Bran is a by-product of flour milling. And they are often referred to as waste. They are a hard shell of grain, which remains after grinding. Until recently, bran went mainly to feed farm animals, but now their scope has become much wider.
The benefits of bran and their scope
Non-specialists often confuse bran with chaff - the garbage obtained by threshing household plants. Myakina consists of small parts of spiky and leguminous plants (spikelet films, scraps, stems, pods, etc.). Just chaff is still used exclusively as a feed, since in its composition it is closer to straw, but differs from it in a high nitrogen content and better digestibility.
Depending on the type of grain that goes into processing, several types of bran are distinguished: rye, wheat, rice, barley, buckwheat, etc. They may differ in the degree of grinding. In the latter case, bran can be coarse (large) and thin (small). The nutritional value of this product is determined by the content of powdery particles in it - the less they are in the bran and the more shells, the less nutritious. The chemical composition of wheat bran in percentage terms is as follows: water - 14.8%, protein - 15.5%, fat - 3.2%, fiber - 8.4%, nitrogen-free extractive substances - 53.2%, ash - 4, 9 %. 100 kg of bran contains about 75 feed units and about 13 kg of digestible protein.
Thanks to its characteristics, bran is used for fattening cattle, horses, pigs, sheep and raising young animals. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the "feed" direction remains the main one for bran producers.
This situation has developed up to the last century. At the beginning of the 20th century, bran was completely excluded from the diet of Europeans, since it was considered a waste product, although scientists already knew that they contained more protein, fatty acids and trace elements than in the grain itself. After several decades, the situation changed significantly: bran began to be considered as a valuable source of dietary fiber. The most popular were oat bran, which were added to cooked breakfasts intended for people who monitor their health and figure. Especially popular bran in the diet of steel with the spread of vegetarianism. This raw material is an important source of essential fatty acids and trace elements.
However, manufacturers of bran, who position their product as a real panacea, are opposed by some nutritionists. The latter are sure that in the extruded bran, which is obtained using high-speed extruder-granulators, there are few useful substances and trace elements. In addition, there are restrictions on their use: bran is contraindicated in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract during an exacerbation. When overused, they can lead to some digestive problems.
However, in general, it is difficult to challenge the usefulness of bran. All biologically active nutrients are stored in the hard shell of the grain. In wheat flour of the highest grade, no more than 10% of valuable substances are stored, therefore synthetic additives are often added to it, but as a food product it does not bear much benefit, although it has high taste qualities. Bran contains a large amount of fatty acids, so whole-wheat flour rancid quickly, so in the production of flour it is necessary to carefully separate the bran from the grain.
Bran is used not only for the manufacture of dietetic breakfast cereals, but also in the production of bread. In this case, it is important to correctly calculate the content of all components: a large number of bran in the product reduces its digestibility, and a small amount of bran favorably affects the taste of bread and improves digestion. Most often, bran is used, of course, in cooking. Like several years ago, wheat bran is the most popular in our country, in the second place are rye, and in the third - rice.
Bran production
Bran production is directly related to grain processing and flour production, which is understandable, because bran is a by-product of such production. Let's consider it in more detail. This process begins with the reception and storage of raw materials - wheat and rye grains. The grain is brought by road or rail to the enterprise and transferred to the elevator. Previously, it is weighed on a truck scale with a carrying capacity of up to 60 tons or on a railway scale with a carrying capacity of 150 tons.
The next stage of production is the preparation and processing of grain. First, the grain is fed to the grain cleaning department, where it is thoroughly cleaned of various debris and impurities. For this, special equipment is used with a set of sieves with cells of different diameters. The grain is blown under strong pressure, which allows you to remove dust and small debris. Particles of metal or metal ore are separated using magnetic separators, and particles of mineral origin (pebbles, earth, asphalt) are separated by stone screening machines.
After that, the refined grain is poured into wet peeling machines. There it is poured with warm water, heated to a temperature of 30-40 °, and intensively mixed, resulting in a partial separation of the fruit shell. Warm water helps strengthen the gluten of the grain. The raw materials are left in the bunker for 2-3 hours for bedding, and then sent to the second stage of cleaning, where shells and foreign particles that have not been removed previously are separated from the grains. Then the raw material is moistened again and poured into the hopper for the next batch for a couple of hours.
Finally, it is sent to pneumatic separation machines and fed to the grinding compartment. Technological optimal grain moisture at this stage should be 15%.
Grain grinding is carried out on roller mills. When falling between two rotating rolls tightly pressed against each other, the grain is crushed to pieces. Then, the crushed mixture with the help of the air flow rises up to sieving, where the raw material is divided into 3-5 fractions according to the size of the particles. After sifting, grains also flow to windmills. Passing through sieves, they are cleaned of shell particles. As a result of this, white cereal is obtained, which is subsequently fed to grinding roller mills, where it is crushed to the state of fine cereal and the smallest fraction - dunst. Small particles are once again passed through the roller systems and fed to grinding machines, the number of which can reach eleven. Only after they pass the mealy part is completely separated from the product shell.
