Spray Drying Equipment Market Overview, 2025-30

Across industries the spray drying equipment sector has shifted from basic thermal towers to engineered, application-focused production systems that link sterile pharmaceutical processing, high-throughput dairy manufacture, and cutting-edge R&D work under one umbrella. GEA’s recent aseptic spray dryer offerings show how manufacturers now expect steam-sterilizable, filter-integrated drying trains for clinical and commercial biologics, while SPX Flow’s Anhydro product family highlights how combined concentration and drying trains are tailored for large ingredient processors that need continuous, validated performance.

At the bench and pilot scale Büchi’s Nano Spray Dryer B-90 remains a staple in university and biotech labs for submicron particle development, enabling firms to prove formulation concepts before committing to industrial scale, Dedert’s air-bearing atomizer developments illustrate a practical industry response to reduce mechanical wear and support high-speed disk operation in long-run plants. Engineering work has focused on tighter control of droplet generation and chamber residence time, with CFD projects reshaping inlet and outlet geometry to improve heat and mass transfer and produce narrower particle distributions.

Material and component innovation harder disk alloys, anti-fouling nozzle cartridges and modular pre-wired skid packages has reduced cleaning downtime and civil-works schedules. Hybrid process architectures that pair a primary spray step with a fluidized finishing stage are routinely specified for instantized and agglomerated powders, and closed-circuit solvent-capable dryers are now standard for solvent-based pharmaceutical processes with condensation and VOC capture systems.

Accredited pilot houses and independent test labs supply third-party validation, and inline PAT stacks laser diffraction and NIR moisture probes integrated into PLC/SCADA are provided to generate auditable digital records that align with GMP expectations. Recent heat-integration studies and supplier heat-recovery modules demonstrate quantifiable potential to reclaim exhaust energy, driving more energy-aware plant layouts and retrofits.

According to the research report, “Global Spray Drying Equipment Market Overview, 2030”, the Global Spray Drying Equipment market is expected to cross USD 9.65 Billion market size by 2030, with 6.35% CAGR by 2025-30. High-profile plants such as recent extract-to-instant coffee lines illustrate integrated commissioning where extraction, concentration and drying are supplied as a single package to compress timelines and improve traceability, dedications to local content and shorter lead times have encouraged some buyers to prefer modular skid solutions over full EPC builds.

Dedert and ANDRITZ supply modular multi-stage and fluidized finishing options that operators use to achieve agglomeration and reduced fines, while suppliers of closed-loop solvent systems and VOC abatement enable pharma customers to meet containment and environmental requirements. Pilot centres like Campden BRI and industrial OEM application labs provide third-party trials and validation services that reduce scale-up risk and speed procurement decisions. In procurement practice vendors now offer vendor-finance and leasing programs to help mid-market processors modernize without full upfront CAPEX, and dual-sourcing strategies plus regional stockpiles for critical components have emerged after recent global lead-time disruptions.

Energy and lifecycle engineering is increasingly embedded in supplier proposals: heat-recovery systems, condensate reuse, and optional CHP/ORC linkages are specified to lower plant fuel demand and lifecycle emissions. Operational benchmarking has matured too plants adopt KPI toolkits tracking throughput, yield, energy per kilogram and uptime and use third-party benchmarking to validate supplier claims. Niche R&D pockets such as nano-spray projects for inhalables and additive manufacturing for custom atomizer parts are converting into pilot installations, demonstrating that innovation continues across both product and delivery models worldwide.

Market Drivers

• Growing Demand for Processed and Shelf-Stable Foods: Spray drying is widely used to convert liquid foods into powders with longer shelf life and easier transport, making it central to global food security and convenience. Products such as milk powders, infant formula, coffee, and nutritional supplements are in rising demand worldwide, particularly in regions with urbanized lifestyles and busy consumer habits. This ongoing shift toward ready-to-use products ensures strong global reliance on spray drying equipment, as it allows manufacturers to balance efficiency with consistent product quality.
• Expanding Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Applications: Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries worldwide are increasingly adopting spray drying for solubility enhancement, particle size control, and stability of active ingredients. Spray-dried powders are crucial for oral solid dosage forms, inhalable therapies, and encapsulated bioactive compounds. With global healthcare systems focusing on improved drug delivery and growing consumer demand for functional supplements, spray drying has become a strategic technology across continents, boosting demand for equipment that can meet high regulatory and quality standards.

