Extrusion-spheronization Method Research Articles

Development and Characterization of Pectin-Based Colon Targeted Pellets Containing Lactobacillus Plantarum FNCC-0461

Lactobacillus plantarum FNCC-0461 is a lactic acid bacteria isolated from "dadih" a traditional Indonesian food that has potential as a probiotic. Probiotics can show health benefits if they can maintain cell viability of at least 7 log CFU in the distal ileum and colon. However, most probiotics are not resistant to the extreme conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotic encapsulation in the form of pectin-based colon targeted pellets is a promising delivery system to overcome probiotic viability problems due to the gastrointestinal tract extreme conditions and can assist release to specific target site in colon. Pellets was produced by extrusion-spheronization method using microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), lactose and pectin. Optimization of spheronization process was carried out by varying the spheronization speed and time while the optimization of pellets formula was carried out by varying the concentration of total pectin and the type of coating polymer (cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) or shellac). The morphology, particle size, moisture content, micromeritic properties, process yield and viability of pellets were evaluated. Release of probiotics on coated and uncoated pellets were examined at pH 1.2, 6.8 and 7.4 under simulated colon fluid for 24 hours. The formula containing MCC, lactose and pectin (5:4:1) with spheronization speed at 1500 rpm for 15 minutes showed the best pellets characteristic and cell viability. The pellets obtained were spherical, with particle size distribution of 913.57±8.28 μm, process yield of 88.71±1.04 % and viability of 7.50 x 107 cfu/g. Pellets coated with CAP showed the highest cell release in simulated colon fluid of 1.38 x 107 CFU/g at 24 hours. This research proved that CAP coated pellet formulation has promising potential for colon targeted delivery of L. plantarum as well as to protect the viability of probiotics for colon-targeted delivery.

Combining solid lipid-nanoparticles in Alginate coating formulation to prepare enteric-released Diclofenac pellets

In the trend of using natural-resource substances in current pharmaceutical industry, alginate (ALG) film was used to coat tablets. To further develop ALG film-coating, solid lipid nanoparticles of cetearyl alcohol (ACS) or glycerol monostearate (GMS) were added in the coating formulation, applying to the diclofenac sodium (Na-D) pellet. Na-D pellets were prepared by the extrusion-spheronization method. Coated pellets were characterized with anti-moisture and acidic-resistant, and dissolution properties. Also, coating morphology was observed by microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM); difference-scanning-calorimetry (DSC) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the coating structure. The results showed that the nanoparticles were uniformly distributed into ALG structure. Interestingly, lipid nanoparticles enhaced the flexibility of the film, in which GMS nanoparticles improved the film-formed process (significantly lowering glass transition temperature). Regarding functions of the coating membrane, the moisture resistance and acid resistance of Na-D pellets increased only when nanolipids were present in the membrane.

Coal fly ash-bound limestone-derived sorbent pellets for high-temperature CO2 capture

Poor CO2 capture stability and serious elutriation are the issues commonly occur when limestone circulating in the fluidized bed-based Calcium Looping (CaL) system. Hence, three types of coal fly ash-bound (CFA-bound) limestone-derived sorbents were synthesized via mixing the limestone, calcined lime and hydrated lime with coal fly ash, respectively. The generated ternary Ca-Al-O and Ca-Si-O phases offer structural stability for CFA-bound limestone-derived sorbents and improve their cyclic CO2 capture performance. Moreover, extrusion-spheronization method was adopted to produce CFA-bound limestone and hydrated lime sorbent pellets to synergistically enhance cyclic CO2 capture capability and mechanical properties. It is found that hydrated lime is superior to limestone as the calcium precursor to prepare CaO-based sorbent pellets due to its desirable pore structure and high binding force. Therefore, the CFA-bound hydrated lime pellets containing 15 wt % of fly ash (HL/CFA15-P) exhibits a high carbonation conversion of 40 % after 17 cycles, which is nearly 1.4 times that of limestone pellets. The discrepancy on carbonation conversion between the two sorbent pellets is enlarged to ∼1.6 times after 100 cycles, which is calculated using a semi-empirical equation. Moreover, HL/CFA15-P exhibits outstanding mechanical property, whose compressive strength reaches 6±1.7 MPa, which is comparable to the cement-bound CaO-based sorbent pellets.

