2 replies to this topic

[dag88ind]

I am doing some research on drying in a pharmaceutical industry. I need to develop a detailed model which describes how moisture content changes in space and time during drying. I have come across many sophisticated models in other fields. Some have been extended to the pharmaceutical industry. One thing that is clear, is that, the process of drying is not optimized very well in pharmaceutical industries. In order to stay safe the wet cake after filtration is dried for a lot more time than needed. I have a decent model now that predicts what is needed. However it depends on parameters like thermal conductivity of the material, permeability of the cake, diffusivity of the liquid in the cake, etc. These parameters are a challenge to find from first principles.

Do any of you have a clear idea on how these things generally go about in the industry? Is my notion that the drying is unnecessarily carried out for prolonged periods true? Am I wasting my time doing this research or is it truly useful as it can save a a lot of energy and time and increase the production?

Edited by dag88ind, 15 January 2012 - 10:14 PM.

[kkala]

Every branch of industry has peculiarities due to the specific substances produced. I had to perform a feasibility study on dialysers (1986), when I knew about the certified clean environments (correct wording may be a bit different) in the pharmaceutical industry.
But principles of Chemical Engineering remain same, we only have to find the reasons.
For instance, I assume
1. Drying cannot be by flue gases, smoke and odor would contaminate the product.
2. High temperature can destroy a sensitive pharmaceutical product, so safe temperatures have to be adapted, even if this will need multiple time.
3. Parameters mentioned may be needed for modeling the drying operation, probably realized by hot air.
Everything is expected to be based on some reason, to be assessed by you. Working in phosphoric fertilizers, drying had not limitations per (1) or (2), modeling (never done) would require similar parameters. But capacity and products are quite different.

[ankur2061]

dag88ind,

Try reading the following:

Chapter 17, Drying,- "Fermentation and Biochemical Engineering Handbook - Principles, Process Design, and, Equipment" by Henry C. Vogel and Celeste L. Todaro


This will help in providing you the answers you are looking for.

Regards,
Ankur.