FEED QUALITY CONTROL

AND MONITORING
SYSTEM FOR SPRAY DRYER
By: AldMiralPads

ALDONZA, FRED ANTHONY O.

MIRALLO, JASON L.
PADOLINA, JAVE MARK G.
 SPRAY DRYING

• A continuous operation to produce dry powders from a

liquid solution
• Solution is sprayed through a nozzle into a chamber
• Moisture component is removed from the solution via a
hot gaseous drying medium
• Powder is then collected as output
 STAGES OF SPRAY DRYING

• Feeding Process : Introduction of the

solution to the system
• Atomization : Splitting of the solution
into droplets
• Drying process : Evaporation of solvent
from droplets
• Recovery process : Collection of powder as
final output
STAGES OF SPRAY DRYING
 PROBLEM STATEMENTS

1. Lack of control over the feed input

2. Clogging occurs inside the spray dryer
 MAIN OBJECTIVE

Design a system for the spray dryer that will

monitor and control the feed
 SUB-OBJECTIVES
1. Design a system that will monitor the turbidity
of the feed
2. Design a control system that will separate the
suspended solids present in the solution
3. Design a system that will determine the feed
quality fit for spray drying
 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

• Add a feed control system to the spray

dryer
• Introduce a monitoring system that
oversees the preprocessing of the feed
• Minimization of clogging inside the spray
dryer
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
• Agglomeration : Clumping of particles within the
solution resulting in clogging
• Feed : Liquid solution to be fed into the
spray dryer
• Output : Powdered result of the spray drying
process
• Suspended solids : Solid particles floating in the
solution
• Turbidity : Haziness of the feed due to the
presence of suspended solids
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
 SOLUTION
homogeneous mixture of two or more substances

Components of a Solution

• Solvent : dissolves the other component in itself

• Solute : dissolves in the solvent

 CHARACTERISTICS OF A TRUE SOLUTION

• Homogeneous
• Size of solid particles is extremely small
• Particles cannot be seen even with a microscope
• Particles pass through the filter paper
• Particles present in a solution do not separate
• True solutions do not scatter light
 ULTRASONIC PROXIMITY SENSOR

L. Koval, J. Vaňuš and P. Bilík, "Distance Measuring by Ultrasonic Sensor", IFAC-PapersOnLine, vol. 49, no. 25, pp. 153-158, 2016. Available:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405896316326623
 DISTANCE CALCULATION

(𝑻 × 𝑪)
𝑳=
𝟐

where:
L : distance, m
T : time between the emission and reception,
seconds
C : speed of sound (343 m/s)
 PLUMBING TRAP (P-TRAP)

[3]"All About Plumbing Traps", The Plumbing Info, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://theplumbinginfo.com/plumbing-traps/. [Accessed: 29- Mar- 2019].
 TURBIDITY

• Optical property that causes light to be scattered and absorbed

rather than transmitted in straight lines through a sample
• Reported in units called a Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU)
• Dependent on the amount of total suspended solids present in the
solution
TURBIDITY SENSOR

[3]"All About Plumbing Traps", The Plumbing Info, 2019. [Online].

Available: https://theplumbinginfo.com/plumbing-traps/
 Turbidity Formulas
Equation for calculating total suspended solids, TSS:

𝑨−𝑩
𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝑵𝑻𝑼 = α𝑻𝑺𝑺β 𝑻𝑺𝑺, 𝒎𝒈Τ𝑳 =
𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆

where: where:
α = coefficient of regression A = Sample and filter weight
β = coefficient of regression B = Filter weight
(approximately equal to 1)
LITERATURE REVIEW
 SPRAY DRYING PREPARATIONS FOR FRUITS
General processes for fruits: Specific processes for fruits:
• clean  deactivate enzyme,
 extract juice
• drain juice
 coarse filtering of juice
• filter
 ceramic membrane
• add processing aid to be ultrafiltration
homogenized  usage of additives for
• use spray dryer concentration of juices
 use spray dryer

U. Guangxi, "Processing technology for spray evaporation type fruit and vegetable juice concentrate", CN105029595, 2015
L. Youngji, G. Honghui and F. Xiaoyan, "Preparation method of red bayberry effervescent tablet instant solid beverage", CN107712540, 2018
Guangxi Zheyuan Agricultural Science and Tech Co Ltd, "Roxburgh rose fruit electuary and preparation method thereof", CN107594275, 2018
DOST SPRAY DRYER - FEEDING MECHANISM

