Jet agglomeration has been used in the food industry for several years to produce agglomerates with favourable instant properties from fine powders. Freely falling particles are wetted by turbulent free jets of steam; colliding wetted particles form agglomerates, provided that their relative kinetic energy can be dissipated by the viscous liquid layers on the particles surfaces. The process is suitable for all foodstuffs that form sticky surfaces when wetted, and the short average residence time and narrow residence time distribution allow the processing of materials containing volatile components. This paper gives a short overview of the basic principles and mechanisms underlying the jet agglomeration process based on studies at the authors' pilot plant, and provides some general information on plant design.
