Case Study - Glatt: Savings in drying times for pharmaceuticals could be as great as 50% where desiccant dehumidifiers are used

The first tests of their kinds have revealed that savings in drying times for pharmaceuticals could be as great as 50% where desiccant dehumidifiers are used, say Munters, specialists in creating controlled climates.

The independent tests, carried out together with Glatt in their feasibility laboratory, showed that considerable time savings (up to 50%) could be achieved under ideal climate conditions during the preparation of pharmaceuticals powders and granules. In addition, they showed that the use of controlled air conditions on the inlet to a fluid bed dryer offers stability in the finished product, and the use of particularly low dewpoint air (supplied by a Munters desiccant dehumidifier) can achieve improvements in product quality.

Glatt, agreed to conduct the tests to confirm what many in the industry knew from their own experiences. The tests, measured using instrumentation supplied by Sartorius, also proved beyond doubt the value of controlled environments in ensuring constant production rates - whatever the weather. The equipment used for these trials was a Glatt GPCG-3/5 fluid bed multi processor using a dryer insert. A lactose/avicel placebo was mixed for the trials, which was dried first with humidification featuring an initial moisture content of 32%, using a Munters Humicool evaporative pad type humidifier to establish a typical 'worst case' summer condition of 11.0g/Kg of moisture. With the air at normal summer ambient conditions, the mixture took around 13 minutes to dry tot e desired final moisture content.