• Holding tank
• Valve
• Piston/pneumatic pump
• Pressure gauge
• Filter

O. Evangelista and A. Buison, DOST-Developed Food Processing Equipment Manual DOST, pp. 1-17
MODERN SPRAY DRYER -FEED SUPPLY SYSTEM

Modern Spray Dryer -Feed supply system

• Feed tank(s)
• Feed pump/supply pump
• Concentrate heater
• Filter
• Homogenizer/high pressure pump
• Feed line
J. Pisecky, V. Westergaard and E. Refstrup, "Components of a spray drying installation", GEA engineering for a better world, 2018. [Online].
Available: https://www.gea.com/en/expert-knowledge/milk-powder-manufacture/components-spray-drying-installation.jsp. [Accessed: 16-
Mar- 2018].
 OTHER MODIFICATIONS/ADVANCES IN SPRAY
DRYING

Intelligent High-Speed
Centrifugal Spray Dryer

• detects if raw materials are left within the feeding

container
• detects the degree of humidity of the products
L. XIANGJING, "Intelligent high-speed centrifugal spray dryer", CN105833553 (A), 2016
A. Mujumdar, L. Huang and X. Dong Chen, "An overview of the recent advances in spray-drying", Dairy Science & Technology, vol. 90, no. 2-3, pp.
211-224, 2010.
 OTHER SYSTEMS

• recent predictive studies on predicted effects

of innovative chamber geometry
• reduced pressure operation
• operation in low dew-point air
• superheated steam are presented
• theoretical results on a horizontal spray
chamber configuration

A. Mujumdar, L. Huang and X. Dong Chen, "An overview of the recent advances in spray-drying", Dairy Science & Technology, vol. 90, no. 2-3,
pp. 211-224, 2010.
 FOOD PROCESSING MATERIALS SAFETY
MONITORING DEVICE

Setup:
• Lifting device includes a fixing frame, a lifting rod, a gear and a
rack
• Lifting rod can move up and down along the fixing frame
• Gear is the rotating shaft of the stepping motor which is fixedly
connected
• Rack is connected with the lifting rod
• The gear is meshed with the rack, and the turbidity sensor is
fixed on the lifting rod
Qinghai Zhongchuang Enterprise Man Consulting Co Ltd, "Food processing materials safety monitoring device", CN206358686, 2017
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
COMPONENTS, BLOCK DIAGRAM, CIRCUIT DIAGRAM, FLOW CHART, SYSTEMS
DESIGN, PROPOSED EXPERIMENT
BLOCK DIAGRAM
COMPONENTS
ELECTRONIC KEYPAD

SPECIFICATIONS:
Circuit Rating : 35 VDC, 100 mA
Contact Bounce : <5 ms

PURPOSE:
- use to select the mode to be
undertaken by the system
- Key (1):Cleaning, Key (2): Filtering, Key
(#): Start operation
TURBIDITY SENSOR

SPECIFICATIONS:
Working voltage : 5 VDC
Operating Current : 30 mA (MAX)
Dimension : 30 mm x 20 mm x 12 mm
Response time : <500 ms
Output way : high / low signal
: ( High: 5 V Low : 0 V)

PURPOSE:
- measures the turbidity of the solution
ULTRASONIC SENSOR
SPECIFICATIONS:
• Operating voltage : +5 VDC
• Static current : less than 2 mA
• Detection angle : 15 °
• Range : 2 cm ~ 400 cm
• Precision : 0.3 cm
• Operating Current : 15 mA
• Operating Frequency : 40 kHz
• Dimensions : 45 mm x 20 mm x 15 mm

PURPOSE:
- measures the liquid level of the containers
ARDUINO MEGA 2560
SPECIFICATIONS:
• Microcontroller : ATMEGA1280
• Operating Voltage :5V
• Input Voltage(Recommended) : 7-12 V
• Input Voltage(Limits) : 6-20 V
• Digital I/O Pins : 54
• Analog Input Pins : 16
• DC Current per I/O Pin : 40 mA
• Clock Speed : 16 MHz

PURPOSE:
- controls the various components and processes
the data received
LCD SCREEN

