Twin Screw Extruded Fish Feed Mill Plant in Egypt

RICHI MACHINERY

Why Egypt? 

Egypt is one of the world’s major freshwater-aquaculture producers and the clear aquaculture leader in Africa. FAO reported about 1.6 million tonnes of Egyptian aquaculture production in 2024, while official Egyptian statistics for 2022 recorded roughly 1.55 million tonnes from fish farms. Tilapia remains the dominant farmed species, making floating and controlled-density extruded feed a commercially relevant product rather than a niche feed format.

Sharqia gives the client access to the Nile Delta aquaculture belt while remaining connected to Cairo, Port Said, Damietta and other major logistics corridors. For a company that already distributes poultry and shrimp feed, the practical advantage is the ability to add aquafeed to an established dealer and transport network rather than build a national sales system from zero.

Market Requirement	Why It Matters	Plant Response
Tilapia feed	Farmers need stable pellets that can be observed during feeding	Floating extruded grades with controlled expansion
Sinking / slow-sinking feed	Different species and feeding systems require higher-density pellets	Density adjusted through formula, conditioning and extrusion settings
Feed-cost pressure	Protein and oil prices change rapidly	Flexible formulation with multiple approved protein sources
Consistent pellet size	Feed must match fish size and feeding stage	Die/cutter change plus controlled fine grinding
Local technical support	Farmers need rapid delivery and product troubleshooting	Domestic production linked to the client’s existing sales network

The line is not justified by an unsupported claim that Egypt imports a fixed volume of extruded feed or that extruded diets always improve feed conversion by one guaranteed percentage. Commercial performance depends on formulation, fish size, farm management, water quality and feeding practice.

The investment case is instead based on a very large domestic aquaculture base, a tilapia-dominant production system and the client’s ability to integrate fish-feed manufacturing with existing feed-industry assets.

RICHI MACHINERY

Raw Materials: 50+ Ingredients for High-Quality Fish Feed

The client formulates many species and growth-stage diets, so the ingredient system is designed for flexibility rather than one fixed 50-ingredient recipe. Major materials include cereal and starch sources, plant proteins, selected animal proteins, oils, mineral sources, binders and low-inclusion premixes.

Ingredient Group	Approx. Annual Purchasing Plan	Typical Examples	Role
Cereals and starch sources	6,000–7,000 T/A	Corn, wheat products, flour, rice by-products	Energy, expansion and pellet structure
Plant proteins	11,000–12,000 T/A	Soybean meal, corn gluten meal, cottonseed/rapeseed meals where approved	Main protein base
Animal / marine proteins	2,500–3,500 T/A	Fish meal and other approved rendered proteins	Amino-acid balance and palatability
Oils and liquid ingredients	1,200–1,800 T/A	Soybean oil, fish oil, phospholipid sources	Energy and post-extrusion coating
Minerals, binders and premixes	1,000–1,500 T/A	Phosphate, limestone, salt, vitamin/mineral premix, functional additives	Nutrient and physical control
Total purchased ingredients	Approx. 25,500–26,000 T/A	Formula-dependent	Supports 25,000 T/A finished feed after handling and moisture balance

Plant proteins carry most of the protein load because fish meal is expensive and formula use varies by species and age. Fish meal is purchased by specification from approved suppliers rather than by country name alone; incoming checks focus on protein, moisture, freshness, salt, contaminants and batch traceability.

• Bulk grains and meals are cleaned and magnetically protected before storage or grinding.
• Bagged premixes and micro ingredients are stored in dry, labeled locations with controlled access.
• Liquid oils use dedicated tanks with filtration and, where required, temperature control.
• High-risk ingredients are sampled by lot for quality, mycotoxin or microbiological checks according to the client’s feed-safety plan.
• Formula changes are managed through bin assignment, sequencing and flush procedures to limit carryover.

The annual purchasing total is kept slightly above finished output because screening rejects, dust-control recovery, sampling, handling loss and moisture removal occur through the process. Steam and process water added before extrusion are largely removed again during drying, while post-extrusion oil remains in the final product.

RICHI MACHINERY

Site and Building Layout (Existing 5-Story Building)

The new line is integrated into an existing five-story feed building rather than constructed as a separate tower. The building has an approximate 1,500 m² footprint, giving substantially more usable floor area across five levels than the footprint alone suggests. A 2,000 m² raw-material warehouse and approximately 1,000 m² finished-feed warehouse support the aquafeed and existing feed operations.

