Patent ID: 7709036

Claim:
A method for producing granules with a narrow grain size distribution, with a round grain shape from malt extracts, the method comprising a process including: providing a granulating apparatus; feeding heated process gas into a supply air chamber ( 17 ) of the apparatus as streams in the form of gas jets via a gas inlet gap ( 1 ) deflecting the jets upwards by deflection parts ( 3 ) into a process chamber ( 8 ), so that the resulting heated process gas streams flow in as a free jet, allowing the heated process gas to leave as exhaust gas via an exhaust part ( 19 ) above a gas expansion zone ( 14 ) located above the process chamber ( 8 ); entraining particles upwards by the heated process gas streams, said particles being (i) particles formed at the beginning of the process by spray drying in the granulation apparatus of a liquid formulation of the malt extract, in order to generate granule seeds as particles, which liquid formulation is injected via spraying nozzles ( 6 ) arranged in the process chamber ( 8 ) or in the expansion zone ( 14 ), the exhaust part ( 19 ) or other apparatus parts lying above the process chamber ( 8 ), and/or (ii) particles fed in after being obtained through comminution of oversized granules or from undersized granules, said oversized or undersized granules already obtained from malt extract; and the particles participating in a growing process leading to the granules to be produced which are also entrained by the heated process gas streams, where in an upper region of the process chamber ( 8 ) and the gas expansion zone ( 14 ), located above the upper region, speed of the heated process gas streams declines, so that the particles flowing upwards emerge from the heated process gas streams in an arcing manner and fall back into the process chamber ( 8 ), said process chamber ( 8 ) being bounded in a lower region by inclined side walls feeding the particles in the direction of the gas inlet gaps ( 1 ) by gravity where they are then entrained again by the heated process gas streams in the process chamber ( 8 ), thus forming a very uniform particle circulation including an upwards flow and a return in a direction of the process gas inlet gaps ( 1 ), where in a zone above the deflection parts ( 3 ) at least one spray nozzle ( 7 ) is arranged which sprays upwards into the heated process gas streams, which introduces a liquid formulation of the malt extract, and forms a uniform film of the liquid formulation on the particles, the heated process gas streams evaporating the liquid which also leaves the apparatus with the exhaust gas, while solids contained in the liquid formulation remain on surfaces of the particles, where additives in liquid form are injected via a few of the spraying nozzles ( 6 ) and ( 7 ) and thus are embedded into the granule structure of the growing particles homogeneously; said particles thus forming the granules.