SPECIFICATIONS:
LCM type : Characters
Display : 2-lines X 16-characters
Voltage : 5 VDC
Dimension : 80 mm x 36 mm x 12 mm
Display area size : 64.5 mm x 16 mm
I2C / IIC Address : 0x3F

PURPOSE:
-displays the system’s processes and data
gathered from the sensor
 RELAY

FEATURES – SPECIFICATIONS
• VCC :5V
• Logic : Low Activation
• Load capacity : 10 A at 125-250 VAC
• Load capacity : 10 A at up to 30 VDC
• with LED light indicator

PURPOSE:
- regulates the neccessary power required by
components to function
MOTOR PUMP
SPECIFICATIONS:

Voltage : 12 VDC/24 VDC

Maximum Rated Current : 1000 mA
Power : 22 W
Max Flow Rate : 800 L/H
Max Water Head :5m
Max circulating water temperature : 100 °C
Size : About 6.5 cm x 8 cm

PURPOSE:
- increases the flow rate of the system
SOLENOID WATER VALVE

SPECIFICATIONS:
• Voltage : 12 VDC
• Pressure : 0.02 - 0.8 Mpa
• Operation mode : normally closed
• Valve type : diaphragm

PURPOSE:
- controls the in/out flow of the solutions
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
FLOW CHART
 SYSTEMS DESIGN
Feed Quality Control and Monitoring System
for Spray Dryer
(FQCMS)
Feed Quality Control and
Monitoring System for
Spray Dryer
(FQCMS)
 Feed Quality Control and
Monitoring System for
Spray Dryer
(FQCMS)

Front View Side View

EXPERIMENTS
EXPERIMENT 1: TURBIDITY ACCURACY TEST
Objective:
• To determine the accuracy of the turbidity sensor
Materials:
1. Power source, 12 VDC
2. Arduino Mega 2560
3. LCD Screen
4. Turbidity sensor (SKU:SEN0189)
5. 15 L of mineral, distilled, purified water
6. 15 L of coconut water with 3000 NTU, 2000 NTU and 1000 NTU
7. Four gal. empty container

Program used:
Turbidity.ino
PROCEDURE:
1. Upload the program to the microcontroller
2. Connect the microcontroller to the power supply
3. Connect the turbidity sensor and LCD screen to the
microcontroller
4. Prepare 15 L of mineral, distilled, purified, and pure
coconut water in separate containers with labels
4.A. For the tap water:
Expected turbidity of the liquid is 0 NTU
4.B. For the distilled water:
Expected turbidity of the liquid is 0 NTU
4.C. For the purified water:
Expected turbidity of the liquid is 0 NTU
4.D. For the coconut water (3000 NTU, 2000 NTU, 1000 NTU):
Expected turbidity can be calculated using the formulas:
Sample weight − Filter weight 𝑚𝑔
𝑇𝑆𝑆 = ,
SampleVolume 𝐿

Turbidity (𝑁𝑇𝑈) = 𝛼𝑇𝑆𝑆𝛽 ; using regression coefficient: 0.9649 for 𝛼 and β

5. Pour the mineral water into the observation container
6. Dip the turbidity sensor probes into the container to get the actual
turbidity value
7. Record the value displayed in the LCD screen
8. Calculate the percent error and accuracy by using the
formulas:
actual value − expected value
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟, % = × 100
expected value
Accuracy,% = 100 – 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟
9. Record the calculated values
10.Dispose of the used sample, clean the sensor and
container
11.Procedures 5 – 7 are to be repeated for a total of 10 trials
12.Calculate the total average value of the actual turbidity
values and the accuracy values
13.Repeat procedures 5 - 11 for other sample juices
 Sample EXPECTED ACTUAL
Accuracy (%)
(Volume = 15 L) Turbidity (NTU) Turbidity (NTU)

