Spray drying technology has evolved steadily since its patent in 1872. Samuel Percy created the first design for milk powder. His method used atomization and heat to preserve perishable liquids.

Yet, it took decades before the process reached industry scale. Early systems failed due to poor atomization and thermal control. That changed during World War I. The Merrell-Soule Company introduced nozzles and cyclone collectors. They successfully produced stable powdered milk. World War II accelerated demand. Lightweight, stable foods like powdered eggs and coffee became military staples.

Since then, spray drying has become a core industrial process. It supports pharmaceuticals, battery components, and functional foods. Modern systems offer precise control over moisture, particle size, and temperature. This ensures product consistency across large-scale production.

PC-SD replaces traditional heaters with pulse combustion chambers. These chambers generate sound waves and gas bursts. The pulsed energy, between 50 and 200 Hz, atomizes liquids directly. It removes the need for nozzles or pumps. This change lowers viscosity limits and reduces processing temperature. Kudra and Mujumdar report a 2–3× drying speed increase.

Air use drops by up to 30 percent, lowering energy costs and improving powder flow behavior. The method suits shear-sensitive materials. For instance, whey protein can now dry without denaturation. Still, industrial scale remains a challenge. Heat spikes from combustion can harm sensitive compounds. Thus, PC-SD works best for pilot-scale systems, not ultra-sensitive pharmaceutical or biotech applications.

ESD uses electrical forces to atomize droplets. It creates small, uniform particles from 0.5 to 10 microns. High voltage charges (5–30 kilovolts) induce Coulombic repulsion within each droplet. The droplet splits into smaller ones. Unlike standard drying, ESD guides particles to charged collectors. This method avoids mechanical or heat damage. Bioactivity retention stays high, even for fragile compounds. Enzymes and vitamins retain 92–97 percent activity.

ESD suits pharmaceutical use. It offers ideal particle size for lung or nasal delivery systems. However, it still operates mostly at lab scale. Solutions must be electrically conductive to work. Also, throughput remains low. Complex high-voltage systems limit industrial expansion.

Despite this, ESD bridges lab-scale research and early clinical formulation needs.

NSD targets nanoparticle production. It uses a vibrating mesh between 30 and 100 kHz to atomize droplets. Piezoelectric membranes push liquid through tiny pores, creating droplets as small as 1 micron. These droplets dry into particles as small as 300 nanometers.

NSD handles very small feed volumes, even under 10 milliliters. It achieves encapsulation rates above 90 percent for drugs and bioactive. NSD suits cancer therapies, vaccine delivery, and nanoformulated drugs.

However, NSD has energy drawbacks. It consumes more power per gram due to tiny droplet size. Scalability is also a concern. Batch sizes rarely exceed 100 grams per hour. Feed concentrations must stay low to avoid clogging the mesh. This limits full-scale industrial use. Still, NSD offers unmatched precision for high-value nanoformulations.

Food uses nearly 50% of global spray drying capacity. Milk powder, instant coffee, and probiotics are key applications. Spray drying enhances taste, texture, and shelf life. Bacillus strains from MDG Bio retain over 10⁹ CFU/g viability post-drying. This allows stable blending into supplements and feeds. Vitamin blends benefit too. Encapsulation masks flavor and preserves active ingredients.

Over 80% of orally disintegrating tablets use spray-dried excipients. The method improves solubility and bioavailability for hard-to-dissolve drugs. Proper powder mixing and blending before spray drying is essential to ensure content uniformity and formulation stability.. Spray drying also stabilizes monoclonal antibodies and vaccines, removing cold chain needs. By 2035, biologics may reach $400 billion in sales. Spray drying is essential in this growth. BCS Class II drugs often show 3–5× better bioavailability after spray drying.

Battery production now uses spray drying to improve electrodes. KERI and KIMS developed CNT/NMC composites using this method. They achieved 98% active material content and doubled capacity to 7 mAh/cm². Spray drying enables solvent-free processing, reducing toxic waste and improving safety. This shift cuts reliance on wet processing, speeding up production and improving uniformity.

Technology advances rely on specialized equipment. These manufacturers lead the global market:
GEA Group, Pilotech, Fluid Air, Pulse Drying Systems, BUCHI, SiccaDania, Griffin Machinery, Hemraj Engineering, VetterTec, and Dedert Corporation.

They support applications from R&D to full-scale production, across pharma, food, and energy sectors.

Next-gen dryers now use real-time sensors for heat, humidity, and particle size. These sensors connect to AI, which adjusts airflow and temperatures on the fly. GEA systems report 15–20% energy savings through smart optimization.

Other systems recycle waste heat. Heat recovery reduces thermal losses by up to 30%. Non-thermal alternatives are also emerging. Extrusion porosification (EP) creates porous particles without heat. It suits polymers and agrochemicals. EP works faster than spray drying but lacks fine particle control. Thus, it remains limited to niche uses.

Spray drying has come a long way from milk preservation to nanomedicine. Pulse combustion, ESD, and NSD each push boundaries in unique ways. Still, scale and cost limit their adoption in full industrial settings.

The future lies in combining their benefits: precision, energy efficiency, and automation. Digital control, IoT feedback, and particle-level design will lead the next leap. This century-old process is being redefined by smart engineering and cross-sector innovation.