May | Jun 11 - Grain & Feed Milling Technology by Perendale Publishers

May

2011

•

Choosing the right Hazard Monitoring System

In this issue: •

Conditioning as part of the pelleting process

•

Synthesis of animal feed formulation techniques:

Linear and Non-Linear model

•

Pelleting: The link between practice and engineering

•

Pellet production to save energy, improve feed efficiency and safety

A subscription magazine for the global flour & feed milling industries - first published in 1891

GRAIN &

FEED

MILLING

News:

Herbold Meckesheim: new pulverizing concept with vertical pulverizer Grain grinding in the Glen Creston Cross Beater Mill Cal-BMS-KSL to be renamed Cultura Technologies Merger of ESM (UK) Ltd and Satake Europe Ltd More exact bulk materials dosing with innovative Batch Controller New version of moisture sensor from IntelScan Novus commemorates the expansion of its LEED Silver Certified Manufacturing Facility

TECHNOLOGY

Features: May

Choosing the right Hazard Monitoring System Synthesis of animal feed formulation techniques: Linear and Non-Linear model Pellet production to save energy, improve feed efficiency and safety Conditioning as part of the pelleting process Energy-efficient and cost-saving innovations for cereal processing Vibronet ® - The Revolution for all tempering processes Victam 2011: A review from Cologne, Germany Pelleting: The link between practice and engineering EDME Limited - A producer of natural cereal based ingredients

2011

Publisher Perendale Publishers Ltd 7 St George’s Terrace, St James’ Square Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 3PT United Kingdom Tel: +44 1242 267700 Fax: +44 1242 267701 info@perendale.co.uk Editorial Manager Nicky Barnes Tel: +44 1242 267707 nickyb@gfmt.co.uk Design and Page Layout James Taylor Tel: +44 1242 267707 jamest@gfmt.co.uk

4 4 5 5 6 6 7

8 10 10 14 18 22 22 26 30 34

Commodities: Raw material outlook, by John Buckley

Book Review

Enzymes in Farm Animal Nutrition MillionsFed-Proven Successes in Agricultural Development Remote Sensing of Global Croplands for Food Security

Circulation & Subscriptions Manager

44 44 45

Tuti Tan Tel: +44 1242 267707 tutit@gfmt.co.uk International Marketing Team

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Caroline Wearn Tel: +44 1242 267707 carolinew@gfmt.co.uk Sabby Major Direct: +44 1242 267707 sabbym@gfmt.co.uk Lee Bastin Tel: +44 1242 267707 leeb@gfmt.co.uk Annual Subscription Rates Inside UK: UK£70 Outside: US$140/ Euros110 More information www.gfmt.co.uk

Grain & Feed Milling Technology is published six times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom. All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. Copyright 2011 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form

or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner.

volume: 122 number 3

issn No: 1466-3872

Guest - EDITOR’S OBSERVATIONS

Guest editor - Alex Waugh

rom Classical times onwards, flour millers have combined interests in engineering and grain in order to make a better bag of flour at the most competitive cost, and the situation remains unchanged to this day. Back in the 1870s, a British miller lamented in the pages of Milling that “we have to watch the prospects, agricultural, commercial and political of almost all countries; we have to estimate their produce; to allow for the requirements of their several inhabitants and to calculate the probable quantity [of wheat] which will find its way to our shores....”

Now, towards the end of May in 2011, these words ring just as true. We find ourselves in the midst of a weather market with very uncertain prospects for the year ahead. As the UK and Western Europe remains steadfastly dry, farmers report prospects of much reduced yields. The south western USA is also very dry, while the North is wet

A new venue, for a diversifying industry and the Mississippi delta suffers from the worst flooding in a generation. If mother nature isn’t making things difficult enough, there are worries about political intervention in Ukraine and Russia limiting exports from that area whilst they recover from the drought affected 2010 harvest, worries about further potential disruption emanating from the Arab spring and speculation that China may enter the grain market in a more substantial fashion. It is clear that developments in other markets have the potential to move wheat: the very low maize stock levels in the USA mean that anything other than a good harvest will not be sufficient to meet normal demand, whilst the girating oil price tends to feed directly into the grain complex through the ethanol sector. Meanwhile everyone has to contend with the impact of speculative interest from financial funds, which tends to amplify existing volatility. Therefore prospects for the wheat market in 2011 look more uncertain than usual. Prices in 2010/2011 have been close to 2007/8 peak levels and at present show no sign of decline after harvest. Yield potential in the UK has already been damaged, rainfall in late May and early June is required to deliver even these reduced expectations. If this does not occur and current conditions persist throughout Europe, the first consideration for millers will be securing supplies of appropriate quality. Whilst supply and demand have always been of concern to commercial millers, the same is true for inherent wheat quality. By the turn of the 19th century, UK millers were running a series of trials to establish the potential for new varieties of wheat to yield more and produce breadmaking flour. These included trials of the leading US and Canadian varieties of the day grown in English conditions. The trials

2 | May - June 2011

eventually led to the establishment of a plant breeding institute at the University of Cambridge and the National Institute for Agricultural Botany. Similar developments were taking place in the United States as farmers and millers explored ways of breeding better wheat varieties for milling. nabim members continue to work closely with plant breeders to assess the potential of new varieties before they are commercialised; they also strongly support HGCA’s Recommended List system which provides independent information about wheat varieties to growers. Alongside this UK milers are partners in research projects to explore further Alex Waugh, NABIM genetic development to improve the quality of wheat, develop greater disease resistance and generate higher yields. All of these developments will be required if we are to meet the challenges set out in the UK government’s foresight report published in January 2011, the main one being to produce more from less. Developments in relation to plant breeding and agronomic performance will be crucial to success. Along with weather, economics and science, politics and policy play an equally significant part in determining the availability of grain. Export bans are the most obvious form of intervention. In the European Union room for manoeuvre is limited by a “zero tolerance” approach to non-approved agricultural material. This creates most difficulty in relation to the low level presence of GMOs, but causes similar problems in respect of pesticides. It is very welcome that after more than three years of discussion the Commission has brought forward a proposal to allow for some traces (around 0.1%) of non-approved GMOs in conventional animal feed, but this is only a very small first step towards resolving uncertainty and helping businesses to continue to supply conventional grain. Firstly the proposal only applies to GM events for which an application for EU approval has been made; as the pace of research around the world speeds up, and newly modified varieties are developed in USA, India, China, Australia and elsewhere, it seems highly unlikely that they will all be submitted for approval to EU authorities. Why would any business or academic research institute go through the cost and frustration of such a process when Europe is not the intended market? Therefore it will very soon be necessary to find a way of extending the proposal (should it be adopted) to include other events. Secondly the restriction to animal feed materials is plainly ridiculous.

&feed milling technology

Grain

pesticide permitted in the country of origin leads to a cargo being banned from the EU. This would not be as a result of a food safety consideration but because of a unilateral approach to legislation which could be characterised as a barrier to trade. This does not appear to be a policy for a sustainable supply of grain in today’s world. Although there are many uncertainties, covering so many aspects of the grain supply chain, it seems that there are two excellent reasons to be optimistic: We know that global demand for our products will rise steadily over the next thirty years; and we have many tools potentially available to meet that demand, whether through improved agronomic practice, new grain varieties, better storage and logistics, more efficient processing or creativity in product development. As an organisation nabim is committed to helping its members prosper by investing time in working with plant breeders to assess new wheat varieties, working with growers and others in the supply chain to help them understand the needs of the milling sector, working with government officials in many countries to help them understand how business works and how legislative intervention affecting grain supply can help or hinder the delivery of sustainable food supply, and working with customer and consumer groups so that there is a genuine dialogue about the trade-offs required to deliver a secure supply of good quality cereal foods for the future.

Covering all aspects of the grain feed and milling technology, with industry news stories, company press releases, book reviews, company proﬁles and much more.

You can catch my daily blogs at http://gfmt.blogspot.com

Guest - EDITOR’S OBSERVATIONS

The rice sector has already been damaged by discovery of unauthorised GMOs at a low level, and similar problems beset the Canadian supply of linseed two years ago. These incidents have proved immensely costly and disruptive, and it is hard to see that there has been any resulting public benefit. Whilst the EU maintains its current approach to the regulation of genetically modified crops, extending the scope of the proposal to food grains appears to be the only way of securing a degree of security for millers seeking to deliver conventional material, whether they are milling rice, maize, wheat or other grains. Changes to the EU regulation on pesticides since 2008 raise the prospect of similar problems in relation to the presence of pesticide residues. The European Union is going through a process of renewing the approval of pesticides, which usually requires manufacturers to submit a dossier for consideration by national authorities and the European Food Standards Agency. For many older compounds, this is not a good business investment, meaning that EU registration is lost. Under these circumstances, the maximum EU permitted residue level falls to the limit of detection, typically 0.01 part per million. Whilst this might make sense in relation to local production, it takes no account of regulation in other parts of the world. We are therefore faced with the prospect that a detectable (although extremely low) presence of a

Blogs are maintained daily from Monday to Friday and we are happy to publish any of your companies’ press releases about future events. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook; we look forward to hearing from you and wish you every success in the future

The Global Miller

Grain

&feed milling technology

May - June 2011 | 3

May - June 2011

NEWS

Herbold Meckesheim: new pulverizing concept with vertical pulverizer

here are mainly two fields influence of transverse forces as in the plastics industry is the case with a V-belt drive where pulverizing is due to design inherent reasons: required most: when recycling its vertical configuration is rigid PVC waste, pulverizing an optimal constructional into powder creates a high- advantage for that. quality regenerated material that Fig. 1: threec an direc t ly be dimensional view introduced into PU 650 the heating mixer. I n t h e f ie l d o f rotational molding and fluidized bed coating, the virgin material is pulverized to a f ineness of 50 0 my (35 mesh) or 30 0 my ( 6 0 mesh) before its treatment.Â T h e n e w generation of pulverizers has two new characteristic fe ature s at t he same time: due to the vertical configuration of the rotor shaft and the directly flanged drive, the machine has an unorthodox design. Pulverizers for plastics are due to design-inherent reasons machines with a very high circumferential speed. Their bearings are particularly robust and have long service times if there is mass balancing and no

opposite to each other and the shape of the grooves is responsible for the fineness and the throughput of the end product. With the new disc design, a greater fineness and

The first machine with this new design that is available at Herbold Meckesheim is the model PU 650 with a disc diameter of 650 mm (26â&#x20AC;?), equipped with a 75 kW (100 HP) or 90 kW (125 HP) drive motor. With Fig. 2: pulverizer type P E , t hroug h pu t PU 650 performances of up to 800 k g / h (170 0 lbs / hr) and with rigid PVC, throughput performances of up to 1200 kg/h (2800 lbs/hr) are achieved. The par ticularly compact and space-saving design is a further advantage of the ver tical rotor configuration. A full-scale machine is available for tests with customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a higher throughput can be original material in the Herbold achieved; therefore refeeding technical laboratory. of coarse material becomes superfluous or can be achieved More information: in a much easier way than with Herbold Meckesheim GmbH conventional pulverizers. Industriestrasse 33 The discs of this new pulverizer 74909 Meckesheim gener ation are no longer Germany screwed in but clamped; so Tel: +49 6226 932 - 0 due to the fact that there are Fax: +49 6226 932 495 Email: Gabi.Hafner@herbold.com no holes, the risk that a disc will Website: www.herbold.com break, is reduced to a minimum. 70422650.SLDASM

The horizontal configuration of the grinding discs has a positive influence on the dwell time of the material in the grinding chamber, thus achieving a greater fineness with a high throughput. This functional principle is wellknown, nevertheless Herbold Meckesheim succeeded in optimizing this principle: two grooved grinding discs work

Grain grinding in the Glen Creston Cross Beater Mill

he Glen Creston Cross Beater Mill is a tried and tested multiple purpose mill that has been used for a variety of products from minerals to spices and that will easily grind grain to sub millimetre sizes. It is normally used for processing small batches of grain for testing but recent application developments include its use for the processing of grain for the production of growth factors to

4 | May - June 2011

be used in the medical research and cosmetics industries.

