Spray drying device and operating method thereof

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a spray drying device may comprise: a nozzle which obtains compressed air, provided from a compressor via a plurality of branch paths, and a spray liquid, provided from a peristaltic pump, and ejects spray droplets to be dried; a first drying chamber which has a structure in which some of the plurality of branch paths surround the surface, and which generates a target powder by drying the spray droplets on the basis of the flow of the heated air; a second drying chamber which obtains the spray droplets from the first drying chamber, and generates the target powder by drying the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber on the basis of the flow of air obtained via the first drying chamber; and a heat pump which includes a heat sink assembly including a plurality of heat dissipation plates and a plurality of heat pipe arrays passing through the heat dissipation plates, and thus reduces the humidity contained in the air obtained from the second drying chamber, reheats the air obtained via the second drying chamber, and resupplies the first drying chamber with the reheated air.

Description

Spray drying apparatus and method of operation thereof

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a spray drying apparatus and an operating method thereof. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a spray drying apparatus and an operating method thereof capable of improving energy utilization efficiency.

[0002] Drying refers to the process of separating liquids or droplets containing moisture from solids or semi-solids through evaporation. Drying includes dehydration, sublimation, and gas drying, and the heat transfer process required to evaporate the liquid can be important in the drying process. A spray dryer is a device that creates small particles or powder by spraying target materials in a liquid, droplet, slurry, or PASTE state by blowing hot gas into a drying chamber. However, conventional spray dryers have limitations in that they either immediately discharge the heat energy used for drying to the outside or cannot use the energy effectively.

[0003] In addition, in the case of a general spray drying device, there is a limitation that the heat energy of the drying room cannot be efficiently recovered, or the flow of internal air cannot be smoothly induced during the design process to improve the efficiency of reuse of heat energy, so that the pressure loss or temperature environment within the spray drying device cannot be maintained constant, which ultimately limits the improvement of the yield of the spray drying device.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for the development of a spray drying device technology that can reuse the heat energy used for drying and facilitate the flow of internal air.

[0005] According to one embodiment, a spray drying apparatus and a method of operating the same may be provided.

[0006] More specifically, a spray drying device and an operating method thereof can be provided that improve air flow and energy efficiency by including a structure that separates the circulation cycle of heat pump steam and the flow cycle of air used for heat pump heat exchange.

[0007] As a technical means for achieving the above-described technical problem, according to one embodiment, a spray drying device may be provided, including: a nozzle that obtains compressed air provided from a compressor through a plurality of branch paths and a spray liquid provided from a peristaltic pump, and discharges spray droplets to be dried; a first drying chamber in which some of the plurality of branch paths are provided in a structure that surrounds a surface, and dries the spray droplets based on a flow of the heated air to produce a target powder; a second drying chamber that obtains spray droplets from the first drying chamber and dries the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber based on a flow of air obtained through the first drying chamber to produce a target powder; and a heat sink assembly including a plurality of heat sinks and a plurality of heat pipe arrays penetrating the heat sinks, thereby reducing humidity contained in air obtained from the second drying chamber, reheating the air obtained through the second drying chamber, and resupplying the reheated air to the first drying chamber.

[0008] In one embodiment, energy efficiency can be improved by reusing the thermal energy used to generate the target powder.

[0009] According to one embodiment, by maintaining smooth air flow within a spray drying device, thermal energy efficiency and powder production yield can be improved.

[0010] Figure 1 is a drawing schematically showing the operation process of a spray drying device according to one embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a drawing schematically illustrating the structure of a spray drying apparatus according to another embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining the operation mode of a spray drying device according to one embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a drawing for explaining a waste heat absorption structure located on the surface of a first drying room or an adjacent portion of the surface according to one embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a first drying room according to one embodiment.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining the structure of the piping between the first drying room and the second drying room according to one embodiment.

[0016] Figure 7 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a second drying room according to one embodiment.

[0017] Figure 8 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a heat pump according to one embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 9 is a drawing showing a heat sink assembly included in an evaporator and a condenser of a heat pump according to one embodiment.

[0019] FIG. 10 is a drawing for explaining the energy efficiency improvement effect of a spray drying device according to one embodiment.

[0020] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a spray drying apparatus according to one embodiment.

[0021] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a spray drying apparatus according to another embodiment.

[0022] According to one embodiment, a spray drying device may include: a nozzle that obtains compressed air provided from a compressor through a plurality of branch paths and a spray liquid provided from a peristaltic pump, and discharges spray droplets to be dried; a first drying chamber in which some of the plurality of branch paths are provided in a structure that surrounds a surface, and dries the spray droplets based on a flow of the heated air to produce a target powder; a second drying chamber that obtains spray droplets from the first drying chamber and dries the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber based on a flow of air obtained through the first drying chamber to produce a target powder; and a heat pump that includes a heat sink assembly including a plurality of heat sinks and a plurality of heat pipe arrays penetrating the heat sinks, thereby reducing humidity contained in air obtained from the second drying chamber, reheating air obtained through the second drying chamber, and resupplying the reheated air to the first drying chamber.

[0023] The terms used in this specification will be briefly explained, and the present disclosure will be described in detail.

[0024] The terms used in this disclosure have been selected from widely used, current terms, taking into account the functions of the disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on the intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. Furthermore, in certain cases, terms may be arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in such cases, their meanings will be described in detail in the relevant description of the invention. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should not be defined simply as names, but rather based on the meanings of the terms and the overall content of the disclosure.

[0025] When a part of the specification is said to "include" a component, this does not exclude other components, but rather implies the inclusion of other components, unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, terms such as "part," "module," etc., used throughout the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0026] Below, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In addition, in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted for clarity of description of the present disclosure, and similar parts are designated with similar reference numerals throughout the specification.

[0027]

[0028] Figure 1 is a drawing schematically showing the operation process of a spray drying device according to one embodiment.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the spray drying device (10) can improve energy efficiency by reusing heat energy using the principle of a heat pump. The spray drying device (10) according to one embodiment can have a form in which the circulation cycle of steam and the flow cycle of air used for heat pump heat exchange are separated. In addition, the spray drying device (10) according to one embodiment can improve the efficiency of heat energy utilization by branching a portion of the compressed air flowing into the spray nozzle and wrapping the main drying chamber of the spray drying device in a snake shape to recover waste heat generated in the main drying chamber.

