Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology

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Aquafeed Extrudate Flow Rate and Pellet

Characteristics from Low-Cost Single-Screw
Extruder

Sukumar Bandyopadhyay PhD & Ranjan K. Rout

To cite this article: Sukumar Bandyopadhyay PhD & Ranjan K. Rout (2001) Aquafeed Extrudate
Flow Rate and Pellet Characteristics from Low-Cost Single-Screw Extruder, Journal of Aquatic
Food Product Technology, 10:2, 3-15, DOI: 10.1300/J030v10n02_02

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J030v10n02_02

Published online: 11 Oct 2008.

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 PEER REVIEWED PAPERS
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

Aquafeed Extrudate Flow Rate

and Pellet Characteristics
from Low-Cost Single-Screw Extruder
Sukumar Bandyopadhyay
Ranjan K. Rout

ABSTRACT. Extrudate flow rate and effects of extrusion variables on

extrudate properties were studied in a laboratory (small-scale) single-
screw, cooking extruder by extruding a marine shrimp feed mix. Re-
sponse surface design was followed to examine the effect of screw speed
(20-140 rev/min), L/D ratio (8-16), barrel temperature (60-100°C) and
moisture content of feed mix (20-60%). All the variables were highly
significant having positive linear relationship (r2 = 0.99) with the experi-
mental flow rate QExp. QTheo calculation from the simplified flow model,
however, over-predicted QExp within 9 to 89%. Prediction improved
with increased L/D ratio, screw speed, mosture content, and barrel tem-
perature. The combined effects on water stability, expansion ratio and

Sukumar Bandyopadhyay, PhD, is Professor, Aquacultural and Process Engi-

neering, Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy, Kharagpur–721 302, India.
Ranjan K. Rout, Research Fellow, is presently with Aquacare Consultancy and
Laboratory Services, Balasore, Orissa.
Address correspondence to: Dr. Sukumar Bandyopadhyay at the above address
(E-mail: bandyo@agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in).
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology, Vol. 10(2) 2001
 2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 3
 4 JOURNAL OF AQUATIC FOOD PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

true density of extrudate showed that L/D 12-14 and moisture content
30-35% were optimum for the three properties, and 92-94 rev/min was
the optimum speed for water stability and true density. Barrel tempera-
ture showed optimum values within 68-94°C. The most desirable values
of the properties were 90.3% water stability, 0.99 expansion ratio, and
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

1347.9 kg/m3 true density. [Article copies available for a fee from The
Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address:
<getinfo@haworthpressinc.com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com>
2001 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Extrusion, aquafeed processing, volumetric flow rate,

pellet characteristics

INTRODUCTION
Aquaculture feed or aquafeed-manufacturing technology involves
pelletization by a number of methods, of which steam compaction
pelleting is by far the most common technique (Lim and Cuzon, 1994).
However, extrusion cooking of feeds offers several advantages over
steam pelleting, making this technology commercially popular. Extru-
sion cooking results in pellets with better water stability and higher den-
sity than steam compaction (Wood, 1995). Water stability of an aquafeed
plays a major role in determining the overall performance of the feed.
Feed pellets that disintegrate faster cause rapid leaching of nutrients
leading to non-availability to the animals. On the other hand, sinking
type pellets with less expanded structure and high densities are desir-
able for shrimp aquaculture. Binders need not be used in extrusion
cooking processes but are needed in pellet milling (Cuzon et al., 1994).
One major disadvantage of extrusion technology is that the extruders
are costly and need high precision manufacturing for fabrication. A
low-cost laboratory single screw cooking extruder was developed and
used to process aquafeed (Rout, 1997). Although some work on extru-
sion of fish muscle has been reported (Choudhury and Gogoi, 1995), lit-
erature on the effects of process variables on the extrudate characteristics
during extrusion of feed mix containing fish powder as the major com-
ponent is not available. In food or feed extrusion typical extrudate char-
acteristics are functions of the dough and its moisture content, extruder
barrel temperature, extruder screw speed and screw configuration (Harper,
1981). Specific information on these functional relationships is neces-
sary to control the extruder operation.
To maintain a high quality of aquafeed pellets in a process that occurs
 Bandyopadhyay and Rout 5

