Editing Spray drying (section)

==Spray dryer==
[[File:SDXFamily1.JPG|thumb|Spray drying nozzles]]
[[File:Spray Dryer.gif|thumb|Schematic illustration of spray drying process]]
A spray dryer takes a liquid stream and separates the solute or suspension as a solid and the solvent into a vapor. The solid is usually collected in a drum or cyclone. The liquid input stream is sprayed through a nozzle into a hot vapor stream and vaporized. Solids form as moisture quickly leaves the droplets. A nozzle is usually used to make the droplets as small as possible, maximizing surface area hence heat transfer and the rate of water vaporization. Droplet sizes can range from 20 to 180 μm depending on the nozzle.<ref name=dia/>
There are two main types of nozzles: high pressure single fluid nozzle (50 to 300 bars) and two-fluid nozzles: one fluid is the liquid to dry and the second is compressed gas (generally air at 1 to 7 bars).

Spray dryers can dry a product very quickly compared to other methods of drying. They also turn a solution (or slurry) into a dried powder in a single step, which simplifies the process and improves profit margins.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, spray drying is employed to manufacture Amorphous Solid Dispersions, by uniformly dispersing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients into a polymer matrix. This state will put the active compounds (drug) in a higher state of energy which in turn facilitates diffusion of drug species in patient body.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Poozesh |first1=Sadegh |last2=Lu |first2=Kun |last3=Marsac |first3=Patrick J. |title=On the particle formation in spray drying process for bio-pharmaceutical applications: Interrogating a new model via computational fluid dynamics |journal=International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer |date=July 2018 |volume=122 |pages=863–876 |doi=10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.02.043|bibcode=2018IJHMT.122..863P }}</ref>