JP6234166B2 - Continuous granulator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a granulating apparatus for continuously producing granular granular materials used for pharmaceuticals and the like, and in particular, wet granulation and sizing are performed continuously, and wet granulated products having a uniform particle size are obtained. The present invention relates to a continuous granulation apparatus that can be supplied to a subsequent stage.

  In the field of pharmaceuticals and the like, many are used that are obtained by drying a granulated wet granulated product produced by an extrusion granulator or a high-speed agitation granulator, or by tableting it. ing. Conventionally, granule production has been carried out in a batch process. After wet granulation with an agitating granulator, etc., the granules are sized for each batch, and dried by a fluidized bed dryer, etc. Manufacture. In recent years, a continuous production process has been demanded from the viewpoint of improving production efficiency, and a system in which a drying process is continuous using a rotary feeder or the like has been proposed as in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-72868 JP 61-3986 A JP 2011-33269 A

  However, in the drying apparatuses such as Patent Documents 1 and 2, although the production efficiency is improved as compared with the conventional batch type, it is difficult to obtain granules having a uniform water content and a uniform particle size distribution. For this reason, even if it used the continuous dryer, there existed a problem that the granule of a desired specification could not be obtained and the tablet which has a favorable tablet characteristic when tableting was not obtained.

  The objective of this invention is providing the continuous granulation apparatus which can supply the wet granulated material with which the particle size was arrange | positioned with respect to the continuous dryer of a back | latter stage at a fixed speed | rate in order to manufacture a desired granule.

The continuous granulation apparatus of the present invention is disposed in a stage subsequent to the granule supply unit for kneading the powder raw material and liquid to continuously form a wet granulation, and the granule supply unit, A wet granulated product formed in the granulated product supply unit, and a granulated product that continuously regulates the wet granulated product to a desired particle size, and the granulated product supply unit and the granulated unit are arranged integrally. The granule supply part is a screw member that is arranged substantially horizontally and feeds the powder raw material and the liquid in an axial direction while kneading the powder raw material and the liquid, and a screw in which the screw member is accommodated A case, a raw material supply section for supplying the powder raw material into a kneading granulation chamber formed in the screw case, and a granulation formed at the end in the feed direction of the screw member and facing the sizing section And the sizing portion is provided in communication with the granulated product outlet. The granule receiving part into which the wet granulated material kneaded and formed in the granule supplying part is input, and the wet granulated substance disposed below the granule receiving part from the granule receiving part. A sizing chamber introduced in a free-fall state, and the sizing chamber is rotatably arranged in the sizing chamber, and the impeller for crushing the wet granulated material in the sizing chamber, A screen having a large number of holes that are installed with a predetermined clearance with respect to the impeller and into which the wet granulated material crushed by the rotation of the impeller is discharged, and the continuous granulating apparatus includes: In the subsequent stage, a drying device capable of continuously drying the granulated product that has been granulated and sized by the continuous granulator is connected, and the drying device is an air flow type dryer that dries the granulated product with hot air. A granulated product in which the granulated product is fed from the continuous granulating device. A granule input part comprising an inlet and a hot air blowing port to which the hot air is supplied; and a granule input part provided in communication with the granule input part after the granule input part; A drying processing unit that circulates together with the hot air, a product discharge unit that is provided in communication with the drying processing unit downstream of the drying processing unit, and in which the granulated material that has passed through the drying processing unit is discharged together with the hot air; The drying processing unit is formed in a ring shape by a tubular member, and is provided with processing tubes that are installed sideways in a state of being wound one or more times along the horizontal direction and stacked vertically. The processing tube can be divided along the circumferential direction for each stage.

In the present invention, a granule supply unit for kneading powder raw material and liquid to form a wet granulated product, and a granulating unit for regulating the wet granulated product to a desired particle size are integrally disposed. By doing so, it is possible to obtain a granulated product having a uniform particle size and a constant water content. Thereby, it becomes possible to send this granulated material continuously to a subsequent drying step. In addition, a drying device equipped with an annular processing tube suppresses crushing capacity while maintaining high drying capacity, and realizes high-speed and efficient drying treatment for the granulated material obtained with a continuous granulator. it can.

In the continuous granulation apparatus, the impeller may include an impeller shaft extending in a substantially vertical direction in the sizing chamber and an impeller blade fixed to the impeller shaft and extending radially .

