Current Status and Development Trends of the Rotary Drum Granulator Market

As a key piece of equipment for powder granulation, the current market for rotary drum granulators exhibits distinct characteristics and clear trends.

Currently, market demand for rotary drum granulators is extremely strong. In the agricultural sector, with growing interest in green and environmentally friendly fertilizers, the production of organic and compound fertilizers is expanding, significantly driving demand for drum granulators. Many organic and compound fertilizer manufacturers are investing in advanced rotary drum granulators to improve production efficiency and ensure product quality. In addition to agriculture, industries such as chemicals and feed are also increasing their investment in drum granulators due to demand for granular products.

Market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. The influx of manufacturers has led to a complex product range and varying quality. Large companies dominate the market, leveraging their strengths in technological research and development, quality control, and after-sales service networks. Smaller companies rely on low prices to compete, but lag significantly behind in quality and innovation.

Technically, high-end equipment is becoming the mainstream. Models with automated control, intelligent monitoring, and high-efficiency energy-saving features are increasingly popular. They improve production efficiency and product quality while reducing labor and energy costs, meeting the demands of intelligent and green production.

Future development directions are clear: First,intelligent upgrades: equipment will enhance self-diagnosis and automatic adjustment capabilities, enabling parameter adaptation and unmanned production. Second,deepening energy conservation and environmental protection efforts: adopting advanced technologies and designs to reduce energy consumption and emissions, meeting stringent environmental requirements. Third,specialized segmentation: developing customized products for different industries, raw materials, and needs to meet individual market demands.

In short, the rotary drum granulator market presents both opportunities and challenges. Companies must focus on technological innovation, quality improvement, and service optimization to remain competitive.

The Important Role of Disc Granulators in Fertilizer Production Lines

In the granulation process of fertilizer production, disc granulators, with their unique structure and performance, are the preferred equipment for small and medium-sized production lines. Known as the “precision shaper” of fertilizer granules, their core advantage lies in efficiently converting powdery materials into regular granules, balancing production efficiency and product quality.

The simplicity of their structural design is a notable feature. The main body consists of an inclined disc, a transmission mechanism, and a frame. The disc’s inclination can be adjusted within a certain range, controlling the material’s residence time within the disc. This minimalist design not only reduces equipment failure rates but also facilitates routine maintenance. Compared to drum granulators, the disc granulator occupies nearly half the floor space, making it particularly suitable for production environments with limited space.

The wide range of compatible raw materials enhances its practical value. Disc granulators can be used for granulation in both organic fertilizer production lines and NPK compound fertilizer production lines. Their unique rolling granulation method reduces clumping of materials with high moisture content. For organic raw materials containing coarse fiber, they can also gradually agglomerate to form stable granules, eliminating the need for complex pretreatment. Energy and cost-effectiveness highlight competitive advantages. Compared to extrusion granulators, disc granulators consume less power and require no mold replacement, reducing equipment wear and maintenance costs. Furthermore, their stable continuous production capacity allows a single unit to meet the production needs of small and medium-sized fertilizer plants, helping companies reduce initial investment and operating costs.

Amid the development of green agriculture, disc granulators, with their high efficiency, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, have become a crucial piece of equipment in the fertilizer forming process, providing strong support for improving fertilizer quality and promoting sustainable agricultural development.

Features of the Bio-Organic Fertilizer Production Line

Based on the core principle of “transforming waste into treasure,” the bio-organic fertilizer production line has established a unique production system that differentiates it from traditional chemical fertilizers and has become a key force in promoting the green transformation of agriculture. Its core advantage lies in transforming agricultural waste into functional fertilizers rich in active bacterial communities, achieving both ecological and economic benefits.

A notable feature is its diverse raw material system. The production line can process a variety of organic wastes, including livestock and poultry manure, crop straw, and food waste. Through pretreatment processes such as crushing and mixing, the carbon-nitrogen ratio of each material is adjusted to an optimal range for fermentation. For example, mixing chicken manure with corn straw in a specific ratio not only balances the composting rate of high-nitrogen raw materials, but also utilizes straw fiber to improve fertilizer permeability and enhance fermentation efficiency.

Intelligent control of the fermentation process is the core technology. It utilizes trough-type turning and constant-temperature fermentation technology. Sensors monitor the temperature, humidity, and oxygen content of the compost in real time. When the temperature is too high, the turning and turning system is activated to ensure that the thermophilic bacteria thrive within the optimal range. This precise control significantly shortens the material composting cycle and completely eliminates pathogens and weed seeds, achieving harmless treatment.

The functional complexity of the finished products of the biological organic fertilizer production line forms market competitiveness. After secondary aging and low-temperature drying, the finished product not only retains rich organic matter but also contains active functional bacteria such as phosphate- and potassium-solubilizing bacteria and Bacillus subtilis. Field trials have shown that continuous application of bio-organic fertilizer can increase soil organic matter content, reduce the use of chemical pesticides in greenhouse vegetable cultivation, and improve crop quality.

