JP2000140603A - Rolling granulating method and rolling granulating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rolling granulating method and the device capable of controlling to constantly properly keep the balance of the spray quantity of a binder liquid and the scattering quantity of a powdery agent without depending on the quick perception of skilled workers. SOLUTION: In a process of granulation by executing parallel or alternately the spray of the binder liquid (b) and the scattering of the powdery agent (c) on a particle group (a) of nucleus particles rolling on a rotary disk 2 in a granulation vessel 1 to gradually stick the powdery agent (a) to the nucleus particles, the quantity of excess powdery agent (c') not stuck to the nucleus particles in the discharged gas is measured while discharging the excess powdery agent (c') from the granulation area by the flow pressure of a discharged gas and one or both of the spraying quantity of the binder liquid (b) and the scattering quantity of the powdery agent (c) are controlled so that the measured quantity is settled down in a prescribed range.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tumbling granulation method and a tumbling granulation apparatus in which a powder is gradually grown into granules and granulated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In rolling granulation, a granulation tank in which hot air is sent and exhausted at a predetermined flow pressure is installed, and a particle group of nuclear particles rolling on a rotating disk in the granulation tank. On the other hand, while the spraying of the binding liquid and the spraying of the powder are performed in parallel or alternately, the powder is gradually adhered to each of the core particles to perform granulation.

[0003]

According to the tumbling granulation, as described above, the binding liquid is sprayed on the core particles rolling on the rotating disk in the granulation tank, and the nucleating particles are sprayed. Since granulation is performed by spraying the powder on the surface of the core particles moistened by the spray of the binder, the balance between the spray amount of the binder and the spray amount of the powder is important. If the spraying amount of the binding liquid is too large, the adhesive force of the nuclear particles increases, and the growing nuclear particles stick together to make the particles too large, or the nuclear particles adhere to the inner wall of the granulation tank or the rotating disk. Smooth granulation may be hindered. On the other hand, if the amount of the powder is too large, the powder is solidified by the binding liquid, and the powder is combined to form granules, so that non-uniform granules having no core particles are formed and the yield is reduced. I do. Moreover, the appropriate balance between the spray amount of the binding liquid and the spray amount of the powder varies depending on the growth of the particles being granulated, the ambient temperature in the granulation tank, and the like, and cannot be constantly controlled. In the past, it mainly relied on the intuition of skilled workers.
That is, the skilled worker constantly observes the state of the particles during granulation while balancing the spray amount of the binding liquid and the spray amount of the powder. Therefore, it has been difficult to produce uniform granules, and there have been many cases where products vary from production lot to production lot.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to control the rolling so that the balance between the spraying amount of the binding liquid and the spraying amount of the powder can always be appropriately maintained without depending on the intuition of a skilled worker. It is to provide a granulation method. Another object of the present invention is to provide a rolling granulation apparatus capable of smoothly performing a rolling granulation method capable of achieving the above-described object.

[0005]

In the tumbling granulation, not all of the powder sprayed to the particle group adheres to the core particles, but an excess powder that does not adhere to the core particles is formed.
These surplus powders are discharged from the granulation area by a discharge gas (air) having a predetermined fluid pressure. The inventors have found that there is a correlation between the spray amount of the binding solution, the amount of the powder sprayed, and the amount of the surplus powder, and the surplus powder when properly granulated at each stage of the granule growth. Focusing on the fact that there is a certain range in the amount of, the present invention has been completed.
That is, when the amount of the surplus powder agent is equal to or less than a certain value, there is a possibility that the particles in the granulation process may adhere to each other in the granulation process during the granulation, so that the spray amount of the binding liquid is reduced, It is necessary to increase the amount of powder to be sprayed, or control to increase the amount of powder to be sprayed at the same time as reducing the amount of spray of the binding liquid. On the other hand, when the amount of surplus powder is equal to or more than a certain amount, the particles during granulation tend to be thirsty and the adhesion rate of the powder is decreasing. It is necessary to control such that the amount of spraying is decreased or the amount of spraying is decreased while the amount of spraying is increased.

[0006] The rolling granulation method according to the present invention is configured as follows from the above viewpoint. That is, the tumbling granulation method according to claim 1 performs spraying of the binding liquid and spraying of the powder agent in parallel or alternately on a group of core particles rolling in a predetermined region. In the process of granulating the powder by gradually adhering the powder to the core particles, while discharging the excess powder from the predetermined area by the exhaust gas of a predetermined fluid pressure, the excess powder not adhered to the core particles,
The amount of excess powder in the exhaust gas is measured, and one or both of the spray amount of the binding liquid and the spray amount of the powder are controlled so that the measured value falls within a predetermined range. I have.

