What is the GEA Niro NOZZLE TOWER™?
The GEA Niro NOZZLE TOWER™ is designed especially for drying of coffee. The drying air is introduced at the top of the drying chamber through an air disperser of special design to obtain a low velocity co-current air curtain downwards in the drying chamber. The coffee concentrate extrator/evaporator is atomized by a low pressure nozzle assembly situated just below the air disperser.
The coffee drying process
This ensures a gentle drying of the coffee particles as they fall down in the tall-formed drying chamber. The drying air is exhausted from the drying chamber through the "bustle", formed by an enlarged conical section. The smallest particles entrained in the air are separated in a cyclone and/or bag filter, from where they can be returned to the nozzles for agglomeration or discharged directly into a pneumatic cooling and conveying system.
The main fraction from the chamber can be pre-cooled by introducing cooling air into the lower part of the chamber cone, before it is discharged into the same conveying system to a single bagging-off place. The resulting powder is a free-flowing product consisting of single individual particles.
The final drying and cooling
If the pneumatic conveying system is replaced by a VIBRO-FLUIDIZER®, where final drying and cooling takes place, and the fines are returned to the nozzles, it is possible to produce an agglomerated product that will dissolve instantly in hot water.
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