World Grain - December 2008 - 69

FEEDOPERATIONS

pellet through the die. You often see the
addition of liquids at this point, either a
small amount of fat on rare occasion or
more likely a large amount of molasses
if the price is right and the category of
livestock being fed is appropriate, usually ruminant diets.
Maintenance of turbulators by inspecting barrels and blades to ascertain
when replacements are needed due to
wear and tear is vital. Reduced blade
length will lead to a buildup of meal
on the inside of the barrel, which reduces the diameter of the barrel and
consequently reduces the dwell time
available to the operator. This leads to
variable moisture levels of products as
the meal does not have the right amount
of time to optimize the absorption of
steam, causing pellet quality to suffer as a direct result. Regular weekly
checks are beneficial.
It is most useful to incorporate feeders before and after the turbulator to ensure the turbulator runs constantly full.
It also allows the pellet mill to draw feed
from the feeder after the turbulator according to full-load amperage demand.
This is followed by a corresponding
change in feed rate into the turbulator
that enables a much more stable condition to be maintained. Auto pellet mill
controllers can adequately control this
arrangement and be easily installed by
all the reputable pellet mill manufacturers and suppliers.
As for other types of conditioners,

the kettle has its advocates, especially
where high levels of cellulose material
are incorporated into diets. Long dwell
times of 15 minutes or more can be
achieved and pellet quality, particularly
where large diameter cobs and rolls are
being produced, is greatly enhanced.
The difficulty with kettles is that they

It is the pressure and volume of
steam that can have the largest
effect on finished pellet quality.

require considerable headroom and cannot easily be fitted into many mills. They
are also classed as pressure vessels and
require regular inspection by outside inspectors that can be expensive and time
consuming.
Expanders and compactors each have
their place and role to play, particularly
in aquafeed production. Compactors
have found favor once again in Europe,
having been very popular at the time
when byproducts were abundantly available. With power costs being paramount
these days, the cost per tonne of finished
feed is being examined more and more.
The art of double pelleting, the forerunner to compactors, has virtually disappeared purely because it is too expensive, even though the quality of pelleted
feed derived from such double pelleting
arrangements is exceptionally good.

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As for steam requirements, dry steam,
with a good, straight pipework arrangement adequately trapped with good separators and condensate return, is always
advocated. Controlling pressure appropriate to the ingredients being used is
usually where most millers get it right or
wrong, and it is the pressure and volume
of steam that can have the largest effect
on finished pellet quality.
Usually, the higher the cellulose content, the higher the pressure. Each miller
will have his own set of parameters, but
there are some who unfortunately see
steam as a complete mystery and, apart
from an on/off valve, they do not see it
as a weapon in their armory when controlling pellet quality. Regular boiler inspection and maintenance, water treatment checks and controls, and checks
on condensate return will also show
benefits and should be encouraged.
DIE DESIGN
Probably the most debated aspect of
pellet mill operation is die design. When
deciding on the die specification to be
used, one needs to take into account the
grist spectrum from the blending and
mixing system.
Daily checks on grist spectrum and
some basic trials will demonstrate to the
miller what ideal spectrum suits the diets being processed with the ingredients
available to the buyer at the time. Die
specifications will continually change
depending on the raw materials being

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For more information, see Page 82.

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World Grain - December 2008

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