The version used for the application cited above is completely manufactured from grade 316 stainless steel and fitted with a dedicated six litre hopper / electromagnetically driven vibratory feeder unit. In this configuration indicative throughputs are approx 50 kg /hour with a 2 mm discharge screen (approximately 90 % <1mm product) and 10 kg per hour with a 0.5 mm discharge screen (approximately 90 % <0.25 mm product).

The Cross Beater Mill is also particularly suitable for: Chemicals, Soil, Coal, Plant materials, Grain, Glass, Fruit, Ceramics, Cement and Spices More

information:

Glen Creston Limited Lombard Road London SW19 3TZ United Kingdom Tel: + 44 2085 459140 Fax: + 44 2084 170857 Email: enquiries@glencreston.com Website: www.glencreston.com

&feed milling technology

Grain

News

May - June 2011

NEWS

Cal-BMS-KSL to be renamed Cultura Technologies

ive Agri-Food software businesses within t h e Vo l a r i s G r o u p adopt global brand to

Victam International 2011 saw the launch of Cultura Technologies. The newly named company brings together five leading Agri-Food software organisations: Cal Software, BMS Computer Solutions and Kinross Software (KSL) of the United Kingdom, AGRIS Inc and ExtendAg of the United States. Bringing together these companies and their strengths further solidifies all that We are pleased to announce Cultura is. The organisation this merger to all our believes in strong customer customers in Europe, Africa relationships and that the and the Middle East as it will strength of its people and facilitate greater efficiencies their expertise can make within our business and as such the difference in delivering will allow us to reflect such technology solutions that benefits when dealing with enable Agri-Food businesses your requirements. to efficiently produce, Should you have any process and deliver quality questions or require further food and bio-products. clarification, please contact “With this rebrand to a m e m b e r o f t h e S at a ke Cultura Technologies, management team or refer we aim to strengthen to the website www.satakecollaboration between europe.com our global businesses and

strengthen geographic reach a nd e x pe r t ise of fe red t o companies in the agriculture and food industry.

Merger of ESM (UK) Ltd and Satake Europe Ltd

atake Corporation is pleased to announce the merger of its vision systems business trading as ESM (UK) Ltd and its cereal milling engineering business trading as Satake Europe Ltd into a single company. The name of ESM (UK) Ltd is now redundant and the newly combined businesses will trade under the name of Satake Europe Ltd. Satake Europe Ltd is a division of Satake USA Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Satake Corporation, Japan.

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our commitment to product innovation creating long-term value for customers, employees, and our owners,” stated Jim Baker, president of Cultura Technologies. Cultura is all about connecting people and processes across the broader Agri-Food supply chain, helping to nurture Agri-Food advancement through technology. Cultura’s name has its roots in the Latin word “agricultura” -- which means agriculture – and “cultivate” – which is to foster growth or development. We are Cultura Technologies. We bring Agri-Food solutions to life. More

information:

Meaghan Wilkinson, Cultura Technologies, 5800 Explorer Drive, 5th Floor, Mississauga, ON, L4W 5K9, Canada Tel: +1 647 8012945 Email: meaghan.wilkinson@culturatech.com Website: www.culturatech.com

May - June 2011 | 5

May - June 2011

NEWS

More exact bulk materials dosing with innovative Batch Controller

riedrich electronic GmbH & Co KG from Lollar, Germany invented a new generation of Batch Controllers. Besides operation in several industry

installations, the new system just finished a two-month test run under conditions reflecting industrial reality. The tested machine version reached a measuring tolerance of +/- 0,5 percent at homogenous bulky material with constant flow weight. Therefore, it is especially suitable for the loading of lose bulk solids to trucks, wagons or ships, for example in grain mills and other foodstuffs and animal feed industry facilities. By exact dosing, both over- and under-loading is avoided. The transport to be filled is used to capacity without the risk of having to laboriously unload the material exceeding the maximum quantity. Additionally, the Batch Controller can ideally

be used at batch-wise mixing of bulky materials. At this, different products are dosed to one mixer from different silo cells, after the charges h ave bee n

calculated in compliance with the mixture ratio. Every single component is dosed to the mixing unit with maximum ef f iciency and af ter wards homogenized in the mixer. Purchase of a hopper scale as well as complex suspension of the mixer in load cells are therefore becoming needless. In addition to exact dosing of e.g. different grains, grist and food pellets, the real strength of the new Batch Controller is its operation flexibility. Thanks to the very low housing it can be integrated without problems in any process -

even in most of the existing plants – simply by installing the system between silo and conveyor. It even provides the possibility of installation at a 45°

inclination. The only precondition is a product reservoir above the machine, p r ov i d i n g t h e d o s i n g a t maximum performance out of the full material. The design of the dosing system is kept very simple and based on an approved combination of pneumatic flat slide at the inlet and a specially embedded baffle scale, making the machine remarkably reliable and low-maintenance. For easy installation, Friedrich electronic offers different ve r s i o n s o f t h e s y s t e m .

Customers may choose between normal or stainless steel housings with flange or flare fittings at different housing heights (120, 150, 200 or 250 mm). T h e m a n u f ac t ur i n g company is located north of Frankfurt, constructing and building state-ofthe-art weighing systems for more than 20 years n o w. D o s i n g systems like the new Batch Controller, which are designed under a “functionality through simplicity” premise, are completing t h e c o m p a n y ’s portfolio for about six ye ar s . Tod ay, Friedrich electronic is holding a worldwide sales n e t wo r k s u p p o r t i n g t h e German’s formula for success. More

information:

Friedrich electronic GmbH & Co. KG Holzmühlerweg 100 D-35457 Lollar Germany Tel: +49 6406 1509 Fax: +49 6406 6602 Email: service@friedrichelectronic.de Website: www.friedrichelectronic.de

New version of moisture sensor from IntelScan

ntelscan is a leading supplier of on-line moisture sensors and water control systems for animal feed, pet food and fish feed industries. A new version of the iScan moisture sensor was introduced at the Victam International exhibition in Cologne, Germany. The new version answers strict demands from customers for increased reliability, robust design and highest industrial standards. Wit h new and im proved

6 | May - June 2011

WAG O a n a l o g u e digit al conver ter, which is used in high vibration industrial environments such as in ships and trains, t h e n ew ve r si o n of the iScan moisture sensor is able to meet toughest demands. Control of automatic water dosing, for example, is considerably improved with the new iScan version. The operation of the sensor can

now be controlled directly with a PC in the control room. Robust and reliable Ethernet connection enables remote control of the sensor and secures better service. Furthermore, the new version offers almost unlimited flexibility in communicating with existing control systems in

any factory environment. When needed, automatic switching of calibrations to ensure optimum performance is now a reality. More

information:

Audun Georg Olafsson Intelscan Impra, Keldnaholti 112 Reykjavik Iceland Tel: +354 5707100 Email: audun@intelscan.is www.intelscan.is

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News

May - June 2011

NEWS

Novus commemorates the expansion of its LEED Silver Certified Manufacturing Facility

xpanding capability to serve customers, adding New Little Rock jobs, increasing production Novus International, Inc cut the ribbon commemorating the opening of its newly expanded Novus Arkansas facility in Little Rock. The Novus Arkansas site was developed in the Little Rock Riverport Industrial Park in 2006 to manufacture MHA® feed supplement, a dry, granular powder that provides an effective and environmentally friendly source of methionine, an essential amino acid in premixes and farm feed mills. MHA provides benefits to laying hens and other livestock and companion animals. The new expansion features a 45,000 square foot manufacturing facility for MINTREX®, a unique line of chelated trace mineral products for aquaculture, poultry, pork, beef, dairy and pet nutrition.

Chelated trace mineral technology enables farmers to reduce their levels of mineral inclusion, thus saving money and reducing waste to the environment. The Novus Arkansas facility has received numerous safety and health certifications, including: FAMI-QS, an industry standard for hygiene and feed safety; Safe Feed-Safe Food from the American Feed Industry Association; ISO 9002 certification, the international standard for quality management systems; and, European HACCP. Additionally, the expanded facility earned Silver LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED Certification is the internationally recognized standard for green building certification. Environmentally conscious features of the facility include: w ater re - use , renew able energy sources, use of recycled

materials, management of construction waste, indoor environmental quality and a number of other factors which reduce the environmental impact and enhance the human health environment. “Novus’s vision is to ‘help feed the world affordable, wholesome food and achieve a higher quality of life,” said Thad Simons, president and CEO, Novus International, Inc during the ceremony. “We believe that a culture that emphasizes sustainability will help us achieve our global vision. “Our decision to invest in a facility that is geared towards reducing our environmental footprint underscores Novus’ commitment to creating environmental, social and economic sustainability in Arkansas and the communities we serve around the world,” Simons said. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe, who addressed an audience of about 300 attendees at the event,

said Arkansas is one of a handful of states whose economy has remained strong. “We have succeeded because the state has focused its efforts on attracting jobs like these we are announcing today,'' Beebe said. The new facility, located on a 53-acre parcel in the Little Rock Riverport industrial park, will employ more than 40 workers -- an increase of over 30 new employees. Novus has nearly 1,000 employees worldwide serving more than 3,000 customers across 100 countries. The products from Novus Arkansas will ship to more than 60 countries around the world. More

information:

Tricia Beal Novus International, Inc 20 Research Park Drive St Charles, MO 63304 USA Tel: +1 314 6200024 Email: tricia.beal@novusint.com

The Hydro-Probe II Moisture Sensor Measures Moisture & Reduces Cost

The Hydro-Probe II digital microwave moisture sensor provides accurate and cost effective moisture control in feed meals and pellets, grain, cereal and pulses:

• • • • •

Monitor and adjust moisture levels in real time Reduce energy costs during the drying process Reduce waste and improve quality Suitable for bins, silos, conveyors and chutes Not affected by dust or colour

enquiries@hydronix.com

www.hydronix.com

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May - June 2011 | 7

Grain

GFMT quarter page vertical 105 x 147 plus 3mm bleed.indd 1

21/04/2010 09:56:21

FEATURE

Choosing the right

HAZARD MONITORING SYSTEM W by Simone Biock Braime Elevator Components Ltd

he n 4 B int roduced t he ir Wat c hdog E lite bucke t elevator monitoring system in the early 1980’s, they were the first on the market to offer a system that could monitor a complete bucket elevator or conveyor system. No more need to monitor different hazards separately. Taking the hassle out of hazard monitoring, the Watchdog Elite has quickly established itself as the industry reference in hazard monitoring.

“what should customers look out for when selecting a system to monitor their bucket elevators and conveyors?” Today, there are a number of systems on the market, and customers may find it more difficult to establish which system is best for them. When you add up all the additional costs of adding sensors and servicing the system, then this decision becomes even more complicated. And when you consider the cost of the potential downtime and even damage, then it is absolutely crucial to get this decision right! So what should customers look out for when selecting a system to monitor their bucket elevators and conveyors? 8 | May - June 2011

Scalability:

Make sure that the system is able to grow with your operations. You might just want to monitor one elevator, for a start, but what happens if you want to monitor an additional elevator, or if you want to add more sensors to the monitoring system?

Sensor options and interfaces: What hazards is the system able to monitor? Belt and pulley misalignment? Underspeed & Overspeed? Belt slippage? Blocked chute condition? Bearing temperature? – And what is the choice of compatible sensors? Do you have to use the supplier’s range of sensors, and are they up for the job? Does it have a communication interface, to be connected to a PLC or PC?

User friendliness and support: How easy is the system to use for the people who have to operate it? Is there an in-built test and diagnostic function? And how are

potential hazards displayed and identified? Is there a well-documented instruction manual available? Does the supplier offer a commissioning service? And what level of support can you expect, if there is a problem?

Table 1:

T500 Elite

Watchdog Elite

Bearing temperature

(continuous) max. 256 sensors*

(continuous) max. 6 sensors

Belt speed

(continuous) max. 256 sensors*

(continuous) max. 1 sensors

Belt alignment max. 256 sensors*

max. 4 sensors (Touchswitch)



RS485 API

Test function



Alarm & shutdown function



Logging & trending software



Plugged condition Communication interfaces

Applications

Certifications

Multiple elevators & conveyors; Several elevators remote monitoring & conveyors across site ATEX CSA IECEx

ATEX CSA IECEx

* total number of sensors, all sensors combined

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FEATURE

ATEX, CSA and IECEx certification

Compliance: Does the system have the necessary hazardous area approvals for the region where it is to be used: ATEX for Europe, CSA for North America & Canada and IECEx for the rest of the world? At 4B, 25 years of experience have shown that there is no “one size fits all” hazard monitoring system. The company’s approach to product development is very much bottom-up through discussions with the end-user upwards, rather than salesdriven. And it is this industry driven approach to product development that has led the engineering team to develop two distinctive multi-function hazard monitoring systems, each of them well researched and tested and using the same high quality components, but different in the variety of sensor options and the scope of the applications they can cover.

