A large international pharmaceutical manufacturer approached Quadro with an application to reduce the size of a small percentage of over-sized particles contained within a dry granulation formulation.
The Customer Challenge
A 100 to 200 U.S. standard mesh lactose powder was being mixed with an active medicinal ingredient in a V-cone blender. The blending action produced approximately 4% (+) 20 mesh lumps whilst leaving the rest of the product properly sized.
Due to problems previously encountered in trying to sift such a fine powder at a high rate, the customer wanted to size reduce these over-sized particles directly from the blender without changing the particle size distribution of the remainder of the material. The desired capacity was 1,500 pounds per hour (682 kg/hr). However, this was proving difficult to do due to the attrition generated by the sifting equipment.
The Quadro Solution
The gentle grinding action of the Quadro® Comil® and its quick discharge of already properly sized particles, was tested by the customer. It met their parameters of a 100% (-) 20 U.S. standard mesh powder (80 micron) without a significant change in the particle size distribution of the original infeed material. Capacity was also increased to 3,900 lb/hr (1,750 kg/hr).
The Results
The Comil® U20 was supplied with such options as an adjustable height frame, explosion proof electrics and a special infeed chute. The Comil® has now become an integral step between the customer’s blending and tableting operations.
By installing the Comil in-line, the customer was able to size reduce over-sized particles directly from the blender without changing the particle size distribution of the remainder of the material and more than double the original capacity.
(Ref: AP5R1 Dry Granulation prior to tableting)
Topics: Dry Granulation, Comil, Production Efficiency
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