A rolling granulation method according to a second aspect is characterized in that, in the rolling granulation method according to the first aspect, the concentration of excess powder in the exhaust gas is measured.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rolling granulation method according to the first or second aspect, wherein the flow rate of the exhaust gas is maintained within a certain range.

The rolling granulator according to the present invention is configured as follows in order to carry out the above-described method invention reliably and smoothly. In other words, the rolling granulator according to claim 4 comprises a granulating tank, a rotating disk installed to rotate in the granulating tank in a substantially horizontal posture, and a nucleus rolling on the rotating disk. Spraying means for spraying a binding liquid on the particle group of particles, spraying means for spraying a powder agent on the particle group of nucleus particles rolling on the rotating disk, and forcing gas in the granulation tank An exhaust duct installed at the top of the granulation tank so as to discharge, installed in the exhaust duct,
Measuring means for measuring the amount of excess powder that has not adhered to the core particles, and the spraying means and the spraying means so that the amount of excess powder measured by the measuring means falls within a predetermined set range. And control means for controlling one or both of them.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rolling granulator according to the fourth aspect, wherein the measuring means is a dust concentration detector.

A rolling granulator according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the rolling granulator according to the fourth or fifth aspect, further comprising an anemometer installed in the exhaust duct, based on a measured value of the anemometer. Thus, the wind speed of the exhaust duct is controlled.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a rolling granulation method and a rolling granulation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a rolling granulator according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In a closed granulation tank 1, a rotating disk 2 rotated by a motor 20 is horizontally installed at a position near the bottom. A gas (air) whose temperature and humidity have been adjusted is supplied from a compressor 3 to the granulation tank 1, and the gas is supplied to a narrow gap between the outer periphery of the rotary disk 2 and the inner periphery of the granulation tank 1. 11, reaches the space above the rotating disk 2, and is connected to the upper part of the granulation tank 1 by the exhaust duct 10.
Is discharged to the outside.

On the rotating disk 2, an appropriate amount of particle group a of nuclear particles is supplied, and each nuclear particle in the particle group a rolls on the rotating disk 2 as the rotating disk 2 rotates. . The core particles a are prevented from falling from the rotating disk 2 by the gas (slit air) supplied from the compressor 3 into the granulation tank 1 and dried by the heat of the gas.

For a particle group a on the rotating disk 2,
The spraying means 4 which penetrates the lid 12 of the granulation tank 1 and faces the inside of the granulation tank 1 sprays the binding liquid b, and also the spraying means which penetrates the lid 12 and faces the inside of the granulation tank 1. 5, the powder agent (drug) c is sprayed. In this way, since the powder agent c adheres to the surface of the core particles in the particle group a which is wetted by the spraying of the binding liquid b, the granules having the respective core particles as the nucleus grow and granulate gradually. You. The surplus powder agent c ′ that has not adhered to the surface of the core particles is sucked by the gas that passes upward from below in the granulation tank 1 and is discharged to the outside of the granulation tank 1 via the exhaust duct 10 together with the gas. You. A suction blower (not shown) is provided at the tip of the exhaust duct 10.

In this embodiment, the spraying means 4 includes a spray nozzle 40, a liquid feed pump 41, and an adjustment tank 42.
And an inverter motor 43 for operating the liquid sending pump 41
The spraying means 5 includes a spray nozzle 50,
It is composed of a sprayer 51 and an inverter motor 52 for operating the sprayer 51.

In the exhaust duct 10, the exhaust duct 1 is provided.
A measuring means 6 composed of a dust detector for constantly measuring the concentration (density) of the surplus powder agent c ′ passing through the inside of the cylinder 0 and an anemometer 7 are provided. The dust detector constituting the measuring means 6 measures the electric charge of the powder when the powder (dust) passes near or comes into contact with the probe in a non-conductive environment from the induced current, This structure detects the concentration of powder (dust) in exhaust gas. The detection signal from the measuring means 6 and the detection signal from the anemometer 7 are:
The values are input to the control means 9 including the process controller, and their detected values are displayed on the display device 91.