The T500 Elite Hotbus System This is 4B’s top of the range system, able to monitor entire plants where the bucket elevators and conveyors being monitored are spread out across large distances. A multi-function hazard monitor, it can monitor belt speed/alignment, bearing temperature, pulley alignment and plug condition. It has been designed as a serial communication system, to monitor up to 256 sensors, with a scan time of only 4 seconds! With automatic machine shutdown capability and PLC / PC compatibility, this advanced microprocessor based system offers low cost installation, versatility and easy system expansion. Logging and trending software is also available for historic data analysis and preventative and predictive machine maintenance.

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The Watchdog Elite System A well proven multi-functional hazard monitor for bucket elevators and conveyors, the Watchdog Elite has recently been relaunched with continuous bearing temperature monitoring. The Watchdog Elite allows complete monitoring of multiple hazards in a bucket elevator or conveyor, including belt and pulley alignment (top and bottom), bearing temperature, belt speed and blocked chute conditions. The Watchdog Elite system uses a range of compatible sensors to monitor different hazards, such as the belt misalignment sensors “Touchswitch”, BAP2” and WDA3”, the WDB bearing temperature sensors and the “Binswitch” capacitive sensor. An LCD screen displays elevator status messages (available in four different languages) and a super-bright LED screen displays belt speed. RS485 communication is also available for connection to plant computers / PLCs. Calibration and parameter adjustment are all menudriven and kept simple. The system is ATEX, CSA and IECEx certified. 4B has an

extensive range of CSA / ATEX / IECEx approved sensors that work with these control units, including bearing temperature sensors, speed sensors, misalignment switches, level indicators and choke switches. The range is constantly evolving to offer customers the best technical standard. 4B’s technical team can recommend the ideal combination of sensors and monitoring systems to suit their customers’ requirements and budget. They can also offer a scalable solution starting with carefully chosen equipment and systems that can be expanded at a later date to encompass other machines in the plant. 4B also offers a commissioning service as well as competent after-sales technical service to help customers overcome any technical problems with their monitoring equipment.

information:

Braime Elevator Components Ltd Hunslet Road Leeds, LS10 1JZ United Kingdom Email: 4b-uk@go4b.com Website: www.go4b.com

May - June 2011 | 9

FEATURE

Synthesis of animal feed formulation techniques:

Linear and Non-Linear model by Dr Pratiksha, Assistant Professor, School of Applied Sciences, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, India

t is well known fact that nutrition is the most important factor for animal growth, reproduction and proper maintenance.

Levels of nutrients

and micro nutrients (that is, two percent A lot of work has been done in the area calcium or vitamin A deficient). Two types of formulations are used in of finding different levels of nutrient ingredient in diet and formulation. On the basis of diets; fixed formulation and variable formulapercentage of nutrient level, components are tion. Fixed formulations are used for the diets where the ingredient composition is Dietary information is essential for con- included in animal diet. ducting research and performing experiNo one feed ingredient can supply all of known and is not altered. It decreases the ments. The diet should supply all the essen- the nutrients and energy need for the best amount of variation in dietary constituents tial nutrients and adequate amount of energy growth. Diet should contain a mixture of that could jeopardise experimental results or to satisfy requirement for body growth, well feedstuffs, vitamin and mineral premixes that have a negative influence on the well being health conditions and animal yields. provide the right essential nutrients as well of animals. To assure nutrient specifications, ingrediAnother important aspect of diet is to as the energy necessary to use the nutrients. maintain environmental and flesh quality. The amount of each feed ingredient ent standards for nutrient concentrations are A number of feeding standards have been depends on several factors, including nutrient established prior to the procurement of the defined and practiced for a long time. requirements, ingredient cost, availability of ingredients. Dietary contaminants are conConventional and non-conventional feed each ingredient, and processing character- trolled by procuring ingredients according to strict contaminant standards and by testing resources are used to formulate the diet for istics. ruminant livestock in developing countries. For formulating diets for experimental ingredients for contaminants of concern. Variable formulations may allow for While formulating the diet, tendency is to purposes, it is necessary that all ingredients changes in ingredient composition or conreject the poor quality feeds that are avail- are controlled for all essential nutrients. able in vast quantities. But, under practical conditions, such a centration. These changes in formulations The objective is to use locally available control is difficult to set forth and mostly could lead to the incorporation of lower feed resources effectively by applying basic restricted to rapid proximate composition quality, less costly ingredients, where undenutrition principles to optimise animal yield, analyses. Specific attention should however sirable, non-assayed components, such phyhealth and weight. The alternative approach be given to obtain guarantees for absence of toestrogens, may be introduced. Variable formulated diet makes necesis to use feeding standards that would ensure anti-nutritional factors. that the production system matches the Diet given to laboratory animal may be sary adjustments according to raw material of two types: Natural Ingredients macronutrient variability, which could cause or Purified Ingredients. Natural significant variation in the finished product. Example 1: Example to formulate a linear ingredient diets support reproduc- The largest volume of laboratory animal diet programming model for the diet formulation. tion, growth, and maintenance of produced is comprised of agricultural comNutrient A B C D laboratory animals. Purified diets modities like corn, wheat, plant by-products, are made of refined ingredients to soybean meal, oats, alfalfa meal, and animal Gram 70 30 20 4 minimise nutrient variation, certain derived ingredients such as fish meal and environmental contaminants and meat and bone meal. the presence of active compounds naturally available resources. The diets should be formulated so as it occurring in plants. There are different methods to Generally, purified diets are used for diet formulate animal diet contain all essential nutrients in adequate quantities. The diet should be supplied in a formulation as they can be manipulated to Diet formulation includes balance mixform, which is easily accepted by the cultivat- contain very high or low levels of specific mac- ture of ingredients which are economically ed animal and should have little adverse envi- ro-nutrironmental impact. The strategy of choosing ents (that Example 2: The ingredients have the following nutrient values and cost the feed ingredients is based on locally is, 60 peravailable feed resources and it requires the cent of A B C D Cost/Kg. understanding of the relative roles and nutri- kcal from ent needs of the two-compartment system fat or six Ingredient 1 (gram/kg) 140 90 40 ---50 represented by the microorganisms in the percent Ingredient 2(gram/kg) 200 120 20 30 60 protein) rumen and the host animal. 10 | May - June 2011

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FEATURE

sustainable and provides nutrient and energy requirements of a given species for a given response. The reliability of knowledge on the quality of ingredients and the constraints; both have an impact on the quality of diet formulation. Reliable and updated database on chemical composition, physical characteristics and bioavailability information on feed ingredients is essential for diet formulation. Including all the information diet is formulated to achieve the objective of least cost with adequate nutrients. There are three important aspects while considering the diet formulation, cost, nutrient level and ingredients limit. • Different kinds of conventional methods to formulate the diets are: • Trial-and-error method • Two by two matrix method • Square method • Simultaneous equation method • Least cost formulation • Linear programming method • Two-by-two matrix method solves

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two nutrient requirements using two different feed ingredients. A two-by-two matrix is set and a series of equations are established to find the solution of the problem. Square method is relatively easy and simple to work on. It is used with only two nutrient ingredients. To use this method, level of nutrient being computed should be intermediate between the nutrient concentrations of the two feed ingredients being used. This method is used to satisfy only one nutrient requirement. This method has limited use as it is based on certain limitations. Simultaneous equation method is also has limited use, because it is used for two nutrient ingredient combination diet. It uses simple algebraic method to solve these equations. Trial and error method is generally used to formulate rations for swine and poultry. This method tries different diets and manipulates it until the nutrient requirements of the animal are met. This method makes possible the formulation of a ration that meets all

the nutrient requirements of the animal. But in practice, it is really not possible to use it always, as it is a time and money consuming method. Linear programming method is widely used for animal diet formulation. It is a method to determine the least cost combination of ingredients using a series of mathematical equations. This method provides a number of possible solutions to each series of equations, but when the factor of cost is applied, there can only be one least cost combination. This method is in practice for a long time to give solutions to the problem of diet formulation considering the cost factor associated with it. Before using this technique for ration formulation, certain information should be available about the important nutrient ingredient to be included in diet. First, all available ingredients should be listed with associated cost factor. Tables representing the nutrient composition of

May - June 2011 | 11

FEATURE

feed ingredients should be analysed properly. Nutrient levels are estimated from a variety of sources including published commodity compendium data, wet chemistry testing of raw materials and finished product testing. Nutrient losses due to heat treatment and mechanical processes during manufacturing, or post-production effects of irradiation or autoclaving are not routinely taken into consideration in these estimates. After this nutrient requirement for the particular species and ingredient limitation should be given proper consideration. After collecting all the necessary information, a

A nutrition program was developed for high producing dairy herds to attain efficient and profitable levels of milk production [Sklan, D. and Dariel, I., 1993]. A model was developed to represent the efficiency of nutrient use and its relationship to profitability on dairy farms [Tedeschi, L. O, 2004]. A cost analysis spreadsheet and validation of that spreadsheet on milking and custom heifer operations was developed [Guevara V.R., 2004]. Lead factors are used in computerised ration formulation programs developed at Virginia Tech to increase milk production above a herd or group average for which total mixed rations are formulated for group feedTable 1: Crude protein (CP) ing [Stallings, C. CP level Ingredients C; Mcgilliard, M. L]. Chance constrained program<25% Whole cereals, pulses, oil seeds ming is used to 25-50% Oil seed meals formulate comAnimal by-products (meat meal, blood meal), plant mercial feeds for >50% protein concentrates, isolates, extractives animals [Britt, J. S; Thomas, R. C; mathematical model is derived with Linear Speer, N. C; Hall, M. B., 2003]. Programming specifications. Now method of A stochastic-linear program Excel workLPP is used to solve it and it provides solu- book was developed that consisted of two tion for the feed mixture. worksheets illustrating linear and stochastic Let us consider an example to formulate program approaches. a linear programming model for the diet Both approaches used the Excel Solver formulation. Suppose 1 kg of feed mix must add-in. Excel spreadsheet was set up so that the contain a minimum quantity of each of four calculated margin of safety (MOS) value, accordnutrients as in Example 1: ing to the requested probability, was the same Now objective is to find the amounts of for both the linear and stochastic programs. active ingredients and filler in one kg of feed A multiple-objective programming (MOP) mix. Now it is considered as one kg of feed model was applied to the feed formulation mix is made up of three parts - ingredient 1, process with the objectives of minimising ingredient 2 and filler so let: nutrient variance and minimising rations cost. A study was conducted to introduce a dual model in an original linear program to obtain the shadow prices of resources that x1 = amount (kg) of ingredient 1 in take part in optimisation, in feed formulation. one kg of feed mix The shadow prices of nutrients resourced x2 = amount (kg) of ingredient 2 in showed degrees of influence of a diet's least one kg of feed mix cost when increasing or decreasing expected x3 = amount (kg) of filler in one kg of diet nutrient ‘b’ values of a diet. feed mix The higher the shadow prices of a nutriwhere x1 ≥ 0, x2 ≥ 0 and x3 ≥ 0 ent resource, the more obvious its influence on least cost. When the shadow price of a Now the nutrient constraints are set up kind of resource equals to zero, it means that reaching this nutrient value does not have an according to given information as And the objective function is to minimise:. influence on a special diet least cost within It represents formulation of a complete a particular ‘b’ value. This paper also discusses the development of direction of feed linear diet model. formulation-optimizing techniques in China [Xiong BenHai, Luo QingYao, Pang ZhiHong]. Well-balanced ration The importance of Non-linear Programming A number of models have been derived for different objective of study and con- Applications is growing due to rapidly increasing sophistication of managers and operation strains. The LP model can be solved for a com- researchers in implementing decision oriented plicated set of nutrient requirements to give mathematical models, as well as to the growing a relatively well-balanced ration [VandeHaar availability of computer routines capable of solving large-scale nonlinear problems. and Black, M. J., 1991]. While formulating a mathematical model The principal objective in the application of LP to feed formulation is the production related to real life problems, many different of least cost rations that will produce satisfac- situations lead to non-linear formulation of constraints and objective function. tory results. 12 | May - June 2011

The application of non-linear programming to the field of animal nutrition is growing day-by-day. The main goal in making feedstuffs is to increase profits of animal production by increasing the nutritional value of the feedstuff or a mixture of feedstuffs. Feedstuffs containing 20 percent crude protein or more are considered protein supplements. Protein supplements may be classified as animal or plant proteins. Animal proteins are generally considered to be higher quality than plant proteins. The main plant protein sources used in catfish feeds are oilseed meals, such as soybean meal, cottonseed meal, and peanut meal. Some other oilseed meals could be used but are not generally available on a timely basis and at an economical cost per unit of protein. Table 1 represents levels of crude protein in different meals.

