Powder Shear Cell: Influence Of Humidity On Powder Characteristics Of Pharmaceutical Powders

Ambient conditions can strongly impact the behavior of many powders. In real life, bulk solids will show different flowability depending on the geographical location in which they are handled. While the impact of humidity in a saturated state is relatively simple to simulate by conditioning the sample in a climate chamber, it is more complex to depict the dynamic process which actually takes place in reality. The Anton Paar powder shear cell was used to determine different powder properties/processes like flow behavior and caking at a wide range of relative humidity (7% to 95%). A pharmaceutical hot drink powder was characterized, underlining the importance of considering ambient moisture when designing a process. Taking into account ambient humidity can prevent many problems in products and processes.