Andritz has introduced a groundbreaking innovation at VICTAM Asia 2022. The company experts showcased at booth 1910 to Microfeed System, a solution that is set to revolutionize aqua microfeed production in the region, delivering capacity increases of up to 40%.
“Historically, capacity for small microfeed pellets smaller than 2mm was limited by the die due to the larger pressures placed upon it as a result of smaller holes,” said Michel Pereira, global application manager for Feed and Biofuels at ANDRITZ. “For larger pellets, the bottleneck is the extruder, therefore for microfeed pellets, the extruder is typically used at 25-40% of full capacity so as not to break the die. Demand for small pellets has grown, and the challenge repeatedly emerged, how can we produce microfeed with the extruder at full capacity?”
Andritz set to solve this challenge in 2020 and has now launched the solution at VICTAM Asia 2022. The Microfeed System incorporates an optimized die that can withstand the higher pressure caused by the smaller holes due to a stronger construction, larger diameter and bigger open surface, and a smart die base to create an equal distribution of the feed towards the larger die. This combination enables customers to produce microfeed at a higher capacity than with the dies used for microfeed up till today, at a higher quality for sinking feed less than 2mm in size and at higher uptime levels when combined with the Expansion Control System (ECS) as it significantly reduces clogging.
The system will be mounted on an extruder barrel section at the booth, that also features a dedicated venting unit. This unit delivers additional flexibility in managing a wider variety of raw materials in the production of sinking aquafeed, leading to greater accuracy and control through real-time adjustments, higher quality and yield.
“The Microfeed System will change the face of microfeed production,” said KP Angamuthu, regional director, APAC. “We are constantly evolving our plant solutions portfolio to better support our customers in this industry and are delighted to have introduced this exceptional innovation at VICTAM Asia 2022. With capacity increases of up to 40%, the value we are able to add to producers of microfeeds is more than significant. We have already sold 12 systems ahead of the official launch, and we are looking forward to welcoming customers both new and existing to our stand to view this development and demonstrate the impact it has made already across our test base.”
