text: # Steam-jet agglomeration: A continuous process wherein fine powders are exposed to steam to provide the necessary adhesion properties.  Agglomeration is controlled by particle size distribution in the raw materials, gas and steam flow conditions and the adhesion forces between the particles. After the steam section the particles are exposed to warm air flowing upwards and countercurrent to the particles, which solidifies the liquid bridges formed between the particles. Advantages: used for many years in the food industry, a continuous process 
  #Spray drying: Spray drying starts with a liquid raw material which is sprayed as fine droplets into heated air which causes the droplets to dry into fine particles. To agglomerate, fully dried particles (collected from the dry air outlet) are re-introduced at the point where the particles are partly dried and still sticky, to collide and create porous agglomerates.  Spray drying agglomeration creates irregularly shaped, highly porous particles with excellent instant properties.
  #Fluid bed agglomeration uses an air stream to both agitate the particles and to dry the agglomerates.  Fluidized bed dryers are hot-air driers in which the air is forced up through a layer of product. The air is evenly distributed along the chamber to maintain a uniform velocity and prevent areas of higher velocities. These dryers can either be batch or continuous. Batch processing methods tend to have more uniform moisture content throughout the product after drying whereas continuous driers vary more throughout the process and may require a finishing set. When used for agglomeration, fluidized bed dryers have spray nozzles located at various heights within the chamber, allowing a spray of water or a solution of other ingredients (the binding solution) to be sprayed on the particles as they are fluidized.  This encourages the particles to stick together, and can impart other properties to the finished product.  Examples of binding solutions are a water/sugar solution, or lecithin.  In this method, particle wetting, growth, consolidation, erosion and drying all occur at the same time.