Laboratory-scale superheated steam spray drying of food and dairy products.

The major limitation of the use of superheated steam spray drying (SHS-SD) for food products is the missing proof of its applicability for heat sensitive materials. A selection of food, in particular dairy products, were spray dried under superheated steam conditions in a lab scale spray dyer with an inlet steam temperature of 250 °C and outlet steam and product temperatures between 130 and 160 °C by pressure nozzle atomization. Powder attributes show that superheated steam spray drying of heat sensitive food products is technically feasible and does not necessarily result in major quality loss such as severe browning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]