2 PDEng Positions: Vortex Chamber Spray Dryer at the University of Twente

The PDEng programme is a 2-year post MSc technological programme with a focus on technological design. This programme at the University of Twente contains an educational part that will be followed at the University (~50%), and a design project (~50%) that will be carried out in cooperation with FrieslandCampina, ECN, ISPT, Unilever and Université Catholique de Louvain under RVO JIP project “Vortex Chamber”. The educational programme will have an in-depth and broadening character with ample attention for professional development and will be partly tailored to the design project. In collaboration with industrial partners, high level, creative and new designs for complex issues will be aimed at.

Research on drying of granular materials in rotating fluidized beds has shown large increase in momentum, heat and mass transfer rates. Application of this concept to spray drying of food, chemicals and pharmaceutical products offers tremendous opportunities for energy saving, investment reduction and product innovation. The aim of this project is to translate the concept of a vortex chamber spray dryer into a well-engineered unit that is ready for further scale-up and demonstration, including validation of energy saving potential, proof of low investment costs and of improved properties of dairy products.

The CFD and experimental research will be carried out at the University of Twente (group of Thermal Engineering) with focus on spray dryer performance. Experimental investigations will be executed in the state-of-the-art PDIA atomization test rig. The data will be used in the CFD computations for vortex chamber dryer design and operating window optimization. The goal of PDEng assignments is to develop tools based on CFD and engineering approach in order to be able to model and to predict behaviour of the vortex chamber spray dryer under various drying loads and operating conditions. The tools will be utilized further in the reactor design and scale-up process. A high quality of the spray milk powder products with simultaneous reduction of energy costs is of prime interest.

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2 PDEng Positions: Vortex Chamber Spray Dryer at the University of Twente