Particulate Operations with Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Applications

制药、化肥/农业、洗涤剂和食品工业都严重依赖颗粒加工来制造其产品。许多加工步骤中的颗粒行为是复杂的，因此对这些过程的了解仍然有限。因此，这些工艺的设计和放大通常是凭经验完成的。此外，监测和控制战略通常不足以确保最佳和/或持续运作。提出了两个研究项目：(I)混合颗粒和(Ii)疏水粉末及其造粒。片剂制造过程中的最后步骤之一是将颗粒或颗粒与任何剩余的所需辅料混合。混合是一个关键步骤，因为混合必须是均匀的，以确保每一片含有正确的每种成分的量。不均匀的混合物可能会导致过量服用活性成分，并产生不良副作用或服用不足，从而失去预期的治疗效果。然而，创造和维持颗粒或颗粒与辅料的均匀混合物是一个挑战，因为这些成分在它们的性质上有很大的差异，因此表现出自然的分离或分解的趋势。这项研究将调查被动振动测量的应用，以确定混合物中的分离。这些测量将允许在线和实时地提取有关混合的信息，而无需接触产品或修改设备。这项研究还将着眼于将这些测量应用于连续搅拌机。生物炭是热解的固体残留物。它具有包括疏水性在内的复杂属性。这项拟议的研究将调查生物质原料和热解条件对生物炭的影响，重点是其疏水性。疏水粉末的造粒仍然知之甚少。因此，建议进一步研究生物炭的造粒机理，并确定提供具有特定属性的颗粒的工艺参数。将生物炭颗粒化成颗粒将改善其作为土壤改良剂的应用；有害的粉尘排放将被降至最低，并可在颗粒中加入营养物质和细菌，以进一步刺激植物生长。*拟议的研究将为四名MESc、一名博士生和五名暑期学生提供培训。预计将对制药和化肥/农业产生积极影响。进一步了解混合和监测方法的发展将确保高质量的产品，同时提高效率和降低制造成本。疏水粉末具有许多潜在的应用前景。这些粉末需要进一步研究，以了解它们的特性以及如何加工和开发用于特定应用的粉末，包括作为土壤改良剂的生物炭。

Pharmaceutical, fertilizer/agriculture, detergent and food industries all rely heavily on particulate processing for the manufacturing of their products. The particulate behaviour during many of the processing steps is complex and therefore knowledge about the processes still remains limited. As a result, the design and scale-up of these processes are often accomplished empirically. In addition, monitoring and control strategies are usually insufficient to ensure optimal and/or continuous operation. Two research projects are proposed: (i) mixing particles and (ii) hydrophobic powders and their granulation.   One of the last steps in the tablet manufacturing pathway involves the mixing of granules or pellets with any remaining required excipients. Mixing is a critical step as the mixture must be uniform to ensure that each tablet contains the correct amount of each ingredient. A non-uniform mixture can result in over-administration of the active ingredient with undesirable side effects or under-administration resulting in a loss of desired therapeutic effect. Creating and sustaining a uniform mixture of granules or pellets with excipients, however, is a challenge as these ingredients have a large disparity in their properties and therefore exhibit a natural tendency to separate or de-mix. The research will investigate the application of passive vibration measurements to identify segregation within mixtures. These measurements would allow the extraction of information about the mixing inline and in real-time without product contact or equipment modification. The research will also look at applying these measurements to a continuous blender.   Biochar is the solid residue of pyrolysis. It has complex properties including being hydrophobic. The proposed research will investigate biomass feedstock and pyrolysis conditions that affect biochar, with a focus on its hydrophobicity. Granulation of hydrophobic powders remains poorly understood. Therefore, further research is proposed to investigate granulation mechanisms of biochar and to identify process parameters that provide granules with specific attributes. Granulation of biochar into granules would improve its application as a soil amendment; harmful dust emissions would be minimized and nutrients and bacteria could be incorporated into the granules to further stimulate plant growth.   The proposed research will provide training for four MESc, one PhD and five summer students. There is an anticipated positive impact on the pharmaceutical and fertilizer/agricultural industries. Further understanding of mixing and development of monitoring methods will ensure high product quality while improving efficiency and reducing the cost of manufacturing. Hydrophobic powders have many potential applications. These powders need further study to understand their properties and how they can be processed and developed for specific applications including biochar as a soil amendment.