Factors That Affect Pellet Quality and Throughput
Webinar EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Key Takeaways
Meet the Speakers
Composition and Variability of Ingredients Impact Pellet Quality
Mechanical and Operational Settings Impact PDI
Kemin MillSAVOR™ Improves Pellet Quality
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There Are Many Factors to Consider When Pelleting Feed
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sponsored by:
Charles Stark, Ph.D., Jim and Carol Brown Professor in Feed Technology, Kansas State University
Moderated by Andy Vance, Director, Strategic Accounts, Farm Progress
Featuring:
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Eugene Rodberg, Senior Product Manager for Feed Quality Products, Kemin
There are three primary goals when optimizing a feed plant:
Key Takeaway
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- Scott Deviney, CEO, Chicken Salad Chick
Pelleting feed can potentially cost more than it saves if not done right
“As we think about this topic, it is important to understand that it's a tug of war . . . between production versus pellet quality.”
- Charles Stark, Ph.D., Kansas State University
However, placing emphasis on one goal often leads to deprioritization of others, as factors that impact performance can create conflict with quality. Considerations include throughput, cost, feed safety, pellet quality, and nutrient quality. There are several factors that affect pellet quality, including added fat DDGS, inclusion level, conditioning temperature, conditioning retention time, feed ratio, and LD ratio. Particle binding, a contributor to pellet quality, can be impacted by heat transfer from two sources:
1. To maximize feed mill performance 2. To maximize animal performance 3. To maintain customer perception of quality
1. The steam transferred during the conditioning process, and 2. The frictional heat generated during the pellet formation in the pellet die.
In addition to the compressive force of the pellet die, water and moisture content of the finished feed, as well as the chemical or ingredient composition, can also affect binding.
Starch, protein, and fat and oil are the primary ingredients that affect pellet quality or the pelleting process, in general. Fat and oil are found in the ingredients and/or in the fat added to the mixer. Different suppliers or even different plants within a supplier might introduce ingredient variability that affects the pelleting process. Ingredient source matters. Grains grown in different parts of the country or world will be grown in different soil types, with different fertilization methods. Some locations have irrigation while others do not. Co-products, therefore, can also be affected based on the starting ingredient, both in terms of where the ingredient was grown and the processing of the ingredient that occurred within the plant. While variations in nutrient content might negatively impact starch gelatinization, this may be occurring on a very small level relative to the prioritization of starch gelatinization. Most gelatinization is occurring in the actual pellet die, due primarily to the frictional heat. There are other important factors that should be considered that impact feed quality. For example, conditioning temperature, the percent of crude protein, and the amount of fat and oil can affect feed quality. Adding binder, including wheat, can yield the highest pellet durability index (PDI). Although using binder usually increases pellet durability, binding characteristics of ingredients vary and actual PDI may not meet expectations based on standard data for protein or fat content. PDI can fluctuate due to both chemical composition and other variables, such as how ingredients were processed at the ethanol plant and/or particle size. Interestingly, decreasing throughput does not have as notable an effect on pellet quality as do changes to other factors.
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How ingredients are processed, as well as the ingredients themselves, can lead to varying pellet quality
Jim and Carol Brown Professor in Feed Technology, Kansas State University
Dr. Charles Stark
Dr. Charles Stark on Pellet Quality Factors
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In the conditioner, there are several factors can be controlled, including:
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Controlling time, moisture, and heat through equipment configuration can affect pellet quality
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Time the feed is in the conditioner, which can vary based on conditioner length, conditioner speed, and conditioner picks setup. Longer conditioning time allows moisture and heat to penetrate deeper into the particles to adhere better. Moisture, which can be increased by adding more steam or water, either at the mixer or in the conditioner. Heat, via the transfer of the heat from steam to the particles.
In a single-port conditioner, steam is injected at the back of the conditioner and moves along the conditioner. In multiport conditioners, steam is gradually added throughout the conditioner, which allows for variability in the amount of steam added. Regardless of the type of conditioner, both the quality and the consistency of the steam being sent to the conditioner are important for pelleting quality. Steam quality, or the percent of the steam in vapor form versus water form, should be at 95% or greater to be considered high quality. In cases where too much material is trying to be pelleted and boiler capacity cannot meet the demand, water is pulled off the top of the boiler to compensate, creating wet plugs in the system. Consistency matters. The pellet die provides resistive force. The thicker the die, the more resistance in the process. If the die resistance force is too great and material cannot be pushed through the pellet die, roll slip between the interface of the feed and the roll itself will begin to occur. To overcome roll slip, operators usually reduce the conditioning temperature, even though higher conditioning temperature leads to better pellet quality due to increased moisture and heat. Increasing L/D ratio, the length of the effective thickness compared to the diameter of the die hole, yields a better quality pellet, but may reduce throughput. An L/D ratio that is too high can reduce the conditioning temperature, which has a negative impact on the process. Most feed mills in the U.S. use corrugated rolls—either spiral cut or straight cut, with closed ends. Closed end rolls minimize feed being pushed back out into the roll and die. Using a die with variability in LD ratios along the die can help squeeze out any material that reaches the outside rolls versus passing through the die holes; however, this also decreases throughput.
