Regime map development for continuous twin screw granulation

Wei Da Tu*, Andy Ingram, Jonathan Seville

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A promising method for continuous wet granulation is to pass powdered solids and binder through a twin-screw extruder, usually, as in this case, with co-rotating screws. In the current work, the relationship between operating conditions and product granule properties has been investigated using the same materials (microcrystalline cellulose and polyethylene glycol) as in an earlier study of conventional batch granulation using a high shear mixer-granulator (Tu et al., 2009), enabling a direct comparison to be made. Two extruder configurations were used: with barrel diameter/length dimensions of 16. mm/16. mm and 16. mm/64. mm. Two regimes (granulation and extrusion) were recognised for the short mixing geometry, while three regimes (granulation, extrusion and blockage) were recognised for the long mixing geometry and the staggered geometry. The resulting regime maps suggest that optimal granulation (narrow granule size distribution and large mean granule size) can be achieved with a higher liquid-to-solid ratio and a higher screw speed. The uniformity of size distribution can be improved by reprocessing and/or more aggressive mixing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)315-326
Number of pages12
JournalChemical Engineering Science
Volume87
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jan 2013

Keywords

  • Agglomeration
  • Extrusion
  • Mixing
  • Powders
  • Regime map
  • Twin screw granulation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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