Powder Systems Limited (PSL), based in Liverpool, UK designs and manufacturers Nutsche filter dryers for small-scale process development to large-scale manufacturing. PSL’s Nutsche Filter Dryers are well known for their efficient and quality designs developed for washing and isolating solids, even in the most difficult production processes. Their unique technology enables reliable production scale-up and helps overcome traditional product development issues such as batch reproducibility and product uniformity. PSL’s technology can be used at all levels of production from R&D to pilot-scale and large-scale commercial manufacturing.
Filter Dryers combine the function of filtration with drying. They are not just filters that dry (this occurs when an inert gas is passed over a wet cake sitting on a Nutsche filter and is not repeatable). A filter dryer incorporates both unit operations via the use of low RPM, high torque agitator that turns over the solids in the cake to facilitate faster, more thorough and repeatable drying. In the PSL lab and production scale systems, the agitator can be set via recipe to a specific depth within the cake in order to exactly quantify drying within a batch. With the use of the programmed automation features, these specific multiple height settings and agitation speed can be repeated from batch to batch to provide the exact same drying profile with each experiment or production run.
What sets PSL small scale filter dryers apart is that the automation functions are incorporated into the small dryers we offer. Thus, data that is a function of defined experimentation (agitator height, RPM, inert drying gas flow) can be captured for scale-up.
010, 050 and 500 Series
PSL’s GFD®Lab Series is a benchtop Agitated Nutsche Filter-Dryer (ANFD) that efficiently performs laboratory solid-liquid separation processes. It is a miniature version of a production filter-dryer, allowing effective filtration and drying with the same reliability and benefits as full size PSL filter-dryers.
It was developed to overcome well-known production challenges faced by manufacturers when using traditional production methods such as Büchner filtration and oven tray-drying. It is the ideal technology to successfully complete scale-up and scale-down activities and obtain predictive performance results.
The GFD®Lab consists of an agitated vessel designed to work under vacuum and under pressure. Its vessel can be made of either glass, stainless steel or Alloy-22, and has a heated jacket for efficient drying. Solid-liquid separation is performed within its unique filtration basket, which can be removed to ease and maximize product collection.
Everyday this technology is assisting hundreds of scientists and process engineers around the world to innovate and optimize their unique processes. The GFD®Lab is serving research institutes, laboratories, universities and companies from a wide range of industries globally.
Available in 010, 050 and 500 Series
| 010 Series | 050 Series | 500 Series | |
| Filtration area | 0.002m² | 0.010m² | 0.05m² |
| Vessel volume | 0.3L | 2L | 10L |
| Cake volume | 0.03 – 0.1L | 0.18 – 0.5L | 0.93 – 5L |
| Vessel Material | Borosilicate glass or 316L Stainless Steel | ||
| Mesh Material | Polypropylene, Polyester, PEEK, Nylon | ||
| Agitator Lift System | Manual or Automated? | ||