Systematic study to improve the powder feeding performance and reducing the percentage of fines in roller compactor

Roller compaction is a widely used continuous dry granulation process in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The flow and distribution of the powder across the rollers in the compaction area plays a crucial role in determining the quality of the final product. Non-uniform powder flow and distribution across the rollers can lead to variations in quality across the ribbon, resulting in uneven qualities in the granules. Hence, it is essential to enhance the powder flow and distribution across the rollers in the compaction area. Besides that, insufficient compaction stress on both sides of the roller edges can also contribute to presence of uncompacted fines during compaction process. This research aims to systematically study a whole range of customized guiders design (T-1 until T-14) that improves powder flow and distribution across the rollers and reduces the percentage of fines in the compaction zone. The 3D printed customized guiders with different grade (1 mm until 14 mm) were applied in roller compactor with horizontal feeding system to control the amount of powder passing through the roller width by guiding more powder to the sides between the rollers and less powder to the centre. The effectiveness of the design was validated by examining crystalline and spray dry lactose powders with varying flowabilities using online thermal imaging. The results demonstrate a significant trend, indicating improved uniformity of powder flow and distribution across the rollers and reduced production of fines. These findings have the potential to contribute to long-term sustainability and resource conservation in industrial applications by reducing the need for material recycling and lowering energy consumption in continuous processes.