New Granulation Line Suited for Production-Scale Applications

Romaco Innojet’s IGL 100 granulation line is designed for production-scale use and combines the five main processing functions in one unit: high-shear mixing and granulation, fluid bed drying, fluid bed granulation, fluid bed pellet coating, and fluid bed hot melt coating.

The granulation lines in the Innojet IGL series can process a variety of bulk materials such as fine powders, crystals, granules, or pellets with a bulk density ranging from 0.2 up to 1.2 g/cu m. Batch sizes from 30 to 600 kg are possible, depending on the size of the equipment.

Five in One

The IGL 100 is a multipurpose unit consisting of a high-shear mixer and an integrated Ventilus fluid bed system. The bottom driven high-shear mixer ensures that the raw materials are homogeneously mixed and granulated, while the fluid bed processor allows for an efficient drying of the batch to a low final moisture content. This method is particularly widespread in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Innojet IGL 100 can also be upgraded for fluid bed granulation or coating of fine powders and pellets. In this case, the Ventilus fluid bed processor is equipped with a top or bottom spraying nozzle. The bottom spray system with the central Rotojet nozzle is suited for high-performance pellet coating. By simply adding the Innojet IHD, the IGL 100 granulation line is also capable of hot melt coating formulations. If required, the various processes can be combined to get the maximum benefit from the unit’s capabilities, for example in order to apply a hot melt coating to granules that have previously been manufactured using the high-shear mixer. By doing so, material transfers can be eliminated, which saves time, increases the yield and avoids unnecessary product exposure of the operator.

Space-Saving GMP Design

The compact and closed design of the Innojet IGL 100 granulation line with built-in wet and dry mills enables fast, clean, and dust-free operation. The transfer of the finished wet granulate from the high-shear mixer into the fluid bed processor is carried out gravimetrically and without external air supply. The integration of all the Innojet IGL 100’s line components in a centrally controlled WIP (wash in place) system conforms to cGMP standards. Furthermore, all inner surfaces in contact with the product are easily inspectable and if necessary, quickly removed for a final offline manual cleaning.

Efficient and Sustainable

When manufacturing compact granules with the Innojet IGL 100, users benefit from up to 25% shorter drying times. The reduction of the process duration is mainly due to the air flow guided Orbiter booster system, through which the process air is introduced into the Ventilus. The air flow bed ensures accurate control of the product movement, which accelerates the drying of the granulate. At the same time the gentle guidance of the particles minimizes the breaking of soft granules as well as the abrasion of pellets. This lower product loss leads to significant cost economies, especially when processing high-priced active pharmaceutical ingredients (API).

Romaco Group, Karlsruhe, Germany +49 (0)721 4804 0 www.romaco.com