Recovery of solids

Commonly, in pet food production processes, both dry and wet by-products are generated, each with different characteristics in terms of physicochemical parameters.

Most fines come from sieves, dryers, coolers, cyclones, and conveyors, with low moisture content and variable temperature. Another dry by-product, considered waste, is the rejected or defective final product that does not meet quality standards to be delivered to the end customer.

On the other hand, wet by-products originate during extruder stops and starts. Due to their high moisture content, these by-products are often very challenging to handle, as they decompose quickly and typically appear as sticky lumps.

The By-Product Recovery System (SRS) recovers solids generated at any point in the process, maximizing both products and production time. The recovery of by-products is done quickly, preventing material decomposition, especially when dealing with wet by-products from extruder startups and shutdowns.

Its most important advantages:

• Utilizes 99.9% of by-products.
• Saves costs and reprocessing time.
• Optimizes the manufacturing process.
• Improves traceability.
• Produces a highly homogeneous slurry.
• Easy to clean.
• Can be installed horizontally or vertically.

The addition of slurry replaces part of the water added to the preconditioner. Therefore, it is essential for this process to be carried out in a controlled manner using electronic signals, as the amount of water entering the preconditioner/extruder directly and through the SRS must be continuously monitored. This control system makes the process entirely automatic, with minimal human intervention.

With the SRS, we can not only recover by-products generated throughout the process but also add fresh meat to create super-premium recipes. The system can be easily adapted to add emulsified meat, or we can even provide a complete solution to process fresh and/or frozen meat, transforming it into an emulsion that can be injected in a controlled manner.

In the most comprehensive projects, the system includes:

• Reception of fresh and/or frozen meat
• Cutter or grinder
• Intermediate storage hopper
• Mixer with emulsifier
• Modified SRS for injecting by-products + emulsified meat.