[0030] If the compressed air as it is without going through the heating and drying process is introduced into the main drying room, it contains a large amount of moisture in the summer and the temperature is low in the winter, so the spray liquid cannot be properly dried when introduced into the main drying room, and the yield of the spray-dried product may decrease. In addition, the main drying room, which is usually maintained at a high temperature of 120 degrees or higher for drying the aqueous dispersion, is generally large in volume and has a large surface area to secure the suspension time of the spray liquid, and therefore, a large amount of heat is wasted through the surface of the main drying room, which reduces the overall system energy efficiency.

[0031] To solve these problems, the spray drying device according to the present disclosure includes a heat pump including a waste heat absorption structure arranged to surround the first drying chamber in a predetermined pattern located on or adjacent to the surface of the first drying chamber and a heat sink assembly having a structure that does not impede the flow of wet steam within the spray drying device, thereby achieving improved energy efficiency and improved target powder yield.

[0032] According to one embodiment, the spray drying device (10) may include a nozzle (176) that obtains compressed air provided from a compressor through a plurality of branch paths and a spray liquid provided from a peristaltic pump, discharges spray droplets to be dried, a first drying chamber (178) in which some of the plurality of branch paths are provided in a structure that surrounds a surface and dries the spray droplets based on the flow of the heated air to produce a target powder, a second drying chamber (182) that obtains spray droplets from the first drying chamber and dries the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber based on the flow of the air obtained through the first drying chamber to produce a target powder, and a heat pump (188) that includes a heat sink assembly including a plurality of heat sinks and a plurality of heat pipe arrays penetrating the heat sinks to lower the humidity contained in the air obtained from the second drying chamber, reheat the air obtained through the second drying chamber, and resupply the reheated air to the first drying chamber.

[0033] However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and according to another example, the spray drying device (10) may further include a compressor (172) for providing compressed air to the nozzle (176), a peristaltic pump (174) for pumping a spray liquid containing the target powder, a heater (188) for reheating the reheated air obtained from the second drying room through the second drying room or the dust collector and supplying it to the first drying room, a blower (186) for supplying the reheated air from the second drying room to the first drying room, and a dust collector (184) for filtering the residual powder contained in the air obtained from the second drying room.

[0034] For example, the dust collector (184) can filter out residual powder contained in the air obtained from the second drying room. In one embodiment, the dust collector (184) can be located in an area before the evaporator pipe branches off from the first pipe connected to the second drying room, thereby preventing residual powder from being contained in the air delivered to both the first pipe and the heat pump. For example, the compressor (172) can generate compressed air by absorbing air from the surroundings and compressing the absorbed air. The compressor (172) can deliver the compressed air to the nozzle (176) through at least one branch path.

[0035] Additionally, for example, a peristaltic pump can pump a spray liquid through a flexible tube. The peristaltic pump can supply a spray liquid containing the target powder to a nozzle through the pump. For example, the nozzle (176) can obtain compressed air and the spray liquid and discharge the spray droplets to be dried. The following configurations will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2, which will be described later.

[0036] FIG. 2 is a drawing schematically illustrating the structure of a spray drying apparatus according to another embodiment.

[0037] In one embodiment, the spray drying device (1000) can produce a target powder by drying spray droplets based on a flow of heated air.

[0038] According to one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus (1000) may include a first drying chamber (102), a second drying chamber (104), and a heat pump (106). However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and the spray drying apparatus may include more components or may be provided with fewer components. For example, the spray drying apparatus (1000) according to another embodiment may further include a heater (108), a first blower (142), a drying chamber pipe (112), a cross-shaped pipe section (116), an evaporator pipe (126), a second blower (125), and an exhaust port (144) in addition to the first drying chamber (102), the second drying chamber (104), and the heat pump (106).

[0039] According to one embodiment, the first drying chamber (102) can produce a target powder by drying spray droplets based on the flow of heated air. For example, the first drying chamber (102) can obtain heated air from a heater (108). The heater (108) can obtain reheated air from the second drying chamber (104) or a heat pump (1106) through a cross-shaped pipe section (116), heat the obtained reheated air, and supply the heated air to the first drying chamber through the heater pipe. Although the waste heat absorption structure on the surface of the first drying chamber is not illustrated in FIG. 2, the structure will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 described below.

[0040] In one embodiment, the heater (108) may draw in reheated air from the second drying chamber by the first blower (142), and the drawn-in air may be reheated by the heater (108) and supplied to the first drying chamber. Alternatively, the first blower (142) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may supply power to cause air to circulate in the spray drying apparatus in the following order: the first drying chamber (102), the drying chamber pipe (112), the second drying chamber (104), the evaporator pipe (126), the heat pump (106), the second pipe (120), the fourth pipe (124), the heater (108), and the first drying chamber (102) while the spray drying apparatus is operating in the heat pump mode.

[0041] In one embodiment, the first drying chamber (102) may be made of SUS304. For example, the first drying chamber (102) may further include an externally mixed two-fluid nozzle located at a point at the lower end of the first drying chamber and ejecting spray droplets diagonally into the first drying chamber (102) through a peristaltic pump. In addition, in one embodiment, a first hopper for obtaining dried target powders may be detachably connected to the lower end of the first drying chamber (102). However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and the first drying chamber (102) may further include a nozzle connected to a plurality of branch paths at the upper end.

[0042] In one embodiment, at least one sensor may be positioned at the upper portion of the first drying room (102). In one embodiment, at least one of a temperature sensor (132), a humidity sensor (134), or a pressure sensor (136) may be positioned at the upper portion of the first drying room (102). In one embodiment, the first drying room (102) may be connected to a heater (108) through a heater pipe, and at least one sensor (139) among a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or a pressure sensor may be connected to a portion of the heater pipe.

[0043] In one embodiment, the second drying chamber (104) can obtain spray droplets from the first drying chamber (102) and dry the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber (102) based on the flow of air obtained through the first drying chamber, thereby generating the target powder. In one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus can further include a drying chamber pipe (112). For example, the second drying chamber (104) can be connected to the first drying chamber (102) through the drying chamber pipe (112), and can obtain, through the drying chamber pipe (112), the spray droplets that have not been dried in the first drying chamber, a portion of the target powder generated by drying the spray droplets, and the air used to dry the target droplets in the first drying chamber.

[0044] In one embodiment, the drying room piping (112) may include a curved region formed in a curved shape in some areas to induce a cyclonic flow according to the rising flow. In one embodiment, the drying room piping (112) may be formed in an S-line piping shape, thereby enabling a cyclonic flow to be more effectively generated while air moves from the first drying room to the second drying room.

[0045] The air obtained by the second drying room (104) through the drying room pipe (112) may include both moisture due to the spray droplets discharged from the first drying room and heat (or thermal energy) supplied to the first drying room through the heater. According to one embodiment, one end of the drying room pipe (112) is connected to the first drying room (102), and the other end is connected to the second drying room (104) at a higher position. The drying room pipe (112) may include a curved area (114) formed in a curved shape between the one end and the other end to induce a cyclonic flow according to an upward flow.

