25–30 T/H Aqua Feed Pellet Cooler in Vietnam

Why a 25 T/H Pangasius Feed Line Needed a 25–30 T/H Cooler

The customer's extruded feed section produces approximately 25 tonnes per hour, so the downstream cooler must have enough reserve capacity to accept that flow continuously. Selecting a cooler rated below 25 T/H would simply move the production bottleneck from extrusion or drying into the cooling section.

The SKLF28×28 provides a reference range of approximately 25–30 T/H, giving the plant enough margin around its normal 25 T/H production rate. That margin is useful because actual cooling capacity changes with pellet diameter, bulk density, inlet temperature, inlet moisture, ambient air condition and the amount of airflow passing through the pellet bed.

The cooler is therefore sized from the real pellet flow rather than from the physical dimensions of the chamber alone.

SKLF28×28 Project Configuration

The SKLF28×28 capacity should not be confused with the amount of hot wet material leaving the extruder. The extruder may discharge pellets at high temperature and relatively high moisture, but floating aquafeed normally passes through a dryer before reaching the cooler. The cooler is not designed to remove the large moisture load associated with freshly extruded pellets.

The Correct Process Is Extrusion Then Drying Then Cooling

The production sequence is critical in this project. Prepared mash enters the extruder, where pressure, heat, moisture and mechanical energy form the floating feed structure. The expanded pellets then enter the dryer, which removes the majority of the moisture required to reach the finished-feed storage specification.

Only after drying do the pellets enter the SKLF28×28. At that point they are still warm, but their moisture has already been reduced substantially from the extruder-discharge condition. The cooler uses ambient air to remove sensible heat and a smaller amount of residual moisture before the pellets move downstream.

The simplified process is: grinding and formulation → extrusion → drying → cooling → screening → coating and packaging as required by the customer's product route.

This means figures such as 95–100°C and 28–30% moisture describe conditions that may occur around extrusion, not the correct specification for material entering the cooler after a properly functioning dryer.

Cooling Does Not Create Floating Performance

A key engineering distinction in this project is that the cooler does not determine whether pangasius pellets float. Floating behavior is established primarily by pellet density and internal structure created during extrusion. Formula composition, starch characteristics, particle size, preconditioning, extruder screw configuration, specific mechanical energy, die design and drying conditions all influence the final density and water stability of the pellet.

The SKLF28×28 Counterflow Pellet Cooler contributes after that structure has already been formed. Its job is to cool the dried pellets evenly enough for stable handling and packaging. Poor cooling can create uneven final temperature or moisture and may contribute to condensation or handling problems, but it should not be described as changing a 70% floating product into a 97% floating product by controlling expansion for exactly ten minutes.

Likewise, a fixed cooling time such as six, ten or fifteen minutes cannot be prescribed universally. Residence time depends on product load, airflow, pellet bed depth, ambient conditions and the target discharge temperature.

Why Counterflow Cooling Fits High-Capacity Aquafeed

In a counterflow cooler, ambient air moves through the pellet bed in the opposite direction to the movement of the product. The coolest incoming air contacts the coolest pellets near discharge, while warmer air contacts hotter pellets higher in the chamber. This temperature relationship allows progressive cooling rather than exposing the hottest pellets immediately to the coldest air.

For the Can Tho plant, the important design objective is uniform air movement through a large volume of 4–5 mm pellets. Uneven bed distribution or blocked airflow can leave sections of product warmer than others even when the average discharge temperature appears acceptable.

RICHI therefore evaluates air volume, ducting, fan selection, product distribution and discharge control together with the cooler body. Cooler performance cannot be determined from the 2.2 kW discharge motor alone because that motor drives the discharge mechanism rather than supplying the thermal cooling duty.

Ambient Conditions Matter in the Mekong Delta

Southern Vietnam has a warm and humid climate, so the cooling system cannot be evaluated using the same assumptions as a plant operating in cool, dry air. Counterflow cooling relies on ambient air, which means the lowest practical product temperature changes with daily and seasonal weather conditions.

The approximately ambient +3–5°C discharge value is therefore used as a practical reference target rather than a guarantee that pellets will always leave at 30–33°C. If ambient temperature increases, the achievable outlet temperature rises with it.

Relative humidity also matters because it affects how much additional moisture can be removed during cooling. The dryer remains responsible for establishing the main finished-feed moisture condition; the cooler should never be used to compensate for an overloaded or incorrectly operated dryer.

Protecting 4–5 mm Pangasius Pellets During Discharge

The customer produces approximately 4–5 mm floating pangasius pellets, so downstream handling needs to avoid unnecessary mechanical damage. Pellet breakage can occur at multiple points including elevators, screens, conveyors and transfer chutes, not only inside the cooler.

The cooler discharge system therefore needs to release product evenly without creating a sudden deep drop or excessive recirculation. After cooling, screening separates fines from qualified pellets before the next process stage.

When the plant investigates excessive fines, samples should be taken after the dryer, after the cooler, after screening and after major conveying points. This makes it possible to determine where breakage actually occurs rather than automatically blaming the cooler.

Vietnam Is a Strong Location for a Pangasius Feed Project

The Mekong Delta remains the center of Vietnam's pangasius industry, with major farming activity concentrated in areas including Dong Thap, An Giang, Can Tho and Vinh Long. This provides a strong commercial basis for a high-capacity pangasius feed factory near Can Tho.

The cooler in this project therefore serves one clearly defined product: floating feed for commercial pangasius production. It is not presented as simultaneously cooling shrimp, tilapia and multiple other aquafeed products simply to expand the application list.

Shipping the SKLF28×28 through Cat Lai

The SKLF28×28 Aqua Feed Pellet Cooler in Vietnam is prepared for export from Qingdao, China, with Tan Cang–Cat Lai Terminal in Ho Chi Minh City used as a practical container gateway before inland transport toward the Mekong Delta.

Before shipment, RICHI reviews the cooler installation height, dryer discharge interface, product distribution system, air duct arrangement, discharge elevation, downstream screen capacity and maintenance access. These checks are essential because the new cooler must replace an existing machine inside an operating 25 T/H line without creating a new conveying or structural bottleneck.

What to Confirm Before Selecting an Aqua Feed Pellet Cooler

• actual dried-pellet flow in T/H;
• pellet diameter and bulk density;
• temperature and moisture at the real cooler inlet after drying;
• ambient temperature and relative humidity;
• available installation height and pellet-bed arrangement;
• fan, duct and dust-collection configuration;
• required downstream screening and coating sequence;
• maximum acceptable temperature before storage or packaging.

A 25–30 T/H Aqua Feed Pellet Cooler in Vietnam

This Aqua Feed Pellet Cooler in Vietnam project uses one RICHI SKLF28×28 to serve an existing approximately 25 T/H floating pangasius feed line near Can Tho. The cooler provides a reference capacity of approximately 25–30 T/H and handles 4–5 mm dried hot pellets after extrusion and drying. Its operating target is to bring the product toward approximately ambient +3–5°C under suitable airflow and weather conditions before subsequent screening and finished-feed handling.

For another aquafeed mill evaluating a counterflow cooler, RICHI Machinery needs the dried-pellet T/H, pellet size, bulk density, actual dryer outlet temperature and moisture, ambient conditions, existing fan and duct arrangement, available installation height and downstream process. These parameters determine whether the SKLF28×28 is correctly sized and how the air system should be configured around the real production line.