Strategies for producing lipidic particles using fluidized bed

Abstract

Fluidized bed is an extremely versatile equipment and it is used for drying, reactions and / or coatings in various industrial fields. However, the development of these operations is still very recent, and they need to be significantly improved to satisfy the actual demand of particulate production in the industry. In this context, the use of tools for monitoring and development of new processes is critical to increase operational efficiency and reduce experimental costs. Currently, the knowledge about the use of the fluidized bed to diversify the production of particles, for example, when employing materials with low melting point is limited. The challenge in using these materials is that the changes of temperature causes solid-liquid transition phase, making it difficult to obtain particles. This project proposes the production of particles with high lipid content, with melting point between 60 and 80 f C, by combining dripping techniques (Jet Cutter) and fluidized bed. The polymeric coating material will be employed to contain the variation of volume during the phase changes of lipid. The evaluation of the best operating conditions for carrying out the coating will be simulated in OpenFOAM, a free software of Dynamic Computational Fluid, and then they will be experimentally validated by collecting temperature and pressure data within the chamber. In the determined thermo-fluiddynamic conditions, the particles will be coated and characterized as the morphology, size, and thermal properties.