Freeman Technology will be presenting a poster "The characterisation of granulation wet masses using powder rheometry", at the International Granulation Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland from 20-22 June 2011. The poster describes how to steer wet granulation towards a desirable endpoint using Freeman Technology's FT4 Powder Rheometer. Reliable endpoint detection is crucial for the efficient and consistent production of granules of optimal quality.
Widely used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, wet granulation converts powders into granules to, for example, improve flow and reduce segregation. Its successful application requires recognition of the point at which the granules attain the properties needed to form a product of the desired quality. The FT4 Powder Rheometer measures the Basic Flow Energy (BFE) of a granulation, a powder property that is independent of scale. Research shows that changes in BFE precisely indicate the transition point from wet mass to granules, which usually marks the endpoint of a granulation process, making the parameter useful in development, optimization and scale-up studies.
Freeman Technology's FT4 Powder Rheometer is a universal powder tester that uses patented dynamic methodology, fully automated shear cells and several bulk property tests, including density, compressibility and permeability to quantify powder properties in terms of flow and processability. Correlating this data with processing performance enables users to optimise powder processes.