[0046] Additionally, according to one embodiment, the drying room pipe (112) may further include at least one sensor (138) among a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and a pressure sensor at a point located between the first drying room (102) and the second drying room (104). For example, the spray drying device (1000) may monitor overheating and overpressure conditions in advance based on a temperature sensor value obtained from at least one of a temperature sensor installed in the drying room pipe (112), a temperature sensor installed in the heater pipe, and a temperature sensor at the top of the first drying room.

[0047] A filter may be installed at the upper portion of the second drying chamber (104) to prevent the target powders that have not been lowered or captured from flowing into the first pipe and the evaporator pipe (or from flowing into the heat pump (106). In addition, the second drying chamber may further include an internal extension pipe (not shown) to prevent the air obtained from the first drying chamber (102) from directly escaping through at least one of the first pipe (118) or the evaporator pipe (126) connected to the upper portion of the second drying chamber.

[0048] For example, the second drying room (104) may further include an internal extension pipe that extends from the first pipe (118) to the inside of the second drying room (104) and induces a siphon phenomenon so that air obtained from the first drying room (102) through the drying room pipe (112) flows in a cyclonic manner within the second drying room (104) while remaining within the second drying room for a long time in a state of low flow resistance.

[0049] In one embodiment, the diameter of the internal extension pipe cross-section may be reduced as it extends into the interior of the second drying chamber (104) from a point where the extension from the first pipe (118) begins at the upper portion of the second drying chamber (104). By including a second drying chamber including the internal extension pipe of the above structure, the spray drying apparatus (1000) can improve the production yield of the target powder by maximizing the residence time of the flowing air within the second drying chamber in a low flow resistance state.

[0050] In one embodiment, the heat pump (106) can lower the humidity contained in the air obtained from the second drying room (104), reheat the air obtained through the second drying room (104), and resupply the reheated air to the first drying room (102). In one embodiment, the spray drying device (1000) can further include an evaporator pipe. For example, the heat pump (106) can obtain air used for drying the target powder from the second drying room through an evaporator pipe (126) branched from the first pipe (118) so that one end is connected to the first pipe (118), a portion of an area extending from the first pipe (118) is formed in a curved shape, and the other end is connected to the heat pump (106).

[0051] For example, the heat pump (106) may include an evaporator that removes moisture contained in air obtained from the second drying chamber (104) and a condenser that is installed at a height greater vertically than the evaporator and reheats the air that has passed through the evaporator. The spray drying apparatus according to the present disclosure can improve energy efficiency by reusing heat energy by utilizing a heat pump in addition to the waste heat absorption structure feature of the first drying chamber.

[0052] In particular, the spray drying device according to the present disclosure has a problem in that the conventional heat pump suffers from a high pressure loss in the flow path of wet steam due to the structure of the evaporator and condenser, in which heat dissipation fins are densely arranged for a wide heat transfer surface area, since the flow path of wet steam and the portion where convective heat transfer occurs in the evaporator and condenser of the heat pump are integrated, and not only does the flow of wet steam not proceed smoothly, but also the convective heat transfer efficiency of the evaporator and condenser in the heat pump cycle is reduced due to the low flow velocity of wet steam. In contrast, the spray drying device according to the present disclosure is provided with a heat sink assembly structure that does not obstruct the flow of wet steam, thereby further improving the thermal energy efficiency and maximizing the production yield of the target powder.

[0053] Additionally, as another example, the heat pump can also induce a smoother uniform flow of air within the atomizing device according to the heat pump structure by using an evaporator and a condenser in which perforated plate areas of different diameters are provided.

[0054] According to one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus (1000) according to the present disclosure may further include a cross-shaped pipe section (116) between the first drying chamber (102) and the heat pump (106). According to one embodiment, the cross-shaped pipe section may have an open / closed state determined based on an operation mode of the spray drying apparatus (1000) (e.g., a heat pump mode or a normal mode). For example, the cross-shaped pipe section (116) according to one embodiment may include a plurality of pipes (118, 120, 122, 124) connected to each other in a cross shape, the open / closed state of which is determined based on the operation mode of the spray drying apparatus, and a plurality of pipe valves (119, 121, 123) connected to some of the pipes to control the open / closed state of the pipes.

[0055] For example, the first pipe (118) may have one end connected to the second drying room (104), and the other end connected to the cross-shaped pipe area (116) through the first valve (119). In addition, the second pipe (120) may have one end connected to the heat pump (106), the other end connected to the cross-shaped pipe area (116) through the second valve (121), and may be connected (or formed) in a vertical form with the first pipe (118). In addition, according to one embodiment, the third pipe (122) may have an exhaust port (144) formed at one end for discharging air through a second blower (125) provided therein, and the other end connected to the cross-shaped pipe area (116) through the third valve (123), and may be formed perpendicular to the second pipe and in a direction in which the first pipe (118) extends. Additionally, according to one embodiment, the fourth pipe (124) is connected to the first blower (142), the other end is connected to the cross-shaped pipe area (116), and may be formed perpendicular to the first pipe (118) and the third pipe (122), and in a direction in which the second pipe (120) extends.

[0056] That is, the cross-shaped pipe area (116) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a plurality of pipes (118, 120, 122, 124) that intersect each other in a cross shape, and a first valve, a second valve, and a third valve that are installed in each of the first pipe (118), the second pipe (120), and the third pipe (122) among the pipes. Alternatively, the cross-shaped pipe area (116) may be connected to a plurality of pipes that intersect each other in a cross shape, and the open / closed state of each of the plurality of pipes may vary depending on the operation mode of the spray drying device (1000).

[0057]

[0058] FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining the operation mode of a spray drying device according to one embodiment.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 3, the operation mode of the spray drying apparatus (1000) according to the present disclosure will be specifically described. According to one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus (1000) can operate in one of the heat pump mode (200) and the normal mode (300).

[0060] For example, the spray drying device (1000) can stably produce a target powder by recirculating the heat energy of the heated air by condensing moisture in the air obtained through the drying room using a heat pump in the heat pump mode (200) and discharging it as condensate, reheating the air whose humidity has decreased due to moisture removal through the condenser of the heat pump to lower the relative humidity, and resupplying the reheated air with the lowered relative humidity to the drying room. According to another embodiment, the spray drying device (1000) can also discharge heated air through an outlet in the normal mode. Hereinafter, the operation mode of the spray drying device (1000) according to the present disclosure will be specifically described based on the configurations of the spray drying device (1000) and the operation of the valve.

