Material Overview

Hydroxyvitamin B2 (riboflavin) is one of the essential vitamins for the human body, involved in energy metabolism and cellular respiration processes. Widely used in medicine, functional foods, and animal feed. However, vitamin B2 is sensitive to heat and oxygen, and traditional hot air drying or spray drying can easily lead to its decomposition, agglomeration or color deterioration. The single cone spiral belt vacuum dryer developed by the Baokang team adopts a combination of low-temperature vacuum environment and mild stirring, effectively solving this problem and becoming an ideal choice for drying hydroxyvitamin B2.

Equipment structure

The single cone spiral belt vacuum dryer mainly consists of the following parts:

-Cone shaped drying chamber: made of 316L stainless steel material, with a taper angle of usually 45 °~60 °, which facilitates material flow and unloading.

-Spiral belt mixing system: composed of a main shaft, support arm, and spiral belt mixing blades, ensuring uniform heating of the material.

-Heating system: jacketed or semi tubular design, heat source can be hot water, steam or thermal oil.

-Vacuum system: including vacuum pump, condenser, and dust removal device, maintaining a low-pressure environment in the drying chamber.

-Control system: PLC automation control, integrated temperature, vacuum degree, speed and other parameter adjustments.

working principle

Wet materials enter the drying chamber from the top inlet, and under vacuum conditions (absolute pressure 5-20kPa), the spiral stirrer rotates slowly (3-15rpm) to continuously flip, lift, and disperse the materials, forming a uniform material curtain. The jacket heating system provides a mild heat source (40-80 ℃), and water evaporates at low temperatures and is discharged through a vacuum system. After drying, the material is automatically discharged from the bottom cone.

Technical Features

Optimization design for hydroxyvitamin B2:

1. Low temperature protection: The boiling point of water in a vacuum environment decreases (it can evaporate at 40-60 ℃), avoiding high temperature damage to the activity of vitamin B2.

2. Inert gas protection: Optional nitrogen filling system to prevent oxidation and discoloration.

3. Gentle stirring: The spiral structure reduces crystal breakage and ensures the integrity of product particles.

4. No residue design: The conical structure is matched with the screw belt movement to ensure that all materials are discharged and meet GMP requirements.

performance advantage

-Efficient drying: 40%~60% shorter than traditional oven drying time.

-High product quality: The moisture content can be controlled below 0.5%, and the activity retention rate is>98%.

-Low energy consumption: The thermal energy utilization rate is over 75%, and the energy-saving effect is good.

-High degree of automation: supports online moisture monitoring and automatic endpoint judgment.

Main technical parameters

Key points of process control

1. Temperature control: In the initial stage, prevent crust formation at 50-55 ℃, and in the later stage, it can be raised to 60 ℃ to accelerate drying.

2. Vacuum regulation: Maintain a high vacuum degree (10-15 kPa) during the initial drying stage, and adjust it to 20 kPa in the later stage.

3. Speed optimization: During the wet material stage, a higher speed (10-12 rpm) is used, which is later reduced to 6-8 rpm.

4. Endpoint judgment: Combined with pressure rebound method, online moisture meter, and process curve comprehensive judgment.

Maintenance and safe operation

-Daily maintenance: Regularly inspect mechanical seals, clean dust from collectors, and calibrate sensors.

-Cleaning management: Adopt CIP cleaning system, focusing on cleaning the gap between the mixing shaft and the drying chamber.

-Safe operation: prevent static electricity accumulation, ensure the effectiveness of the explosion-proof device, and strictly follow the operating procedures for vacuum equipment.

application

The single cone spiral belt vacuum dryer, with its characteristics of low temperature, high efficiency, and sealing, has become an ideal equipment for drying hydroxyvitamin B2. Its optimized structural design and precise process control can significantly improve product quality and production efficiency. With the advancement of technology, this equipment will play a more important role in the drying of vitamins and thermosensitive materials.