Vitamins and minerals Vitamin and mineral premixes are generally added to feeds. They provide more vitamins and minerals than what is needed for growth to make up for any losses that may occur during feed manufacture or storage. They are made from high quality ingredients, using forms of vitamins and minerals which animal can readily digest. The rate of growth and the efficiency with which the nutrients are utilized mainly depend on three factors, which may be used to maximize it8. Accounting all these facts, weight gain of an animal depends upon: Digestible crude protein Total digestible nutrient Digestible dry matter Metabolic weight is used as a base for whole of the calculations. Moir had earlier reported that a level between 200 and 300K. Cal DE per Kg0.75 is generally encountered while studying the intake in growing animals. A non-linear model is defined as: To maximize Subject to: I=1,2,3,…………….m, j=1,2,3,……….l Where f(x), g(x) and h(x) are functions defined on, X is a subset of and x is a vector of n components.

Optimising feed for weight gain Non-linear programming is used to maximise the body weight of sheep under the given experimental conditions and satisfying NRC feeding standards (Pratiksha, 2006). To sum up, an effort has been made to give a new dimension to the already existing multi-dimensional non-linear models and its use to formulate a real-world problem of optimising the feed in terms of weight gain of the animal and to solve it as well. This objective supports the all over effect of nutrient ingredients simultaneously on the animal yield and weight gain of an animal. It has already been accepted that non-linear programming has a great deal of future prospects as it has direct practical utility in the field of animal nutrition.

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Pellet production to save energy, improve feed efficiency and safety

by Murray Hyden C Biol, Technical Director/Director of Biosecurity, Kiotechagil

rity

he use of pelleted feeds is now almost universal for meat producing animals or wherever biosecuis a paramount concern.

The efficiency of the pelleting process has a huge impact of feedmill profitability and throughput and with 90 percent of animal feed in Europe being pelleted every feedmill should be monitoring pellet efficiency. From a production point of view, pelleting feeds increases the bulk density of the ration, allowing more tonnage to be delivered per truck. This saves on space and transport costs. 14 | May - June 2011

Pelleted feeds are easy to handle in bulk or in bags and save time at the mill and during delivery operations because they have enhanced flow properties that allow for good conveying by screw augers, as well as improved discharge behaviour from feed bins due to reduced bridging compared to mash. Generally, it is only in layers where mash feeds are still used and this is primarily to prevent overconsumption of nutrients.

Pellets have other advantages Pelleted feed is for example nutritionally consistent from pellet to pellet with each pellet containing the correct balance of amino acids, minerals and vitamins. Pelleted

feeds provide no opportunity for ingredient selection during consumption by fussy feeders and there is less wastage with pelleted feeds. Pelleted feeds are also more digestible as a result of starch pre-gelatinisation and protein denaturation. And, it has also been reported in pigs that an additional benefit of pelleting is that a finer grist size can be used and this has also been found to increase digestibility. Responses in weight gain and feed efficiency of birds fed pelleted diets is substantially improved when the pellet quality is good. While it has been suggested that the improvement in performance is solely the result of increased diet digestibility due

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to the heat treatment involved, research has shown that when pelleted diets are re-ground to the consistency of mash, the growth response to pelleting is eliminated. As long ago as 1978, Proudfoot and Sefton reported that body weight and monetary returns were inversely related to the proportion of fines in finisher diets and the same is true today. The benefits of pelleted feeding may be attributable to the fact that birds fed pelleted diets expend less energy to consume the same level of nutrients as those fed mash

feeds. Early observations showed that birds could consume their dietary requirements in four percent of the day when fed pellets compared with 15 percent of the day when fed mash feeds. In pig production, the heat treatment during pelleting improves the digestibility of maize, which can result in a six-to-eight percent improvement in daily gain and feed conversion. Secondary, benefits of pelleting are that the temperature and moisture improves digestibility and more recently this benefit

has been further enhanced by using the new thermally stable feed enzymes that are added to the feed before pelleting as opposed to the more traditional post pellet applications. The Kiotechagil Feedzyme enzymes for example are inherently stable, without encapsulation, at temperatures up to 95°C in the conditioner before pelleting. This gives them a head-start on traditional enzymes. However, probably the best know indirect benefit of pelleting is biosecurity. Most of the common pathogens such as salmonella, Escherichia and Campylobacter are

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non-spore forming bacteria and are therefore sensitive to heat. The temperature required is often not as high as expected with S. typhimurium being killed after just 10 seconds at 70°C but requiring seven minutes at 60°C. None-the-less, pelleting is a very high energy process (and is becoming more so with energy prices increasing). The use of high quality pellet binders can reduce energy requirements in three ways. 1 Poor pellet quality results in higher

“Selecting the right pellet binder is cost effective in so many ways and can be a real benefit in terms of digestibility, biosecurity and mill throughput thus making a quality pellet binder pay for itself many times over” fines levels and more returns, which is energetically inefficient 2 Pellet binders help lubricate the die which reduces energy requirements as well as increasing mill throughput. Lubricating dies minimises wear so they should last for 25,000–30,000 tonnes with just one refurbishment. Changing dies takes upwards of two hours during which time the line cannot operate 3 Pellet quality can be enhanced at lower temperatures that still permit the biosecurity benefits but where starch gelatinisation may not be sufficient on its own to improve pellet quality. This saves energy and speeds up throughput 16 | May - June 2011

Feed formulation plays a major part in final pellet quality and high protein cereals such as wheat will contribute more to pellet quality than maize, oats or barley. Dietary fat is known to have an inverse relationship with pellet quality, hence the use of post pellet fat spraying for certain rations. When fat is incorporated into the feed the added fat coats starch granules and prevents water uptake, which in turn impairs the heat transfer necessary for gelatinisation. When high levels of dietary fat are used or when maize is the primary cereal in the ration formulation, traditional binders such as thixotropic bentonite clays or lignosulphonates (the waste product from the wood pulping process to manufacture paper) have been used to improve pellet quality. However, neither of these binders provides any substantial nutritional value to the diet. In fact, both these ingredients are incorporated at high inclusion rates and actually dilute the nutrient content of the feed resulting in more expensive raw material usage to compensate. Reduced fines and improved digestibility lead on to further improvements that are often overlooked. For example, improved feed conversion and nutrient utilisation reduces the volume of excreta which benefits the environment, so we have less feed being used to improve growth rates and improvements to the environment. With cereal prices ever increasing in price the temptation to use more co-products, such as DDGS from bioethanol production, is much greater. However, DDGS inclusion can result in reduced pellet quality, which is because the main binding agent, starch, has been removed to produce ethanol. Whilst enzyme systems have been developed to

improve the digestibility of the DDGS, a pellet binder is often required to achieve a suitable pellet quality from this high fibre ingredient. A low inclusion binder, like Kiotechagil Mastercube, can really help overcome many of the problems associated with the feed formulation and can also help overcome some of the engineering shortfalls such as short conditioners or poor steam quality. One other important factor of pellet binders is that they help maintain pellet quality during seasonal changes in raw material quality. The pelletability of freshly harvested cereals is often quite different to the last of the previous harvest grains. Simply adding water to the grist may exacerbate problems at the pellet press and the use of a pellet binder can help overcome the problems. The selection of a low inclusion binder has the advantage in that it minimises the impact of nutrient density so feed costs can be maintained. Mastercube, unlike some binders, is also a useful calcium source so it can easily be incorporated into the ration formulation programmes. Remember that without a pellet binder fines can be a real problem and fines returns at the feedmill do not just mean expensive double pelleting for the returned material but also a reduced throughput at the mill. Pellet breakage during transport and storage is also wasteful. A pellet binder must do more than simply bind the grist at the die, it must also confer an increased pellet hardness to enable pellets to be blown, augured and transported without being crushed. Mastercube is both a binder and a hardener and it uses only EU approved ingredients. The primary binder is a natural plant gum that is tested to comply with EU standards and the hardener is a high quality calcium sulphate, which is approved as a nutrient and has a dual function as a calcium source and a hardener. A feedmill operating efficiently and dust free is a pleasant place to work. It is safe for the operators and easier to keep clean. Fines, settling as dust on floors and equipment, will soon pick up moisture and will become a habitat for enteropathogens. The requirement therefore for pellet binders that do not compromise nutrient density is even more important today than it was just a few years ago. The modern breeds used in production have been heavily selected for maximizing feed intake and the response to pelleted diets is likely to be much more significant than was reported just twenty or thirty years ago. Selecting the right pellet binder is cost effective in so many ways and can be a real benefit in terms of digestibility, biosecurity and mill throughput thus making a quality pellet binder pay for itself many times over.

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FEATURE

Conditioning as part of the pelleting process

The global go-getters at Van Aarsen are ready and willing to assist in optimising processes, resulting in higher returns and more ease in operation by Harold Schroijen, Van Aarsen International, The Netherlands

hile conditioning is a process that has kept the attention of the modern feed milling industry for some time now, the pelleting process of press meal is a subject that is no longer considered to be very important. It needs to be understood that feed milling is about the balance between the different processes being used. As one process is linked to another, it is difficult to discuss only one process without having to take another into consideration. The following is a discussion of two processes, which interact frequently with one another and also with all the other processes used in feed milling. Conditioning Conditioning is a process in the feed milling industry, which takes place from intake to out-loading. However, in many cases when referring to conditioning, it is the treatment of press meal prior to the pelleting process that is meant. Conditioning of press meal is a process with the variables time, humidity, temperature and pressure. Pressure is only used in unconventional processes where expander 18 | May - June 2011

or extruder techniques are being used. In the conventional conditioning process, only time, humidity and temperature are applicable. Whereas in the past the aim of conditioning was to optimise the pelleting process, nowadays it is much more the intention to optimise the nutritional and physical quality of the feed. When using the variables in the conventional conditioning process, it should first need to be understood that temperature and humidity are related as steam is generally used to increase the temperature of the press meal. Furthermore, there is also a maximum level of humidity of the press meal in order to avoid blockages of the pellet press. In general it can be said that the maximum percentage of steam that can be added to the press meal is approximately maximum five percent and for each percentage of dry steam added, the temperature of the press meal will increase by approximately 15 degrees Celsius. Of course, the steam quality is influential and the above mentioned values are only applicable when a good quality steam is being used. Besides steam quality, the influence of the humidity of raw materials as

well as the feed composition are of great importance. Steam quality and steam quantity control are subjects enough alone to warrant further discussion, however, in many practical cases, steam quality and steam control are subjects that are not usually given the attention they need in order to optimise the conditioning process. As temperature and humidity are strongly related, the actual variable available in a conventional conditioning process is time. It should, however, be kept in mind that the conditioning process is an optimisation and not a maximzation. Where single conditioners were a common choice for quite a number of years, now double and even triple conditioners are being used prior to the pelleting process. Conditioning times lasted, in most cases, less than a minute and more importantly these types of conditioners did not guarantee the ‘first-in, first-out’ principle. For many years, the only conventional conditioning process that could guarantee a given time and that extended a maximum retention time of one minute, while also guaranteeing ‘first-in, first-out’,were ripeners; a kind of cooking vessel which has been in the feed milling industry for over 20 years and in many varieties.

