PARTICLE SIZE

ENL ARGEMENT
PA R T I C L E T E C H N O L O G Y
SIZE ENLARGEMENT
• is the process by which smaller particles are
put together to form larger masses in which
the original particles can still be identified.
SIZE ENLARGEMENT IS MAINLY
ASSOCIATED WITH:

AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
SIZE ENLARGEMENT IS MAINLY
ASSOCIATED WITH:

MINERALS INDUSTRY

FOOD INDUSTRY
SIZE ENLARGEMENT IS MAINLY
ASSOCIATED WITH:

CERAMICS INDUSTRY

METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY
Sulfur Granules Ore

Charcoal
PURPOSE OF SIZE ENLARGEMENT
• reduction of dust hazard (explosion hazard or health
hazard),
• to reduce caking and lump formation
• increase bulk density for storage
• Reduces dust during material processing
• to provide a defined metered quantity of active ingredient
(e.g. pharmaceutical drug formulations
SIZE ENLARGEMENT METHODS
• Granulation
• Compaction
• Extrusion
• Sintering
• Spray drying and prilling
 COMPACTION

GRANULATION
 SINTERING

EXTRUSION
 PRILLING

SPRAY DRYER
AGGLOMERATION VS GRANULATION

VS
INTERPARTICLE FORCES
I. Van der Waals Forces
The range of van der Waals forces is large compared with that of
chemical bonds. The attractive force, Fvw, between a sphere and a plane
surface as a result of van der Waals forces was derived by Hamaker (1937)
and is usually presented in the form: Where:
Kh = Hamamaker constant
R = radius of the sphere
y = is the gap between the
sphere and the plane
II. Forces due to Adsorbed Liquid Layers
particles in the presence of a condensable vapour will have a
layer of adsorbed vapour on their surface. If these particles are in
contact a bonding forces results from the overlapping of the
adsorbed layers.

III. Electrostatic Forces

It exist either as a result of interparticular friction or through the
generation of opposite charge
IV. Forces due to Liquid Bridges
dispersing liquid into a powder mass will generally result in a significant
increase strength of particle-particle agglomerates

• Liquid bonding between particles: (a) pendular; (b) funicular; (c) capillary; (d)
droplet
V. Solid Bridges
Granules formed by liquid bridges are usually not the end product in a
granulation process. More permanent bonding within the granule is created by
solid bridges formed as liquid is removed. Solid bridges between particles may
form: crystalline bridges, liquid binder bridges and solid binder bridges.
VI. Comparison and Interaction between Forces
GRANULATION
GRANULATION
• Is the process of forming small particles trough
agglomeration technique
• That is, the process of small particles into grains or
granules.
• It is a common process in producing solid dosage
drugs where it transforms formulations with
improved compaction and flow characteristics
 BENEFITS OF GRANULATION
• Enhanced compressibility in tablet
manufacturing process
• Uniformly distributes essential ingredients
within the granules
2 TYPES OF GRANULATION
Dry Granulation
and
Wet Granulation
 I. DRY GRANULATION TECHNIQUE
• It is the process of forming granules
without need for any liquid or solution.
• It is a perfect choice for moisture
sensitive materials.
• Ideally, it is the process of compacting
and densifying powder to form granules
• Simple and cost effective
• Equipment Example: Roller Compactor
Products of Dry
Granulation
Technique
II. WET GRANULATION
• Involves a binder/liquid that causes aggregation of particles
• Granulation liquid is a volatile solvent that is easy to
remove by drying.
• The choice of liquid will depend on the type of material
you intend to process
• Examples: Ethanol, isopropanol, etc.
MECHANISM OF GRANULATION
1) Wetting and Nucleation
– Wetting is the process y which air within the voids between particles is replaced by liquid.
– The rate which wetting occurs is important in granulation for the product quality in the granulation
process
 Where:
Ɛ = granule porosity
S = granule saturation
Ρs= solid density
ρl== liquid density
w=liquid level
II. Granule Consolidation

• Consolidation is the term used to describe the increase in granule density caused by closer
packing of primary particles as liquid is squeezed out as a result of collisions.
• Consolidation can only occur whilst the binder is still liquid
• determines the porosity and density of the final granules.
III.GROWTH
• As granules grow so do the internal forces trying to pull the granule apart.
• It is possible to predict a critical maximum size of granule beyond which coalescence is not
possible during collision.
• The parameter which determines whether coalescence will occur is a Stokes number Stk:

low value
• impact energy dissipates in a
surface liquid film
• coalescence occurs
Where:
high value
X= diameter
• too high impact energy to
μ = Viscosity
dissipate = bouncing
Ρg = density
Vapp = velocity
IV.Granule Breakage