at relatively short residence times, the flow of the feed-mix dough and
the factors affecting it must be known accurately. However, there is no
study that critically analyzes the flow of feed-mix dough containing
various materials with high moisture and fat content. The objectives of
the present study were to process aquafeed pellets from a formulated
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

feed mix in the developed laboratory single screw cooking extruder, to

analyze the volumetric flow rate data of the feed mix dough obtained
during extrusion under various operating conditions, and to analyze the
pellet characteristics of water stability, expansion ratio and true density
as functions of extrusion variables.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Extruder
The single screw cooking extruder developed and fabricated at the
workshop of the Institute was used for feed processing (Bandyopadhyay,
1996; Rout, 1997). The extruder was constructed with segmented bar-
rels so that the length of the barrel (L) could be changed to 200, 250,
300, 350 and 400 mm by adding the respective segments. The length of
the screw was varied according to barrel length, and three different
lengths of screw were used for the purpose. The design pressure inside
the barrel was taken at about 120 bar by considering a factor of safety of
two from the value of 60 bar recommended by Harper (1981). Compres-
sion in the extruder was achieved by constructing the extruder screw as
an increasing root diameter type in the feed section. Dimensions of the
extruder are given in Table 1.
The extruder was fitted with brass-encased band heaters in the meter-
ing section, where barrel temperature was measured with the help of ex-
posed thermocouple tips. Temperature was not controlled in the feed
section, which got heated by conduction from the metering section. A
combined temperature and pressure measuring device was also used to
measure the temperature of the feed mix and the pressure generated in
the die section. For this purpose the thermocouple tip was flush mounted
with the inside barrel surface, and a grease-filled Bourdon tube-type
pressure transducer was used.
Feed Preparation and Processing
A least cost formula was designed for Penaeus monodon using fish
meal, shrimp head meal, squid meal, deoiled rice bran, deoiled soya
 6 JOURNAL OF AQUATIC FOOD PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

TABLE 1. Geometry of the Laboratory Extruder

Barrel diameter, D (mm) 25.0

Barrel length, L (mm), maximum 400
Axial length of feed section, L1 (mm) 200
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

Axial length of metering section, L2 (mm) 50, 100,

150, 200
Screw channel height, H (mm)
–at the root of the screw (H1) 5.8
–at the die end (H2) 1.8
Screw clearance, δ (mm) 2
Screw helix angle (°) 20
Channel width, W (mm) 20.3
Axial channel width, B (mm) 21.6
Flight width, e (mm) 0.47
Die diameter, dD (mm) 2
Die length (mm) 20

flour, wheat flour (whole wheat ground and bran separated by screen-
ing) and fish oil. The other ingredients were lecithin, vitamins, minerals,
and calcium dihydrogen phosphate. Composition of the feed formula is
given in Table 2 (Rout and Bandyopadhyay, 1999). The feed ingredi-
ents preparation and mixing, extrusion of feed mix dough and drying of
pellets were carried out following Gokulakrishnan and Bandyopadhyay
(1995), except that no commercial binder was used in the present feed
mix. The raw ingredients were ground to 300 µm size and mixing was
done for about 20 min. Particle size analysis of the feed mix showed that
99.7% of material passed through 212 µm mesh size. All the mesh sizes
are as per BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) specifications.
Extruder was set at a particular L/D ratio, barrel temperature and
screw speed, and the feed mix dough prepared with a particular mois-
ture level was fed manually into the hopper at the feed section. Care was
taken to maintain an overflow of material at the feed opening. At higher
moisture content the lumpy consistency of the feed mix was broken by
finger pressure before feeding, and free-flowing condition was main-
tained by applying manual pressure through the feed port. When the
output of the pellet strands from the die was steady and uniform and
pressure fluctuation was found to be minimum, pellet samples were col-
lected. The pellet strands were cooled under a fan and dried in a tray
dryer to about 10% moisture content at 60-65-C. The dry pellets were
cut into 3-5 mm length and packed in sealed pouches for further study.
 Bandyopadhyay and Rout 7

