biodegradable degradable drinking straw no plastic straws processing line
Product Description
# How to Make Rice Straws with an Extruder ## Preparation ### 1. Raw Material Selection and Processing - **Rice**: Choose high - quality rice, such as common white rice, brown rice, or glutinous rice. Different varieties of rice have slightly different starch contents and characteristics, which will affect the performance of the final straws. Screen the rice to remove impurities, stones, and broken grains. - **Other Additives**: To improve the molding performance and physical properties of the straws, appropriate amounts of starch (such as corn starch or potato starch), plasticizers (such as glycerol), lubricants (such as stearic acid), and a small amount of water can be added. Starch helps enhance the structural strength, plasticizers improve flexibility, and lubricants reduce friction during the extrusion process. ### 2. Equipment Preparation - **Extruder**: Select a suitable twin - screw extruder or single - screw extruder. Twin - screw extruders have better mixing and conveying capabilities and are suitable for processing complex formulations. Single - screw extruders are simple in structure and lower in cost, and can also meet production requirements for simple formulations. Ensure that all parts of the extruder are in good condition, and there is no wear or blockage in the screws and barrels. - **Supporting Equipment**: Prepare feeding devices, heating devices, cooling devices, traction devices, and cutting devices. The feeding device is used to evenly feed the raw materials into the extruder. The heating device provides the appropriate temperature for the extrusion process. The cooling device cools and shapes the extruded straws. The traction device controls the extrusion speed and stretching degree of the straws. The cutting device cuts the continuous straws into the required lengths. ## Manufacturing Process ### 1. Raw Material Mixing - Crush the processed rice into fine powder and sieve it to ensure uniform particle size. Generally, the rice powder is required to pass through an 80 - 100 - mesh sieve. - Put the rice powder, starch, plasticizers, lubricants, and other additives into a mixer according to the formula ratio. First, perform dry mixing for 5 - 10 minutes to initially mix the components evenly. - Slowly add an appropriate amount of water while stirring for wet mixing. The wet mixing time is about 10 - 15 minutes until a uniform, plastic - like dough - shaped material is formed. The humidity of the material should be appropriate. If it is too dry, extrusion will be difficult; if it is too wet, the straws will not be well - formed. ### 2. Extruder Operation - **Pre - heat**: Turn on the extruder and set the temperature of each heating zone. According to the characteristics of the raw materials and the equipment, generally, the front section of the barrel is set at a temperature of 100 - 120°C, the middle section at 120 - 140°C, the rear section at 140 - 160°C, and the head at 160 - 180°C. Pre - heat for 15 - 20 minutes to reach and stabilize the set temperature. - **Feeding**: Add the mixed material into the hopper of the extruder. Through the screw or feeding device at the bottom of the hopper, the material is evenly fed into the barrel. - **Extrusion Molding**: The material is pushed forward by the screw in the barrel and is gradually plasticized under the action of heating and shear force. The plasticized material is extruded through a die with a specific shape (such as circular or oval for straws) at the head of the extruder, forming a continuous straw blank. ### 3. Cooling and Shaping - **Water Cooling or Air Cooling**: The extruded straw blanks are at a high temperature and need to be cooled and shaped immediately. Water cooling can be used, where the straws are passed through a water tank for cooling. The cooling speed is relatively fast, but the cooling time and water temperature need to be controlled to avoid cracking of the straws due to rapid cooling. Air cooling can also be used, where cold air is blown by a fan to cool the straws. The air - cooling speed is relatively slow, but it can make the surface of the straws smoother. - **Sizing Treatment**: During the cooling process, a sizing sleeve is used to size the straws. There is a certain gap between the sizing sleeve and the straws. Through vacuum adsorption or pressure support, the straws are closely attached to the inner wall of the sizing sleeve to ensure the dimensional accuracy and roundness of the outer diameter of the straws. ### 4. Traction and Cutting - **Traction**: The cooled straws are pulled forward at a stable speed by the traction device. The traction speed should match the extrusion speed, generally controlled at 1 - 5 meters per minute. Adjust according to the actual production situation to ensure that the straws will not break or deform during the stretching process. - **Cutting**: When the straws reach the required length, they are cut by a cutting device. The cutting device can be a mechanical blade or a hot - cutting knife. The cut made by a mechanical blade is relatively flat, but the cutting speed is relatively slow. The hot - cutting knife cuts quickly, but there may be slight melting marks at the cut. Select according to production requirements.
Company Profile
Jinan Sunward Machinery Co., Ltd is an industry and trade integrated enterprise. The company is committed to R & D extrusion machinery and related ancillary equipments. It is covering mainly machinery and equipment for corn meal milling system, corn flakes/breakfast cereal system, baby food system, corn puff snacks system, pellets system, artificial rice system,soy nuggets system; as well as pet food/fish food system.
SPECIFICATIONS
| 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 |
Certification
Package
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