Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PELLETING
PROCESS
BY: RICHARD H. LEAVER, P.E.
PRINCIPAL ENGINEER
ANDRITZ SPROUT
A Division of ANDRITZ INC.
35 Sherman Street
Muncy, Pennsylvania
Telephone: (570)546-8211
5. Pelleting increases bulk density, particularly The basic function of a pellet mill is to form a
on alfalfa, beet pulp, gluten feeds and other such pellet. This actually begins at the nip point be-
fibrous products. On alfalfa pelleting, for instance, tween the die and the rolls. All other portions of
one can increase the bulk density by a ratio of the process are really supporting activities to the
approximately 2 to 1. Densification is, of course, action occurring in this critical area. One must
1
take a very close look at this area to fully under-
stand why it is necessary to feed the pellet mill
evenly, condition properly, etc.
Feed - This is the material to be pelleted after it • From the conditioner, the feed is discharged
has been conditioned for extrusion. over a permanent magnet and into a feed spout
leading to the pellet die. (1)
Work Area - Work area in the pelleting chamber
can be defined as that area where we receive • Inter-elevator flights in the die cover feed the
the feed at its own density, compress it and material evenly to each of the 2 rolls. (2)
force it into the holes in the die. In reality, there
are two portions of the work area. • Feed distributor flights (3) distribute the material
across the face of the die.
Compression Area - Here the feed is com-
pressed to near pellet density, forcing out en- • Friction drive rolls (2) force the material through
trained air, with forced alignment of particles in holes in the dies as the die revolves.
intimate relationship with each other.
• Cut-off knives (4) mounted on the swing cover
Extrusion Area - Here the feed has reached pel- cut the pellets as they are extruded from the die.
let density and is forced to flow through the die
perforations. • The pellets fall through the discharge opening in
the swing door.
2
applied.
External Factors
To better understand the process, one needs to
evaluate what happens when there are changes
in the different variables.
Plate 4
Feedrate vs Roll Forces
5
E. PELLETING SYSTEM -- EQUIPMENT AND 2. The Bin
INSTALLATION The supply bin structures over the pellet mill
will vary with each installation. The more com-
1. General mon design is a set of supply bins mounted
Plate #5 is an example of a typical flow diagram over a common surge hopper going to the pel-
in a pelleting cost center. It illustrates how mash let mill feeder. The supply bin or bins must be
feed from the work bin flows into the feeder of adequate size to provide a continuous supply
conditioner where steam and liquids are added. of feedstock to the pellet mill. The sizing of the
The conditioned mash then flows into the pel- supply bins should be coordinated with the mill
leting chamber where the pellet is formed and mixing system to ensure an efficient overall op-
sent to the cooler. In the cooler, the hot, moist eration. Experience indicates a need for at least
pellet is cooled and dried by air movement as two bins, each at least 1-1/2 to two times the
ambient air is drawn through the cooler with a capacity of the batch mixer. A bin installation of
fan. Any fines entrained in the cooling air are this type normally results in an efficient operation,
separated at a dust collector and returned to the both from the mixing and pelleting standpoint. A
pellet mill where they can be reprocessed. Cool good surge bin design is essential to the pellet-
pellets also can be crumbled to produce finer ing operation. There must be a steady flow of
particles for feeding small animals. In many mash to the pellet mill. If there is any bridging or
instances, the product is then passed through acceleration in flow, the pellet mill will react.
a screening mechanism where final separation This can also obviously affect the conditioning
takes place. Acceptable product goes to a fin- process.
ished feed bin, while fines are returned to the
pellet mill to be reprocessed.
Plate 5
Flow Diagram - Pelleting Cost Center
The bin mounted directly over the feed screw can be better conditioned with this approach,
should have at least two adjacent vertical which avoids continuous running with a very
sides, and two of these sides should be at the small flow of fines, decreasing the potential of
beginning of the feed screw, where the feed peening the die.
screw picks up most of its load. This is where the
mash flow should be the greatest. The spout connecting the hopper to the pellet
mill feeder should have a reverse slope where it
The other two bin sides should have different enters into the feeder. This is particularly neces-
slopes to produce an internal shearing effect sary with poorly flowing feeds, because it guar-
in the feed flowing down the sloping sides. This antees a smoother flow into the screw, giving a
tends to break up arching formations. It is sug- more consistent, even feed rate. It also minimizes
gested one face should have a 60° slope to the any action by the screw which would tend to force
horizontal, the other a 70° slope to the hori- the material back up into the bin.
zontal. This is shown in the attached Plate #6.
