A spray drying device for drying yeast using nitrogen as the medium

Abstract

This utility model relates to a spray drying device for yeast drying using nitrogen as the medium, comprising a nitrogen supply device, a nitrogen heater, a spray dryer, a cyclone collector, and a heat pipe heat exchanger. The heat pipe heat exchanger is installed between the cyclone collector and the hot air outlet, and the heat exchange medium pipeline of the heat pipe heat exchanger is connected to the heating system of the nitrogen heater. This application uses nitrogen, an inert gas, instead of air as the drying medium, creating a low-oxygen or anaerobic environment to avoid oxidation reactions and thus protect the active ingredients of yeast. Moreover, given the stability and safety of nitrogen, the drying temperature can be increased from the traditional 180℃ to 250℃ or even 300℃. Under these high-temperature conditions, the water evaporation rate is significantly increased, the drying time is significantly shortened, energy consumption is reduced, heat exchange efficiency is relatively good, the time for heat-sensitive substances to be damaged by heat is reduced, and the active ingredients of yeast are better preserved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of spray drying technology, and in particular to a spray drying device for drying yeast using nitrogen as a medium. Background Technology

[0002] In the microbial fermentation production of single-cell proteins, drying equipment plays a crucial role in removing moisture from fermenting yeast or other microorganisms to obtain a stable product. Spray drying disperses the microbial fermentation broth into tiny droplets through an atomizer, allowing for rapid heat exchange with hot air, causing the moisture to evaporate quickly and resulting in powdered or granular microbial protein products. This technology offers advantages such as fast drying speed, high efficiency, and good product quality, and is particularly suitable for drying heat-sensitive microbial proteins, effectively protecting the active ingredients and nutritional properties of the protein.

[0003] However, during the spray drying process, microbial proteins are also affected by various factors such as thermal stress, dehydration stress, and oxidative stress, which can lead to the inactivation of some microorganisms.

[0004] Currently used spray drying equipment almost entirely uses air as the heat exchange medium. Spray drying devices using air as the medium suffer from high energy consumption, low heat exchange efficiency, and relatively long drying times in yeast drying.

[0005] Spray drying takes a relatively long time, meaning the equipment needs to run continuously and consume energy, especially when processing large-scale yeast production, where energy consumption is a more significant issue. One potential way to reduce energy consumption and increase thermal efficiency is to increase the temperature of the spray drying process. This reduces contact time, allowing excess moisture to evaporate rapidly at high temperatures, thus improving overall efficiency. However, during yeast drying, the high temperature and strong hot air environment of spray drying can cause yeast cells to rupture due to rapid water loss, affecting product functional properties. Furthermore, the oxygen in the high temperature can denature some enzymes and proteins in yeast, leading to reduced yeast bioactivity and impacting product quality. This primarily includes the effects of redox reactions and the denaturation of heat-sensitive substances. Utility Model Content

[0006] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a spray drying device for yeast drying using nitrogen as a medium that can reduce energy consumption, have relatively good heat exchange efficiency, relatively shorten drying time, and avoid affecting the functional characteristics of yeast.

[0007] This application provides a spray drying apparatus for drying yeast using nitrogen as a medium, comprising:

[0008] A nitrogen supply device, wherein the nitrogen supply device has a nitrogen output port;

[0009] A nitrogen heater, connected to the nitrogen supply equipment, is used to heat the nitrogen at the nitrogen output port of the nitrogen supply equipment;

[0010] A spray dryer has a material inlet, a material drying outlet, a hot air inlet, and a hot air outlet. The hot air inlet is connected to the outlet of the nitrogen heater, and the material drying outlet is equipped with a first discharge valve for unloading the dried material.

[0011] A cyclone collector, wherein the cyclone collector is connected to the hot air outlet;

[0012] A heat pipe heat exchanger is installed between the cyclone collector and the hot air outlet. The inlet of the heat pipe heat exchanger is connected to the hot air outlet of the spray dryer, and the outlet of the heat pipe heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the cyclone collector. The heat exchange medium pipeline of the heat pipe heat exchanger is connected to the heating system of the nitrogen heater.

[0013] In one embodiment, the nitrogen heater has a nitrogen preheating chamber, in which a heat pipe condenser coil is arranged, and the heat pipe condenser coil is connected to the heat exchange medium pipeline of the heat pipe heat exchanger.

[0014] In one embodiment, the nitrogen supply device is a nitrogen generator or a nitrogen cylinder.

