New technologies for fine aqua feed production
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by Volkan Aktan, Project Engineer Dry Grinding and Thomas Runde, Managing Director, Tietjen Verfahrenstechnik, Germany hen producing animal or fish feed, a high degree of fineness must always be achieved. Especially in the production of aqua feed, it is important that the ground components have a very high level of fineness and a precise separation cut. Finding a suitable mill for this challenging task is, therefore, essential.
The grinding history of Tietjen
Grinding has changed a great deal in the past few decades and, therefore, the requirements of the production process have also adjusted to reflect this. As a specialist in grinding technology, Tietjen Verfahrenstechnik always keeps an eye on the size reduction of mixed raw materials, especially in challenging applications such as pet food and aqua feed. Together with our worldwide customers and partners, Tietjen continue to optimise and search for the economically best solutions for targeted crushing to suit customer requirements. Since 1959, Tietjen has been building hammer mills and individual grinding solutions in Hemdingen, near Hamburg, Germany. With our Tietjen mills you can grind anything from ordinary solids, such as wood, to extraordinary materials like incense resin or aqua feeds, with a high fineness level. To ensure that our customers achieve even better grinding results, we have been looking more closely at optimising the pre-crushing process. Good crushing depends, on the one hand, on the technical design of the hammer mill itself (sieve surface, impact surface, motorisation, speed and sieve perforation) and, on the other hand, on the aspiration of the mill (air volume flow, air speed, filter type, filter surface). The grinding plant itself can only be optimally operated with appropriate, load-dependent controlled dosing of the input material.
The perfect hammer mill for your business demands
In order to continue producing the best possible products in the future, special attention must be paid to every technical detail at the beginning of the process chain. The grain structure and fineness achieved by the grinding process are of definitive importance to achieve the desired quality. Finally, the key nutritional-physiological ingredients must always be maintained, in every place, for each extrudate and for every small pellet. Key considerations for fish and shellfish feed include: • Feed conversion ratio (FCR) • Sink and swim behaviour • Environmental compatibility of the residues For the best results in production, the system components must be properly coordinated. Good grinding produces a defined, uniform particle size and is a prerequisite for the efficient utilisation of the ingredients. A guaranteed grist and reliably cleaned material at the extrusion interface avoids extruder downtimes, ensures energy efficient drying and cooling as well as optimum oil absorption in the coating process. This, in turn, has positive effects for the packaging process and storability of the feed. Depending on the customers’ requirements, as well as the final product, Tietjen offers different grinding solutions such as the
30 | August 2020 - International Aquafeed