Whenever possible, a manual slide gate be-
Consideration must be given to the proper return tween the feed bin and the inlet hopper should
of fines from the dust collector and sifter. The be installed. This provides a means of cutting off
fines return line should come in at the rear verti- the feed in the hopper over the pellet mill, which
cal face of the supply bin as shown on Plate #6. may be necessary for maintenance of the feeder
The rear portion of the bin should be baffled to conditioner.
give the returning fines priority and prevent build-
up of fines in the return line. An 8" fines return Finally, the bin and its inlet should be designed in
line is an adequate size, as long as there are such a manner that it does not segregate ingredi-
not condensate problems in the pellet cooling ents.
system which would wet the fines and prevent
free flow.
Plate 6
Pellet Work Bin Design
7
Plate 7
Feed Screw & Conditioner
An ammeter is used to measure the load on the Agitator tip speed is adjusted to the products
main drive motor at any particular feed rate. One being pelleted and the retention time required for
monitors the pellet mill power demand, both to proper absorption. Generally when one is pellet-
prevent overload and to observe the stability of ing light fluffy materials (less than 20 pounds
the operation. per cubic foot), agitator tip speeds will run be-
tween 600 and 900 feet per minute. On higher
density feeds, agitator speeds can reach between
900 and 1200 feet per minute for best results.
The function of the agitator is to blend, not beat
the pelleting is steam. The function of the
8
agitator is to blend, not beat the additives into the mate correction factor for 100% make-up water at
feed. Agitator speeds should be kept as low as 50° F).
possible to minimize abrasion.
Example: 12 ton/hr. production of poultry
The normal additive for feed pelleting is steam. feed with 6% added steam, so;
Steam should be introduced into the condition-
ing chamber at the bottom rear, with paddles BOILER HP = (12 * 2000) (6%) = 50
adjusted to keep a good head of feed in this 34.5 (.83)
area. This adjustment to a half full condition
forces the steam to flow up through the product To simplify the process, Plate #8 provides a quick
for even distribution. The agitator movement reference chart for steam requirements with vari-
gives an even, continuous blend of steam into the ous steam percentages and feed tonnages. Do
product as individual particles are exposed to the not skimp on boiler capacity. It can significantly
steam atmosphere. reduce your production.
Plate 10
Molasses Addition System
7. Pellet Mill
The pellet mill must be sized properly to EFFI- a. Types of formulation or ingredients used.
CIENTLY handle one’s pelleting requirements. b. Capacity requirements in tons.
The following application factors need to be c. Pellet quality requirements, i.e., pellet durability
determined before proper selection of a pellet mill index.
can be made. d. Product mix -- both required pellet diameter
and length of run.
12
There are two major performance criteria to be
considered in selecting a pellet mill for a specific
application. These criteria are: Retention Time
in the die and Power Requirements. These are
interdependent, so the proper combination must
be selected for a minimum cost operation.
For example:
Formulations with high grain percentages such Complete feeds typical of 12 to 15% complete
as poultry feeds normally produce in the range of dairy feeds normally pellet in the range of 120
200 to 400 pounds per horsepower hour for an to 160 pounds per horsepower hour.
integrated operation.
13
Pellet diameter is a major factor in determin-
ing proper die speed. As a general rule, small
diameter pellets in the 1/8” through 1/4” diam-
eter run best at higher speeds. Experience has
shown a die surface speed of 2,000 ft./min. is
ideal in most instances. Here we have the die
speed for maximum productivity balanced against
breakage of pellets as they hit the stationary pel-
let mill door.
15
Plate #14 illustrates the significant parts of a pel- of the die. A die is counterbored by taking
let mill die. They are:
1. d = pellet diameter
18
b. What amount of manual control for produc- OPERATION
tion back-up is required for the specific applica- We have now reviewed the basic equipment and
tion? system parameters. Now we must turn our at-
tention to the system operation. The goal in any
c. Can the process controller software be pelleting operation is to produce a pellet of
modified quickly and easily as system changes acceptable quality while maintaining an ac-
occur? ceptable production rate at minimum cost.
Remember that increased pellet quality demands
d. What type of power failure protection is will decrease the pellet mill throughput.
provided?
