been developed for use during the manufacturing stage. Therefore variation in pellet
quality during a production run can be evaluated and subsequently used to adjust
pelleting conditions during manufacturing.
For scientific evaluation, equipment is needed with which measurements can be
performed under standardised conditions for one unique characteristic, for instance
hardness. Still, using standard&d conditions, results found with ‘scientific’ equipment,
for instance Instron, overload dynamics or Kramer shear press, are often no better than
those found with empirical tests. This is due to the inherent variability of the pellets
produced in the factory and to limited knowledge on breaking behaviour of materials of
biological origin. The main advantage so far in using ‘scientific’ equipment is its use via
standard&d conditions and its measurement of one property, whether fragmentation or
abrasion. This will ensure pellet quality measurements which are comparable between
and within pellet manufacttuing systems.