Infographic: Optimize Your Fertilizer Pelletizing Process

Traditional processes for manufacturing fertilizer require many steps and different types of equipment. It is common for systems to include multiple dryers, a mill/pulverizer for size reduction of dried material, pin mixer/pug mill for mixing of additives and raw materials, a pelletizer and multiple conveyors to facilitate the process. If this seems like a complex process that requires high levels of work, energy and maintenance, we agree.

Lancaster Products engineers can optimize existing complex fertilizer pelleting processes or design new streamlined systems to help you realize multiple benefits, including a reduction in physical footprint and an improvement in the characteristics and reproducibility of your pelletized product. By utilizing a Lancaster Products K-Series High Shear Mixer to replace a mill and disc pelletizer, you not only reduce system complexity but also gain the ability to begin processing with raw materials at higher moisture levels. The counter-current mixing action in a Lancaster Mixer allows for one-step mixing and pelletizing with rapid mix times.

Our counter-current, high shear mixers have several product and operating advantages over complex, traditional systems.

PRODUCT ADVANTAGES:
Counter-current, high shear mixing strategically imparts a higher amount of well-dispersed energy into the mixing process resulting in a well-defined final product in a fraction of the time. The individually controlled mixing tools allow for variation of pellet sizes to meet different product specifications. This results in:

• • More homogeneous pellets
  • Better control of fertilizer pellet size from batch-to-batch
  • Higher yields of on-size pellets

OPERATING ADVANTAGES:
The ease of use and versatility of a Lancaster Products High Shear Mixer provides many operational benefits to reduce operating and raw material costs. Replacing several pieces of equipment with a single Lancaster Mixer offers the following advantages:

• • Reduced system complexity
  • Reduced equipment maintenance
  • Less energy use
  • Reduced physical footprint
  • Reduced waste output and binder use
  • Ability to operate with high moisture raw materials