2. High-shear mixer-granulator

High-shear granulators use mechanical action to ensure that the powder is mixed by a shear effect (figure 9 ). In the majority of cases, this action is induced by the movement of an agitation mobile consisting of a set of rotating blades with a horizontal or vertical axis. In some cases, a high-speed rotating plate is placed at the bottom of the stirring tank. In addition to efficient mixing, shearing densifies the particles and gives them a spherical shape. Compared with fluidized-bed granulation, this technique produces more compact, more regularly shaped granules. The porosity of the granules can be controlled to some extent by varying the shear forces, characterized by the speed at the tip of the paddles. The use of these processes has grown significantly in recent years, and their technical sophistication...