ProCell – Spouted-Technology made by Glatt

ACHEMA 2003 saw the first introduction of the newly developed ProCell by Glatt. The innovation was the integration of nozzles into a spouted bed, which was never done before in technical scale. Three years later we are proud to say that we are satisfied with the results of the development effort we put into this technology. For more than 80 customers we tested more than 120 different products and about 80% thereof successfully. The first two of the following four main advantages have proven to be the most important.

- extremely gentle treatment of temperature sensitive products
- production of very fine granules
- fluidization of large and irregular products
- fluidizaiton of sticky products

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Gentle treatment of temperature sensitive products

Products which need gentle treatment are micro-organisms, enzymes and other proteins and emulsions of flavour oils. Traditionally these products are dried in a spray dryer and subsequently granulated and coated. Direct spray granulation of the liquid in standard fluid bed units is not possible since the longer residence time results in a loss of activity. This is not the case in the ProCell. The more gentle process results from a shorter residence time and the concentration of the product in the spray zone of the processing chamber.

Production of very fine granules

Frequently our customers ask for abrasion resistant granules with no dust and good water solubility. These demands can be fulfilled by very small granules; having grain sizes of about 200µm. Using the ProCell such granules can be produced directly from liquid raw materials. Food additives like sorbitol and sweeteners are examples of successful application as well as pesticides and fine chemicals.

Contract manufacturing unit at IPC, Dresden, Germany

The best proof of success are sales. Within the last year seven ProCell units were sold. One more is being installed at the Glatt sister company IPC in Dresden, Germany. Answering to the needs of our customers for contract manufacturing a ProCell 250 will be available at the beginning of 2007. The production capacity will be between 200 and 500 kg/h depending on the process and product.
The ProCell can be operated as a spouted bed, or alternatively as a fluid bed. The standard unit is designed for process gas volumes of 250 m3/h and inlet air temperatures of 200°C. The optional increased process gas volume to 500 m3/h and maximum inlet air temperature to 300°C are of special interest for our customers in the chemical industry. The unit can be operated continuously or in batch mode. Some of our customers are using it as production unit, running 24h on 7 days a week

Pilot unit ProCell 20/GF 20 at the ACHEMA 2009

At ACHEMA 2009 Glatt is exhibiting a pilot unit, which can be operated as spouted bed or fluid bed equipment. Simply by changing the processing chamber the equipment can be changed within one hour. Depending on process, product and installed inlet air temperature this unit is allowing trials and small production in the scale of 10-50 kg/h.

An additional innovation is the hygienic nozzle, integrated into the ProCell 20

These nozzles are designed according to the EHEDG guidelines. They can be cleaned without dismantling. They are engineered for CIP and can be used for aseptic applications.

Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH
Nordstraße 12
99427 Weimar / Germany
Tel: +49 (0)3643 47-1506
Fax: +49 (0)3643 47-1231
redaktion@glatt-weimar.de
www.glatt.com