On-line measurement of residence time distribution in a food extruder

A technique was based on electrical conductivity of material in a die, and used a series circuit consisting of a 5 mm dia die, a 10 ohm resistor, and a 15V dc power supply. Material conductivity was altered with addition of an electrolyte tracer at the feed inlet. Change in current flow was measured as a proportional voltage response across the resistor. Using a twin-screw extruder, with L/D 32:1, the RTD of rice flour at 15% moisture was determined using sodium nitrate as tracer. Under steady state, the voltage across the resistor was measured. The on-line results correlated well with the established erythrosine dye method. The effects of screw configuration, feed flow rate, and screw speed were precisely determined by the on-line method