Market Challenges

• High Capital and Operational Costs: Spray drying equipment is expensive to install and maintain, and the process is energy-intensive, relying on continuous flows of heated air. These costs are a barrier to adoption, particularly for small and medium-scale producers in developing economies. Companies often struggle to balance the benefits of high-quality powders with the financial burden of running large-scale drying systems, slowing down wider penetration of advanced technology.
• Handling of Sensitive and Sticky Materials: Not all products are easily suited to spray drying, as sticky, heat-sensitive, or highly viscous materials can clog nozzles, degrade under heat, or create wall deposits in drying chambers. This creates product losses and requires costly process adaptations or integration with additional technologies like fluidized beds. The challenge of processing diverse and delicate materials continues to limit the full potential of spray drying in global applications.

Market Trends

• Integration of Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Designs: Globally, manufacturers are redesigning spray dryers to reduce energy consumption and emissions, aligning with sustainability goals. Heat recovery systems, improved air circulation, and closed-loop drying cycles are increasingly integrated into modern equipment. These innovations help reduce operational costs and environmental impact, making spray drying more viable in markets where energy costs and carbon reduction commitments are high.
• Rising Popularity of Encapsulation and Functional Powders: Spray drying is being used not only for traditional products but also for encapsulating flavors, probiotics, plant-based proteins, and bioactive compounds into stable powders. This trend is global, fueled by the health and wellness movement and consumer demand for functional foods and nutraceuticals. Spray drying’s ability to preserve sensitive ingredients while improving solubility and usability makes it the preferred choice for creating new-generation powders across industries.Fluidized spray drying is the fastest growing globally as it solves the problem of handling sticky, hygroscopic, and heat-sensitive materials while producing free-flowing granules with superior stability.

The rapid rise of fluidized spray drying systems reflects the growing need for equipment that not only dries but also conditions and agglomerates powders in a single process. Traditional single-stage spray dryers often struggle with sticky foods like milk derivatives, coffee, or nutritional blends, where particles adhere to chamber walls and reduce yield. By integrating a fluidized bed into the system, partially dried particles are recirculated and finished under controlled airflow, producing powders that are less sticky, more uniform, and easier to handle.

This has proven particularly valuable in the food industry, where instant products like coffee, milk powders, baby formula, and protein supplements require solubility and flowability that conventional spray dryers cannot easily provide. Beyond food, the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors also rely on fluidized spray drying to create granules with controlled particle sizes and improved dispersibility, which enhance product performance. Another factor supporting global adoption is energy efficiency, as fluidized beds can utilize residual heat from exhaust gases, reducing overall energy use compared to standalone systems.

With industries facing stricter product quality standards and demanding more efficient, integrated solutions, fluidized spray drying has emerged as a natural choice. Companies benefit from reduced processing steps, higher yield, and improved powder properties that meet both consumer and regulatory expectations. As producers continue to diversify into functional foods, fortified products, and sensitive formulations, the importance of fluidized spray dryers will only grow, making them a cornerstone of modern spray drying technology worldwide.

Multi-stage spray drying is expanding fastest worldwide as industries demand better control over moisture, particle size, and powder functionality while reducing stickiness and energy use.

The success of multi-stage spray drying lies in its ability to combine the rapid evaporation of a conventional spray dryer with additional drying or conditioning steps, typically through integrated fluidized beds or secondary chambers. This multi-phase approach allows manufacturers to carefully manage moisture levels and particle structure, producing powders that are less sticky, more uniform, and tailored for specific applications. Food industries, especially infant formula, dairy powders, and nutritional blends, benefit greatly from multi-stage systems because they can produce agglomerated powders that dissolve instantly in water, a property highly valued by consumers.