[0061] Referring to Figure 3 (200), a conceptual diagram of a heat pump mode (200) among the operation modes of a spray drying device (1000) is illustrated. According to one embodiment, the heat pump mode (200) may represent an operation state of a spray drying device that circulates air in the order of a first drying room, a second drying room, and a heat pump to lower the humidity contained in the air obtained from a first drying room and a second drying room, and to reuse the thermal energy of the air obtained from the first drying room and the second drying room.

[0062] For example, in the heat pump mode (200), air (heat, moisture, or wet steam) circulated within the spray drying device (1000) may be supplied from the heater (204) to the first drying room (206) by the first blower (202), flow from the first drying room (206) to the second drying room (208) through the drying room piping, be supplied to the heat pump (210) through the evaporator piping from the second drying room, and be supplied again to the heater after passing through the cross-shaped piping area by the first blower (202) from the heat pump (210).

[0063] More specifically, when the spray drying device (1000) operates in the heat pump mode (200), the first valve (222) connected to the first pipe may be closed, the second valve (224) connected to the second pipe may be opened, and the third valve (226) of the third pipe that discharges air to the exhaust port (230) by the second blower (212) may be closed. However, according to another embodiment, in the heat pump mode (200), the spray drying device (1000) may control the opening and closing levels of the third valve (226) differently to control the internal pressure value within the spray drying device (1000).

[0064] For example, in the heat pump mode (200), the spray drying device (1000) may not close the third valve (226) but may partially open it according to a predetermined opening / closing level when the pressure value inside at least one of the drying rooms, drying room piping, cross-shaped piping area, and multiple pipes in the spray drying device (1000) is identified as abnormal, or to maintain the pressure value inside at least one of the drying rooms, drying room piping, cross-shaped piping area, and multiple pipes within a normal range. The third valve (226) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may be used as a pressure control valve.

[0065] Below FIG. 3, a conceptual diagram of a normal mode (300) among the operation modes of the spray drying device (1000) is illustrated. According to one embodiment, the normal mode (300) may represent an operation state in which air obtained in the order of the first drying chamber (306) and the second drying chamber (308) is discharged to the outside of the spray drying device (1000) through the discharge port (330) by the second blower (312). For example, the normal mode (300) may represent an operation state in which air is discharged in the order of the first drying chamber (306), the second drying chamber (308), and the discharge port (330) in order to discharge the air used to dry the spray droplets to the discharge port (330).

[0066] For example, in the normal mode (300), air (heat, moisture, or wet steam) circulated within the spray drying device (1000) is supplied to the first drying room (306) from the heater (304) by the first blower (302), flows from the first drying room (306) to the second drying room (308) through the drying room pipe, and passes through the first pipe and the cross-shaped pipe area in the second drying room, and can be discharged to the outside of the spray drying device (1000) through the discharge port (330). In the normal mode (300), the air obtained in the second drying room (308) does not pass through the heat pump (310) by closing the second valve (324), but passes through the first valve (322) and the third valve (326), and is discharged to the outside of the spray drying device (1000) through the discharge port (330).

[0067] More specifically, when the spray drying device (1000) operates in the normal mode (300), the first valve (322) connected to the first pipe is opened, the second valve (324) connected to the second pipe is closed, and the third valve (326) of the third pipe that discharges air to the exhaust port (330) by the second blower (312) can be opened. As described above, the third valve (326) may be partially opened according to a predetermined opening / closing level for controlling the internal pressure of the spray drying device (1000) even in the heat pump mode rather than the normal mode.

[0068]

[0069] FIG. 4 is a drawing for explaining a waste heat absorption structure located on the surface of a first drying room or an adjacent portion of the surface according to one embodiment.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 4, a structure is illustrated for preventing energy loss by absorbing heat loss occurring on the surface of the first drying room (main drying room) and supplying dry air with a higher temperature and lower relative humidity to the nozzle to improve the drying yield of spray droplets. Referring to FIG. (350), the connection relationship among the compressor (352), the nozzle (356), and the first drying room (358) is illustrated, and the configuration of the aforementioned peristaltic pump (354) is indicated by a dotted line to specifically explain the waste heat absorption structure of the first drying room (358).

[0071] A spray drying device (10) according to one embodiment can absorb waste heat from the first drying room by branching a portion of compressed air flowing into the nozzle through a branch area (357) provided in the form of a Y-branch pipe to create a plurality of branch paths, and structuring some of the created branch paths to wrap around the surface of the first drying room in a predetermined pattern.

[0072] In addition, the nozzle according to one embodiment is designed to obtain compressed air through a plurality of branch paths including a branch path (361) directly connected from the compressor and a branch path (362) connected by bypassing the first drying chamber, thereby not only increasing the temperature of the air flowing into the nozzle and reducing the humidity, but also solving the problem of reduced flow rate due to pressure loss caused by bypassing the first drying chamber. The plurality of branch paths according to the present disclosure may include a first branch path directly connected from the compressor to the nozzle, and a second branch path branched from the first branch path and formed in a structure that wraps the surface of the first drying chamber multiple times to recover heat from the first drying chamber.

[0073] According to one embodiment, the branch path (or bypass path) connecting the compressor and the first drying room surface may be formed in a structure that wraps around the first drying room surface in a manner that obliquely wraps around the first drying room multiple times according to a predetermined interval and incline, but is not limited thereto, and of course, may be provided in any structure for absorbing waste heat generated from the first drying room.

[0074]

[0075] FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a first drying room according to one embodiment.

[0076] The structure of the first drying chamber (412) will be specifically described with reference to drawings (410) and (430) of FIG. 5. According to one embodiment, the first drying chamber may be made of SUS304 material, but is not limited thereto. For example, the first drying chamber may produce a target powder by drying spray droplets based on the flow of heated air. A product recovery unit (412) (e.g., a first hopper) that is detachably connected may be connected to the lower portion of the first drying chamber. For example, the first drying chamber may obtain air heated from a heater by a first blower.

[0077] Specifically, the first drying room obtains heated air from a heater through a heater pipe (414). The heater pipe (414) may be located at the upper side of the first drying room, rather than at the center where the diameter is the largest in the upper and lower cross-sections of the first drying room, but is not limited thereto. The first drying room obtains heated air through the heater pipe (414) and can cause the obtained heated air to flow within the first drying room.