3000 2546.75 84.89

coconut
2000 1661.47 83.07
water

1000 874.28 87.43

mineral
0 0 100
water

purified
0 0 100
water

distilled
0 0 100
water

Average: 92.57
EXPERIMENT 2: MINIMUM TURBIDITY TEST
Objective:
• To determine the minimum allowable turbidity that can pass through the system
Materials:
1. Power Source
2. Feed Quality Control and Monitoring System (FQCMS)
3. 15 L of coconut water, orange, lemon, apple juice
4. 60 g of grounded coconut meat, blended apple, orange and lemon pulps
5. Strainer (100 mesh)
6. Weighing Scale
7. FIC-given Data Chart
Program Used: Turbidity.ino
PROCEDURE:
1. Upload the program to the microcontroller of the
FQCMS
2. Prepare the sample juices in separate containers
3. Pour the apple juice into Liquid Container 1 of the
FQCMS
4. Turn on FQCMS
5. On the keypad, press the “#” key to start the operation
6. Record the turbidity value displayed on the LCD display
7. Get the trapped solution from the p-trap and put into
a separate container
8. Filter the trapped solution with the strainer and weigh
the filtered solid
9. Record the weight of the filtered solid
10.Repeat procedures 3 to 9
11.Repeat procedures 3 – 10 for 5 trials
12.Calculate the total average weight and turbidity
values
13.Refer to FIC given data, calculate the percent error
and accuracy using the formulas:

actual value − expected value

𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟, % = × 100
expected value
Accuracy,% =100 – 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟

14.Repeat procedures 3 – 13 for orange, lemon, and

coconut
 FIC given sample data
(volume = 15 L)

Iterations
Weight Turbidity FQCMS method: Taken as separate occasion
(g) (NTU) assuming at full load of 15L
0 500 22315.57 Weight Turbidity
Iterations
1 465 20806.41 (g) (NTU)
2 430 19293.17 0 60 2884.19
3 395 17775.64
1 52.45 2726.07
4 360 16253.37
2 44.90 2527.21
5 325 14725.89
6 290 13192.62
7 255 11652.82
8 220 10105.56 Method Average Turbidity (NTU)
9 185 8549.59 FIC 2184.92
10 150 6983.20
FQCMS 2527.21
11 115 5403.80
12 80 3807.15 Accuracy: 84.33 %
13 45 2184.92
14 10 511.31
 EXPERIMENT 3: SYSTEM EFFICIENCY TEST
Objective:
• To determine the efficiency of the system
Materials:
1. Feed Quality Control and Monitoring System (FQCMS)
2. 15 L of juices in separate containers (apple, lemon, orange, and
coconut)
3. Strainer (100 mesh)
4. Timer
5. FIC Given Data
Program used:
final_code_hopefully_v3.0.ino
PROCEDURE:
Manual Processing (FIC Method):
1. Prepare the juices in separate containers
2. Start the timer
3. Strain the sample juice using strainer
4. Repeat procedure 3 for two more times
5. Stop timer and record duration
6. Repeat procedures 2 – 5 for other juices
FQCMS Processing:
1. Upload the program to the microcontroller of the FQCMS
2. Prepare the juices in separate containers
3. Start the timer
4. Pour the apple juice into the Liquid Container 1 of FQCMS and wait
until the LCD displays “PROCESS COMPLETE”
5. Stop the timer and record the duration
6. Dispose of the used sample and pour cleaning solution into FCQMS
for internal fixture cleaning
7. Repeat procedure 2 – 5 for 5 trials
8. Repeat the procedures 1-6 using a different juice sample (orange,
lemon, and coconut)
Comparing the two processes
1. Take the average time of every sample in system
processing and record the value
2. Get the overall average time of system processing
3. Get the overall average time of manual processing
4. Calculate efficiency using the formula:

Time difference = Average Manual Time − Average System Time

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦, % =
Average Manual Time
5. Record the calculated values
 FQCMS
Samples Time (minutes)
apple 09:49
Efficiency
orange 09:47
lemon 09:44
Average Time
Method
(minutes)
buko 09:46
Average: 09:47
FQCMS 09:47

FIC Given Data FIC 15:20

Sample Time (minutes)
turmeric and 10:00 Efficiency 36.30 %
calamansi 16:40
13:00
calamansi
21:40
Average: 15:20
 CONCLUSION:
The designed system that can control and
monitor the feed before spray drying:
• with a turbidity sensor accuracy of
92.57%
• is 36.30% faster (time-wise) than manual
processing
• is 84.33% accurate
RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Replace the wide range turbidity sensor with a smaller range for a
further increase in accuracy
• Replace the solenoid valves with servo-motor controlled ball valves
for more control of the flow
• Replace the cylindrical containers with a conical-shaped container
for sanitation and less waste
• Add separate cleaning tank to further increase processing speed
(clean up time included)
THANK YOU!