Powder Dryer End-point Detection For Aqueous & Solvent-based Drying

AMETEK Process Instruments offers powder manufacturers across a variety of industries a system for continuous, real-time monitoring and control of the powder drying process, whether it is aqueous- or solvent-based.

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For years, drug manufacturers have relied on AMETEK ProMaxion mass spectrometers to monitor their pharmaceutical solvent drying processes. Better suited for aqueous-based systems is AMETEK’s 5100 analyzer, which utilizes advanced tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopic technology to quickly and accurately measure water vapour concentrations during the drying process.

Manufacturers across industries currently rely on a combination of approaches involving heat, pressure and vacuum to remove water and solvents from their products. The most common methods require that the process be stopped and a sample removed for Loss of Drying (LOD) or Gas Chromatography (GC) analysis. This time-consuming process must be repeated until the LOD achieves a predetermined value.

On-line, real-time detection avoids the need to stop, analyze and then restart the drying process. Large-scale drying operations involving thousands of pounds of product can take upwards of 24 hours or more to complete. The repeated interruption of that process to accommodate manual analysis can add hours. In addition, many of the solvents used are flammable or pose other hazards, so there are added risks to manual analysis as well.

AMETEK’s on-line, real-time solution affords manufacturers the ability to pinpoint, without operator intervention, the exact moment when a product has dried as much as possible. It works by monitoring moisture and solvent vapours in the dryer exhaust line. The amount measured is directly proportional to the amount remaining in the product.