Sustainable aquafeed production in Vietnam

Sustainable aquafeed production in Vietnam with De Heus

The market for aquaculture is evolving rapidly. The need for safe and sustainable sources of fish is increasing. Aquaculture has to appeal to more demanding and choosy consumers who recognise the value of nutritious, sustainably produced food.

This is the principle that the Dutch aquafeed producer De Heus follows. De Heus is an international producer of a complete range of compound feeds, premixes, concentrates and feed specialities. The company has seven production sites in Vietnam alone. The company relies on close cooperation with local farmers and fish producers to meet the ever increasing challenges of aquafeed production.

The rising prices of the raw materials that have to be processed are exerting a lot of pressure on the industry. Higher feed conversion rates, improved digestibility as well as energy savings to reduce CO₂ emissions through optimised use of processing equipment play a decisive role in maintaining a sustainable and profitable operation. Grinding is a crucial factor, since all subsequent process steps (extruder, dryer, coater) depend on excellently digested, i.e. homogeneously and finely ground raw materials. Here at Tietjen, we recognise that developing sustainable aquaculture involves collaboration, led by producers but involving the entire value chain.

Feed production for aquaculture

The development of functional and healthy feeds is critical when it comes to promoting fish growth and health. Feed production of course also has to be economically attractive. This poses particular challenges in aquaculture. 

Strong fish supported by good food consume less energy for coping with difficult situations and more energy for building up biomass. Improved growth and lower mortality in turn lead to higher performance.

Here at Tietjen, we know how important food consumption is for an animal’s health. This applies to feed production for fish in particular. The feed industry is faced with a major challenge in producing the optimum feed for every species at every developmental stage. Grinding comes at the beginning of food ingestion, because it is only through crushing that the food becomes usable. Good grinding generates a defined, uniform grain size band and is necessary for an efficient utilisation of the ingredients.

Compelling grinding solutions for aquacultures from Tietjen

De Heus has increased their production capacities for aquafeed at the company’s site in Hai Phong in the north of Vietnam. The feed manufacturer relies on a Tietjen FD 25 grinding plant for this purpose, which meets the highest fineness requirements for aquafeed. The FD hammer mill was designed specifically for the requirements of fine grinding. 

“As a manufacturer of mills and grinding systems, we have a substantial part to play in optimising the production of aquafeed and consequently making food production more efficient and sustainable. That is why we always say: It all depends on the grinding. Our objective is to improve the feed quality in aquacultures using our grinding solutions and therefore make a contribution to the production of sustainable food.”, emphasises Volkan Aktan, Sales Manager. 

The FD large chamber mill reduces energy consumption by 30 per cent and meets the requirements for ultra-fine grinding.

The FD hammer mill was designed specifically to meet the requirements of recipes containing protein and fat in fine grinding, which makes it ideal for grinding premium aquafeed. The special 6-axis rotor design with optimum beater offset delivers maximum material contact to ensure efficient grinding of aquafeed, especially for demanding recipes. The optimised grinding chamber together with the optional impact surface extension results in a particularly fine product with the highest separation cut.

Since it was commissioned in 2020, the grinding system at De Heus has been delivering a grinding capacity of 18-20 t/h. The specific energy demand per tonne of ground aquafeed has been reduced by up to 30% using our FD 25 system solution in comparison to the original system. This meant that we were not only able to fulfil customer requirements in relation to the fineness of the aquafeed to be ground, but were also able to generate real added value in terms of energy and economy. We are delighted to be able to contribute to the production of sustainable food at Tietjen and to improve the economic feasibility of feed production.