Effect of spray drying conditions on physical characteristics of coconut sugar powder

The aim of this work was to study the effect of spray drying conditions on quality of coconut sugar powder and their characteristics. Effects of inlet air temperature (120°C, 150°C and 180°C) and maltodextrin concentrations (DE 9-12) at 10%, 20% and 30% (w/v) on physical properties of spray dried coconut sugar powder were investigated. Buchi mini spray dryer, model B-290, was used in this work. Feed rate, air flow and aspirator rate was controlled at 4.5-7.5 ml/min, 357 l/hr and 32 m3/h, respectively. An inlet air temperature of 180°C caused a significant decrease in the moisture content, water activity, bulk density and solubility of the spray dried product. The increased inlet air temperature made the product more flowability or wettability. In addition, increasing of maltodextrin concentrations resulted in increased bulk density (0.43-0.73 g/ml) and flowability (36o-56o), while the solubility (39-103 sec) and wettability (21-55 sec) decreased. However, there were no significant changes in the moisture content (1.92%-3.03%) and water activity (0.20-0.33) of the coconut sugar powder at all the maltodextrin concentrations.