FPS is an Italian company specialised in the production of containment and micronisation systems for pharmaceutical, biotech and fine chemical companies.

Over the past 18 years, FPS has grown to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-containment insulators for fine powders with more than 1,000 systems installed. FPS’s global technical team supports these systems in the 40 countries where they are installed.

FPS and a major European manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) had to face a challenging project concerning the micronisation process of a specific product. In our research and development (R&D) and test centre, trials have been performed in order to obtain the requested performance in term of the final particle size distribution (PSD) and productivity.

The company’s process specialist, in collaboration with the customer, studied and tested in detail the geometric and process parameters to maximise the requested results.

The requested system is designed considering product charging, micronising, separation of product from the process gas, product discharging and packing-off system.

The product is charged in an isolator that is installed on the first floor. An automated drum lifting and turning device is provided to connect the drum, that contains the product, to the isolator for powder discharging. Inside the isolator, the bag is opened and the product is transported into the dosing hopper on the ground floor by gravity.

In order to achieve better control of the dosing phase, a gravimetric dosing unit is installed. Micronised product is transported through a dedicated line to the separation cyclone filter installed on the first floor to the side of the charging isolator.

Micronised powder is recovered and discharged by means of a dedicated pack-off discharging system completed with an automated weighing system.

Save the date

If you would like to examine containment issues in depth, don’t miss the chance to participate in the next workshop, taking place on 4 October at the end of 5th Annual HPAPI Summit in Rome, Italy.