Lab Spray Drying: A Simple Guide (With TP-S15)

Spray drying is like "making instant milk powder in a few seconds. You start from a liquid. You create a fine mist. Hot air meets this mist. After about a minute, you have dry, free-flowing powder.

In a lab setting, this lab spray drying process allows you to leap from liquid samples to testable powders quickly. But first-timers are liable to have the same questions:

• Inlet temperature - Where do I begin?
• Why does the nozzle get clogged so much?
• How do I adjust the feed rate on the peristaltic pump?

Here we have set up the basics of operation with the example being a TP-S15 lab spray dryer. You will get the key features, a 5-step process, safe default settings, and an easy method of controlling outlet temperature and yield.

Spray drying: a drying technique that involves atomizing a liquid with hot air to produce dry particles that range from 30–500 µm in just a few seconds.

A standard lab operation involves three stages: 

• Atomization: A liquid is fed to a nozzle or spray gun by a pump. Compressed air shatters the liquid into a fine mist. 
• Contact with hot air: The mist is injected into a vertical drying chamber, which is filled with hot air. The droplets are swept away by the airflow. 
• Evaporation and collection: The water evaporates, and the dry particles are carried away by the stream to a cyclone separator, which removes them from the air and drops them into a collection bottle. 

Because the droplets are tiny and the air temperature is high, heat-sensitive products can still survive if you control the outlet temperature well. This is why spray drying is popular for:

• Food flavors and ingredients
• Intermediates in pharma and nutraceuticals
• Biotech samples like proteins and enzymes 

The TP-S15 lab spray dryer is a 2 L/h light model.

Main components

• The glass drying chamber – where spray and hot air come into contact.
• Glass cyclone – separates the dry powder and exhaust air.
• Glass collection bottle– where your powder ends up.
• Atomizer – produces a fine mist of droplets.
• Peristaltic pump – draws liquid out of the feed vessel to the nozzle.
• Touchscreen HMI – displays temperatures and allows you to adjust fan speed, pump rate, needle separation, work height, and inlet temperature.

Warning: This laboratory spray dryer is for aqueous solutions only. Organic solvent is disabled.

The TP-S15 has an obvious integrated sequence. Stick with that as you run, and your first time out will feel a lot easier.

Step 1 - Power-on and self-test

1. Confirm all glassware, clamps, and hoses have been assembled and are tight.
2. Close the master key switch (red main power).
3. The touchscreen starts. Choose the English interface.
4. Four buttons are visible on the main screen: Fan, Heater, Air pump, Peristaltic pump, and Nozzle cleaner. Red says "off," green "on."

Step 2 – Heat-up and outlet temperature ready

1. Turn on the fan and set it to 100 in the parameter screen.

2. Activate heating and set the temperature to 180-220°C (common operating range).

3. Monitor the outlet air temperature display. When the outlet air temperature reaches 80°C or higher, the drying chamber is within the appropriate temperature range, at which point material feeding will commence.

Step 3 – Commence atomization of air, and establish a feed baseline

1. Activate the air pump when the outlet air temperature is> 80 °C.
2. Check that you are using an air compressor with the pressure in the 2-3 bar zone.
3. When the outlet temperature was stabilized at around 85–100 °C, the peristaltic pump was turned on at a rate of 10 r/min.
4. Outlet temperature reaches over 100 degrees, peristaltic pump speed set 15.20.25.30.

Step 4 – Nozzle clogging is not an issue when you have a needle cleaner

1. The TP-S15 comes complete with an automatic needle cleaner. You set how often it moves.
2. Choose 6 s as the needle interval on the parameters screen.
3. The number is "one cleaning stroke every X seconds."
4. This basic configuration eliminates a lot of problems with nozzle plugging, particularly in the case when sticky or high-solids feed is used.

Stage 5 – Shut down and cleaning

1. When you're nearly out of your sample, add water and continue to spray (flush the hose and nozzle for about 5 minutes).
2. Turn off the peristaltic pump.
3. Turn off the air compressor.
4. Turn off the heater.
5. Switch off the fan when the inlet temperature drops to approximately 40 °C.
6. Take the fixation material bottle down, and transfer the material to another container.
7. When the container become to cool completely, take it down and clean it.

