The physicochemical parameters determining the size of agglomerate prepared by the wet spherical agglomeration technique

Abstract

Lactose samples of five different particle sizes from 31 to 261 μm dispersed in chloroform were agglomerated with a small amount of saturated aqueous lactose solution which acted as a bridging liquid to wet the particles preferentially. The effects of raw particle size and the amount of bridging liquid on the average size of resultant agglomerate were investigated. The agglomerate size increased with decreasing size of lactose. This effect was enhanced by increasing the amount of bridging liquid for lactose less than 79 μm. A linear correlation on a log—log plot was observed between the agglomerate size and the saturation ratio of bridging liquid. The slope increased with decreasing particle size of lactose. The size distribution of agglomerates was also determined for the particle size of lactose and the amount of bridging liquid used. The physicochemical properties of the bridging liquid, i.e. contact angle and interfacial tension, were also taken into account for interpreting the agglomerate size. The correlation between the agglomerate size and the above parameters was represented quantitatively by eqn. (10) in the text. The parameter n, which varies directly with agglomerate size, increased with increasing saturation ratio, or with decreasing lactose particle size.