GEA has spent years researching and understanding the science of IBC (Intermediate Bullk Container) blenders. An expertly designed blending cage and container geometry ensures homogenous product blending and our unique Prism technology is proven to improve blending times.
Robust construction ensures a long working life. The clamping cage provides a secure connection to the top and the bottom of the IBC, reducing mechanical stress during rotation and preventing damage.
Air-driven screw jacks ensure that the IBC remains fully clamped, even if machine utilities are lost. Positive IBC detection prevents any un-clamped blender operation and the cage rotation motor is braked, preventing any utility free movement and providing an emergency stop option.
The user friendly control system makes it simple to load blend recipes and print completed batch information. Blending speed is controlled using a variable speed drive and 21 CFR Part 11-compliant controls are available for electronic records.
The Pedestal Blender is available with the main pedestal housed in the technical area and the clamping cage in the process area. An airtight wall plate is supplied as a barrier between the two rooms. A smaller processing room results in reduced area and running costs, and technicians can access the pedestal from the technical side (without entering the GMP production area).
The Swinging Arm feature enables a wider range of IBC volumes to be handled in the same blender. When a smaller IBC is loaded into the blender, the spacer arms are swung out into the path of the IBC, bridging the height difference. The spacer arms maintain the IBC’s position at the centre of the rotation axis and reduce the clamping time.
Providing low shear mixing to a rotating IBC, turbulence is added to the tumbling product and the time to achieve a homogenous blend is reduced. When the IBC is loaded into the blender, the Prism is orientated at right angles to the rotation axis. As the IBC is rotated, the product is separated by the Prism and forced outwards to the corners of the container.
The Prism is particularly useful in dry blend processes, when IBC blending is the key process step. For dry blending or direct compression products, powders may be cohesive or flow poorly. Dry powders take noticeably longer to blend compared with free-flowing granular materials (such as the dispersion of magnesium stearate into a granulated batch), which blend easily in a relatively short period of time. The Prism is fully welded into the container body, and can be fully cleaned in place with the GEA Wash Station.
All GEA blenders can be fitted with PAT-compliant technologies such as Light Induced Fluorescence (LIF) or NIR systems. GEA uses these technologies to measure particle movement and in-process conditions during blending, providing a better understanding of powder behaviour, which improves R&D times and enhances process control. In the production environment, new product validation is quicker, and both productivity and containment are improved.
The technology works by using an NIR or LIF measuring head. Mounted on the rotating blending head with a viewing window on the wall of the IBC, an onboard data analyzer interprets the process data and sends it to a PC. Sophisticated software allows users to monitor the powder movement and detect the process end point.
Power is supplied through a specially designed slip ring, which guarantees a permanent and uninterrupted power source. Proximity switches in the blending head activate the system at the right time to trigger data acquisition.