Pharmaceuticals also see advantages in multi-stage drying, as sensitive compounds can be dried gently in steps that minimize degradation while achieving precise particle characteristics. Energy efficiency is another key driver, since staged drying allows better utilization of heat and reduces overall power consumption compared to repeatedly running material through separate systems. The approach also improves process flexibility, enabling manufacturers to handle a wider range of feedstocks, including high-solids or heat-sensitive materials that would be problematic in single-stage dryers.

In industries where product differentiation and quality consistency are critical, multi-stage spray drying provides a solution that bridges performance and cost-effectiveness. As companies push for higher-value products with tailored properties, the appeal of multi-stage systems continues to strengthen, positioning them as the preferred choice for advanced powder production across multiple industries.

Open cycle spray drying is growing fastest because it offers a simple, cost-effective, and widely adaptable solution for food, dairy, and chemical industries that do not require specialized solvent recovery systems.

In practice, open cycle systems dominate because they use ambient air as the drying medium, which makes them straightforward to operate, maintain, and scale up. The majority of food products such as milk powders, instant coffee, flavors, starches, and proteins can be efficiently processed in open cycle configurations without concerns about solvent emissions or flammability.

This makes them highly attractive to manufacturers seeking dependable and economical drying systems that can handle high throughput. The simplicity of open cycle designs also translates into lower installation and operational costs, which is especially important in developing markets where food and dairy processing industries are expanding rapidly but budgets are limited.

Moreover, open cycle systems are well suited to industries like detergents, ceramics, and bulk chemicals, where the primary requirement is volume efficiency rather than specialized containment. Their widespread use is further supported by the availability of local manufacturing in many regions, which reduces reliance on imports and makes them accessible to a broader range of producers.

Even in advanced markets, open cycle dryers remain in demand because they can be customized with energy recovery units and filters to meet modern sustainability and compliance requirements without overcomplicating operations. The combination of affordability, reliability, and versatility explains why open cycle spray drying systems continue to expand their footprint globally, serving as the backbone of powder processing in multiple sectors.

Mixed flow spray drying is expanding rapidly as it offers a balanced solution between co-current and counter-current systems, allowing manufacturers to optimize product quality and energy efficiency across diverse applications.

The distinctive advantage of mixed flow systems is their flexibility, which combines the gentle handling of co-current drying with the extended residence time of counter-current configurations. This balance enables them to process both heat-sensitive products, such as dairy powders, vitamins, and flavors, and more robust materials like chemicals and ceramics in the same facility. Manufacturers benefit from being able to run different product types without investing in separate specialized equipment, a factor that supports efficiency and cost savings.

Mixed flow also improves particle uniformity and moisture control, making powders more stable and consistent in quality, which is especially important in food and pharmaceutical industries where consumer safety and performance are tightly regulated. Another practical advantage lies in energy optimization, since mixed flow chambers can be designed to maximize heat transfer without subjecting sensitive ingredients to prolonged high temperatures.

This adaptability has made mixed flow designs popular in markets where product portfolios are diverse, such as Asia and Europe, where companies produce both food ingredients and industrial powders. As global industries face increasing demand for flexible, multipurpose systems that can deliver high-quality results without compromising efficiency, mixed flow spray dryers are emerging as a preferred choice. Their ability to bridge the gap between traditional airflow systems is the main factor driving their rapid adoption worldwide.

The category of others is rising fastest because new and emerging applications in ceramics, construction, cosmetics, pigments, agrochemicals, nanomaterials, and bioproducts are creating niche but rapidly expanding demand for customized spray drying technologies.

While food, dairy, and pharmaceuticals have traditionally dominated spray drying, the rise of specialty applications is opening fresh opportunities. In ceramics and construction materials, spray drying is vital for producing uniform powders used in tiles, advanced coatings, and structural composites, where particle consistency directly influences performance. Agrochemicals like pesticides and fertilizers are also being increasingly spray dried to improve stability and ease of application. Cosmetics and personal care industries are embracing spray drying to encapsulate fragrances, active ingredients, and pigments in stable powdered forms that enhance shelf life and consumer appeal.

