A prediction model for monitoring ribbed roller compacted ribbons

The application of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for real-time monitoring of the critical quality attributes of ribbed roller compacted ribbons was studied. Three NIR probes (QR 200, QR 400, and QR 600) of lens diameters, 200, 400, and 600 μm, respectively were used at various fixed distances from the ribbon surface to determine the calibration model with optimum predictive ability for monitoring the roller compaction process. The ribbon attributes studied were micronized chlorpheniramine maleate concentration, roll force, roll speed, ribbon density, and tensile strength. The custom-made belt conveying system was used to simulate the ribbon manufacturing process for NIR spectra capture. Simulation results obtained were then compared with the experimental results. The outcome of this study indicated that QR 400 was the best NIR probe for modeling, followed by QR 200 and QR 600. Of the five spectra measuring distance settings (d = 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, and 1.5 mm), there was good correlation between simulation and experimental findings indicating that the calibration models for bigger probe sizes were better if the measuring distance was smaller.