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Extrusion of Aquafeeds

Article · March 2015

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Gordon Stephen Young Dennis Forte

Food Industry Engineering Dennis Forte & Associates Pty. Ltd.
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FEATURE

Extrusi
of qquofeeds

by Gordon Young, Foodstream Pty Ltd, Australia and Dennis Forte, Denn s Forte & Associates, Australia

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Extrusion technology provides a number of major benefits over the more traditional
pellet milling processes commonly used for aquaculture feeds. In particular, extrusion
can provide a much higher degree of control over the "cook" achieved, as well as better
control of the product density (therefore controlling the floating/sinking characteristics).
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ut extrusion is a very complex dF-e.-rrne InF -cao .o^/dr .io' -atro (fCD) flarne meas provde the best nutritona
process - and we only have for the produCr but are increas ngly d fficult to obtain
bas s,
"indirec!" control over that So o . --n-u5ro efl..i /pl/ "^d atF and are therefore expens ve. Se ected plant
process. That is, we have full full advantage of the opportuntes offered sources of
protein can provde reqLt red
control over some variables - eg screw by the techno og/ the extrusion process protens, but tend to come wth fibre and
speed and amount of water added. But needs to be properly understood. This artrcle starch wh ch can nter{ere with the extru
there are other inputs over which we have discusses just a couple ofthe ssues re atlng to s on process and affect digest biity We

"limited" control. For example, we speci{y
a formulation, and within limits we conlrol
the specifications of ingredients that go into
it - but ingredients do vary, so our process
needs to cope with "normal variation". \ y'e
set up the extruder and die to a known con-
sLrccessfu extrusion of aquafeeds generaly requ re very h gh fat (energy) con
tents in the feeds but high fat leve s are a
Extrusion chemistry & problem n extrusion. Followng are some
aquafeed ingredients bascs of 'extrusion chem stry' that relate
Ln the area of ingredients, the aquafeeds o c ^d/ ^" a- gn
"c-df-"d
-a'.sion
lndustry faces a seres of contrad ct ons proceSses:

figuration - but the machine and the die-Plate

wears, so that over time the process changes. SUEvsBr k Density

650
we never get lust one Param
In addition,
eter changing during extrus on f ingre- 600

dients vary, t doesn't lust change the fnal

product composltion - it changes the rheol-
ogy of the mix and therefore changes how
the melt moves through the extruder and E
the die, which in tum afecrs the res dence
time and temperature developed in the melt,
whch changes degree of cook and expan- 400
sion and therefore affects digestibility and
floating/sinklng characterst cs. With n thrs
complex re ationship, we need to ach eve
consistency - of nutrition, of digestibility, of
physical charactedstics. lt ls the cLrmu ative
effecr of these parameteE which ultimately

l0 NitRNATIONAL AQUAFEED l[44f,:h Al, t0]5

Starch
lYany llsh species do not to emte starch Effect of Densiiy on Sink / F oot
especially uncooked starch. But starch comes
with many of the alternatve p ant-based Fost Sinking 640 s/L > 600 s/L
prote n ngr€drents. Aso starch can be an
mpodant 'bnder' to help achieve pe et )bw Jrnkrng 5bo io 600 s/L 54O v560 g/L
durabllty. Neukol Bouyonry 520 to 54Q g/t 480 a 520 g/L
Fr:tly, reaise that starch does not truly
Flooting < 480 s/L < uo s/L
'gelatrn se" dLrfing e>trusion there s not
enough water present for the swe Jing and
unrave I ng of g€nules that characterise the
ge at n salon readion n add tion, the starch
s easiy damaged by excess ve 'shear' durng
extrusion 50 we promote conditions that
wil 'cook'the starch achtevng suflicient
temperature wth suffcient water and wth
sufilcrent tme but without excessive srear
-therefore use of a precondittoneT can be a
major advantage.
Another option - if we require starch for
pe let binding s to choose a starch that turatron reacton is not unike that of onr"r' de_"t ,-Fo prot- anc (o^lr o ,-e
cook and bnds more effective y at a lower starch - that is, wth respect to good lrttle to the "b nd ng' funct on.
temperature such as Llse of tuber starcnes "functonal ' prote n (here referring to So wh le the scarcty of traditional
n:r-"d ofg"n . d... e.. -ne-arore - --t.F o,o.ei- fun o "l | 'o- d p /qca. "t e, mar ne proteins (eg fsh mea s) is ar
selection of both the source and the amounr than nutritional perspective). The globu issue for nutrt ona ba ance, the sub-
ol starch can be used to optmse the pro- lar proteins unravel and, under the rght s-- o o''f--, ona pj' poetn
cessng and nutritonal charaCter st cs of the conditons (optma motstLrre content and F ddded b-n-fir of a. . ing
product formulation temperatLrre), can cross-l nk. Therefore pe/ et durabillty as ong as the process
'funct onal ' proteln contr butes to binding pfomotes rather than destroys that
Protein and pe let durabi ity. But many of the tra- functional ty (temperature and shear not
Dur ng exlrLts on the protein dena- ditiona fsh mea s whi e good nutrt onally excess ve).

