Spray drying of milk

Dried milk is manufactured from evaporated milk. In spray drying, the milk concentrate is finely dispersed in the spray tower by centrifugal atomization or by nozzle atomization and dried with hot air (150-220 °C). The final drying process reduces the water content to about 4%.

The removal of water by spray drying is an energy expensive process and even if it were not, spray drying would not normally be chosen as the only methods of water removal in milk powder production.

Spray dried powder consists of small, regular spherical particles, is light in color and had very little burnt taste.

In general, there are four stages in spray drying of drying milk powder, these are:
*Atomization of milk into a spray, at the top of the atomizing chamber
*Spray-air contact, mixing and flow
*Drying of spray droplets in flight
*Collection and separation process of milk powder from the air

Spray dried powder is generally considered to be of better organoleptic quality than roller dried.

Spray dried milk has poor dissolving properties and subjected to a further process, instantisation which agglomerates granules and leads to a faster dissolution time.
Spray drying of milk