Fabrication of structurally improved KNaTiO3 pellets derived from cheap rutile sand for high-temperature CO2 capture

For the practical applications of CO2 sorbents, more studies on pellet rather than powder-type sorbents is a more mainstream research trend. In addition, high sorption kinetics, excellent cycling stability, and cheap raw precursors are far more important than its initial CO2 uptake value to a certain extent. Recently, alkali titanates have attracted growing attention as emerging and attractive high-temperature CO2 sorbent materials. Among the existing Na-doped alkali titanates, potassium sodium titanate (KNaTiO3) is one of the most promising high-temperature CO2 sorbent due to its high CO2 sorption rate and excellent cyclic stability. In order to promote its practical application in industry, a low-priced titanium ore was selected for the synthesis of KNaTiO3, and the optimized resulting sorbent maintained a rapid and reversible sorption capacity of 15.5 wt% after 100 cycles. Spherical pellets were fabricated by extrusion-spheronization method with cellulose and alumisol additives. The optimal pellets exhibited a relative compression strength of 4.15 MPa and an attrition rate of 1.2 wt% as well as maintaining a sorption capacity of 14.3 wt% after 50 cycles. It also showed superior CO2 capture kinetics, reaching a high CO2 removal rate of 92.5% within only 4 min (under 20% CO2). The role and mechanism of cellulose as pore-former were explored by SEM analysis and diffusion model fitting. In all, the optimized resulting sorbent pellets not only retained rapid CO2 sorption kinetics, high CO2 removal rate, excellent cyclic performance, but also ensure robust mechanical properties. These properties, as well as the low cost aspect, makes this newly developed KNaTiO3-based pellets to be highly promising for high temperature CO2 capture such as for biomass fired power plants or hydrogen production.

Facile fabrication of silica aerogel supported amine adsorbent pellets for Low-concentration CO2 removal from confined spaces

Amine-based adsorbents show promise for removing low-concentration CO2 from environmental control and life support systems (ECLSSs), while the powder adsorbents are facing the challenges of reaction non-uniformity, pressure drop and material elutriation. To solve the problems, amine-based adsorbent pellets are fabricated by the extrusion–spheronization (ES), agar-assisted moulding (AM) and graphite-casting (GC) methods. The adsorbent pellets are further modified with pore-forming template for improved CO2 adsorption performance. The influences of granulation and pore-forming template modification on the structure-performance relationships of the adsorbent pellets are investigated. Granulation exerts adverse effect on the pore structure of tetraethylenepentamine supported on silica gel (TEPA-SG) adsorbent, which is not conducive to the bulk diffusion of CO2, and the CO2 adsorption capacity and kinetics thus have been impaired. The TEPA-SG-ES adsorbent pellets prepared by the extrusion–spheronization method show a relatively higher CO2 capture capacity of 1.01 mmol CO2/g due to better textural parameters and uniform dispersion of amine species. Thanks to the extrusion process, the adsorbent pellets also exhibit good mechanical properties with a high compressive strength of 10.90 MPa and low abrasion index of 0.36%. Both the textural properties and CO2 uptakes of the pellets can be restored upon template modification, and the promoting effect depends on the different templates employed due to their distinct pyrolysis rates and pathways. Mechanical properties will be adversely affected by the doped pore-forming template. The TEPA-SG-ES-UA pellets prepared with urea modification exhibit a great CO2 capture capacity of 1.48 mmol CO2/g and good mechanical properties with a high compressive strength of 4.90 MPa and a low abrasion index of 0.87%, and it could be a nice adsorbent candidate for removing low-concentration CO2 from ECLSSs.

Comparison of 5-ASA layered or matrix pellets coated with a combination of ethylcellulose and eudragits L and s in the treatment of ulcerative colitis in rats