Floor / Area	Primary Function	Main Equipment / Design Point
5th floor	Ingredient distribution and major batching	Ingredient bins, feeders, scales, cleaners and magnets
4th floor	Coarse grinding and intermediate mixing	Hammer mill, mixer, aspiration and buffer bins
3rd floor	Ultra-fine grinding and final dosing/mixing	Two micro pulverizers, fine screens, micro dosing and final mixer
2nd floor	Conditioning, extrusion, drying and coating	Twin-screw extruder, conditioners, dryer and vacuum coater
1st floor	Cooling, final screening and packing	Cooler, product screens, finished bins, bagging and palletizing
Separate warehouses	Raw and finished inventory	Bagged ingredients, oils, packaged aquafeed and dispatch staging

The vertical layout allows gravity transfer between key stages and reduces repeated lifting, but heavy dynamic equipment still requires structural verification. The extruder, Fish feed dryer machine, mills and cooler are installed only after floor loading, vibration isolation, maintenance access and lifting routes are checked.

The aqua feed production line also shares laboratory, maintenance and some utility services with the existing factory. Product-contact equipment and finished-feed bins remain separated by production route so shrimp, poultry and fish formulas are not mixed unintentionally.

RICHI MACHINERY

Equipment Configuration 

The client selected a complete twin-screw floating fish feed production line sized for 7–8 T/H finished output. The equipment train is balanced around the extruder rather than assigning every upstream machine exactly the same nameplate capacity.

Section	Main Equipment	Project Duty
Receiving / cleaning	Intake hoppers, cleaners, magnets, elevators, aspiration	Protects downstream equipment and separates foreign material
Major batching / mixing	Feed mixer machine, bins, feeders and scales	Automatic weighing of major formula components
Coarse grinding	Hammer mill feed grinder, approx. 160 kW class	Reduces grains and coarse meals before fine grinding
Ultra-fine grinding	2 × micro pulverizer, approx. 132 kW each	Produces fine and uniform aquafeed meal
Final dosing / mixing	Micro system, final mixer, liquid addition	Adds premix and sensitive low-inclusion materials
Preconditioning	Single- and twin-shaft conditioners	Steam, water and mixing before extrusion
Extrusion	Twin screw extruder, 7–8 T/H class	Floating and controlled-density sinking products
Drying	mesh belt dryer, multi-pass	Reduces post-extrusion moisture before coating
Coating	Vacuum coater with oil dosing	Post-dryer lipid and liquid application
Cooling / screening	Counterflow cooler, product screens, fines recycle	Stabilizes feed before packing
Packing	Two bagging scales + palletizing	25 kg bags and other commercial formats
Air / odor control	Bag filters, cyclones and staged odor treatment	Controls dust and process exhaust

The RICHI equipment and engineering package is USD 1.25 million. The completed USD 1.85 million project total includes structural adaptation, installation, electrical integration, steam and process-water connections, local civil works, environmental-control equipment, inland logistics and commissioning.

The dryer heat is supplied from the client’s shared central steam/thermal utility system serving the wider feed complex. This is more practical than treating the Sharqia industrial site as if it automatically has municipal district heating.

RICHI MACHINERY

Process Flow

Extruded fish feed requires tighter particle-size control, moisture management and thermal processing than ordinary livestock mash or pellets. The process therefore uses staged grinding and mixing before extrusion, followed by drying, vacuum coating, cooling and grading.

Step 1: Receiving Cleaning and Storage

Bulk and bagged ingredients enter through separate receiving routes. Screens and magnetic separators remove coarse foreign material and ferrous contamination before ingredients move to dedicated bins or warehouse positions.

Step 2: Major Batching and Pre-Mixing

Major cereals and protein meals are weighed automatically from bins, then mixed to create a stable feed stream for grinding. Scale accuracy is validated for each weighing range instead of publishing one universal ±0.1% guarantee for all ingredients.

Step 3: Coarse Grinding

The pre-mix passes through the hammer mill to reduce larger grains and improve the load on the fine-grinding system. Screen size changes with formula and target pellet diameter rather than remaining fixed at 1.5 mm for every product.

Step 4: Ultra-Fine Grinding

Two fine grinders bring the meal to the particle-size distribution required by the product. Many grower feeds operate with a substantial fraction in the few-hundred-micron range, while fry and very small pellets may need finer material. A universal 100–200 micron target is not imposed on every 3–6 mm feed.

Step 5: Final Dosing and Mixing

Premix, minerals, amino acids and selected liquids are added after the most aggressive grinding stage where practical. This reduces unnecessary loss of micro ingredients and gives the extruder a homogeneous, correctly formulated feed.

Step 6: Steam Conditioning and Twin-Screw Extrusion

The conditioned mix enters the aqua feed plant extrusion section and then the floating fish feed extruder machine. Product density is controlled through formula, starch level, moisture, steam, screw configuration, barrel conditions, die restriction and cutter settings. Floating feed is not created simply by “adding air,” and sinking feed is not produced by screw speed alone.

