Background: Encapsulation of oils is a critical technology with widespread applications in food, pharmaceuticals, and other industries, enhancing stability, bioavailability, and controlled release of active ingredients. Spray drying is extensively used to preserve encapsulated oil in powder form. The major concern is to obtain high quality oil powders, which requires optimization of spray drying conditions. The physicochemical and microstructural characteristics of the product are influenced by several spray drying parameters, including high drying temperatures that destroy delicate bioactive components and carrier agents that protect such compounds.

Scope and approach: The review systematically examines various aspects of the oil encapsulation process, including drying technique, and optimization of spray drying conditions. Spray drying is one of the techniques used extensively for encapsulation of oil compared to other drying techniques and it is also used under optimal processing conditions to obtain powders. Several new techniques have been introduced into spray drying, helping to overcome its limitations. These techniques are posted to set new standards for the production of high-quality oil powders in industrial applications.