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.

A production method for a low molecular weight polymer suitable for a melt-blown non-woven fabric and a production device for melt-blown non-woven fabric, with which a high molecular weight polymer can be reduced in molecular weight by applying a shear force to the high molecular weight polymer without adding an additive. The low molecular weight polymer and the melt-blown non-woven fabric are produced using a continuous high shearing device that applies a shear force to the high molecular weight polymer serving as a raw material by rotation of a screw body to reduce the molecular weight of the high molecular weight polymer so as to obtain a low molecular weight polymer, and cools the low molecular weight polymer by passing the low molecular weight polymer through a passage arranged in the axial direction inside the screw body.

An extruder screw includes a screw main body, conveyance portions, barrier portions, and paths. The raw materials, the conveyance of which is limited by the barrier portions, flow in from the entrance. The raw materials flowing in from the entrance flow through the paths in an opposite direction to a conveyance direction of the conveyance portions. The exit is opened in the outer circumferential surface of the screw main body at a position on an upstream side in the conveyance direction in the conveyance portions in which the entrance is opened.

A conveyance portion, a barrier portion, and a path are provided at places of a portion of a screw main body in which a kneading portion is provided. In at least one of the places, an entrance is opened to cause raw materials, conveyance of which is limited by a barrier portion to increase pressure on the raw materials, to flow in. The raw materials flowing in from the entrance flow through the path in the opposite direction to a conveyance direction of the conveyance portion. An exit is opened in an outer circumferential surface of the screw main body at a position outside the conveyance portion in which the entrance is opened.

The present invention relates to a masterbatch composition comprising high concentration of biological entities having a polymer-degrading activity and uses thereof for manufacturing biodegradable plastic articles.

A screw includes a screw main body, a conveyance portion conveying a raw material, and a passage provided in the screw main body. The passage includes a first passage element, a second passage element, and a third passage element. The screw main body has a plurality of cylindrical bodies arranged in an axial direction of the rotating shaft. At least a portion of the conveyance portion is formed on outer peripheral surfaces of the cylindrical bodies adjacent to each other, and the passage is formed in the cylindrical body so as to cross over between the adjacent cylindrical bodies.

An extruder has a pair of linkage parts configured to respectively link end portions of a pair of output shafts of the speed reducer with end portions of a pair of screws coaxially. The linkage parts each has: a coupling having an insertion hole into which the end portion of the screw and the end portion of the output shaft are inserted; and a locking part attached to the end portion of the output shaft. The coupling has a first receiving portion configured to receive the end portion of the output shaft; the second receiving portion configured to receive the locking part; and a step portion formed between the first receiving portion and the second receiving portion. As the step portion is locked by the locking part, a relative movement of the coupling relative to the output shaft in a direction towards the screw is restricted.

The present invention provides a process for preparing an improved compounded product and a compounded product prepared by that process.

A mixing and extrusion machine (10) for the manufacture of rubber mixtures has a mixer with a converging conical twin screw (12) with a fixed frame (14) that supports sleeves (16). Two screws (18), being mounted at an angle, are mounted in the mixer (12) so as to move in translational movement between an opening (22) arranged upstream and an outlet (25) arranged downstream of the sleeves, so that the thread tips of each screw contact tangentially the surfaces of the opposite screw so that the screws remain substantially in contact with each other when the screws rotate at an angle and at a center distance that facilitates self-cleaning. The screw threads maintain tangential contact with the inner surfaces of the sleeves, thus preventing the retention of mixing material on these surfaces.

A sealing device for sealing the intermediate space between a housing and a shaft rotatably mounted in the housing, having a first plate-shaped body with a front face, a rear face, and a first opening, which extends from the front face to the rear face and is suitable for feeding through the shaft, and having a cooling line, which runs in the body and is suitable for conducting a cooling medium. The first body is suitable for being tightly secured to the housing such that the shaft rotatably mounted in the housing is guided through the first opening. The first opening is suitable for introducing sealant such that the sealant seals an intermediate space between the shaft and the first body. The cooling line is guided around the first opening between a cooling line inlet and a cooling line outlet for the cooling medium such that heat produced from rotating the shaft can be dissipated by the cooling medium in a spatially homogenous manner.