Fish Feed

Features and Benefits of IDAH Process Design and Equipment

IDAH firmly believes in a strategy of design fit for purpose. We recognize the constraints our customers face with rising ingredient costs, energy costs, and overheads costs, yet in the face of these challenges, it is still expected that high-quality products be supplied into a very competitive market. Our design philosophy is to work continuously to refine and improve processes and equipment to maximize the success of our customers. The following describes some of the features and benefits resulting from this philosophy.

We design our equipment for continuous operations and fulfill the expectation for minimal downtime. Our mission is to see our equipment still working years after installation, with only maintenance required being routine maintenance caused by normal fair wear and tear.

Two perspectives are influencing the formulation: culturing performances and efficiency of the machinery. For example, choosing the right starch source (types of flour) is essential. Inappropriate starch sources will lower the steam incorporation level and causes jams at the pellet mills. Fat and moisture content play inseparable roles in the hammer mill and pulverizer throughput. Formulation with high fiber content not only increases the risk of broken pellets, lowering the water stability of the pellets. High fiber content also increases the wear of all machinery in the process. Reducing the use-life of the parts such as the hammers, screens, and dies.

We offer a range of mixers, depending on customer needs and preferences. Our mixers are all of the very rugged design and we continue to develop new features, such as geared shaft drives on our twin shaft mixers, which reduce noise, energy costs, and maintenance costs.

We firmly believe in the benefit of even particle reduction to ultra-fine powder. The typical target is to reach more than 95% passing through a 60 mesh screen. It is impossible to efficiently produce small-size products with size 2.0 mm and below without this ultra-fine grind process. Ultra-fine grinding will increase production efficiency and end product quality during the production of larger-size products. It will also open the possibility to utilize less expensive starchy ingredients.
IDAH understands that many production practitioners might worry about the extra energy cost of utilizing a pulverizer, which is why we designed a revolutionary pulverizer that runs at much lower energy costs. The ability to substitute with cheaper ingredients cost will compensate for the small extra energy requirement of the pulverizer. The ultra-fine raw material will produce a smooth, shiny, and water-stable product.

We always recommend the pre-hydration in the pre-conditioning process. The hydration of dry ingredients at this production stage improves the throughput, lowers energy costs, and increases product quality. To evenly feed the pre-hydrated mix to the pellet extruder, we supply the DDC with a steam and liquid addition system for liquid incorporation. The paddles on the twin rotating shafts will help to incorporate dry material, steam, and added liquids.

The independent drive on each shaft of the IDAH twin shaft lowers power consumption and noise. The paddles' reverse rotation allows completely emptying the chamber. The misting steam and water injectors further improve conditioner performance. The following conditioner system used steam jacketed (or heat jacketed) to create a homogenous mix with little to no free water. Insufficient pre-conditioning will cause cracks on the pellet surface and create dust fines.

The ContraTwin screw extruder is a guaranteed solution to increase product quality standards, with lower energy costs and wear costs. This extruder is suitable for processing high fiber formulations. Our machines typically make high-quality aqua feeds with specific mechanical energies of 25kWh/tonne or lower. The very positive conveying action inside these machines allows us to run high fiber and small diameter products at rates others find difficult to believe.

IDAH offers the carousel dryer T-series and the horizontal dryer CDX-series for your drying solution.
When choosing the correct dryer for your application, moisture control should be one of the most critical selection criteria. Moisture has a direct impact on your product quality, production cost, and profits in your business. One aspect of moisture control is uniformity, together with drying result consistency–in-time will determine the target average moisture content. The closer the average moisture to the maximum moisture levels, then the less raw material is lost through over-drying, generating more profit for your company.

The counterflow cooler is used for cooling pellet and extrudate. Warm (hot) pellets get into the cooling chamber, the suction fan will transport out the air inside the chamber, and fresh ambient air will enter the chamber from the bottom, promoting pellet cooling action. When pellets are accumulated and touch the high-level limit sensor, a pneumatic discharge swivel valve will operate immediately to discharge the products. Counterflow air heat exchange ensures to achieve high cooling efficiency.

In food and feed production, many kinds of ingredients with different properties are used. IDAH provides a high-efficiency mixer for mixing powder and liquid material depending on the formulation requirement. In many foods and feed production, additional liquid may be applied for improving the quality nutritional value, and palatability. IDAH mixing and coating ensured precise mixing for producing a high-quality product.

Note:

¹) Aquatic floating feed, plate die hole size Ø 1.5 - 4.0 mm

²) Aquatic floating feed, plate die hole size Ø 4.0 - 10.0 mm

Products of Fish Feed Extrusion

Floating Fish Feed with red colorant, Ø 4.0 mm

Floating Fish Feed, Ø 1.5 mm

Vacuum coated Sinking Fish Feed, Ø 4.0 mm, total oil content 25%