K-Tron Process Group Engineers and Delivers Pharmaceutical
Dispensary Systems 
PITMAN, NJ (March 15, 2006)—The K-Tron Process Group can engineer and deliver automated dispensing systems for pharmaceutical applications through the K-Tron Systems Group. Experienced in providing such dispensary projects, K-Tron incorporates its own feeding, pneumatic conveying and controls technology and out sources and engineers additional equipment as needed. Projects have ranged in size from small to quite large. Validation documentation can be provided with the project.
Automated dispensing systems are utilized throughout the pharmaceutical industry for the metering of excipients, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API’s) and lubricants into Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC’s) and other large storage vessels. Typically, these dispensaries serve as an intermediate production stage to formulate the blend prior to the granulation process. In most pharmaceutical plants, separate broaching areas are established for receiving raw materials from suppliers or other plants. These broaching areas usually include the unloading of pallets containing drums or boxes, or the unloading of super sacks. The contents of each container are transferred via either gravity flow or pneumatic conveying to the dispensary area for the loading of IBC’s.
Once the materials are transferred to the dispensary area, loss-in-weight (LIW) feeders are used to regulate and meter the correct ingredient amount into the receiving IBC. Some ingredients may represent only a fraction of the total batch weight for a specific recipe. LIW feeders that offer extremely high short- term accuracy are critical in assuring the correct amount is metered.
In the case of a single material loading, as in excipients, the material may be conveyed under either dense phase or dilute phase vacuum via K-Tron PCS vacuum receivers to a separate hopper mounted above the K-Tron loss-in-weight feeder. In cases where a pre-mixed formulation includes a potent API, containment is required. In this case the outlet of the IBC or the loader hopper is equipped with a butterfly valve or a split butterfly valve, depending upon the level of containment required.
In cases where several ingredients are metered into the same IBC, automated guide vehicles (AGV) can be used to transport the IBC between each dispensary station. K-Tron can supply either loss-in-weight or gain-in-weight batching systems for this application.