This “waste-resource-product” closed-loop model not only addresses agricultural non-point source pollution but also provides a natural solution for soil remediation. Driven by policies to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and increase their efficiency, bio-organic fertilizer production lines are becoming a crucial link between ecological protection and food security, opening up new paths for sustainable agricultural development.

Where are flat die granulators used?

With its unique extrusion molding principle, flat die granulators have demonstrated strong application potential in a variety of fields, making them an ideal choice for small- and medium-scale production. Their core structure consists of a flat die and a pressure wheel. The rotation of the pressure wheel squeezes the material through the die holes, forming cylindrical pellets. This simple and direct operation gives them wide applicability.

Flat die granulators perform exceptionally well in fertilizer production lines. When processing bio-organic fertilizers, they can directly pelletize wet fermented materials without the need for additional drying pretreatment, preserving the activity of beneficial bacteria while streamlining the production process. For nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizers, their powerful extrusion capabilities can compress mixed powders into high-strength pellets, effectively eliminating the clumping problem associated with traditional pelleting. They are particularly suitable for producing high-concentration specialty fertilizers.

Flat die granulators are also essential for the feed processing industry. For poultry and livestock feed, they can compress raw materials such as straw powder and soybean meal into pellets, reducing feed losses during transportation. High-temperature extrusion kills parasite eggs in the raw materials, enhancing feed safety. In aquatic feed production, pellet density can be controlled by adjusting die hole size to meet the feeding needs of fish in different water layers.

In the environmental protection field, flat die granulators are a valuable aid in solid waste treatment. They can compress municipal sludge, agricultural and forestry waste, and other materials into fuel pellets, realizing waste resource utilization. These pellets have high combustion efficiency and low pollutant emissions, providing new ideas for the development of new energy sources.

The flat die granulator‘s advantages also lie in its flexible operation. By simply replacing dies with different apertures, a wide range of pellet specifications can be produced to meet the needs of diverse industries. The equipment also occupies a small footprint and is easy to install and maintain, making it suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. As the concept of green production becomes increasingly popular, the flat die pelletizer, with its high efficiency, energy conservation, and versatility, continues to provide a reliable solution for material forming in various fields.

What are the main components of an organic fertilizer production line?

Those familiar with organic fertilizer production lines can generally identify their components, but for those new to the industry, this may seem a bit vague. Today, Zhengzhou Huaqiang Heavy Industry will share with you the components of an organic fertilizer production line.

The crushing section of an organic fertilizer production line. Given the diversity of user raw materials, our organic fertilizer production line equipment is designed with a crushing section. During the equipment sales process, we found that many users use relatively dry chicken manure or pig manure as raw materials, and some even mix in other raw materials to reduce organic fertilizer production costs. Raw materials with excessively large particle sizes cannot be directly granulated. Therefore, before granulation, the raw materials must be crushed to achieve the desired granulation effect before they can be fed into the organic fertilizer granulator. Of course, for users with sufficiently fine raw materials, this step can be omitted when designing organic fertilizer equipment.
The granulator section of an organic fertilizer production line is the core component of the equipment, making it an essential component. The model of granulator to be selected depends on the user’s production volume. The drying section of the organic fertilizer production line. The granulation process requires that the material humidity be kept below 25%. Therefore, raw materials with an initial humidity above 25% should first enter the drying process, and then enter the granulation process after the dried material reaches the required humidity. Of course, users with sufficient material humidity can omit this step when designing organic fertilizer equipment.
In other parts of the organic fertilizer production line, after the pelletizer completes the processing, it is conveyed by a belt conveyor to a ball shaping machine for shaping, achieving a perfectly spherical shape and forming organic fertilizer granules. For users who require it, we can design a final packaging process to directly package the final product, thus achieving perfect automation of the entire fertilizer granulation process.

How to choose a suitable fertilizer granulator?

In the field of fertilizer production, it is very important to choose the right granulator, which directly affects product quality, production efficiency and corporate benefits. Faced with a wide range of fertilizer granulators, how to choose?

Raw material characteristics are the primary consideration. For processing high-humidity materials such as livestock and poultry manure, the rotary drum granulator can meet the needs; fiber raw materials such as straw have high hardness, and the high-pressure molding technology of the double roller press granulator can ensure the compactness of the particles.

The scale of production needs to be considered. Large production lines have a large daily output demand, and the rotary drum granulator has become the first choice due to its continuous operation ability. It can be adapted to 10,000-ton organic fertilizer projects to meet high-intensity production. Medium-sized enterprises can choose a disc granulator, which can balance efficiency and cost and is suitable for the production of 10-20 tons of compound fertilizer per day. For small workshops or laboratories, the flat die granulator is flexible to operate, occupies a small area, and can easily cope with small batch production.

