Measurement and Control of High Shear Granulation by Image Processing
Satoru Watano1, Yoshinobu Sato1, Toshihiro Akachi1, Tomohiro Iwasaki1 and Ichiro Koizumi2, (1)Department of Chemical Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan, (2)Development Departmant, Dalton Corporation, 2-2-30, Chuoh, Jyoto-ku, Osaka, 536-0005, Japan

High shear granulation has many advantageous points that it produces spherical and well-compacted granules in relatively short time and the equipment itself is very simple. However, granulation in a high shear mixer is very sensitive to even minor changes in moisture content, amount of binder, physical properties of starting materials and the operating conditions. Therefore, there is a great need for reliable system for process monitoring and control of granule growth. In this study, on-line measurement and control of high shear granulation is conducted by means of a novel image processing system, which basically consists of an image processing device and a feedback control system. Scale-up of high shear granulation is also conducted by the image processing system and validity of the system is discussed.

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Process Analysis Techniques in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The Preliminary Program for 2006 Spring National Meeting