Preventing Product Loss When milling Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements

Sadly, at each stage in a manufacturing line, inefficiencies in production processes can cause sizeable losses in product yield, which in turn reduces profitability.

What’s more, product losses from early processing stages, such as milling and sifting, can be overlooked, but have a significant impact as they reduce the available product in downstream stages, or powders that are not well conditioned can cause issues in the downstream tableting or encapsulating processes and subsequently lead to product scrappage.

Fortunately, by tightening processes, it’s possible to rectify this situation.

What causes product loss in nutraceutical milling?

Inconsistent processing and unreliable nutraceutical milling equipment are harmful to production efficiencies and the quality of the final product. Here are some of the common problems we see:

• Variable particle size distribution (PSD) and uniformity. This can affect the dissolution rates, bioavailability and stability of the final product.
• Heat generation. Some milling processes can generate heat, which will degrade more sensitive ingredients, resulting in poor product quality at the end product.
• Dust. If the mill is not set up correctly, or is a lower grade mill, there is the danger of producing too many fines, which can become dust, creating contamination risks and environmental health hazards to the workers.
• Complex and ancillary equipment, unable to scale up to cope with increased demand.

Resolving these milling issues will allow you to retain more high-quality material in less processing time, while also future-proofing your nutraceutical manufacturing processes.

A straightforward, ‘right first time’ milling solution such as Quadro’s Comil^® will alleviate issues that lead to product loss, increasing control over your yields, and removing the need for complex ancillary equipment or multiple passes through the mill.

A ‘right first time’ approach to nutraceutical milling

The Quadro Overdriven series brings simplicity to your milling stage.

As part of that series, the Quadro Comil^® is an investment that will increase your yields by increasing process efficiency and simultaneously tackling three factors that cause product loss in milling. The Comil^® offers:

• Tight particle size distributions, with almost any target particle size achievable by selecting the right screen, impeller and RPM combination.
• Low operating temperature, with optional additional cooling components to reach lower temperatures.
• Reduction in fines – our tight PSD profiles show how low the level of fines can be. The right set up of screen & impeller will ensure success.
• A self-contained, GMP-certified milling process. The Comil^® is already established in large-scale food and pharmaceutical manufacturing, giving you reliable, scalable equipment that is easy to maintain.

Decades of expertise in milling

Our decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and food industries mean we have a wealth of knowledge about processing delicate materials to avoid product loss.

With 40 years of milling expertise, we’ve supported clients with tailored solutions to problems milling temperature-sensitive products such as APIs, OSD powders, spices, cannabis/hemp, and coffee on an industrial scale.

What’s more, Quadro sits alongside business units with decades of experience in processing liquids, solids and powders. Our experience enables us to provide reliable, high-quality equipment and solutions that you can trust.

We call on our fellow business units to increase efficiency at all stages of processing, from creating entire manufacturing lines, to simple deagglomeration or complex nanoemulsions with high surface areas.

Contact us today for a free consultation on how to improve your processes.