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Facilities

Locations

Zetadec has different laboratory facilities, with a broad range of analytical possibilities. Besides the laboratory analysis, we organize and perform pilot tests (small scale), pilot plants (bigger scale) and large scale trials at production facilities. When working on R&D projects, often a choice has to be made between working on lab scale (see laboratory and pilot trials) or go straight for full-scale factory research. In all cases, tests can be up-scaled to the desired level.

  • Laboratory, small-scale testing
  • Process hall, medium-scale testing
  • Pilot plants, full-scale testing

All of the above stated locations have different appliances and possibilities. Therefore, we are flexible in conducting different kinds of experiments , on various scale levels.

Available techniques

At the different locations, various types of equipment and methods are available. A selection of most used techniques performed by us is given below: 

  • Extrusion: different sized single&twin screw extruders.
  • Pelletizing: a lab-scale and an industrial-scale pellet press with variable configurations.
  • Coating: different coating techniques such as a spheronizer, coating pan, lab-scale and industrial-scale vacuum coater.
  • Toasting: a steam- and infrared toaster .
  • Grinding: several types and sizes of mills, ranging from laboratory mills to industrial mills.
  • Instron (Universal Testing Machine): evaluating the mechanical properties of materials, e.g. tensile strength, compressive strength, chewability, fatigue strength, flexural strength etc. 
  • Climate chambers: shelf life analysis according to EFSA regulations.
  • Data logging: assessment of energy efficiency based on energy consumption of individual machines.
  • DSC: Differential Scanning Calorimeter used to evaluate enthalpy changes, melting ranges (e.g. lipids), protein denaturation and glass–transition (e.g. starch gelatinisation). 
  • Particle size analysis:  wet & dry sieving and microscopic analysis. Our own application to calculate particle distributions can be found here.
  • Spectrophotometer: assessment of concentrations and levels of all sorts of materials used in conjunction with various tests.
  • Capillary rheometer: Determine the apparent viscosity of different raw materials/feed formulations.
  • Wall adhesion factor: Determine the wall adhesion factor for feed additives.

Please contact us for more information about these and other techniques.