REINBEK, GERMANY — Amandus Kahl, with the Centre for Feed Technology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, has designed a new type of vacuum coater to overcome obstacles experienced with existing vacuum coaters in the market.

A 1,000-liter version of this new Gentle Vacuum Coater will be presented for the first time to the public at the Victam Exhibition.

Abrasion of the product inside the traditional coaters and mechanical impact due to the fast rotating mixing elements result in an increased amount of fines. Additionally, the mechanical impact promotes micro cracks, which act as weak spots. These weak spots promote breakage of the feed while the product undergoes handling procedures after the coating process. In case of aqua-feed, where breakage can also occur in the long feeding hoses before spreading the pellets into the cages, the micro cracks can result in an observable amount of additional fines.

The new Gentle Vacuum Coater is designed as a rotary drum mixer with no moving parts inside the mixing chamber. Tests showed a significant decreased amount of fines in comparison with twin shaft mixers. Also the amount of micro cracks inside the feed was significantly lower. Hence the overall product quality was improved significantly.

Less fines means less feed reprocessing and reduced energy consumption. Less breakage after the feed has left the plant ensures that the loss of feed is minimized.

The new Gentle Vacuum Coater allows complete accessibility to all parts for reliable and fast cleaning when required.