INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF A SINGLE SCREW EXTRUDER

Abstract

Feed extrusion is one of the most energy intensive processes in the industry. Because of their many advantages, single screw extruders are of great importance in agriculture around the world. To increase the efficiency of the extrusion process of raw materials, an extruder screw with a grooved edge was developed. This design provides a condition for limiting the extrudable material, which helps to reduce the leakage of raw materials through the gap between the screw edge and the wall of the extruder barrel. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to increase the extruder’s efficiency by optimizing operating parameters, based on the study of the interaction of the feed and screw elements. This article presents the results of experimental studies conducted in laboratory conditions using an EC-40 extruder. Determining the influence of factors, namely, the type of screw with different height of the grooves on the screw edge, the moisture content in the extrudable material and the width of the feeder hole on the extruder efficiency, was carried out using a three-factor experiment and the response surface methodology. The optimal operating parameters have been identified at which the maximum efficiency of the extruder is ensured. At the same time, the extruder efficiency increases by 23-25% compared with a standard screw with a flat edge surface.