ILC Dover has proven the efficacy of its new semi-automated system, which is designed to disaggregate powdered media and buffer powders for superior mixing into a solution.
To improve the process for a US-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, ILC performed tests at its facility in Rossens, Switzerland. These established that the JetBreaker delumping system can effectively replace the manual operations that the pharmaceutical company was using.
ILC Dover vice-president of commercial sales Scott Patterson said: "Many powders, including sodium chloride and ammonium sulfide, can harden into a solid block that cannot be dispensed into process liquids without deagglomeration.
"If the resultant aggregate is not fine enough, it can damage process valves, the tank, and other processing equipment, ultimately ruining the batch of finished pharmaceutical product."
Tests conducted by ILC proved the ability of its JetBreaker system to produce homogeneous powder with proper particle size that ensures complete mixing with a large jet injector.
Patterson added: "Powder clumping is an industrywide problem, which is currently managed in a highly imprecise manner.
"Using our JetBreaker system eliminates this problem. Once the powder goes through the JetBreaker, it can freely flow into our mixing system with rapid dissolution and no risk of powder chunks plugging or damaging the venturi or downstream components."
Test results were successful for powders flowing through a feed hopper into ILC’s Jet venturi mixing system at 1,250kg/h.