Product design based on discrete particle modeling of a fluidized bed granulator--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Fries, L., Antonyuk, S., Heinrich, S., Niederreiter, G., & Palzer, S. (2014). Product design based on discrete particle modeling of a fluidized bed granulator. Particuology, 12, 13–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2013.10.004

Lennart Fries ^a *, Sergiy Antonyuk ^b, Stefan Heinrich ^b, Gerhard Niederreiter ^a, Stefan Palzer ^a

a Nestlé Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland
b Institute of Solids Process Engineering and Particle Technology, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

10.1016/j.partic.2013.10.004

Volume 12, February 2014, Pages 13-24

Received 30 May 2013, Revised 1 October 2013, Accepted 30 October 2013, Available online 21 December 2013.

E-mail: lennart.fries@rdls.nestle.com

Highlights

• We model a fluid bed granulator in 3D using the exact geometry of the lab-scale equipment.

• Detailed particle scale simulations allow predicting the strength of product agglomerates.

• DPM helps understanding the impact of process variables on particle dynamics.

• The validated DPM model offer a potential for product design based on targeted process conditions.

Abstract

Fluidized bed agglomeration is a process commonly used to construct powdered food or pharmaceutical products to improve their instant properties. This works analyzes the influence of a wide range of operating parameters (i.e., fluidization air flow rate, temperature, and liquid injection rate) on growth rate, process stability, and product particle structure. Different granulator configurations (i.e., top spray, Wurster coater, spouted bed) are compared using identical process parameters. The impacts of both process variables and granulator geometry on the fluidization regime, the particle and collision dynamics, and the resulting product structure and corresponding properties are studied in detailed simulations using a discrete particle model (DPM) and lab-scale agglomeration experiments with amorphous dextrose syrup (DE21). The combination of numerical and experimental results allows to correlate the kinetics of micro-scale particle interactions and the final product properties (i.e., agglomerate structure and strength). In conclusion, detailed DPM simulations are proven as a valuable tool for knowledge-based product design.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Fluidization; Agglomeration; Discrete element method; Food powder; Collision dynamics

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