This industrial spray dryer buying guide is based on information published on the Alaqua Inc. website. Alaqua is a US corporation that supplies process equipment. The company has over 25 years of experience in the supply of food-grade, sanitary, and ASME code evaporators, crystallizers, spray dryers, solvent recovery, and distillation systems. Alaqua was established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993.
What Is a Spray Dryer?
A spray dryer, as the name implies, is a device for drying, utilizing a spray. A spray dryer mixes a heated gas with an atomized (sprayed) liquid stream within a vessel (drying chamber) to accomplish evaporation and produce a free-flowing dry powder with a controlled average particle size.
Spray Dryer Selection Criteria: Key Components
The unit operation of spray drying includes the following key components:
- A method for atomizing a solution or slurry.
- An air/gas heater, or a source of hot air such as a waste flue gas.
- A gas/spray mixing chamber with adequate residence time and droplet trajectory distance for achieving heat and mass transfer.
- A means for recovering the solids from the gas stream.
- A fan to induce the required air/gas through the spray drying system.
Atomization and Surface Area
The unique feature of a spray dryer is the surface area per unit weight generated by atomization of the liquid feed. It is this fact that enables a spray dryer to work.
- Feeding atomized to 100-micron average droplet size generates approximately 15,400 ft²/lb of surface area.
- The same feed atomized to an average of 20 microns generates approximately 77,021 ft²/lb.
The Alaqua website describes this as being like spreading one gallon of feed over 14 football fields.
Industries and Standards
On the Our Services page, Alaqua states that it supplies equipment to ASME and CE requirements for the chemical, environmental, food, pharmaceutical, and power generation industries. The About Us page says Alaqua supplies ASME code evaporators, crystallizers, distillation plants, spray dryers, and solvent recovery systems for the chemical, environmental, food, dairy, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.
The Applications page lists dryers, spray dryers, heat exchangers, condensers, flash coolers, pressure vessels, sanitary 3A systems, and computer controls among its process equipment.
Spray Dryers in Alaqua’s Client List
The Clients page includes these entries:
- USA, 1000 lbs/hr whey/milk evaporator, spray dryer, 1998, expansion to 4,500 lbs/hr, 2000.
- USA, spray drying plant.
- Canada, spray drying plant.
Evaporator Condensate and Spray Dryers
On the Evaporator Systems page, Alaqua explains that in multiple-effect evaporators with thermal vapor recompression (TVR), vapor from the final effect is condensed with incoming product, supplemented by cooling water. The condensate is high-quality water that can be used as boiler feedwater, CIP liquid, for preheating the drying air of an associated spray dryer, or for any other application.
Equipment Supply Options
Alaqua will supply equipment for installation by the customer or skid-mounted and turnkey systems. The economics of your particular process application and your location will dictate the equipment type and model best suited to your needs.
Alaqua offers single-source responsibility, which covers initial consultation, supply of equipment, and supervision of installation, start-up, and commissioning.
Engineering Drawings and Equipment Scope
The Our Services page describes three major drawings: the process flow drawing, the P&I drawing, and the general arrangement drawing with loads. Alaqua will supply the required size of vessels, pumps, and pipe work for the system for the correct functioning of the unit. Once installed by the customer, this gives a fully operational system. Alaqua’s scope includes PFD, PID with specifications for pumps, piping size, control loops, instruments and controls, and GAD with the loads.
The same page lists fabrication of equipment, including heating elements, vapor separators with demisters, condensers, TVR or MVR, pumps and motors, a skid-mounted vacuum system, valves, instrumentation and control elements, and PLC controls with PLC software programming and PLC hardware.
Installation, Start-Up, and Training
Alaqua states that it provides equipment and supervises installation, start-up, and personnel training for every application. It rapidly responds to any troubleshooting calls. The Our Services page adds the following:
- The vendor supplies a supervisor on site for erection supervision, pre-commissioning check-out, operational commissioning supervision, and training of staff on the basis of 8 hours per day on site.
- Supervision services for installation, start-up, and training are offered at US $1,600 per diem (discounted from USD 1,800 per diem), plus all reasonable portal-to-portal expenses.
- Alaqua formally trains the client’s personnel in proper maintenance of the plant for one day.
- Alaqua supplies an Operations & Maintenance Manual with complete specifications and supporting information on all the auxiliaries (such as pumps, motors, and instrumentation), as well as copies of the Process Flow Drawing, Process Piping & Instrumentation Drawing, and the General Arrangement Drawing.
- Training covers a comprehensive process description, a review of the process flow, P&I, and general arrangement drawings; physical identification of the components in the field; and operation and maintenance procedures, including cold start-up, warm start-up, troubleshooting, unanticipated shutdown, and planned shutdown.
Retrofit, Field, and Troubleshooting Services
Alaqua’s retrofitting services include process optimization, supervision and guidance for modifications, and troubleshooting of equipment operation for systems built by Alaqua and by others. Field services are supplied at a per diem rate, including travel time and portal-to-portal expenses, if these services are required.
About Alaqua, Inc
The About Us page says Alaqua is an original equipment supplier. Its chairman was the founder of major corporations such as HPD and the Unitech Div. of Ecodyne and was a senior lecturer on evaporation at the University of Wisconsin. Alaqua supplies solutions and equipment worldwide and serves a domestic and international base of customers. The company will be pleased to arrange for you to contact some of its customers directly.
Request a Quote
The Request a Quote page has a basic information form (name, company, email address, phone, country, type of business, comments, and other fields). It also includes questionnaires for evaporators and for solvent and oil recovery and distillation systems. The Auxiliaries section asks whether steam or hot oil is available, whether cooling water is available, and the power characteristics (phases, cycles, and voltage).
Next Steps
Alaqua supplies solutions and equipment worldwide to meet your processing requirements. The company offers single-source responsibility, from the initial consultation through supervision of installation, start-up, and commissioning. To learn more about our spray dryers, please contact us today. Request a Quote
