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Feed industry professionals, academics and business people learned about inner workings of a feed mill at the Build my FeedMill Conference on March 13 at VIV Asia. In conjunction with Milling and Grain, VIV Asia hosted 12 speakers who presented information about their feed mill and storage products. Those in attendance were led through the entire milling process, from intake and conveying to weighing, grinding, pelleting, drying and cooling and storage.
#6 Annular Gap Expander
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by Maren Weßels, Amandus Kahl, Germany
he expander technology is one of the best and most comprehensive conditioning methods for compound feed and individual components. The annular gap expander consists of a thick-walled mixing tube with replaceable liners and cantilevered shaft which is equipped with proportioning, mixing and kneading
elements. The hydraulically adjustable cone and the pipe end form the annular gap. By means of adjusting the cone during operation, the pressure, the intensity of kneading, the product heating, and the energy consumption can be controlled and programmed
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continuously and instantaneously. The maximum pressure is about 40 bar; the operating temperatures at the expander outlet are between 90 and 140°C. At the outlet, the pressure drops spontaneously, the product expands, and a part of the added water evaporates (flash evaporation). Post-drying is not required. The particle size of the expanded product can be determined by means of the downstream crushing device.
Advantages
• Improved pellet quality and higher press capacity • Use of components which are difficult to process • Addition of large quantities of liquids • Inactivation of harmful substances