Typical die sizes cover small juvenile feeds through larger grower pellets. Changeover time depends on cleaning, die replacement, screw configuration and the difference between recipes, so the page does not promise a fixed two-hour switch for every floating-to-sinking production change.

Step 7: Drying

Extrudate normally leaves the die with substantially higher moisture than finished feed. The multi-pass dryer reduces moisture to a stable storage range, commonly about 8–10%, using controlled air temperature and residence time. Thermal settings are selected from pellet size, inlet moisture and density.

Step 8: Vacuum Oil Coating

After drying, selected formulas receive oil and heat-sensitive liquids in a vacuum coating system. Vacuum assists liquid penetration into pellet pores, but oil addition is formula-specific rather than a fixed 5–10% for every species and growth stage.

Step 9: Cooling Screening and Rework

Coated pellets are cooled close to ambient temperature, then screened by size. Clean fines and suitable off-size material return through controlled rework routes. Product temperature and moisture are checked before finished bins are released for packing.

Step 10: Packaging

Finished fish feed is packed mainly in 25 kg bags, with two scales sized comfortably above the 7–8 T/H line rate. The shared palletizing system is scheduled so aquafeed dispatch does not interfere with the existing shrimp-feed operation.

RICHI MACHINERY

Utilities and Consumption

The utility profile is dominated by ultra-fine grinding, extrusion, drying air and process ventilation. The source figures gave incompatible annual electricity totals, while the stated 20,000 tons of steam was high for a 25,000 T/A line without a detailed heat balance.

Utility	Practical Annual Planning Range	Engineering Basis
Electricity	Approx. 3.5–4.5 million kWh/year	About 140–180 kWh per ton depending on fine grinding, extrusion and ventilation
Electrical service	Approx. 1.6–2.0 MVA	Extruder, two fine grinders, hammer mill, dryer fans and auxiliaries
Steam / thermal utility	Approx. 7,000–9,000 T/year steam equivalent	Conditioning plus dryer heat from shared site utility
Direct process + cleaning water	Approx. 1,500–2,500 m³/year	Conditioning/extrusion water, cleaning and sanitation; excludes central boiler make-up
Compressed air	Project-specific	Pneumatic gates, controls and packing
Cooling / ventilation air	Continuous during production	Dryer, cooler, aspiration and odor-control duties

Condensate return from the shared steam system is recovered where the site utility design allows. Boiler make-up water and shared utility losses are accounted for at the central plant rather than being incorrectly assigned as direct fish-line water consumption.

Dust from receiving and grinding is collected dry. Wet odor-control stages generate a separate wastewater stream that requires controlled collection and treatment; it should not be combined automatically with clean stormwater.

A 500 kVA generator cannot operate the complete line at rated output. Emergency generation is either sized for a defined reduced-production package or used for controls, ventilation, critical pumps, safe shutdown and selected conveying loads.

RICHI MACHINERY

How RICHI Customized This Line for Fish Feed

The engineering challenge was to add a 7–8 T/H aquafeed line inside an operating multi-species feed complex without treating it as a standalone greenfield factory. RICHI therefore designed around shared utilities and logistics while keeping aquafeed processing and product control independent.

1. The twin-screw extrusion section is sized for 7–8 T/H so the plant can deliver 25,000 T/A without operating exactly at its nameplate limit.
2. Two-stage size reduction gives coarse ingredients efficient pre-grinding and then the finer particle distribution needed for extrusion.
3. Final micro dosing occurs after the most aggressive grinding stage where practical, reducing unnecessary exposure of premixes and sensitive additives.
4. Floating and sinking density are adjusted through the complete extrusion recipe—formula, moisture, steam, screws, die and thermal conditions—not one machine-speed setting.
5. The existing five-story building is used for gravity transfer, but floor loading and vibration are checked for the extruder, mills and dryer before installation.
6. The line connects to the site’s shared steam/thermal utility rather than installing an unnecessary duplicate boiler.
7. Process exhaust is captured at the extruder and dryer, with particulate removal and staged odor polishing selected from actual exhaust loading and permit requirements.

The odor-control system combines enclosure, particulate separation and staged treatment. Wet scrubbing, biofiltration and activated-carbon polishing can be applied to the main dryer/extrusion exhaust; any catalytic stage is used only where the gas composition and operating temperature justify it. Final stack height is determined by the approved environmental design rather than an arbitrary universal 40 m rule.

The dedicated aquafeed team is planned at roughly 18–24 people across two shifts, with laboratory, engineering, maintenance and warehouse support shared with the larger feed complex. Training covers fine grinding, extrusion changeovers, dryer balance, vacuum coating, sanitation, startup/shutdown and preventive maintenance.

