GEA NIRO SPRAY FLUIDIZER™ Dries and Generates 1-3mm Pellets

Press release

Columbia, MD, March 19, 2012

This unique design utilizes a fluid bed dryer to fluidize the material so that a pumpable slurry or solution can be sprayed onto an aerated bed of material. The fluidized particles grow into spherical pellets as they are coated layer by layer. An external screening system sizes the particles to the required dimensions. The larger the particle size requirement the higher the air velocity and higher the evaporative capacity in the same size SPRAY FLUIDIZER™.

The field of applications of the GEA Niro SPRAY FLUIDIZER™ process is very wide. Granules of a material can be produced by this process when:

• The feed is pumpable
• The feed can be atomized
• The binding forces are sufficiently strong to build up a granule and to withstand attrition in the fluidized layer

Types of materials fulfilling these criteria include:

• Solutions or melts of crystalline materials, either organic or inorganic.

Examples are:

• Sulphates e.g. sodium, magnesium, zinc, iron
• Chlorides e.g. sodium, calcium
• Bromides e.g. sodium, potassium, ammonium
• Organic salts
• Organic acids

Solutions or suspensions of materials

Examples are:

• Sludge
• Sulphite wastes
• Ceramics
• Solutions or suspensions mixed with binders

Contact:

James Schak, National Sales Manger
GEA Process Engineering Inc.
9165 Rumsey Road
Columbia, MD 21045
Tel.: 410 997 8700
Fax: 410 997 5021
E-mail: james.schak@geagroup.com
Website: www.niroinc.com

GEA Process Engineering develops, designs, and markets production plants and processes for the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. With sales close to EUR 1.3 billion in 2010 and 4,800 employees working in more than 40 countries, GEA Process Engineering is recognized as a world leader in liquid processing, concentration, industrial drying, powder processing & handling, emissions control, solid dosage forms & sterile products, and aseptic packaging.