Abstract
The purpose of granulation is to improve the flowability of powders, whilst reducing the dustiness and potential of segregation. The focus of this project is to understand the effects of the process parameters of fluidized bed granulation on the granule size distribution of the final product using gFP simulation software (Siemens PSE, UK). The wet granulation process has become predominant and important in the pharmaceutical industry, due to its cost-effectiveness and its robustness in product formulation. The process parameters that were subject of this study include the air flow rate of 20, 40 and 60 m3/hr., the binder concentration of 6, 9 and 12 wt.%, and the binder spray rate of 7.14, 14.28 and 21.42 ml/min. The results show that binder spray rate has the most impact on the granule size distribution, where an increase in binder spray rate is associated with a higher incidence of larger granules in the product. The air flow rate and the binder concentration have a negligible impact on the granule size distribution when agglomeration and consolidation models are not implemented in the simulation.