RICHI MACHINERY

Product Specifications

The product program is built around tilapia as the main Egyptian aquaculture species, with additional floating, sinking and slow-sinking grades for other freshwater farming systems. Egypt’s standards authority currently lists ES 3957/2005, “Fish Diets,” as a fish-feed standard; it is shown by EOS as non-obligatory, so customer contracts and the company’s quality system remain important alongside regulatory requirements.

Product Family	Typical Diameter	Typical Nutrition / Physical Focus	Production Note
Tilapia starter / juvenile	1–2 mm	High protein relative to grower feed; stable small pellet	Lower throughput than large grower sizes
Tilapia grower / finisher floating feed	3–5 mm	Formula commonly around high-20s to mid-30s protein depending stage	Expansion and bulk density controlled for reliable floating behavior
Catfish / carp sinking or slow-sinking feed	3–6 mm	Protein and energy adjusted by species and stage	Higher density through extrusion/formula control
Specialty farm formulas	2–8 mm	Customer-specific protein, lipid and additive program	Made in scheduled campaigns

Finished-feed release checks can include moisture, pellet size, bulk density, floatability or sinking rate, fines, water stability, protein, fat and selected microbiological or contaminant parameters. Numerical targets are tied to the product specification rather than copied from one tilapia formula to every SKU.

A floating pellet does not need to remain on the surface for one fixed number of minutes to be acceptable in every farm. Likewise, water stability is assessed using an agreed method because laboratory test conditions can differ significantly from ponds and tanks.

Selling prices are not fixed in the project copy. Egyptian soybean meal, corn, fish meal, oil, electricity, foreign exchange and transport costs can change materially, so current quotations should be built from the client’s live formulation and sales contracts.

RICHI MACHINERY

Market Outlook for Extruded Fish Feed in Egypt

Egypt’s scale gives this project a substantial domestic customer base. FAO reported about 1.6 million tonnes of aquaculture production in 2024, the highest in Africa, and tilapia remains central to the country’s farmed-fish output. That supports demand for commercial aquafeed without requiring exaggerated claims about fixed annual growth or import volumes.

Extruded feed competes with conventional pellets on more than purchase price. Floating products allow farmers to observe feeding behavior and uneaten feed, while extrusion can improve starch cooking and physical water stability when formulation and process conditions are correct. The economic result still depends on feed formulation, fish performance and farm management.

Commercial Issue	Project Response
Soybean meal / fish meal volatility	Multiple approved suppliers and flexible protein formulation
Different farm feeding systems	Floating and controlled-density sinking product campaigns
Fine-feed energy demand	Balanced coarse/fine grinding and product-specific particle targets
Odor sensitivity near populated areas	Enclosed exhaust capture and staged treatment
SKU changeover	Campaign planning, bin sequencing and sanitation
Power interruptions	Defined emergency loads rather than undersized full-line backup

The project also benefits from the client’s existing poultry and shrimp-feed business: purchasing, laboratory capability, maintenance, transport and dealer relationships are already in place. This lowers organizational duplication even though the aquafeed process itself requires dedicated grinding, extrusion, drying and coating equipment.

No fixed 20–25% operating margin, three-year payback or guaranteed FCR improvement is stated. Those outcomes depend on raw-material prices, product mix, capacity utilization, financing, farm results and sales terms.

RICHI MACHINERY

Why a Twin-Screw Extruded Fish Feed Line Makes Sense in Egypt

This expansion makes sense because a 25,000 T/A aquafeed line is being added to an established feed company rather than built without infrastructure or customers. Existing warehousing, laboratory, maintenance, utilities and distribution reduce duplication, while the 7–8 T/H extrusion line gives the plant enough production margin for a 6.25 T/H annual average requirement.

Twin-screw extrusion is particularly useful where one plant must handle different recipes and density targets. The value comes from control over mixing, cooking, expansion and product density across floating and sinking products, not from a blanket claim that twin-screw technology is always superior for every feed or budget.

For equipment delivery, a practical route is Qingdao to East Port Said followed by inland road transport to Sharqia. SCZONE identifies East Port Said as a deep-water gateway with dedicated container terminals, making it a credible entry point for containerized feed-mill equipment. Imported ingredients may use different Egyptian ports depending on supplier and vessel route.

For another fish feed mill project, RICHI would first confirm annual tonnage by species, floating-versus-sinking mix, smallest pellet size, protein and oil range, ingredient forms, steam source, building floor loading, electrical capacity, odor-control requirements and packaging format. Those inputs determine the grinding system, extruder duty, dryer area and coating configuration.

RICHI scope for this completed expansion covers process engineering, equipment manufacture, factory inspection, export packing, control integration, installation guidance, commissioning, product-parameter optimization and operator training. A practical implementation period is about 7–10 months when structural checks, utilities and building adaptation proceed in parallel with equipment manufacture.

Project equipment references also include livestock feed production line.