Many factors are involved in making a good pel-
e. Is the hardware for the particular model let: material density, source of supply, ingre-
"state of the art"? dient quality, protein content, temperature,
moisture, die specifications and pellet mill
f. What experience does the vendor have? operation. Since all these factors influence pellet
quality capacity, it is impossible to set down hard,
g. Does the vendor have the financial depth fast rules governing all phases of pelleting.
to stand behind his product and be available
years from now? The very nature of the Feed Industry is such that
the major ingredients are by-products of other
h. What will be the typical feed batch size? processes. Thus one is subject to variations in
This can affect the specific controller function de- those specific processes. These variables have
sired. For example, a 2-ton batch may not permit tended to make pelleting more of an “art”
time for an optimization sequence. In this situa- than a “science”, though significant strides are
tion, the run may be more effectively made in a being made in the sophistication of this process,
preset mode. bringing these variables under more control.
24
fat to provide the lubrication required to ease
the product through the die without raising tem-
perature. It may be an expensive ingredient, but
when one considers the potential down time of
a plugging pellet mill, fat begins to show its ad-
vantages. Too much fat can be added, which can
reduce the quality of the pellet beyond the point
of acceptance.
Plate 20 Binders
Moisture vs Durability In some instances there may be very limited per-
centages of natural binders in the product being
pelleted. Added binders may prove advanta-
geous in this situation. Historically, there has
been a reluctance to add binders, particularly
27
when these binders do not add to the feed value induces erratic pellet mill performance.
of the ration. Many binders are now designed to
contribute to feed value and thus are financially Proper paddle adjustment is required, loading
justified. the conditioner 1/2 to 3/4” full to fully utilize the
conditioner volume, and thus get the required
Much data has been gathered on binder efficien- retention time.
cies, some of it conflicting in nature and content.
A careful evaluation of characteristics should be Observe proper lubrication schedules to get
completed before including a binder in the for- maximum life from bearings and seals. Greases
mulation. Specifically, we must evaluate binders should be selected for proper load-bearing char-
at the conditioning temperatures and production acteristics, with careful attention given to tem-
rates used on the formulation. Beyond this point, peratures at which the equipment operates. They
binders become a matter of personal preference. obviously should not be water soluble to minimize
breakdown from steam.
G. MAINTENANCE
This paper has thus far discussed equipment Bearing temperatures in the conditioner can
selection, formulation and operation. The fourth exceed 200° F. , and greases should be speci-
major factor in a successful pelleting opera- fied accordingly. Excellent programs offered by all
tion is a good maintenance program. There major lubricant manufacturers. One should take
are two basic underlying facts in a successful full advantage of these programs, to get the lubri-
maintenance program. cants most appropriate for the application
1. A fast, flexible program is recommended with The matter of grease seal maintenance is
strong emphasis on preventative maintenance. often overlooked. This specifically relates to
Experience shows great cost advantages with lip-type sealing elements. Many times, the seals
preventative maintenance to catch minor prob- themselves are replaced but no attention is given
lems as they occur. As problem areas are permit- to the surface on which the seal rides. This sur-
ted to grow, there is a great acceleration in the face can be abraded away and the seal cannot
money and time required to correct the deficien- function, thus permitting steam and dirt in the
cy. bearings.
31
PELLETING - AFTER THE DIE working. Pellets are then discharged with the out-
let temperature averaging somewhere between
The fundamental factors concerning the cooling, 140 and 200°F. At this point, the pellets require
crumbling and grading of pellets are as significant cooling and drying to get a durable product.
as the fundamentals of pellet formation.
b) As it leaves the pellet mill, the pellet has a
A pellet is in its most fragile state as it leaves the relatively fibrous structure, allowing moisture
die. It has been formed but is a soft plastic, easily to migrate by capillary action. This is the same
deformable product at this time. Every effort must mechanism present when moisture is picked up
be made to handle this product as gently as pos- with a paper towel or ink is being blotted.
sible until it is cooled, dried and hardened. From
a system standpoint, the pellet should drop c) The pellet cooler is designed to bring ambient
directly from the pellet mill into the cooler, air in contact with the outer surface of the pellets.
since any type of mechanical handling will gen- This air, assuming it is not 100% saturated,
erate fines. If for some reason a layout requires will pick up moisture from the pellet surface,
handling between the pellet mill and the cooler, where it is most readily available. The moisture
potential breakage should be considered. For evaporates, causing cooling as the moisture
instance, a belt type conveyor has proven to be moves into the air.