TABLE 2. Composition and Particle Size of Feed Mix

Ingredients Composition
(% wet basis)
Fish meal 29.37
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

Shrimp head meal 10.00

Squid meal 5.00
Wheat flour 28.25
Deoiled rice bran 4.01
Deoiled soybean meal 15.00
Fish oil 2.17
Lecithin 1.00
Microingredients (vitamins and minerals) 5.10
Particle size (fraction passing through 212 µm sieve) 99%

For measurement of volumetric flow rate pellet samples were collected

only after attaining the steady flow of extrudate for about five minutes.
Taking the wet extrudate diameter equal to the die diameter, experimen-
tal volumetric flow rate (QExp) was calculated from the relation:
π
Q Exp = d l × 10 −7 ( m 3 /s)
4 D 2 10

where dD = die diameter (cm), and l10 = length of the wet extrudate (cm)
coming out of the die end in 10 seconds. The reported values were the
mean of three replications.
Pellet Characteristics
Water stability: Water stability is usually measure as percentage of
pellets retained on a wire mesh screen after immersion in water and
dried in an air oven (Lim and Cuzon, 1994). In the present investigation,
brass wire mesh of 0.5 mm size made into baskets was used. Triplicate
baskets containing about 20 g pellets spread in one layer were immersed
in saline water flowing through a tank under mild agitation by air
stones. The baskets were kept immersed for two hours, and the residue
was dried for three hours at 110-C and weighed.
Expansion ratio: Expansion ratio was measured as the ratio of aver-
age diameter of dry pellet to die hole diameter. The results were re-
ported as the mean of five measurements.
Pellet density: The pycnometer method using toluene was followed
 8 JOURNAL OF AQUATIC FOOD PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

to determine the true density of the pellets. The values were reported as
mean of three replications. For determination of the pellet characteris-
tics, 3-5 mm long by 2 mm diameter pellets were used.
Experimental Design for Process Variables
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

A statistically designed response surface experiment, composite ro-

tatable design (Mullen and Ennis, 1979) was chosen to examine the
combined effects of four independent process variables: screw speed
(x1), L/D ratio (x2), barrel temperature (x3), and moisture content of
feed mix (x4) on volumetric flow rate and the three pellet characteris-
tics. The experiments were composed of 31 extruder runs (Table 3). A
second order response model was chosen,
n n n
y = bo + Σ bi x i + Σ Σ bij x i x j + ε
i =1 i = 1 j= 1

where y is the dependent variable; xi and xj are independent vari-

ables; bo, bi, and bj are coefficients; n is the number of independent vari-
ables; and is tan unobservable error. The dependent variables were
adequately described to find out the effect caused by changing the inde-
pendent variables.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Flow Rate Analysis
Experimental flow rates (QExp) obtained from 31 extruder runs,
ranges between 0.52 ⫻ 10⫺7 and 6.56 ⫻ 10⫺7 m3/s (Table 4). QExp in-

TABLE 3. Actual and Coded Levels of Variables for Response Surface Analysis

Variable Code Coded level

⫺2 ⫺1 0 ⫹1 ⫹2
Screw speed (rev/min) x1 20 50 80 110 140
L/D ratio (mm/mm) x2 8 10 12 14 16