The requirements for particle quality also affect the choice of granulators. If spherical particles with a high ball formation rate are required, the disc granulator is an ideal choice. The organic fertilizer particles it produces are round and have good commercial properties. For high-strength columnar particles, the double roller press granulator has a good molding effect, high particle hardness, and is not easy to break. The ring die granulator can flexibly switch molds and produce particles of different shapes and sizes to meet diverse needs.

From the perspective of process and economy, in the dry production process, the double roller press granulator does not need to add water, reduces the drying process, and reduces energy consumption. In wet production, the rotary drum granulator and the drying equipment work well together, which is suitable for large-scale continuous production. From the perspective of maintenance cost, the flat die granulator has fewer wearing parts and is easy to repair; although the hydraulic roller granulator has a higher initial investment, it is durable and has a lower long-term use cost.

Considering the above factors comprehensively, select the appropriate one from many models to make fertilizer production more efficient and higher quality.. 

How to choose between a rotary drum granulator and a disc granulator?

In the fertilizer, feed and other industries, disc granulators and rotary drum granulators are both common granulation equipment, playing a key role in fertilizer production lines. Understanding their differences can help companies choose the right equipment and achieve efficient production.  From the working principle, when the disc granulator tilts the disc and rotates, the material continues to roll and agglomerate under the action of gravity, centrifugal force and friction. First, small particles are formed at the bottom of the disc, and then they continue to roll, absorbing the surrounding powder and gradually become larger. After reaching a certain size, they overflow from the edge of the disc to complete the granulation. The material of the rotary drum granulator rolls continuously in the rotating drum, and through water or steam, the basic fertilizer and other materials are fully reacted chemically in a wet environment, and the particles are agglomerated into balls under the extrusion force generated by the rotation of the cylinder.

In terms of equipment structure, the disc granulator is relatively simple. The core component is the tilted granulation disc, which is driven to rotate by the drive device. There are also disc inclination adjustment mechanisms, racks, feeding pipes, liquid sprayers, hanging plates, etc. The rotary drum granulator has a complex structure. The main body is a huge rotating cylinder, which is driven by a drive device. In addition, there are feeding systems, steam or gas supply systems, discharging systems, and complex control systems and auxiliary equipment such as temperature and humidity sensors. ​

The two have different focuses in their application areas. The disc granulator has a small investment and is easy to operate. It is a powerful assistant for small production plants and is widely used in small compound fertilizer plants, feed processing plants and small biomass fuel enterprises. The rotary drum granulator is like an industrial giant with high output and is suitable for large-scale production. It performs well in large-scale compound fertilizer and feed production enterprises and industrial raw material granulation processing. ​​

Disc granulators and rotary drum granulators have their own advantages and disadvantages. Enterprises must make comprehensive considerations and careful choices based on their own production scale, material characteristics, product quality requirements and budgets to win development opportunities in the fierce market competition.

Market Development Trends of Organic Fertilizer Granulating Machines

Against the backdrop of agricultural green transformation, the organic fertilizer granulating machine market is booming, driven by multiple factors, including policies, technology, demand, and competition.

Policy-Driven Market Expansion: The Chinese government prioritizes sustainable agricultural development and environmental protection, issuing a series of favorable policies. These documents advocate the use of organic fertilizers to reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers. Financial subsidies and tax incentives are used to reduce investment costs for businesses, attracting more companies and boosting demand for granulating machines. Some regions offer construction subsidies for organic fertilizer production facilities and purchase subsidies for farmers, boosting demand for organic fertilizer production lines and driving market expansion.

Technological Innovation Drives Upgrading: Technological innovation is the core driving force behind the development of granulating machines, which are moving towards intelligent, automated, and environmentally friendly technologies. Modern granulating machines are equipped with variable frequency speed control systems, enabling real-time parameter adjustment to improve efficiency and quality. Some equipment incorporates online monitoring devices to ensure product consistency. Furthermore, continuous innovation is being made in energy conservation and consumption reduction, utilizing wear-resistant materials and optimizing transmission structures to reduce energy waste and pollution. Growing and Diversifying Market Demand: Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of food safety and environmental protection, favoring green agricultural products and driving demand for organic fertilizers. Different soil and crop requirements for organic fertilizers in different regions are driving companies to develop a wide range of granulation machines of varying types and specifications. The large-scale development of agriculture is driving strong demand for efficient, high-capacity equipment from large growers and businesses, driving market expansion.

The competitive landscape is continuously evolving: Growing market demand is attracting numerous players, intensifying competition. Companies are increasing R&D investment to enhance product performance and focusing on branding and after-sales service to strengthen customer loyalty. Cross-industry and cross-regional collaborations are frequent, and resource integration is driving industry upgrades, providing users with more high-quality, cost-effective options.

Thanks to these multiple factors, the market for organic fertilizer granulation machines holds a promising future and will play a crucial role in the green development of agriculture.