“It’s a balancing act . . . trying to determine what works best for our own operation, for the pellet mills that we have.”
Monitoring moisture content of finished feed is important. All moisture and heat added to the process needs to be removed to avoid issues with mold and to maximize the energy content of that diet. Air always takes the path of least resistance, so cooling occurs on the surface of the pellet. Just as it took time for the moisture and heat to be driven into the particles, it takes time for the moisture and heat to migrate to the surface of the pellet. Maintaining the cooler bed depth as level as possible will support uniform cooling across pellets.
Dr. Charles Stark on Conditioning Targets
Kemin is an industry leader, with expertise in feed milling and feed milling improvement. Kemin offers a program of service designed to work in partnership with feed mill managers and operators to improve the pelleting performance, manage moisture, and increase feed shelf life. Kemin produces feed products designed with custom application equipment. Its Milling Efficiency Team (MET) assesses the needs of feed mills and determines proper application of Kemin products, which include MillSAVOR™ Liquid, Myco and Ultra CURB® Liquid Mold Inhibitors, and Sal CURB® LF Liquid Antimicrobial. The goal of the MillSAVOR™ product line and customer program is to help with moisture management, enabling the moisture to penetrate deeper into the particle for more complete cooking during conditioning. Simply adding water often leads to increased mold growth, as surface water provides a barrier surface for mold to grow. In a recent trial run by Kemin with a two-ounce inclusion of the MillSAVOR™ (65 ml per metric ton), processing water was added in different levels to aid the dispersion of the MillSAVOR™ product. In measuring feed sampling and mill performance metrics, Kemin observed the mash moisture, hot mash moisture, and cooled pellet moisture. Kemin also recorded mill performance through tons per hour, amps per ton, steam settings, and die surface temperature. The team found that moisture levels increased, shrink reduced in the finished feed, and PDI rose by 6%. And because the conditioner in this trial limited the volume to 25 tons per hour, power demand was reduced from 5 amps per ton to 2, leading to a significant reduction in the maintenance of power, supporting sustainability and carbon reduction opportunities.
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In a recent trial, MillSAVOR™ increased PDI and enabled a reduction in energy consumption
“Sustainability . . . is making the animal as efficient as possible while looking at the intervention that it takes to make that efficiency possible.”
- Eugene Rodberg, Kemin Animal Health and Nutrition
Applications Manager, California Pellet Mill
Phil Wellhausen
As MillSAVOR™ is designed to be a processing aid, there is nothing left in the feed when the process is completed and therefore no additional information must be added to the feed tag.
Charles Stark, Ph.D.
Dr. Charles Stark and the Feed Science program at Kansas State University are globally recognized as leaders in feed research, education, and outreach. He has a joint faculty appointment in the Departments of Grain Science and Industry and Animal Sciences and Industry at Kansas State University. Dr. Stark is the Jim and Carol Brown Professor in Feed Technology. Dr. Stark received his degrees from Kansas State University in Animal Sciences (B.S.) and Grain Science (M.S., Ph.D.).
Andy Vance - Moderator
Director, Strategic Accounts, Farm Progress
Patrick Quirk
Vice President & General Manager, Vertiv
Patrick Quirk directs strategy for our global embedded firmware operations and now leads converged systems business. Prior to Vertiv, he served in leadership roles for telecommunications and semiconductor technology companies in the US and Europe.
Speakers
Eugene Rodberg
Senior Product Manager for Feed Quality Products, Kemin
Eugene has been with Kemin for 10 years and during that time has been responsible for managing the Kemin line of organic acid and surfactant-based product. Prior to Kemin, Eugene spent 17 years with DSM in sales and marketing roles and 4 years with Ajinotomo as Director of Sales and Marketing for the amino acid product line.
of organic acid and surfactant-based product. Prior to Kemin, Eugene spent 17 years with DSM in sales and marketing roles and 4 years with Ajinotomo as Director of Sales and Marketing for the amino acid product line.
leaders in feed research, education, and outreach. He has a joint faculty appointment in the Departments of Grain Science and Industry and Animal Sciences and Industry at Kansas State University. Dr. Stark is the Jim and Carol Brown Professor in Feed Technology. Dr. Stark received his degrees from Kansas State University in Animal Sciences (B.S.) and Grain Science (M.S., Ph.D.).
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In this webinar, Dr. Charles Stark will discuss the different factors that affect pellet quality and throughput in the feed production process. He will offer some suggestions that can help improve feed quality, pellet durability index (PDI) and throughput — optimizing your operation’s production. Following Dr. Stark’s presentation there will be a discussion featuring recent research on milling efficiency aids and additives that could be used to increase efficiency in the milling process as well.
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MillSAVOR™ Pellet Processing Aid
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The Kemin MillSAVOR™ Milling Efficiency Program was developed to address both the need for and cost of pelleting feed.
How MillSAVOR™Liquid Concentrate improves mill performance and pellet quality.
MillSAVOR™Feed Mill Management Program Overview
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