Sanitary Pneumatic Conveying Solutions for Pharmaceutical Applications

The Premier Pneumatics P-Series pneumatic conveying receivers are designed to convey delicate materials such as tablet granulations, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), excipients, and even finished capsules and tablets.

The P-Series systems designs are available for both dense and dilute phase vacuum transfer for a wide variety of applications including capsule filler, tablet press, blender, and coater loading, feeder loading and refill, in line screening and sieving , and general ingredient conveying/transfer.

P-Series vacuum conveyors are designed with complete cleaning and ease of disassembly in mind. They are available as stand-alone units as well as integrated packages for the automated refill of K-Tron pharmaceutical design feeders. In addition, complete systems packages are also available for conveying pick up options from supersacks, drums, boxes, IBCs and FIBCs.

Premier Pneumatics P-Series design features include:

• 316L stainless steel construction
• Product contact surfaces polished to a minimum of 0.4 micron Ra
• Pulsed filter cleaning assembly complete with pharma design PTFE laminated filter elements
• Options for integrated retractable spray balls, modified swing heads for accessibility and automated lift assemblies.

P-Series Pharmaceutical Pneumatic Conveying Receiver Configurations

Model P10 Pharmaceutical Receiver

• The P10 with flap valve has a holding capacity of 10 dm³ [0.4 ft³] and conveys up to 600 kg/h [1320 lb/h].
• The P10 with butterfly valve has a holding capacity of 7 dm³ [0.3 ft³]and conveys up to 400 kg/h [880 lb/h].

Model P30 Pharmaceutical Receiver

• The P30 Offset has a holding capacity of 30 dm³ [1 ft³] and conveys up to 1000 kg/h [2200 lb/h].
• The P30 Tube has a holding capacity of 30 dm³ [1 ft³] and conveys up to 1800 kg/h [4000 lb/h].
• The P30 with butterfly valve has a holding capacity of 22 dm³ [0.77 ft³] and conveys up to 1000 kg/h [2200 lb/h].

Model P100 Pharmaceutical Receiver

• The P100 has a holding capacity of 100 dm³ [3.53 ft³]
• The P100 conveys up to 4000 kg/hr [8800 lb/hr].

All conveying rates are based on a distance of 15 m [50 ft] and bulk density of 0.5 kg/dm³ [31 lb/ft³]. Rates vary with material characteristics, conveying distance and plant layout.

P-Series Vacuum Receivers as Refill Devices in Pharmaceutical Applications

The method of refilling a Loss-in-Weight feeder in a continuous process can be almost as critical as the right choice of feeder technology. Since the objective is to refill as quickly as possible, pneumatic receivers that operate in either dilute phase or dense phase (in the case of some preblended formulations) mode are often used as refill devices, particularly for continuous operations.

P-Series as Pneumatic Loaders in the Pharmaceutical Industry

In addition to the use of P-Series pneumatic systems for feeder refill, the systems are also used for a wide variety of material handling operations in the pharmaceutical industry. Full containment options are available complete with split butterfly valves on the receiver discharge. A variety of material pickup designs are provided, dependent upon the source of the material to be transferred, product and process safety concerns, and required parameters for cleaning cycles.

Specialty Designs for Conveying of Potent or Hazardous Materials in Pharmaceutical Plants

Premier and the K-Tron Process Group offer a number of specialty designs for pneumatic loaders and receivers, all dependent upon the requirements of the product and the process. Options are available for the conveying of potent or hazardous materials, including systems designs for the conveying of explosive materials. Modifications to the Premier P-Series design include the addition of retractable spray heads in the receiver body for cleaning and rinsing in place, as well as specialty swing out filter head designs to allow for easy access and removal of special filters.

Complete Systems Design and Integration with Your Process

Every pneumatic conveying solution for the pharmaceutical industry is custom developed according to the process and application, based upon years of experience with many challenging materials. Since the characteristics of bulk materials are often difficult to define, system solutions are usually tested in the lab.

Custom system design is available for a wide variety of process needs including pickup and delivery of potent compounds. These designs can include the integration of glove box or isolator technology at the powder pickup point, the addition of specialized docking stations with split butterfly valves for both product pickup and discharge from the vacuum receiver, the use of in-line sieving prior to delivery of the powder to the Loss-in-Weight feeder, and/or the use of specialized bag in/bag out secondary HEPA filtration prior to the vacuum source.