As described above, under the predetermined temperature and humidity conditions in the granulation tank 1, the surplus powder agent c 'discharged from the exhaust duct 10 when granulation is performed properly.
The amount (or concentration) per unit time indicates a value within a certain range. Therefore, the width of the concentration of the excess powder agent in the exhaust gas when the granulation is properly performed in the granulation tank 1 is measured at each growth stage of the granules, and these are numerically converted to a control reference value. Is set (input) to the process controller of the control means 9 by the input device 90 in advance. The control means 9 always compares the measured value of the measuring means 6 with a preset control reference value (lower limit value and upper limit value), and the measured value is smaller than the control reference value (lower limit value). In this case, it is determined that the particles during granulation are in an excessively wet state, the spray amount of the binding liquid b from the spray nozzle 40 is reduced through the inverter motor 43, and the powder from the spray nozzle 50 is reduced through the inverter motor 52. The application amount of the agent c is controlled to be increased. On the other hand, when the measured value is larger than the control reference value (upper limit value), it is determined that the particles being granulated are in a dry state, and the spray amount of the binding liquid b from the spray nozzle 40 through the inverter motor 43 is determined. At the same time, the amount of the powder agent c sprayed from the spray nozzle 50 through the inverter motor 52 is controlled to be reduced. The control means 9 controls the damper 8 in the exhaust duct 10 based on the detection value (detection signal) of the anemometer 7 together with the control described above.
By controlling the degree of opening, the gas flow rate in the exhaust duct 10 is controlled to be kept constant.

In this embodiment, the spraying means 4 and the spraying means 5 are controlled in parallel to adjust the wet or dry state of the particles during granulation.
If the particles during granulation are too wet, reduce the spraying amount of the binding liquid or increase the amount of powdered agent.If the particles during granulation are dry, reduce the spraying amount of the binding liquid. It can be controlled to increase the amount or to reduce the amount of powder to be applied.

According to the rolling granulation method of the above embodiment,
In the process of tumbling granulation, the amount of the surplus powder agent c ′ in the exhaust gas discharged from the granulation region (the amount per unit time,
Or concentration), and the spray amount of the binding solution b and the powder agent c so that the measured amount falls within a predetermined set range.
First, it is possible to always keep the balance between the spray amount of the binding liquid during granulation and the spray amount of the powder agent within an appropriate range. Therefore, it is possible to produce uniform and high-quality granules even without a skilled worker, and the variation in the products for each production lot is further reduced. Second, the amount of surplus powder in the exhaust gas is
Since the measurement is made as the concentration of the surplus powder in the exhaust gas, the amount of the surplus powder can be measured finely and continuously over time, and the control can be more finely controlled accordingly. Third, since the flow rate of the exhaust gas is controlled to be constant, the amount of the surplus powder agent in the exhaust gas can be measured more accurately.

According to the rolling granulator of the above embodiment,
In the exhaust duct forcibly discharging the gas in the granulation tank, a measuring means for measuring the amount of the surplus powder that has not adhered to the core particles is installed, and the amount of the surplus powder measured by this measuring means. Is provided with control means for controlling one or both of the spraying means and the spraying means so as to fall within a predetermined setting range, so that the above-mentioned rolling granulation method can be carried out reliably and smoothly. .

EXAMPLE An anemometer 7 and a damper 8 were installed in an exhaust duct by using a rolling granulating apparatus, a dust detector, a core particle, a powder agent, and a binding liquid as described below. So that the detected value of the dust detector is within a certain range,
Granulation was carried out under the following granulation conditions while controlling the amount of powder to be sprayed by the process controller. (Used equipment and materials) Rolling granulator: CF-3 manufactured by Freund Corporation
60 Dust detector: Microcharge ME-1 manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Co., Ltd. Measurable concentration: 5 to 5000 pA (picoampere) Core particle: Non-parel 101 (manufactured by Freund Corporation) 2.4 kg powder Preparation: Lactose 80 wt%, corn starch 2
0 wt%, 3.0 kg Binding solution: hydroxypropyl cellulose (H
PC-L) 8 wt% ethanol solution (granulation conditions) Slit air temperature: 40 ° C. Slit air supply amount: 0.35 m ³ / min Rotation speed of rotating disk: 217 rpm Binder spray speed・ Constant at 50g / min

Comparative Example 1 The procedure for controlling the amount of powder sprayed was different from that of the example, and the same procedure as in the example was carried out except that the skilled worker observed the state of the particles and adjusted the amount of powder sprayed to granulate. . Comparative Example 2 Granulation was performed with a constant amount of powder sprayed without adjusting.