one of the best mechanisms used to convey hot
pellets to a remote cooler. d) Heat picked up by the air increases air
temperature, which in turn increases its ca-
A. Cooling Equipment - Theory and Operation pability to pick up water. Conversely, this
There are three basic types of coolers used in the heat is required to avoid condensation in the
feed industry today: the horizontal cooler, the air system due to the added moisture. For
vertical cooler, and counterflow coolers. There example, if the air in the cooler was 70°F with a
are basic advantages to each type of cooler but relative humidity of 85% and this air was heated
the same theory of operation applies to both. by passing through a bed of pellets to 120°F, its
moisture carrying capacity would be 5 times more
1. How Pellets Are Cooled than in its original state. However, there has been
The pellet cooler performs two functions on a pick-up of moisture in the cooler, and there is a
the pellets. As it enters the cooler, both moisture delicate heat-moisture balance.
and heat are removed at the same time and in a
well-established order. The lack of either heat or e) The pellet is left in an unbalanced condi-
moisture will affect the performance of the cooler. tion when surface moisture is picked up by the
The basic parameters existing in the conditioning cooling air. More moisture is concentrated in the
process also exist in the pellet cooler. Therefore, center of the pellet than on the outside. Because
if we lower the temperature of the pellet 20°F, we of this unbalanced condition, the pellet behaves
can expect a 1% reduction in pellet moisture. Pel- like a wick, causing moisture to migrate to the
let coolers are able to remove most of the heat pellet surface along with heat. This moisture is
and moisture added from the stream conditioning then available for pick-up by the cooling air.
process and the heat added from the main motor.
f) This process continues until most of the mois-
Step by step, here is what happens: ture added in the conditioning stage is removed
along with the heat. Moisture remaining in a
a) Steam condenses on the mash in the con- pellet is usually equal to or slightly more than
ditioning chamber, causing the moisture level of the bound moisture of the ingredients as they
the mash to increase on an average, 3 to 5%. In come to the conditioning chamber. This bound
condensing steam, large quantities of heat are moisture will not be removed in an ambient air
gained. This mash is then pelleted and more cooler under normal circumstances. The excep-
heat is added through friction and mechanical tion exists when large volumes of extremely
32
dry air enter a pellet cooler and cause an actual basement location, the horizontal cooler will
loss of moisture or "shrink". Special ambient be used. The features of both types of cooler
conditions must exist for shrink to be a problem. are listed below:
Conversely there can be times when water has
been added to the mash before the condition- Vertical Cooler - The vertical cooler is normally
ing chamber and not enough heat is available to best for a small diameter pellet if the height
drive off this moisture. Under these conditions, is available for installation. First, the design is
you will have higher final pellet moistures. simple, minimizing maintenance cost and energy
costs. As is seen in Plate #22, the pellets are
g) This is an ambient air-type cooling process, so directed into the top hopper of the cooler where
the pellets will always be discharge at temper- they are diverted by the stream splitter into col-
atures higher (10 to 15°F) than the tempera- umns approximately 9” wide. Pellets fill these two
ture of the air entering the cooler. This means columns until the control vane at the top actuates
if the air enters the cooler at 60°F, the pellets will the discharge control mechanism. As the pellets
be discharged between 70 and 75°F. flow through, they are exposed to high velocity
air which cools and dries them. The air is drawn
2. Pellet Temperature through the pellets via a fan connected to the
It is a well-known fact that the hotter the pellets center section. The pellet discharge from a verti-
going into the cooler, the more efficient the cal cooler has a very smooth, constant flow rate,
drying process will be. High temperature pellets making it ideal for feeding crumbles rolls.
do three things:
The single pass unit has one moving apron or As the fines in the horizontal cooler sift down
belt and the pellets discharge at the end opposite through the pans they are eventually deposited
the inlet. On the double pass cooler there are two on the bottom of the cooler. Here rubber fines
moving aprons. The pellets move with the top wipers scrape the product to one end, lift it and
apron, drop down onto the bottom apron and are drop it into a trough attached to the scraper. The
discharged at the inlet end. fines are then carried along with the pellets and
discharged at the end of the cooler.
Plate 23
Horizontal Cooler
34
This design cooler is best for a very fragile unusual operating condition.
pellet or for cubes. In cube production, a lon-
ger retention time is required in order to properly c) Determination of cooler size based on
cool and dry the cubes. The space required for retention time -- All formulations should be re-
the cooler is much larger. There are also fewer viewed for cooling requirements before the cooler
mechanical problems handling the cubes in a is selected. For instance, if you are making both
horizontal cooler than in the vertical design. The small and large pellets, it may be the cubes that
large, long cubes, in many instances, have a determine the final cooler size rather than small
tendency to hang up in the discharge mecha- pellet production.
nisms of vertical coolers.
