PRECONDITIONING

FST-409
Introduction
• Pre-conditioner: An assembly that adjusts moisture content and
temperature of the ingredients and may partially or completely cook them
before entering the extruder.

• Preconditioning with steam and water has been an important part of the
extrusion process.

• Preconditioning prior to extrusion may not be beneficial to all extrusion

processes. In general, preconditioning will enhance any extrusion process
that would benefit from higher moisture and longer retention time.

• Products of preconditioning are precooked pasta, breakfast cereals, textured

vegetable proteins, continuous dough mixing and extruded bread crumbs.
• Raw material particle are held in a warm, moist, mixing
environment for a given time and then discharged into the extruder

• Good mixing is required to bring the surface of raw material

particles into contact with the added water and steam.

• Long retention time is required to allow the processes of diffusion

and heat transfer to transport the moisture and energy from the
surface to the interior of the particles.

• This results in raw material particles being plasticized by steam and

water.
• The objective of preconditioning is to completely
plasticize the particles in order to eliminate any dry
core or unplasticized core in the raw material
particle.
Extrusion phase diagram
• The principles of polymer science can be used to better
understand the effects and benefits of proper
preconditioning.

• It is well publicized that the addition of water and heat to the

types of biological raw material used in the extrusion process
will plasticize or soften the materials.

• The transition that occurs during this process is referred to as

the glass transition. The temperature around which this takes
place is called the glass transition temperature, Tg.
• Further heat and moisture addition beyond this
temperature will yield to a transformation that will
render the material flowable.

• This transition is called the melt transition and occurs

around the melt transition temperature, Tm.

• The dependence of glass and melt transition

temperatures for corn meal, a common ingredient in
extruded food products is shown in figure on next slide.
• In a typical extrusion process the raw materials being added to the
preconditioner would be about 12% (dry basis) moisture and 25 C ̊ .
– These conditions clearly indicate glassy, difficult to deform particles

• The material being discharged from preconditioner could typically about

25% (dry basis) moisture and 80 ̊C
– These materials lie in the rubbery zone between the glass and melt transition lines

• Therefore, as the glass transition temperature is lowered by the addition of

water and the material is heated to above its glass transition temperature,
the raw material particles move from a glassy state to a rubbery state .
– These particles are then sof, deformable, and easily transformed by the extruder
into a final product.
Benefits of preconditioning
• Increases the life of wear components in the extruder barrel
by several times
• Reduces the abrasiveness of raw material
– As unpreconditioned raw materials are crystalline or glassy
amorphous materials
• Increases the throughput of the extrusion system
• Adding the energy in the form of steam, so less mechanical
energy is needed
• Alters the product texture and functionality
• Enhances the product flavor
• Gives good quality product
• Product quality often related to the physical form of the
starch in product. Product that contain significant amount
of raw crystalline starch will be raw tasting. Product
containing starch that is over processed, such that it
contain dextrinized starch, will have objectionable textural
characteristics.
– For example, in a product that is consumed dry such as an
extruded corn snack, a product containing dextrinized starch will
tend to stick to teeth and pack in molars. In a product that is
consumed either rehydrated or together with water in some form
such as precooked pasta or breakfast cereals, a product containing
dextrinized starch will have a slick or slimy surface texture.
Preconditioning can help to avoid
dextrinization
• In products that are extruded at in-barrel moisture
levels of less than 18%, preconditioning will not help
to prevent the dextrinization, although it can be
controlled by other means.

• In product that are extruded at in-barrel moisture

levels above 18% preconditioning can help to avoid
dextrinization.
Cont…
• This is accomplished in two ways:
– It softens the raw material particles, making the starch less
susceptible to dextrinization
– By adding energy in the form of steam in the
preconditioner, less mechanical energy is needed later to
accomplish the cooking of the product. Mechanical energy
provided from the extruder screws is the force that causes
starch dextrinization in the extruder barrel.
Retention time
• Retention time in the extruder barrel can vary from 5
second to 2 minutes but in the preconditioning the
average retention time can be as long as 5 minutes, it
means it increase the retention time.
Preconditioning hardware
• Preconditioners are mounted in the extrusion process
between the feeding device and extruder barrel
• The feeding device provides a continous flow of dry raw
materials to the preconditioner
• At the discharge of preconditioner, a diverter allows the
operator to either bypass the preconditioned materials
to a waste bin or direct them into the extruder
• It divert the preconditioned material to the extruder,
when its conditions are optimized for extrusion
Types of preconditioners
• In food and feed industry, two broad categories of
preconditioners have been applied
• Atmospheric preconditioners operate at prevailing atmospheric
pressure and are, therefore, thermodynamically limited to a
100°C discharge temperature
• Pressurized preconditioners are more mechanically complex and
cost more to purchase and maintain
• For these reasons atmospheric preconditioners are exclusively
used in these industries
• Preconditioning at elevated temperatures and pressures has been
associated with increased losses in essential amino acids such as
lysine
Introducing materials to the preconditioner
• From the bottom of preconditioning chamber, dry
saturated steam at a pressure of less than 200kPa is
usually added to the preconditioner. The steam percolates
up through the bed of material in the preconditioner.
• Before being added to the preconditioner, water can be
heated to upto 80 to 90°C, usually added from the top.
Adding water through spray nozzles helps to distribute the
water to the raw material particles
• The diffusion process occurs more rapidly at higher
temperatures, which transports the water to the interior of
raw material particles
• Some food products may require the addition of oil or melted fat
into the extrusion process
• If these materials are added into the preconditioner, they should
be added as close to the preconditioner discharge as possible.
• If they are added before or at the same time as water, it is
possible that oil may coat the raw material particles and act as
barrier to moisture transfer to the surface.
• For products with very high added fat levels, it may become
necessary to add the oil closer the preconditioner inlet in order to
have sufficient mixing of the oil with the dry raw material particles
• Like water, oil and other liquids are added through spray nozzles
to reduce the amount of mixing needed in the preconditioner
Preconditioner operations
• There are number of operational variables that have
to be considered when operating a precondioner
– Typical on-line changes include dry recipe rate, steam
addition rate and water addition rate
– Other changes that may require off-line modification of
the hardware setup include beater configuration and shaft
speed
• It is important to understand how changes in these
parameters impact the effectiveness of the
preconditioning process
• For the preconditioning process to be effective, it should hold the raw
material particles in a warm, moist environment where there is sufficient
mixing to contact the particles with steam and water. It should provide for
sufficient retention time to allow the moisture to completely penetrate the
raw material particles

• The amount of total moisture that can be added to the preconditioner is

limited by the characteristics of the raw material. In order for the
preconditioning process to be carried out, the raw materials much remain
flowable throughout the preconditioning process. Material that become
very sticky when water is added, such as pregelatinized starches, cannot be
preconditioned at a moisture content greater then 18 % moisture. Other
material can absorb upto 30 % or even more moisture and still remain flow
able.
Retention time distribution
• From book chapter