Shrimp feed market demands spurring production equipment design

Clextral gave us the low down on fish and shrimp feed production trends behind extrusion equipment innovation at the Cologne feed processing show, VICTAM, earlier this month.

“The fish feed market is a growing one, and we see, for instance, in shrimp feed a demand for better control of nutrition, of product quality and of density, which is, in turn, is driving the need for more machinery control, more complex equipment, “​ said Gilles Maller, vice president, Clextral, who is responsible for the development of new business at the French group.

The company is seeing shrimp feed manufacturing customers in both Latin America and South East Asia investing in premium technology to address some specific requests from the market despite the shrimp feed industry in those regions being extremely price sensitive.

Density control ​

Maller spoke about the upgraded features of its Evolum+ line of twin screw extruders (TSE). The equipment allows for accurate control of pellet quality for specific product attributes such as sinking properties and water stability, he said.

“For instance, in shrimp feed, with our density control system, we can achieve 750g per liter density; having a fast sinking product ensures you are not going to have floating product polluting the farm.”​

Processors can manufacture granulates adapted to the nutritional requirements of different shrimp species with dimensions calibrated from 0.50 to 3.00mm on this TSE.

Ergonomic design ​

New ergonomic designs and open profiles allow full machine access, said Maller.

“With our extruders, there is quick hydraulic opening of the machine, allowing direct access of the screws, and this makes it much easier to clean the screws or carry out maintenance.”​

Independent heating and cooling circuits in each modular barrel segment also ensure optimum temperature control, while enhanced starch gelatinization and complete protein cooking guarantees first-rate digestibility and texture attributes in the feed, said the Clextral representative.

The extruder’s premium metallurgy is also designed to reduce maintenance and wear costs, he added.