[0078] According to one embodiment, at least one of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, or a humidity sensor may be connected to the heater pipe (414). The spray drying apparatus (1000) according to the present disclosure can stably maintain the temperature of the drying room pipe area between the first drying room and the second drying room within a predetermined range by using a temperature sensor connected to the heater pipe (414), a temperature sensor (420) connected to the upper part of the drying room, and a temperature sensor connected to the drying room pipe between the first drying room and the second drying room together.

[0079] According to one embodiment, a temperature sensor (420), a humidity sensor (422), and a pressure sensor (424) may be connected to the upper portion of the first drying room. The spray drying device (1000) may monitor whether an abnormal condition is identified in at least some areas within the first drying room, the second drying room, the cross-shaped pipe area, the heat pump, the drying room pipe, the evaporator pipe, the first pipe, the second pipe, the third pipe, and the fourth pipe based on the sensor values ​​obtained from the temperature sensor (420), the humidity sensor (422), and the pressure sensor (424) connected to the upper portion of the first drying room, the sensor values ​​obtained from the sensors installed in the heater pipe, and the sensor values ​​obtained from the sensors installed in the drying room pipe.

[0080] In one embodiment, an evaporator pipe (416) may be connected to the lower region of the first drying chamber to allow air to flow to the second drying chamber. Through the evaporator pipe (416), a fluid including wet steam, spray droplets, and powders may flow from the first drying chamber to the second drying chamber. In addition, in one embodiment, the first drying chamber (412) may further include a nozzle positioned diagonally at the lower portion of the first drying chamber and spraying spray droplets from the lower portion to the upper portion.

[0081] In one embodiment, the nozzle is positioned at a point at the lower end of the first drying chamber and can expose spray droplets diagonally into the first drying chamber through a peristaltic pump. In another embodiment, the nozzle is positioned at the upper end or upper side of the first drying chamber, so as to obtain compressed air through a plurality of branch paths, and can discharge spray droplets from the spray provided from the peristaltic pump and the obtained compressed air.

[0082] In one embodiment, the nozzle may be provided as an externally mixed two-fluid nozzle, which may prevent clogging and enable smooth spraying of droplets, but is not limited thereto. In addition, in one embodiment, the diameter of the nozzle may be provided to be 0.1 to 2 mm, and the height of the first drying chamber may be manufactured within a height range of 600 mm to 1000 mm so that the sprayed droplets may have sufficient downward travel time, but is not limited thereto.

[0083]

[0084] FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining the structure of the piping between the first drying room and the second drying room according to one embodiment.

[0085] Referring to drawings (510), (512) and (514) of FIG. 6, the structure of the drying room piping connecting the first drying room and the second drying room is illustrated. According to one embodiment, at least one of a temperature sensor (526), ​​a pressure sensor (524) or a humidity sensor (522) may be connected to the drying room piping. The spray drying device (1000) may obtain temperature values ​​from at least one sensor connected between the heater piping, the upper portion of the first drying room or the drying room piping, and may control the operation of at least one device among a heater, a heat pump, a blower, a piping and a valve so as to maintain a predetermined temperature range of the piping between the first drying room and the second drying room based on the obtained temperature value.

[0086] The spray drying apparatus (1000) according to the present disclosure can monitor overheating and overpressure conditions in advance within the spray drying apparatus (1000) by using at least one of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, or a humidity sensor installed not only in the first drying room but also in the drying room piping between the first drying room and the second drying room, and can maintain the spray drying environment with respect to at least one of humidity, temperature, or pressure within a normal range.

[0087]

[0088] Figure 7 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a second drying room according to one embodiment.

[0089] The structure of the second drying chamber will be specifically described with reference to Figures (610) and (630). According to one embodiment, the second drying chamber (612) may be made of the same material as the first drying chamber, such as SUS304, but is not limited thereto. For example, the second drying chamber (612) may obtain spray droplets from the first drying chamber and dry the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber based on the flow of air obtained through the first drying chamber, thereby generating a target powder.

[0090] For example, the second drying chamber can obtain air from the first drying chamber through the drying chamber duct (614). The second drying chamber can obtain not only the air used to dry the droplets in the first drying chamber, but can also obtain additional droplets and powders together with the air. In one embodiment, the second drying chamber can include a filter (618) to prevent powders or droplets from flowing into the first duct (616) or the evaporator duct from the upper portion of the second drying chamber. In addition, in one embodiment, the second drying chamber can further include an internal extension duct to prevent the air obtained from the first drying chamber from directly escaping to the upper portion of the second drying chamber while at the same time improving the air flow residence time.

[0091] For example, the second drying room may further include an internal extension pipe (632) extending from a starting point (633) of the first pipe connected to the upper portion of the second drying room toward the inside of the second drying room. The internal extension pipe (632) may extend from the first pipe (616) into the inside of the second drying room, and may induce a siphon phenomenon so that the air obtained from the first drying room through the drying room pipe remains in the second drying room for a long time in a low flow resistance state while cyclonically flowing within the second drying room. In addition, according to one embodiment, the diameter of the cross-section of the internal extension pipe may become smaller as it extends from the point where the extension from the first pipe starts to the inside of the second drying room. For example, the diameter of the cross-section of the internal extension pipe at the portion (634) where the starting point of the first pipe is formed may be larger than the diameter of the cross-section of the internal extension pipe at the point (635) where the first pipe is extended by a predetermined length into the inside of the second drying room.

[0092] With the above structure, the internal extension pipe not only prevents the air introduced into the second drying room from escaping directly to the upper part of the second drying room, but also induces the air obtained from the first drying room to effectively cyclonically flow for a longer period of time inside the second drying room in a state of low flow resistance, thereby improving the production yield of the target powder. In one embodiment, the upper and lower heights of the second drying room may be set to a height of 650 mm, but are not limited thereto. In addition, in one embodiment, a second hopper, from which dried target powders are obtained, may be connected to the lower part of the second drying room (612), and the second hopper may be detachably connected to the lower part of the second drying room through a hopper detachment port (620).

[0093]

[0094] Figure 8 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a heat pump according to one embodiment.

[0095] The structure of the heat pump will be described in detail with reference to drawings (710) and (720) of FIG. 8. According to one embodiment, the heat pump may include an evaporator (713) that generates condensate by removing moisture contained in air obtained from a second drying room and lowers the humidity of the air obtained from the second drying room, a condensate discharge port through which condensate generated as moisture formed and removed at the bottom of the evaporator condenses is discharged, and a condenser (714) that is provided at a height that is longer vertically than the evaporator and reheats air that has passed through the evaporator.

[0096] Although not illustrated in FIG. 8, the heat pump may store condensate generated through the evaporator in a condensate storage tank (not illustrated) formed below the evaporator. A condensate discharge port (not illustrated) may be formed below the evaporator of the heat pump to discharge condensate generated as moisture removed from air obtained from the drying chamber condenses.

