Engineering Study for the Feeding Operation Process of a Continuous Manufacturing Line

Abstract

The use of continuous operations in solid-dosage manufacturing is growing rapidly and bringing benefits within pharmaceutical industry. One of the benefits that the continuous operation provides is that the development process turns to be easier and faster than in a batch operation. When designing a continuous manufacturing operation process, one of the challenges is the ability to consistently and continuously feed a powder into the downstream process. Variability in the flow rate of ingredients fed from powder feeders can change concentration of the process stream and propagate throughout the system ultimately leading to out of specification product [1] [2]. An engineering feeder study was conducted to establish the baseline process operation for each of the components while evaluating different operational conditions to ensure accuracy of the feeding process. Please include a summary of results related to critical process factors and responses. Key Terms - Continuous Manufacturing, Feeder, Gravimetric, Loss-in-Weight, Solids Dosage, Volumetric.