Data Acquisition and Analyzes of Lab, Pilot and Plant Scale Fluid Bed Granulation Processes

Abstract

Fluidized bed granulation is a process, where a binding material containing solution is sprayed into the fluidized bed of the powder-like particulate solid phase, fluidized by hot air. The solid particles wetted by the binding solution agglomerate, and the granulated product of the prescribed particle size distribution is formed. In pharmaceutical industry the process is used for the production of intermediers to be fed into the tabletting machines with a higher speed, resulting tablets of good quality. The data recording system of the laboratory, pilot and industrial process units makes available the temporal changes of many parameters, that makes possible the analyzes and the comparison of the various technologies. In addition, the recorded data give a good basis for the development of the simulation model, as well as the model based essential secondary characteristics. In this study 20 laboratory, 150 pilot and 10 industrial size granulations were analyzed. The analyzes covered three typical families of products, in two different machines (with cyclical and continuous dust removal from mechanically shaked sacks, or from metallic filters by pressure shocks). Based on the elaborated data, we found an essential functionality that is invariant to the various raw materials, and to the scaling-up. This so-called „bed-state diagram” helped to understand a couple of apparently contradictory experimental observations, resulting explanations, adequate to the practical experience. Computer programs were prepared for the evaluation of the laboratory, pilot and industrial size granulation processes.