Advancements in spray drying, part I: From critical factors to variegated applications

Spray drying (SD) is a unit operation that efficiently converts solutions or suspensions into solid products in a simple, versatile, and continuous manner. It is widely used across various industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, and chemical materials, for product development. In this study, we used Citespace to examine how SD has been applied in food research over the past decade, highlighting its significant role in the development of food materials. This review focuses on diverse applications of SD in the food industry, particularly the adjustments of parameters to control particle size, morphology, and composition. Despite recent advancements in SD, several challenges persist, such as high energy consumption and the difficulty of optimizing conditions for different types of materials, which underscore the need for further research. Therefore, we explore potential solutions used for simulating process parameters and droplet variations to produce powders with optimized properties. In addition, we discuss various energy-saving strategies aimed at improving the sustainability of SD and broadening its applications.