The powder handling system is an innovative way of handling powder at various manufacturing stages in the pharmaceutical industry. It transfers powder during product manufacturing between different stages and equipment. It enables safe powder processing under regulatory regulations with a high degree of containment. It allows processing powder with minimal or no human involvement until it takes the form of finished form and packed.
The powder handling system comprises a series of equipment, each with dedicated tasks and operations. Each piece of equipment or the stage is inter-connected with each other at different manufacturing stages. In contrast to conventional powder systems, it eliminates the need for manual handling, safety, transfer, and processing systems.
What is a Powder Handling System?
A powder handling system refers to the arrangement and design of various equipment in which powder flows from start to finish in a contained manner. The powder passes through each manufacturing stage with the help of accessories specially designed for this purpose. In this system, the powder cannot advance to its next phase until it has acquired the required product quality parameters necessary for that stage.
Each component or equipment in between every stage is made up of pharma-compliant material. It fulfills basic requirements such as contamination & corrosion prevention, quality fulfillment, and product-specific requirements. Protective systems such as filtration and automated systems also prevent contamination and deviation from acceptable product parameters. If there is any deviation in product parameters and the manufacturing process, it alerts personnel, and the process cannot advance to the next stage.
Since it handles powder in a contained and continuous manner, it differs from the conventional powder system in a way that, in traditional powder systems.
· There are high chances of personal exposure to the product because the operator or personnel have to manually charge or discharge the product from and into the equipment. This is because there are no accessories, instruments, and equipment to aid in charging or discharging. This increases the chance of contamination and personnel powder inhalation.
· Every major and minor process is carried out manually, especially powder transfer between equipment and stages.
· Process monitoring is also done manually in the laboratory, which takes time. Because, in the powder handling system, monitoring is carried out online, without stopping the equipment for sampling and then waiting for the results to be delivered.
The time of processing powder in each stage is more significant due to the time it takes to load, process, and transfer it to the next step until the final finished form.
Equipment for powder handling system
Let's discuss some common equipment or components of powder handling system
Intermediate bulk container - IBC
Intermediate bulk containers are large metallic containers used to transfer, store, and blend Pharmaceutical products, especially the powder form. Their unique design allows them to handle powder at every stage of manufacturing and on every piece of equipment in an efficient, timely, and quality manner.
The main advantage is that there is no need to open the container, and the entire container can be moved across the desired location.
Some features of IBC are under
· IBC can be easily moved from one department to another without removing and transferring powder contents. Commonly, they are provided with wheels for this purpose that enable them to move quickly.
· The IBC can also...
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