Background/Requirement
A large international manufacturer of pharmaceutical tablets was experiencing problems with their tablet coating solution production process.
The manufacturer employed a two-tank mixing system;
- one to produce a pigment solution,
- the other to produce a gum-based solution.
In the pigment production tank, the pigment powders were added to the surface of the liquid and an in-tank high shear mixer was used to incorporate the powders into a solution.
This process was dusty and created numerous environmental and health concerns.
The other tank employed a traditional mixer to incorporate the gums. This resulted in the formation of lumps that required long periods of time in order to be broken apart, and a high percentage of waste when filtering the un-hydrated product.
The average batch time was 8 - 16 hours which caused a bottleneck in the tablet manufacturing process. As solvents were used, the entire production system needed to be explosion-proof.
Quadro's Approach
To help solve these production problems, Quadro developed a system that employed the Quadro Ytron® Jet Mixer, the Quadro Vac®, the Quadro® Lift, and a bottom entry magnetic mixer (see Figure 1).
Powders were pneumatically conveyed into the tank, dust-free, by a special air-driven motor Quadro® Vac, thereby eliminating dusting and spark potential. The Jet Mixer, with explosion-proof electrics, rapidly incorporated both pigments and gums, lump-free.
The bottom-entry, magnetic mixer was retained from the original design, as a means of keeping the solution in suspension, and to prevent settling. The Quadro® Lift enabled the mixer to be removed from the tank, creating system flexibility and permitting movement to other parts of the Facility, as required.
Summary
The Quadro® mixing system was supplied as a turnkey solution and eliminated problems previously encountered by the manufacturer by preventing dusting and lump formations. Processing time was reduced to 1 - 2 hours, an 87% improvement when compared to the previous system.
