Monodisperse Droplet Generators as Potential Atomizers for Spray Drying Technology.

Spray drying is a widely used unit operation for manufacturing powders of different characteristics. Many technological improvements have been made in the last few decades, and a great amount of research work is still being conducted. Recently, the hybrid spray-drying technique was reported, which combines the ink-jet technology with spray drying in order to produce particles of uniform characteristics.[1-41, 2, 3, 4] The monodisperse droplet generators (MDGs) have certain features that make them attractive for use as atomizers in spray-drying operations. In this article, a comprehensive introduction to a variety of monodisperse droplet generators is provided. The advantages and limitations of these generators are discussed. The fundamental equations for predictions of the average droplet size are summarized. The discussion given in this study is aimed at the development of a hybrid technology that marries a suitable MDG with the existing spray-dryer technique (yet with some modifications) to manufacture the product with uniform characteristics containing micro- to nanosized particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]