In addition to flour, cereals and bran, mills with modern equipment have machines that can also emit grain germ - dense particles of 2-2.5 mm in size yellow. Wheat grain crops consist of three parts - the outer shells (the same bran), the germ and the mealy core (endosperm). Bran is that same hard shell of grain, its fibrous outer layer. The endosperm, which is used to produce white flour, contains the most starch and is rich in carbohydrates, but the aleurone layer, which has a brownish color and can ruin the appearance of the finished flour, is removed from it. The germ of grain is located in the center, it contains the largest amount of nutrients, is a source of essential fats and vitamins. This waste contains a lot of fiber.
For example, 100 g of wheat germ contains at least half of the daily dietary fiber intake. For comparison, bran contains up to 80% fiber and slightly less useful and nutritious substances. Thus, wheat germ is also a very valuable product in its biochemical composition. However, it also contains a high percentage of fat (up to 14%), which, when it is crushed into flour, gives it bitterness. For this reason, grain germ is not used in the production of flour.
After all the above procedures, the flour is sent to the control sifting after the varietal flow. At this stage, the grain shell accidentally falling into the total mass of the particle is removed from it. Purified flour with compressed air is distilled into the storage hopper, and from there it already enters the warehouse through weighing machines or is sent for loading.
Back to the bran. As a result, flour production produces bran, but they look unusual at this stage for consumers. This is just a scattering of husks. However, the use of bran in a loose form has certain disadvantages. First of all, these include the high costs of their storage and transportation. Bran in bulk takes up a lot of space and requires special conditions for storage and transportation, but most importantly, they are very dusty, and this not only causes inconvenience when using the product, but also increases the risk of fire during storage. During granulation, bran bran is compacted almost ten times. In this form, they are stored longer, because with a lower specific surface area of the product, the action of moldy and yeast fungi is reduced, less contamination with viable forms of microorganisms is observed. In addition, the bulk area increases and dust formation decreases.
Granulation of bran is carried out on special equipment using press-granulators of flat dies or similar machines. In addition to presses, such a line is equipped with cooling columns and a pellet vibratory separator. Alluvial bran is sent to special containers using a pneumatic conveyor through special channels, and then to a storage tank with the release of metallomagnetic impurities in the stream. At the next stage, bran gets into the steaming mixers. There they are steamed at a temperature of 120-150 ° and sent to pellet presses. Under pressure, bran is pressed by pressing rolling rollers into the holes of the matrix. From the bottom of the matrix, they are cut with sharp knives and then cooled on cooling columns to a temperature of 20 ° or 5 ° above ambient temperature.
Finally, the finished granular bran is sieved on a vibratory separator, on which substandard granules are removed. The latter are sent for re-granulation, and the granules that have passed through the separator are sent to operational tanks for storage.
Equipment for the production of granular bran
There are two most obvious areas for organizing your own bran production. In the first case, this may be an additional direction of flour milling (very profitable and promising). In this case, the productivity will be the largest, and the cost of production - the lowest. Bran, produced in large volumes, are sold mainly to livestock feed. Part is acquired by intermediaries, and they, in turn, are small enterprises that are engaged in the packaging and sale of bran. Larger companies do the same, only in large volumes. The latter, as a rule, granulate bran on their own. Opening your own flour mill is too costly and risky. Especially for the production of such a by-product as bran.
Companies purchase them in large and medium wholesale from manufacturers, granulate and pack. In the same way, they produce a number of diet foods - cereal, fiber, and various mixes such as breakfast cereals.
On the Russian market there is a wide selection of equipment necessary for the production of granular bran, mainly European (Baltic) and Chinese production. Pellet production lines are universal. They make it possible to produce granules from sawdust, grass flour, peat, husk seeds, combined feed, straw, husk and cake, cereal bran, etc. The average productivity of the line is from 1500 to 2500 kg / h. Productivity for feed and bran of such equipment is higher than, for example, for husk of sunflower.
Such a line weighs about 5 thousand kg, and its overall dimensions are 4100 mm in length, 3850 mm in width and 5670 mm in height. Please note: to install such a line, a room with a ceiling height of at least 6-7 m is required. Manufacturers give the following energy indicators of the equipment: total installed power - 98 kW, type of current alternating current frequency 50 Hz, mains voltage 220/380. The composition of the line includes the following components: press, mixer, dispenser, hopper, screw conveyor, sorting cooler, fan for removing crumbs, control cabinet. In this configuration, the cost of the line is from $ 45, 000. It is also possible to install additional equipment. This includes pneumatic transport with a capacity of 5 tons per hour for loading and unloading bulk goods from transport to warehouses and vice versa, a hammer grain crusher with a capacity of 5 tons per hour (engine and hopper), augers for loading and unloading, a roller mill for grinding granules, a feed mixer-steamer with a productivity of 1.5 tons per hour, dies with holes of various diameters for the manufacture of granules of different sizes, faceplate for the granulator. A pellet production line with additional equipment will cost $ 70, 000.