According to the continuous granulation apparatus of the present invention, a granule supply unit for kneading a powder raw material and a liquid to form a wet granulation, and a granulation for regulating the resulting wet granulation to a desired particle size Since the parts are arranged integrally, it becomes possible to continuously obtain a granulated product having a uniform particle size and a constant water content. Thereby, it becomes possible to send this granulated material continuously to a subsequent drying step. In addition, by providing a drying device equipped with an annular processing tube, while maintaining a high drying capacity, the crushing capacity is suppressed, and the granulated material obtained by the continuous granulator is efficiently dried at high speed. While realizing the treatment, it becomes possible to obtain high-quality dry granules with respect to particle size distribution, yield, and the like. Granules obtained from such a granulated product are light and have good tableting properties. Therefore, tablets with good tablet characteristics can be obtained by tableting them, thereby improving product quality. It becomes possible to plan.

  According to the continuous granule production system of the present invention, the drying apparatus of the present invention is used to perform the powder mixing process, the powder kneading process, the wet granulation process, the drying process, and the powder particle collecting process. Since it connects in order, it becomes possible to construct | assemble the continuous granule manufacturing system also including a drying apparatus.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the continuous granule manufacturing system in which the continuous granulation apparatus which is one embodiment of this invention is used. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the continuous granulation apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a sizing part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the drying apparatus distribute | arranged to the back | latter stage of a continuous granulation apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the drying apparatus of FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a continuous granule production system in which a continuous granulation apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the continuous granule production system includes a wet granulation process using a continuous granulation apparatus 1 according to the present invention and a drying process using a spiral type drying apparatus 2. Granules produced by the system are passed through a sieving and sizing process, then commercialized as granules, or tableted by a tableting machine and coated as appropriate by a coating machine, and then manufactured as tablets. It becomes.

  In the wet granulation process, the continuous granulation apparatus 1 kneads the powder raw material and a liquid such as a binder solution and water to form a wet granulated product, which is continuously sized to a desired particle size. . FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the continuous granulation apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the continuous granulation apparatus 1 includes a granulated product supply unit 3 that continuously and quantitatively creates wet granulated products, and a granulation unit 4 that is arranged in the subsequent stage of the granulated product supply unit 3. It is composed of The granulated product supply unit 3 includes a screw case 11 in which a screw 10 (screw member) is accommodated. The powder material is kneaded by the screw 10 to form a wet granulated product. The screw case 11 is installed on a housing 12 in which the control device of the continuous granule manufacturing system is accommodated.

  In the continuous granulation apparatus 1, two screws 10 are provided in parallel, and the screw 10 is rotatably disposed in the screw case 11. The two screws 10 are arranged in a substantially horizontal state in a kneading granulation chamber 13 formed in the screw case 11. A motor 14 is disposed on the housing 12, and the screw 10 is rotationally driven by the motor 14.

  Above the screw case 11, a raw material supply container (raw material supply unit) 15 for supplying the raw material into the kneading granulation chamber 13 is attached. From the raw material supply container 15, a raw material mixture of a granulated product with high content uniformity is supplied into the kneading granulation chamber 13 by a certain amount. In the kneading granulation chamber 13, the supplied raw material is pushed forward while being kneaded as the screw 10 rotates. At this time, water, a binder solution, or the like may be added as appropriate. A granule discharge port 16 is provided at one end of the screw case 11, and the wet granulated material kneaded and formed by the screw 10 is supplied from the granule discharge port 16 to the granulating unit 4.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of the sizing unit 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the sizing unit 4 includes a granulated product receiving unit 17 connected to the granulated product discharge port 16 and a sizing chamber 18 provided below the granulated product receiving unit 17. ing. The granulated product receiving unit 17 is supplied with the wet granulated product extruded by the screw 10, and the supplied granulated product is introduced into the sizing chamber 18. In the sizing chamber 18, an impeller 20 that is rotationally driven by a motor 19 disposed at the top of the sizing unit 4, and a screen that is disposed outside the impeller 20 and has a large number of holes 21 having a diameter of about 3 to 5 mm. 22 is provided.

  The impeller 20 includes an impeller shaft 23 extending in the vertical direction and an impeller blade 24 fixed to the impeller shaft 23. The impeller shaft 23 is rotatably disposed in the sizing chamber 18 and is driven by a motor 19. The impeller blades 24 project radially from the impeller shaft 23 into a plurality of (for example, four) equal parts, and are arranged in four stages in the vertical direction here. The screen 22 is formed in a truncated cone shape by a punching plate. The impeller 20 is provided with a clearance of about 2 to 5 mm with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the screen 22.

