Van Aarsen rolls out new feed pellet coating technology

The Continuous Pellet Coater (CPC) is engineered to apply fats and soluble additives such as enzymes, probiotics, and vitamins onto animal feed pellets. This is Van Aarsen’s latest innovation in feed coating technology, according to Geert D’Haese from the company.

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Benefits of CPC

At the Utrecht show, Mr. D’Haese highlighted the advantages of the CPC for feed millers:

“The coater enables manufacturers to spray liquid components onto the pellets. While various systems exist for this purpose, the CPC stands out due to its high precision. Both the mixing vessel and feeding screw are equipped with load cells for continuous product flow measurement and adjustment, ensuring proper liquid dosage.”

This enhancement in coating equipment, particularly the precise control over the retention time within the mixer, guarantees optimized contact between liquids and pellets. This process prevents fat solidification, thus avoiding contamination and clogging in the piping or further stages of processing. Each nozzle is also equipped with air cleaning to prevent dripping and clogging, said the manufacturer.

Additional Innovations

Hammer Mill Option

The Dutch company also showcased an upgrade to its GD hammer mill line—a system for automatic screen exchange. Unlike other systems, this one maintains the mill’s compact footprint. The cassettes holding the screens can house up to three sets.

Controlled by a Siemens PLC with a multi-panel touch screen, the system automatically selects the required screen for the current recipe, reducing screen exchange time and increasing the hammer mill’s capacity. D’Haese explained, “The Kalmar Lantmän commercial feed mill in Sweden reported significant downtime reduction with this application. Previously, screen changes took up to 30 minutes manually. Now, the process takes less than two minutes without stopping the machine.”

Pellet Mill Adjustments

The company has also refined its pellet mills by adding an active roller-slip control system. This intelligent system detects roller-slip, automatically activating measures to correct it, thus optimizing production rates and minimizing downtime.

The application of liquids, particularly fats and oils, has long posed challenges in animal feed manufacturing. Traditional methods like drum coaters and paddle mixers often fall short when applying the high levels of oil required for aquatic feeds. Coating levels exceeding 15 percent have been especially problematic, leading to issues such as oil leakage and feed bag staining.

However, vacuum-coating systems, introduced in the mid-1980s, have evolved to allow oil additions up to 40 percent. These systems typically feature a double-paddle mixer combined with a vacuum function, ensuring thorough mixing and optimal oil dispersion through strategically placed spray nozzles.

By reducing the vacuum pressure, open cells in the feed pellets are created, allowing for better oil absorption. This pressure differential drives the oil into the pellets’ pores when returned to atmospheric pressure, ensuring minimal surface oil and better product utilization.

The entire vacuum-coating process is done in batches. Feed is proportioned into the coater, vacuumed, coated, and then returned to normal pressure before being conveyed to packaging bins.

Liquid Application Potential

With vacuum coating, enzymes and other additives can be applied to feed. Future advancements may enable coatings with fat- and water-soluble vitamins, reducing inclusion levels that are otherwise high to compensate for losses during extrusion or pelleting. This process is especially effective with extruded products that possess a porous cell structure.

For example, pelleted shrimp feeds, which are dense with few pores, can benefit from vacuum coating when extruded, enhancing their weight and sinking ability. Moreover, vacuum-coated feeds show improved water stability due to reduced nutrient leaching, thanks to the hydrophobic properties of the internal oil.

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