Extrusion For Snack

An extruder is a device that pushes or pulls material through a forming die to form a continuous length of product with a predetermined cross-section. It is used to manufacture food products in a variety of shapes. Food extruders can be designed to perform multiple unit operations simultaneously, including mixing or homogenization, shearing, starch gelatinization, protein denaturation, tissue enzyme inactivation, thermal cooking, pasteurization, dehydration, forming, and size reduction.
The dynamic characteristics of extruders have promoted the use of thermoplastic extrusion in food processing.

Extruders can be divided into two categories: single-screw extruders and twin-screw extruders. Extruders have a variety of configurations and performances and can be grouped according to the application, design, and configuration that they are most suitable for.
An extruder consists of five major components:
(i) Preconditioning system
(ii) Feed system
(iii) Screw or worm
(iv) Barrel
(v) Die and cutting mechanism.