and science dedicated to the safe processing of biological products. It is the only journal to exploit the synergy between biotechnology, bioprocessing and food engineering. Papers showing how research results can be used in engineering design, and accounts of experimental or theoretical research work bringing new perspectives to established principles, highlighting unsolved problems or indicating directions for future research, are particularly welcome. Contributions that deal with new developments in equipment or processes and that can be given quantitative expression are encouraged. The journal is especially interested in papers that extend the boundaries of food and bioproducts processing. The journal has a strong emphasis on the interface between engineering and food or bioproducts. Papers that are not likely to be published are those: • Primarily concerned with food formulation • That use experimental design techniques to obtain response surfaces but gain little insight from them • That are empirical and ignore established mechanistic models, e.g., empirical drying curves • That are primarily concerned about sensory evaluation and colour • Concern the extraction, encapsulation and/or antioxidant activity of a specific biological material without providing insight that could be applied to a similar but different material, • Containing only chemical analyses of biological materials.