Each of the granules of Example, Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 was dried at 80 ° C. for 1 hour using a fluid bed dryer (FD-3S, manufactured by Powrex). (No. 18 sieve residue), fine powder yield (No. 42 sieve passing), non-defective product yield (No. 18 sieve passing-No. 42 sieve residue), and scattering rate (calculated from theoretical yield and actual yield) were obtained. 1 is shown.

[0025]

[Table 1]

According to the results shown in Table 1, in Comparative Example 2 in which the amount of the powdered agent was not controlled, the granules could not be formed because the particles were too wet and the granules were solidified. In the case of the example and the comparative example 1 in which the spray amount of the powder was controlled, the granulation state was good, and particularly in the example, a higher yield was obtained than in the comparative example 1.

[0027]

According to the rolling granulation method according to the first aspect of the present invention, the amount (unit) of surplus powder agent c 'in the exhaust gas discharged from the granulation area in the process of rolling granulation (Per unit time or concentration), and one or both of the spray amount of the binding liquid b and the spray amount of the powder agent c are controlled so that the measured amount falls within a predetermined set range. The balance between the spray amount of the binder solution in the grains and the spray amount of the powder can always be kept within an appropriate range. Therefore, it is possible to produce uniform and high-quality granules even without a skilled worker, and the variation in the products for each production lot is further reduced.

According to the rolling granulation method according to the second aspect of the present invention, the amount of the excess powder in the exhaust gas is measured as the concentration of the excess powder in the exhaust gas. The measurement can be performed precisely and continuously, and accordingly, the spray amount of the binding liquid and the spray amount of the powder can be more finely controlled.

According to the rolling granulation method according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the flow rate of the exhaust gas is controlled to be constant, the amount of excess powder in the exhaust gas is measured more accurately. be able to.

According to the rolling granulator according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the amount of surplus powder agent not attached to the core particles is measured in the exhaust duct for forcibly discharging the gas in the granulation tank. Control means for controlling one or both of the spraying means and the spraying means so that the amount of excess powder measured by the measuring means falls within a predetermined set range. Therefore, the rolling granulation method according to claim 1 can be reliably and smoothly performed.

According to the rolling granulator according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the measuring means is a dust concentration detector.
Can be reliably and smoothly performed.

According to the rolling granulator according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, an anemometer is installed in the exhaust duct, and the wind speed of the exhaust duct is controlled based on the measured value of the anemometer. The granulation method described in 3 can be reliably and smoothly performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a rolling granulator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 a particle group b binding liquid c powder agent c 'excess powder agent 1 granulation tank 10 exhaust duct 11 gap 2 rotating disk 20 motor 3 compressor 4 spraying means 40 spray nozzle 41 liquid feed pump 42 adjustment tank 43 inverter motor 5 spraying means 50 Spray nozzle 51 Sprayer 52 Inverter motor 6 Measuring means 7 Anemometer 8 Damper 9 Control means 90 Input device 91 Output device

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of spraying the binding liquid and the step of spraying the powder on the particle group of the core particles rolling in the predetermined region is performed while gradually or gradually applying the powder to the core particles. In the process of granulating by adhering to the core particles, while discharging the surplus powder agent not adhering to the core particles from the predetermined region by an exhaust gas of a predetermined fluid pressure, the amount of the excess powder agent in the exhaust gas is reduced. A tumbling granulation method, comprising measuring and controlling one or both of the spray amount of the binding liquid and the spray amount of the powder so that the measured amount falls within a predetermined range. 2. The rolling granulation method according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the surplus powder in the exhaust gas is measured. 3. The tumbling granulation method according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate of the exhaust gas is kept within a certain range. 4. A granulating tank, a rotating disk provided to rotate in the granulating tank in a substantially horizontal posture, and a binding liquid sprayed on a group of core particles rolling on the rotating disk. Spraying means for spraying, a spraying means for spraying a powder agent to a group of core particles rolling on the rotating disk, and an upper part of the granulation tank so as to forcibly discharge gas in the granulation tank. An exhaust duct installed in the exhaust duct, a measuring unit installed in the exhaust duct, for measuring the amount of surplus powder that has not adhered to the core particles, and the amount of surplus powder measured by the measuring unit is a predetermined amount. A tumbling granulator comprising: a control unit that controls one or both of the spraying unit and the spraying unit so as to fall within a set range. 5. The rolling granulator according to claim 4, wherein said measuring means is a dust concentration detector. 6. The rolling mill according to claim 4, wherein an anemometer is installed in the exhaust duct, and a wind speed of the exhaust duct is controlled based on a measured value of the anemometer. Granulation equipment.