Abstract: The interior of a rotary-disk apparatus is divided by a generally cylindrical wall into an inner processing zone and an outer processing zone. The inner processing zone can be connected to an disconnected from the outer processing zone by moving the wall into and out of sealing engagement with an underlying rotary disk. When the wall and the disk are not in sealing engagement with each other, a gap is formed which permits the transfer of granules from the inner processing zone to the outer processing zone as a result of the rotation of the disk.

Abstract: A steam granulation technique involves the injection of a jet of steam into a bed of fludized particles to be granulated. The jet of steam is substantially enveloped by a jet of air to inhibit the premature condensation of the steam onto the fluidized particles and/or the condensation of the steam onto neighboring walls of an apparatus employed to fluidize the particles, thereby inhibiting excessive wetting and lumping of the particles during their granulation.