Analysis on the problems of hard particles, uneven particle size and roll of dry granulator

In the production process of granule medicine, granulator such as dry granulator plays a key role. It is understood that the dry granulator can meet the requirements of one-step granulation, integrate the tedious processing links together, and carry out completely closed processing, so that the appearance of the processed granule medicine is improved, and it is easy to store and transport.

Dry granulator is a kind of equipment which uses environmental protection granulation process to directly press powder into granules. In the pharmaceutical production process, dry granulator has been widely used, especially suitable for granulation of materials which are easy to decompose or agglomerate in case of moisture and heat. The granules made by dry granulator can be directly pressed into tablets or filled with capsules.

However, some users have reported that during the use of dry granulator, there are some problems, such as hard particles, uneven particle size, roller and so on, which affect the granulation process.

First, the particles are very hard. According to the industry, it is necessary to note that if the pressure of the roller is too high during the dry granulation process, the pressed dry particles will be too hard. If the tablets are to be made next, due to the hardness of the dry particles, the compressibility will be lost, leading to the tablet pressing, which requires greater pressure to press into shape, and the machine vibrates greatly. In the case of capsules, due to the hardness of the dry particles and the loss of compressibility, the filling process of the capsules is not able to afford the column and the material is thrown away, so that the difference in loading is far beyond the standard.

Second, the uniformity of particle size. In order to deal with the problem of uniform particle distribution during tablet pressing, several aspects need to be considered: ensure uniform mixing under high speed mixing; control fine powder less than 80 mesh within a certain limit; use forced feeding device to prevent stratification during tablet pressing. The above several aspects of product uniformity can be well controlled.

Third, the roller problem. There is cooling water inside the roll, and there is a dynamic sealing device on the rotating roller and static cooling water pipe. But after a long time of use, the problem of leakage will appear under high pressure.

At present, some manufacturers have improved the roller structure so that the cooling water can directly flow to the surface of the roller, which can effectively reduce the surface temperature of the roller and reduce the possibility of leakage, which should be said to be a progress. Due to the material selection and processing technology, many rollers will be worn and damaged after being used for a period of time due to the high pressure during granulation. Therefore, many manufacturers have to buy the rolls again after using for a period of time.

The market prospect of granule medicine is huge, and the market demand of dry granulator equipment will also meet the growth. In this context, the dry granulator manufacturers also need to improve the process and structure design to meet the needs of users.