Twin Screw Extruder

Of course, in addition to producing aquatic feed pellets and pet feed, twin screw extruder can also be used to produce cattle feed pellets, sheep feed pellets, and other animal feed pellets. However, if you want to produce cattle feed pellets, sheep feed pellets, and other poultry feed pellets, we recommend using a feed pellet mill, as this is more cost-effective.

For example, if a 55kW twin-screw extruder is used to produce cattle feed pellets, sheep feed pellets, etc., the output is 500 kg. If a feed pellet mill is used to produce animal feed pellets, it can produce 1 ton of feed pellets per hour, while the feed pellet mill’s output is less than 200,000 kg. Therefore, using a feed pellet mill to produce cattle feed pellets and sheep feed pellets is more cost-effective than using a twin-screw extruder.

Cereals, such as corn, wheat and rice, can become the basic raw materials for feed or food processing after treatment; Beans are no exception. Raw materials rich in protein, such as soybeans and peas, can be converted into more easily absorbed forms through its processing. In addition, all kinds of oilseed cakes, such as soybean meal and cottonseed meal, can make rational use of their nutrients and reduce waste after treatment.

For aquatic feed, fish meal, meat and bone meal and other animal protein raw materials can also be fully blended with other raw materials in the twin screw extruder to make nutritionally balanced granules. Even some plant fiber raw materials, such as straw powder, bran, etc., can be efficiently processed by it under a proper proportion, so that the resources with low utilization rate can play a greater role.

Whether it is a single raw material or a variety of mixed raw materials, as long as they are properly blended, the twin screw extruder can transform them into products that meet the needs by virtue of its strong shearing, mixing and plasticizing capabilities.

In fact, the feed made by these two devices is still different. During processing, the twin-screw extruder will make the starch in the raw material fully gelatinized and protein denatured more thoroughly through high temperature, high pressure and strong shearing, so the finished product particles are loose, and will gradually soften after entering the water, making it easier for animals to chew.

In contrast, the grains made by ordinary granulators are more compact and sometimes have hard cores. Besides, in terms of nutrition, twin-screw processing can also destroy the anti-nutritional factors in raw materials and make protein and vitamins more easily absorbed by animals, so it is especially suitable for young animals or aquatic animals with weak digestive ability.

Whether to choose twin-screw extruder depends on your breeding scale and demand. If you are a small farm and you don’t use much materials every month (for example, a few tons to a dozen tons), a small pelletizer with high cost performance may be enough. Because the initial investment of twin screw extruder will be higher, and it is more suitable for batch and continuous production.

However, if you plan to make high-quality special feed, such as juvenile fish feed or high-end feed for pets, or have plans to expand the scale in the future, the versatility and production efficiency of the twin screw extruder will show great advantages and be more cost-effective in the long run.

Daily maintenance is actually not that complicated, just pay attention to a few places.

First, clean up the residual raw materials in the screw and barrel regularly to avoid the influence of caking and deterioration on the next production; The second is to check the amount of lubricating oil in the transmission system, keep the parts lubricated and reduce wear; Third, pay attention to the sharpness of the cutter, and replace or polish it in time when the cutting particles are irregular; Fourth, regularly check the accuracy of the temperature control system to avoid the decline of feed quality due to abnormal temperature. Doing these basic maintenance well can prolong the service life of equipment and reduce the downtime.

Squeezing aquatic feed has many outstanding advantages. First of all, it has good water resistance. Qualified products can still keep their original shape after floating or soaking in water for 12 hours, which not only reduces waste, but also avoids water pollution.

Secondly, it is more digestible. During the processing, the raw materials are subjected to strong shearing and high temperature and high pressure treatment, which will cause physical changes such as denaturation of starch and protein, which can make these nutrients more easily digested and absorbed by aquatic animals and improve the utilization efficiency of feed.

In addition, this kind of feed has higher maturity and better palatability. The puffed finished product has a porous texture and a uniform structure. These two characteristics make it soften slowly after entering the water, without hard core, which is more in line with the eating habits of aquatic animals and can make them eat more smoothly.

Both twin screw extruders and feed pellet mills can be used to produce aquatic feed pellets, but they differ significantly:

Raw material adaptability differs. Twin screw extruders can process raw materials with high oil and water content, while pellet mills are typically suitable for dry raw materials.

Pellet types differ. Twin-screw extruders can produce floating, sinking, and slow-sinking feed pellets. Feed pellet mills are generally only suitable for producing sinking feed pellets.

Working principles differ. Twin screw extruders use an extrusion principle, while pellet mills work on the principle of compression molding.