Drying by spray drying in the food industry: Micro-encapsulation, process parameters and main carriers used

The process of spray drying consists of the transformation of a product in fluid form to the solid state in the form of powder. This is done through the dispersion of droplets from the product inside a chamber, in contact with hot air. In this process, substances known as carriers or encapsulating agents can be added, aiming at facilitating or even allowing the drying of certain products. The objective of this review was to approach the most important technological aspects of the drying by technique for the food industry, as well as showing the potential of using a spray dryer in the micro-encapsulation of bioactive substances.    Key words: Spray dryer, encapsulating carrier agents, carriers, maltodextrin.