MANUFACTURE OF PASTA PRODUCTS

INTRODUCTION
Vermicelli ( Short and longs ) macaroni, sphagetti, ada-ada and similar extruded
rice or wheat based products are generically called PASTA PRODUCTS.
The process of manufacturing these is the same except, with the change in a few
process parameters for obvious reasons of difference in their geometry .
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Most of the pasta plant also have a flour mill attached to them, where rice or
wheat flour is initially prepared.
The powdered rice or wheat (sooji) prepared is mixed with hot water at 55-60oC
( generated in a shell and tube heat exchanger ) in specific ratios depending upon the final
product.
The sooji and the water are discharged through separate ratio feeders into a turbo
spray charger. This sprays the mixture into a kneader where the homogeneity of the
mixture is ensured, without the formation of any lumps etc.
This homogeneous mixture is extruded through a screw press at a very high
pressure in the range of 150 kg/cm2 . The shape of the die would change depending
upon the end product. The kneaders, screw press and the shakers are maintained under a
vacuum of about 50-60mm Hg.
So far , the process is same for all the products. The variation in the further
remaining process is due to the difference in final product manufactured.
A)

MANUFACTURE OF SHORTS

The extruded product is cut by means of a rotary cutter if the product is of

smaller lengths, typically around 25mm ( hence called shorts). The speed of rotary cutter
could be altered to get different lengths of cuts. The shorts are then fed into a set of
shakers.
The shorts have a tendency to stick together , hence shakers are used essentially
to ensure that the shorts do not stick together. The shaker consist of an oscillating tray,
housed in a hot chamber, where the temperatures are typically maintained at 75 oC. The
shaker is essentially cuboidal in construction and the two side walls (in the direction of the
shake) have a set of finned radiators with circulating air fans.
The shorts entering the shaker have a typical moisture percentage of 30% and
leave the shaker with around 23% moisture .
It is conventional to use a set of 2 shakers which operate in both series and
parallel . A glance at the flow diagram would clarify this. The outlet from the extruder is
distributed between Shaker I & II but the outlet of the shaker I is also discharged into

shaker II. The distribution is controlled by the angle of repose of the chutes and
automatically the shorts with slightly higher moisture percentages are discharged into
Shaker I, for the obvious reason of higher residence time .
The shorts are conveyed by a bucket elevator into the dryers. The dryer is a belt
dryer.There are a set of belts and the products enter the topmost belt and is discharged
from the bottom most one, progressively passing through each set of belts. The total
residence time of the product would depend upon the temperatures maintained in the
drying chamber and the product. Typically for the shorts the residence time is 4 to 4.5
hours and the dryer temperatures are maintained in the range of 50 - 60oC. The final
moisture content of the product is about 11%, typically.
Recent trends in the industry are to go in for higher dryer temperatures and lower
residence times. This new alternative warrants for dryer temperatures of 80-90oC and
residence times of 2-2.5 hours.The radiators are located on both sides along the length of
the dryer.
B) MANUFACTURE OF LONGS
The extruded product comes on to a set of moving hangers and the motion of
these hangers automatically create a tension in the extruded product,and thus get cut in an
appropriate length. These hangers then continue to move into the dryers and their
residence times are typically 16 - 18 hours with dryer temperatures at 55-60oC. The
dryers are cuboidal with radiators located along the direction of motion of the product.
C) MANUFACTURE OF MACARONI, ADA-ADA ETC.
These products are shorter than the shorts, about 15mm in length and macaroni is
hollow inside. Thus there is a small difference in drying these.
The extruded product is taken through a pre-dryer from the shaker. The moisture
content at the inlet and outlet of the pre dryer are about 23% and 19% respectively.
This pre-dried product enters into the belt dryer (similar to the one used for shorts) for
final drying.
Usually, the throughput through these product lines are much less compared to the
regular pasta lines.

TYPICAL FLOW DIAGRAM FOR PASTA PLANT

Water

Rava

Turbo charger
Radiator

Rotary cutter

Kneader

Dye

Shaker II

To dryer
?Bucket

Shaker I
screw press
150 kg/cm2
Radiator

R1 - R8 RADIATORS ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE BELT DRYER

From
Shakers

R1

R2

R3

R4

BELT I
BELT II
BELT III
BELT IV

BELT V
Product
Discharge

ROLE OF ATH IN PASTA MANUFACTURING

The heating is required at the following locations.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Generation of hot water in the shell and tube heat exchanger.

Radiators in the shaker (not for long)
Radiators in the predryer (for macaroni etc. Only)
Radiators in the dryers.

Since the temperatures required in the process are very low i.e. hot water
temperatures of 55-60 oC and all drying chamber temperatures in the range of 50-60oC and
shaker temperature of 75 oC , it is ideal to use pressurized hot water systems. Even when
the customer goes in for most modern techniques, wherein the dryer temperatures are to
be maintained at 80 - 90 oC , our standard ATH can easily fit in.
For a 2 TPH line, the typical heat load requirements are as follows:
1.
2.

Hot water generation - 15000 kcal/hr

Drying - 375000 kcal/hr (inclusive of shaker, predryer and final dryer)

Total heat load is approximately 4 lac kcal/hr.

CAUTION:
Most of the plants are imported from Italy and the flow rates specified by
them in their radiators are usually higher than the permissible flow rates through
our standard ATH. Thus one has to explore the possibility of incorporating a high
flow circuit (like in case of thermic fluid circuits) or by passing the excess flow using
an orifice plate assembly.
For a conventional dryer having a throughput of 2 TPH, the various process
parameters are as follows:
No. Of belts
Inlet moisture content
Final moisture content
Total residence time
Total length of dryer
Belt no.
1
2
3
4
5

No.of
radiators
5
4
2
2
2

=
=
=
=
=

5 nos.
23%
11%
4.5 hours
45 m

No. Of CA Temp. (oC )

fans
18
60
16
65
08
60
08
55
04
50

I.M.C
(%)
23
18
16
14
12.5

F.M.C (%) Residence

Time (hrs)
18
0.5
16
1.0
14
1.0
12.5
1.0
11
1.0

A typical TPD plant would have a predryer of 7 belts, with a residence time of 0.5
hours. The dryer would have 3 belts and the following process parameters.

Belt no.
1
2
3

No. Of
radiators
1
2
2

No. Of CA
Fans
2
4
2

CA Fans - Circulating air fans

IMC - Initial moisture content
FMC - Final moisture content

Temp. oC
55
50
45

I.M.C.
23
17
13

F.M.C
17
13
11

Time (hrs)
1.5
2.5
3.5