NEMO® eccentric worm pumps process insects with abrasive chitin shells

Efficient pumps for insect processing in feed and food production.

When processing insects for feed or food purposes, pumps must handle both pumping and grinding of the medium. In particular, the abrasive chitin shells of insects can present significant challenges for pumps.

An international system builder asked NETZSCH Pumps & Systems, as a global pump specialist, to provide an efficient solution for such an application in the food industry, which has since been successfully implemented. We will show you how you can benefit from using a powerful NEMO® eccentric screw pump from NETZSCH.

Pumps for process optimization in insect processing.

It is a fact that worldwide meat consumption is increasing every year. Various insect species are enjoying increasing popularity to meet the global demand for animal feed and as a food alternative to meat. They also serve as an alternative to fishmeal and are seen as one of the solutions to combat overfishing of the oceans. Several feed and food producers have specialized in insect processing in recent years. However, the processes applied were mostly costly and labor-intensive or did not produce satisfactory results.

Wear-resistant pumps for abrasive insect shells

The process, which can be used by (animal) food producers, consists of devitalization, crushing, separation, drying, processing and packaging. In this process, size reduction plays a decisive role: the more precisely the insects are ground, the easier it is to divide them into a heavier composition containing solids and a lighter composition containing fat. This is crucial for the subsequent operation namely the valuable protein extraction. Because the chitin shells of the insects are highly abrasive, the pumps had to be highly wear-resistant and capable of processing up to five tons per hour at a temperature of 60 to 70°C. Pumps are also used to further process the chitin shells of the insects.

Efficiently reduce and transport insects by eccentric worm pump.

NETZSCH's experts presented a NEMO® BO/SO funnel pump with cutting unit. Developed by NETZSCH specifically for the food industry, this model combines conveying and cutting in one process step. The dead insects first pass through the filling chamber with an integrated cutter. There, the abrasive chitin shells of the insects are broken by rotating and stationary blades. As a result, the composition of the medium breaks down into two phases: a heavier phase containing the solids of the chitin shells and a lighter, fatty phase. This makes the subsequent separation process much easier.

An additional perforated disc with rotating blades is installed on the press side to further optimize the reduction process. The disc is designed so that only particles of a certain diameter can pass through it. Larger particles remain in the shredding chamber until they reach the correct size. A tangentially mounted flushing nozzle on the pump housing also ensures that no flushing liquid remains in the pump chamber, thus emptying the pump completely.

The systems equipped with NETZSCH pumps have already been delivered by the system builder and are now successfully in operation with the end user.