  In such a continuous granulation apparatus 1, the raw material supplied to the granulated product supply unit 3 is kneaded by the screw 10 in the kneading granulation chamber 13 to become a wet granulated product. The wet granulated product formed in the kneading granulation chamber 13 is sent in the distal direction along with the rotation of the screw 10 and pushed out from the granulated product discharge port 16 formed at the distal end in the traveling direction. The granulated product discharge port 16 communicates with the granulated product receiving unit 17 in the granulated unit 4, and the wet granulated product extruded from the granulated product discharge port 16 is supplied to the granulated unit 4 as it is. . At this time, a certain amount of the granulated product is supplied to the granulating unit 4 from the granulated product supplying unit 3 side based on the raw material supply amount from the raw material supply container 15 and the rotational speed of the screw 10. However, the granulated product supplied here is a flaky kneaded product, and its particle size and particle size are not constant.

  On the other hand, the granulated product supplied to the granulating unit 4 enters the granulated product receiving unit 17, falls freely as it is, and reaches the granulating chamber 18. The granulated product in the sizing chamber 18 is crushed by the impeller 20 that rotates at a high speed (about 800 to 1500 rpm). And what became a diameter smaller than the hole 21 of the screen 22 is discharged | emitted out of the sizing part 4. FIG. At this time, the granulated product is supplied to the subsequent stage in a state where the particle size and particle size are uniformed by the screen 22. The amount of the granulated product discharged from the screen 22 is determined based on the amount supplied to the sizing unit 4, the diameter of the holes 21, and the rotational speed of the impeller 20. That is, the wet granulated product whose particle size is set within a certain range is continuously discharged from the granulating unit 4 and supplied to the subsequent drying apparatus 2.

  Thus, in the system of FIG. 1, when the said continuous granulation apparatus 1 is used, the granulated material with a uniform particle size and fixed moisture content can be obtained. In addition, the granulated product obtained at this time is in a state where the particle size is uniform and the particle size is widely distributed evenly within a certain range, and the granulated product can be continuously sent to the subsequent drying step. Become. Granules obtained from such a granulated product are light and have good tableting properties. Therefore, tablets with good tablet characteristics can be obtained by tableting them, thereby improving product quality. It becomes possible to plan.

  4 and 5 are explanatory views showing the configuration of the drying device 2 disposed in the subsequent stage of the continuous granulation device 1. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the drying device 2 is roughly composed of a granulated material input unit 31, a drying processing unit 32, and a product discharge unit 33. The drying device 2 is an airflow type continuous drying device, and conventionally has a configuration in which a loop pipe that has been vertically placed along the vertical direction is horizontally placed along the horizontal direction (in FIG. 4, drying is performed). The drying processing unit 32 of the apparatus 2 is shown as viewed from above). Thus, while taking advantage of the high drying capacity of the conventional loop-type airflow dryer, the granulation capacity, which has been a major problem for granule production, is suppressed, and wet granulation is performed without using a large-scale apparatus. Realizes continuous drying of products.

  The granule input part 31 is formed of a stainless steel pipe 34 having an outer diameter of 50 mm and a wall thickness of about 2 to 3 mm. The stainless steel pipe 34 is provided with a granulated material inlet 35 into which a wet granulated material is charged from the continuous granulator 1 and a hot air inlet 36 to which high-pressure hot air (processing gas) is supplied. A hopper 37 is attached to the granulated material inlet 35, and wet granulated material is supplied from the granulating unit 4 described above. The hot air blowing port 36 is disposed in the front stage of the granule input port 35 and is connected to a hot air supply device 38.

  The drying processing unit 32 is disposed at the subsequent stage of the granulated material input unit 31 and is formed by a metal (for example, stainless steel) loop tube (processing tube) 29. The loop tube 39 is a tubular member having an outer diameter of 75 mm and a wall thickness of about 2 to 3 mm with a circular cross section. One end side of the loop tube 39 is connected to the stainless steel tube 34, and the diameter of the loop tube 39 is larger than that of the stainless steel tube 34 of the granulated material input part 31.

  The loop tube 39 is wound along the horizontal direction, and the winding diameter R (diameter of a circle passing through the loop tube center O) is about 700 mm. Here, the loop pipe 39 is arranged in a form in which two stages (two windings) are placed horizontally (side down), the first stage 39a of the loop pipe 39 is arranged horizontally, and the second stage 39b of the loop pipe 39 is arranged. The coil springs are arranged so as to wind up while being communicated with each other. Accordingly, when the loop pipes 39 are arranged in a plurality of stages, a gradient always occurs in the loop pipe 39, but the “horizontal arrangement” of the loop pipe 39 does not exclude such a gradient in the loop pipe. . The loop tube 39 has a two-part structure for each stage, and is joined in an airtight state by stainless steel connectors 40a and 40b.

