Revisión sobre el mezclado de productos en la fabricación de piensos y conglomerados

The mixing of products in the manufacture of food in general and feed in particular for animals, constitutes a key phase for the dosage of the food and the nutrition, having a significant effect on the uniformity of the mixture, the functional properties and the sensory characteristics of the food. The objective of the work was to develop a review of current technologies, as well as the most important research aimed at mixing products, for the manufacture of feed and conglomerates. During the analysis, it is exposed that the components of a mixing operation can be: dry foods and / or low, medium and high viscosity liquid foods, processed with horizontal and vertical axis mixers respectively. The uniformity of the final product depends on the type of mixer used, the mixing conditions such as speed, temperature, and time, as well as the composition of the food. In the case of dry food, it is highlighted that each ingredient has physical properties that affect its ability to be mixed with other ingredients, such as: grain size, density, shape and surface characteristics, hygroscopicity, adhesiveness and susceptibility to electrostatic charges. In researches carried out it was shown that the granulometry constitutes the most influential factor on the homogeneous mixing of dry food and as it increases its size, more time is required to obtain said mixing.