Effect of slurry properties and operational conditions on the structure and properties of porcelain tile granules dried in an acoustic levitator

Spray-drying is a unit operation highly important in many industrial applications. In this work, the influence of the drying conditions on the final grain properties has been investigated in single droplet experiments. Porcelain tile suspensions like those used in industry have been used. The experiments have been carried out in an acoustic levitator modified to work at high temperature conditions. The effect of the flocculation state, initial solid mass load, primary particle size, air temperature and initial droplet volume on the mean porosity of the grain and its mechanical strength has been studied. The most important parameters to be considered for the porosity are the primary particle size, the initial solid mass load and the flocculation state. For the mechanical strength the significant effects are the primary particle size, the initial solid mass load, the air temperature and the cross effect of flocculation state and initial solid mass load.