Secagem de leveduras - estudo comparativo do desempenho dos secadores em leito de jorro e leito fluidizado.

Abstract

Microorganisms, aside from their industrial importance in obtaining several products by biotechnology, can be used directly as food for humans and animals. In this context, an interest in non-conventional sources of protein for animal feed has been growing. The use of yeasts has the aim of supplying the proteins and vitamin B1 requirement. The drying operation is important because it prepares the product with the characteristics necessary for attending to the market demands and in this context the spouted bed and the fluidized bed can be used as one more option in the various types of dryers used in this operation. The raw material used in this work was pressed Saccharomyces cerevisiae commercial type yeast (fresh biological Fleischmann yeast), with an average moisture of 70% in a wet base, cream-colored, and an average size of 0.991 mm. The yeast drying experiments were performed in inert beds constituted by polystyrene particles of 3.26 mm in a column of 10.3 cm of diameter and 25.3 cm of height. The yeast was fed at the top of the column in an intermittent regime. Initially data of hygroscopic equilibrium of the yeast were studied at 25. 30, 40 and 49 °C and the obtained desorption isotherms were adjusted by the GAB and BET models. In a second stage, the fluid dynamics of the spouted bed and the fluidized bed was studied to analyze the effect of the presence of yeast on the behavior of the inert particles bed and to define the minimal operating conditions so that the matrix of factorial design was established. With the objective of analyzing and comparing the performance of the dynamically active beds, the drying of yeast in the spouted and the fluidized bed was studied. For this, a factorial experimental design was followed. The input variables were the velocity of the air and the quantity of yeast fed and as response variables the product yield, retention, loses, moisture and protein content of the dried yeast. The temperature was fixed between 38 and 44 °C for all the experiments. The instant water evaporation rate presented fluctuations in most of the experiments, both in the spouted bed and in the fluidized bed. The drying energy efficiency was relatively low in both processes, in turn of 5 and 50 %. The powder production kinetics showed an increasing and practically linear behavior in all the experiments. The moisture content of the product varied between 11.65 and 31.34% in a wet base and a protein content between 50.09 and 52.68% was obtained in the spouted bed tests. For the fluidized bed a 7.98 to 48.72% moisture and 40.6 to 49.7% proteins were obtained. The spouted bed dryer presented a better performance, inasmuch as, in the quality of the product, the moisture and the protein content presented best results and a greater yield and less retention of powder. Compared to other dryers, it presented a better operation in terms of protein and performance. It is recommended to study the process in a higher temperature interval so as to reduce the moisture content of the product.