Mixing/Blending/Granulation

Several mixing techniques are available including plow mixing as well as mixer granulation.

• High Speed Choppers
• Wet or Dry Mixing
• Melt and Conventional Wet Granulation
• Laboratory V-Blender

Pelleting

Pelleting is performed by a pellet mill type operation where rollers press material through a die plate. The die plates are selected in order to give the right physical properties such as:

• Hardness
• Bulk Density
• Size
• Fixed ratios

Low-Pressure Extrusion

Low-pressure extrusion takes a moist mass and wipes it through a screen to form small noodles.

• Radial, Axial and Basket Type
• Typical sizes from 0.5 mm up to 2 mm.
• Laboratory scale testing with production scale processing in conjuntion with partners.

Spheronization

Spheronization entails taking an extrudate, cutting/breaking it into short lengths then rounding the particle into a spherical shape. Spheronization is typically performed when the material is moist so that it can plastically deform much like a lump of clay. Spheronization can also be used to condition granules so that fines in the final product are reduced.

• Laboratory Scale Testing
• Production Scale Processing
• Batch or Continuous Operation

Cooling/Drying

A vibrating fluid bed dryer is used to gently dry or cool the particles. After pelleting operations where frictional heat of the process fuses the material together, the pellets need to be returned to near room temperature prior to packaging. Here, ambient air is drawn into filters and blown through the material as it is vibrated across a chamber. For products that require drying, steam coils are used to heat the incoming air.

All exhaust air is filtered to remove dust particles.

• Gentle Drying or Cooling
• Processing Temperatures up to 275*F as a standard but can be increased to 350*F by special request.
• Plug flow design
• Two stage fluidization

Classification and Packaging

All products are fed through a magnetic separator and classified prior to packaging.

• Wide sizes of screens for classification
• Packaging options include bulk bags, Gaylords, drums and valve bags.