Traditional twin-screw extrusion design has served its purpose as the pet food and aqua feed industries developed. Yet both industries now stand at a tipping point where new trends are pushing the traditional systems beyond their limit. Flexibility is key and what the new generation Wenger twin screw extrusion systems are built on.
The Thermal Twin® extrusion system is tailored for pet food manufacturers, so they can develop a wider range of products using an extensive choice of ingredients while preserving ingredient and product identity.
The Aquaflex® extrusion system is tailored for aquatic feed manufacturers to maximise their investment by giving them the capability to manufacture a wide range of products such as floating, sinking, shrimp, and micro feeds in different product sizes while utilising a broad ingredient selection.
This flexibility is possible given these systems are engineered with a specialised screw profile design to deliver higher volumetric capacity and the capability to operate using a wide range of thermal and mechanical energy cooking conditions.
Thermal and mechanical energy are the main energy sources utilised in the extrusion process. A review of current extrusion processes in the industry indicates the ratio of consumed thermal to mechanical energy ranges from 1:1 to 2:1.
This ratio determines utility costs as well as maintenance costs, specifically the costs to replace worn rotating elements. A recent study compared energy input and operating cost for three extrusion system. It was observed that even though the total energy input (thermal + mechanical) was higher for a thermal twin screw extrusion system, it was less expensive to operate over time compared to a standard single screw and twin-screw extrusion system.
An extrusion system with the ability to vary this energy utilisation ratio and shift to the most favourable energy sources from a cost standpoint, brings increased flexibility to the cost of operating the system. Wenger extruders are engineered to operate in thermal to mechanical energy ratios from 1:1 to as much as 14:1.
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The Aquaculturists
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