[0015] In one embodiment, a nitrogen filter is also connected between the nitrogen supply device and the nitrogen heater.

[0016] In one embodiment, the nitrogen filter has a filtration accuracy between 0.01 micrometers and 10 micrometers.

[0017] In one embodiment, the drying tower of the spray dryer has multiple atomization layers.

[0018] In one embodiment, the cyclone collector has a gas outlet, a main ash discharge outlet and an auxiliary ash discharge port. The gas outlet is equipped with a tail gas condenser and a tail gas filter. The main ash discharge outlet is equipped with a second discharge valve. The auxiliary ash discharge port is equipped with an airlock discharge valve.

[0019] In one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus further includes a material tank and a feed pump, the material tank being connected to the material inlet via the feed pump.

[0020] In one embodiment, the nitrogen heater structure includes a sandwich-type cylinder composed of a shell sleeve and a heat insulation sleeve; a heating element axially penetrating the cylinder, the heating element being composed of an outer graphite straight tube and an inner graphite straight tube with spiral fins, forming a spiral airflow channel between the two; the heating system of the nitrogen heater includes the heating element and the nitrogen preheating chamber, the nitrogen preheating chamber being located upstream of the heating element from the nitrogen heating flow direction.

[0021] In one embodiment, the spray drying device further includes a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a flow sensor. The temperature sensor, the pressure sensor, and the flow sensor are installed in the pipe at the outlet of the nitrogen heater, and the temperature sensor, the pressure sensor, and the flow sensor are also installed in the spray dryer.

[0022] The spray drying apparatus for yeast drying using nitrogen as the medium provided in this application utilizes a nitrogen supply device to provide nitrogen, which is then heated by a nitrogen heater. By replacing traditional air with nitrogen as the drying medium, the inert nature of nitrogen effectively isolates oxygen, preventing the oxidation of active substances in yeast during the high-temperature drying process, thereby protecting the yeast's biological activity and quality. Furthermore, given the stability and safety of nitrogen, the drying temperature can be increased from the traditional 180℃ to 250℃ or even 300℃. Under these high-temperature conditions, the water evaporation rate is significantly increased, drying time is significantly shortened, energy consumption is reduced, heat exchange efficiency is relatively good, the time for heat-sensitive substances to be damaged by heat is reduced, and the active components of yeast are better preserved. This application uses nitrogen, an inert gas, instead of air as the drying medium to create a low-oxygen or anaerobic environment, avoiding oxidation reactions and thus protecting the active components of yeast. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a spray drying device for drying yeast using nitrogen as a medium, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To facilitate understanding of this utility model and to make the aforementioned objects, features, and advantages of this utility model more apparent, the specific embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Many specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of this utility model, and preferred embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings. However, this utility model can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure of this utility model. This utility model can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and similar modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this utility model; therefore, this utility model is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this utility model belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the utility model.

[0025] This application provides a spray drying apparatus for drying yeast using nitrogen as the medium. Please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 The spray drying device includes:

[0026] A nitrogen supply device 100, wherein the nitrogen supply device has a nitrogen output port;

[0027] A nitrogen heater 700 is connected to the nitrogen supply device 100 and is used to heat the nitrogen at the nitrogen output port of the nitrogen supply device 100; for example, to heat it to 150°C-250°C or higher, to provide a high-temperature environment for drying.

[0028] A spray dryer 200 has a material inlet 210, a material drying outlet 230, a hot air inlet 220, and a hot air outlet 240. The hot air inlet 220 is connected to the outlet of the nitrogen heater 700, and the material drying outlet 230 is equipped with a first discharge valve 250 for unloading the dried material. In this application, the spray dryer is used to dry yeast liquid to be dried by spray drying. The material inlet is used to connect to the yeast liquid to be dried. It should be noted that the spray dryer typically includes an atomizer, which is installed in the drying tower. The pressurized yeast liquid enters the atomizer at the top of the drying tower and is dispersed into tiny droplets. These droplets have a large specific surface area, which is beneficial for rapid drying. Heated nitrogen gas enters from the side or bottom of the drying tower and comes into full contact with the atomized droplets for heat exchange. The yeast droplets rapidly evaporate moisture during contact with the hot nitrogen gas, forming a dried powder or granular product. The dried product falls to the bottom of the drying tower.

[0029] A cyclone collector 400 is connected to the hot air outlet 240. In this application, the dried air containing product particles enters the cyclone separator, where centrifugal force separates larger particles from the airflow. The separated product is collected through a discharge valve. By incorporating the cyclone collector 400, this application further collects material from the exhaust gas flowing out of the hot air outlet 240, reducing material waste.