Also consider the cost of equipment for filling granular bran. If you are going to produce not bran bran, but diet products, you will need to add additional components to the mixture, starting with cereal and ending with nuts, candied fruits, dried fruits, seeds, etc. But, as in the case of cereals, adding fruit sprinkles to the mixture significantly complicates the manufacturing process. First, all fruit supplements must first be washed in running water and cut into small pieces at high temperatures. It is more cost-effective to procure additives yourself, but this requires additional (sometimes very tangible) investments. In addition, specialists should be involved in the formulation of dietary mixtures. Take into account that some types of fruits are not suitable for automatic packaging, as particles of other components of the mixture stick to them, which destroys the equipment.
Such raw materials must either be additionally dried out, or packaged manually, which significantly increases the cost of the finished product. It is better not to use such fillers.
To place the line fully equipped, you need a room of at least 100 square meters. meters with utilities and electricity. Such industries are usually located on the outskirts of the city (in industrial zones) or outside it. Otherwise, the rental price will be too high, which will affect the profitability of the entire enterprise. A controversial issue that worries many entrepreneurs is whether it is worth moving with production to the region. Most experts are of the opinion that it is better to rent a room closer to the city. A lower average salary in the region and lower rental costs may not compensate for logistics costs in the future. If funds allow, it is better, of course, to consider the possibility of acquiring an existing enterprise. Such a production complex with two workshops with a total area of 1200 sq. meters can be purchased at a price of 3.5-4 million rubles.
Of course, to take such large areas for bran production and to purchase expensive equipment is unprofitable. Small and medium-sized companies simply buy granulated bran, and then add dried fruits, candied fruits, etc. The resulting mixtures are packaged in bags and delivered to grocery stores, super- and hypermarkets, specialized online stores, etc. Although this market is very attractive and promising, but still to reach it and, all the more, it will be difficult to resist, as the level of competition is also high.
In any case, regardless of which production option (scale) you choose, whether you will organize it from scratch or decide to purchase a ready-made one and invest in its modernization, consult with specialists in advance. They will help you choose the right options depending on your requirements and planned production volumes.
Positioning bran as a dietary product
The most common mistake made by newcomers to the business is neglect of marketing, as well as saving on specialists. С одной стороны, эта экономия понятна: молодая компания отчаянно пытается снизить расходы и уменьшить сроки окупаемости бизнес-проекта. С другой стороны, такая экономия, как правило, чревата еще большими потерями в ближайшем будущем. Перед выводом любого нового продукта на рынок необходимо тщательно изучить ситуацию на нем: проанализировать конкурентов, оценить потребительский спрос. На основании полученных данных вы сможете сформировать ассортиментную линейку и правильно позиционировать свой продукт.
Действительно, отруби отличаются высоким содержанием клетчатки (до 80 %) и большим количеством питательных веществ. Это почти идеальный продукт для многочисленных желающих сбросить вес или сохранить фигуру. Почти – так как отруби имеют и некоторые побочные эффекты при чрезмерном употреблении. При этом отруби весьма калорийны. Они содержат от 165 ккал на 100 г, поэтому они прекрасно подходят для утоления голода. Все бы хорошо, если бы не один существенный минус – отруби имеют специфический вкус, поэтому производители зачастую выпускают их не в чистом виде, а в виде смесей с добавлением зерновых хлопьев, сушеных фруктов и даже овощей.
При этом в вашем ассортименте должны быть и негранулированные отруби, прошедшие специальную обработку. Дело в том, что отруби входят в программы многих известных диет, включая знаменитую диету Дюкана. В результате проведения многочисленных исследований оказалось, что лучше всего для диетических целей подходят отруби среднего размера и двойного помола. При этом большое значение для качества готового продукта имеет процедура просеивания. Установлено, что при шестикратном пропускании через сито разных размеров можно получить отруби с минимальным содержанием быстрых углеводов. Западные производители изготавливают отруби, в основном, в кулинарных целях и предпочитают тонкий помол, исключая процесс просеивания.
Такая продукция реализуется через отдельные продовольственные магазины, региональные торговые сети, супер- и гипермаркеты. Но попасть на полки крупных сетей новичкам будет очень сложно и затратно. Более того, не всегда эти расходы стоят того, ведь ваш продукт не будет знаком потребителям. Если ваши объемы производства довольно небольшие, то лучше сосредоточиться на одном регионе и начинать работать с отдельными магазинами.
Не стоит забывать и про рекламу. При небольших объемах производства и ограниченном бюджете лучше всего работать непосредственно с целевой аудиторией – через группы в социальных сетях, рекламу на специализированных сайтах и форумах (в том числе и скрытую).
При составлении бизнес-плана необходимо принимать во внимание сезонность такого бизнеса. Продажи подобной продукции напрямую зависят от сезона. Наибольший спрос наблюдается весной и летом, когда люди стараются соблюдать диету перед летним отдыхом.
Пшеничные отруби россыпью можно приобрести по цене от 2600 рублей за тонну либо 5, 80-8, 50 рублей за килограмм. Гранулированные отруби продается по цене от 4000 рублей за тонну. При этом в рознице эти же отруби реализуются по цене от 25-30 рублей за 200 грамм.
Sysoeva Liliya (c) www.clogicsecure.com - a portal to small business business plans and guides08/18/2019