Development of Feed Blocks for Livestock

BNTrading Inc., located in Alberta, is interested in developing a more efficient form (block) of densified feed material compared to small-size cubes and pellets currently available. This new form of densified material is to provide an easier handling, storage, and transportation. The target is firstly to convert the pellet or cube forms to block in trials. If there is a possibility of this transformation to blocks, the work will be conducted for the conversion of these conventional densified feed to feed blocks. Otherwise, the crushed form of feed will be used for production of feed blocks. For this purpose, different types of binding agents (chemical or natural based) will be used in densification process. Parameters of binder concentration, moulding pressure and residence time will be optimized to obtain desired quality attributes. The optimal combinations will be determined based on the quality attributes which are important in the feed industry.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lope Tabil

Student:

Majid Soleimani

Partner:

BNTrading

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

University of Saskatchewan