Barrel temperature (°C) x3 60 70 80 90 100

Feed mix moisture content (%) x4 20 30 40 50 60

 Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

TABLE 4. Experimental Results of Extrudate Flow Rates and Pellet Properties

Expt. Screw speed L/D ratio Barrel Moisture QExp ⫻ 107 QExp/QTheo Water Expansion True density
No. (rev/min) (mm/min) temperature content (m3/s) stability (%) ratio (kg/m3)
(°C) (%)
1 50 10 70 30 1.64 ± 0.10 0.74 16.66 ± 4.78 0.964 ± 0.010 1317.14 ± 6.543
2 50 10 70 50 2.49 ± 0.12 0.78 7.78 ± 3.27 0.927 ± 0.008 1290.15 ± 8.278
3 50 10 90 30 1.76 ± 0.10 0.79 59.65 ± 3.53 0.871 ± 0.010 1307.42 ± 8.016
4 50 10 90 50 2.79 ± 0.18 0.79 45.82 ± 3.53 0.892 ± 0.013 1229.03 ± 11.793
5 50 14 70 30 1.84 ± 0.12 0.40 18.66 ± 4.94 0.962 ± 0.014 1322.64 ± 7.462
6 50 14 70 50 3.48 ± 0.16 0.76 14.12 ± 4.53 0.910 ± 0.013 1312.65 ± 6.603
7 50 14 90 30 2.35 ± 0.22 0.51 76.43 ± 3.18 0.938 ± 0.009 1304.26 ± 9.134
8 50 14 90 50 3.87 ± 0.33 0.85 69.23 ± 1.98 0.899 ± 0.017 1259.85 ± 14.365
9 110 10 70 30 2.94 ± 0.07 0.60 20.28 ± 3.23 0.922 ± 0.014 1325.10 ± 3.458
10 110 10 70 50 4.33 ± 0.11 0.89 14.35 ± 1.69 0.881 ± 0.012 1265.79 ± 9.671
11 110 10 90 30 3.92 ± 0.15 0.80 63.23 ± 2.28 0.932 ± 0.008 1285.05 ± 17.645
12 110 10 90 50 5.08 ± 0.85 0.85 54.74 ± 2.48 0.900 ± 0.010 1242.38 ± 12.789
13 100 14 70 30 3.20 ± 0.20 0.32 27.80 ± 4.60 0.911 ± 0.012 1335.93 ± 4.532
14 10 14 70 50 5.76 ± 0.35 0.57 19.59 ± 2.86 0.851 ± 0.010 1326.89 ± 10.112
15 110 14 90 30 4.31 ± 0.15 0.43 78.84 ± 1.90 0.920 ± 0.013 1323.16 ± 10.654
16 110 14 90 50 6.15 ± 0.55 0.61 72.96 ± 4.08 0.859 ± 0.027 1275.51 ± 6.543
17 140 12 80 40 6.56 ± 0.48 0.65 71.44 ± 2.24 0.914 ± 0.010 1312.03 ± 8.671
18 20 12 80 40 1.57 ± 0.05 0.86 60.91 ± 3.57 0.936 ± 0.010 1265.06 ± 5.667
19 80 16 80 40 4.40 ± 0.40 0.52 70.87 ± 1.99 0.931 ± 0.017 1338.12 ± 6.664
20 80 8 80 40 2.81 ± 0.10 0.40 22.32 ± 1.74 0.913 ± 0.013 1221.09 ± 27.778
21 80 12 100 40 3.75 ± 0.07 0.65 79.84 ± 1.08 0.934 ± 0.010 1275.66 ± 22.340
22 80 12 60 40 2.34 ± 0.17 0.40 0.44 ± 0.32 0.950 ± 0.017 1333.08 ± 2.569
23 80 12 80 40 4.68 ± 0.43 0.81 37.40 ± 3.04 0.845 ± 0.014 1282.21 ± 18.971
24 80 12 80 40 0.51 ± 0.01 0.09 68.52 ± 3.48 0.980 ± 0.012 1331.58 ± 13.778
25 80 12 80 40 2.41 ± 0.12 0.42 69.24 ± 1.97 0.982 ± 0.017 1326.10 ± 9.231
26 80 12 80 40 2.29 ± 0.13 0.40 68.32 ± 1.74 0.976 ± 0.010 1326.68 ± 6.665
27 80 12 80 40 2.42 ± 0.27 0.42 68.43 ± 2.27 0.978 ± 0.012 1324.86 ± 7.342
28 80 12 80 40 2.28 ± 0.11 0.39 69.75 ± 1.87 0.977 ± 0.009 1323.53 ± 10.567
29 80 12 80 40 2.46 ± 0.12 0.42 67.77 ± 3.42 0.980 ± 0.011 1324.33 ± 3.567
30 80 12 80 40 2.35 ± 0.22 0.41 69.15 ± 3.18 0.978 ± 0.124 1325.16 ± 7.897
31 80 12 80 40 2.28 ± 0.14 0.39 67.86 ± 2.25 0.976 ± 0.070 1325.18 ± 5.987

