Fluid Air boosts capabilities through PolarDry spray dryer tech advance

18-Apr-2023 - Last updated on 18-Apr-2023 at 16:55 GMT

“When using electrostatic spray drying, which is a continuous manufacturing solution, as opposed to a batch processing solution, like freeze drying, repeatable benefits include increased product shelf life and a more efficient, cost-effective drying option for temperature sensitive materials,” shared Kathy Buzecky, lead process engineer at Fluid Air. © Anna Martianova Getty Images

For manufacturers and suppliers to the cosmetics and personal beauty care product industries, improvements in electrostatic spray drying technology like PolarDry include faster material processing, reduced energy consumption, and ingredient material efficacy protection, says Fluid Air.

Last month, Fluid Air, a division of Spraying Systems, Co., a US-based manufacturer of spray nozzles, announced that LIS by Lesaffre, a French company that specializes in fermentation processes, is expanding its drying process capabilities through the addition of Fluid Air’s PolarDry Model 032 electrostatic spray dryer to the LIS plant in France.

For manufacturers and suppliers to the cosmetics and personal beauty care product industries, the quality and production capabilities of ingredients processing machinery can be of the utmost importance when considering the selection of potential ingredients for product formulation. Therefore, this expansion will allow manufacturers and suppliers to the cosmetics and personal beauty care industries the potential access to improved and expanded processing capabilities regarding spray-dried ingredients for product formulation.

To learn more about the potential impact for cosmetics and personal beauty care product manufacturers and suppliers, as well as the technological innovation provided by Fluid Air to LIS, CosmeticsDesign spoke with Kathy Buzecky, lead process engineer at Fluid Air for her insights.

Electrostatic spray drying & product formulation

Electrostatic spray drying can be an integral part of cosmetic and personal beauty care product formulation, as the process allows manufacturers and suppliers more control over the integrity and efficacy of temperature sensitive ingredient materials.

PolarDry technology from Fluid Air delivers “a more energy-efficient and proven solution for drying” these materials, Buzecky explained, which “can help expand cosmetic and personal beauty care product lines by allowing materials that were not able to be dried, or dried efficiently, previously to be turned to powders.”

These ingredients materials can include “active ingredients like vitamins, probiotics, pigments, oils and proteins, in addition to the usual starches used in the cosmetic and personal care industries,” she said. By utilizing PolarDry technology, manufacturers and suppliers can now incorporate these ingredients into product formulations that have been “microencapsulated, dried and agglomerated in one process.”

Benefits of the electrostatic spray drying process

Overall, electrostatic spray drying solves several key pain points for cosmetics and personal beauty care product manufacturers: it can speed up material processing time, reduce energy consumption, and protect ingredient material integrity throughout the process. The benefits of “higher efficiency spray drying also include the capability to encapsulate active ingredients and protect them from degradation” explained Buzecky.

While conventional spray drying processes are typically performed at higher temperatures, which can potentially impact the efficacy of some of these ingredient materials, “electrostatic spray drying is done at significantly lower temperatures,” she stated. Therefore, electrostatic spray drying through technology like Fluid Air’s PolarDry offers cosmetics and personal beauty care product manufacturers “repeatable benefits including increased product shelf life and a more efficient, cost-effective drying option for temperature sensitive materials.”

Additional benefits to electrostatic spray drying technology include “improvements in particle size, which will assist production yields by reducing fines and material dusting.” Further, Buzecky added, “this translates to lower input costs while reducing operational costs and energy consumption for manufacturing,” which is ideal for manufacturers and suppliers looking to improve environmental sustainability in ingredient processing for product formulation.

Potential future innovation

Regarding future innovation, “Fluid Air is continuing to expand the PolarDry electrostatic spray drying line, with improvements to existing equipment and new scales being actively built,” shared Buzecky. For manufacturers and suppliers, further technological advancements and mechanical processing expansion like the implementation of the PolarDry Model 032 “can open the door to new products within the cosmetic and personal beauty care product space,” she concluded.