Feed Plant – GLOBAL NAMDHARI ENGINEERS

Pellet Feed Plant

Technical Specification

Pelleting is a process in which mixed feed in powder form is converted into uniform pellets through mechanical compression combined with controlled moisture and heat. This process is carried out using a set of rollers and a die with suitable hole size and shape. As the die and rollers rotate, the feed material passes through the nip between the rollers and die, where it is compressed and forced through the die holes to form dense, durable pellets.

Significance

Today, this process is widely adopted due to its considerable physical and nutritional advantages, making feed more efficient, uniform, and animal-friendly.

Physical Benefits

Improved ease of handling and transportation
Increased bulk density
Reduced ingredient segregation
Decreased feed wastage during handling and feeding
Less feed and energy expended on prehension (feed intake)

Nutritional & Hygienic Benefits

Desired features in pelleting plant for optimum pelleting

Pre-Cleaning

Pre-cleaning is the first step in the pelleting process, where raw ingredients are conveyed from bulk silos or godowns to batching bins. It is essential to remove oversized foreign materials, iron particles, and other contaminants that may otherwise affect the proper functioning of slide gates, gravity feeders, screw feeders, or downstream equipment.
Pre-cleaning systems generally include rotary sieves, jute removers, and magnetic separators. In automatic plants, the system is designed to provide continuous and efficient cleaning at the maximum ingredient flow rate.

Batching

In modern feed plants, automatic weighing of different ingredients as per the formulation to produce one batch is known as batching or proportioning. Multiple silos or bins of suitable capacity are provided, equipped with gravity or screw feeders for controlled discharge into a weigh bin located underneath.
Generally, two sets of bins are installed—one for major ingredients and another for minor ingredients. The discharge from both weigh bins flows into a common surge hopper for further processing. Bin vibrators or shaking devices are installed on selected bins to ensure smooth material flow and prevent jamming.

Mixing

Efficient mixing of micro-ingredients with the complete batch is critical for producing high-quality feed. A well-designed mixing system should achieve a minimum coefficient of variation in the shortest possible time. The mixer discharge mechanism should ensure leak-proof gates and minimum residue in the mixing chamber to avoid carryover into the next batch.

Conditioning

Conditioning involves the addition of heat and moisture to the mixed feed to achieve starch gelatinization and make the material more pliable for pelleting. An ideal conditioning system should uniformly increase temperature and moisture content through direct or indirect heating and provide the required retention time for effective conditioning.

Pelleting

After conditioning, the feed material is fed into the pellet mill, where it is compressed through the die with the help of rollers and converted into pellets. The quality and output of the pellet mill depend on several factors, including grinding quality, conditioning efficiency, feed formulation (oil, protein, fiber content), and die configuration.

Cooling

Hot pellets discharged from the pellet mill must be cooled immediately to remove excess heat and moisture. Counter-flow coolers are commonly used for this purpose. An efficient cooling system should uniformly cool pellets from all sides and effectively reduce moisture content to enhance product stability and shelf life.

Crumbling

Crumbling is the process of breaking cooled pellets into smaller particles suitable for young chicks. If crumbling is not required, the product can be bypassed and discharged directly. A well-designed crumbler should produce uniform crumb size across the entire roll width, minimize the generation of fines, and provide equal gap adjustment on both sides.

Screening

The product leaving the crumbler—either pellets or crumbs—is screened to separate fines and oversize particles. Single-deck screens are used to remove fines, while double-deck screens remove both fines and overs. Oversized material is returned to the crumbler, and fines are recycled back to the pelleting line for re-pelleting.

Bagging

After screening, the finished product is packed into bags. In small to medium-scale plants, bagging may be carried out manually, while high-capacity plants typically use electronic bagging machines. These machines ensure faster operation, higher accuracy, and improved efficiency in bagging.

Model	Power (HP)	Capacity (kg/hr)
GFP-3-4	243	3-4 Ton
GFP-5-6	255	5-6 Ton
GFP-8-10	262	8-10 Ton