Granulation

If you’re involved in the pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging industry, you’ll know that granulation is a vital part of producing various kinds of solid dosage drugs. Powdered drugs are formulated and need to be repurposed into a physical form, such as tablets. These tablets have to be consistently hard and look uniform in each package.

Wet and dry granulation are two different types of techniques that are often used to get the powder particles to stick to each other to form agglomerates. While other methods, such as spray-drying and melt granulation, are also used by certain manufacturers, wet and dry granulation have become the most common types of adhering techniques.

 Choosing between wet and dry granulation

Wet granulation is still more popular than dry granulation. This is the oldest type of granulation technique and there are a number of granulators which can be used to get the job done, such as fluid-bed granulators, high-shear granulators and twin-screw granulators.  While this granulation technique is used by many pharmaceutical companies, there are a few disadvantages that manufacturers and packaging companies need to keep in mind.

One of the drawbacks is that wet granulation can be very energy intensive. The drying process can lead to higher energy bills, so if you’re in a country or region where electricity is costly, you might want to consider renewable energy for your facility or speak to a packaging equipment supplier about different ways to optimise the equipment.

Dry granulation is a lower-cost alternative to wet granulation. During the dry granulation process, the dry power granules are directly compacted to one another, which leads to densification. This method is often chosen for pharmaceuticals that need to be granulated in a moisture- and temperature-controlled environment.

Need more information about industrial processing equipment or pharmaceutical processing equipment? Then contact Acufill today.