Vrieco-Nauta Active Freeze Dryer

A unique technology in the field of freeze drying (lyophilisation)

Drying technology is a major activity within the powder-processing division of the Hosokawa group. Hosokawa has long enjoyed an outstanding reputation based on the Vrieco-Nauta conical batch vacuum dryers, which have set a new market standard for drying technology. The vast, specialized know-how built up by the group has led to the development of a new type of dryer, the Active Freeze Dryer™ (patent pending).

Why Active freeze drying

Until now most of the freeze dryers are of the Tray Dryer type. Despite the optimal structure of the individual product particles the product layer on the plates will usually form one piece of hard baked material. Often the product has to be crushed after freeze drying, which may lead to damage of the product structure. Another disadvantage is the relatively low heat transfer rate due to the dead state of the material on the plates. Also the handling of the product is quite labor intensive because the trays have to be filled and discharged manually.

The Advantages

The Hosokawa Active Freeze Dryer™ enables to produce at low temperature and low pressure a lump-free, free-flowing, freeze dried product (see picture). The Active Freeze Dryer™ also has a better heat transfer rate due to the continuous mixing of the product, resulting in shortening the drying process. Furthermore the freezing step is simplified because it can be done in the same vessel instead of having a separate freezing unit, which results in easy handling of the product compared to the tray dryer equipment. The Active Freeze Dryer™ can also be used in continuous operation. Since the dried product is released from the frozen material during the drying process, these dry particles can be collected separate from the actual dryer.

Typical applications of this Lyophilization technology are e.g.:
• Temperature sensitive materials
• Delicate structured materials
• Pro-biotics (bacteria as food additives)
• Pharmaceuticals
• Blood serum
• Ultra-fine (nano) materials

Test equipment at your disposal We have experience in freeze drying of bacteria, enzymes, pharmaceuticals, pro-biotics, polymers, salts, ceramics, lime stone, bakery yeast, yeast, broth extracts, molds, herbal extracts, glass powder, vegetables, lipides, insects, acrylic solution, api’s, milk, milk derivatives, nano materials, catalysts, seed based soup, gelling agents, flavors, cellulose fibers, proteins, etc.

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