9
 10 JOURNAL OF AQUATIC FOOD PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

creased with any increase in variables studied. The analysis of variance

(Table 5) showed that screw speed (x1) and moisture content (x4) had
the greatest weight (p ⱕ 0.01) followed by L/D ratio (x2) and barrel
temperature (x3). The quadratic terms of screw speed (x 12 ), L/D ratio
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

(x 22 )
and barrel temperature (x 23 ) were also significant (p ⱕ 0.01), but no in-
teractive term was significant at p ⱕ 0.01.
Volumetric flow rates were calculated from the equation below
(Carley and Strub, 1953; Carley et al., 1953) for different lengths of me-
tering section (L2) corresponding to L/D ratios and for different screw
speeds (N):
αΗ 2 L 2 Κ
Q Theo =
βH 32 + γ + L 2 Κ

where α, β and γ are the constants that depended on the dimensions of

the screw, and K is the die constant. Although this theory is valid only
for shallow screws with very small ratio of screw channel height to bar-
rel diameter (H/D) or to channel width (H/W) (Harper, 1981; Li and
Hsieh, 1994, 1996), it was applied in aquafeed extrusion by the present
authors to check its accuracy of prediction (Rout, 1996). Placing the
values of the constants in centimeters from Table 1, and α = 6.532 N

TABLE 5. Regression Equation and Coefficients for Volumetric Flow Rate

(QExp)

Regression Variable Regression Variable

coefficient coefficient
Y = 14.148
+6.357 x1*** ⫹1.176 x2x4**
+5.081 x4*** ⫹0.524 x 2*
4
+2.291 x2*** ⫹0.718 x1x3*
+1.846 x3*** ⫹0.712 x1x4*
+2.726 x 2 *** ⫹0.110 x1x2NS
1
+2.033 x 2 *** ⫹0.096 x2x3NS
2
+1.201 x 2 *** ⫺0.332 x3x4NS
3
r2 = 0.99; *** significant at P ⱕ 0.01; ** significant at P ⱕ 0.05; * significant at P ⱕ 0.1; NS, not significant
 Bandyopadhyay and Rout 11

cm2/min, β = 0.051 cm, γ = 3.7 ⫻ 10⫺5 cm4, and K = 1.96 ⫻ 10⫺5 cm3,
the equation becomes:
0.230L 2
Q Theo = N
+ 0.916 L 2
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

3346
.

