Getting Started

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Product Development
Getting Started

Step 1: Product Analysis & Development

The first step in our process with new customers is an evaluation of the material to be dried. If we don’t have experience with your product, we will ask you to send a 3-ounce sample to our Payson, AZ plant for a bench-top analysis. There is no charge for this, and we’ll get back to you with an analysis of the feasibility of pulse-drying your material. Ship all test materials to our  Demonstration and Tolling Facility. (Note: The Bench Test consists of a simple “pan-drying” in our Sartorius Moisture Balance, and does not create any “powder” for your evaluation. We can predict how your material will handle in our Pulse Dryer by examining the dry material left on the sample tray.)

If the benchtop results are positive, or if we have already been successful in drying a material similar to yours, we will propose a day or two of testing on our  PCS Model P-50  pilot-scale dryer. This dryer has an evaporative capacity of 40 pounds of water per hour, and is the platform we use for evaluation, product development, and optimization of drying parameters. We also use this dryer for small-volume  toll drying  of high-value, high-purity products.

Normally, if your product has already been successfully spray dried, it can be pulse-dried to a better result. We can also pulse-dry some materials that can’t be spray dried, such as materials high in viscosity or solids content. We can also handle feedstocks having suspended particles that would clog the nozzle of a conventional spray dryer.

During a day of testing, we will use 10-20 gallons of liquid, and will produce 4 to 6 powder samples by varying the drying conditions in an effort to maximize powder quality and dryer yield. At the end of the trial, we will send you the powders and our report.

We encourage our customers to attend these Pilot trials so that we can get instant feedback on powder quality. Please contact us for a fee quotation.

Visit our  development lab  page to learn more about product testing or see our  PCS Model P-50 pilot-scale dryer page for a tour of our equipment.

Step 2: Scale-Up & Toll Drying

Small-Scale Tolling. If the pilot dryer work is satisfactory, and if your forecast for powder production is modest (requiring the removal of 100-400 pounds of water per day), we will offer to make powders for you on our pilot dryer on a contract basis. Contact us for a rate quotation.

Scale-Up Demo. If your production plan requires the removal of more than 1,000 pounds of water per day, we will propose a scale-up demonstration on our  PCS Model P-500  production dryer (400 pounds per hour of water evaporation). This test will show us how your product handles in a production environment, and usually only requires two or three days. Contact us for a quote.

Production-Scale Tolling. If the scale-up demo is successful, we will offer to make powders for you on a contract basis. Pricing considerations are discussed on our  toll drying services page.

Step 3: Dryer Purchase

We offer all of our PCS dryer models for sale. They range in capacity from 40 to 2,000 pounds per hour of water evaporation. Please get in touch for a custom price quote.

Pulse atomization spray drying is superior to conventional spray drying in many ways and for many reasons. We have experience with over 200 different materials in our dryer, and have obtained very favorable results on minerals, specialty chemicals, foods and nutraceuticals.