(206a) Measurement and Control of High Shear Granulation by Image Processing

High shear granulation has many advantageous points that it produces spherical and well-compacted granules in relatively short time and the equipment itself is very simple. However, granulation in a high shear mixer is very sensitive to even minor changes in moisture content, amount of binder, physical properties of starting materials and the operating conditions. Therefore, there is a great need for reliable system for process monitoring and control of granule growth. In this study, on-line measurement and control of high shear granulation is conducted by means of a novel image processing system, which basically consists of an image processing device and a feedback control system. Scale-up of high shear granulation is also conducted by the image processing system and validity of the system is discussed.