Effects of Formulation Parameters and Process Variables on the Properties of Granules Obtained by Reactive Granulation

In this work, granulation between dodecyl-benzenesulfonic acid and sodium carbonate was investigated in a laboratory-scale high shear mixer. The effects of formulation parameters and process variables, including primary carbonate size, binder content, impeller speed, and operating temperature, were correlated to the properties of the product granules. Design of experiment and analysis of variance were combined to analyze the experimental data, and results showed that larger granule sizes with fewer fine particles can be obtained by employing higher binder contents and larger sodium carbonate sizes. The shear force of the impeller can extensively break oversized granules. The binder content exerted a contrasting effect on the flowability of granules formed with two kinds of sodium carbonate, likely because of differences in the liquid saturation of the solids. The dissolution rate determined by in-line size analysis showed that high binder contents were beneficial to dissolution performance, and the relationships between Hunter color and tested parameters were evaluated. The results of this work can be used as a reliable guidance for process control and optimization in powder detergent manufacturing.