Experimental and modeling study of fluidized bed granulation: Effect of binder flow rate and fluidizing air velocity

Abstract

Fluidized bed granulation is a widely used technique of producing granules in pharmaceutical, food, detergent, and fertilizer industries. In thisstudy, fluidized bed granulation of two powders – wheat flour and rice powder – with water as binder is studied experimentally and by modeling.The effects of two process parameters – binder flow rate, fluidizing air velocity – are determined. Experimental results show that increasing thebinder flow rate favors the formation of bigger granules while increasing fluidizing air velocity leads to a decrease in average granule diameter.Population balance model with suitable form of coalescence kernel (β) has been used to describe the granule growth. Later, this kernel is linkedwith process parameters – binder flow rate and fluidizing air velocity.