The IR3000 Moisture Transmitter available from JW Industrial Instruments, can be used to measure the moisture level in many types of Pharmaceutical powder. Too little or too much moisture can have a large impact on production and cost. By installing the Moisture Transmitter in the processing area, typically in the bowl of the fluid bed dryer, a manufacturer can continuously monitor the process, subsequently manually or automatically controlling the moisture content.

The Transmitter should be located looking into the fluid bed dryer bowl via a sapphire viewing window, which can be supplied by MoistTech. The sensor bottom should be mounted at a 17 degrees angle to the window to get maximum light penetration onto the product. Typically the powder will bush against the viewing window to allow us to make a very good analysis of the moisture.

Another location for the Sensor is to mount in a falling stream of powder once it has exited the dryer. For this location the MoistTech 3A sanitary powder sampler option can be applied. The sampler captures a sample of the powder allows this to be measured and returned to the process, without compromising the process.

Moisture in pharmaceutical powder is a very well understood and documented application. Calibrations are pre-set. Measurement wavelengths, algorithms, and sensor optical requirements are all preset at the factory. Typical accuracy is about plus or minus 0.05 to 0.1% moisture. Typical analog range is 0 to 10% moisture. The Transmitter analog output can easily be adjusted to optimize PLC or recording requirements.