Application
Valve and Airlock Selection for Pet Food Plants
Answer in brief
Pet food plants combine two opposite duties in one line: a fragile, oily finished product and hard, abrasive mineral premixes.
A valve that is gentle enough for coated kibble wears quickly on mineral blends, and a valve built for abrasion breaks the kibble.
- Separate the duties where the layout allows it.
- Design the valve for cleaning, because fat does not simply fall out.
- Check breakage across the valve, not only at the packer.
Reviewed October 21, 2026 · Updated October 21, 2026
The problem
Coated kibble leaves a fat film inside the valve, which collects fines and turns rancid, while mineral and vitamin premixes abrade the same surfaces.
Both problems are discovered late: the fat as a hygiene finding, the abrasion as a loss of conveying performance.
Desired outcome
A valve that passes finished product without breaking it, survives the premix duty for a defined period and can be cleaned to the standard the plant has set.
Process approach
For finished kibble, large pockets, relieved tips and modest rotational speed keep breakage low.
For premixes and minerals, wear-protected rotors and replaceable liners are the economic answer, and the valve is treated as a consumable.
Under dust collectors, a double flap arrangement avoids the clearance problem entirely where continuous discharge is not required.
- Removable rotors and accessible housings for fat cleaning.
- Separate devices for finished product and for premix where possible.
- Speed control so the valve can run slowly on fragile duties.
Selection factors
- Fat content and the cleaning interval that follows from it.
- Breakage limit for the finished product, measured consistently.
- Abrasiveness of mineral and vitamin premixes.
- Dust explosion characteristics of the fines in the collector.
- Recipe changeover requirements, including medicated feed segregation.
Common failure modes
- Fat film in the valve collecting fines and turning rancid
- Kibble broken at the rotor tip and seen as fines in the bag
- Premix abrasion opening clearances and starving the conveying line
- Cleaning skipped because the rotor cannot be removed in place
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