RESUMO
Shrimp industry wastes can be transformed and used as raw material for the development of new products. The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of pre-treatment and drying process of the shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) exoskeleton for balanced feed production. The balanced feed was made with shrimp flour (25.74%), cotton seed cake (24.56%), rice bran (22.06%), beef tallow (16.18%), sweet potato flour (5.81%), and cassava flour (5.66%). To obtain the flour, shrimp processing waste (heads and exoskeletons) were blanched, dried, ground and sieved. Blanching was carried out using a full factorial 22 experimental design, where temperature and time were evaluated as independent variables. The drying kinetics of the blanched exoskeletons were performed in a tray dryer at different temperatures (40 and 50 °C) and air velocity (1, 1.5 and 2 m/s). The blanching process showed no significant effect on the protein content present in shrimp by-products. The drying kinetics showed that the greatest loss of moisture occurs in the period of decreasing velocity, dominated by mass transfer by diffusion. The Page model showed the best fit for the experimental data. From the mixture of shrimp flour with the other ingredients in the proportions indicated by the Solve software, fish food pellets were obtained. These met the nutritional requirements of fish (tarpon) in the juvenile-commercial stage.