Spray drying in the milk industry

Spray drying is a very common process for drying any kind of wet material. The technique is mostly used the food and pharmaceutical industry as part of the encapsulation and conservation process. Within the field of spray drying several different applications can be applied so ensure that no harm is done to the product. Thus, the milk industry has developed several processes for drying milk. One of these techniques is termed whey powder process and this technique is described below.

Whey powder process
Whey is another name for the milk plasma, which is a by product of cheese and casein production. Actually it is produced as part of the milk curdling process. It is used in several different food products such as Swiss cheese and cheddar. When using the whey powder process the drying is done by spray dryers also sometimes called flash dryers.

Spray drying the whey
The drying process is done by sending the wet material through an evaporator. The wet material is heated above the boiling point of water and at the same time a hot gas, usually air or nitrogen, is present. The process is fast and cheap and demands for no further processing afterwards. Usually amphipathic components are also added to ensure a even better atomization or in this example a finer whey powder can be achieved.