Energy conservation is mandatory for compound feed companies, yet significant progress remains elusive. Investments in data, monitoring, and process optimization offer opportunities to reduce energy consumption and save costs. Nevertheless, many companies remain hesitant due to market uncertainty and unclear returns.
Companies in the Netherlands must their CO22-reduce emissions by at least 55 percent in 2030 compared to 1990. With the ultimate goal of a complete 100 percent reduction in 2050. Energy conservation is an important part of this.
“In recent years, I have surveyed quite a few compound feed companies regarding their obligation to save energy,” says Eric Vissers, process technologist at Feed Design Lab. Vissers sees significant differences in practice. “There are companies with a driven energy team that are making great strides. On the other hand, I see reduced enthusiasm, because gas and electricity prices are reasonably 'normal' again.” (the conversation took place before the crisis in the Middle East, NETWORKL.).
This article is free to read for a limited time. Would you like permanent access to all premium articles or receive the magazine 14 times a year? Then see which subscription you have De Molenaar fits best.
Energy saving obligation
Miguel Costa Gonzalez, Client Manager at Actemium, advises compound feed companies to leverage the energy saving obligation to innovate their processes. “By doing so, they can strengthen their competitiveness. The sector is inherently conservative and accustomed to stable, proven processes. The focus is primarily on production continuity, certainly in a market where laws and regulations are constantly changing and livestock numbers are shrinking. Nevertheless, I see cautious steps being taken to deploy measures more strategically for structural energy savings.”
Actemium supports animal feed companies in gaining insight into energy consumption and translating this into smart processes and energy saving opportunities. “Generating your own energy is useful, but it only solves part of the challenge. Heat storage or recovery systems are under investigation, but their application is still limited by costs, technical complexity, and uncertainty regarding future frameworks.”
Article about compound feed companies and energy saving continues below the box
The role of AI in energy conservation in the animal feed industry
AI can help the animal feed industry save energy by controlling processes more intelligently based on data. In total, energy savings of 10 to 30 percent are possible in a modern feed factory. Below are the key applications. The first two yield the greatest gains.
- Continuously analyze production processes and automatically optimize settings. For example, ensuring optimal press pressure and temperature in pellet production. Or optimizing the adjustment of grinding settings depending on the raw material and mixing time. This reduces machine wear and electricity consumption, resulting in more stable product quality. Energy savings of 5 to 15 percent are often achievable in industrial processes.
- Analyzes the energy consumption of machines, buildings, and installations in real time. It can automatically detect energy peaks and switch off unnecessary installations, and optimize the use of solar panels or batteries. This results in lower peak loads, reduced energy costs, and more efficient use of renewable energy.
- Analyzing sensor data from motors, bearings, fans, and conveyor belts. This enables early maintenance with less energy loss and reduced downtime. In some factories, this can yield energy savings of 10 to 20 percent.
- Assisting with route optimization, delivery planning, and optimizing truck load capacity. Reduced fuel consumption and transport mileage lead to 10 to 25 percent fuel savings.
- Linking production planning to energy prices, so that energy-intensive processes run when electricity is cheap, and aligning production with available renewable energy. This is becoming increasingly important with dynamic electricity prices.
Energy Management
According to Costa Gonzalez, compound feed companies have made limited progress in energy conservation in recent years. “But where previously the choice was sometimes made to temporarily shut down a baling line, the focus is increasingly shifting towards structural measures. process optimization. True energy management revolves around continuous insight and active steering, and there is certainly progress in that area.”
More and more companies are starting to collect process and consumption data to better understand their production and make it more efficient. This stems from necessity: reducing operational costs while changing regulations, sustainability requirements, and market pressure demand better insight. “But as long as data is limited, it is difficult to determine the actual impact of measures. There is insight into energy savings, but it is often still coarse-grained.”
Generating your own energy is useful, but it only solves part of the challenge.
According to the Actemium client manager, many factories measure energy consumption across an entire process section using only one or two meters at a central point. “In that case, you don't know what a measure actually yields per ton of feed. Major consumers, such as balers, hammer mills, coolers, and dryers, are already being measured individually. And this data is increasingly being linked to production data to enable further optimization. Companies that do measure more precisely gain much more immediate insight. But that requires investments that they must carefully weigh up in this uncertain market.”
Chicken and egg story
Investments that provide detailed insight, such as additional energy meters, monitoring software, and new sensor technology, are costly. “The return on investment is often difficult to substantiate with limited measurements. Insight into savings begins with reliable data. And investing in measuring and storing this data in a structured way creates the foundation upon which companies can build their future (data-driven) improvement steps,” says Costa Gonzalez.