These retention times are for general formula
Due to the configuration of the horizontal feeds containing not more than 5 to 10%
cooler, there is less tendency to pull fines into liquid feed ingredients. Generally, a six min-
the air stream. There is a plenum chamber effect ute retention time is preferred for small diameter
in the hood which reduces the air velocity and pellets. There are times when you will reduce
permits the large fines particles to drop back onto retention times, down to 5 minutes. This is right
the pellet bed. on the borderline and will require extremely good
conditioning of the mash to dry the pellets in time.
The horizontal cooler is more involved from In addition, fines must be held to a minimum. Un-
a mechanical standpoint. More moving parts der no circumstances should retention time ever
mean higher maintenance costs. The tray-type be less than 6 minutes. There are exceptions
horizontal cooler has a surging discharge charac- to these times, for instances, 1/4" alfalfa pellets
teristic that creates problems in feeding crumbles should have 8 minutes retention time. On pel-
rolls. Therefore, proper attention must be given lets containing more than 10% molasses, one
to spouting, speed adjustment and bed depth to should increase the retention time, at least
achieve the best crumbling performance. 20%. Use of these retention times assumes
that adequate air volumes are being used.
b) Determination of retention time -- The time
it takes for moisture in the center of the pellet to d) Determination of air volume required -- The
move to the surface and be evaporated is known air volume required relates directly to the
as the retention time. The retention time required production rate being processed through the
to cool a pellet depends upon its size and compo- cooler. It does not relate to cooler size or pel-
sition. The retention time in a cooler is calculated let mill size.
by comparing its volume to the production rate of
the pellet mill and to the pellet bulk density. This Air required for adequate cooling also depends
is expressed by the following equation: upon the pellet size. Plate #25 provides you
with data required to select the amount of air for
T = (V)(D)60 proper cooling and system functioning.
R
where: Problems with condensate in air systems
are directly related to the volume of air used
T = Retention time in minutes to cool the pellet. There are large variations in
Y = Volume of cooler in cubic feet the relative humidity of the air coming to a pellet
D = Bulk density of the pellets (Lbs./cu.ft.) cooler. Therefore, allowances are made to com-
R = The production rate in lbs./hr. pensate for these variations.
Plate #24 gives recommended times for vari- The following example shows the method of
ous pellet sizes, in both horizontal and vertical determining the air rate required: Assume a pel-
coolers. Retention times are based on test data let mill is capable of producing a maximum of 20
gathered from the field. They should be varied for TPH of 10/64 diameter pellets.
35
Having determined the air required, one must
Minimum Retention Time For Most now go back and check the cooler to be certain
Formula Feeds this volume of air is within the velocity limits of
the pellet bed. Check to be sure you are not
exceeding maximum velocities on any design
Pellet Size Retention Time cooler.
10/64” to 12/64” 5-6 minutes
1/4” 6-8 minutes Experience indicates that on vertical type cool-
3/8” 7-8 minutes ers, we should limit air velocities to 350 ft./min.
1/2” 8-10 minutes On horizontal coolers, it can be raised to 580
ft./min. Note that these velocities are velocities
3/4” 12 minutes
through the open area either in the screen of the
4/8” 15 minutes vertical cooler or through the perforations of the
1/4” Alfalfa Pellets 8 minutes trays on the horizontal cooler. They do not relate
to the total cross sectional area of the cooler.
Plate 24: Recommended Cooler Retention Time.
A horizontal cooler has fewer problems with
SOME MATERIALS MAY REQUIRE LONGER fines pick-up than a vertical unit, because
RETENTION. FEEDS CONTAINING MORE the fine particles actually have to be lifted
THAN 10 PERCENT MOLASSES REQUIRE 20 from the pellet bed by the air before becom-
PERCENT MORE TIME THAN SHOWN ABOVE. ing entrained in the air system. However, in
the vertical cooler, any particle passing through
the screen can (and must) be induced into the air
Minimum Retention Time For Most system. Here gravity is assisting particle move-
Formula Feeds ment, as seen in the horizontal cooler. Properly
designed horizontal cooler hoods do not permit
air velocities high enough to pick up any but the
Pellet Size Retention Time smaller dust particles.
