INSTANT COFFEE GRANULATION METHOD BY NV ZEMLYAKOV Russian patent published in 2012 - IPC F26B3/10 A23F5/40 

FIELD: food industry.

SUBSTANCE: instant coffee granulation according to the method is performed within a suspended swirling stratum and involves generation of a centrifugal field within the inner cylindrical cavity with a vertical symmetry axis which is ensured by upward and downward swirling air flows swirling incidentally and in the same direction; generated between the flows and throughout the cavity length is a suspended toroidal dust stratum while within the cavity axial part a common output air flow purified of the dust fraction is generated; the product dust stratum is supplied to the upper boundary of the suspended swirling stratum; wet water steam is supplied to the suspended stratum lower boundary as the upward flow which ensures the granule formation process which further granules rolling into pellets with the preset diameter due to a specific magnitude of the upward flow rate ensuring a retaining force for the preset diameter pellets; the product dust stratum is represented by instant coffee whereto sugar powder is preliminarily added in an amount of 1% - 5%.

EFFECT: effective coagulation of original instant coffee particles with sugar powder; production of sweetened instant coffee granules.