Explosion prevention and protection in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Fluidized Bed Dryer

The fluidized bed dryer is one of the main pieces of equipment in the pharmaceutical industry for which a strategy for explosion prevention and protection is required

The pharmaceutical industry produces or handles flammable substances in the form of powders or liquids in some of its processes.

Among the main operations in this industry are granulation, coating, and drying of powder products. These are carried out in equipment called fluidized bed dryers or granulators.

The fluidized bed dryer consists of a main chamber where the powdered product is loaded, typically through a pneumatic transport system. The product is suspended by the introduction of an air stream redirected through a perforated plate.

The granulation process involves the projection of a binding substance onto the suspended product through a nozzle, increasing the particle size and forming granules. The air that suspends the product is hot and under high pressure, thus promoting granule formation and subsequent drying.

The coating process is carried out in a similar manner, using different spray nozzles. The main chamber of the equipment also has cartridges at the top, which retain the product and then discharge it onto the lower section via pressurized air.

Fluidized bed dryers typically have additional systems, such as air injection and heating, dust extraction systems (usually a cartridge filter), and product loading and unloading mechanisms.

The use of flammable powder products in these machines presents one of the main explosion risks in the pharmaceutical industry. A proper risk assessment is essential to establish an effective strategy that includes explosion prevention and protection.

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