The aim of this study was to evaluate and optimize the combination of time and pH-dependent polymers as a single coating for the design of the colon-specific drug delivery system of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) pellets. 5-ASA matrix pellets with a 70% drug load were prepared by the extrusion-spheronization method. The optimal coating formula which included Eudragit S (ES) + Eudragit L (EL) + Ethylcellulose (EC) was predicted for the targeted drug delivery to the colonic area by a 32 factorial design. The ratio of ES:EL:EC and coating level were considered as independent variables while the responses were the release of less than 10% of the drug within 2 h (Y1), the release of 60–70% within 10 h at pH 6.8 (Y2) and lag time of less than 1 h at pH 7.2 (Y3). Also, 5-ASA layered pellets were prepared by the powder layering of 5-ASA on nonpareils (0.4–0.6 mm) in a fluidized bed coater and then coated with the same optimum coating composition. The coated 5-ASA layered or matrix pellets were tested in a rat model of ulcerative colitis (UC) and compared with the commercial form of 5-ASA pellets (Pentasa®). The ratio of ES:EL:EC of 33:52:15 w/w at a coating level of 7% was discovered as the optimum coating for the delivery of 5-ASA matrix pellets to the colon. The coated 5-ASA pellets were spherical with uniform coating as shown by SEM and met all of our release criteria as predicted. In-vivo studies demonstrated that the optimum 5-ASA layered or matrix pellets had superior anti-inflammatory activities than Pentasa® in terms of colitis activity index (CAI), colon damage score (CDS), colon/body weight ratio and colon’s tissue enzymes of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA). The optimum coating formulation showed a high potential for colonic delivery of 5-ASA layered or matrix pellets and triggered drug release based on pH and time.

Granulation of Mn-based perovskite adsorbent for cyclic Hg0 capture from coal combustion flue gas

Circulating adsorbents in a fluidized bed integrating elemental mercury (Hg0) adsorption and oxidized mercury decomposition/desorption processes could simultaneously achieve adsorbents recycling and mercury recovery during the flue gas mercury removal. The granulation of adsorbent powder is essential to reduce elutriation the looping system. Herein, powdery La0.8Ce0.2MnO3 perovskite adsorbent, which has been demonstrated to be highly efficient for Hg0 removal, was moulded into 0.8–1 mm pellets by an extrusion-spheronization method. Meanwhile, microcrystalline cellulose (MC) was used as pore-creating template to constructing porous pellets. The results show that the La0.8Ce0.2MnO3 pellets with 20 % MC added during the pelleting process (LCMO-MC) exhibited 90 % Hg0 removal efficiency under a gaseous hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 380,000 h−1, which was comparable to that over the corresponding powdery adsorbent. The LCMO-MC performed well in Hg0 removal at a wide temperature window from 50 to 200 °C. SO2 and H2O displayed slight interference in Hg0 removal, while O2 and NO enhanced Hg0 removal over LCMO-MC. During six adsorption-decomposition/desorption cycles, the LCMO-MC presented outstanding cyclic durability and about 97 % Hg0 removal efficiency was achieved with a GHSV of 50,000 h−1. The excellent Hg0 removal capacity of LCMO-MC was ascribed to the existence of abundant pore channels for Hg0 diffusion, which in-situ retained during the burning of pore-creating templates at high temperature and newly formed accompanying with the burning gas release. These results demonstrate that the template (i.e., MC) assisted extrusion-spheronization approach is promising to mould adsorbent pellets for Hg0 removal in a fluidized-bed system, which could simultaneously realize adsorbent recycling and mercury recovery.

Enhanced CO2 Capture Durability and Mechanical Properties Using Cellulose-Templated CaO-Based Pellets with Steam Injection during Calcination

Cellulose-templated CaO-based pellets were prepared via an extrusion–spheronization method. However, the CO2 capture capacity of the modified sorbents still deteriorated rapidly after multiple cycles, and the mechanical properties were also reduced. Steam injection during calcination was conducted to enhance the CO2 capture performance of the sorbents. The modified pellets with 10 vol % steam injection present a faster carbonation rate compared to sorbents calcined under higher steam concentrations. A CO2 uptake of 0.32 g/g was obtained after 20 cycles, 133 and 60% higher than the raw sorbent and modified sorbent without steam reactivation. Moreover, the simultaneous thermal and atmosphere-induced sintering resulted in a nearly 4 times enhancement of the mechanical strength of the sorbents from 3.9 to 14.7 N. Under the harsh environment (calcined at 950 °C), the presence of steam further aggravated the sintering of the sorbent, resulting in a dramatic decrease in CO2 uptake.

Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Multiparticulate Dosage Form Carrying Budesonide-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles to Enhance the Efficiency of Pellets in the Colon.