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IFEATURE
Fat
Fat under norma exlTus on condltlons
is stable itdoes not tsef change and
'cook' as starches and proteins do. But it
COe. .,e d -dto-'l_ l O_ LL o F4 " Ol
process ip' and effective
increas ng 's
o^'r'g .rsco5.. a d le_o" a"e.
ing expans on/density, extruder backfl /
degree of cook and pe let durab lty. An
ncrease n fat content of the mix of on y
two percent (whch can happen due to
-oA --td F a.ot oto../Ld-d.n
on the effectlve v scosity of the melt as a
five pefcent increase tn mostLtTe content
Therefore contro of fat content can be a
majoT ssue.
At the same time, for most sPecies, as hlgh
a fat content as possib e s required for nutr-
tion (feed energy). Ths s where one ofthe
.-n. o. . - --e c.o le g. or a. ^,i-g good
stabe pe ets at sullic ently hgh fat content.
Strateg e5 to ach eve this balance include
the use of appropriate extTus on systems
(twin screw extrude6 can opeEte in a more
.ao- Ta-.-- o hg -t e.e- tL d .nglF
".
rF^ -/r-dF ,l a o ne hod o r1i - so
post-process addition oI oll
nfus on.
There are of course many other aspects of
ingredients that also need to be baLanced in
successful feed extrusion
Density control
The fn shed product bulk densty s one
of the key prodL.rct qua ty attributes. as t
c -ect flLe '- . - - flo" 1.,' ". iout
/ cant y nfluenced by the Spec fic Mechan cal
of the fn shed product. Note, however,
that this does not on y relate to the extru-
co- po\F( egcr gal,od F l o-l--
cer . / d' dr'g. det InaPD oo'dte
View publication stats
condtions can resut n dryng and shrnk-
age of the outslde ayers, ncreas ng overal
density so the pe et s nks (eg as required)
Then, over tlme in storage, moisture redis
tr butes within the peLlet the outs de layers
y re ax and expand, and the feed turns from
floating to sinking.
The bulk density s the resut ofthe ba-
.nLe b--ueen - e,pa-so 1/-4.on -d b.
the process conditions and the amoLlnt and
type of narch) and e astic collapse (inlluencecl
d -ie' by the amount and type of protein) That is
again there s a complextl n the
process which makes t nherently diffcult
to pred ct and contro. Under the con_ect
conddons
. Higher amyose starch content maKes
the etrudate expand rnore at the t me
of exting the d e
. Hgher 'functiona' Protein makes the
rnelt anore e ast c so it reco s after the
inita expansion and starts to co apse
' H gher amyopectn starch increases the
"soldificat on' temperature of the met
which determ nes how far the melt
o.- -.e .t at -. d dF (
.eao l- be
such as vacuurr So the flna peLet sze and therefore
densty s the resuit of the interact on of all
these effects (Figure 2)
ln additloni
Degree of Expansion = f { f4elt
Temperature ffM) Dle Pressure Drop (DPd)
l, with the f4elt Rheo ogy and the Die
Geometry greatly affecting DPd
The product bu k densty is also sign fi
-n- g/ \S-E e t ' SlvE d rFrr '
affects T|4 and also affects the mo ecular
c-g aca o^ ol -he :td - o c tre o'o-ei'l
,^ri' r'"nges h' .,.o. . a-d elo
r7l N itR\Ai oi\i1\L AQUAfEED [1.r.fj
ofthe met. Figure I shows some meas
ured results of bu k densty vs SllE
The SME s nfluenced by process ParaTn
eters most signfcanty the meLt moLsture
content (used to maniPu ate the met rheol-
ogy), the screw prof e des gn, and the screw
speeo.
Aquafeed specif ications
not the fu ll story
Fina produd nutrtion (and FCR) s not
just due to the composit on of the formu a
lo I g'-ai6 l: hougr .L . rt"- "ed
specifcations amost excuslvey (along wth
density) often d ctate.
The manufacture of a feed should be
cons dered as
Formuaton + Process > Produ-l
The ingred ent source (and the order of
addton) have a sign llcant mpact upon the
product nutrition For example, the effed of
oi added during the process s not the same
as oil added via e)..ternal coat ng - comp exes
formed during extrusion can change the
nutrt onal effeCr ofthe o .
Energy inputs a so have a major role in flnal
nutrtion ofthe feed Energy may be added v a
Convective Energ/ (steam iniect on) Thermal
Energy (barre heating) and Yechan ca Energy
(v scous diss pat on or SYIE) The comparatve
baance ofthese energy nputs affed nutrtion
by changing the convers on and break down
of prote ns and starches changLng the r nL.rtr
tiona contrbution. In extreme cases, t can
even form fat comp exes that are toxic to flsh
\ny'hen cons derng Convectve Energy, the
extrLls on role of process tme ls aso cdtca. Ths is
the bass of ng whch alows
preccndition
exlended tme to initate the cookng of
starches and prote ns
Conclusion
E>arrus on is not a smpe Process The
'--r"cto ."dl oLLu n p oLe pamn.re5.
aong wth varatons in mw materals and
changes over tme due to extruder and die
wear, makes lt a dffcut Process to control
And these varations can have "nvsbe'
effects - because nutntiona content ol the
formu at on does .ot fuly dellne the nutri
tional performance of the feed. Variatons
n the extrusion process do not ony affe-l
physical changes n the product such as den-
sity and szelshape, it also affecls the way n
wh.h the fsh wil digest the ingredients A
good understanding ofthe extruslon Process
and we -defned process pammeters to
guide operators is requ red for relable and
cons stent feed Production.
The authors are presenting a short
course on Aquafeed Extrusion Techno ogy
at Centre for Feed Techno ogy, F6rTek'
Nofway from 75 ta 27 lYarch 20 | 5
I (www.foodstream.com au/events)
Ap'
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