| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/H502327/1 |
| Title: |
Online measurement of moisture distribution in pharmaceutical fluidised beds for drying, granulation and coating |
| Principal Investigator: |
Yang, Professor W |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Department: |
Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Manchester, The |
| Scheme: |
Follow on Fund |
| Starts: |
15 March 2010 |
Ends: |
14 September 2011 |
Value (£): |
100,492
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Design of Process systems |
Instrumentation Eng. & Dev. |
| Multiphase Flow |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Gas-solids fluidised beds are commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry for drying, granulation and coating. Because of the lack of means for online measurement of granule moisture, the fluidised beds are currently operated by trial-and-error, resulting in low operation efficiency (i.e. longer operation time and more energy consumed), and more importantly the product quality cannot be guaranteed. During two recent EPSRC projects (GR/T29383/01, EP/G005702/1), we have made significant progress on fundamental understanding of the complicated gas-solids fluidisation processes and online measurement of granule moisture in fluidised bed dryers, which have been demonstrated on lab-scale fluidised bed dryers both at the University of Manchester (UoM) and in GEA Pharma Systems Ltd and also published in prestigious journals, e.g. AIChE J. In the past 12 months, our EPSRC Follow-on Fund project has allowed the technology to be scaled up from lab dryers to semi-industrial scale dryers and demonstration of the principle of online measurement of granule moisture in semi-industrial scale dryers in an industrial lab environment. This work, in collaboration with GEA and other industrial partners, has generated considerable interest from the pharmaceutical industry, notably AstraZeneca, who has expressed a wish to collaborate on the next stage of development with a view of becoming the first adopter of the technology.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.man.ac.uk |