| 摘要 |
Dry sperical-shaped granules each consist essentially of a plurality of smaller indiivdual solid particles that are dispersible in a liquid medium, the particles are bonded together by a dispersible medium to form the larger spherical granules, the solid particles comprising the major part of each granule, and the granules are free-flowing and relatively rapidly dispersible in the liquid medium. The granules are produced by forming a slurry consisting essentially of small solid particles of material dispersible in a liquid medium together with a liquid medium containing a binding agent, atomizing the slurry to form atomized droplets, the droplets each having a plurality of the particles included therein, and causing the droplets to be dispersed in hot drying gas to convert them to dry spherical-shaped granules, the binding agent serving to bond the solid particles together in the dry spherical-shaped granules. Pressure spray and centrifugal atomizing systems may be employed. For the drying, the inlet gas temperature may range from 300 DEG to 400 DEG F. Particles: lactose, sucrose, dextrose, maltose and corn syrup solids; fumaric, citric, malic, maleic and adipic acids; mannitol; finely-divided cellulose; and sodium silicate. The binding agent in the aqueous medium may be in solution or dispersion and may differ from or be the same material as that forming the solid particles e.g. the native syrup of the material. Binding agents: lactose or glucose, gums, and proteins and starches or their derivatives. The slurry may be formed by crystallization of solid particles from a super-saturated solution in conjunction with agitation to control the size of the particles, or by introducing and inter-mixing ground solid particles with a liquid medium before the atomization. The bulk density of a product may be reduced by introducing small amounts of gas into the slurry being supplied to the atomizer. The slurry may consist essentially of solid lactose particles of 1-100 microns size, the liquid medium being water containing dissolved lactose, and the granules produced by the atomization and drying may have a size of the order 80-400 microns, the bonding consisting of lactose in glass form. If the glass content of the granular particles causes the product to be undesirably hygroscopic, a sufficient portion of the glass lactose may be crystallized, so as to render the product non-hygroscopic, by exposure to warm humidified air and redrying. Examples are directed to producing granules from: (1) crude lactose manufactured from whey and containing 99.25% lactose, 0.4% free moisture, 0.3% ash and 0.05% protein nitrogen, employing a centrifugal atomizer operating at a peripheral speed of 450 feet per second and air at a temperature of 325 DEG F.; fumaric acid with dioctyl sodium sulphosuccinate as a wetting agent and (optionally) lactose or glucose for bonding, employing a centrifugal atomizer operating at a peripheral speed of 7540 r.p.m. and air at a temperature of 310-325 DEG F. |