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PUB85x254-T5X

The main concern when using the ripeners in the feed milling industry is contamination but when much longer conditioning times (that is >4 minutes) are required, the ripeners are still a valid option. As already stated the conditioning process is about optimisation and therefore the time factor is mainly determined by the conditioning temperature and the formulation. The temperature level can be varied according to the retention time in order to avoid destructive effects on the nutrients in the feed (that is protein de-naturation). Whereas the formulation has an influence on the retention time meaning that the optimum availability of nutrients in the feed can be reached as well as optimising the physical quality of the pellets. Recently other aspects have had to be taken into account due to consumer concerns, for instance salmonella. Also this needs to be considered and treated in the conditioning process. Therefore, the new generation of conventional conditioners (without using pressure) are focussing on the variables time, temperature and humidity where time is maximized to four minutes at temperatures of approximately 85 degrees Celsius and capacities of up to 20tph. These types of conditioners should guarantee a ‘first-in, first-out’ while also guaranteeing retention time. The principle is rather simple as generally the feed is brought up to the required temperature by means of steam and subsequently transferred into a large screw conveyor in which the speed of the mash is determined by a frequency controller. The screw conveyor is steam or electrically heated and insulated. So, by means of the filling degree and the frequency (at a certain pitch of the screw), retention time can be guaranteed. For those involved with feed milling practises, it is well known that there are a few concerns. Firstly, the height of installation for this new generation of conditioners is not often available. For this reason, Van Aarsen

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International BV in the Netherlands is able to position the conditioner beside the Long Time Conditioner (LTC). The second concern is the control of the pelleting process because the long retention time leads to a delayed reaction of the pellet press on changed variables. This complicates the matter even further due to the fact that the pellet mill cannot be fed directly from the retention time screw. Some suppliers therefore use small intermediate bins between the retention time screw and the pellet press with a feeding screw for the pelletpress below the bin, leading possibly to contamination as well as loss of temperature. Once again more height is required and control becomes even more to maintain due to the use of buffer bins.

28/01/10

14:22

PageFEATURE 1

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FEATURE

Automotive Industry

In order to avoid this, Van Aarsen has integrated a feeding device in the Long Time Conditioner, facilitating the control and the required height is easily a few less meters. All these features have been integrated into one conventional conditioner, which is called the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Conditioner LTCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. For a standard control a PLC is integrated into the pelleting line control system and for a more sophisticated control a PressM@ nager, the Van Aarsen pelleting line automation based on remote I/O with intelligence (meaning the system is capable of achieving even higher goals than a well-trained pellet mill operator).

Pelleting After conditioning of the press meal either the mash is cooled when heat-treated mash is required (for instance breeders) or, in most cases, the pelleting process starts. The pelleting process also has an effect on the nutritional as well as the physical quality of the feed. Experience has shown that it is not only the capacity of the pellet mill but the formulation, die specifications as well as the required pellet quality are also aspects that should be taken into account. Where a Van Aarsen C900 is producing 45tph in South America, the same machine is capable of reaching a capacity of 18tph in a Dutch environment. The big 20 | May - June 2011

difference can be explained by formulation, die specifications and the required pellet quality. Also a proper conditioning process influences the output of the pellet mill. However, the figures above are based on the same conditioning process. Of course, the pellet mill has a number of variables that can be used to optimise the process. These variables vary from speed of the die to hydraulic roller adjustment and should only be used when the influence of these options are thoroughly understood by the operating personnel. This practical know- how could also be delivered by an intelligent pelleting line automation system such as PressM@nager. This system is capable of combining the different variables in order to optimise the process. However, before continuing the pelleting process, a small note needs to be made about the dies being used. As dies of reputable suppliers are generally all of the same material, which is completely hardened, difference is generally found in the open area surface - OAS (that is, the number of holes), which, of course, is related to the capacity of the pellet mill. Therefore when comparing dies, the aspects that need to be considered are the types of material to be used, the hardness and whether surface hardening or complete hardening will be used, the number of

holes or the open area surface (OAS) and the wall thickness of the die including possible counter-drill. When discussing capacity, using the same formulation and the required pellet quality, the die surface of the Building & Chemical (with the Construction pellet millIndustry Industry same OAS) and the die thickness are the major factors influencing capacity. These together with the drive installed, determine the KW per cm2, which is a factor to be considered when researching the operational costs. Practical trials carried out under 100 percent identical circumstances, have indicated that differences in operational costs among different types of pellet mills can vary up to EUR50.000 per year which are, of course, significant figures but realistic nevertheless. Van Aarsen pellet mills are well know for their design criteria, a huge die surface and low die speed so that an acceptable capacity is reached while still maintaining focus on pellet quality (which is also influenced by the retention time of the press meal in the die). This, of course, combined with an intermediate drive allowing the possibility to change die speed relatively easily (changing a small pulley) without installing frequency controllers for the generally larger drives used on pellet mills. Furthermore, large roller diameters create a small angle between the die and the roller, which compacts the feed smoothly before forced it into the die. Of course, variables differ when using the pellet mill for traditional-, untraditional- or aquafeed but the principles remain the same. As circumstances differ constantly, only general guidelines can be provided except for when detailed information is available and a custom-made solution given by those in the feed milling industry with both feed on the ground. More

information:

Van Aarsen International BV PO Box 5010, Heel, NL-6097 ZG The Netherlands Tel: + 31 475 579444 Website: www.aarsen.com

&feed milling technology

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FEATURE

Energy-efficient and cost-saving innovations for cereal processing Vibronet - The Revolution for all tempering processes ®

esearch and development for cereal and pulse preparation and processing are elementary building blocks ensuring the success of the German company vibronet® Gräf GmbH & Co KG. With its patented vibration damping system, vibronet® has been a pioneer in the field of research for dramatically reduced temper times and simpler production processes since 1990.

the optimum moisture content in the raw material by as little as one percent results in a less optimal product and higher manufacturing cost. For example, optimising starch gelatinisation during heat processing is difficult without the accurate moisture content. Therefore, precise moisture management is required to maximise operation profitability, end product quality and thus economic return. Thinking out of the box and looking into the production process is what made MSc Engineer and Master Miller Dieter Otto Graef invent the vibronet® vibration dampener in 1986 in his own flour mill in Germany. It was the first system to revolutionise how fluids can be added faster and more economic to cereals and pulses. The system accelerates water absorption and leads to a full cereal or pulse kernel dampening in two to 10 hours compared to the six to 48 hours required with conventional systems.

“How can water penetrate quicker into a kernel so that the long temper time and the large amount of space such as temper bins, can be reduced?” Water management in cereal and grain conditioning has long been a neglected process, which has not seen a lot of innovation during the past decades. Moisture control though is a critical element as water is money in fluid form. To manufacture perfect end products there is just one optimum moisture level. Varying 22 | May - June 2011

The development It all started with the question: How can water penetrate quicker into a kernel so that the long temper time and the large amount of space such as temper bins, can be reduced? Speeding up the process of conditioning grain is especially important in countries with very dry grain, where a high percentage of water has to be added prior to the grinding process. This search brought up the idea of removing the surface tension of tempering water. Water could then surround the entire kernel as a water film and penetrate equally into the cereal through the hull and not only through the germ, as with conventional dampening systems. When observing a drop of water on a glass plate, the water particle forms a round ball due to surface tension. It is generally known that the surface tension of water can be eliminated with, for example, dishwashing detergent. However, for the purposes of producing food and feed this method cannot be used. During first experiments, a mixture of grain and water which were stirred lightly by hand, were dropped on a baffle plate from a height of about 30 meters. The results proved that water penetrates faster if the surface tension is eliminated through the application of a high accelerating force.

&feed milling technology

Grain

FEATURE

However, to eliminate the water surface tension with energy, a multiple of the acceleration of gravity (‘g’) is needed. Therefore, experiments continued and trials were made with a standard concrete vibrator as used in the construction industry. After inserting this vibrator several times into a grain-water mixture, there was no more free water on the surface after 30 minutes. A concrete vibrator runs with about 10,000rpm, which means that the energy input corresponds to a multiple of the gravity ‘g’. Finally the right solution was found. The first vibration dampener was developed and tested in daily operation in a 120 tonnes per day flour mill. With this patented dampening process temper time could be reduced to two to 10 hours only.

Research There are various explanations as to why vibration dampening reduces tempering time: Vibration energy changes the molecular structure of water. It eliminates the surface tension of the water. A water film surrounds the entire kernel and penetrates evenly through the entire hull into the endosperm. For the first time tempering water can enter also through the crease of the cereal kernel. The cereal crease roughly covers 1/6 of the entire kernel surface.

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Vibration energy opens up and cleans all capillaries, tube cells and openings which are otherwise closed by dust, so that the water can penetrate easily. As the tube and the longitudinal cells of the kernel are filled with air, they work like a membrane pump, through which the water is pumped in during vibration. Vibration energy activates the minerals situated in the grain hull so that they transport the dampening water faster in direction of the endosperm. After final studies, the Federal Institute of

Grain Research in Detmold, Germany, has come to the following conclusions: >>… Based on theoretical findings and practical investigations, vibration treatment can be regarded as a process with the help of which homogeneous and accelerated water absorption and penetration in cereal grain can be achieved. The vibration effect can be compared with an intensive agitating effect in the initial phase of hydration, which results in changed permeability, transport and reaction conditions

Page 1

www.symaga.com

"Over 20 years of experience in the design, construction and supply of storage solutions, worldwide"

ALL TYPES OF SILOS INSTALLATIONS TO COVER THE MARKET NEEDS Silos for seeds, cereals, malts, oil seeds (soya, sunflower, rape, ...), pellets, meals, rices, and in general, products for agriculture, agrifood industry, biofuels, and biomass (wood pellets, ...) Ctra. De Arenas, km 2,300, 13210 Villarta de San Juan. Cludad Real - Espana www.symaga.com antonio.benitez@symaga.com Phone: +34 91 726 43 04/ +34 926 64 04 75 Fax: +34 91 361 15 94/ +34 926 64 02 94

&feed milling technology

Grain

May - June 2011 | 23

FEATURE

causing a quicker and better penetration of the water into the cereal. The influence of vibration tempering on the moisture content in flour reaches values after around six hours which are equal to those achieved after standard preparation of approximately 24 hours. Easily milled wheat with softer structure can be milled after only one hour of tempering after vibration dampening. There was no change seen in mineral content and colour …<< Statements from various millers around the world confirm these findings. Not only are lighter coloured flours produced but the vibration dampening increases total flour yield by 0.5 – 1.0 percent. This is due to the fact that vibronet® brings the dampening water also into the crease of each kernel which represents 1/6 of the entire grain surface. Prerequisite is a tempering time, which is optimised for the grain variety or grain mixture used. Through vibration dampening, coarser

24 | May - June 2011

bran is obtained during the first grinding process, which originates from the uniform distribution of water on the surface of the grain. Especially when milling Durum wheat, higher yields in middling and semolina are achieved, as the water enters the wheat kernel over its entire surface and not – as with conventional dampening systems – mostly through the germ. In summary, it can be said that every production plant in grain processing has unused potentials for cost savings and increasing profit, hygiene and flexibility. vibronet Gräf’s patented cereal damping system creates such a savings potential. Compared to conventional damping systems: - vibronet® reduces temper time to a minimum: The vibration dampener drastically reduces temper time by more than half of the time needed by conventional systems. - vibronet® reduces energy cost: A vibration dampener uses half the energy only of an intensive dampener, that is ≤ 0.2kW/tonne/hour. - vibronet® reduces operating cost: A vibration dampener cuts service and maintenance cost by 80 percent and has due to few mechanic parts minimum wear and tear. - vibronet® reduces silo space and machine park: Due to the drastically reduced temper time, a vibration dampener reduces silo bin space as well as the associated transport and conveying elements. - vibronet® guarantees hygienic end products: The self-cleaning vertical construction of the vibration dampener and the minimal temper times guarantee a drastic reduction of total bacteria count in the cereal and thus in the end product.

