Drying of vegetable starch solutions on inert particles: Quality and energy aspects Original Research Article

The paper deals with the energy efficiency of drying vegetable starch solutions on inert particles and the product quality. The experimental results performed in a continuous conical jet spouted bed with Teflon particles have shown that, for a given feed rate of vegetable starch solution, the product lightness varies with the initial moisture content and the position of an atomizing device. The starch damage index was below 2.5% and the lightness of the dried starch was in the range 94.1–96.1. A drying efficiency of 90 ± 3% is achieved with the proposed drying method.