  The product discharge unit 33 is disposed downstream of the drying processing unit 32 and includes a cyclone collector (powder body collection device) 41 as shown in FIG. The cyclone collector 41 is connected to the end of the loop pipe 39 via the connection pipe 42. The granulated product dried in the drying processing unit 32 is collected in the product collection tube of the cyclone collection machine 41. A sizing device (not shown) for performing a sieving / sizing process is connected to the subsequent stage of the cyclone collector 41.

  In such a drying apparatus 2, the granulated product is dried as follows. In the drying device 2, first, wet granulated material is supplied from the continuous granulating device 1 to the granulated material inlet 35. At that time, the inside of the stainless steel pipe 34 of the granulated material input unit 31 is a negative pressure due to the suction force of the cyclone collector 41, and the granulated material charged into the hopper 37 from the continuous granulator 1 is It is introduced into the granule input 35 without blowing up. On the other hand, high-pressure hot air (for example, 90 ° C. · 6 to 7 m / s) is supplied to the hot-air inlet 36 from the hot-air supply device 38, and the granulated material supplied into the stainless steel pipe 34 is It is conveyed to the drying processing unit 32 side by hot air.

  As described above, the diameter of the loop tube 39 is larger than that of the stainless steel tube 34 of the granule input part 31. For this reason, the hot air supplied from the hot air inlet 36 has a higher wind speed in the vicinity of the granule inlet 35 than in the loop tube 39. Therefore, in the granule input unit 31, the granulated product supplied from the granule input port 35 does not stay near the granule input port 35 and smoothly enters the loop tube 39 from the stainless steel pipe 34. be introduced.

  The granulated material transported to the drying processing unit 32 side is circulated on the hot air through the loop tube 39 and dried. In the drying apparatus 2, the granulated product passes through the loop tube 39 in about 1 to 2 seconds. Then, the dried granulated product is discharged from the loop tube 39 on hot air, and is collected by the cyclone collector 41 through the connection tube 42.

  Here, since the granulated product supplied to the drying apparatus 2 is in a state of being sized by the continuous granulating apparatus 1 and has good tableting properties, it is not preferable to be pulverized in the drying apparatus 2. On the other hand, when using an existing loop-type airflow dryer with a loop pipe placed vertically, the granulated material circulates many times in the loop pipe under a large air volume, and repeatedly rises and falls to produce it. There was a tendency for the granules to be crushed. This is due to the fact that conventional loop type airflow dryers are intended for granulated materials such as sludge and toner particles that allow or require crushing during drying, and avoid crushing during drying. This is because application to the desired granule is not assumed.

  On the other hand, in the drying device 2, the granulated material flowing in the loop tube 39 is dried with hot air while receiving a centrifugal force, but the amount of air supplied to the loop tube 39 is such that the granulated material is in the tube. It is suppressed to the lower limit that does not stay. Therefore, unlike the conventional vertical loop tube, the granulated product is not subjected to a large impact due to a large air volume or gravity drop, and the wet granulated product formed by the continuous granulating device 1 is pulverized and pulverized. Without drying, it is dried in the form of granules. According to the inventors' experiments, it was confirmed that the granulated material recovered after the treatment contained almost no fine powder, and the crushing ability was effectively reduced.

  As described above, according to the drying device 2 of FIGS. 4 and 5, it is possible to suppress the crushing ability while maintaining high drying ability by the loop dryer. Therefore, it is possible to obtain high-quality dry granules with respect to particle size distribution, yield, etc. while realizing high-speed and efficient drying treatment for the wet granulated product obtained by the continuous granulation apparatus 1. Become. In addition, since the drying device 2 has a configuration in which the loop tube 39 is wound, a space efficiency is high, and a compact and highly efficient drying device can be provided. According to the experiments by the inventors, when the loop tube 39 was straightened and dried with the same air volume, the granules remained in the tube, and a large space was required. Regardless, it turned out that processing efficiency was not good.

