چكيده به لاتين
In the present study, the effects of different operating parameters on the granule properties have been investigated in a fluidized bed granulator using steam. In this system, lactose powder, and starch were used as initial particle, and binder, respectively. Rice husks was also used in order to study the distribution of different materials on the granules. In the first step, the experimental set up has been constructed and then the best operating window for different parameters including nozzle position, air flow rate, and initial feed composition has been determined. Afterwards, the effect of these operating parameters on the granule properties such as mean sphericity, mean diameter, the distribution of components between different granules has been investigated. It was found that the inlet air flow rate and the quantity of starch in the initial feed are the main parameters affecting the efficiency. It was also found that the granule mean size and sphericity are mainly influenced by the quantity of starch in the initial feed in such a way that an increase or decrease on the optimum value of this parameter leads to a decrease in the granule mean size and sphericity. However, an increase in the air flow rate improves the granule mean size and sphericity. Besides, a decrease in the inlet air flow rate and an increase in the quantity of starch in the initial feed leads to a negative impact on the distribution of rice husks as an active ingredient between different granules.
Keywords: Granulation of the fluidized bed, sphericity coefficient, uniformity of particle size, standard deviation of the distribution of that element in the product.