Comparison between QTheo and QExp is presented in Table 4. It shows

that the equation above over-predicted the flow rate in all the 31 experi-
ments with variation of QExp from 9% to 89% of QTheo. However, higher
L/D ratio and screw speed yielded better prediction than that with lower
L/D ratio and screw speed. Increase of barrel temperature and moisture
content also improved predictions. With increasing length of metering
section (L2) L/D ratio increase, thereby increasing the flow rate (Harper,
1981). Harmann and Harper (1973) and Bouvier et al. (1987) observed
that the QExp was strongly dependent on screw speed. But QExp was not
a weak function of moisture and not independent of barrel temperature
in extrusion of aquafeed mix, as it was observed by Harmann and
Harper (1973) in case of extrusion of corn grits. The increase in mois-
ture content might have a greasing effect on the inner barrel wall result-
ing in higher QExp. Increase of flow due to decrease in viscosity at
higher temperature was also observed by Bouvier et al. (1987).
In general, over prediction of QTheo was due to the non-Newtonian
behavior of the feed mix dough. Harper (1981) cited several examples
of this deviation and explained that alteration of velocity profile within
the channel, surging in the extrusion screw and dominance of drag flow
might be some of the reasons of deviation from the flow behavior. Devi-
ations varied between 10% and 21% in these cases reported by Harper
(1981). Inaccuracy of prediction might also be due to the errors intro-
duced into the simplified flow model in assumption of infinite channel
depth and boundary conditions for its solution (Li and Hsieh, 1994,
1996).

Pellet Characteristics

The values of water stability obtained after 120 min of immersion

ranged between 0.44 and 79.84% within the experimental conditions of
all the 31 runs (Table 4). It was observed that water stability improved
with increasing screw speed, L/D ratio and barrel temperature, and with
decreasing moisture content, keeping all other conditions at the same
level. The results indicated that all the four process variables directly in-
 12 JOURNAL OF AQUATIC FOOD PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

fluenced the water stability. Expansion ratio of dry pellets varying be-
tween 0.845 and 0.982 decreased with increasing screw speed, barrel
temperature and moisture content, but with decreasing L/D ratio. True
densities of dry pellets having moisture content in the range of 9.5%-
10.5% varied between 1221.09 and 1338.12 kg/m3. The values of true
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

density increased with increasing screw speed and L/D ratio, but with
decreasing barrel temperature and moisture content.
Statistical analysis of the data of pellet properties given in Table 6
show the regression equations with independent variables in coded
units. The result shows that screw speed had influence on expansion ra-
tio (p ⱕ 0.01), true density (p ⱕ 0.05) and water stability (p ⱕ 0.10) in
increasing level of significance and had negative relationship only with
expansion ratio. L/D ratio had significant positive relationship with wa-
ter stability and true density. Temperature exhibited strong positive ef-
fect on water stability and negative influence on true density (p ⱕ 0.01).
Moisture content had a negative effect on all three characteristics (p ⱕ
0.01), indicating a higher water stability, true density and expansion ra-
tio with lower moisture content. All the quadratic terms were negative,
with L/D (x 22 ) exerting the maximum influence on all three pellet prop
erties, indicating a fall-off in extrudate quality at extremes of small and
large L/D. All the four quadratic terms were highly significant for ex-
pansion ratio. All but screw speed (x 12 ) were highly significant for water
stability, and only screw speed (x 12 ) and L/D (x 22 ) were highly signifi-
cant for true density. In comparison to the quadratic terms, the interac-
tive terms were mostly insignificant for the extrudate properties.

TABLE 6. Regression Equations with Independent Variables in Coded Untis

for Water Stability, Expansion Ratio and True Density of Pellets

Extrudate property Regression equation r2

Water stability y = 68.64 ⫹ 22.52 x3 ⫹ 8.01 x2 ⫺ 5.22 x4 ⫺ 8.83 x 2 ⫺ 7.21 x 2 0.97
3 2
⫺ 5.61 x 2 ⫹ 2.67 x1 ⫺ 2.14 x 2 ⫹ 3.31 x2x3
4 1

Expansion ratio y = 0.978 ⫺ 0.0096 x1 ⫺ 0.024 x4 ⫺ 0.016 x 2 ⫺ 0.017 x 2 ⫺ 0.012 x 2 0.95

1 2 3
⫺ 0.019 x 2 ⫹ 0.013 x1x3 ⫺ 0.009 x1x2 ⫺ 0.0077 x2x4 ⫹ 0.006 x3
4

True density y = 1325 ⫹ 18.037 x2 ⫺ 16.02 x3 ⫺ 17.38 x4 ⫺ 9.09 x 2 ⫺ 11.32 x 2 0.95

