{"id":93937,"date":"2022-04-26T10:40:17","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T08:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ew-nutrition.com\/?p=93937"},"modified":"2025-08-14T16:29:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T14:29:56","slug":"energy-prices-moisture-feed-mill-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ew-nutrition.com\/en-uk\/energy-prices-moisture-feed-mill-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploding energy prices? Manage moisture to improve feed mill efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ivan Ili\u0107<\/strong>, Global Manager Technical Product Applications, EW Nutrition<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Modern large-scale feed mills operate extremely efficiently and have few variable costs that could be reduced to lower the total cost of the final feed (Stark, 2012).<\/strong> In light of worrying energy price hikes, feed producers, however, should reduce their electricity use per unit produced, to maintain profitability. Find out how optimizing the feed mill\u2019s moisture management increases feed quality while decreasing the energy required to produce it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Due to climatic challenges, variability in raw material quality, and technical constraints, it can be challenging for feed producers to stabilize the water content in compound feed across time, raw material batches or even different machinery.<\/p>\n

Combined with high temperatures, high moisture in feed can favor the growth of molds. They spoil feed, depleting energy and nutrients and generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) that reduce feed palatability. Even worse, some molds release toxins harm animals\u2019 health and performance. On the other hand, low moisture levels in feed has a negative impact on pellet durability, increasing fines, process loss, and energy consumption while decreasing pellet press yield (Moritz et al., 2002).<\/p>\n

\"Animal<\/a><\/p>\n

What does feed moisture management have to do with a feed mill\u2019s electricity consumption?<\/h2>\n

Moisture from raw materias can be lost during storage and processing. Silo aeration and enviroment conditions can contribute to moisture loss when the grains are stored at higher than optimal moisture levels (Angelovi\u010d, 2018). During feed processing, the intense friction of grinding results in heat and moisture from the grains is lost as vapor. As an optimal level of moisture is critical to ensure production output and feed quality, it must be added back to the system and adequately managed to keep or increase final feed quality.<\/p>\n

For pelleted feeds, managing moisture is a two-step process:<\/p>\n

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  1. Adding moisture in the mixer. This ensures that the mash feed is enters the conditioning process at the right moisture level, facilitating the penetration of steam and increasing the efficiency of the process.<\/li>\n
  2. Managing steam during conditioning. Steam added to the conditioner must be dry (meaning saturated with water droplets in suspension), and when this dry steam contacts the feed, it condenses and adds moisture.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    However, simply adding water into the mixer does not give optimal results: Pure water does not completely bind to the feed; it mostly \u201csits on top\u201d of the feed surface, increasing its water activity, and thus increasing the danger of microbial growth. Plus, a high proportion of pure water evaporates again when the feed is cooled.<\/p>\n

    Surfactants improve moisture retention<\/h3>\n

    Surfactants change the way water behaves: by reducing the surface tension of water, they enable the feed particles to absorb the water and ensure that it is evenly distributed throughout the feed.<\/p>\n

    Improved moisture retention can:<\/p>\n