An attempt was made to conquer the limitation of orally administered nanoparticles for the delivery of budesonide to the colon. The ionic gelation technique was used to load budesonide on chitosan nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were investigated in terms of size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, shape and drug release. Then, nanoparticles were pelletized using the extrusion-spheronization method and were investigated for their size, mechanical properties, and drug release. Pellets were subsequently coated with a polymeric solution composed of two enteric (eudragit L and S) and time-dependent polymers (eudragit RS) for colon-specific delivery. All formulations were examined for their anti-inflammatory effect in rats with induced colitis and the relapse of the colitis after discontinuation of treatment was also followed. The size of nanoparticles ranged between 288 ± 7.5 and 566 ± 7.7 nm and zeta potential verified their positive charged surface. The drug release from nanoparticles showed an initial burst release followed by a continuous release. Pelletized nanoparticles showed proper mechanical properties and faster drug release in acidic pH compared with alkaline pH. It was interesting to note that pelletized budesonide nanoparticles released the drug throughout the GIT in a sustained fashion, and had long-lasting anti-inflammatory effects while rapid relapse was observed for those treated with conventional budesonide pellets. It seems that there is a synergistic effect of nanoformulation of budesonide and the encapsulation of pelletized nanoparticles in a proper coating system for colon delivery that could result in a significant and long-lasting anti-inflammatory effect.

Formulation Development and Optimization of Multiparticulate System by Extrusion Spheronization Method

Aim: This study aimed at formulating and optimizing the multiparticulate system of Rifaximin by adopting 32 factorial designs with independent variables X1 and X2 as concentrations of two excipients.
 Methodology: The pellets were prepared by the Extrusion Spheronization method and evaluated for percentage yield, flow property, percentage drug content, friability, and in-vitro percentage cumulative drug release.
 Results: The optimized batch (OR7) displayed excellent flow properties, 0.15±0.03% friability, and 97.85±0.22% drug content with a cumulative drug release of 93.24±0.95%.
 Conclusion: The results confirm the usefulness of factorial design to identify the effect of variables on pellet characteristics. The optimized batch can further be coated with different polymers to obtain targeted drug delivery.
 Place of Study: Department of Pharmaceutics, M. C. E. Society’s Allana College of Pharmacy, Pune.

Solid self‑emulsifying pellets: Solubility enhancement for oral delivery of poorly soluble BCS Class II drug

The review focused on technique of solid self-emulsifying pellets (SEPs) for solubility enhancement of poorly water soluble drug. The oral route of administration has been and still is currently the primary route of drug delivery owing to its potential advantages compared to the other routes. The solubility enhancement process of hydrophobic drugs plays a key role in the formulation development to achieve the bioavailability and therapeutic action of the drug at the target site.1 Around 40% of probe new drugs are characterized as belonging to class II in the BCS classification (poorly water soluble and highly permeable), giving rise to poor and erratic oral bioavailability. The solid SEPs system combines the advantages of liquid Self emulsifying drug delivery system with those of solid dosage form, which can overcome the limitations of liquid formulations and improve the storage stability and patient compliance. To enhance the dissolution and oral absorption of water insoluble drug selfmicroemulsifying pellets develop and evaluated. SEPs pellets showed a significant quicker redispersion rate than the dissolution rate of commercial tablets. The solid SEPs pellets might be an encouraging strategy to improve the oral absorption of Poorly water soluble drug and the extrusion–spheronization method is a feasible technology for the solidification of liquid SMEPs. Self microemulsifying drug delivery system (SEPs) as an effective bioavailability enhancement pharmaceutical technology has been widely used during the recent years and have some successful products in the market (e.g. Neoral®, Norvir® and Fortovase®).
 Keywords: Self Emulsifying Pellets, Bioavailability, Solubility, extrusion–spheronization, Biopharmaceutical Classification.

