Pharmaceutical Drying Equipment

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In the pharmaceutical industry, the drying process is used to reduce or remove water or other types of solvents, which could cause chemical and microbiological deterioration of the final drug, by using pharmaceutical drying equipment. But that’s not the only reason. The drying process is used everywhere in the pharmaceutical field to serve various applications: preparing granules for tablets or capsules, reducing the bulk density or weight, assisting the grinding process, or obtaining plant-derived medicines, to name a few.

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Vacuum drying for heat-sensitive products

Vacuum drying for heat-sensitive products

In the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, it’s often necessary to dry heat-…

Vacuum and freeze drying plants for food and pharmaceuticals

Vacuum and freeze drying plants for food and pharmaceuticals

When producing high-quality dried food or pharmaceutical pro…

Fluid bed processor for granulating, drying, and coating in pilot scale

Fluid bed processor for granulating, drying, and coating in pilot scale

When you’re transitioning from laboratory to la…

Pilot single-pot processor for granulation and drying

Pilot single-pot processor for granulation and drying

When experimenting with formulations in pilot plants, achieving cons…

Single-pot processor for wet granulation and vacuum drying

Single-pot processor for wet granulation and vacuum drying

In the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries, wet granu…

Batch drying system for food, pet feed, pharmaceuticals, and more

Batch drying system for food, pet feed, pharmaceuticals, and more

In many industries, such as food processing, pharmaceu…

Continuous belt dryer for large-scale drying applications

Continuous belt dryer for large-scale drying applications

In industrial processes where high production volumes are requi…

Batch drying solution for industrial applications

Batch drying solution for industrial applications

In various industries, the drying process is crucial for surfaces, food …

It is important to note that the choice of which pharmaceutical drying equipment to use stems from whether a wet solid, a solution, or a suspension needs to be dried.

Using fluid bed dryers for drying wet solids in the pharma industry


When it comes to drying granules that will then be pressed to form tablets, the fluidized bed dryer is one of the pharmaceutical drying equipment manufacturers use. Fluid bed dryers use a stream of hot air to reduce the moisture content of powders and granules, making them a great example of direct dryers. What does this mean? Direct dryers directly apply heated air to the product, while indirect dryers conductively heat the product by circulating heated fluid through a surface that is in contact with the product.

The fluidized-bed dryer is based on the fluidization principle. When hot air is blown into the machine to dry the product, the air velocity lifts it, converting the product from a solid to a fluid state. The suspended product seems to be a bed of fluid at this point. This is where the machine’s name comes from.

Freeze drying used to prolong the shelf life of pharmaceutical products

The freeze drying process was developed during the 1940s and pharmaceutical manufacturers use it to dry heat-sensitive materials to prevent damage to substances such as proteins and microorganisms. Freeze-dryers are based on the sublimation principle, where solid crystals turn to vapor without passing through a liquid phase. Lyophilization occurs when the material is placed under a deep vacuum and subjected to heat energy, transforming the ice into gas. In pharmaceutical applications, freeze-drying improves the stability and long-term storage life of labile drugs, especially protein drugs. In the pharmaceutical industry, freeze-drying is used for preserving and storing high-value products such as vaccines, cytostatics, antibiotics, biologicals, hormones, and active ingredients. It is also used for collagens, APIs, and electrolytes.

What about spray dryers and vacuum dryers?


Spray dryers are widely used pharmaceutical drying equipment to produce pharmaceutical powders with particle sizes from the nanometer to the micrometer scale. Spray drying is a continuous process by nature since it can convert a liquid feed into a powder in a single step.

A viable option for heat- or oxygen-sensitive pharmaceutical products is the vacuum drying process that reduces the risk of dust explosions. Vacuum dryers fall in the category of conductive dryers used for drying wet solids.

Pharmaceutical drying and its different applications


Drying active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)


From R&D to large-scale industry, pharmaceutical drying plays an essential role because it dramatically affects the quality of the final product both in primary pharmaceutical manufacturing, i.e., production of API or excipients, and in secondary pharmaceutical manufacture, i.e. when converting the active drugs into the final dosage form such as tablets or capsules. The drying of crystalline active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) is often needed to produce free-flowing powders for formulation, packaging, storage, and transport. The sensitive nature of API requires gentle drying in contained good manufacturing practice (GMP) environments.

Pharmaceutical drying for making plant-derived medicine

When making plant-derived medicine using plant extracts, the plant must be dried before the extraction to preserve it from enzymatic degradation. In the case of delicate plants, freeze-drying protects the thermolabile compounds. The drying temperatures range between -60°C and -80°C.
chemical drying image

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