Continuing the revolution The patented vibration dampening technology has now been entirely redesigned for maximum profit and exceptional performance. The reduced built-in height fits even in the smallest spaces. Available capacities range from one to 40tph. Optimised vibration energy utilisation allows adding up to 12 percent dampening liquid in one single pass. A new redesigned precision water distribution system permits to add even the smallest amount of liquids. The process can be adapted to the customer’s demand: water, water soluble liquid, chlorine, or dressing agent. The vertical Clean-Design dampener drastically reduces temper time to two to 10 hours making use of 0.2kW/tph only. The minimum temper time guarantees lowest total bacteria count and maximum production process flexibility. The system offers energy-efficient preparation of an extensive choice of raw materials: Wheat, durum, rye, oats, barley, spelt, sorghum, corn, lentils, peas, beans, soybeans, seeds and seed care, cocoa beans, coffee beans, malt

information:

Sylvia-C. Gräf vibronet Gräf GmbH & Co. KG Neumühle 1 - 35633 Lahnau Germany Tel: +49 6441 62031 Fax: +49 6441 62715 Email: info@vibronet.com Website: www.vibronet.com

&feed milling technology

Grain

Asia’s largest event for the production and processing of animal feeds, dry petfood and aquafeed. Also including biomass pelleting technology

The show for flour and rice milling, grain processing, industrial pasta and noodle processing, extruded snack and breakfast cereal production

Supported by: . Thai Ministry of Agriculture & Co-Operatives . Thai Department of Livestock Development . Thai Department of Fisheries . Thai Feed Mill Association . Thai Rice Milling Association . Thai Chamber of Commerce

15th – 17th February 2012 • BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand

Three co-located exhibitions & conferences for the animal feed, aquafeed & petfood and rice milling & grain processing industries of South East Asia

HREE EVENTS IN ON

The region’s only dedicated trade show for the supply, use and formulation of ingredients and additives for animal feeds, dry petfood and aquafeed

w in F w fo or w rm m .v at or ic ion e ta v m isi .c t om

FEATURE

A review from Cologne, Germany

ictam 2011 brought with it a lot of changes: A change of frequency – being held once every three years to every four years (as the previous one had been held on 2007); a change of localisation from - Utrecht (in The Netherlands) to Cologne, Germany; a change in its appeal - as Fiapp (an exhibition for ingredient and additive

But the fundamentals were still there: international feed industry, new technology and innovation, meeting with conferences.

Paradigm change takeing place

With a more convenient localisation to express their growth, the Victam, GRAPAS and FIAPP 2011 shows had been a great success both for exhibitors or visitors. Easy-to-reach by train, air and car, easy-to-park, easy-tolodge in a city which offering enough rooms to accommodate any number of visitors and finally, “First impressions of the show were on local tram lines to accommodate everyone. that this was the real thing! With The change from Utrecht in The Netherlands to Cologne in Germany seems to have been real and big machines on display. well accepted by visitors. The only exception to a smooth Visitors wanted to see and to touch transfer were some technical issues with regard to the lack of and even smell the real thing” signage to conferences rooms, which the exposition park missed providing. Exhibitors are still evaluating their experiences and expressing manufacturers) and Grapas (an exhibition their views to the organisation so, over the for flour, pasta and rice milling and general next few months, more details will be availgrain processing for foodstuffs) became able regarding the success of the change and co-located exhibition following the success decisions to be taken with regard to the next European show. of an expanded show at Victam Asia.

26 | May - June 2011

Belying the change in location there is a real paradigm change taking place within our indusries: Western Europe is no more the centre of the feed universe, North Africa and Eastern Europe emergence are emerging as strong realities. Without overlooking the development of Middle East and Asia – showing up as either established visitors or exhibitors. The number of Chinese exhibitors has grown remarkably and they are looking for business in Europe and Africa, and not just within the Asian region: Victam Bangkok 2012 - to be held next February - is much more dedicated to be representative of the region. At Victam International in Cologne more than 17 Chineses exhibitors and four other Asian firms exhibited. Even if connected, our industry had seen this direction in growth for Victam International as early as the 1990s. Now it is much more evident, as it had been clear at the beginning of 2008 in Bangkok during Victam Asia, that a more central European venue for Victam International was necesary.

Big machines – big displays First impressions of the show were that this was the real thing! With real and big machines on display. Visitors wanted to see and to touch and even smell the real thing. The immediate impression was about size: big, big machinery which begs the ques-

&feed milling technology

Grain

FEATURE

tion, does the feed industry really give any thought to energy cost? Of course not you would think, but just look at Stolz and its work about optimisation of the drying process in connection with the French technical center Tecaliman. There were innovation looking at what might seems minor details as to the repartition of particle size reduction through grinding, as the easiest change of spare parts, through to the cleaning concepts now included on many machines. Another field that appeared to be a common thread throughout the show was on-line control, either to control humidity/ moisture or protein content. If we can easily see the interest in those control measures and the automatic regulation of the process parameters for dealing with moisture, we are still waiting to see how we might use on-line protein control to regulate the process. Pelleting technology to be used in the production of bioenergy was also evident at the show.

Bioenergy and pelleting The biomass part of the exhibition is completely connected with the feed technology and visitors began showing an interest in this technology as early as 2007 during the previous Victam International in Utrecht. Some 40 millions tonnes of pellets might be produced in Europe by the bioenergy

&feed milling technology

Grain

industry by 2020: this market might overtake the investment in feed equipment if it fullfills its promise and reaches this target, expressed during the European Biomasse Association conference Aebiom. It had been held on May 5, 2011. It should come at no surprise that some of the main exhibitors and sponsored for this event are strong players in the feed sector â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to name a few they include, Andritz, CPM, Kahl, Latgran, Poyry, VDB and Vapo. The estimation for world output of bioenergy pellets by 2015 is a massive 23.5 million tonnes. Europe is expected to produce 10 million tonnes of that - less than the half of world output. However, aas early as 2008, European bioenergy pellet production reached 6.3 tonnes - which mean that already Europe was accounting for more than half of total production of 11.8 million tonnes at that time. The fastest growth might well occur in North America where output was just 2.9 million tonnes in 2008 with an estimated target of 7.7 million tonnes by 2015. Production is partly assured on machines from previously feed or other operations would need. But in 2010, over capacity had been significant throughout the world, from one-third in Germany to more than double in USA. So investments in this sector will need to wait a little for the new year to come.

The feed-related co-located shows FIAPP, the feed ingredients and feed additives show, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem as important regarding the number of exhibitors taking space, but are going their road. The EPA press conference about probiotics is pointing this fact. At the end of the 1980s, the first European conference which launched the debate between probiotics and antibiotics, for example, had already taken place at Huhn and Shwein (the previous name for Eurotier) in Germany. Maybe this press meeting signaled the real installation of additives and ingredients as a part of this global show? As visitors to Victam International are mostly technologists, they might be more interested in the technical constraints or advantages of one ingredient over another, but the show must drive buyers to develop this part of Victam. Despite this consideration, the conferences gave some driving force to FIAPP. For example the seaweed products of Ocean Harvest showed its interest in aquafeed as a substitute of premixes with its range of minerals and vitamins (apart for B group vitamins which might be found on yeast products). GRAPAS, the grain (GRA) and pasta (PAS) show targeted flour milling, gain and

May - June 2011 | 27

FEATURE

rice processing as well as pasta and noodle production industries. These industries are using some of the same technologies that are used in the feed sector and it is quite clear there is sound synergies here.

Seminars Pellets for bioenergy Around 100 participants attended this event: It proved a great success for Aebiom (the European Biomass Association) which had been held on the last day of the show. It focused on the market and on the opportunity for the pelleting technology. It shows some advantages: energy density, logistics, lower investments in plants â&#x20AC;Ś the pellet demand might reach 229TWh in 2020, 68 percent solid biomass, 50 percent pellets. For Jean-Marc Jossart (of Aeobiom), the demand for pellets will reach 42 million tonnes worldwide by then. Sweden with its two million tonnes (500Kt 28 | May - June 2011

of import) of wood pellets and Germany (at 1.6 million tonnes or nearly self-sufficient) have been the major European markets in 2009. The globalization of the pellet sector opens up worldwide supply with the transport and logistical implication of the pellet transfer from regions with high biomass potential to high consumption regions. Price index and more and more sophisticated price regulation tools are becoming available, a sign that the market is becoming a worldwide commodity. With the market growth, raw material diversification will become crucial: the use of new raw materials such as straw and hay (which poses questions about competition with feed), corn cobs, sunflower husks, peanut shells and other biomass offers a realistic opportunity for future diversification. The general pattern is the same as with feed: not to allow spoilage or waste of any resource. Finally, biomass quality is perceived as essential in achieving successful market development. The ENplus quality certification is developing: 60 percent of Germany and 90 percent of Austria production capacities are expected to be certified at the end of 2011. Aquafeed Organised by Linx Conferences in association with Nofima, the Norwan Research Institute, and sponsored by Buhler, Aquafeed Horizon was attended by more than 100 participants looking for the latest developments in aquatic feed production. For example, handling, storage and transport of feeds lead to attrition of pellets. Undersized particles represent loss and poor utilisation of feed resources. Thus, feed with high physical pellet quality is in demand. However, physical properties affect the nutritional value of feeds. Research shows that feed intake appears to be the main factor when evaluating pellet quality, but several other factors such as pellet durability, nutrient digestibility and fat belching must be taken into consideration when searching for the most economical and sustainable pellet quality.

Hardness and durability combined with low, medium or high water and steam input in the extrusion process show different impacts on feed intake and fish growth. Those data can be used by the industry to better understand and correct the observed variance in extrusion properties, pellet quality and to improve the product specifications used by fishmeal producers and purchasers. As explained Joseph P Kearns from Wenger, the developing trend in aquafeed plants is to ensure feed safety throughout the production process. A strategic path to accomplish this would be to assess and design the facility with attention to raw materials and their storage, plant equipment design, processing or operating procedure, final product efficacy and the overall culture of day-to-day operation of the plant. As Urs Wuest from Buhler said, the changing requirement in the aquafeed industry translate into a demand for specific technical requirement such as extrusion technology. Ingredients and additives Eufetech, the European Feed Technology Center, and Linx Conferences proposed a conference focusing on feed safety and formulation advances. Eufetech brings together animal feed manufacturers, academia and researchers from: Bemefa (Belgium), FEFAC and FEFANA (UE), Cesfac (Spain), Tecaliman (France), Wageningen (The Netherlands), Ghent University (Belgium), FINSV (Serbia), Isan (Italy), University of Nottingham (UK). Since 1995, the EU has required feed manufacturers to estimate the mixing and cross contamination risk on their plants. The pressure from this regulation has continuously grown and the last Directive (08/09) limited the carryover from three to one percent for coccidiostics, depending on whether or not it is target feeds. In this context, Tecaliman had developed, beginning 20 years ago, rules to evaluate mixing capability of a mixer and cross contamination levels in plants. The technical centre promotes a method using external micro-tracer which became recognize as a reference in Europe. The quality of new raw material as distillers dried grain depend of the process on the plant as Kip Karges of Poet Nutrition showed. Ilvo from Belgium had evaluated the nutritional value of wheat DDGS for ruminants and pig. During the conference, a wide range of other topics had been presented, form GMP+ to enzymes as additives for upgrading the nutritive value of poultry diets containing sunflower meal and the potential of organic trace minerals to improve animal health and reduce environmental impact of animal production systems.

&feed milling technology

Grain

FEATURE

Winner of inaugural ‘Award for Milling

GRAPAS 2011 CPM Amsterdam, The Netherlands

he winner of Victam’s inaugural ‘Award for Milling GRAPAS 2011’ was CPM Europe/Amsterdam of The Netherlands. CPM was presented with the award by Roger Gilbert of Perendale Publishers, England. CPM were elated to receive the award as they are first and foremost a feed processing equipment company. The competition was strong with com p anie s like G ol fe t t o Sangati Spa in the running, but in the end CPM was awarded first place. Victam 2011 was held for the first time in the Köln Messe, Germany - from May 3-5 2011 - to showcase new technology and innovations, and bring together pet food, animal feed and aquafeed industries where suppliers can meet with producers. This year’s event was expanded to include grain processing and pasta process - and hence the establishment of the GRAPAS award – as well as feed ingredients and additives. The judges choose C PM because of “the absolute relev ance to t he milling industry for their ‘Roll Speed Measurement’”. CPM developed and tested this pellet mill roller speed measurement in combination with its famous automatic roller adjust type Lineator to provide additional information for pelleting management which it had not seen before. One customer is quoted as saying that “The CPM roll speed measurement is similar to the ABS for automobiles.” Mr Gilbert said Grain and Feed Milling Technology magazine was honoured to sponsor the award for Victam-GRAPAS and thanked all companies making application.