Unravelling the pore templating effect on CO2 adsorption performance of alkali metal nitrates promoted MgO pellets

Alkali metal salts (AMS) promoted MgO with high CO2 uptakes represents a promising adsorbent candidate for CO2 capture. The AMS-MgO composite adsorbents are facing the challenges of increased pressure drop or elutriation when employed in dual fixed-bed reactor or twin circulating fluidized-bed configurations. Granulation by the extrusion-spheronization technique represents an effective problem-solving strategy. However, textural properties and CO2 uptakes of MgO-based adsorbent pellets might be adversely affected by the granulation process. In this work, AMS-MgO composite adsorbent pellets were prepared by the extrusion-spheronization method. Citric acid (CA), ammonium bicarbonate (AB), urea (UA) and microcrystalline cellulose (MC) were employed as pore-forming templates to improve the porous structures and CO2 uptakes of the AMS-MgO pellets. CO2 uptakes and adsorption kinetics of the adsorbent pellets were studied using a fixed-bed reactor. Effects of granulation and pore templating on the structure-performance relationships of the AMS-MgO pellets were unraveled. Granulation had resulted in the remarkable decrease in CO2 uptake from 10.87 to 4.24 mmol CO2/g due to the impaired textural parameters. The employed sacrificial templates endowed the AMS-MgO pellets with enhanced CO2 uptakes and improved carbonation kinetics. This was associated with extended surface area and expanded pore structures due to gas liberation in the pyrolysis of templates, which had facilitated the kinetics of CO2 bulk diffusion. The desired AMS-MgO-MC pellet modified with MC template showed a high CO2 uptake of 7.54 mmol CO2/g in 50%CO2 at 340 °C, and its CO2 uptake was stabilized around 5.0 mmol CO2/g within 20 cycles. Besides, the AMS-MgO-MC pellet also exhibited good mechanical properties. The results will guide the rational design of highly efficient and robust MgO-based adsorbent pellets for CO2 capture applications.

Effect of extrusion-spheronization granulation and manganese loading on catalytic ozonation of petrochemical wastewater.

The petrochemical secondary effluent (PSE) is typical refractory wastewater derived from the petrochemical industries, which requires advanced treatment due to the strict environmental protection policies. Catalytic ozonation is one of the most widely used advanced oxidation technologies in wastewater treatment because of its high mineralization rate, in which the alumina-based catalyst usually plays an important role. Extrusion-spheronization is a promising technique for the preparation of alumina spheres because the synthesized alumina particles have high sphericity, high specific surface aera and narrow particle size distribution. In this paper, two kinds of alumina-based catalysts (catalyst A: manganese nitrate added after alumina granulation and catalyst B: manganese nitrate added into alumina powder before granulation) were prepared by the extrusion-spheronization method and used for PSE treatment by catalytic ozonation. The prepared alumina samples were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the wastewater samples were analyzed for Total organic carbon (TOC), UV254 and fluorescence spectroscopy. Results showed that manganese was uniformly distributed in both catalysts, and the specific surface area of two catalysts was 318.36 m2/g and 354.95 m2/g, respectively. Catalytic ozonation experiments were repeated nine times with each catalyst under the same conditions. The TOC removal rates for catalysts A and B in the first run were 48.88% and 49.06%, respectively, then it dropped to 28.05% for catalyst A but remained 47.81% for catalyst B after using for nine times. This implied that the long-term performance of catalyst B would be more stable than catalyst A. Similar result were found in three-dimensional fluorescence analysis. UV254 results indicated that the removal efficiency of aromatic and unsaturated substances by catalyst B was higher than catalyst A. A possible explanation is that the active component manganese oxide formed a catalyst skeleton in catalyst B, which makes it hard to dissolve. Effect of extrusion-spheronization granulation and manganese loading on advanced oxidant treatment of petrochemical wastewater.

Design of Experiment Approach to Assess the Effect of Formulation Variables on Extrusion and Spheronization of Telmisartan and Cilostazol Loaded Pellets and its Pharmacokinetic Study

