Feed block for animals
US6440478B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 22, 1996 |
| Grant date | Aug 27, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 27, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02P60/87
- WIPO fieldFood chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
An improved feed block is produced by a novel process in which a fluid mixture comprising molasses, additives and other nutrients is produced into a dehydration vessel operating under a partial vacuum. The fluid mixture is heated to a temperature less than about 130° F. and agitated within the dehydration vessel to drive water from the fluid mixture. The water vapor is cooled, condensed and removed from the dehydration vessel to a condensate collector where the amount of water removed can be measured to determine the degree of dehydration. Once an appropriate amount of water has been removed, the dehydrated fluid mixture is produced from the dehydration vessel, formed into block shapes and cooled to form feed blocks. The resulting feed blocks are high in nutritional value because the low temperature dehydration process prevents the nutrients from being thermally destroyed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.