Modeling of particle formation in pan granulators with sieve-mill recycle

Agglomeration of powders in pan granulators is a widespread production process, in many industries, e.g., agricultural and pharmaceutical. A continuous operation provides certain desired advantages over batch operation including constant throughput with constant properties of the product particles. An extended setup including a sieve mill recycle can improve the sustainability of overall process. As shown for related process, e.g., fluidized bed granulation, such a setup can exhibit interesting dynamic phenomena like sustained oscillation of the product particle properties, which must be researched in more detail to identify (un-)favorable process regimes. In this contribution, a model for fertilizer production in such a setup is presented. Simulation results indicate the potential benefits not only on increased product particle yield but also manipulation of particle properties.