Raw Material Granulation Technology
Raw material granulation technology refers to a processing method that converts raw materials such as powder, melt liquid or solution into granules with specific shapes, sizes and functional properties. It is widely applied in the pharmaceutical, chemical, food and other industries. The common raw material granulation technologies are introduced as follows:
1.Wet Granulation
Principle: Add binders or wetting agents into raw material powder to prepare soft materials, extrude through sieves to form wet granules, and obtain finished granules after drying and granule sizing.
Features: With favorable surface modification, regular appearance and high wear resistance. It is suitable for raw materials stable against heat and moisture, yet requires a drying process with high energy consumption.
Application: Used for the production of tablets and granules in the pharmaceutical industry.
2.Dry Granulation
Principle: Without adding any liquid, raw material powder is directly compressed into blocks by mechanical pressure such as roller compaction and heavy pressing, then crushed into target granules.
Features: No drying required, energy-saving and high-efficiency. Ideal for heat-sensitive and water-unstable raw materials, while the granule strength may be relatively low.
Application: Granulation of chemical raw materials.
3. Spray Granulation
Principle: Mix raw materials with binders to make solution or suspension, spray into the drying chamber via atomizers, and rapidly evaporate moisture under hot air flow to directly form dry granules.
Features: Fast drying speed, suitable for heat-sensitive materials with uniform particle size; however, it involves high equipment cost and large energy consumption.
Application: Drying of traditional Chinese medicine extracts.
4.Fluidized Bed Granulation
Principle: In fluidized bed equipment, raw material powder is fluidized by hot air. Meanwhile, binder solution is sprayed in to make particles agglomerate and dry during fluidization.
Features: Integrates mixing, granulation and drying in one process. Produces granules with uniform particle size and good fluidity, compatible with a wide range of raw materials.
Application: Pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries, such as vitamin granule production.
5. Extrusion Spheronization Granulation
Principle: Extrude wet agglomerated raw materials into strips through sieve plates, cut into rod-shaped materials, and then spheronize in a centrifugal disc to form spherical granules.
Features: High granule density and excellent sphericity, applicable to scenarios with strict requirements on particle shape.
Application: Pharmaceutical and food industries.
The selection of granulation technology requires comprehensive consideration of multiple factors, including raw material properties (heat sensitivity, viscosity, etc.), granule specifications (particle size, strength, etc.), production scale and production costs.
