Spray drying is a method of forming a dry powder from a liquid or slurry by rapidly drying with a hot gas. This is the preferred method of drying of many thermally-sensitive materials such as foods and pharmaceuticals, or materials which may require extremely consistent, fine particle size. Air is most commonly used as the heated drying medium; however, nitrogen may be used if the liquid is flammable (such as ethanol) or if the product is oxygen-sensitive.