Highly Commended Golfetto Sangati Spa of Italy was extremely happy to receive a ‘Highly Commended’ from

the judges who explained that the “unique innovative fe ature s of t he G ol fe t t o rollermill ‘Synthesis SY09’ proves to be very relevant to the industry. “It brings together a number of impor t ant fe atures to create a ‘state of the ar t’ milling machine.”

Allen Willoughby General Manager of CPM Europe (left) and Ing Paul Alderliefste pose with Victam ‘Award for Milling GRAPAS 2011 The judges add that, “This is a new core milling product of potentially great

Francesco Piacentini of Golfetto Sangati stands beside the roller mill synthesis SY09 which was highly commended by the judges in the Victam ‘Award for Milling GRAPAS 2011’ significance and importance in a ver y competitive market . Whilst it does not appear to represent a radical innovation it does appe ar to bring together a number of important features to create a ‘state of the art’ milling machine. It also revives some earlier concepts such as single pair roll modules, a useful option which had fallen out of use.”

&feed milling technology

Grain

CPM is again setting the standard for the future with the recently award winning developed roll speed measurement system

May - June 2011 | 29

FEATURE

Pelleting: The link between practice and engineering A

feedmill needs to produce pellets in a hygienic way with the least costs and the highest efficiency. This cannot be realised without the close relationship between the operators in the field and the engineers at the drawing table.

of these machines consider their business closer related to science. But this science can learn from the pelleting artists by developing and implementing demands and views from practice. The engineers at CPM Europe are the last ones to deny that practice is closely Through this cooperation equipment intertwined with their work on the computer manufacturer CPM Europe in Amsterdam, controlled drawing programs. “Our close relationship to practice and our ability to “Through higher temperatures the translate practical improvements into feed is hygienised and bugs are factual equipment has delivered us almost already killed in the conditioner. always a competitive advantage, which is CPM was at the forefront of this especially valuable in an industry, which is not specifically known development with the introduction of for its innovative power,” says Peter the hygieniser or super conditioner” Lange, sales manager at CPM Europe. the Netherlands, has been able to launch many ‘firsts’, which have later been adopted and copied to industry standards. Plant operators working in the feed industry often consider the handling of their pelleting equipment to be an art. Manufacturers 30 | May - June 2011

This conditioning of the mash has several advantages. Proper conditioning ensures a better pellet quality (hardness, durability) resulting in better conversion rates with the animals. Conditioning improves pellet mill capacity, reduces electrical power use and reduces wear of dies and rollers. Furthermore with conditioning more difficult (cheaper) ingredients can be used. Conditioning is a combination of moisture addition, (steam and/or water), mechanical treatment (kneading and shearing) and thermal treatment (time/temperature). Especially the last feature has become essential in feed manufacturing. Through higher temperatures the feed is hygienised and bugs are already killed in the conditioner. CPM was at the forefront of this development with the introduction of the hygieniser or super conditioner. This piece of equipment has shown to be an extremely efficient conditioner before pelleting and it is much cheaper than an expander, which is also often used. Table 1 shows the differences between an expander and the hygieniser.

Conditioning with Hygeniser

Hot start mixer

CPM is active in the grinding and pelleting section of the feed manufacturing process. Before pelleting the feed mash needs to be treated before it enters the pellet mill.

One small thing was still a problem: when starting the conditioning process the first approximate 100kg do not reach the required temperature and have to be bypassed or discarded before pelleting.

&feed milling technology

Grain

FEATURE CPM has overcome this problem by developing the Hot Start Mixer, which functions as a buffer in the start-up of the conditioning process. The paddles and screw in the first section of the hygieniser at start-up turn in reversed direction until the mash has reached the required temperature and then the direction is changed and the mash can flow through the hygieniser. There is no more need for

sion. “Do you realise that a gear box has an over 11 percent higher efficiency than a two stage V-belt drive?” Lange says. “Do you realise the savings? For a 250kW with an

The Quick Change clamps enable the operators to change which die within half all hour a bypass and the full batch of the feed can be used without chance of recontamination.

Specialist in pelleting Around 50 percent of all pellet mills used in the world are made by CPM. So the company indeed can call itself a specialist in pelleting. Pelleting is not just the use of a machine that turns ground and mixed ingredients into pellets, it is a process and begins after the grinding process with conditioning, followed by the actual pelleting and then cooling of the hot pellets and where applicable the addition of fats. Pelleting is also about energy consumption. The way the die and the die rolls are positioned largely determine how much energy can be added to the product. There is a close relationship between energy consumption and pellet quality. The more energy is put into the pellet the better its quality will be. At the pellet mill this is limited to max. 20kWh/tonne. The consumption of energy is also depending on the roller distance to the die. An increase in roller distance will result in higher energy consumption. To be able to manage this process CPM developed the Lineator, which enables the operator to adjust the roller distances while pelleting and thus gives him the opportunity to influence pellet quality on the spot. Energy efficiency is also depending on the method of power transmission in the pellet mill. For this reason CPM pellet mills operate with a gear box instead of double V-belt drive. According to Lange, gearbox transmissions have a high efficient power transmis-

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operating time of 6,000 hours per year and an energy price of eight eurocents per kWh this would mean a energy cost of €120,000. At 11 percent higher efficiency this would mean a saving of €13,200 in the advantage of a gear box drive.”

CPM is again setting the standard for the future with the recently award winning developed roll speed measurement system

Quick die change Every pellet plant operator knows the burden of changing a die. Not only is it a heavy and time consuming job, it also adds considerably to the down-time of the plant. The CPM engineering group in Amsterdam developed a quick die change system for its 32" and 36" pellet mills. The object was to have the pellet mill up and May - June 2011 | 31

FEATURE

Despite the economic crisis Lange is quite satisfied with the order list of pellet mills and other related equipment. A walk through their workshop close to the old Amsterdam docks confirm this. Loads of equipment are ready for shipping to customers all over Europe. Remarkable are the heavy 355kW motors on the pellet mills. “It is a development from the wood pelleting industry. The motors are available and we adjusted our gearbox to be able to With the lineator the distance between the roll and the die can automatically be adjusted. A new mount these heavies on feature is roll speed measurement, which can protect the die from choking our mills,” Lange says. Also present in the running with a new die only 30 minutes after working the roll speed measurement inten- workshop is a miniature feed mill or laborathe end of the previous batch. This means sively while operating the remote roller tory as it is being called at CPM. that for the actual (hot) die change only setting Lineator. The new integrated roll “This enables us to test the most exotic 20 minutes are being reserved. To meet speed measurement device is expected to raw materials from all kinds of industries to this objective CPM installs a pneumatic the work with very little maintenance and high see if they are pelletable. We are always hoist, automatic knives posi- accuracy. working on innovations. This way we can tioning, automatic roller adjust It was observed that at clean die and roll- stay one step ahead of competition and suptype Lineator, 18 segments die ers, the roll speed measurement allows an ply good quality machines for a reasonable clamp type bear claw and pre- automatic ‘zero positioning’ of the Lineator. price,” he adds. assembled die with stiffening Until now this ‘zero positioning’ proves ring and rotary cone. to be a rather subjective interpretation of California Pellet Mill group With this system two people can remove various operators. Different operators can The history of CPM dates back to a die in less than four minutes and the same ‘pre-load’ the rollers differently against the 1883 in California's Napa Valley when the people can fit a new die in less than five die to set the zero-position. With the roll California Pellet Mill Company manufacminutes. The quick die change clamp can also speed measurement the zero-position is set tured presses, Crushers and stemmers for be mounted on existing machines that have at the moment both rollers are rotating at winemakers. In 1931, the company revolubeen supplied by CPM in the last 10 years. nominal speed. tionised the feed processing industry with In practice influencing the pellet quality the introduction of the first commercially is reached by using a thicker successful pellet mill. die or BOA-compactor or A few years later, in 1938, the Roskamp expander. story began when John Roskamp formed “With the roll speed meas- the Roskamp Huller Company. In the l980s, urement these become obso- Roskamp Champion was born with the purlete,” Lange says. chase of Roskamp Roller Mill Company and “The Lineator can now be Champion Hammer Mills. used to put more energy into In 2002, CPM purchased Beta Raven the pellet. The speed of the of St Charles, Missouri, USA, supplier of rollers is measured and if they computerised process controls and ingrerotate too slowly a signal fol- dient scaling systems. In 2006, Century The hot start mixer accumulates feed until lows. The operator then can Extrusion, from Century Inc of Traverse City, the required temperature is reached and then take action to avoid choking of Michigan, was acquired. The latest acquisievacuates the feed and increases throughput the die.” tion was Crown Iron Works, a specialist in Hendrix installed the roll oilseed processing. World headquarters and speed measurement and operates the by- Roskamp Champion production facilities are Roll speed measurement The latest innovation in combination with pass “quick dump feed chute” if the roller located in Waterloo, Iowa. In Asia, CPM is the Lineator is die roll speed measurement, speed passes the minimum value of 320rpm. present in Singapore and has production which was put into service in July of this year. The experience is that after a roller runs facilities in Wuxi, China. Other plants are Hendrix-UTD in Lochem (NL) has already under speed condition that the chokes and located in Crawfordsville, Indiana; Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA, and Amsterdam, The been working with roll speed measurement the main engine overloads. According to Lange the Lineator with roll Netherlands. for approximately 10 years at the available speed measurement reaches its highest potenCPM is owned by Gilbert Global Equity CPM 7730-7 and 7932-9 pellet mill series. The maintenance of this self-constructed tial when a relatively thin die is used. Pellet Partners. This strategic and financial partnerquality and throughput can be influenced up to ship has enabled CPM to grow organically system is time consuming. and by acquisition. However, the production employees are 30 percent and less die changes are needed.

32 | May - June 2011

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Hi there, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m the Global Miller! You can catch my daily blogs at http://gfmt.blogspot.com Covering all aspects of the grain feed and milling technology, with industry news stories, company press releases, book reviews, company profiles and much more. A new edition to Perendale Publishers Limited is our bookstore, which can be found at www.perendale.com/browse It features books that have been reviewed in the Global Miller that are relevant to the agriculture industry as well as travel section, and a section containing earlier copies of the International Milling Directory right up-to-date. Blogs are maintained daily from Monday to Friday and we are happy to publish any of your companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; press releases about future events. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook; we look forward to hearing from you and wish you every success in the future

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May - June 2011 | 33

EDME Limited

- A producer of natural cereal based ingredients by Bryan McGee, a milling industry consultant and contributing feature writer

Edme have long been well known for the production of natural cereal based products derived from raw materials, which are largely sourced in their own locality. The manufacturing plant is located in Mistley, Essex on the banks of the River Stour up river from Harwich. This places it ideally to source the bulk of its raw material cereal requirements from the highly productive East Anglia region where some of the consistently best quality wheat, barley, rye and oats are grown. Edmeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core products are ingredients for the milling and baking industries and which fall into the categories of firstly, flaked and kibbled malted cereals, secondly, concentrated bakery mixes and, thirdly, malt flours diastatic and non diastatic, roasted and crystal, to provide flavours and natural colour modification to baked goods. Throughout its long history all Edme products have originated 34 | May - June 2011

Photographs by courtesy of Edme Ltd

dme Limited (www.edme.com) and its sister company, Crisp Maltings, form the Anglia Maltings Group who are owned by Ragleth, a group of private investors.

The ingredients can be used to enhance the taste and appearance of baked goods without the negative perceptions of some other health grain components which children in particular are reluctant to consume. Recent research by the company has highlighted the additional health benefits of the beta glucan in the oat and barley products and independent research has demonstrated a threefold increase in antioxidant capacity in the materials due to malting and that this increase survives the baking process into the final product. Behind their historic faĂ§ade Edme Limited have recently installed modern facilities for intake, milling, blending and distribution of their wide range of cereal-based ingredients. The company has a turnover of about UKÂŁ16 million and employs 85 personnel on a 1.5ha site located across the railway tracks from one of the grain malting facilities of sister company, Crisp Maltings. It is they who Edme Management team supply the malted raw materials Left to Right: Paul Thompson, commercial manager; to Edme for further processing. Jason Powell, engineering manager; James Smith, Note: Barley, in particular, has sales director; David Amos, managing director; Simon Wooster, technical director; Eric Leggett, production and been malted for over 3000 years warehouse manager; Karen Smith, financial controller for a variety of purposes and the from cereal grains and are converted by natural or physical processes without any synthetic or chemical means. Several of them are made in accordance with the Soil Association organic standards.