[0097] The heat sink assemblies (722, 724) connected to the evaporator and condenser of the heat pump according to the present disclosure are rotated 90 degrees in a direction that does not obstruct the flow of wet steam, thereby allowing wet steam or misty air to flow freely within the heat pump without passing through the evaporator and condenser, which have high flow resistance. In more detail, the operation of the heat pump will be described.

[0098] A heat pump according to the present disclosure obtains air used to dry spray droplets from a second drying room through an evaporator pipe (712) by passing through a second drying room or a dust collector. The air obtained by the evaporator from the evaporator pipe (712) may contain wet steam. The evaporator can reduce the humidity of the air obtained from the drying room by absorbing heat from the wet steam in the air and removing some of the moisture contained in the wet steam to generate condensate.

[0099] According to one embodiment, the evaporator (713) can generate condensate by removing moisture contained in air obtained from the second drying room through a dust collector, thereby reducing the humidity of the air obtained from the second drying room. According to the present disclosure, the evaporator (713) includes a heat sink assembly connected to the evaporator, and can generate condensate by cooling, condensing, and removing moisture (= drying) from the air obtained from the second drying room through the heat sink assembly.

[0100] Additionally, the condenser (715) includes a heat sink assembly connected to the condenser, and can reheat the air cooled and dried in the evaporator through the heat sink assembly. In one embodiment, the condenser (715) is provided with a height that is longer vertically than the evaporator, and reheats the air that has passed through the evaporator, thereby resupplying the reheated air to the first drying chamber through the second pipe (714) by the first blower.

[0101] In addition, although not shown in FIG. 8, according to another embodiment, the heat pump according to the present disclosure may further include a perforated plate for facilitating the flow of air in addition to the heat sink assembly. For example, the evaporator (713) may include a first perforated plate (not shown) for inducing a uniform flow of air inside the evaporator. By using the first perforated plate (not shown), the evaporator (713) can allow the air obtained through the evaporator pipe (714) to flow more uniformly inside the evaporator. In addition, according to one embodiment, due to the structure of the heat pump, the vertical length of the first perforated plate included in the evaporator (713) may be provided to be shorter than the vertical length of the second perforated plate (not shown) included in the condenser.

[0102] In addition, although not shown in FIG. 8, the condenser (715) may include a second perforated plate (not shown) to induce a uniform flow of air inside the condenser obtained from the second drying room through the dust collector. In one embodiment, the condenser (714) of the heat pump is provided with a height that is longer vertically than the evaporator, reheats the air that has passed through the evaporator (713), and transfers the reheated air back to the heater through the second pipe (714). In one embodiment, the first perforated plate (not shown) and the second perforated plate (not shown) included in the evaporator and the condenser, respectively, may be provided with different lengths. The first perforated plate (not shown) and the second perforated plate (not shown) may induce a uniform flow of air obtained from the second drying room inside the heat pump.

[0103] According to another embodiment, the spray drying device (1000) may further include perforated plates having perforations formed with different lengths and different diameters in different areas within each perforated plate in order to more stably secure a uniform air flow. The spray drying device (1000) may maximize the air flow distribution by installing perforated plates having perforations of different sizes in the heat pump with different lengths. For example, the perforations formed in the lower area of ​​the second perforated plate of the condenser may include perforations having a larger diameter than the perforations formed in the upper area of ​​the second perforated plate and the first perforated plate. The spray drying device according to the present disclosure may further facilitate a uniform air flow within the heat pump by arranging perforated plates including perforations of different sizes within the heat pump.

[0104]

[0105] FIG. 9 is a drawing showing a heat sink assembly included in an evaporator and a condenser of a heat pump according to one embodiment.

[0106] Figure (840) illustrates a specific shape of a heat sink assembly connected to an evaporator and a condenser. The evaporator and the condenser include a heat sink assembly arranged so as not to obstruct the flow of air obtained from a second drying chamber through a dust collector. The heat sink assembly may include a plurality of heat sinks (844) and heat pipes (842) (e.g., a tube bundle) penetrating or embedded in the heat sinks, and may include a structure in which fins are densely arranged in a portion of the heat pipes protruding outside the flow tube of the wet steam to maximize the heat transfer area with the heat pump refrigerant.

[0107] For example, the heat sink assembly (722, 724) is rotated 90 degrees so that the moisture vapor or mist air does not interfere with the flow resistance, and the direction in which the heat dissipation surfaces of the heat sink plates of the heat sink assembly extend corresponds to the direction of the flow of air obtained from the second drying room through the dust collector, thereby maintaining the function of the heat sink while minimizing the flow resistance of the air.

[0108] In addition, the heat sinks are formed as a shell structure including a first surface that serves as a heat dissipation surface for heat exchange and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and the normal directions of the first surface and the second surface of the heat sink may be arranged to correspond to the direction in which the heat pipe of the tube structure penetrates the heat sink. In addition, the direction in which the heat dissipation surface of the heat sink extends corresponds to the direction of the flow of air obtained from the second drying room through the dust collector, and the normal direction of the heat dissipation surface may be arranged to be perpendicular to the direction of the flow of air obtained from the second drying room.

[0109]

[0110] FIG. 10 is a drawing for explaining the energy efficiency improvement effect of a spray drying device according to one embodiment.

[0111] With reference to Figures (810) and (820), the energy balance equation of a conventional spray drying device and the energy balance equation of a spray drying device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be specifically described to improve energy efficiency. The energy balance equation of the conventional spray drying device according to Figure (810) can be expressed as the following mathematical equation 1.

[0112]

[0113] In the above mathematical expression 1, P represents the input power applied to the heater, and the subscripts l and g represent liquid and gas, respectively. Therefore, is the spray flow rate of the liquid (kg / s), can mean the circulating flow rate (kg / s) of air sent to the blower. c pl is the specific heat of the liquid, c pg can mean the specific heat of the gas. Also, in the above mathematical expression 1, can mean the boiling point of water, i.e. 100 degrees Celsius. T l refers to the initial temperature of the spray liquid injected into the equipment, and h fg can mean the latent heat of vaporization of water. T air refers to the atmospheric temperature of the air supplied to the equipment, and T out may refer to the temperature of the wet steam discharged from the equipment. Q loss may refer to heat lost to the outside of the spray drying device.

[0114] The energy balance equation of the spray drying device (1000) according to the present disclosure according to Figure (820) can be expressed as the following mathematical equation 2.

