Overview of Wet Granulation and Dry Granulation techniques

Overview of Wet and Dry Granulation Techniques
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Overview of Wet and Dry Granulation Techniques
Various techniques and methods are combined in a series of complex activities in the manufacture of medicine. In medicine production companies, a sequence of actions, raw materials, required conditions, and the mixtures are done professionally after numerous examinations and tests. The granulation method is one of the most widely applied techniques in the manufacture of medicine. The transformation of the small particles into larger granules that enhance the production of tablets and capsules form of dosage occur as a result of granulation processes. The two significant types of granulation technology adopted today are the wet and dry granulation processes. Other granulation techniques are freeze, foam, steam, thermal adhesion, and melt granulation. The factors that influence the type of granulation technology to use include, but are not limited to, the excipients, release properties, physiochemical properties, and specific flow. The focus of our analysis is based on the two main types of granulation techniques: dry and wet granulation. Their difference in methods, their developments, equipment used in the processes, and the whole production requirements will be discussed exhaustively. The paper compares wet granulation and dry granulation techniques of operations in pharmaceutical production units.
Methods Applied
Dry granulation entails the compression of powder by enlarging the size of granules, which are transformed into tablet dosage forms. The manufacture of tablets utilizes the dry granulation technique where ingredients are susceptible to flow. Good binding properties of the ingredients are required to enhance the tablet manufacturing process through the use of dry granulation. The two main methods utilized in dry granulation are roller compaction and slugging (Arndt et al., 2018). An economical, simple, and efficient method of dry granulation is roller compaction. Formulation ingredients are transferred between two counter-rotate rollers, where they are compressed and consolidated into a single sheet of mass. It is possible to make denser ribbon-like materials, known as flakes and briquettes, with rollers that have grooved surfaces. The whole process depends on the kind of feed material and rollers. The method is effective in producing tablets compared to wet granulation that uses moist or heat-sensitive ingredients (Arndt et al., 2018). Cost-saving, few processing steps, and short production cycles are attained by utilizing the roller compaction method.
Another method used in dry granulation is the slugging technique. The method entails the production of tablets by compressing powder particles to obtain large flat tablets (Shanmugam, 2015). The process is achieved through the use of a tablet or heavy-duty press. Milling the resultant compact is done using a hammer or other milling equipment to obtain slugs moved through the desired mesh where sizing is done (Arndt et al., 2018). The addition of a lubricant and further compression produces good size and quality tablets. The disadvantages related to the method include lack of economies of scale, processing in batches, periodic maintenance shifts, limited process control, and low productivity that ranges between 30-50kg/hr.
On the other hand, the wet granulation technique entails the production of granules through wet massing excipients using granulation liquid and binder. The methods adopted in wet granulation include shear mixing, supercritical fluid, spray drying, and extrusion (Shanmugam, 2015). The tablet production method is effective in obtaining tablets where liquids are involved. The wet granulation process begins with introducing powder excipients into the granulator and mixing with a binder. The mixture produces a wet granular mass which is then dried to obtain dry granular mass (Hiremath et al., 2019). At this stage, sizing is done to get dry granules. The blending method is also utilized in the production of tablets from the wet granulation technique.
Equipment
The dry granulation process is done through the use of roller compaction with a vacuum. The equipment is effective in enhancing the production process of tablets. Granulator compactor equipment is vital in strengthening powder delivery between the pressure rollers (Shanmugam, 2015). Roller compactors become the most suitable machine because they attain reliable and efficient output of pharmaceutical doses. The machine conducts the whole process through roller rotation, milling, and grading of granules. The effective functioning of the machine depends on the pneumatic, electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic system integration. The design of rollers needs much consideration to obtain optimal and quality products. The gap between rollers in the machine plays a critical role in enhancing efficient production.
Another machine that is mainly used in the process is the slugging machine. The equipment used should also relate to the characteristics of the granule to enhance accuracy and efficiency in production. High pressures are often adopted to facilitate influential bonding forces for the powder particles (Arndt et al., 2018). A combination of bonds facilitated by the Van der Waals forces is essential for forming granules. Tablets and capsule dosage are obtained when further compression of the granules is done. The main determinants of efficiency for the slugging process are the material feeding elements such as density, particle size distribution, cohesiveness, and machine design features that include die diameter, feed hopper, compression speed, feed frame, and tooling feature (Pharmapproach, 2021).
On the other hand, the different types of wet granulation use various equipment in the...