KORSCH INNOVATION CENTER insights on powder filling behavior in tableting scale up

A technical article from KORSCH AG discusses recent research into modelling filling of powders into a rotary tablet press and its considerable implications for more scientific ways of approaching the challenge of scaling up from research formulations to full production speeds.

The article ‘Tableting Scale-Up Challenges’ is authored by KORSCH INNOVATION CENTER Process Expert Dr. Friederike Gütter and highlights work done at the INNOVATION CENTER to model powder filling performance on KORSCH XL100, X 3, XL 400 and XT 600 tablet presses.

Significant research

This followed the earlier publication of a study (Schomberg et al., 2023) that proposes a model to calculate the critical paddle speed for full die filling that can be determined on just two characteristics: formulation bulk density and powder bed permeability1. This model has been found applicable to a variety of substances with different bulk densities and flow behaviors within the press.

This is a significant development. While the influence of compression speed and force are clearly understood to be key parameters in final tablet quality, the impact of filling behavior is far less well understood.

Applying the model to scale up

The INNOVATION CENTER worked with the Institute of Particle Technology at Braunschweig Technical University to enlarge a joined developed mathematical model to production relevant processes. The influence of suction pressure within the die cavity was one important factor found to influence filling quality and quantity.

Dr. Gütter’s article summarizes scale up tools and highlights the complex interplay of compression material and tablet press.

Reference:

1. Schomberg, A.K., A. Kwade, and J.H. Finke. 2023. “Modeling Gravity Filling of Dies on a Rotary Tablet Press.” Powder Technology 413 (January): 117998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2022.117998.

Resources

Click on Tableting Scale-Up Challenges to read full article.
Click on KORSCH technology blog The Critical Role of Product Flow and Die Filling for related information.
Click on Modeling gravity filling of dies on a rotary tablet press to access original 2023 study.