Background: Solubility is an important parameter that affects the availability of drug in systemic circulation. Drugs having poor solubility belonging to BCS class II eventually result in lower dissolution and bioavailability. Hence, improvement of solubility is a challenging task. Hence the present work focuses on using solid dispersion and inclusion complex approach for both telmisartan and cilostazol belonging to BCS Class II drugs. Objective: The present study was carried out to improve apparent solubility of telmisartan and cilostazol (BCS-Class II drugs) and optimization as pellets along with its pharmacokinetic study. Methods: Phase solubility study was carried out to screen the excipients such as, PVPK30, PVA, HPMC E5 and β-CD. Solvent evaporation method was adopted to prepare the solid dispersions and inclusion complex of both drugs. Pellets were optimized by extrusion spheronization method using 32 factorial design and characterized by morphology, drug content, DSC, FTIR, XRD, SEM, in- -vitro studies and drug content study. Results: Phase solubility study showed improved apparent solubility of telmisartan with HPMC E5 (1:3) by solid dispersion and cilostazol with β-CD (1:3) using inclusion complexation method. Drug characterization did not reveal any incompatibility. Formulation was optimized on the basis of acceptable pellet properties, including acceptable spherical shape and micromeritics properties. The percent friability of all batches was found to be less than 1%. The optimized pellets of both drugs prepared with micro crystalline cellulose provided desirable maximum release with acceptable release profile. Conclusion: The formulated pellets when studied in vivo showed superior pharmacokinetic profile. The drawback associated with apparent solubility and bioavailability of both drugs can thus be alleviated by use of novel pellet formulation.

Ni-CaO dual function materials prepared by different synthetic modes for integrated CO2 capture and conversion

Dual-functional materials (DFMs) present broad prospects in CO2 capture and in-situ conversion to value-added products using renewable energy. Herein, we proposed and demonstrated three different synthetic modes for preparing Ni-CaO DFMs using carbide slag as calcium precursor. CO2 sorption and in-situ hydrogenation performance of the Ni-CaO DFMs was evaluated using a fixed-bed reactor. Results indicated that CO2 sorption capacity and CO productivity of the synthesized Ni-CaO DFMs depended on the synthetic modes. The desired Ni/CS-P30-C synthesized by acid pretreatment of carbide slag followed by citric acid complex exhibited a high CO2 sorption capacity (13.28 mmol/g DFMs) and a great CO productivity (5.12 mmol/g DFMs) under the isothermal testing temperature of 650 °C. The sample also showed stable CO2 uptake and CO productivity within 17 cycles. The good CO2 sorption and in-situ hydrogenation performance were associated with the better textural properties, smaller particle size and more uniform dispersion of Ni species, which were resulted from propionic acid pretreatment and citric acid complex processes. In addition, Ni-CaO pellet with high mechanical strength (2.88 MPa) and abrasion ability (weight loss of 2.36% after 3000 rotations). had also been prepared by the extrusion-spheronization method. The pelletization process adversely affected the CO2 sorption and in-situ hydrogenation performance, but the pellet exhibited good stability in cyclic operations.

Preparation and preliminary quality evaluation of aspirin/L-glutamate compound pellets

L-glutamate is an important component of protein. It can prevent gastrointestinal damage caused by NSAIDs. We constructed two-phase enteric-coated granules of aspirin and L-glutamate compound by extrusion spheronization method and fluidized bed coating. The subliminal effective dose of L-glutamate is 100 mg/kg tested by model of gastric ulcer of rats induced by aspirin and drug administration. HPLC-UV and UV–Vis methods were adopted to determine content and cumulative release of aspirin and L-glutamate as quality analysis method indexes. The prescription and process optimization were carried out with yield, sphericity and dissolution. The two-phase compound granules have good sphericity of 0.93 ± 0.05 (aspirin pellets) and 0.94 ± 0.02 (L-glutamate pellets), content of salicylic acid (0.24 ± 0.03)%, dissolution of aspirin (2.36 ± 0.11)%. Quality evaluation and preliminary stability meet the commercial requirements. The stored environment of compound preparation should be sealed in a cool and dark place.

Binary-ore oxygen carriers prepared by extrusion–spheronization method for chemical looping combustion of coal

In this study, composite oxygen carriers (OCs) were prepared by the extrusion–spheronization method, using disused fine (<100 μm) iron and copper ores as raw materials. A range of inert aluminosilicates (namely diatomite, montmorillonite, rectorite, pseudo-boehmite, pumice, and attapulgite) were tested as binders to achieve uniform physical mixing of iron ore and copper ore powders in a single OC particle, one-step particle shaping, and synergistic effect between active components. Firstly, the extrusion-spheronization process was optimized to achieve a sufficient crushing strength. It was found that FeCu-10 M (72 wt% iron ore, 18 wt% copper ore, and 10 wt% montmorillonite added as a binder) and FeCu-5P (76 wt% iron ore, 19 wt% copper ore, and 5 wt% pumice) OCs showed a relatively high crushing strength (greater than 2 N). Subsequently, the coal chemical looping combustion performance tests were conducted in a batch-fluidized bed. FeCu-10 M performed better at a bed temperature of 950 °C and for an oxygen-to-fuel ratio of 2.5 to 3.1. The OC also demonstrated excellent reactivity and stability during multiple redox cycles. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed that no obvious interphase side reaction occurred among different components within the particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterization indicated no obvious sintering within the particle or agglomeration between the particles. The experimental results demonstrated that the extrusion–spheronization method is suitable for large-scale preparation of OC particles. The binary-ore OCs prepared by extrusion–spheronization exhibited good performance in terms of reactivity, stability, and economy.

