Patent ID: 8231264

Claim:
An extruder for processing material having a selectively variable extruder volume, the extruder comprising: an extruder barrel containing a bore sized to process 5 to 50 grams of material, wherein the bore has an upstream inlet portion for feeding the material to be processed and a downstream outlet portion connectable to an extruder exit for material processed through the extruder, at least one extruder screw positioned within the bore, wherein the at least one extruder screw has a length:diameter ratio of less than 20:1, at least one recycle channel running from the outlet portion of the bore and having at least two recycle exits that connect the recycle channel to the bore at respectively lesser and greater upstream positions relative to the downstream outlet portion of the bore, and a flow control system including (1) a diverter valve positioned at the outlet of the extruder for controllably directing material flow from the bore to either the extruder exit or the at least one recycle channel, and (2) at least two recycle flow diverters each being positioned at a respective one of the recycle exits of the at least one recycle channel, wherein each of the recycle flow diverters selectively blocks or connects material flow from the at least one recycle channel into the bore through a respective one of the recycling exits.