The application of screw extrusion puffing machines in the food industry involves process, selection, or operational management issues related to food processing and production equipment.The actual solution should be confirmed based on raw material characteristics, target product specifications, production scale, and on-site conditions, and should not be determined solely by single equipment parameters.

Key Points on the Application of Screw Extruders in the Food Industry

Screw extruders are primarily used in the food industry to produce starch-based and protein-based extruded puffed foods, as well as extruded puffed animal feed. They can also be employed as specialized chemical or biochemical reactors.

Subject: Application of Screw Extrusion Puffing Machine in the Food Industry;Starch-based extruded puffed foods: The starch in grains undergoes gelatinization (alpha conversion) under the high temperature and high pressure conditions of the extrusion puffing machine.The research results indicate that after extrusion puffing, the starch alpha-dexinization degree of corn flour can reach over 98%, the crude fat content decreases by 60% or even completely disappears, and water solubility increases by more than 40%.Therefore, extruders can replace drum dryers for the production of pre-gelatinized starch.Gu Zhengbiao et al. used an extrusion puffing machine for the deep processing of starch, preparing starch phosphate and caramel color from starch as the raw material.Scholars Carr and Cunningham successfully used a twin-screw extruder to produce ethylene glycol glycosides from starch.Meuser et al. produced anionic and cationic starches using starch derivatives in a twin-screw extruder.

Subject: Application of Screw Extrusion Puffing Machine in the Food Industry;Protein-based extruded puffed foods: Under high temperature and high pressure conditions, plant proteins undergo texturization.Under the shear force between the screw channel and the barrel wall of the extrusion puffing machine, the molecular chains of plant proteins are strongly unfolded and arranged in a relatively linear manner.The unfolded molecular chains can freely reorient and reorganize to form a fibrous structure.Its fibrous structure is similar to that of lean meat, and it exhibits a certain degree of elasticity and chewiness after rehydration.In addition, fish proteins such as surimi and dried fish meal can also be used to produce restructured foods that mimic the flavors of shrimp, softshell turtle, and chicken.Using a twin-screw extrusion machine for grinding and chopping meat enables the production of various engineered meat products, such as beef jerky and pork jerky.

Subject: Application of Screw Extrusion Puffing Machine in the Food Industry;Extruded expanded feed: In feed processing technology, extruders are mainly used to process raw materials such as full-fat soybean meal, corn starch, various oilseed meals, rice husks, rice bran, eggshells, fish meal, and blood meal.The produced feed products include floating fish feed, high-protein shrimp feed, piglet feed, chicken feed, pet toy animal feed, and special aquatic feed.

Subject: Application of Screw Extrusion Puffing Machine in the Food Industry;Extruded expanded feed: Extrusion expansion treatment of full-fat soybeans can inactivate antinutritional factors such as urease, improve the palatability and digestibility of soybean feed, and serve as a source of protein and energy in piglet feed.2. Corn is the primary raw material for feed starch.The starch content of Chinese corn is 71%–72%, with amylose accounting for 27% and amylopectin for 73%.The starch content mainly affects the puffing degree of the feed.When the content of amylose or modified starch is high, puffing is easily achieved;If the feed formula contains low or no starch, it is difficult to achieve a certain degree of puffing.3. Various oil cakes and meals are rich in protein. After high-temperature and high-pressure treatment, the proteins undergo denaturation, anti-nutritional factors are destroyed, and the digestibility and absorption rate of energy substances are improved.In addition, these meal and cake contain certain toxic components, which can be effectively detoxified through extrusion puffing.4. After extrusion and puffing treatment, rice husks and rice bran can have their shelf life extended by 10 times. Lipase and oxidase are inactivated, microorganisms and pests are killed, and fats are less prone to hydrolysis and oxidation, resulting in relatively stable properties.5. Crop straw, as an unconventional feed resource, is characterized by coarse texture, poor palatability, low digestibility, and low nutritional value.However, its nutritional value and digestibility can be improved after cooking and extrusion.

Subject: Application of Screw Extrusion Puffing Machine in the Food Industry;Extruded expanded feed: It is reported that cooking under a pressure of 5×10⁵ to 9×10⁵ Pa can destroy plant cell walls.After treatment with high-pressure steam, sudden pressure release disrupts the fiber structure, yielding excellent processing results for straw.

What conditions should be considered during implementation or selection?

First, it is essential to clarify the product type, raw material state, formulation direction, and expected finished product requirements.For projects involving extrusion, forming, drying, frying, conveying, seasoning, or packaging, the processing capacity and cycle time of each stage must be matched to avoid discrepancies between individual equipment capacity and the overall line requirements.

Secondly, the installation plan should be evaluated in conjunction with the workshop's spatial layout and utility conditions, including power supply, water supply, steam, or gas.Equipment configuration should also take into account long-term operational factors such as cleaning, maintenance, safety protection, spare parts supply, and operator training.Any process or equipment capabilities mentioned in this document are for reference only in the context of solution discussions and preliminary assessments.Specific model numbers, power ratings, production capacities, temperatures, and times shall be subject to the formal technical proposal and the results of trial runs or on-site verification.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the equipment be determined directly based on the standard configuration?

Not recommended.Different raw materials, product structures, target production capacities, and downstream processes can affect the equipment configuration.It is more prudent to confirm the product and process conditions before proceeding with the configuration assessment.

How to obtain more targeted advice?

It is recommended to prepare product images or sample information, raw material and formulation guidelines, target production capacity, existing workshop conditions, and planned downstream equipment configurations.Dayi Machinery can further discuss the applicable process routes and equipment configuration options based on this.

This article is compiled based on the document "Application of Screw Extrusion Puffing Machine in the Food Industry" provided by Dayi Machinery, with the aim of helping readers understand the relevant topics.For technical requirements related to specific projects, please refer to the actual product documentation and engineering confirmation results.