Spray-dried dairy processes to benefit from research

New research into spray-dried dairy products could improve food safety and efficiency.

Postdoctoral Research Associate Debolina Das from the University of Sydney has won the Best Research Paper Award at the annual Chemeca conference for her paper titled ‘Solid-Phase Crystallisation of spray-dried glucose powders: a perspective and comparison with lactose and sucrose’. The research project investigated the tendency of spray-dried glucose-based powders to crystallise over time.

The results of Das’s analysis could mean better scale-up and prediction of crystal growth in commercially produced lactose-based powder products.

“We compared molecular dynamic simulations with empirical theory and now have a new view on the ‘activated-rate one’; or put simply, the chemical reactions involved in the spraying-drying process of glucose powders,” Das said.

Professor Tim Langrish, Head of the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Das’s PhD supervisor, said the work will assist in engineering new combined approaches to controlling the particle properties of spray-dried glucose products.

“At the moment, the spray-drying methods used often result in powder agglomeration and caking that may cause the powder to degrade quickly. Imagine the powder as a bowl of tangled spaghetti: obviously there will be gaps in the mass. These gaps allow the powder to absorb moisture, allowing bacteria to grow.

“If we can develop improved spraying methods we can reduce stickiness, improve the yield from processing and improve the properties in storage and use. This is significant for products such as powdered milk which Australia produces and distributes globally.”