Flow patterns of additives used in animal feed manufacture during blade extractor dosage

Additives can be fed (dosed) into feed mixes using screw conveyors or blade extractors. Blade extractors have a simple operating principle: the unit’s flat base is fitted with a combination of fixed and mobile blades (Figure 1). The motion of these blades directs the product flow, and can be adjusted to various extractor index settings that control the size of the displacement and, therefore, the size of the aperture. The literature provides few insights into how a product’s physical properties affect the output parameters of this type of extractor (flow rate, flow control).