Pigment and dye manufacturers use spray drying to achieve fine, uniform powders essential for paints, inks, and coatings. Emerging technologies add another layer of growth, particularly in nanomaterials and bioproducts, where spray drying allows for controlled particle engineering and encapsulation of sensitive biological compounds. Research institutions and biotech firms are experimenting with nano-spray drying to create powders for drug delivery, vaccines, and even probiotics that require delicate preservation. These diverse applications often require specialized equipment, such as closed-loop systems for solvents or modified chambers for high-precision particle control, pushing manufacturers to innovate and expand their product offerings.

The result is a fast-growing category driven by industries outside the traditional spray drying sectors, proving that the technology’s versatility extends far beyond food and pharma. As these emerging applications continue to scale up, the role of spray drying in specialty markets will become increasingly significant, cementing this category as one of the most dynamic areas of global growth.North America leads the global spray drying equipment market due to its highly advanced food processing and pharmaceutical industries that demand sophisticated drying solutions for large scale and high quality production.

North America’s position at the forefront of spray drying is tied directly to the maturity of its food and drug manufacturing ecosystem, which requires technologies that ensure safety, efficiency, and scalability. The dairy industry in the United States and Canada has long relied on spray drying to convert milk into powders that can be exported globally, while the region’s deep-rooted culture of convenience food consumption has kept demand strong for powdered coffee, protein mixes, and flavoring agents.

Alongside food, the pharmaceutical industry in North America is one of the most technically advanced in the world, with spray drying widely used to enhance the solubility of active pharmaceutical ingredients, stabilize complex biologics, and create powders for inhalation therapies. A strong focus on research and development, combined with the presence of universities and contract research organizations, has accelerated the adoption of cutting-edge spray drying technologies that integrate process control, energy efficiency, and precision particle engineering.

Furthermore, strict regulatory frameworks around food safety and pharmaceutical production standards in the United States and Canada push manufacturers to invest in high-end drying systems that guarantee product consistency and compliance, which in turn boosts demand for top-tier equipment. The concentration of global spray drying equipment suppliers and their close partnerships with North American companies also make the region a natural hub for innovation and application development. The blend of consumer-driven demand for powders, industrial reliance on advanced formulations, and regulatory pressures that demand excellence in processing has placed North America ahead of other regions in the adoption and application of spray drying technology.

• In January 2025, Dover Corporation acquired select assets from Carter Day International's petrochemical division, integrating them into its MAAG business unit to enhance specialized dewatering and drying equipment capabilities for the plastics industry. This acquisition strengthens Dover's position in the industrial drying and pelletizing equipment sector.
• In May 2024, GEA unveiled its latest addition to its lineup of pharmaceutical spray dryers at ACHEMA in Frankfurt. The newly introduced GEA ASEPTICSD® aseptic spray dryers mirror the functions, sizes, capacities, design, and chamber geometry of the standard GEA PHARMASD pharmaceutical spray dryers. This similarity facilitates a seamless transition from non-sterile to sterile spray drying, streamlining both time and cost efficiencies.
• In August 2022, SPX FLOW, Inc. has announced a collaboration with Flottweg to design, supply, install, and commission end-to-end plant-based process solutions for customers in the nutrition, health, food, and beverage industries as a result of the collaboration.
• In June 2022, BÜCHI Labortechnik launched the Mini Spray Dryer S-300. The system is automated to regulates all parameters such as spray gas, drying gas, and pump speed. The instrument also monitors both the outlet and the newly manufactured product temperatures to ensure the ultimate protection of heat-sensitive samples.
• In June 2022, Dedert Corporation announced the successful commissioning of its latest Spray Drying and Evaporation plant for the plant-based protein factory EverGrain. The drying and evaporation technology is used for the specialty protein developed for its solubility functionality.
• In March 2021, Tetra Pak and Rockwell Automation announced a strategic partnership for Cheese and Powder Solutions. The combined business expertise will deliver data and technology to reduce variability and improve quality consistency, assisting in the production of finished products in demand-driven manufacturing environments in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.

***Please Note: It will take 48 hours (2 Business days) for delivery of the report upon order confirmation.