1 2
⫹ 5.44 x1 ⫺ 5.13 x 2 ⫺ 6.74 x3x4 ⫹ 5.47 x1x2 ⫹ 6.02 x2x4 ⫺ 4.50x 2
3 4
Note. x1 = screw speed, x2 = L/D ratio, x3 = barrel temperature, x4 = feed mix moisture content
 Bandyopadhyay and Rout 13

The set of optimum conditions leading to the most desirable response

values of the extrudate properties was determined by calculating the
stationary points by the method described by Khuri and Cornell (1987).
The values are shown in Table 7. Barrel temperature was found to be the
most significant factor for water stability. Gelatinization of starch and
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

formation of starch-protein matrix, which are time-temperature de-

pendent processes, influence the water stability of pellets. Higher L/D
provided more length of metering section and thereby increased cook-
ing time for gelatinization. However, increase of moisture content of
the feed mix dough increased the flow rate, thereby reducing the cook-
ing time an decreasing the water stability. The strong influence of the
quadratic terms of L/D, barrel temperature and moisture content further
confirmed the result.
Statistical analysis revealed that expansion ratio was most influenced
by the feed mix moisture content followed by screw speed. Expansion
ratio is mainly governed by the pressure rise in the die head which
causes an expanded structure (Botting, 1991). Increasing moisture con-
tent reduced the pressure resulting in a less expanded structure. The
variables L/D and barrel temperature along with the moisture content
controlled the gelatinization process, and therefore, affected the flow
rate due to the gluing action of the gelatinized starchy material and the
pressure rise in the die head. L/D had a major effect on the true density,
followed by barrel temperature and moisture content. As expected, this
was in a reverse order to that of expansion ratio. At higher moisture content
an increase in the expanded structure caused a decrease in true density.
Higher barrel temperature possibly increased the content of superheated
steam that caused the extrudate to expand more, yielding a low density
product.

TABLE 7. Optimum Process Variables Corresponding to the Most Desirable

Response Functions

Response function Most desirable Optimum process variables

response values
Screw speed L/D ratio Barrel Moisture
(rev./min) temperature content
(°C) (%)
Water stability (%) 90.3 92 13.7 94.4 35.4
Expansion ratio 0.99 65 12.4 73.6 33.3
True density (kg/m3) 1347.9 94 13.5 68.3 34.7
 14 JOURNAL OF AQUATIC FOOD PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY

Results revealed that the optimum values of L/D ranged between 12

and 14, and those of moisture content were around 33-35% for all three
extrudate properties. While screw speed was high at 92-94 rev/min for
water stability and true density, and low at 65 rev/min for expansion ra-
tio, barrel temperature showed optimum values within 68-94-C. How-
Journal of Aquatic Food Product Technology 2001.10:3-15.

ever, this set of optimum operating conditions leading to the most

desirable extrudate properties applies to the low-cost laboratory extrud-
er used in the present studies. Further studies are necessary for applica-
tion of the data for scale-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Volumetric flow rate (QExp) data of an aquafeed extrudate obtained

in a laboratory (small-scale) single screw, cooking extruder were found
to vary significantly with screw speed, moisture content, L/D ratio and
barrel temperature. QTheo calculated from the simplified flow model
over-predicted the flow rate. However, prediction improved with in-
creased operating variables. Aquafeed pellet properties showed different
trends of variation with the extrusion variables. While barrel tempera-
ture was the most significant factor for water stability, expansion ratio
was most influenced by moisture content. Effect of the variables on true
density of the pellets was in reverse order to that of expansion ratio with
L/D, the least affecting factor of expansion ratio, showing the most in-
fluence on true density. The values of L/D 12-14 and of moisture con-
tent 33-35% were optimum for the three pellet properties, and 92-94
rev/min was optimum screw speed for only water stability and true den-
sity. Barrel temperature showed optimum values within 68-94-C.

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