SiC/Mn co-doped CaO pellets with enhanced optical and thermal properties for calcium looping thermochemical heat storage

To achieve high heat storage capacity, excellent mechanical, optical and thermal properties in calcium looping thermochemical heat storage, the novel SiC/Mn co-doped CaO pellets were fabricated by the extrusion-spheronization method. The heat storage performances of the novel CaO pellets were studied under harsh calcination (pure CO2, 950 °C) and pressurized carbonation (pure CO2, 13 bar, 800 °C) conditions in a dual fixed-bed reactor system. The additions of SiC and Mn enhance the cyclic stability of CaO pellets during the multiple heat storage cycles. When the mass ratio of CaO:SiC:MnO2 is 100:5:5, the co-doped CaO pellets exhibit an excellent heat storage performance. The effective conversion and heat storage density of the co-doped CaO pellets are 41.5% higher than those of original CaO pellets, respectively. Meanwhile, the co-doped CaO pellets possess a good optical absorption capacity and a high thermal conductivity, which are 17.6 and 3.2 times as high as those of original CaO pellets, respectively. In addition, the co-doped CaO pellets show much higher crushing strength and lower weight loss during the attrition test. The stronger interaction between SiC and CaO cluster mitigates the movement of CaO, which is determined by density functional theory simulation. The adsorption of CO2 onto the CaO surface is enhanced by the addition of Mn. Therefore, SiC/Mn co-doped CaO pellets used in the calcium looping thermochemical heat storage process appear promising.

Pelletization and attrition of CaO‐based adsorbent for CO2 capture

AbstractCaO‐based adsorbent pellets from limestone and carbide slag powder were prepared by an extrusion–spheronization method. Three types of binder and peptizer materials were introduced to improve the adsorption performance and mechanical properties of adsorbent pellets. Weibull statistics was employed to analyze the compressive stress of adsorbent pellets. The results revealed that pseudo‐boehmite and nitric acid were the favorable choice of binder and peptizer for preparing CaO‐based adsorbent pellets with enhanced chemical and mechanical properties. The addition of pseudo‐boehmite (PB) improved the pore distribution characteristics by increasing the pores within 10–100 nm, and the addition of nitric acid brought favorable mechanical reliability by providing a large amount of H+, thereby interacting with multiple PB particles to form a network structure. It was shown that when 3 wt.% pseudo‐boehmite and 15 wt.% nitric acid were used, the favorable performance of the molding pellets could be obtained (carbonation conversion: 36%, compressive stress: 25.3 MPa; attrition rate: 0.46 wt.%/hr), which had promising prospects for practical CO2 removal.

Pellets containing quercetin amino acid co-amorphous mixture for the treatment of pain: Formulation, optimization, in-vitro and in-vivo study

Quercetin (QCT) shows many therapeutic applications but is constrained to its oral use due to its low bioavailability. In this study, co-amorphous mixture QCT with different amino acids (Arginine, Glutamic acid, Aspartic acid, Tryptophan, and Glycin) of different molar ratios was prepared using ball milling method. The solubility and physicochemical study of the mixtures was done using FTIR and XRD study. The co-amorphous mixtures QCT: ARG (1:2) was formulated in pellets using extrusion spheronization method. In-vitro dissolution study F1 formulation showed (95.74 ± 4.58%) significant increase (P < 0.005) compared to the pure drug (21.85 ± 3.42%) and other formulations. The in-vivo study F1 showed a significant (p < 0.05) increases in percent inhibition (67.00%) compared to pure drug (31%). The F1 formulation was stable when subjected to stability study. Therefore, the prepared co-amorphous mixture loaded pellets enhance the solubility, bioavailability, and stability of quercetin.