Method and apparatus for preparing an extrudable product, and an extruded product

Abstract

A method for extruding an extrudable material to form an extruded product, the method including the steps of (a) providing an extruder having a periphery and at least a first stator, an outer rotor and an inner rotor, the first stator being disposed between the outer rotor and the inner rotor to define at least two annular feed gaps disposed one within the other in a radial direction within the periphery of the extruder, a first of the at least two annular feed gaps being defined by the outer rotor and the first stator and being disposed outside of the first stator between the first stator and the outer rotor with the outer rotor being closer to the periphery than the first stator, the first feed gap being the outermost feed gap in the extruder, the extruder including a supply conduit for supplying the material to the first feed gap through the first stator; and (b) supplying the material to the at least two annular feed gaps, with at least a part of the material being supplied through the first stator to the first feed gap, to cause the material to be extruded.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.