Comparative analysis of granule properties in continuous granulators
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2023-07Keyword
Hot melt granulationTwin screw melt granulation
Wet granulation
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000
Calcium carbonate (Durcal 65)
Kneading elements (KB)
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© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Peer-Reviewed
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Several contributions in answering granulation challenges including the use of computer simulation and well thought out experimental analyses are being researched. Using a twin screw granulator (TSG) by design of experiments (DoE), comparisons on 1) equipment similarities i.e., continuous and 2) shear forces, are made to previous literature on continuous equipment and a Cyclomix. This study proposes that equipment specific DoE, better explains the contribution of parameters than investigating an identified parameter from the experimental findings from a specific equipment. Granule strength and structure are presented together with the contribution of process parameters, speed, temperature, and binder content. Seeded structures are present in all but the Extrudomix. Longer residence times within the Cyclomix facilitates seeded structures. Granule crushing strengths are higher in TSG than all other continuous equipment. Optimum condition for the formation of stronger granules with least variation is around 65.4 °C.Version
Published versionCitation
Sekyi N, Kelly A and Rahmanian N (2023) Comparative analysis of granule properties in continuous granulators. Powder Technology. 425: 118557.Link to publisher’s version
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2023.118557Type
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Strength and structure of granules produced in continuous granulatorsThe effect of the operating conditions of three continuous high shear granulators on the internal structure and strength of granules has been investigated and the possibility of seeded granulation has been explored. In a recently concluded programme of research on the scale-up of a high shear granulator, Cyclomix (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron B.V., The Netherlands), a novel method of granulation called seeded granulation was introduced, where each granule contained, at its core, a large particle from the upper tail end of the feed particle size distribution. Seeded granulation is particularly useful for process control of continuous granulators as there is the potential to control granulation by the flow rate of the seed particles. Hence, the performance of three different types of continuous granulators in terms of granule strength and structure has been evaluated here; these are Extrudomix, Modulomix (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron, UK and The Netherlands, respectively) and the Nica M6 Turbine continuous granulator (manufactured by GEA, UK). Calcium carbonate (Durcal 65) powder was granulated using an aqueous solution of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as binder in the same ratio as used previously in our batch granulation, to allow comparison between the continuous and batch processes. The crushing strength was characterised by quasi-static side crushing between two platens using a mechanical testing machine. The internal structure and morphology were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and the extent of seeding quantified. Granules produced in all the three continuous granulators were significantly weaker than those of the batch granulator tested previously. Among the continuous granulators only the Modulomix granulator produced some seeded granules. It is considered that longer residence time is necessary to produce seeded granules.
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Effects of process parameters on granules properties produced in a high shear granulatorResults of a study on the influence of process parameters such as impeller speed, granulation time and binder viscosity on granule strength and properties are reported. A high shear granulator (Cyclomix manufactured by Hosokawa Micron B.V., The Netherlands) has been used to produce granules. Calcium carbonate (Durcal) was used as feed powder and aqueous polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the binder. The dried granules have been analysed for their strength, density and size distribution. The results show that increasing the granulation time has a great affect on granules strength, until an optimum time has been reached. The underlying cause is an increase in granule density. Granules are consolidated more at higher impeller speeds. Moreover, the granule size distribution seems not to be affected significantly by an increase in impeller speed. Granules produced with high binder viscosity have a considerably lower strength, wide strength distribution due to poor dispersion of binder on the powder bed. Binder addition methods have showed no considerable effect on granule strength or on granule size distribution.
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Seeded granulationA novel method for manufacturing granules with a large particle at their core, referred to as seeded granules, is presented. As an example, calcium carbonate powders (Durcal) of different grades are used as primary particles and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as liquid binder in high shear granulators of different scales (Cyclomix, manufactured by Hosokawa Micron B.V., The Netherlands). The conditions giving rise to seeded granulations are specified in the form of an operational regime map. It is found that the seeded structure is strongly dependent on the impeller speed and the primary particles size distribution. It is shown that a Stokes number of around 0.1 represents the optimal dynamic conditions in the given example for producing seeded granules, regardless of the scale of the granulator.