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Saturday 16 May 2020

Efficient feed processing for profitable and safe feed with Kemin’s millSMART programme

By Carmen Coetzee, Product Manager, Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health 

Feed  processing  is  a  complex  operation,  and feed  manufacturers  are  continuously  seeking ways to  improve  efficacy  and  profitability  while ensuring  feed  safety.  This  drives  the  need for  innovation  in  feed  processing  to  meet the  increasing  demands  for  food  of  animal origin,  including  fish,  meat,  milk  and  eggs. The  options  to  improve  feed  manufacturing  are  countless,  and  it  is noted  that  advancements  made  in  feed  processing  are  impacting productivity,  pellet  quality,  feed  safety  and  profitability.  Incorporating sustainable  practices  to  mitigate  the  impact  on  the  environment  has gained  more  focus  over  the  years. Kemin’s  feed  processing  and  feed  safety  programme  with process  optimisation  practices  such  as  millSMART  has  been adopted  in  the  feed  industry  has  gained  attention  due  to  its  beneficial effects  seen  in  productivity,  feed  quality  and  safety.  The  variability of  moisture  in  feed  raw  materials,  in  processing  feed  has  seen to  increase  cost  by  up  to  50%.  Practices  implemented  to  monitor process  fluctuations,  and  reduce  their  variability  brings  benefits  for the  feed  mill  manager  to  ensure  a  uniform  product,  and  quality  of feed is produced, while ensuring safety. Moisture  targets  for  feed  materials  in  the  mixer  are  reached with  the  millSMART  programme.  The  pre-conditioning  solution,  is  a solution  with  a  reduced  surface  tension,  known  as  Opti  CURB  which contains  either  Sal  CURB,  Myco  CURB  or  KEM  WET  products.  The science  behind  the  surfactants  responsible  for  improving  the  preconditioning  solutions  capillarity,  and  therefore  its  movability  within the  feed  matrix,  ensures  uniform  penetration  and  dispersion  of  the solution  throughout  the  batch  of  feed  treated.  Moreover,  feed  safety  is ensured,  as  the  surface-active  solution  contains  either  anti-microbial and  mould  inhibitor  compounds  and  controlling  moulds  and  pathogens is  achieved  by  covering  the  full  surface  area  of  the  feed.  The  Opti CURB  solution  is  added  with  engineering  application  technology  to ensure  maximum  efficacy  in  feed  processing  improvements.  This pre-conditioning  step  ensures  the  feed  particles  are  saturated  and ready  for  steam  conditioning  and  compaction. Pre-conditioning  of  the  mash  feed  in  the  mixer  followed  by  steam conditioning,  has  therefore  formed  a  synergy,  which  ensures  the current  objectives  and  benefits  of  conditioning  are  further  maximised. Saturated  steam  is  applied  to  the  feed  matrix,  with  the  assumption that  the  steam  is  absorbed  fully  and  uniformly.  Technically  this  is  seen in  both  the  transfer  of  moisture  and  heat  into  the  feed  particles  in  the conditioner.  The  speed  at  which  heat,  and  moisture  are  transferred is  different,  this  is  due  to  the  different  behaviours  of  both  and  to the  limited  retention  time  of  the  feed  particles  in  the  conditioner,  as they  pass  through.  Conditioning  is  one  of  the  most  important  steps in  feed  processing.  The  advantages  of  steam  conditioning  are  not only  preparing  feed  for  compaction,  but  ensuring  pathogen  kill-off with  other  effects  seen  on  nutrient  digestibility  improved  due  to starch  gelatinisation,  plasticised  proteins  and  overall  feed  quality. The  cooking  of  these  nutrients  creates  a  type  of  natural  adhesive with  positive  effects  seen  on  the  PDI,  which  is  an  indicator  of  pellet quality  and  how  effectively  that  pellet  will  endure  transport  and handling before final consumption. The  quality  of  steam  is  often  overlooked  or  not  fully  understood in  its  effects  on  compaction  and  the  final  pellet  quality.  Saturated steam  or  dry  steam  versus  wet  steam  and  super-heated  steam  is  the desired  quality  of  steam  required  for  optimum  conditioning  practices. Heat  transfer  for  saturated  steam  is  more  efficient  compared  to  wet steam. During  pelleting,  the  feed  material  is  compacted  to  form  good quality  pellets.  It  is  essential  that  frictional  heat  is  minimised  as  the mash  is  rolled  and  the  newly  formed  pellets  moves  through  the  die holes.  Feed  throughput  and  energy  consumption  are  important  key performance  indicators.  In  the  millSMART  programme,  the  mash feed  matrix  is  well  conditioned,  ensuring  smooth  transfer  through the  pellet  die,  as  feed  particles  are  well  lubricated.  This  reduces  the frictional  heat  generated,  feed  throughput  is  improved,  and  energy consumption is reduced. It  is  essential  as  part  of  feed  hygiene  that  conditioning  and pelleting  temperatures  required  to  kill  pathogenic  moulds  and  bacteria such  as  Salmonella  are  reached.  Depending  on  the  diet  type,  the temperatures  may  exceed  85°C,  or  be  as  low  as  60°C.  Excessive temperatures  may  have  detrimental  effects  on  essential  nutrients or  bioactive  compounds.  Temperatures  which  are  too  high  give  rise to  a  higher  risk  of  condensation  thereafter  and  therefore  a  risk  ofmicrobial  contamination  impacting  feed  safety.  Temperatures  which and  accurately  measuring  all  these  variables  is  the  first  step  to are  too  low  reduce  the  microbial  log  reductions,  and  feed  safety  is at  risk.  Feed  safety  is  a  core  value  in  the  millSMART  programme, ensuring  either  the  antimicrobial  Sal  CURB  or  the  mould  inhibitor Myco  CURB  in  the  Opti  CURB  dispersing  solution  is  added  which kills  upon  contact,  additionally  works  in  synergy  with  heat  treatment to  reach  microbial  kill-off. The  pellets  enter  the  cooler,  with  the  objective  to  effectively cool  the  pellet.  Heat  in  the  pellets  is  lost  due  to  both  evaporation and  convection,  through  the  manipulation  of  both  the  air  fan  speed and  pellet  cooler  retention  time.  If  cooling  is  done  too  quickly  or ineffectively,  an  unstable  poor-quality  pellet  remains,  with  the  risk  of condensation  and  microbial  re-contamination.  If  pellets  are  left  too long  in  the  cooler,  over  cooling  results  in  over  drying  which  is  costly when considering  feed  inventories  and  feed  yield  output.  millSMART is  a  tool  to  effectively  manage  cooling  practices  to  ensure  a  cool pellet with a targeted moisture content achieved. Standardising  feed  processing  is  a  challenge,  due  to  the  impact of  many  variables  affecting  the  productivity  and  quality  of  feed produced.  To  fully  understand  the  effects,  it  is  important  to  trace a  produced  batch  of  feed,  from  the  initial  reception  of  all  the  raw materials  used  to  produce  that  batch  of  feed  through  to  final  loading and  storage  of  the  finished  pelleted  feed.  Variables  impacting  feed processing  are  specific  to  the  location  in  feed  processing.  Identifying understand  their  impact  on  feed  processing  for  what  millSMART  is a useful support. Process  targets  and  key  performance  indicators  are  set  with millSMART  to  ensure  feed  quality  is  reached  during  processing.  The quality  is  essentially  how  much  variation  there  is  around  that  target  or specification.  In  other  words,  reducing  process  variation  is  a  measure of  quality  in  a  feed  operation.  This  can  be  evaluated  starting  at  raw materials  intake,  however  interventions  applied  at  other  steps  such as  in  the  mixer  are  more  commonly  seen.  In  principle,  the  sooner efforts  are  made  to  reduce  variation  in  the  process,  the  more  the optimised  effect  will  be  carried  through  during  subsequent  steps  in feed  processing.  Process  variation  is  minimised  within  a  batch  of feed.  The  variation  between  subsequent  batches  of  feed  produced is  managed  with  process  automation  technologies  such  as  seen  in the  millSMART  online  programme,.  Large  process  fluctuations  are eliminated,  reducing  variability  and  improving  quality  of  process operations and pellets.
        millSMART  online  provides  key benefits  and  insights  for  effective  feed processing,  contributing  to  the  sustainable development  of  feed  operations  and environmental  protection  for  a  happier, more prosperous and healthier world.
MillSMARTTM  improves Feed Mill Efficiency by measuring, analysing and controlling the Efficiency Critical Control Points hence reducing the cost of production of feed while enhancing the pellet quality. During the last two decades of working and partnering with feed mills, we at Kemin have identified eighteen (18) such efficiency critical control points. All these ECCP’s are to be maintained within the standard range to achieve maximum efficiency in feed milling.
        eccp

