DryPro: Preventing Segregation Using Product Changes

Many products created today are a mixture of multiple components, each with a unique purpose in the product design. Processing operations in the production or packing facilities, as well as customer handling of point-of-use products, can result in segregation. It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it is equally true that segregation is also in the eye of the beholder. The end user’s perception of a product can make or break the profitability of that product. Therefore, regardless of the reason, segregation observed by the end-user is always a problem for the manufacturer. So, what can production and packing facilities do to mitigate segregation of their product? An intriguing question is: can changes in the product mitigate segregation? An equally important question is: if I make a small change in the product, will this result in segregation of the final product and why? This webinar addresses the issue of product-based segregation using a systematic approach based on sound scientific principles and is designed to help formulators and process engineers to use all the tricks of the trade to mitigate segregation of their final product.

Segregation prevention based on product changes requires knowledge of how differences in the components making up the final product may lead to segregation. Segregation is a mechanistic behavior with causes that are based on how two or more different particles may separate from each other during processing and filling steps. This implies there are a set of particle scale properties that can cause segregation of mixtures, and that controlling these particle scale properties could be a means to mitigate the segregation. It also suggests that the product designer or formulator should have at least a rudimentary understanding of how a process might induce flow behavior that either enhances or prevents the segregation of key components.

Sometimes fixing segregation problems requires modification of the material, but that modification must be done with an understanding of what flow behaviors in the process might cause the separation of key components. The trick is to know under what conditions a product change will help prevent segregation.