Products built up by agglomeration ensure a good material flow and reduce the dust exposure to the environment.
How does agglomeration in a fluidised bed work?
In the plant, a powdery primary product is fluidised, thus whirled with air. Via spray nozzles, the fluidised particles are moistened with liquid. The fluidised bed offers the ideal precondition to set the particles into a state, where they are all over accessible to the spray. After having sprayed on the liquid, the particles stick together and form agglomerates, due to their surface humidity and the binder which is possibly contained in the liquid. In this way, e.g. dust can be bound or products can become easier soluble. Also the back mixing of powder components can be reduced. Besides water, as spray dissolution also vitamins, fat or lecithin can be sprayed on and thereby achieve an additional benefit.
Like spray granulation, agglomeration offers an endless variety of mutable parameters and an almost endless potential for defining the particle properties: Porosity, particle size distribution, bulk density, dust content and dissolubility, via fluidized bed agglomeration can also be exactly adjusted according to the set target. As every substance requires different process conditions, we use the pilot tests we conduct in our Technical Center for checking the optimal parameters in advance.
Example of application: Improvement of the solubility
A powder recipe which is difficult to dissolve because of its high fat ratio is instantized in the fluidised bed. A powder which has been conditioned in this way can quickly be prepared without lumps in hot water.
Further applications:
Stabilisation of mixtures, binding of fine dust, facilitation of compactibility
Examples of products:
- Beverage powder (cocoa, cappuccino)
- Baby food
- Instant drinks, mixtures for vending machines
- Sauce powder
- Pharmaceutical powders
- Vitamins
- Starch
- Milk powder
- Lactose
- Sugar substitutes
- Premixes for feedstuff
