Extrusion vs. Expansion
In a previous blog Insta-Pro President, Kevin Kacere, discussed the definition of a business partner; conducting business with a company that goes beyond the normal skills and needs of that individual. Over the past many years, I have had the pleasure of developing long term successful partnerships with many of our customers throughout Canada and the US. One question I hear a lot from soy processors is “What is the product and process difference between an extruder and expander?”
An expander is like an extruder but it generates less shear, pressure and temperature in the barrel. Some manufacturers will use the term extrusion as it is the same process as expansion because you are pushing product through a die. However, extrusion creates a shearing force that is a key factor in the deactivation of anti-nutritional factors, microbial sterilization, the release of natural anti-oxidants, and ultimately, an increase in the digestibility of nutrients.
To understand the difference in processes, we partner with multiple universities such as Kansas State University, University of Illinois and Utah State University to conduct research trials. The study below shows full-fat soy fed to chicks. When comparing high shear extrusion vs. expansion, the results show 8% lower amino acid digestibility of the full-fat soy. This is a result of the lower barrel temperature and pressure of the expander.
As a business partner, I have the pleasure of visiting with customers and sharing research information that allows them to optimize their equipment and continue to meet their customers’ protein needs. When I am asked by a customer or prospect to respond to a companies claim that their process is the same as our ExPress® process, I respond by asking if they have seen their animal feed research results and verified that they are not a copy of the research conducted by Insta-Pro 3rd party agreements. If you are able to get their feeding results, compare them with ours. I am confident you will see the high-shear system produces a higher quality product for feeding.