[0115]

[0116] In the above mathematical expression 2, P h is the input power applied to the air by the auxiliary heater, and P hp may mean the input power applied to the heat pump. In addition, in the above mathematical expression 2, c pl Silver 4200, T sat Silver 200, T l Silver 20, h fg is 2000000, c pg is 1000, T out Silver 80, T air is 20, 0.03, T l,cold For convenience, Q is substituted with 10 loss Assuming that is 0, the energy balance equations of the existing and current heat pumps can be expressed as in mathematical equations 3 and 4 below.

[0117]

[0118]

[0119] In the above mathematical expressions 3 and 4, By substituting 3 kg / h, i.e. 0.000833 kg / s, it can be seen that the conventional general device consumes 3,741 W, and the spray drying device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure using the principle of a heat pump consumes 1,699 W. In addition, to determine how much power should be applied to the heat pump, P is approximately P h + Q h Assume that Q is the same as . In principle, Q h is COP x P hp Therefore, by combining the above mathematical equations, the appropriate heat pump power consumption can be determined as in mathematical equation 5 below.

[0120]

[0121]

[0122] Figure 11 is a block diagram of a spray drying apparatus according to one embodiment.

[0123] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a spray drying apparatus according to another embodiment.

[0124] The structure of the spray drying apparatus (1000) will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. According to one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus (1000) may include a first drying chamber (910), a nozzle (912), a second drying chamber (920), and a heat pump (930). However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and a spray drying apparatus (1000) according to another embodiment may include more or fewer components.

[0125] For example, a spray drying apparatus (1000) according to one embodiment may further include a dust collector (921), a heater (1010), a first blower (1040), a second blower (1060), valves (1080), a drying chamber pipe (1100), a cross-shaped pipe section (1120), an evaporator pipe (1140), a valve (1130), sensors (1180), and a control unit (1200) in addition to a first drying chamber (910), a nozzle (912), a second drying chamber (920), and a heat pump (930). In addition, according to one embodiment, the cross-shaped pipe section (1120) may include a first pipe (1122), a second pipe (1124), a third pipe (1126), and a fourth pipe (1128), and a plurality of valves may be connected to each of the pipes.

[0126] In one embodiment, the heater (1010) can obtain reheated air from the second drying chamber through a cross-shaped pipe section and reheat the obtained reheated air. The first drying chamber (910) can produce the target powder by drying the spray droplets based on the flow of heated air. The second drying chamber (920) can produce the target powder by drying the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber.

[0127] In one embodiment, the first blower (1040) may draw reheated air from the second drying chamber through the cross-shaped pipe section and supply the drawn-in air to the first drying chamber through the heater. For example, the first blower (1040) may provide power for the heated air to be circulated inside the spray drying apparatus when the spray drying apparatus (1000) operates in the heat pump mode. In one embodiment, the second blower (1060) may guide the heated air to escape outside the spray drying apparatus through the outlet connected to the third pipe while the spray drying apparatus operates in the normal mode or the heat pump mode. In one embodiment, the second blower may operate to maintain the pressure value within a normal range when an abnormal high pressure state within the spray drying apparatus is identified by the control of a control unit within the spray drying apparatus.

[0128] The dust collector (921) can filter residual powder contained in the air obtained from the second drying chamber. The valves (1080) can determine the open / close status of the pipes for moving heated air, wet steam, droplets, and powders within the spray drying apparatus. For example, the valves (1080) can be connected to the first pipe, the second pipe, and the third pipe, so that they can be opened and closed at different levels according to the operating mode of the spray drying apparatus. In one embodiment, the drying chamber pipe (1100) can provide a channel for heated air, wet steam, droplets, and powders from the first drying chamber to flow to the second drying chamber by connecting the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber. In one embodiment, the drying chamber pipe (1100) can be provided in a curved area shape or an S-line shape to better induce cyclonic flow.

[0129] According to one embodiment, the cross-shaped pipe section (1120) may include a plurality of pipes that exhibit different open / close states depending on the operation mode of the spray drying apparatus and may be cross-connected in a cross shape. For example, the cross-shaped pipe section may include a plurality of pipes that are connected to each other in a cross shape, and a plurality of valves (1130) that control the open / close states of the pipes by being connected to some of the pipes, and whose open / close states are determined based on the operation mode of the spray drying apparatus. According to one embodiment, the evaporator pipe (1140) may be branched from the first pipe connected at the top of the second drying chamber, thereby transferring air exposed in the drying chamber to the heat pump. The heat pump (930) may lower the humidity contained in the air obtained from the second drying chamber, reheat the air obtained through the second drying chamber, and resupply the reheated air to the first drying chamber. Alternatively, the heat pump (930) can lower the humidity contained in the filtered air obtained from the dust collector, reheat the filtered air, and resupply the reheated air to the first drying chamber.

[0130] The sensors (1180) may include at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or a pressure sensor. For example, the sensors (1180) may be connected to at least a portion of the upper portion of the first drying chamber, the heater pipe, and the drying chamber pipe connecting the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber, thereby obtaining sensor values ​​representing the drying environment within the spray drying apparatus. In addition, according to one embodiment, the sensors (1180) may include at least one of an infrared sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a position sensor, an air pressure sensor, a proximity sensor, and an RGB sensor, in addition to a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or a pressure sensor. Since the function of each sensor can be intuitively inferred from its name by those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0131] According to one embodiment, the control unit (1200) may include a memory storing one or more instructions and at least one processor executing the one or more instructions. The control unit (1200) may control the operation of a heater, a blower, a valve, and a heat pump within a spray drying apparatus by executing one or more instructions stored in the memory.

[0132] For example, the control unit (1200) can control the operation of the spray drying apparatus based on sensor values ​​obtained from at least one of a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor installed on the upper portion of the first drying chamber and in the drying chamber pipe. More specifically, the processor of the control unit (1200) can monitor an abnormal condition related to at least one of an overheating state or an overpressure state of the space between the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber or the internal space of the first drying chamber by executing one or more instructions stored in the memory, and when an abnormal condition is identified, can control the operation of at least one device among a heater, a drying chamber, a blower, valves, and a heat pump so that the internal environment within the spray drying apparatus is maintained within a normal range.

[0133] According to one embodiment, the memory (not shown) may include at least one type of storage medium among a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory, etc.), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read-Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk.

[0134] Additionally, according to one embodiment, the spray drying apparatus (1000) may further include a network interface. For example, the network interface (not shown) may transmit information about the status of the spray drying apparatus and information about sensor values ​​to an external electronic device connected to the spray drying apparatus, and may also receive control signals for controlling the operation of device components within the spray drying apparatus from the external electronic device.