  In addition, a continuous granule production system including a granulation process and a drying process as shown in FIG. 1 is constructed by combining the continuous granulation apparatus 1 and the drying apparatus 2 and a tableting machine, a coating machine, and the like. Is also possible. In addition, the apparatus combined with the continuous granulation apparatus 1 and the drying apparatus 2 such as a granulator, a tableting machine and a coating machine in the sieving and sizing process can be appropriately selected and changed according to the processing form of the granular material. In addition, the continuous granule production system according to the present invention is not limited to the combination of the above devices.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, a twin screw type configuration in which two screws 10 are arranged in the granule supply unit 3 is adopted, but a configuration using a single screw 10 may be used. Moreover, the granulated material crushing means in the sizing part 4 is not limited to the impeller 20 described above, and the crushing blade can be used instead of the impeller as appropriate. Further, in the subsequent drying step of the continuous granulating apparatus 1, not only the spiral type drying apparatus as described above but also a fluidized bed type drying apparatus can be used.

  On the other hand, the diameter, winding diameter, number of steps, etc. of the loop tube 39 of the drying apparatus 2 can be changed as appropriate, and the present invention is not limited to the above dimensions and specifications. Further, the number of divisions of the loop tube 39 is not limited to two, and for example, a four-division structure is possible. Further, in the above-described drying apparatus 2, the granulated product is fed from the upper side of the loop tube 39 and discharged from the lower side, but conversely, the feeding is performed from the lower side. However, it is also possible to adopt a processing mode of discharging from the upper stage side. In addition, as a winding form of the loop tube, in addition to the laminated form as described above, a mosquito coil incense-like spiral winding form is also possible.

  The present invention can be applied not only to the production of wet granulations used for pharmaceuticals but also to the production of hydrous granulations that are raw materials for foods and fertilizers.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Continuous granulation apparatus 2 Drying apparatus 3 Granulated product supply part 4 Sizing part 10 Screw 11 Screw case 12 Case 13 Kneading granulation chamber 14 Motor 15 Raw material supply container 16 Granule discharge port 17 Granule receiving part 18 Sizing chamber 19 Motor 20 Impeller 21 Hole 22 Screen 23 Impeller shaft 24 Impeller blade 31 Granule input unit 32 Drying processing unit 33 Product discharge unit 34 Stainless steel pipe 35 Granule input port 36 Hot air blowing port 37 Hopper 38 Hot air supply device 39 Loop pipe 39a First stage 39b Second stage 40a, 40b Connector 41 Cyclone collector 42 Connection pipe

Claims (2)

A granule supply unit for continuously forming a wet granulation by kneading a powder raw material and a liquid;
A granulating part that is arranged downstream of the granulated product supply unit and continuously regulates the wet granulated product formed in the granulated product supply unit to a desired particle size. A continuous granulation device in which the product supply unit and the sizing unit are integrally disposed,
The granule supply part is formed in the screw case, a screw member that is arranged substantially horizontally and sends the powder raw material and the liquid in an axial direction while kneading, a screw case that accommodates the screw member, and the screw case A raw material supply unit that supplies the powder raw material into the kneading granulation chamber, and a granule discharge port that is formed at the end of the screw member in the feed direction and is arranged facing the granulation unit,
The granulated portion is provided in communication with the granule discharge port, and a granule receiving portion into which a wet granulated material kneaded and formed in the granule supply portion is input, and the granule receiving A sizing chamber that is disposed below the portion and into which the wet granulated product is introduced in a free-fall state from the granule receiving unit,
The sizing chamber is disposed rotatably in the sizing chamber and is configured to disintegrate the wet granulated material in the sizing chamber, and is installed with a predetermined clearance with respect to the impeller. A screen having a large number of holes through which the wet granulated material crushed by is discharged,
The continuous granulation apparatus is connected to a subsequent stage of a drying apparatus capable of continuously drying the granulated product granulated and sized by the continuous granulation apparatus,
The drying device is an airflow type drying device that dries the granulated material with hot air,
A granule input unit comprising a granule input port into which the granulated material is input from the continuous granulator, and a hot air blowing port to which the hot air is supplied;
A drying processing unit provided in communication with the granule input unit at a stage subsequent to the granule input unit, and the granulated product circulating with the hot air;
A product discharge unit provided in communication with the drying processing unit at a subsequent stage of the drying processing unit, and the granulated product that has passed through the drying processing unit is discharged together with the hot air;
The drying processing unit is formed in a ring shape by a tubular member, and includes a processing tube that is installed on its side and stacked in a vertical direction in a state where it is wound one or more times along the horizontal direction. A continuous granulator characterized in that it can be divided along the circumferential direction for each stage. In the continuous granulation apparatus according to claim 1,
The impeller has an impeller shaft extending in a substantially vertical direction in the sizing chamber, and an impeller blade fixed to the impeller shaft and extending radially.

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