Application of GIPL make compressed air operated systems in pharmaceutical industry
Introduction :
One of the leading pharmaceutical company in India, manufacturing wide range of premium drugs had a problem of cleaning tablets coming out of tablet punching presses.
After tablets are punched, tablets usually have “Burrs” (edges which are formed due to clearance between punch and die) and has a powder stick on its surface.
“Burrs” and powder on tablet is required to be cleaned prior to packing of tablet. As burrs makes tablets uneven in size to fit into blister pack and powder hinders the proper sealing of blister film and aluminum foil.
Current Method of Tackling Problem :
Usually pharmaceutical companies, manufacturing tablets employs vibratory tablet cleaning equipment called “TABLET DE DUSTER”. Tablets formed in tablet press are cleaned in to vibratory tablet de duster.
Tablet de duster has one port which is supposed to be connected to suitable suction device. Currently almost all the manufacturers employs either Vacuum Cleaners (Industrial or domestic) or blower based suction system.
Both, vacuum cleaners and blower based vacuum cleaners has several disadvantages like:
Higher noise.
Lower suction as they are not meant for such application.
Frequent break down, as powder gets into the motor and cause damage to the bearing and subsequently motor born out.
Poor yield and productivity.
Zero reusability of reclaimed powder because of complexity in design and electrical motors and switch, equipment can not be cleaned thoroughly using water.
As it has been observed that most pharma companies washes their equipment using water prior to change in formulations.
Customer Requirement :
When technical personnel from customer approached GIPL, they came with specific requirement as follows:
Equipment should be light in weight.(To make plant more operator friendly)
Should not have any motor. (To ensure zero down time for maximum recovery of costly powder)
Should make noise considerable lower than motorized equipment. (To make work environment more pleasant and improved efficiency)
Easy to clean & Washable including filter ensure no powder is left in nooks and corners. (To ensure quality of drugs and this is requirement of FDA)
Installable without stopping the process. (To ensure smooth changeover)
Replaceable filter with shaking arrangement to clean filter without stopping system. (To upkeep efficiency of system and maximum recover
GIPL make compressed air operated systems virtually meets all the criteria mentioned above.
Photo of Tablet Deduster suction system.
Schematic Diagram of Offered System:
Component List :
Vac Blow Gun (Three Nos.) (same system can be made using Vac In Line)....2
High Efficiency, finger type filter, made out of 5 micron non woven polypropylene.....3
Powder drain arrangement.....4
Legs....5
Manual filter shaking arrangement. (Pneumatic shaking arrangement with timer can be provided against specific requirement)....6
Lid....7
Compressed air inlet to suction pump.....8
Suction, flexible hose attached to gun adapter.....9
Operation
There are total three Vac Blow Guns attached to system, to ensure maximum efficiency and recovery. Finger type filter with shaking arrangement is provided for maximum filtration area and consistent efficiency. When unit is supplied with filtered compressed air, Vac Blow Gun start suction from rear end. Flexible hose attached to Vac Blow gun is attached to following places in Tablet Press and tablet de duster system.
Two suction hoses are connected to two de duster placed both the side of tablet press.
One suction end is connected to collect puffed powder from turret of tablet press.
Supplied Module
25 SS Liter powder collection hopper with powder drain arrangement. Capable of collecting maximum 4 liter of powder.
Four Finger type washable filter with 5 micron porosity to ensure clean work area and maximum efficiency. (One spare filter is supplied).