[0135] The operating method of the spray drying device according to the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of program commands that can be executed by various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program commands, data files, data structures, etc., either singly or in combination. The program commands recorded on the medium may be those specifically designed and configured for the present invention or may be known and usable by those skilled in the art of computer software.

[0136] Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language code, such as that produced by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc.

[0137] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention defined in the following claims also fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. In the spray drying device, A nozzle that obtains compressed air provided from a compressor through multiple branch paths and spray liquid provided from a peristaltic pump and discharges spray droplets to be dried; A first drying chamber in which some of the branch paths among the plurality of branch paths are provided with a structure that wraps around the surface, and in which the target powder is generated by drying the spray droplets based on the flow of the heated air; A second drying chamber that obtains spray droplets from the first drying chamber and produces a target powder by drying the spray droplets together with the first drying chamber based on the flow of air obtained through the first drying chamber; and A spray drying apparatus comprising a heat pump that reduces humidity contained in air obtained from the second drying chamber by including a heat sink assembly including a plurality of heat sinks and a plurality of heat pipe arrays penetrating the heat sinks, reheats the air obtained through the second drying chamber, and resupplies the reheated air to the first drying chamber.

2. In the first paragraph, the spray drying device Further comprising a dust collector for filtering residual powder contained in the air obtained from the second drying room; The above heat pump A spray drying device characterized in that it lowers the humidity contained in filtered air obtained from the dust collector, reheats the filtered air, and resupplies the reheated air to the first drying chamber.

3. In the second paragraph, the plurality of branch paths a first branch path directly connected from the compressor to the nozzle; and A spray drying apparatus characterized by comprising a second branch path that is branched from the first branch path and is provided with a structure that wraps the surface of the first drying room multiple times to recover heat of the first drying room.

4. In the second paragraph, the spray drying device A spray drying apparatus further comprising a heater for obtaining reheated air from the second drying chamber, heating the obtained reheated air, and supplying the heated air to the first drying chamber.

5. In the fourth paragraph, the spray drying device A spray drying apparatus further comprising a first blower for drawing in reheated air from the second drying room and supplying the drawn-in air to the first drying room through the heater.

6. In the fifth paragraph, the heat pump An evaporator that removes moisture contained in air obtained from the second drying room by passing through the dust collector, thereby generating condensate and lowering the humidity of the air obtained from the second drying room; A condensate discharge port formed at the bottom of the evaporator and through which condensate generated as the removed moisture condenses is discharged; and A spray drying apparatus characterized by including a condenser which is provided at a height longer vertically than the evaporator and reheats air that has passed through the evaporator.

7. In paragraph 6, the evaporator and the condenser Including the heat sink assembly arranged so as not to obstruct the flow of air obtained from the second drying room through the dust collector, A spray drying device characterized in that the heat sinks are formed as a shell structure each including a first surface that serves as a heat dissipation surface for heat exchange and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and the normal direction of the first surface and the second surface of the heat sink corresponds to the direction in which the heat pipe of the tube structure penetrates the heat sink.

8. In paragraph 7, A spray drying apparatus characterized in that the direction in which the heat dissipation surface of the heat dissipation plate extends corresponds to the direction of the flow of air obtained from the second drying room through the dust collector, and the normal direction of the heat dissipation surface is perpendicular to the direction of the flow of air obtained from the second drying room.

9. In paragraph 8, the evaporator and the condenser Each of the first and second perforated plates is included to induce a uniform flow of air obtained from the second drying room through the dust collecting device. A spray drying apparatus, characterized in that the perforations formed in the lower region of the second perforated plate of the condenser include perforations having a larger diameter than the perforations formed in the upper region of the second perforated plate and the first perforated plate.

10. In the fifth paragraph, the spray drying device A spray drying apparatus further comprising a drying room piping, wherein one end is connected to the first drying room, the other end is connected to the second drying room at a higher position than the one end, and a portion of the drying room piping is formed in a curved shape between the one end and the other end to induce a cyclone flow according to an upward flow.

11. In the fifth paragraph, the spray drying device A spray drying apparatus further comprising a cross-shaped pipe region including a plurality of pipes connected to each other in a cross shape, the open / closed state of which is determined based on the operation mode of the spray drying apparatus, and a plurality of pipe valves connected to some of the pipes to control the open / closed state of the pipes; 12. In the fifth paragraph, the cross-shaped pipe area A first pipe having one end connected to the second drying room and the other end connected to the cross-shaped pipe area through a first valve; A second pipe having one end connected to the heat pump and the other end connected to the cross-shaped pipe area through a second valve, and formed perpendicular to the first pipe; A third pipe is formed such that an outlet for discharging air is formed through a second blower provided at one end, the other end is connected to the cross-shaped pipe area through a third valve, and is formed perpendicular to the second pipe and in the direction in which the first pipe extends; and A spray drying device comprising a fourth pipe, one end of which is connected to the first blower, the other end of which is connected to the cross-shaped pipe area, and which is formed perpendicular to the first pipe and the third pipe and in a direction in which the second pipe extends; 13. In the 12th paragraph, the spray drying device A spray drying apparatus further comprising an evaporator pipe branched from the first pipe, one end of which is connected to the first pipe, a portion of an area extending from the first pipe is formed in a curved shape, and the other end is connected to the heat pump.

14. In the 11th paragraph, the spray drying device A spray drying apparatus, which operates in one of a heat pump mode indicating an operating state in which air is circulated in the order of the first drying room, the second drying room, and the heat pump to lower the humidity contained in the air obtained from the first drying room and the second drying room and to reuse the thermal energy of the air obtained from the first drying room and the second drying room, and a normal mode indicating an operating state in which air is discharged in the order of the first drying room, the second drying room, and the exhaust port to discharge the air used to dry the spray droplets to the exhaust port.

15. In the 14th paragraph, the spray drying device When the spray drying device operates in heat pump mode, the first valve is closed, the second valve is open, and the third valve is partially open. A spray drying device, characterized in that when the spray drying device operates in normal mode, the first valve and the third valve are opened and the second valve is closed.

16. In paragraph 11, the second drying room A filter to prevent the target powder from flowing into the first pipe and the evaporator pipe; and A spray drying apparatus characterized in that it further includes an internal extension pipe extending from the first pipe into the second drying chamber and inducing a siphon phenomenon so that air obtained from the first drying chamber remains in the second drying chamber for a long time in a state of low flow resistance while cyclonic flow occurs within the second drying chamber.

17. In paragraph 16, the diameter of the cross-section of the internal extension pipe is A spray drying device characterized in that the extension from the first pipe starts to become smaller as it extends into the second drying room.

Images