3–4 T/H Cassava Leaf Meal Broiler Pellet Machine in Nigeria

Why the 3–4 T/H SZLH320 Fits a 500 T/Month Feed Mill

The feed mill's monthly target is approximately 500 tonnes. At 3–4 T/H, the SZLH320 feed pellet machine needs around 125–167 effective pelletizing hours to produce that volume. If the plant operates 22 days per month, this corresponds to roughly 5.7–7.6 effective pelleting hours per production day.

This means the 500-tonne target can be handled within a normal single-shift schedule while still allowing time for startup, cleaning, product changeovers and routine maintenance. On an annual basis, approximately 6,000 tonnes of finished broiler feed requires around 1,500–2,000 effective pelletizing hours.

The customer therefore gains useful capacity reserve without selecting a machine substantially larger than the existing grinding and mixing section can support.

SZLH320 Project Configuration

The 3–4 T/H rating refers to the complete balanced feed mash rather than pure cassava leaf meal. Actual output varies with the percentage of leaf meal, fiber level, oil addition, mash moisture, steam quality, ring die specification and other formula characteristics.

Why Cassava Leaf Meal Is Relevant in Benue State

Cassava is widely grown in Nigeria's North Central agricultural zone, and Benue has a long-established cassava production base. Leaves collected from suitable cassava production can therefore provide a locally available feed resource when harvesting and processing are managed correctly.

Dried cassava leaves can contain roughly 20–25% crude protein on a dry-matter basis, but this does not make them equivalent to soybean meal. Soybean meal has substantially higher crude protein and a different amino-acid profile, while cassava leaves contain more fiber and can also contain tannins and cyanogenic compounds.

For this reason, the feed mill uses cassava leaf meal as a supplementary ingredient rather than treating it as a direct one-for-one soybean meal substitute.

Fresh Cassava Leaves Must Be Processed Before Poultry Feeding

Fresh leaves are not sent directly to the hammer mill or pellet machine. Cassava foliage contains cyanogenic glucosides, and processing is required before the material can be used safely in poultry diets.

The customer's preparation route begins with leaf collection and inspection, followed by chopping and controlled wilting. The material is then sun-dried or mechanically dried under suitable conditions until it reaches approximately 10–12% moisture for storage and milling. Dry leaves are ground to approximately 0.5–1 mm and sampled for quality control before being released to the feed-formulation section.

Wilting, chopping and drying help reduce cyanogenic compounds because physical damage and moisture loss allow endogenous enzymes and volatilization to reduce cyanide levels. The effectiveness depends on cassava variety, initial cyanide level, particle size, drying conditions and duration, so the feed mill verifies the processed ingredient rather than relying only on a fixed number of drying hours.

The Conditioner Is Not a Cassava Detoxification Unit

The 4 kW conditioner on the SZLH320 poultry feed pellet machine receives a complete formula that should already contain safely processed cassava leaf meal. Steam is added to prepare the mash for ring die compression, improve mash plasticity and support pellet formation.

The conditioner is not used as the main cyanide-control step. A short exposure to steam before pelletizing cannot replace proper chopping, wilting, drying and ingredient testing. The plant therefore does not depend on an arbitrary 85°C setting to make unsuitable cassava leaves safe.

Conditioning parameters are instead adjusted according to the complete broiler formula, initial mash moisture, steam quality, die load and required pellet characteristics.

How Much Cassava Leaf Meal Goes into the Formula?

The original concept of using 15–20% cassava leaf meal or replacing half of the soybean meal is not treated as a default commercial formula. Nigerian feeding studies have evaluated a wide range of cassava leaf meal inclusion levels, and performance changes as inclusion, processing method, fiber level and amino-acid balance change.

For this project, the feed mill begins with an approximately 5–10% processed cassava leaf meal inclusion window in broiler finisher formulas. The final percentage is confirmed by a poultry nutritionist using actual laboratory results for crude protein, fiber, moisture, residual cyanogenic compounds and amino-acid balance.

Soybean meal, groundnut cake or other protein ingredients remain part of the formulation where required. Methionine, lysine and other nutrients are balanced from the complete diet rather than assuming cassava leaf protein can independently meet the bird's requirements.

From Prepared Mash to 4 mm Broiler Finisher Pellets

After cassava leaf meal passes ingredient quality control, it is batched with maize or other energy ingredients, protein meals, vegetable oil, minerals, vitamins and amino acids. The mixed mash is generally maintained within an approximately 1–3 mm particle range before entering the pellet mill.

The feeder meters mash into the conditioner, after which the prepared material enters the SZLH320 ring die chamber. The project uses an approximately 4 mm die for broiler finisher pellets.

Four millimeters is the selected product specification for this customer rather than a universal statement that every broiler finisher must use exactly this diameter. Die compression ratio is also selected according to the actual formula instead of being fixed automatically at 1:10.

After pelletizing, the hot pellets require cooling and screening before packaging. Existing downstream equipment therefore needs sufficient capacity to accept the full 3–4 T/H output.

Pelleting Does Not Correct an Unsafe Formula

The SZLH320 changes the physical form of an already formulated feed. It cannot compensate for excessive cassava leaf meal, high residual cyanide, poor amino-acid balance or excessive dietary fiber. Likewise, pellet quality alone does not prove that a formula is nutritionally suitable.

The customer therefore separates three decisions: ingredient safety is controlled during cassava-leaf processing and testing; nutritional suitability is controlled during formulation; and physical pellet quality is controlled through grinding, conditioning, ring die selection, cooling and screening.

This separation is especially important when using unconventional feed ingredients because processing and nutrition need to be evaluated independently.

Shipping the SZLH320 through Lagos

The SZLH320 Cassava Leaf Meal Broiler Pellet Machine in Nigeria is prepared for export from Qingdao, China, with Lagos Port Complex at Apapa used as the container gateway before inland delivery toward Benue State.

Before shipment, RICHI checks the customer's existing mixer discharge, mash-bin height, steam supply, electrical capacity, pellet discharge elevation, cooler capacity and workshop maintenance space. The objective is to integrate one new pellet mill into the existing plant without unnecessarily replacing the grinding and mixing equipment already in service.

A 3–4 T/H Cassava Leaf Meal Broiler Pellet Machine in Nigeria

This Cassava Leaf Meal Broiler Pellet Machine in Nigeria project uses one RICHI SZLH320 with a 37 kW main motor to manufacture approximately 500 tonnes of broiler finisher feed per month. Properly processed cassava leaves are dried to around 10–12% moisture, ground to approximately 0.5–1 mm and incorporated at a controlled level into a balanced feed formula. The complete mash is prepared to approximately 1–3 mm before conditioning and pelletizing into approximately 4 mm pellets.

For another feed mill considering cassava leaf meal, RICHI Machinery needs the cassava variety, leaf harvesting method, drying process, laboratory analysis, proposed inclusion level, complete formula, required T/H, pellet diameter and existing grinding, mixing, steam, cooling and packaging equipment. Machine selection should follow both feed-safety requirements and the actual production target.