MillSMARTTM – Three phases for improving feed milling efficiency

  1. MillSCAN - In this phase a certified feed mill engineer visits the targeted feed mill and measures various Efficiency Critical Control Points. In this process engineers utilise Kemin’s Customer Laboratory Services to accurately measure the Efficiency Critical Control Points.
  2. MillSCORE - Our engineering team utilises various sophisticated tools such as the MillSCORE app to ascertain the current score of the feed mill in terms of its efficiency. Kemin engineering team will make and submit a MillSCORE report comparing all 18 ECCPs against their standard value.
  3. MillCONTROL - In this phase, we’ll suggest corrective actions to bring all ECCPs within the standard range. We achieve MillCONTROL by using PPP model: where our People & Product improve the Processes

Improving Starch Gelatinization in Animal Feed

               infolink

What is Starch Gelatinization? 

Starch gelatinization is a process of breaking down the intermolecular bonds of starch molecules in the presence of moisture and heat; both of these conditions are present in conditioner.

What Factors Affect Starch Gelatinization? 

The type of starch can influence its properties for gelatinization. Temperature and moisture are two important pre-requisites for gelatinization of starch. Retention time also plays an important role.

How Can Starch Gelatinization Be Measured? 

There are many methods ranging from turbidity and solubility to magnetic resonance spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry.

What is the Benefit of Starch Gelatinization? 

Starch gelatinization has a direct relationship with pellet durability index (PDI) and starch digestibility. The degree of starch gelatinization also influences specific energy and throughput of a pellet mill.

What is the Ideal Starch Gelatinization Value? 

In our internal research, we have found a huge variation in the degree of gelatinization across the Indian sub-continent. It ranges from 10 to 25 percent, which can be attributed to variable processing conditions.

How Can Starch Gelatinization be Improved? 

The degree of starch gelatinization can be enhanced by improving steam quality. Cold mash conditioning using surfactant-based products also helps improve starch gelatinization.

Where Can I Get Starch Gelatinization Analyzed? 

Kemin has developed a method to estimate the degree of starch gelatinization in animal feed. Our method is one of the most accurate methods, as it is based on the enzymatic assay. We are the first one to do so in animal feed sector in India.

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