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D. F. MIELCAREK, Coperion Corp., 663 E. Crescent Ave., Ramsey, NJ 07446 The ZSK MEGAvolume is like no other twin-screw extruder. The MEGAvolume offers more features and processing advantages for food applications. With the ZSK MEGAvolume, an extruder is now available to the food industry that ensures ideal geometry for products with low bulk density, difficult feed characteristics, or high fiber content. The use of this new twin-screw extruder design brings economic advantages compared to earlier machines. Investment for required output is reduced by as much as one third. Process flexibility, on the other hand, is considerably increased because of the higher screw speeds and the increase in available torque. What are the key factors for this successful and optimal processing design? This new design took into consideration three factors: screw volume, screw speed, and torque. The free volume is greatly increased by the deeper cut screw flights with an outer-to-inner diameter ratio (DI/DO) of 1.8. This improves the intake of flours, starches, and additives with low-bulk density. It also reduces the shear rates which reduces the thermal stress on the materials. The MEGAvolume series of extruders is designed for screw speeds up to 1800 RPM. These high speeds can be applied in many HTST (high temperature short residence time) processes. This gives the manufacturer improved price-to-performance ratio. These speeds allow increases in throughputs of three to four times compared to the same size machine of earlier designs. These speeds combined with the brushless AC motors allow much greater turndown rates. Some food processes are occasionally torque limited. The new MEGAvolume extruder has a torque ratio of 8.7 Nm/cm3. This is more than twice the torque of previous twin screw extruders allowing higher throughputs and greater flexibility in adjusting the residence time.
Session 3, NEW PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGIES: Innovations in nutritional ingredients and food processing
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |