Explaining Moisture Flash Off
October 17, 2019
During the high-shear, dry extrusion process, a lot of events occur at the same time. The intense shear and pressure mechanically process the product to enhance several characteristics. …
Author: Kenneth Aniunoh
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Die Open Area and How to Use It
August 22, 2019
When creating shaped products such as fish or pet food, an important consideration when making various sized products is the die open area. Once a stable extrusion process…
What is degumming?
August 8, 2019
The ExPress® process yields a high quality, highly nutritious oil that can be used as an energy source for many different animals. The value of crude ExPress® oil…
Continuous Improvement
June 13, 2019
Great companies are always finding ways to better themselves to improve their product, process or their services. Commonly known as continuous improvement, it can be broken down into…
Perfect is the enemy of good
May 23, 2019
On a daily basis, we hear about people’s desires to create processing plants. These can be for food or feed and are always delivered with the best of…
Calculating boiler horsepower requirements
February 14, 2019
In some feedmills, steam is required for various cooking processes. Our high shear dry extrusion generally does not require steam, although some processes do such as fish and…
Principles of steam exhausting
February 7, 2019
A topic of importance for plant cleanliness is exhausting the steam released during the extrusion process. As material is processed within the extruder, the sudden drop to atmospheric…
Fear or Passion? What’s your motivation?
January 31, 2019
In this industry, we get to meet and interact with many different people. A common thread among them is a fierce drive and determination to do great things. …
A great team will make a plan come together
January 24, 2019
During my recent trip overseas, I got to witness first-hand how many people are truly involved in making a processing plant come together. Vendors and suppliers sometimes forget…
Don’t fight change, embrace it
January 17, 2019
A famous song once said, “the times they are a-changing”. Today, this couldn’t be more true. Technology seems to advance daily, and those who stay abreast and use…
Wet collectors for steam exhaust
January 10, 2019
In a previous blog, we mentioned the various principles of steam exhausting. One of those was how to handle the discharged vapor. Most places can allow this vapor…
Types of screw conveyor flighting
December 27, 2018
In our industry, the screw conveyor is a pretty common method of conveying. They’re simple, inexpensive and relatively universal. We tend to use a “U-trough” style of conveyor…
Problem Solving Using a Team
November 1, 2018
Problem solving takes a multi-angled approach. It’s almost like having two different lens prescriptions for your eyes. In order to see clearly, you need both in a set…
Understanding the various types of oil processing
October 18, 2018
One benefit of the Insta-Pro ExPress® process is that you are able to diversify your product offerings. Instead of just offering extruded soybeans, you now have two products…
Vented conveyor length
June 21, 2018
When designing an ExPress® line, there are many things to consider. It’s a little like putting together a Lego® set where you can build pretty much whatever you…
Screw Elevators versus Bucket Elevators
June 7, 2018
There are many ways to transport materials horizontally, but what if you need to go vertically? Pneumatics and cable-type methods are options, but the most common ones you’ll…
Vented conveyor diverter valves
May 10, 2018
One feature that we put onto our vented conveyors is a diverter valve. Depending on the design, these can sometimes be called “Y” or “K” valves due to…
Particalizer vs Cutterhead: What’s the Difference?
May 3, 2018
When it comes to extruding materials with higher starch content, such as corn, pet food or fish feed; some type of cutting device is necessary. As these start…