Abstract
Commercial catfish feed is sometimes manufactured through extrusion, usually are of high moisture content which cannot be stored or transported without it being damaged, hence, the need for effective drying of fish feed. Fish feed was formulated, mixed, extruded (single screw extruder), dried (mechanical convective dryer) and evaluated upon to examine the impact of the drying parameters (air drying temperature and air-drying velocity) and some physical properties of the fish feed. Five levels of drying air temperature (40° C, 50° C, 60° C, 70° C and 80° C) and three levels of drying air velocity (1.0 m/s, 1.5 m/s and 2.0 m/s) were used during the drying experiments. The final moisture content reduces with increase in drying air temperature and drying air velocities. The drying temperature does not significantly affect the unit density and porosity. Bulk density reduces with increased drying air temperature and drying air velocity. The extrudate porosity increases with drying air temperature. The drying air velocities does not significantly affect the sinking velocity and porosity. The optimum floatation time is from the feed dried at 1.5 m/s drying air velocity and 80oC drying air temperature.
Highlights
Feed is the most cost-intensive and semi-intensive production in aquaculture It is essential to guarantee that the feed is well used, offering a high rate of development, excellent health to the fishes and, lastly, a high-quality product
For unit density and porosity, there exist no significant difference between temperatures but for final moisture content, 80oC was ranked the best temperature to yield the least final moisture content of 11.4±0.01%
For sinking velocity and porosity, there exist no significant difference between drying air velocities but for final moisture content, 2.0 m/s was ranked the best drying air velocity to yield the least final moisture content of 11.33±0.03%
Summary
Feed is the most cost-intensive and semi-intensive production in aquaculture It is essential to guarantee that the feed is well used, offering a high rate of development, excellent health to the fishes and, lastly, a high-quality product. Effective drying of extruded fish feed must be properly carried out to enhance the shelf life of the feed and its quality. The extent to which the feed affects the fish's water quality and usage rates is determined by the feed's physical characteristics. Extruded fish feed usually are of high moisture content which cannot be stored or transported without being damaged the need for effective drying. The extruded fish feed is usually with high moisture content, the need for effective drying. The safe moisture content for fish feed for storage is usually 8% to 12% [2]. The existing fish feed dryer are majorly imported from China. Most of the imported dryers roast the feed into the inner core
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