Relationship between powder properties and uniformity of ribbon property using feeding guider designs with thermography (PAT) in roller compaction

Roller compaction is a continuous dry granulation process in which two counter-rotating rollers compress the powder. The feeding of powder to the compaction zone has a significant effect on product quality in the process. This work aims to improve ribbon property uniformity using new feeding guiders and develop a relationship map. The feeding guiders were designed in a range of grades considering the different powder properties and process parameters to achieve a uniform powder feeding to the compaction zone. An online thermal imaging camera was used as a process analytical technology to monitor the powder compaction and the uniformity of temperature across ribbon width, which was indirectly related to the powder distribution. The uniformity of the ribbon temperature of all powders increased from 20% using the original design to about 70% using the optimum design of the guiders, which indicated better powder distribution during the compaction. A relationship was also investigated for different materials with varying properties, grades of feeding guider and roller forces, which is useful for the design of experiments and predicting relative temperature uniformity of other materials.