“Because of this chicken-and-egg dilemma, companies are cautious in a market that is already under pressure. Feed companies are making larger technical investments, such as more efficient engines or heat pumps, especially if these promote operational certainty or continuity in addition to energy savings.” Vissers also doubts whether feed companies want to invest in energy conservation at this moment. “I estimate that only a few of the largest compound feed companies have enough ‘substance’ to go all in on this. The current political climate also offers little incentive to make risky investments.”
AI will certainly help with process optimization'
Costa Gonzalez is convinced that companies investing now in insight, improving their measurement structure, and data-driven optimization will strengthen their position for the future. “Ultimately, it is about producing more efficiently and better understanding where the energy actually goes. AI will certainly help with process optimization, predictive maintenance, and smart planning. For example, automatic adjustment of pressure parameters based on energy consumption and product quality, or early detection of inefficiencies. But for this, companies first need sufficient high-quality data, and there is still a backlog there.”
Marcel Roordink, Managing Director of ABZ Diervoeding, also believes that AI will certainly contribute to energy savings in the coming years. “In our factory automation, a lot of data related to energy consumption is already being captured. With the help of AI, we expect to be able to take further steps in this area.”
Various tracks to CO2to reduce footprint
Adjusting the choice of raw materials reduces CO2 by 60 to 80 percent.2-emissions. For example, sourcing less soy from South America, using more European protein sources (field beans, lupine, and peas), and also utilizing more residual streams from the food industry. In addition, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) that feed companies demonstrate that products do not originate from deforested land after 2020 and must collect origin data (GPS locations of plantations) and conduct supplier audits.
The impact of energy saving by animal feed companies on CO2 emissions2 is much smaller than changes in raw materials, at 2 to 5 percent. Nevertheless, gains can still be made through more energy-efficient grinding and pressing plants, electrification of installations, solar panels on factories, and heat recovery.
Transport and logistics can contribute 5 to 10 percent to a reduction in CO22-contribute to the footprint. Working more with regional suppliers saves the most kilometers, but electric or biofuel trucks or route optimization also contribute. Compound feed companies also contribute to lower methane emissions from cattle and reduced emissions of nitrogen and nitrous oxide via manure through methane-reducing feed additives, precision feeding (less protein, less nitrogen), and regional raw materials (shorter supply chain).
Five major consumers
Compound feed companies would do well to take a critical look at the five major energy consumers in their factories. “For example, the milling process, for which you can have a scan performed by Van Mourik Group,” says Vissers of Feed Design Lab. “Conditioning with steam is undisputed and necessary for pellet quality. But because this is by far the most expensive energy guzzler, with 3 cubic meters of gas consumption per ton of feed, you can do this as effectively and energy-efficiently as possible with the help of training from Feed Design Lab.” Pre-compaction with an expander, BOA, and double press system also consumes a lot of energy, but this is relative.
Capacity and grain quality are taking a big leap forward. “These machines must run at full pull for the most effective result. This requires training our young, inexperienced operators. Steady state saves energy compared to unprofessional use,” says Vissers.
He also sees other opportunities for energy saving. Such as proper conditioning and professional use of the pre-compressor in presses, and an appropriate choice of the L/D ratio of the die on the press. Or professional and effective management of the extraction of cooling and hammer mills, for example using a counterflow. “It is also important to involve operators in energy saving and to train and reward them. It is still too much of a management activity. Increasing support yields enormous returns,” says Vissers.
Low hanging fruit
ABZ Diervoeding is working on energy savings in the grinding of raw materials and the pressing of pellets. “A portion of our raw materials is now rolled instead of ground. And double pressing has been replaced by pre-compaction followed by pressing,” explains Roordink. “Our coolers are equipped with an intermediate floor. And solar panels have been installed at more locations to generate our own energy. During transport, we try to load back as much as possible at our locations throughout the country to limit so-called empty kilometers.”
Actemium also sees some low-hanging fruit. “Think of better machine calibration and optimizing production planning, so that installations run fewer unnecessary hours,” says Costa Gonzalez. “These are relatively simple measures, but they are often neglected because they are not automatically part of daily operations. You mainly see progress once companies really start working with their data. Fortunately, that is increasingly gaining momentum.”
Biggest hit: to three locations
According to Vissers, the animal feed industry could make the biggest impact on energy savings if it produced feed for farm animals at only three locations in the Netherlands (north, central, and south). “There are currently 85 compound feed companies with more than 100 factories. Just add up the idle load, or the energy consumption of machines without product, at these companies. Energy saving and the shortage of operators and technical personnel are common problems and have nothing to do with competition between the companies. It would surely be much more efficient to pool resources and knowledge at three locations.”
