Improvements in static mixer design have led to substantial advancements in the pharmaceutical processing industry. Thanks to this technology, drug manufacturers have been able to achieve greater economies of scale in their production efforts, while demonstrating noticeable improvements in medicines quality and safety. A lot of tweaking and testing was required for this to occur, however. Clearly, there is a huge difference between mixing up a small batch of components and achieving the same end results on a consistent basis in much larger quantities. The challenge is to be able to translate the results from smaller test situations to larger scale production environments. Custom-designed mixing equipment makes this possible.

Here are 3 Ways Advances in Commercial mixing Equipment Has Benefited the Pharmaceutical Industry:

1. Saves time. As the saying goes, "time is money" and professional agitation equipment can yield tremendous savings in this area. Compared with laboratory testing mixers, industrial mixing equipment is much larger and is therefore able to process larger batches at a time. This directly translates into substantial time savings. Furthermore, industrial versions are usually more powerful and able to process an individual batch more quickly. What takes ten minutes in a laboratory testing might only take two or three in an industrial mixer.

2. Uses fewer components or chemicals. Mixing equipment can also lead to greater economies in terms of the amount of raw components used during the production process. For example, well-designed mixing equipment can reduce waste by effectively removing more chemicals from the sides of the mixing container. By leaving less unincorporated residue in the vessel, a smaller amount of waste by-product is produced. This leads to higher yield and increased profitability for the whole processor.

3. Requires less energy. Designers, engineers and static mixers manufacturers who develop commercial mixing equipment are always on the lookout for ways to save on energy costs during the production process. However, product quality and consistency cannot be sacrificed to achieve this end. Therefore, they must find the "wasted" energy within the process and eliminate it, while maintaining the level of input needed to produce the desired end result. Inline static mixer which involves no moving parts is one type of mixing equipment that uses less energy than traditional mechanical options. With these mixers, raw components are injected into a piping configuration where they are swirled and combined. Although this type of mixer won't work in all situations, they do provide substantial energy cost savings in the appropriate settings.

Without question, improvements in commercial mixing equipment have led to many positive improvements in the pharmaceutical industry over the years.