Abstract. The purpose of this research was to use inline real-time near-infrared (NIR) to measure the moisture content of granules manufactured using a commercial production scale continuous twin-screw granulator fluid-bed dryer milling process. A central composite response surface statistical design was used to study the effect of inlet air temperature and dew point on granule moisture content. The NIR moisture content was compared to Karl Fischer (KF) and loss on drying (LOD) moisture determinations. Using multivariate analysis, the data showed a statistically significant correlation between the conventional methods and NIR. The R 2 values for predicted moisture content by NIR versus KF and predicted moisture values by NIR versus LOD were 0.94 (p<0.00001) and 0.85 (p<0.0002), respectively. The adjusted R 2 for KF versus LOD correlation was 0.85 (p<0.0001). Analysis of the response surface design data showed that inlet air temperature over a range of 35-55°C had a significant linear impact on granule moisture content as measured by predicted NIR (adjusted R 2 =0.84, p<0.02), KF (adjusted R 2 =0.91, p<0.0001), and LOD (adjusted R 2 =0.85, p<0.0006). The inlet air dew point range of 10-20°C did not have a significant impact on any of the moisture measurements.
Focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) was used as a process analytical technology tool to perform inline real-time particle size analysis of a proprietary granulation manufactured using a continuous twin-screw granulation-drying-milling process. A significant relationship between D20, D50, and D80 length-weighted chord length and sieve particle size was observed with a p value of <0.0001 and R(2) of 0.886. A central composite response surface statistical design was used to evaluate the effect of granulator screw speed and Comil® impeller speed on the length-weighted chord length distribution (CLD) and particle size distribution (PSD) determined by FBRM and nested sieve analysis, respectively. The effect of granulator speed and mill speed on bulk density, tapped density, Compressibility Index, and Flowability Index were also investigated. An inline FBRM probe placed below the Comil-generated chord lengths and CLD data at designated times. The collection of the milled samples for sieve analysis and PSD evaluation were coordinated with the timing of the FBRM determinations. Both FBRM and sieve analysis resulted in similar bimodal distributions for all ten manufactured batches studied. Within the experimental space studied, the granulator screw speed (650-850 rpm) and Comil® impeller speed (1,000-2,000 rpm) did not have a significant effect on CLD, PSD, bulk density, tapped density, Compressibility Index, and Flowability Index (p value > 0.05).
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