Utilizing a Pressed Plate Pellet Machine with a Box-Behnken Design for the Optimization of Pellet Production Process Parameters

The high-quality and precise production of chicken feed pellets not only reflects the excellence of the machinery but also the composition of the feed mixture. This article explores the optimization of pellet feed production using the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) approach with a pellet press plate machine. The dominant factors controlled in the process include the number of press plates, the angle of the press plate, and the machine rotation speed. These three key factors are investigated through experiments conducted using the BBD methodology. Trials are performed using design and response matrices for each experiment. The results are tabulated and analyzed with Design Expert software, followed by an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test to identify significant parameters. Subsequently, these process parameters are examined for their impact on pellet quality. The study concludes that meticulous adjustment of these parameters is imperative, given the direct correlation between these factors and the response parameters: production capacity, durability, and machine efficiency. The regression models show high R² values of 0.9863, 0.9827, and 0.9842, respectively, indicating a strong correlation between the proposed model and experimental data. Through multi-response optimization and comprehensive data analysis, the optimal conditions for pellet production are identified. The use of two pressure plates, a pressure plate angle of 58.614°, and a machine speed of 50 rpm yielded optimal results. Under these conditions, the predicted response values resulted in a pellet production capacity of 7.61685 kg/hour, pellet durability of 87.0414, and pellet machine efficiency of 68.1042%. The experimentally obtained values under ideal conditions closely aligned with the expected values, with a desirability factor of 0.973, indicating that favorable outcomes can be achieved for all responses.