Elevating Caffeine Production

• The Challenge: During the extraction phase, crude caffeine extract becomes incredibly viscous and sticky as solvents are removed. This thick sludge frequently fouls traditional evaporators and degrades under prolonged heat exposure.
• The LCI Advantage: LCI’s Thin Film Evaporators (TFEs) utilize a specialized rotor design that creates high turbulence, mechanically wiping the thick caffeine sludge down the heated walls.
• Extremely Short Residence Time: Heat transfers instantly, and the material passes through the unit in seconds, effectively eliminating thermal degradation and preserving the quality of the extract.
• High Viscosity Handling: Capable of continuously processing crude extracts up to 10,000,000 cP, ensuring maximum solvent recovery without stalling or fouling the thermal wall.
• Rapid Surface Renewal: Continuous agitation by the rotor blades minimizes scaling, allowing for continuous, reliable operation and fewer maintenance shutdowns.

• The Challenge: Purified caffeine crystals are fine, lightweight, and notoriously dusty, making them difficult to handle, measure, and package.
• The LCI Advantage: For bulk caffeine in food and beverage, LCI provides robust mixing and wet granulation technologies to convert powders into free-flowing, dust-free granules.
• Tailored Porosity and Density: Whether the process requires highly porous, fast-dissolving granules for energy drinks or dense, highly compactable granules for pharmaceutical tablet pressing, LCI's precision mixing equipment ensures uniform moisture distribution and consistent
agglomeration.

• The Challenge: Standard caffeine is absorbed rapidly by the body, causing an energy spike and subsequent crash. Premium pharmaceutical and supplement applications require a sustained-release mechanism.
• The LCI Advantage: LCI offers decades of expertise in extrusion and spheronization. Our extruders and signature Marumerizer™ spheronizers systematically convert wet caffeine mass into perfectly uniform, dense spheres.
• Smooth, Coatable Surface: The Marumerizer™ spheronizer produces perfectly round pellets that are ideal for the uniform application of polymer coatings, which is the critical step in creating controlled-release or enteric-coated caffeine capsules.
• High API Loading: High Active Content Loading: LCI technology allows manufacturers to achieve exceptional active content loading, reaching up to 90% active concentration within a single sphere.
• Narrow Particle Size Distribution: Ensures consistent flowability, predictable dosing, and even dispersal in the gastrointestinal tract.
• Low Friability: The resulting pellets maintain their shape and integrity through downstream packaging and transport, drastically reducing waste and fines.

From the initial evaporation of raw extract to the final sustained-release pellet, LCI Corporation offers comprehensive engineering support. Our dedicated Test Center in Charlotte, NC, allows manufacturers to validate their specific caffeine formulations using our laboratory and pilot-scale equipment before committing to full-scale production.