MC Mühlenchemie has passed a new milestone in the development of its 360° service for pasta manufacturers. The flour treatment specialist has taken a new pilot pasta extrusion press into operation in the Pasta Lab of the Stern-Technology Center in Ahrensburg. This custom system from Fava S.p.A. works with vertical extrusion, and thus for the first time recreates the actual conditions of industrial pasta production at pilot scale. Unlike previous lab-scale presses, the new system also enables complete digitalization of all process data and integrates AI-assisted analysis functions.
Enzyme activity in the extrusion phase
Pasta manufacturing is a complex process in which enzymes play an essential role in bite firmness, stickiness and cooking stability. These enzymes have their maximum effect in the phase between kneading and extrusion. Enzyme effect is determined by two critical factors, the availability of water and the dwell time of the dough, but this critical phase is controllable only to a limited degree when using conventional horizontal extrusion laboratory-scale presses. The new press closes this gap.
Technical features
MC Mühlenchemie’s new pilot extrusion press covers the first steps in pasta manufacture – mixing, kneading, extruding –, and offers many advanced control functions. The speeds of the two kneaders can be set independently. The head, cylinder and dough temperatures are precisely controlled, and the ventilation speed and temperature during extrusion can be adjusted individually. The vacuum level in the kneader is monitored, as are the temperature and amount of dosing water. The vertical extrusion process and the advanced screw design exactly replicate industrial pasta presses, ensuring realistic dough compression and thereby delivering precise results applicable to full-scale production.
Digital strategy and artificial intelligence
A special feature of the new press is its complete digitalization. Where it was formerly necessary to capture test data manually in Excel sheets, there is now a digital archiving system that permanently documents every test. It records all the parameters from raw materials through enzymes to drying profiles. Even years later, it is still possible to trace which test was carried out for which customers under which conditions.
The system also integrates artificial intelligence functions. A total of 19 calculation formulas continuously analyse real-time data such as dough temperature and motor load, to predict rheological parameters. This AI-assisted cross analysis lets development teams work up data-based recommendations for customers more quickly. This is an important step towards forward-looking applied research.
Benefits for product development
For MC Mühlenchemie customers this new equipment means that testing can take place under conditions that correspond to their own production plants. This makes results from the Pasta Lab more meaningful and directly transferrable to industrial-scale production. Pasta manufacturers get deeper insights into ingredient behaviour and enzyme activity, and can optimize their process parameters and shorten their development cycles. The combination of the new extrusion press and the pilot dryer installed in 2023 makes the lab a unique miniature pasta factory in which the entire production process, from raw flour to finished pasta, can be tested under near-industrial conditions. The system thus enables R&D projects that were formerly not technically feasible. The systematically comparable databases across customers and time provides additional data for product development.
“With the new extrusion press we achieve an authenticity that is unique worldwide in this form,” says Agostino Coppola, Senior Pasta Technologist at MC Mühlenchemie. “Not only can we now precisely replicate industry conditions, with the digitalization and AI assistance we can also identify interactions that were previously hidden. This is a real competitive advantage for us and our customers.”
Partnership with Fava S.p.A.
The new pilot extrusion press is another outcome of the close collaboration between MC Mühlenchemie and Italian machine maker Fava S.p.A. The machine was developed entirely according to the requirements of the MC Mühlenchemie Pasta Lab, from the mechanical design to the control software. The pilot dryer installed in 2023 is likewise a result of this partnership. The two companies are bundling their capabilities in processing technology, flour treatment and enzyme technology to develop innovative solutions for the pasta industry.
