Control of agglomerate attributes in a continuous binder-agglomeration process

The scope of agglomeration processing includes many different materials over wide scales of production, from specialty materials and pharmaceuticals made in kg/day batches to continuous processes for detergents and fertilizers measured in tons/h. Agglomeration adds value to the product, for example, producing free-flowing, dust-free particles that are optimized for uses such as tableting, dispersion/dissolution and compact delivery (i.e., increase the bulk density). There are a number of key physical attributes of agglomerates that are essential for product performance, such as granule size, size distribution, density, flowability, mechanical integrity, compressibility and dispersion. An optimal agglomeration process will, in a controlled and reproducible way, produce product with design attributes that are relevant to its performance. In this context, process control has relevance for product design (i.e., product and process development) as well as processing (i.e., manufacturing).