Granulation variables processes

Granulation Rate Processes and Effect of Operating Variables. 20-75... 

Byers JE, Peck GE. The effect of mill variables on a granulation miffing process. Drug Dev Ind Pharm 1990 16 1761-1779. 

Tablet Formulations (Immediate Release). Two papers in the mid-1990s reported the earliest studies on immediate release tablets. In the first, tablet formulations of hydrochlorothiazide [33] were modeled in an attempt to maximize tablet strength and select the best lubricant. In the other, a tablet formulation of caffeine was modeled [34] to relate both formulation and processing variables with granule and tablet properties.

The approach taken here is to employ standard materials characterization tests to measure the materials properties of the granulated product. With this information, the mechanism of attrition, i.e., breakage versus erosion, is determined. The rate of attrition can then be related, semi-empirically, to material properties of the formulation and the operating variables of the process, such as bed depth and fluidizing velocity. 

Table 6. The Effect of Operating Variables on Attrition in Granulation Processes...

Nevertheless, the acquisition of a sufficiently detailed body of physical information can allow a formulator to go far beyond the mere ability to cope with crises when they develop at unexpected times. For a well-understood system, it is theoretically possible to design an automated or semi-automated manufacturing scheme for which the processing variables would be appropriately controlled so as to minimize the possibility of batch failure. Materials passing the hurdles of physical test specifications would be totally predictable in their performance, and they could therefore be blended, granulated, dried, compressed, and delivered into containers without operator intervention. 

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