Patent ID: 8322272

Claim:
A method of extrusion processing a food or feed material, comprising the steps of: preconditioning said material by passing the material through a preconditioner vessel from an inlet to an outlet, with moisture addition and continuous agitation between the inlet and the outlet to partially moisturize and precook the material; positively conveying material from said outlet to the inlet of an extruder barrel, by rotating a pair of axially rotatable auger conveying screws having flighting extending from a point proximal to said outlet and into said extruder barrel, with the screws located within a substantially closed housing, said conveying step comprising the step of positively conveying said material substantially throughout the length of said housing; and passing said preconditioned and conveyed material through said extruder barrel and an endmost restricted orifice die, and heating the material while subjecting the material to levels of pressure and shear, in order to fully process the material.