SBIR-STTR Award

Nutritional block-protein animal feed supplement gels are widely used to produce healthy animals for food, sport, and recreational purposes. The flow characterizations of these nutrient blocks require that they be put into containers for use in the field. Currently employed containers have a variety of reuse, recycle, and environmental problems associated with them. The research proposed herein will develop composites that can be fabricated into containers that will deliver the feed supplement to the target animal population, and that will either biodegrade in the field, or be eaten by the animal. The individual components (adhesive, matrix, and coating) will be modified to produce composites with an optimum balance of properties. All components will be edible and/or biodegradable. Processing options will be assessed to modify the components and to fabricate the composites to offer the potential for meeting the economic requirements of the final container. Finally, all critical performance characteristics for this application will be evaluated, ranging from composite microstructure to animal acceptance.

Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications of Research:
:A family of coated composites will be developed that promise to meet all of the essential requirements of this application, ranging from storage in the warehouse, to shipping, to ultimate use in the field. The products that are subsequently developed in Phase III will become the preferred replacements for the currently used metal and plastic feed supplement containers.

Nutritional block-protein animal feed supplement gels are widely used to produce healthy animals, especially cattle. The cold flow characteristics of these nutrient blocks require that they be put into containers from the point of manufacture through use in the field. Currently employed steel, plastic, and paperboard containers have a variety of recovery, recycle, biosecurity, and environmental problems associated with them. This Phase II R&D will develop process capabilities to produce composites that can be fabricated into value-added "one-way, disappearing" feed supplement containers, produced from natural fibers and adhesives. The containers will have the requisite properties to contain the product in storage, shipping, and field use, but will be consumed by the animals, disintegrate, or biodegrade, or a combination of all three. Broad-scale field evaluations will be carried out by our Phase III partner. A unique molding process will be developed that will use formulations identified in the Phase I R&D. Modeling results will be employed to transition from lab-scale to demi- scale (100 lb.) to full-scale (230 lb.) containers. The result of this Phase II R&D will be product qualification, full-scale mold design, construction, and utilization, and product specifications and process economics for the integrated manufacturing assembly.

Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications of Research:
A new family of edible/biodegradable animal feed supplement gel containers will be developed that will replace a significant portion of the currently used steel, plastic and paperboard containers. This type of product can have multiple uses in other applications where durable in-use and degradable post- use containers are sought. The unique molding process will be more broadly useful for composite feeds that flow only with difficulty.