Bühler presents pellet cooler at Victam 2015

Stefan Hoh, Product Manager Feed at Bühler: “Efficient cooling of the still hot pellets is a process step that should not be neglected if high-quality end products are to be obtained. Proper cooling of feed pellets in the pelleting process chain means very much more than just to reduce the pellet temperature. With our new perfectly integration-enabled Coolex cooling component, we support our customers in their efforts to increase their product quality and hygiene while at the same time cutting their costs.”

Higher energy efficiency

Bühler Coolex is a breed apart by its visual appearance alone, according to the manufacturer. “Its innovative design based on the

countercurrent principle and its conical product layer and octagonal geometry enable many important process steps to be optimised, ensuring a consistently high product quality of the pellets. With its specific air volume of merely 10 to 16 m3 per minute and metric ton, Coolex has a higher energy efficiency than many conventional coolers.”

Stretch the moisture content

“But energy efficiency is only one aspect of our new Coolex that has a positive impact on feed producers’ margins,” explains Stefan Hoh. “Thanks to the reliable reproducibility of the product quality, feed manufacturers can stretch the moisture content of their end product to the legally allowed limits and reduce their raw material consumption. This uniform cooling action enables the moisture content variance to be reduced to about half the value of conventional coolers, allowing margins to be perceptibly increased yet again.”

Adjustability of the continuous product discharge rate

Another benefit that Bühler mentions for its new Coolex is the adjustability of the continuous product discharge rate, which ensures optimal throughputs and retention times. “Moreover, a uniform discharge rate enables smaller downstream system components such as conveyors or pellet crumblers to be used,” explains Stefan Hoh. This cuts the capital investment and operating costs of

downstream systems or allows higher throughput capacities to be achieved in a smaller space.

Diminishing contamination risk

Bühler Coolex is the first pellet cooler to be provided with several service doors and up to four integrated inspection windows. This makes cleaning of the cooler easier and reduces product deposits, diminishing the contamination risk. Also, it needs much smaller fans. This cuts energy consumption in comparison to other countercurrent cooler designs by as much as 10%, according to Bühler. “Coolex has a minimum number of wear parts and no hydraulic components at all. Elimination of the need for wear-prone ball bearings on the discharge grid and the use of durable, cost-effective air cushions that can be exchanged in a mere 60 minutes not only minimises downtimes, but also ensures dependable, low-maintenance operation.”

Upgrade options

Bühler says the new machine can be readily integrated in any production system. All parts can easily be brought to their places through standard doors. The installation costs are as low as the downtimes of the system. In addition, Bühler offers a

number of upgrade options meeting any requirement. At present, four packages are available, and more are in the planning stage.