Fluid Bed Granulator for Pharma Solid Preparation | Mixing, Drying & Granulating All-in-One

The FG fluid bed granulator is a pharmaceutical-grade equipment integrating mixing and drying functions in a GMP-compliant, dead-space-free design with polished surfaces, operating under negative pressure for containment. It serves pharmaceutical (including TCM), food and chemical applications.

The fluid bed dryer consists of a main unit, air inlet module, exhaust module, and control module. Material is loaded into the product container. Process air undergoes primary filtration, medium filtration, dehumidification (Option), heating, and HEPA filtration in the air inlet module before entering the main unit.The conditioned air passes through an air distribution plate to achieve uniform velocity for material fluidization. Simultaneous drying with heated air forms granules.

During the drying process, the flowing air carries some fine powder. This powder is filtered through the dedusting filter bags in the dedusting module and then filtered again through the exhaust module before being discharged. After the drying process is completed, the material can be discharged manually or through the lifting turnover dry cone mill, or through the lifting vacuum dry cone mill with a sealed connection for vacuum discharge.

Drying process:

During drying, granules fluidize in air, with surface fully contacting hot air for optimal heat exchange, ensuring uniform heating. Moisture evaporates gradually from exterior to interior, preventing localized overheating. For lower-temperature feed materials, higher inlet air temperature can be applied to accelerate drying.

Features

• With top spraying system for granulation

• Two heating modes alternative, such as electric heating or steam heating

• PID precision control

• High processing efficiency, with closed online sampling

• Ex-proof system/anti-10 or 12 bar/final dedusting system/dehumidifier system are available

• WIP system/PAT are available

• Fully meet FDA, CGMP, GMP

• Control system can optionally comply with 21CFR Part11 requirements
  

The air distribution plate, a critical component in fluidized bed systems, supports the material bed and ensures uniform air distribution. Parameters including aperture size, shape, configuration, and open area ratio determine airflow path, velocity, and temperature distribution. Optimization from cylindrical holes to a swirl-hole pattern (illustrated below) enhances these parameters.

Optimized design of swirl airflow distribution plate structure

The swirl hole design optimizes gas flow dynamics within the fluid bed, significantly enhancing process efficiency through:

• Improved One-Step Granulation Efficiency. Redirects linear airflow into a spiral upward path via engineered swirl holes, extending the gas residence time within the same chamber volume (see illustration below). Enables higher slurry feed rates per unit time through the spray gun, accelerating binder distribution and particle agglomeration.

• Enhanced Drying Performance. Extended airflow path increases the number of heat-carrying air molecules interacting with particles per unit time, boosting convective heat transfer efficiency and reducing drying time.

• Energy Consumption Reduction. Faster heat transfer to wet granules shortens processing cycles, achieving rapid drying. Minimizes energy loss in exhaust air by optimizing thermal utilization, improving overall energy efficiency.