Abstract
To produce complex injectable formulations, it is imperative that the contents of the formulation are not damaged during processing. Some formulations require the removal of excess solvent often through evaporation. Wiped Film Evaporators can be applied for these scenarios, since they can operate at relatively low temperatures with mass transfer being promoted through a large surface area. This is created by wiping the liquid against the inner heated wall of the equipment, with the proper operation requiring, as much as possible, a stable and continuous liquid film. In some cases, however, depending on operating conditions or physical properties of the materials, film ruptures and wetting/de-wetting dynamics are observed, and in more severe situations the liquid is dispersed in isolated globules and drops. These are undesirable situations of operation, where it is not possible to guarantee an optimal and homogenous heat and mass transfer. In this work, Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations are used to predict a map relating operating conditions to these different flow regimes. From this fundamental knowledge, it is possible to infer operatory windows for a given task and ultimately develop a reliable model for process scale-up.