Patent ID: 6894018

Claim:
A process for making a granular detergent composition having a circularity less tha about 30, an aspect ratio less than about 1.3 and wherein the product of the circularity and aspect ratio is less that 30 comprising the steps of: a) proving a granular feed stream comprising particles of spray dried granules and detergent agglomerates, and optional detergent adjunct ingredients; b) passing said feed stream into a pre-mixer together with a binder to format a mixture; c) b) passing said mixture from step b) into a fluidized bed granulator having a bed plate; d introducing a binder into said fluidized bed granular in the form of droplets; e) operating said fluidized bed granulator at a Stokes number less than 1 for about 1 to about 20 minutes residence time, at from abut 100 to about 600mm depth of unfluidized bed, at a droplet size not more than 100 microns, at about 150 to about 1600mm of spray height from the fluid bed plate, at from about 0.1 to about 4.0m/s of fluidizing velocity and from about 12 to about 200° C. bed temperature to form detergent agglomerates; f) sizing said detergent agglomerates to separate oversized particles from said detergent agglomerates; and g) optionally, re-introducing said oversized particles to said process.