Patent ID: 7045165

Claim:
A continuous process for the manufacture of an animal feed supplement comprising the steps of: continuously preparing a preblend including respective amounts of carbohydrate material, moisture, and fat; continuously directing said preblend into and through an elongated cooking zone for at least partial cooking thereof at above atmospheric pressure and at a first temperature, followed by; continuously passing said preblend into a batch-cooking assembly comprising a plurality of batch cookers operating at a pressure below said above atmospheric pressure and arranged in parallel for cooking said preblend and flashing a portion of said preblend moisture upon passage of said preblend into said batch-cooking assembly thereby lowering the temperature of said preblend, said preblend being cooked in said batch-cooking assembly at a second temperature lower than said first temperature, said step of passing said preblend into said batch-cooking assembly comprising continuously filling at least one of said plurality of batch cookers with preblend while continuously emptying cooked preblend from at least one other of said plurality of batch cookers; continuously passing said cooked preblend into and through a moisture removal zone wherein part of the moisture of the preblend is removed; continuously adding dry components to said preblend and forming a substantially homogeneous and flowable feed supplement; and continuously cooling and packaging said feed supplement into quantities of desired size.