Automated Batch Dispensing of Pharmaceutical Ingredients

In most pharmaceutical plants, separate broaching areas are established in which the raw ingredients are brought in from outside suppliers or other plant locations. These broaching areas include the unloading of pallets containing drums or boxes, or the unloading of supersacks. The contents of each container are transferred via either gravity flow or pneumatic transfer to the dispensary area for the loading of IBC’s. Following this loading operation, loss-in-weight (LIW) feeders are used to regulate and meter the amount of these components being fed into the receiving IBC. LIW feeders are critical when utilizing small weight percentages of individual ingredients that are a fraction of the total batch weight. The application sheet linked below outlines the steps involved for LIW dispensaries and the methods utilized to ensure contained transfer and weighing of the individual ingredients.

Coperion K-Tron volumetric feeders are often used in a simplified gain-in-weight (GIW) application for controlled batch dispensing and weighing of pharmaceutical powders. Dispensing is often a step in a variety of processes including centrifuge and filter dryer discharge, batching direct into IBC’s (intermediate bulk containers), hoppers, or drums, and batch ingredient dispensing directly into batch blenders and reactors. The batched ingredients often include potent compounds, resulting in the need for a batching device that can be easily contained to eliminate any exposure of the operator or the environment to the product. The application sheet linked below defines the options available for batch dispensing via gain-in-weight methods and the pros and cons of loss-in-weight versus gain-in-weight batch dispensing options.

Metered dispensing of toxic or reactive powders into reactors and large tanks has been a challenge faced by many chemical and pharmaceutical process engineers. The requirement to dispense difficult-to-handle ingredients in a contained and accurate method is an application which can be fulfilled and completely automated using specifically designed loss-in-weight (LIW) feeders. The combination of highly advanced load cell weighing technology and a contained and sanitary feeder design provides for an ideal automated method of powder delivery, without the dangers and inefficiencies of traditional manual powder loading techniques. The application sheet linked below describes the methods available in automated loading of powders direct to the reactor and the design options available for ease in contained powder transfer and weighing.