15th May 2006
Two-Fluid Nozzles for the Production of Fine Powder Pharmaceuticals for
Inhalation
The GEA Niro Two-Fluid Nozzle (NTF) will be presented on the GEA Group stand at
ACHEMA 2006, Hall 4.0 Stand No. D13 – G22. It is a new design of
spray-drying nozzle that produces fine particles, with a narrow size
distribution, and high capacity production using limited amounts of atomizing
gas. The NTF has been developed specifically to produce pharmaceutical
powders for inhalation.
The NTF operates with both feed liquid and propellant gas to produce a mean
particle size of less than 10 microns and a span of less than 2. Liquid
feed rates range from 30 L/h to 80 L/h and droplet formation can be varied by
adjusting the gas-to-feed ratio.
Until now, existing two-fluid nozzles were for very small volume where fine
atomisation was required. The new NTF brings this technology to full
production plants allowing high volumes of high quality product to be produced
on a single plant without the need for multiple nozzles and the associated
costs of piping, valves, etc. The NTF can also handle feeds with high solids
content.
GEA Niro Two-Fluid Nozzles are designed to be easy to clean and for use under
GMP conditions.