Abstract: An apparatus and method for spray drying a mixture of a liquid containing dissolved solids and a high temperature gas containing molten solids employs a gas flow retarding auxiliary chamber upstream of a spray drying main chamber for retarding the rate of flow of gas into the main chamber. The slowed rate of gas flow serves to reduce generation of eddy currents and to distribute the gas flow more uniformly in the main chamber. The apparatus also employs a bi-level atomizing spray nozzle arrangement in the spray drying main chamber for injecting an atomized liquid spray into the gas flow and thereby disrupting the gas flow at both the inlet of and midway through the main chamber. Such disruptions of gas flow provides a more thorough mixing of the gas and sprayed atomized liquid and distributes the gas flow more uniformly across the main chamber and thereby distributes the evaporation and drying of solids from the mixture more uniformly throughout the main chamber.

Abstract: An apparatus for spray drying a mixture of a liquid containing dissolved solids and a high temperature gas containing molten solids employs a gas flow retarding auxiliary chamber upstream of a spray drying main chamber for retarding the rate of flow of gas into the main chamber. The slowed rate of gas flow serves to reduce generation of eddy currents and to distribute the gas flow more uniformly in the main chamber. The apparatus also employs a bi-level atomizing spray nozzle arrangement in the spray drying main chamber for injecting an atomized liquid spray into the gas flow and thereby disrupting the gas flow at both the inlet of and midway through the main chamber. Such disruptions of gas flow provides a more thorough mixing of the gas and sprayed atomized liquid and distributes the gas flow more uniformly across the main chamber and thereby distributes the evaporation and drying of solids from the mixture more uniformly throughout the main chamber.