[0030] A heat pipe heat exchanger 300 is installed between the cyclone collector 400 and the hot air outlet 240. The inlet of the heat pipe heat exchanger 300 is connected to the hot air outlet 240 of the spray dryer 200, and the outlet of the heat pipe heat exchanger 300 is connected to the inlet 410 of the cyclone collector 400. The heat exchange medium pipeline of the heat pipe heat exchanger 300 is connected to the heating system of the nitrogen heater 700. In this application, the heat of the exhaust gas from the hot air outlet 240 of the spray dryer 200 is further recovered through the heat pipe heat exchanger 300 and used for the heating system of the nitrogen heater 700, thereby reducing heat energy waste.

[0031] The spray drying apparatus for yeast drying using nitrogen as the medium provided in this application utilizes a nitrogen supply device to provide nitrogen, which is then heated by a nitrogen heater. By replacing traditional air with nitrogen as the drying medium, the inert nature of nitrogen effectively isolates oxygen, preventing the oxidation of active substances in yeast during the high-temperature drying process, thereby protecting the yeast's biological activity and quality. Furthermore, given the stability and safety of nitrogen, the drying temperature can be increased from the traditional 180℃ to 250℃ or even 300℃. Under these high-temperature conditions, the water evaporation rate is significantly increased, drying time is significantly shortened, energy consumption is reduced, heat exchange efficiency is relatively good, the time for heat-sensitive substances to be damaged by heat is reduced, and the active components of yeast are better preserved. This application uses nitrogen, an inert gas, instead of air as the drying medium to create a low-oxygen or anaerobic environment, avoiding oxidation reactions and thus protecting the active components of yeast.

[0032] In one embodiment, the nitrogen heater 700 has a nitrogen preheating chamber, in which a heat pipe condenser coil is arranged, and the heat pipe condenser coil is connected to the heat exchange medium pipeline of the heat pipe heat exchanger. Thus, by preheating the nitrogen gas relative to the nitrogen gas in the nitrogen heater before heating it, residual heat can be recovered, reducing energy consumption.

[0033] In one embodiment, the nitrogen supply device 100 is a nitrogen generator or a nitrogen cylinder. That is, the nitrogen supply device can use a nitrogen cylinder or a nitrogen generator to produce nitrogen. For example, a nitrogen filter is also connected between the nitrogen supply device 100 and the nitrogen heater 700. In this application, high-purity nitrogen is supplied by a nitrogen source (such as a nitrogen cylinder or nitrogen generator) to ensure an inert gas environment. Before entering the heating system, the nitrogen passes through a filter to remove impurities and moisture, ensuring nitrogen purity. For example, the filtration accuracy of the nitrogen filter is between 0.01 micrometers and 10 micrometers. For example, the filtration accuracy of the nitrogen filter is 0.1 micrometers.

[0034] For example, filtered nitrogen enters a nitrogen heater and is heated to a set temperature (150°C-250°C or higher) to provide a high-temperature environment for drying.

[0035] In this application, a nitrogen generator is installed or an external nitrogen source is connected, along with a gas storage tank and a pressurization device, to ensure a stable supply of high-purity nitrogen at the appropriate pressure and flow rate to the drying device. A gas purification device is also installed to remove impurities and moisture from the nitrogen, ensuring its quality. For example, the spray drying device further includes a gas storage tank and a pressurization device connected between the nitrogen heater and the spray dryer, with the pressurization device used to increase the nitrogen pressure.

[0036] In one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus further includes a material tank 500 and a feed pump 600, wherein the material tank 500 is connected to the material inlet via the feed pump. The material tank 500 stores yeast liquid to be dried, and the material tank 500 is connected to the material inlet 210 via the feed pump 600. Thus, by providing the feed pump 600, the yeast liquid to be dried is conveniently pumped to the spray dryer for spray drying. In this application, yeast protein mother liquor is stored in a mother liquor tank and transported to the top of the spray dryer via a feed pump. The mother liquor is atomized into tiny droplets by the high-efficiency atomizer of the spray dryer, increasing the contact area with hot nitrogen and accelerating drying.

