![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.insta-pro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Picture1-300x116.png\")
<\/p>\nThere are several times when we talk with customers that use the terms \u201cextruder\u201d and \u201cexpander\u201d interchangeably.\u00a0 Conceptually, it is easy to see why this can happen.\u00a0 Both have barrels that process products by \u201cextruding\u201d them out of the end.\u00a0 It is important to understand the differences between these two processes in order to maximize the quality of your end product.<\/p>\n
A common design is the \u201cinterrupted flight\u201d expander. \u00a0Inside of the barrel, there is a very long shaft and auger assembly.\u00a0 Unlike a typical single screw extruder, there are a series of pins that helps to create shear along with the screw design.\u00a0 The clearances are increased to allow product to mix into itself, creating shear and cook.\u00a0 A hydraulic cone is used to create backpressure in the barrel, further increasing product cooking temperature.<\/p>\n
They typically have lower shear rates than something like our Series 2000 high-shear, dry extruder.\u00a0 This can lead to decreased barrel pressures and temperatures, which are key to deactivate antinutritional factors in oilseeds.\u00a0 In order to achieve higher cooking temperatures, it is common to inject steam into the expander barrel to increase temperatures.\u00a0 A disadvantage with this design is the requirement to dry the end-product, as opposed to simply cooling it prior to storage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A common application for expanders is in the solvent extraction oilseed industry.\u00a0 The ability of expanders to partially rupture cellular structures makes the solvent extraction process more efficient.<\/p>\n
In contrast, a high-shear dry single screw extruder will excel in areas such as cook percentage (gelatinization), nutrient availability, and anti-nutritional factor deactivation.\u00a0 This is not to say expanders are not capable of this, but due to the extruder\u2019s increased shaft speeds, tighter clearances, and increased shear, these properties are increased.<\/p>\n
As product moves along the high-shear dry extruder barrel, the mixing and heat generation from shear causes changes on the cellular level of the product, enhancing digestibility and nutrient availability.\u00a0 The design of the extruder allows for flexibility of restriction dependent upon material properties.\u00a0 A smaller footprint also allows for installation in places that may be too small for a typical expander as well.\u00a0 The additional advantages of not requiring a boiler for steam generation and\/or dryer heat make a high shear extruder a more sensible choice for a variety of applications.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.insta-pro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Picture2-300x169.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
As always, the final selection will be dependent upon many factors.\u00a0 Final product performance should be the most important as this will allow maximum return on investment from an efficiency standpoint.\u00a0 While there are similarities between these two machines, the fine details will allow for the right machine selection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are several times when we talk with customers that use the terms \u201cextruder\u201d and \u201cexpander\u201d interchangeably.\u00a0 Conceptually, it is easy to see why this can happen.\u00a0 Both have barrels that process products by \u201cextruding\u201d them out of the end.\u00a0 It is important to understand the differences between these two processes in order to maximize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":14445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[310,256,63],"class_list":["post-14778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engineeringandextrusionprocess","tag-equipment","tag-extruder","tag-extrusion-equipment-maintenance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n