STUDY OF THE MICROWAVE VACUUM DRYING PROCESS FOR A GRANULATED PRODUCT

The objectives of this work were to study and evaluate the process of drying a pharmaceutical granule from 21% to 3% (d.b.) moisture, also determining the power absorbed by the product, using a microwave assisted vacuum dryer with two absolute pressures: 50 and 75 mbar. A specific objective was to compare the drying kinetics of the microwave assisted vacuum process (MAVP) with two other drying processes, one using hot air convection and the other combining microwaves with hot air convection. The results of such a study showed that the drying kinetics were not affected by the vacuum levels, whereas the absorbed microwave power was higher for smaller vacuum levels. It was also observed that the samples obtained by the microwave assisted vacuum process, when submitted to compression, complied with the required specifications. The drying kinetics of the MAVP showed the shortest drying times when compared to the other drying processes.