10/64” to 12/64” 5-6 minutes
1/4” 6-8 minutes In addition, there is a potential for holding the
3/8” 7-8 minutes fines and pellets against the interscreens on a
1/2” 8-10 minutes vertical cooler unit. The prescribed velocities
avoid this situation and the resultant choking
Plate 25: Cooling Air Requirements down of the air system.
B. Fans
Air system fans should be located in the
negative pressure side of the collector for
maximum efficiency as shown in Plate #27.
Experience has shown that dust particles coming
from a pellet cooler are normally quite large and
thus easy to collect. When you position the fan
after the collector, you avoid the impingement of
dust particles on the fan impeller with the resul-
tant breakdown into finer dust.
3. Collector losses. There have been attempts to heat the air coming
to the filters to keep it above the saturated condi-
Normally, loss through a cooler and its bed of tion, but costs are generally prohibitive--particu-
pellets is between 1 1/2 and 2" of water. Both larly in view of the rising costs of energy.
the duct and collector losses will vary with the
system design and the type of collector selected. The efficiency of the collector depends on many
things. The more important factors are:
Radial wheel type fans are normally selected
for pellet cooling applications because of their *Design
dependability. The inclined blade type of impel- *Particle Size
ler is normally used on fans located after the dust *Dust Loading
collector. At this point there are no fines to cause *System Operation
abrasion problems with the impeller and the in-
creased fan efficiency keeps power demands to a While a detailed discussion of collector perfor-
minimum. mances is beyond the scope of this paper, there
are certain factors that should be presented.
Air system selection - the fan and collector size
are dependent on the cooler size and the air
required. The duct work should be sized to mini-
mize pressure losses yet keep the fines in sus-
pension. The collector should always be located
as close to the cooler as possible.
PELLETS
3/32” 0.094 10 0.079
1/8” 0.125 7 0.111
9/64” 0.141 6 0.152
5/32” 0.156 6 0.152
3/16” 0.188 5 0.157
13/64” 0.203 4 0.167
1/4” 0.250 3 1/2 0.223
5/16” 0.313 0.263 0.263
3/8” 0.375 5/16 0.313
1/2” 0.500 7/16 0.438
5/8” 0.625 0.53 0.53
3/4” 0.750 5/8 0.525
7/8” 0.875 3/4 0.75
1” 1.000 7/8 0.875
* American Society for Testing and Materials. ASTM E11.61 Specifications for
Wirecloth Sieves for Testing Purposes
46
I. Pellet Durability
Hardness testers for pellet quality have generally Durability =
given way to the durability testing. Durability
testing simulates the handling that pellets receive Weight of pellets or crumbles after tumbling x 100
in a normal feedmill situation. This testing mecha- Weight of pellets or crumbles before tumbling
nism and test program were developed at Kan-
sas State University in the early 1960’s. This test Normally pellets will be tested immediately after
involves a prescribed agitation of pellets for cooling. When the temperature of the pellets
a predetermined time, measuring the percent- falls within plus or minus 10° F of ambient,
age of fines generated. they are considered cool. If tested at a later
time, the time in hours after cooling will be in-
The system involves a set of screens, Tyler type, dicated as a subscript of the durability. For ex-
and a tumbling barrel as follows; per the A.S.A.E. ample, if the pellet durability tested 95 after a
Standard: S269.1: four hour delay from the time of cooling, then the
results will be expressed as: (95)4. If pellets are
Section 6--DURABILITY tested before cooling, there will be a significant
6.2 Pellets and Crumbles. The durability of weight loss caused by water evaporation, and the
pellets and crumbles shall be determined by the apparent durability will be affected by this loss of
following procedure: water vapor. The loss of water vapor must be de-
termined by making moisture content tests before
6.2.1 Device. Durability of pellets and crumbles and after tumbling and compensating the fines
shall be determined by tumbling the test sample weight accordingly. When this procedure is fol-
for 10 mins. at R.P.H. in a dust tight enclosure. lowed, the durability will be expressed as 1(95).
The construction of this device is illustrated in
Plate = 29. The device is rotated about an axis
which is perpendicular to and centered in the
12” slides. A 2” x 9” plate is affixed symmetrically
along one of its 9” slides to a diagonal of one 12”
x 12” side of the can. A door may be placed in
any side and should be dustproof. Projections,
such as rivets and screws, shall be kept to a mini-
mum and well rounded.
48
NOTES:
49