[0037] In one embodiment, the drying tower of the spray dryer has multiple atomization layers. For example, the drying tower of the spray dryer has 2-4 atomization layers. This results in better spray drying effect. For example, the tower body of the spray dryer is made of stainless steel, which provides high-temperature resistance and corrosion resistance. For example, the tower body material and pressure-resistant design: the tower body is made of high-temperature resistant, corrosion-resistant, and smooth stainless steel, and the drying tower is manufactured using high-temperature resistant and pressure-resistant materials, such as special alloys or high-grade stainless steel, to withstand the pressure and temperature changes of high-temperature nitrogen, ensuring the robustness, durability, and safety of the equipment. For example, a reasonable tower shape and size are designed, and the internal structure is optimized, such as by setting multiple high-efficiency atomizing nozzles to evenly disperse the yeast liquid into tiny droplets, increasing the contact area with nitrogen and improving drying efficiency; appropriate baffles and guide plates are arranged to guide the flow direction of nitrogen and droplets, extending the drying time and ensuring the drying effect. Of course, it should be noted that the spray dryer of this application can adopt existing spray drying equipment.

[0038] In one embodiment, the cyclone collector 400 has a gas outlet 420, a main ash discharge outlet 440, and an auxiliary ash discharge outlet 430. The gas outlet 420 is equipped with a tail gas condenser 421 and a tail gas filter 422. The tail gas from the gas outlet 420 is treated by the tail gas condenser 421 and the tail gas filter 422 before being discharged. The main ash discharge outlet 440 of the cyclone collector 400 is equipped with a second discharge valve 441, and the auxiliary ash discharge outlet 430 is equipped with a lock-type discharge valve 431, both used to collect dried yeast particles. In this application, a tail gas treatment device is used, which installs a condenser and a bag filter in the tail gas. The condenser condenses water vapor in the tail gas into water, reducing moisture emissions; the bag filter uses filter bags to intercept yeast dust in the tail gas, preventing dust pollution of the environment, and simultaneously recovers some incompletely dried yeast particles, improving raw material utilization.

[0039] In one embodiment, the nitrogen heater comprises a sandwich-type cylindrical body consisting of a shell sleeve and a heat insulation sleeve; a heating element axially penetrating the cylindrical body, the heating element consisting of an outer graphite straight tube and an inner graphite straight tube with spiral fins, forming a spiral airflow channel between them; the heating system of the nitrogen heater includes the heating element and the nitrogen preheating chamber, the nitrogen preheating chamber being located upstream of the heating element in the nitrogen heating flow direction. In this application, by using graphite for heating, the heating sensitivity is high and the temperature control is relatively precise.

[0040] In one embodiment, the spray drying device further includes a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a flow sensor. The temperature sensor, pressure sensor, and flow sensor are installed in the pipe at the outlet of the nitrogen heater, and the spray dryer is also equipped with the same sensors. Thus, by incorporating temperature, pressure, and flow sensors, precise control of the nitrogen supply parameters is facilitated.

[0041] The spray drying apparatus for yeast drying using nitrogen as the medium provided in this application utilizes a nitrogen supply device to provide nitrogen, which is then heated by a nitrogen heater. By replacing traditional air with nitrogen as the drying medium, the inert nature of nitrogen effectively isolates oxygen, preventing the oxidation of active substances in yeast during the high-temperature drying process, thereby protecting the yeast's biological activity and quality. Furthermore, given the stability and safety of nitrogen, the drying temperature can be increased from the traditional 180℃ to 250℃ or even 300℃. Under these high-temperature conditions, the water evaporation rate is significantly increased, drying time is significantly shortened, energy consumption is reduced, heat exchange efficiency is relatively good, the time for heat-sensitive substances to be damaged by heat is reduced, and the active components of yeast are better preserved. This application uses nitrogen, an inert gas, instead of air as the drying medium to create a low-oxygen or anaerobic environment, avoiding oxidation reactions and thus protecting the active components of yeast.

[0042] In one embodiment, a heat pipe heat exchanger can also be used instead of a heat pipe heat exchanger or a plate heat exchanger installed in the exhaust pipe (hot air outlet) of the spray dryer. When the high-temperature exhaust gas is discharged, it exchanges heat with the heat transfer medium in the heat exchanger, transferring the waste heat to the nitrogen gas preparing to enter the drying tower, thus realizing the recovery and utilization of heat energy and reducing energy consumption. Regular maintenance and cleaning of the heat recovery device are necessary to ensure stable heat exchange efficiency and long-term effective operation.

