Application of Advanced Measurement Techniques to Conical Lab-Scale Fluidized Bed Dryers Containing Pharmaceutical Granule

The advanced measurement techniques of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT), high-frequency pressure fluctuations and radioactive particle tracking (RPT) have been applied to conical lab-scale fluidized bed dryers containing pharmaceutical granule. Our objective has been to improve the fundamental understanding of the gas and solid flow structure inside these units and to develop monitoring and control tools that could be implemented in commercial manufacturing of solid dosage form pharmaceuticals. The results of our research have been reported in a series of articles since 2000, but until now we have not published a manuscript that unifies our results to provide an overall summary of what we have learned. The present paper summarizes our key findings.