Apparatus and methods for food production including a food preconditioner (228) operable to heat and partially pre-cook food ingredients, and a twin screw extruder (20) operable to further cook the preconditioned ingredients to create final food products. The extruder (20) includes a pair of hollow core extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) having elongated hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192) equipped with helical fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) along the lengths thereof. The fighting (132, 134, 194) is also of hollow construction which communicates with the hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192). The fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) also includes forward, reverse pitch sections (64, 162, 216). The extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) are designed to impart high levels of thermal energy into materials being processed in the extruders (20), without adding additional moisture.

High thermal transfer, hollow core extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) include elongated hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192) equipped with helical fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) along the lengths thereof. The fighting (132, 134, 194) may also be of hollow construction which communicates with the hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192). Structure (88, 90) is provided for delivery of heat exchange media (e.g., steam) into the hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192) and the hollow fighting (132, 134, 194). The fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) also includes a forward, reverse pitch section (64, 162, 216). The extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) are designed to be used as complemental pairs as a part of twin screw processing devices (20), and are designed to impart high levels of thermal energy into materials being processed in the devices (20), without adding additional moisture.

A gear box for a reciprocating kneader. A primary rotational gear is attached to a gear box primary shaft and rotates in concert therewith. A secondary rotational gear is engaged with the primary rotation gear and rotates therewith. A secondary shaft is attached to the secondary rotational gear and rotates therewith. A primary oscillation gear is attached to the gear box primary shaft and rotates therewith. A secondary oscillation gear is rotationally engaged with the primary oscillation gear and rotates on the secondary shaft. An eccentric is coupled to the secondary oscillation gear and rotates in concert therewith. A yoke is engaged with the eccentric and oscillates on an axis perpendicular to the secondary shaft in response to the lobe. The gearbox secondary shaft moves along its axis in concert with yoke oscillation. A housing is pivotally attached to the yoke and pivotally attached to a casing at a casing.

In a method for continuously treating vacuum residuals originating from the refinery of crude oil, the the vacuum residuals are continuously fed into an agitated vessel,

High thermal transfer, hollow core extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) include elongated hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192) equipped with helical fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) along the lengths thereof. The fighting (132, 134, 194) may also be of hollow construction which communicates with the hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192). Structure (88, 90) is provided for delivery of heat exchange media (e.g., steam) into the hollow core shafts (54, 128, 130, 192) and the hollow fighting (132, 134, 194). The fighting (56, 132, 134, 194) also includes a forward, reverse pitch section (64, 162, 216). The extrusion screws (50, 52, 124, 126, 190) are designed to be used as complemental pairs as a part of twin screw processing devices (20), and are designed to impart high levels of thermal energy into materials being processed in the devices (20), without adding additional moisture.

A screw machine includes an inductive heating device for the processing of material to be processed. The inductive heating device is used to heat the material in a heating zone. In the heating zone, at least one housing portion is made of an electromagnetically transparent material at least partly, the material being non-magnetic and electrically non-conductive, whereas at least one treatment element shaft is made of an electrically conductive material at least partly. During the processing of the material, the inductive heating device generates an alternating magnetic field that produces eddy current losses in the at least one treatment element shaft, the eddy current losses leading to a temperature increase of the at least one treatment element shaft. The material is heated on the at least one heated treatment element shaft, in particular until it melts. The screw machine allows a simple and efficient melting of the material, with the result that a mechanical energy input and a resulting wear of the screw machine can be reduced significantly.

A device for processing oil or gas well waste solids, the device including a pressurizing discharge unit having a casing. The casing includes a solids inlet and a water inlet. The solids inlet receives treated solids into a front end of the casing, where the treated solids are exposed to a reduced pressure in an internal chamber of the casing of less than atmospheric pressure. The water inlet receives water and adds the water to the treated solids in the internal chamber. The casing includes an extruder screw unit, the extruder screw unit having progressive screw sections located inside the internal chamber and corresponding to conveying mixing and pressurizing screw sections. The conveying screw section conveys the treated solids along a long axis length of the extruder screw unit from the solids inlet towards a discharge end of the casing while the reduced pressure is maintained, the mixing screw section mixes the treated solids and the water together to form a paste, and the pressurizing screw section conveys the paste towards the discharge end and generates, in a portion of the casing downstream from the mixing screw section, a backpressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. The casing includes a die assembly to extrude the paste through an orifice of the die assembly located at the discharge end while maintaining the backpressure on the paste in the internal chamber. Method and system embodiments for processing oil or gas well waste solids are also disclosed.

The invention focuses on a device for sequentially introducing additives in a polymer granulate and the use of the device for mixing the polymer granulate with the additives. The device consisting of a mixer with housing, comprising at least one mixer shaft attached in helix arranged non-continuous conveying pattern shapes, being rotated by a drive for the transport, whereby the mixer in the housing featuring an inlet for the polymer granulate to be mixed and each of the several subsequent inlets for the additive is followed by an outlet for the polymer granulate mixed with the additive, so that two or several mixing zones being formed in the mixer and whereby at least between at two mixing zones on the surface of the mixing shaft one section featuring a continuous screw conveyor instead of the non-continuous conveying pattern shapes, the section not being penetrable for returning solids from the subsequent mixing zone.

Embodiments of a system and a method for continuously manufacturing a joint compound can be used to produce ready mix joint compound. The system includes means for continuously mixing wet and dry joint compound ingredients together and means for homogenizing multiple volumetric units of mixed joint compound to reduce variation in at least one joint compound material property (e.g., viscosity) across multiple successively produced volumetric units of mixed joint compound (relating to standard commercial packaging sizes for joint compound, such as five-gallon pails, for example) relative to the material property of the respective multiple volumetric units before passing through the means for homogenizing.

A method in which a stream of dry cementitious powder from a dry powder feeder passes through a dry cementitious powder inlet conduit to feed a first feed section of a fiber-slurry mixer. An aqueous medium stream passes through at least one aqueous medium stream conduit to feed a first mixing section the fiber-slurry mixer. A stream of reinforcing fibers passes from a fiber feeder through a reinforcing fibers stream conduit to feed a second mixing section of the fiber-slurry mixer. The stream of dry cementitious powder, aqueous medium stream, and stream of reinforcing fibers combine in the fiber-slurry mixer to make a stream of fiber-cement mixture which discharges through a discharge conduit at a downstream end of the mixer.