Milk Powder Deposition in Cross-Flow Heat Exchangers

Abstract

The lack of heat recovery implementation in spray dryer exhausts can be ascribed to difficulties associated with particulate fouling that reduce the thermal performance of these units. The aim of this work is to experimentally characterise the deposition of two brands of skim milk powder (A and B) on a bare tube bank in cross-flow. Results show that the tube powder deposition for powder A reached a maximum at the second row of tubes while for powder B the maximum was at the third row. Analysing the mid diameter of tube deposited particles for powder A showed a separation of particles based on tube row where increasing tube row number into the heat exchanger the deposited particle size was reduced.