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Fluid Bed Processor for Granulation, Coating, Pelletization,and Solution Layering
Fluid bed drying
Gentle, rapid drying of powders and particles
The product to be dried is fluidized by passing hot air through it. Theprocess achieves fast heat transfer making it very efficient, yet gentle onthe product.
Capacity: from 50g to several ton/batch or several ton/hr.
History and description of batch fluid bed processors
Batch fluid bed processing has been used in the pharmaceuticalindustry for the past 30 years. Figure 1 shows the components of atypical fluid bed processor. The technology was originally developedspecifically for rapid drying. Over the years, fluid bed processing hascome into routine use for other applications such as granulation,agglomeration, air suspension coating, rotary pelletization, and powder and solution layering, but the principle of the fluid bed processor has notchanged.
GEA PharmaSystems LighthouseProbe™ TechnologyAirflow in Batch Fluid-Bed Processing byDilip M. Parikh:reprinted fromPharmaceuticalTechnology, March1991.Fluid-Bed Processingin the 1990sby DilipM. Parikh: reprintedfrom PharmaceuticalTechnologySupplement, October 1996
 
Figure 1: TypicalComponents of aFluid Bed Processor for Granulation,Coating,Pelletization, andSolution Layering
A fluidized bed is a bed of solid particles with a stream of air or gaspassing upward through the particles at a rate great enough to set themin motion. As the air travels through the particle bed, it imparts uniqueproperties to the bed. For example, the bed behaves as a liquid. It ispossible to propagate wave motion, which creates the potential for improved mixing. In a bubbling fluidized bed, no temperature gradientexists within the mass of the fluidized particles. This isothermal propertyresults from the intense particle activity in the system. Thus, the fluidbed can be used to dry the wet product, agglomerate particles, improveflow properties, instantize the product, or produce coated particles for controlled release or taste masking. Modular systems designed to carryout multiple processes in which only a container change is necessary tochange the type of unit operation being performed have been developedby all the manufacturers of fluid bed processors.Although the basic process of the fluid bed has not changed much, theversatility of fluid bed processing has evolved over the past 30 years inresponse to the demands of the pharmaceutical industry, the guidanceof regulatory agencies, and competitive innovation on the part of equipment manufacturers.
Advances in Hardware
Components that make up a fluid bed processor have not changedsubstantially. However, the shape of the fluid bed in the early days wasquite different from the design offered by most manufacturers today.
Figure 2
shows the shorter design that was prevalent in the industrybefore the 1970s. Late in that decade, several factors changed thedesign of fluid bed processors. FDA introduced GMP guidelines in theUnited States; controlled-release products that required uniform particle
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