| Customization: | Available |
|---|---|
| Power Source: | Electric |
| Process: | Extruder |
| Shipping Cost: | Contact the supplier about freight and estimated delivery time. |
|---|
| Payment Methods: |
|
|---|---|
| Support payments in USD |
| Secure payments: | Every payment you make on Made-in-China.com is protected by the platform. |
|---|
| Refund policy: | Claim a refund if your order doesn't ship, is missing, or arrives with product issues. |
|---|
Suppliers with verified business licenses
Audited Supplier Audited by an independent third-party inspection agency
Here are the steps to make pet food using a twin - screw extruder: ### 1. Raw material preparation - **Protein sources** - **Meat and meat by - products**: High - quality sources like chicken, beef, or fish meal are common. These provide essential amino acids for pets. Make sure they are properly processed, free from contaminants, and have the right moisture and particle size. - **Plant proteins**: Soybean meal, corn gluten meal, and wheat gluten can also be used as cost - effective protein sources. However, their inclusion should be balanced to ensure proper nutrition. - **Carbohydrate sources** - **Grains**: Corn, wheat, and rice are frequently used. They are milled into fine powders to improve processing and digestibility. Grains provide energy and also help in forming the structure of the pet food. - **Starches**: Potato starch or tapioca starch can be added to enhance the texture and binding properties of the pet food. - **Fats and oils** - **Animal fats**: Such as beef tallow or chicken fat, are rich in energy and help improve the palatability of the pet food. - **Vegetable oils**: Like soybean oil or sunflower oil, can also be used. They are good sources of essential fatty acids. - **Minerals and vitamins** - **Minerals**: Calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium are essential for a pet's health. Mineral premixes are added to ensure the correct balance of these nutrients. - **Vitamins**: A comprehensive vitamin mix, including vitamins A, D, E, and B - complex, is necessary to meet the nutritional requirements of pets. - **Additives** - **Binders**: To hold the ingredients together during the extrusion process. Common binders include gelatin, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), or xanthan gum. - **Flavor enhancers**: To make the pet food more appealing to pets. These can be natural flavors like meat extracts or artificial flavorings. ### 2. Mixing the ingredients - Use a large, high - capacity mixer to combine all the dry ingredients (protein sources, carbohydrate sources, minerals, vitamins, and some additives). Mix them thoroughly to ensure an even distribution of nutrients. - In a separate container, heat and melt the fats and oils if they are in a solid state. - Gradually add the melted fats and oils to the dry mixture while mixing. Then, add water or other liquid ingredients (such as meat broth) to form a homogeneous dough - like mixture. The moisture content of the mixture usually ranges from 20 - 40%, depending on the type of pet food and the extrusion process requirements. ### 3. Twin - screw extruder setup - **Temperature settings** - **Feed zone**: Set the temperature relatively low, around 40 - 60°C. This helps in the smooth feeding of the mixture into the extruder without causing premature reactions. - **Compression and mixing zones**: As the materials move through these zones, the temperature gradually increases. Temperatures in these zones can range from 60 - 100°C. The heat in these zones starts to gelatinize the starches and promote the interaction between different ingredients. - **Cooking and shaping zone (near the die)**: The temperature here is set higher, typically between 120 - 180°C. This high temperature fully cooks the pet food, sterilizes it, and helps in achieving the desired texture and shape as the product exits the die. - **Screw speed**: Adjust the screw speed according to the viscosity of the mixture. A screw speed of 100 - 300 revolutions per minute (RPM) is commonly used. A slower speed (100 - 150 RPM) is suitable for a more viscous mixture, allowing for better mixing and cooking. A faster speed (200 - 300 RPM) can be used for a less viscous mixture to increase the production rate. ### 4. Extrusion process - **Feeding the mixture**: Feed the prepared pet food mixture into the hopper of the twin - screw extruder. The twin - screws rotate, which convey the mixture through the barrel. The screws also apply shear and pressure, which further mix the ingredients and heat them up. - **Extrusion through the die**: The fully cooked and pressurized mixture is extruded through a die at the end of the extruder. The die can be designed to produce different shapes of pet food, such as kibble (small, bite - sized pieces), which are common for dogs and cats. The shape and size of the die can be adjusted according to the target pet species and their eating habits. - **Cutting**: After extrusion, the continuous extruded product is cut into individual pieces using a cutter attached to the extruder. The cutting speed can be adjusted to control the size of the pet food pieces. ### 5. Post - extrusion processing - **Drying**: The freshly extruded pet food usually has a relatively high moisture content. Place the extruded pieces in a drying oven or a fluid - bed dryer. Set the drying temperature at around 80 - 120°C, and dry the pet food until the moisture content is reduced to an appropriate level, usually around 8 - 12%. Drying helps to increase the shelf - life of the pet food and improve its texture. - **Cooling**: After drying, allow the pet food to cool to room temperature. Cooling can be done in a cooling tunnel or by simply leaving the pieces in a well - ventilated area. This helps to prevent condensation and maintain the integrity of the product. - **Coating (optional)**: Some pet foods may be coated with additional substances. For example, a layer of fat can be sprayed on the pet food to improve its palatability and prevent it from drying out too much. Flavor - rich coatings can also be applied to make the food more appealing to pets. - **Packaging**: Once the pet food has been dried, cooled, and any optional coatings have been applied, package it in appropriate packaging materials. Pet food is commonly packaged in bags, boxes, or cans. Ensure that the packaging is airtight to maintain the freshness, nutritional value, and quality of the pet food. ### 6. Quality control - **Appearance inspection**: Check the pet food pieces for uniformity in shape, size, and color. There should be no visible signs of cracks, unevenness, or discoloration. - **Texture evaluation**: The pet food should have a consistent texture. It should be firm enough to withstand handling but also easy for pets to chew. - **Nutritional analysis**: Conduct regular tests to ensure that the pet food meets the required nutritional standards. Analyze the protein, fat, carbohydrate, mineral, and vitamin content to ensure they are within the specified ranges for different pet species and life stages. - **Microbial testing**: Check for the presence of harmful microorganisms such as Salmonella, E. coli, and molds. The pet food should meet strict microbiological safety standards to prevent illness in pets.
| Model | Main motor | Output |
| TSE65 | 22kw | 100kg/h-150kg/h |
| TSE70 | 30kw | 200kg/h-250kg/h |
| TSE85 | 55kw | 300kg/h-500kg/h |
| TSE90 | 75kw | 800kg/h-1000kg/h |
){kind=link}