[0043] In one embodiment, this application can also install multiple sensors, such as temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and flow sensors, at key locations in the drying tower, nitrogen supply system, heat recovery system, and exhaust gas treatment system to monitor various parameters in real time and feed the data back to the automation control center. The control center automatically adjusts nitrogen flow rate, temperature, pressure, and yeast liquid feeding rate according to preset control logic and algorithms, achieving automated and precise control of the drying process.

[0044] This application has the following advantages:

[0045] Advantages and innovations

[0046] Improve product quality: By using nitrogen protection and high-temperature rapid drying, the active ingredients and biological activity of yeast are preserved to the maximum extent, thereby improving the quality and value of yeast and its derivatives. It is especially suitable for the drying and production of highly active yeast.

[0047] Improving production efficiency: Shortening drying time, increasing output per unit time, improving production efficiency, and reducing production costs help enterprises gain an advantage in market competition.

[0048] Reduced energy consumption: Efficient heat recovery systems can make full use of the waste heat in exhaust gas, reduce energy waste, reduce the operating energy consumption of the equipment, and improve energy utilization efficiency, resulting in good economic and environmental benefits.

[0049] Safe and reliable: The entire system adopts a sealed design and is equipped with an advanced automatic control system to ensure the safe and stable circulation and operation of nitrogen, reduce safety risks caused by gas leaks, and provide reliable protection for production.

[0050] High adaptability: This device can adapt to the drying needs of different types of yeast and yeast derivatives by adjusting parameters such as drying temperature and nitrogen flow rate, and has wide applicability and flexibility.

[0051] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as the combination of these technical features does not contradict each other, it should be considered within the scope of this specification. It should be noted that the terms "in one embodiment," "for example," and "again," etc., in this application are intended to illustrate the application and not to limit it. The above embodiments only illustrate several implementation methods of this utility model, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the utility model patent. It should be pointed out that for those skilled in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of this utility model, and these all fall within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A spray drying apparatus for drying yeast using nitrogen as a medium, characterized in that, include: A nitrogen supply device, wherein the nitrogen supply device has a nitrogen output port; A nitrogen heater, connected to the nitrogen supply equipment, is used to heat the nitrogen at the nitrogen output port of the nitrogen supply equipment; A spray dryer has a material inlet, a material drying outlet, a hot air inlet, and a hot air outlet. The hot air inlet is connected to the outlet of the nitrogen heater, and the material drying outlet is equipped with a first discharge valve for unloading the dried material. A cyclone collector, wherein the cyclone collector is connected to the hot air outlet; A heat pipe heat exchanger is installed between the cyclone collector and the hot air outlet. The inlet of the heat pipe heat exchanger is connected to the hot air outlet of the spray dryer, and the outlet of the heat pipe heat exchanger is connected to the inlet of the cyclone collector. The heat exchange medium pipeline of the heat pipe heat exchanger is connected to the heating system of the nitrogen heater.

2. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The nitrogen heater has a nitrogen preheating chamber, in which a heat pipe condenser section coil is arranged, and the heat pipe condenser section coil is connected to the heat exchange medium pipeline of the heat pipe heat exchanger.

3. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The nitrogen supply equipment is a nitrogen generator or a nitrogen cylinder.

4. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, A nitrogen filter is also connected between the nitrogen supply equipment and the nitrogen heater.

5. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The filtration accuracy of the nitrogen filter is between 0.01 micrometers and 10 micrometers.

6. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drying tower of the spray dryer has multiple atomization layers.

7. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cyclone collector has a gas outlet, a main ash discharge outlet and an auxiliary ash discharge port. The gas outlet is equipped with a tail gas condenser and a tail gas filter. The main ash discharge outlet is equipped with a second discharge valve. The auxiliary ash discharge port is equipped with an airlock discharge valve.

8. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spray drying device also includes a material tank and a feeding pump, wherein the material tank is connected to the material inlet via the feeding pump.

9. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The structure of the nitrogen heater includes a sandwich-type cylinder composed of a shell sleeve and a heat insulation sleeve; a heating element that axially penetrates the cylinder, the heating element being composed of an outer graphite straight tube and an inner graphite straight tube with spiral fins, forming a spiral airflow channel between the two; the heating system of the nitrogen heater includes the heating element and the nitrogen preheating chamber, the nitrogen preheating chamber being located upstream of the heating element from the nitrogen heating flow direction.

10. The spray drying apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spray drying device also includes a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a flow sensor. The temperature sensor, the pressure sensor, and the flow sensor are installed in the pipe at the outlet of the nitrogen heater, and the spray dryer is also equipped with the temperature sensor, the pressure sensor, and the flow sensor.

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