Spray drying: Thermodynamics and Operating Conditions

A thermodynamic model has been built to draw a safety envelope of non-stickiness for maltopolymers of various molecular weight distributions. The model is based on the combination of two properties of maltopolymer-water interactions. These interactions include the plasticization and glass formation along with the water sorption properties at different temperatures. The model gives indications on the processing conditions to be used to produce an acceptable powder from a very dilute carbohydrate aqueous solution together with a maximization of the evaporation capacity of the drying equipment.