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General aerial view of Edme site and River Stour

FEATURE

British malting industry is the fourth largest in the world. David Amos, managing director and current president of The Association of Bakery Ingredient Manufacturers (www.abim.org. uk), commented; “The current international emphasis on wholegrain and healthgrain products has created a renewed recognition of the benefits of such long established products whose excellence is based upon being manufactured from the finest available cereals, seeds and spices. “I have had the interesting task of transforming a formerly family business in a recessionary period into a modern organisation without losing the small company ethos of personal customer contact. We are members of not only our trade associations but also the relevant scientific bodies who can advise our technologists.” Edme is striving to raise all its standards by not only investment in equipment and systems but by education and training of its workforce to optimise the use of these investments.

Products The malt flakes and kibbles from wheat, rye, oats and barley are manufactured to maximise flavour, both sweet and acidic and to reduce enzyme activity. They are sold primarily to bakers for enhancing their baked goods.

The mixes are designed as concentrates to be added to flour in the bakery. These mixes are constantly being developed and some include a range of seeds, for example pumpkin and sunflower as well as chopped sun dried tomatoes and herbs. Alternatively, an interesting aspect of the business is the option of adding ingredient blends to a customer’s flour in controlled conditions on Edme’s premises. In this activity the customer delivers his consignment of flour in bulk for loading into a storage silo bin on the Edme site. The flour then enters a system where the selected ingredients are introduced in precise amounts and blended prior to packing off. The bags are palletised and marshalled in the new warehouse system prior to despatch. This operation ensures that the ingredients are added in optimum condition and obviates the need for the customer to handle and store these high value components in his own premises. This provides a very effective means to work in close partnership with customers and to develop bespoke blends for them. The malt flour range has expand-

EDME - Key Dates 1884 founding of The Condensed Wort and Brewing Company 1887 name changed to The English Diastatic Malt Extract Company, later shortened to Edme. 1890 Crisp Maltings founded 1903 prize winning recognition of Edme at International Bakers Exhibition 1906 Inland Revenue approval of Diastatic Malt Syrups 1923 Vacuum Pan Evaporator installed 1930s new buildings and plant installed. Sales expanded overseas. 1952 drum maltings and band drying equipment installed 1971 Crisp Maltings Group formed. Major expansion of product lines. 1976 Anglia Maltings (Holdings) formed 1978 expansion of product range including production of malted wheat flakes and wholemeal flours 1999 disposal of the malt extract business and concentration on malted flakes and malt flours for the milling and baking industries 2001 acquisition of a complementary bakery mix manufacturer 2005 Anglia Maltings Group acquired by Ragleth

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May - June 2011 | 35

brown and golden linseed from domestic growers and those which cannot be sourced in Britain for climatic reasons from diverse sources abroad; milled linseed from Canada, millet from the USA, sunflower seeds from the USA, Argentina, Hungary and Turkey, sundried tomatoes from turkey, dried onions from Italy and poppy seeds from Hungary. In addition, tested and certified GM-free maize grits are obtained from France and Argentina for gluten free products.

Manufacturing investments

ed from the basic historic types widely used by the milling industry to include those made from a variety of cereals which, by differing techniques, can give varying intensities of colour, flavour and enzyme activity to a finished baked product. The flavours of malt products can be modified to cover a wide range with a profile described as sharp roasted- roasted caramel- burnt toffee- baked toffee- sweet caramel- sweet biscuit. Although Britain and Ireland remain the

“By remaining true to their founding technical and operating philosophy and by incremental investment in know-how, personnel and equipment Edme has evolved and prospered since its founding in 1884” principal market for Edme, for over 20 years the company has had customers abroad in territories as diverse as Australia, Germany, elsewhere in Europe and more recently the Middle East and Asia. For the export markets the plant site is conveniently close to the busy port of Harwich, which offers frequent shipping facilities across the North Sea to the Continent. James Smith, the recently appointed sales director stressed, “With the inherent flexibility and strong supplier relationships which Edme have with merchants and growers, I am confident that we will pioneer new products to open up markets with existing and new customers both at home and abroad. “One of my initial targets is to reinvigorate the Edme brand to our existing customer 36 | May - June 2011

base and to new partners across the world; the main targets being Eastern Europe and Asia. “As these regions become more westernised in their diet and look for ‘healthy’, ‘natural’ and ‘functional’ ingredients in their foods, we will be able to offer our current range of ingredients and develop bespoke solutions to meet this developing market need. There are exciting times ahead.”

Raw materials There is an ever-increasing emphasis on the provenance of foodstuffs right through the chain from grower on to merchant, processor and finally the consumer product. The quality and characteristics of the cereals used as raw materials are clearly of great importance. In most harvest years the wheat and barley requirements can be sourced from traders in the surrounding area to meet the stringent specifications. A longstanding relationship with merchants Dengie (www.dengie-crops.com) has proved invaluable for the supply and quality management of many of these grains, while Masstoch Arable UK (www.masstock.co.uk), who have a primary cleaning facility, provide some cleaned naked oats which are difficult to source. Edme, with its expertise in cereal science, keeps a close watch on plant breeding to identify the best varieties for their purposes. Those cereals destined for malted products are first processed by Crisp Maltings who have a dedicated plant to meet the complex requirements for the food industry. The raw malted grains are then transferred in bulk to Edme for further intensive cleaning prior to flaking or milling. To complement the core cereal grains Edme procure a wide range of materials,

Touring the plant one is struck by the amount of new equipment in the production lines and laboratories. The ‘Test Kitchen’ facility was recently established to improve new product development for bakery and non-bakery applications, fault diagnosis and joint workshop projects with customers. Cleaning and grading of incoming grain is of enormous importance especially for the flaked and whole grain products. There is, therefore, a near zero tolerance of foreign or discoloured material before onward processing. Much of the new intensive seed cleaning equipment is supplied by Westrup and is supplemented by existing destoners and the latest Satake AlphaScan colour sorting machine performs a final check for any discoloured contaminants. The plant includes four flaking and three kibbling lines as well as the milling and blending facilities.

Photographs by courtesy of Edme Ltd

Satake AlphaScan colour sorter

Photographs by courtesy of Edme Ltd

Photographs by courtesy of Bryan McGee

FEATURE

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FEATURE

Photographs by courtesy of Edme Ltd

Microniser processing cereal flakes

Two of the most interesting production lines are those which pass the cleaned cereals through vertical cookers where live steam is used both to soften the kernels for flaking and also adjust their alpha amylase activity before entering the heavy-duty Turner flaking rolls. The flaked grains then pass into horizontal micronisers where gas fired infra red radiators, as well as drying them further, adjust the amylase activity and develops the product colour and flavour characteristics. A dedicated blending area is earmarked for production of special powder blends, which are potentially allergen sensitive. A growth in this product range has seen products such as gluten free blends being developed, which seem to be destined to increase in importance over the coming years. There are various means of particle size reduction, but the fine micron products are mostly reduced to the required particle size on impact mills by Baumeister GmbH. Simon Wooster, technical director, commented; “We are continuously challenging our processes by using existing and new raw materials to enable innovations which further develop the technological focus of the business. “A number of collaborative projects with industry research associations have allowed us to explore the nutritional and functional aspects of malt and grain ingredients, providing commercially valuable insights. “From a quality perspective, our relationship with merchants and growers, both at home and abroad, for supply of raw materials has provided a further level of product security to our customers and ensures that we maintain the highest level of food manufacturing quality accreditation.”

Conclusion By remaining true to their founding technical and operating philosophy and by incremental investment in know-how, personnel and equipment Edme has evolved

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and prospered since its founding in 1884. The company has continued to develop and produce ingredients for the milling, baking and food sectors derived from the highest quality cereal grains and seeds, which are modified or processed by entirely natural means. Based on the sound foundation the company has established of supplying products, which accord with the growing interest in wholegrain, healthgrain and natural processes it is with confidence that they now seek to widen their markets both in terms of products and geography.

James Smith, sales director, EDME Limited

Simon Wooster, technical director, EDME Limited More

information:

Bryan McGee, a milling industry consultant may be contacted at bryan@bcmcgee.co.uk

May - June 2011 | 37

GLOBAL GRAIN & FEED MARKETS

Every issue GFMT’s market analyst John Buckley reviews world trading conditions which are impacting the full range of commodities used in food and feed production. His observations will influence your decision-making.

Will weather spoil

The USDA’s first official forecasts for the new 2011/12 season suggest world wheat output could recover to 669.5m tonnes from last year’s 648.1m, matched against a consumption estimate of 670.5m (662.1m).

38 | May - June 2011

improving supply picture?

HE first official forecasts for the 2011/12 season from the US Department of Agriculture in mid-May offered a less fraught view of the forward supply/ demand balance for grains and feeds than markets were expecting. These included upward revisions to US starting stocks of maize and soyabeans (after lower than expected demand), a big jump in the coming US/global maize crop, rebounding wheat output in former Soviet countries, Canada and Europe, more Russian and Ukrainian barley and bigger Latin American soyabean supply. Yet with the ink hardly dry on these estimates, some are already in contention. Wet weather continues to hold up US maize as well US and Canadian spring wheat planting while drought questions whether USDA is too optimistic on US and EU winter wheat crops (more details on these below). However, demand does appear to be slowing in the face of high prices and other factors. The previously breakneck expansion consumption of US maize for ethanol (now taking a staggering third of the US crop) is seen braking sharply as most of the government incentives near maturity,

world energy markets peak and economic recession and high costs start to curb fuel use – even in the affluent, gas-guzzling USA. While maize supplies will probably remain finely balanced against demand, they should be adequate with US and world stocks even growing a little. Oilmeal demand is also expected to expand at a slower pace than last season as growth in meat consumption slows. Wheat consumption continues its gradual, long-term, year-on year increase but, according to the USDA, not by enough to outweigh the forecast crop gains. For wheat and soyabeans, ample new supplies imply stocks of these commodities will stay at comfortable levels right through to mid-2012. Yet the total stock numbers tell only part of the story. While US wheat supplies remain historically large, much of the world stock is tied up ‘off-market’ in countries like China and India (though India does now seem to be preparing to export significant quantities for the first time in five years). An even bigger issue for wheat is how much of the new season’s crops will turn out quality milling grades. Quality supplies, as readers will be well aware, have been run down over the past year after wet harvests in Australia, Canada and Germany – a significant factor in this year’s return to near-record wheat prices on world and European markets. Since our last review, grain and feed raw material markets have seen another couple of months of extreme price volatility. The US and EU drought problems and US/Canadian sowing holdups, pushed wheat prices back to 2½-year and maize to new alltime record highs. Only a week

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COMMODITIES

or two before this issue went to press, the more comforting USDA figures had combined with fresh global economic jitters to propel prices to near two-month lows. But at this point (late-May) markets are roaring back again as these persistent weather problems start to eat further into crop estimates. This volatility is likely to continue. On the one had, there is the real possibility that new crops will run short of forecast and short of demand – for a second year. Against that, the ‘outside’ macro-economic indicators that underpin speculative investment in futures are looking shaky. These include fresh signs

of a slowdown in China’s economy – the powerhouse of Asian and global economic growth/recovery, further fiscal tightening measures in China and India, the nagging failure to resolve Eurozone sovereign debt problems and a constantly backsliding US economic ‘recovery’ (not to mention the USA’s own eye-watering debt problems). All these factors have combined to make speculators far more ‘risk averse’ toward commodity markets. This is good news for consumers who don’t want

M lling

to see their raw material costs constantly driven far higher than supply/ demand ‘fundamentals’ justify and if some of the gloomier economic prognosess are right, the withdrawal of more of this speculative froth in coming months could help restrain prices of food and feed raw materials. However, if US and European crops seriously underperform forecast, ‘macro-economic’ factors will not prevent prices being exposed to open-ended rises. Effectively, weather in the two or three weeks after this issue goes to press may determine the direction of grain prices well into 2012 and possibly beyond.

International