Five Good Reasons for Choosing Anhydro Small-Scale Pharmaceutical Spray Dryers:
Most products undergo careful and thorough performance tests and experiments on pilot plants to determine the optimum operating conditions for the production-sized plant. Small-scale production is particularly relevant when the feed product is expensive or when only small quantities are required.
High uptime and yield
Adaptability
Repeatability
Full process control
Compliance with the strictest factory standards
Flexibility – Adaptability and Built-in Investment Protection
SPX FLOW offers a full range of small-scale evaporators, spray dryers, spin flash dryers and fluid beds that can be adapted to any requirement—and to new configurations driven by changing needs.
Our small-scale plant solutions consist of a basic module with a wide choice of additional options, allowing you to tailor the plant to your needs simply by adding standardized equipment.
Our dryers and evaporators are available as single- and two-stage solutions, based on a unique "Plug-and-Produce" concept, which eliminates almost all hidden extra costs. "Plug-and-Produce" means you can install and commission the plant in a fraction of the time required for customized solutions.
Fine powders
Agglomerated dust-free powders
Granules
Small-scale plants are available with capacities ranging from 1 to 500 kg/h of water evaporation, enabling you to produce and post-treat a wide range of:
Safety – Compliance with the Strictest Factory Standards
The safety and well-being of your employees are critical. Our small-scale plants are designed according to the same stringent health and safety standards as full-scale factory plants.
Powder and dust can pose threats ranging from explosion risks to respiratory damage due to inhalation. Noise can also be as significant a problem in small-scale plants as in large-scale factory environments.
Small-scale plants eliminate the risk of powder explosions through four alternative explosion protection measures:
Rupture disks
Q-pipe suppression systems
Closed-cycle operation in inert gas
Explosion venting
The risk of operator exposure to dust is significantly reduced through:
Efficient cleaning systems
Door locks, sanitary and gas-tight connections
Intelligent start-up and shutdown procedures
Ambient emissions are minimized using wet scrubbers and efficient textile filters with cartridges or bags.
In most cases, noise reduction measures are standard. All plants are CE-marked and meet most other international safety requirements in their standard configurations.
Easy Cleaning – Greater Yield with Less Downtime
Small-scale tests and production runs often take only a few hours. Shorter cleaning times can significantly increase the plant's return on investment.
Many small dryers and evaporators are used for R&D purposes, where most tests are conducted within a few hours. The same applies to many specialized production runs. In such cases, cleaning can take a disproportionate amount of time.
Anhydro small-scale spray dryers are designed for thorough cleaning in the shortest possible time.
Two cleaning options are available:
Semi-manual integrated cleaning system
Fully automatic CIP system (CIP stations are also available)
These cleaning systems offer a wide range of advantages, including:
Effective cleaning
Increased availability
Reduced non-productive work
Minimum dust exposure
Ease of use
Small-scale plants are designed for sanitary operation in accordance with international Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards. All materials comply with the FDA White List, flanges feature O-ring connections and there are no sharp corners or edges inside the process vessels.
Process Control – Full Control for Consistency and Documentation
Consistency and documentation are as important in small-scale plant operation as they are in full-scale manufacturing. Advanced process control solutions are an integral part of Anhydro small-scale plants.
Advanced process control is essential to ensure consistency in experimental procedures and end-product quality. Data registration and logging are crucial for documentation purposes.
PLC System
Most small-scale plants are equipped with a control system based on an industrial PLC system with a soft-touch color screen as the operator interface. Process parameters and thresholds are displayed in clear text, ensuring straightforward and efficient operation.
Process data are registered locally on the small-scale plant. You can choose to have data transferred directly to your network via an Ethernet connection or stored on a portable smart card, allowing for easy transfer to a desktop or laptop computer.
Process data can be analyzed and presented in tabular and graphical formats using standard spreadsheet applications for documentation purposes.