European Drying Conference -EuroDrying

Abstract: Fluidized bed agglomeration of skim milk powder by spraying water was used to produce dry agglomerates with improved instant properties. The growth of agglomerates was studied following the evolution of the particle size distribution during agglomeration under different conditions of processing. During the first minutes, initial particles (180µm) associated to form two size populations (250 and 400 µm). The smallest one disappeared quickly while the largest one increased in size until 650-700 µm at the end of experiment (30-40 min). The tested conditions corresponding to a lower final particle moisture content (6.8-7.0 % d.b.) generated the smaller agglomerates (650-640 µm)