• Breakage (also called fragmentation) is the fracture of a granule

to form two or more pieces
• Attrition (also called erosion) is the reduction in size of a
granule by loss of primary particles from its surface.
• breakage may be controlled by altering the granule properties
(e.g. increase fracture toughness and increase resistance to
attrition) and by making changes to the process (e.g. reduce
agitation intensity).
GRANUL ATION
EQUIPMENTS
D RY & W E T G R A N U L AT I O N
DRY GRANULATION

• Commonly used dry granulator

– Roller compactors
– Tablet press
 Roller compactors

• used to force fine powders between two counter rotating rolls and
presses the raw materials into a solid compact:
– Flakes
– Sheets
– Strips
A ROLLER COMPACTOR GENERALLY
CONSISTS OF THREE MAJOR UNITS.
– A feeding system, which
converts the powder to the
compaction area between
the rolls.
– A compaction unit, where
powder is compacted
between two counter
rotating rolls to a ribbon by
applying a force.
– A size reduction unit, for
milling the ribbons to the
desired particle size.
ADVANTAGES:
 This methodology is especially attractive minimized dust problems or avoided
for drugs, which are moisture or heat
sensitive.  The capping of tablets might also be
reduced.
 Suitable for compounds that either have a
low melting point or degrade rapidly
 Roll compaction/dry granulation can
during heating
be used, if the drug or the excipient is
poorly flowing or sensitive to heat or
moisture.
 Form porous tablets thus allowing water
to penetrate more easily into the tablet,  It can also be used for densification
leads to improved disintegration behavior of powders prior to encapsulation.
of tablets.

 Environmentally friendly & provides an

efficient and easily automated process

 Low operational cost.

TABLET PRESS
• a mechanical device that
compresses powder into tablets of uniform size
and weight.
• used to manufacture tablets of a wide variety of
materials, including
– Pharmaceuticals
– Cleaning products
– Cosmetics
TABLET PRESS
• To form a tablet, the granulated
material must be metered into a
cavity formed by two punches and
a die, and then the punches must be
pressed together with great force to
fuse the material together.
WET GRANULATION EQUIPMENTS
Fluid Bed Granulator
Mixer Granulator
Tumbling Granulator
Granulator converts fine powders to
granules via a series of physical rate
processes.
A. FLUID BED GRANULATOR

• Refers to a phenomenon where solid particles

are subjected to a specified amount of
pressure that forces the particles to behave
like a fluid.
CHARACTERISTICS:

• Product Size: 0.1 to 2 mm

• Granule density: Low
• Scale of operation: < 500 kg batch, 50 tph continuous
Top spray
Bottom spray Tangential spray
3 CRITICAL STAGES:
• Using a stream of air to fluidize the bed
• Adding a granulation fluid to agglomerate the
particles. (Controlled by moisture content.)
• Drying processed granules
CONTINUOUS FLUIDIZED BED
GRANULATOR
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS:
• Continuous:
Fertilizers and
Detergents
• Batch:
Pharmaceuticals,
Agricultural
chemicals
B. TUMBLING GRANULATOR
• In tumbling granulators, particles are set in motion
by the tumbling action caused by the balance
between gravity and centrifugal forces.
• Tumbling granulators operate in continuous mode
and are able to deal with large throughputs.
 CHARACTERISTICS:
• Product granule size is in the range
0.5 to 20mm.
• Are good for producing high
density “balls” or pellets.
• Capable of very large throughputs
(up to 0.5 to 800 tph)
TUMBLING
GRANULATOR TYPICAL
APPLICATIONS:
• Fertilizers
• Mineral Ores
• Agricultural Chemicals
 C. MIXER GRANULATOR
• In mixer granulators first the powder is chopped and mixed to
produce a fine, free-flowing powder. Then a liquid binder is blended
with the powder to produce granules.
• High-shear mixer granulators are almost exclusively used in the
pharmaceutical industry.
CHARACTERISTICS

• Product size 0.1 to 2mm

• Product density: Low density
• Have an average processing time of five minutes.
MIXER GRANULATOR TYPICAL
APPLICATIONS
• Chemicals
• Detergents
• Pharmacueticals
• ceramics
THANK YOU!
REPORTERS

• BERCES, RUEMHEL
• BERCES, MARK GIERONNE
• BITARA, DANNA EINA
• BUNAO, JAY AR
• DIAZ, PAULO