MANUFACTURE OF MILK POWDER 301 



at the upper end being fed thereto by a screw conveyor H, which 

 receives the product from the coating chamber I which is located 

 above the drying chamber. The coating chamber is cone shape. 

 At the upper end of this chamber there is provided a means for 

 introducing the nucleus mass or supporting material, in this case 

 the previously desiccated milk, and distributing the same in the 

 chamber, as well as a means for maintaining in this chamber an 

 atmosphere which carries the milk to be desiccated in com- 

 minuted form. The nucleus mass or supporting material is fed 

 to a rotary distributer K by a screw conveyor M, receiving its 

 material from a hopper N. Extending down through a hollow 

 shaft L is a pipe O terminating in an atomizing nozzle and the 

 milk to be desiccated is forced through the pipe and nozzle under 

 pressure. By this arrangement the comminuted milk and the 

 comminuted supporting material come into intimate contact 

 whereby the particles of the supporting material become coated 

 with the milk to be desiccated. 



At the bottom of the desiccating chamber a grading mechan- 

 ism is provided consisting of shaking screens Q and O 1 and a 

 hopper P which separate the desiccated milk into three grades. 

 Shaking screen Q is of relatively large mesh. It is designed to 

 remove only the larger particles which pass from this screen to 

 a pulverizing apparatus R where they are reduced to a finer 

 condition. The material passing through screen Q drops on 

 screen Q 1 , the mesh of which is of such size as to permit the 

 passage of only the finer particles, while the intermediate sized 

 particles are discharged into receptacle S as the finished product. 

 The finer particles pass down onto a shaking floor Q 2 and from 

 there into a receiver U, which may also receive the pulverized 

 material from pulverizer R. A conveyor V carries the material 

 from receiver U up into hopper N, this material constituting the 

 nucleus mass or supporting material used for desiccating the milk. 

 There is no drying action in the coating chamber. 



This apparatus and process may be operated continuously 

 and after it is once in operation the output is claimed to be equal 

 to or greater than Would be possible, with an apparatus in which 

 the liquid milk itself is sprayed into the current of heated air. 



This process yields a product having particles of appreciable 

 size, which facilitates ease and completeness of solution in water. 