This serial ordering helps to avoid thermal shock in glass, shield seals, and creates less deposit in the system.

Once you can run the basic cycle, you will tune settings for better powder quality and yield. Here are three simple rules you can use on any lab spray drying operation with TP-S15.

1. Keep the powder dry: watch outlet temperature vs. feed rate

For most water-based samples:

• Target outlet temperature: 85–100 °C
• Use the feed rate (i.e, peristaltic pump speed) as your primary knob.

If your powder seems wet, sticky, or lumpy, you generally have:

• Outlet temperature too low → lower feed rate or slightly raise inlet temperature.
• Outlet temperature dropping with time → sample viscosity increasing-try to dilute or reduce pump speed.

2. Avoid wall build-up and dripping at the bottom

Dripping at the bottom of the drying chamber is a common operational issue, caused by factors such as excessively low inlet air temperature, insufficient atomization gas pressure, leaks, or excessive feed rate.

In practice: Liquid or wet paste on the chamber wall or bottom. If there's liquid, or if you see unsurprisingly wet paste:

• Increase the inlet temperature a bit.
• Verify the atomizing air pressure and go close to 2–3 bar.
• Inspect clamps and hoses for air leaks.
• Reduce peristaltic pump speed.

3. When the temperature cannot reach the set value

• If the temperature of the inlet cannot reach a set value:

→ Fan speed may be too high. The fan level can be reduced, or the heater power may be reviewed.

• If the outlet temperature is unable to be satisfied:

→ The feed rate is probably too large. Reduce peristaltic pump speed.

Below are issues most new users may encounter during their first few weeks.

And another crucial safety question:

Why does TP-S15 not support organic solvents?

Since the design, heater, and exhaust systems are directed solely to aqueous spray. Using solvents that are inflammable (like ethanol, acetone, etc) will pose a significant fire/exposure to explosion danger. 

You likely transition out of all but solvent-based spray drying to a dedicated solvent-capable system with inert gas loop, solvent recovery, and explosion protection.

[How to Choose a Spray Dryer That Suits You]

The TP-S15 is ideal for:

• Early R&D and proof-of-concept work
• Screening of formulations for food, pharma, and biotech applications
• Preparation of small batch samples and development of the method

A lab unit is an instrument you might outgrow when:

• The batch sizes need to be larger for pilot trials or pre-clinical experiments.
• You have to shoot with stickier, higher-hygroscopic powders-and you need equipment such as dehumidified air, jacketed hoppers or powder conveying.
• You need to do continuous multi shift production which requires a dedicated pilot or production dryer with higher volume though put and more heavy-duty cleaning.

Typical upgrade features include:

• Increased evaporation scale and drying room volume
• Multistage cyclones or bag filters for efficient powder recovery
• Optional inert gas, recyle solvent or drug moisture removal facilities
• Higher level powder handling (vibration/air sweep/convey systems)

[Spray drying vs. other types of drying for scale up]

If you reach this stage already,.Process team will be available to assist on transferring the parameters to a higher TOPTION system.

Xi'an TOPTION Instrument Co., Ltd. has more than 18 years of experience in extraction, distillation, filtration, drying, and pretreatment equipment. Our systems run in labs and plants in North America, Europe, and Asia, and they comply with ISO9001 and CE standards.

Our mission is simple: make your research more accurate and efficient.

Beyond products, TOPTION provides:

• Application support for custom preparation and parameter tuning
• Remote and on-site training for your R&D team
• Global service and spare parts network

You meet spray drying every day – in milk powder, instant coffee, infant formula, detergents, enzyme granules, and even inhalable medicines. Behind all these finished, shelf-stable powders is the same core process: turning liquids into clean, free-flowing powders that stay fresh and are easy to ship, store, and use.

Want to see what spray drying could do for your formulation?
Test your food, pharma, or specialty chemical samples on a lab unit before you scale up.

👉Contact our engineers immediately to help you select the most suitable spray drying equipment!

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