Straw feed pellet production line in India

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Rice straw selected for the feed project

The materials listed in the first enquiry belonged to the broader biomass idea. Once the customer chose livestock feed, they needed different treatment. Rice straw was selected for the first product; wood residues and rice husks could not simply be carried over as routine feed ingredients or pellet binders.

Rice straw supplies roughage, but its protein content and digestibility limit what it contributes to a dairy ration. Pressing it changes its form without supplying the missing nutrients. The farm’s feeding programme determines the protein, energy and mineral supplements required, as well as the amount of other effective forage in the ration.

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The process from dry rice straw to 10 mm pellets

The straw feed pellet production line begins with material suitable for feeding and dry enough for the agreed pelleting conditions. Its 3–4 T/H design target concerns prepared feed material, rather than wet field straw arriving at the receiving area. Material preparation, return fines and downtime affect the quantity eventually packed.

• Straw preparation: Long or baled straw is opened, checked and cut to a size the hammer mill can accept. Stones, metal and unsuitable material are removed before grinding. The SFSP-series grinder then prepares the straw for pelleting; the screen and feed rate are matched to the actual straw condition.
• Weighing and mixing: The horizontal ribbon mixer receives the prepared straw and any ingredients called for by the agreed recipe. Small mineral additions are weighed and distributed properly. A small-ingredient preblend helps spread these additions through the straw before the main batch is mixed.
• Pellet formation: A ring-die straw pellet machine presses the prepared material into the selected 10 mm product. Moisture and conditioning are adjusted to suit the straw and die. Operating settings are agreed through trials that check pellet formation, fines and product moisture.
• Cooling: A countercurrent cooler reduces pellet temperature towards ambient conditions before bagging. Product moisture is checked as well. Airflow and discharge are adjusted to the product rate so that cooling keeps pace with the press.
• Screening: Broken pieces and fines are separated from accepted pellets. Suitable fines return to a compatible batch for another pass. They remain part of the same material flow and add load to the press instead of becoming extra finished tonnage.
• Bagging: The electronic weighing and bag-closing arrangement serves the selected 25 kg and 50 kg packs. The operator checks packed weight, bag closure and batch identification before the product moves into dry storage.

The finished pellets are a compact roughage ingredient. Grinding changes the straw’s particle size, so its effective-fibre contribution is assessed from the prepared material. The 10 mm diameter identifies the finished pellet size; the dairy ration still needs an appropriate balance of forage and supplementary nutrients.

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Equipment sized for a high-fibre straw duty

A rice straw feed pellet plant needs a press selected for fibrous material. The sizing basis for the 3–4 T/H duty is one CZLH678 grass-feed pellet mill with a 200 kW main motor. This is an engineering selection reference; rice-straw trials and the agreed feed specification determine the operating output.

For feed use, the biomass pellet mill needs a feeding arrangement that keeps light, fibrous straw moving steadily into the press. The die is selected with the prepared material and 10 mm product in mind. Grinding, conveying, cooling and bagging must support that same duty; main-motor power alone does not describe the whole plant’s electrical load.

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Keeping future recipes within a feed programme

Although the first product uses rice straw, the customer can assess other suitable forage ingredients for later feed batches. Each change starts with the ingredient’s condition and feeding role, then moves to grinding, moisture preparation and a pelleting trial. A different ingredient should have a defined purpose in the ration.

• Prepared forage: Consider suitable grass or forage meals after checking their moisture, quality and role in the dairy ration.
• Supplemented straw recipes: Agree the weighed additions and test the resulting pellets before selling a new feed specification.
• Higher production: Review straw availability, productive hours and every supporting stage before increasing the output target.

Fresh Napier grass would need its own moisture-preparation plan before entering this dry-material process. A wet-forage drying system is outside the equipment list described here. Future feed recipes therefore need to be assessed against both the machinery and the farm’s feeding programme.

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Daily tonnage and packing at the selected capacity

The change to a smaller line also changes the daily production plan. At 3–4 T/H of accepted product, 60 tonnes requires 15–20 productive hours. Eight productive hours gives 24–32 tonnes. These are scheduling calculations at the target rate, not a record of the customer’s shifts or achieved production.

Packing must keep pace with the product leaving the cooler and screen. The two bag sizes in the project give different bag counts at the same tonnage. The figures below use accepted product only, so circulating fines are not counted as additional saleable output.

These hourly bag counts are average duties. Filling, bag exchange, closing and moving the bags must fit into the available time. The daily schedule also needs allowances for starting the line, cleaning and maintenance. Straw purchasing must cover handling losses and unsuitable material removed during preparation, so incoming loads and packed output are recorded separately.

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A local collection plan linked to dairy buyers

The customer proposed collecting rice straw through agricultural cooperatives and nearby farmers within about 15 kilometres. The sales plan included purchase intentions from two dairy farms. Those discussions give the project a defined local market to develop, while delivery quantities and feed specifications still need to be agreed with each buyer.

The customer plans to use QR code packaging labels to record production batches and raw material sources. The label needs to connect the bag with useful production records. For a straw-based product, those records also help distinguish one supplier’s material and one prepared batch from the next.

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A first purchase built around one local material

From the first email in October 2022 to the signing on June 19, 2023, this customer narrowed a multi-material fuel concept into a 3–4 T/H straw pellet plant in India for livestock feed. His own farming activity, the dairy cooperative and nearby straw suppliers gave the smaller project a clear starting point.

For a straw feed pellet production line in India, the useful questions are specific: which straw is available, how dry it is, which animals the product will serve and how many tonnes buyers need each day. Send RICHI those details with the preferred pellet and bag sizes so we can match the press and supporting equipment to the intended feed product.