(557c) Residence Time Distribution Determination in Pneumatic Conveying Processes for the Continuous Manufacturing of Pharmaceutical Products

Conveying powder form one unit operation to the next is a critical, and frequently problematic, aspect of all oral solid dose (OSD) manufacturing paradigms. Pneumatic conveying of materials offers several advantages over gravitational methods. For one, the height of the manufacturing suite can be limited. When gravitation conveying is utilized, the manufacturing space must be tall enough to allow unit operations to be stacked on top of each other. This can require expensive modification to existing facilities. In addition, pneumatic conveyors can transport poorly flowing powders that would pose considerable challenges in gravitational systems. When used in conjunction with continuous manufacturing system the pneumatic conveying of powder form one unit operation to the next can represent a large impact to the residence time distribution (RTD) and holdup of the system. Understanding the effects of this is important for the design a continuous system’s equipment as well as its operation. This talk will discuss the determination of RTD and holdup in pneumatic conveying systems.