Investigation on Side-Spray Fluidized Bed Granulation with Swirling Airflow

Abstract

Abstract. Top-spray fluidized bed granulation with axial fluidization airflow from the bottom of the granulator is well-established in the pharmaceutical industry. The application of swirling airflow for fluidized bed granulation was more recently introduced. This study examined the effects of various process parameters on the granules produced by side-spray fluidized bed with swirling airflow using the central composite and Box-Behnken design of experiment. Influence of the amount of binder solution, spray rate, and distance between spray nozzle and powder bed were initially studied to establish operationally viable values for these parameters. This was followed by an in-depth investigation on the effects of inlet airflow rate, atomizing air pressure and distance between spray nozzle and powder bed on granule properties. It was found that the amount of binder solution had a positive correlation with granule size and percentage of lumps but a negative correlation with size distribution and Hausner ratio of the granules. Binder solution spray rate was also found to affect the granules size. High drug content uniformity was observed in all the batches of granules produced. Both inlet airflow rate and atomizing air pressure were found to correlate negatively with granule size and percentage of lumps but correlate positively with the size distribution of the granule produced. Percentage of fines was found to be significantly affected by inlet airflow rate. Distance between spray nozzle and powder bed generally affected the percentage of lumps.

Response Surface Method in the Optimization of a Rotary Pan-Equipped process for Increased Efficiency of Slow-Release Coated Urea

“…Any further increase in the spray flow rate (<100 g/min) results in a decrease in the efficiency of the coating process. An increase in the flow rate or the overall mixing within the bed will have an adverse impact on the process, translating into a less uniform coating distribution [40]. Tzika (2013) observed that when high spray rates were employed, the coating layer became too porous, leading to an unwanted high release rate of the fertilizer from the coated granules [39].…”

A Study of Fluid Bed Granulation of Pravastatin Tablet Using Design of Experiments

“…Table 2 shows the selected three variables: spray rate (g/min), atomizing pressure (Bar), and inlet temperature (°C) during process and expected quality attributes, LOD (%), bulk density (g/ml), product temperature (°C), and dissolution (f2). Experimental design with three center points, which were also utilized to evaluate any curvature effect, was designed in Table 3 [8,9]. Eleven batch formulations (300 g each) were prepared by fluid-bed granulator for design of experiments (DoEs) assessment using design expert software version 9.0.5.1 (Stat-Ease Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA).…”

Evaluation of coat uniformity and taste-masking efficiency of irregular-shaped drug particles coated in a modified tangential spray fluidized bed processor

“…Discussion 4.1 Effect of swirling airflow on the coating efficiency of the FS processor The high coating efficiency and low agglomeration tendency of the FS processor in coating the irregular-shaped particles could be attributed to the accelerated drying rate of the swirling airflow and the presence of mild shear force during the fluidization [19]. In the spray coating process, the coating formulation was atomized into very fine droplets, which subsequently impinged onto the surfaces of the core particles [20].…”