The importance of feed and feed production for the country’s agricultural economy is exceptional, because the current state and revival of animal husbandry depends on the efficiency of production, safety and quality of the industry’s products. To improve the efficiency of the feed industry, it is necessary to solve a number of pressing problems, namely, to carry out a technical re-equipment of production processes, to ensure the involvement of the research area in the innovative development, to create favorable investment conditions.
We work in the market, which can be conventionally called the “feed chain”. We are inextricably linked with this chain, and therefore are an integral part of it. The Dutch machine-building company VAN AARSEN (“Van Aarsen”) is actively involved in a large-scale reconstruction of enterprises, in the construction and equipment of high-performance factories for the production of animal feed, concentrates and premixes. Today, the firm’s reference list for completed projects in the countries of the former Soviet Union numbers about 70 objects.
Unlike some manufacturers of similar equipment, which only assemble it, Van Aarsen manufactures all parts itself, assembles and installs the equipment. This allows it to carefully control the production process and guarantee the high quality of the final product.
For 70 years of working on the market, Van Aarsen has never implemented two absolutely identical projects. Each client wants to do something in his own way, and often even prefers a different production technology at his two factories.
We understand that total operating costs are not only the initial investment the in plant equipment, which is the tip of the iceberg of costs, but also labor costs, maintenance costs, energy costs, quality assurance costs, and also includes unintended downtime, cost of switching to another product, the defect costs. Therefore, we have made calculations, for example for CU pellet mills, which show how this new generation of equipment can help to reduce the overall operating costs and to reduce the return on investment.
You have an advantage over your competitors when you can offer the market many different technological and technical solutions. In turn, the customer gets the opportunity to work more flexibly, efficiently and successfully, to produce mixed feed of various types, to be the first on the market. Our company sells not only certain types of equipment, but also the entire process with automation.
It is known that nutritionally balanced compound feed is an important component of the development of animal husbandry and poultry farming. They include many components that determine the quality of feed. Especially valuable of them (biologically active additives) are included in premixes used in the production of compound feed.
Let us consider the production of premixes and granulated compound feeds using Van Aarsen equipment at Agrolife Feed, as an example.
TM KORMIL is a trade mark created by Agrolife Korma, which is a manufacturer of premixes and ready-made feed for farm animals. TM KORMIL shows more than 10 years of successful activity in the agricultural market of Ukraine.
The goal of the company is to supply the market with products that can compete with imported counterparts, that is, to offer premixes produced using modern technologies and modern equipment, and also high-quality raw materials. To produce premixes that are not inferior to imported ones in quality.
Since 2012, Agrolife Feed has been offering its customers not only imported products of the LNB trademark, but also products of its own production. This became possible thanks to the construction of a modern plant.
It should be noted that after the reconstruction of the production, Agrolife Feed paid special attention to the pre-design and design stages of work, trying to take into account all available innovations in technology and equipment as much as possible.
The Dutch company Van Aarsen was chosen among many machine-building companies that the management of Agrolife Feed approached. This choice was preceded by a huge work of the company’s specialists who visited many enterprises for the production of premixes in Poland, Holland and Germany.
Premix production
| The technological process is automated, and using a computer, you can selectively turn off the equipment for maintenance. The plant uses a special principle of local aspiration. Typically, enterprises use a single aspiration scheme for all the equipment. From time to time, the dust captured by the filters is returned to the technological process. At the same time, it is difficult to track when exactly this return occurs, which negatively affects the accuracy of the recipe. In the scheme of the Agrolife feed plant, almost every unit is aspirated autonomously. The dust from the filters is utilized as it accumulates, and its return back to the technological process is excluded, which guarantees a greater accuracy of recipes. This is especially important in the production of premixes. |
It is advantageous to use bunkers of an unusual shape. Taking into account the peculiarities of the production of premixes, they are made of metal, cigar-like construction, almost without a cone. To create such a structure, a special seam had to be used. Such hoppers allow the product to be discharged without residues accumulating on the walls.
Raw materials are loaded into the hopper through a device equipped with an aspiration system. The components are dosed using dosing valves installed under the overdosing hoppers. The valves are controlled by individual hydraulic cylinders. The components are weighed on a S.I.D. (200 kg) with a minimum weighing dose of 4 kg, measuring step -50 g. For dosing microcomponents (vitamins and enzymes, mineral salts, etc.), the microdosing unit includes 12 overdosing bins with a common lid, as for dosing medium components. Raw materials are loaded into the bins also using a device equipped with an aspiration system. The components are dosed using dosing valves installed under the overdosing hoppers. The valves are controlled by individual hydraulic cylinders. For weighing microcomponents, we use M.I.D. (50 kg), for dosing components. The minimum weighing dose is 1 kg, the weighing limit is 20 kg. Also, the installations have a turner, which prevents the product from caking. In general, more than 20 components can be dispensed.
After the launch of the equipment for the production of premixes, the pellet mill work began. It required a professional approach and detailed study in the selection of granulation equipment. Therefore, the work of the chief engineer Andrian Petriv should be noted, who made a significant contribution to the organization of this process.
Taking into account the experience in microdosing for the premix production, the management of Agrolife Feed decided to install a pellet line of the Dutch company Van Aarsen. For four years of operation of microdosing units, the maintenance did not require any repairs or additional investments.
Pellet process
The line includes two storage bins for loose compound feed. Of these, the compound feed is transported by screw conveyors to the intermediate hopper, and then to the mixer-conditioner of the pellet press. The air conditioner mixer is equipped with adjustable and interchangeable wear-resistant blades, steam nozzles, hinged doors with limit switch. To prevent a steam leakage, the air inlet is equipped with a steam seal.
From the conditioner, the product enters the compact C600 pellet mill with a capacity of 10 t / h. The productivity of this machine and the high quality of the pellets are achieved due to the large working surface of the die and its optimal angular speed. The speed is adjusted according to the characteristics of the processed product. To protect the pellet mill from metal-magnetic impurities, a magnetic column is used, which is located in the inlet pipe. Hot pellets enter the counter-current cooler via a connecting chute, complete with a product movement indicator.
The cooler and pellet press are separated by a sluice valve that prevents hot air from sucking in. A rotary driven pellet distributor distributes them evenly in the cooler. The first-in-first-out cooler, combined with a unique, patented discharge mechanism, ensures a complete discharge. There is no risk of local hypothermia of the pellets, since the unloading mechanism carries out their constant release. The pellets do not collapse due to the slight temperature difference between the pellets and the cooling air at all stages of cooling. Thus, the “heat shock” of the pellets is prevented. In addition, they are at rest relative to each other when moving vertically. The cooling process starts as soon as the bottom of the cooling chamber is covered with pellets and ends only when the last pellets are unloaded.
A cyclone is used to clean the air spent in the coolers. The aspirated waste is returned to the intermediate hopper. The bucket pellets are fed into the sifter for distribution into coarse fraction, grains (finished products) and fine fraction. The coarse waste goes to the storage box, and then for re-granulation, the fine fraction returns to the intermediate hopper above the pellet press.
These and other progressive technological solutions, based on the engineering proposals of Van Aarsen, a supplier of the main technological and transport equipment for the production of animal feed, make it possible to produce high-quality, competitive products.
Agrolife Feed experience cannot be called easy. In conditions of a shortage of financial resources, using mainly our own financial resources and relying on highly qualified personnel, they built a modern plant that meets the European level that is a positive example in the domestic agricultural sector.