Ionic Polymer Biomass Degradation for Feed Additive
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Solution Overview
Problem
The use of antibiotics in animal feed raises concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, necessitating alternative strategies for promoting growth and health in animals.
Innovation Solution
An animal feed additive comprising oligosaccharides, proteins, lipids, phenolic compounds, and minerals, specifically glucans, xylans, arabinans, and mannans, is developed, which is produced through a method involving biomass degradation with ionic polymers, enhancing animal performance and health.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If antibiotics are used as growth and health promoters in animal feed, then animal growth and health are improved, but antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop and residues remain in the animal products
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts harmful antibiotic use into beneficial alternative substances. Specifically, it uses ionic polymers as catalysts to degrade biomass into useful oligosaccharides (DP1-30), which then serve as prebiotic feed additives. This transforms the harmful practice of antibiotic dependency into a beneficial biochemical process that promotes animal health through natural substrates like glucans, xylans, arabinans, and mannans, eliminating antibiotic residues and resistance development while maintaining growth promotion effects
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the feed additive by controlling the degree of polymerisation (DP1-30) of oligosaccharides produced from biomass degradation. By adjusting this critical parameter, the invention creates prebiotic substances with specific biochemical properties that promote animal health without the harmful effects of antibiotics. The ionic polymer catalysts enable precise control over the degradation process to achieve optimal oligosaccharide composition
2Reliability
If biomass is degraded to produce animal feed additive, then alternative healthy feed component is obtained, but the process requires catalysts and processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces ionic polymers as intermediary catalysts to facilitate biomass degradation. These ionic polymer catalysts mediate the conversion of complex biomass into useful oligosaccharide feed additives. The catalysts are specifically designed to promote selective degradation while maintaining process feasibility, thus managing the complexity through controlled chemical mediation rather than requiring complex multi-step processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes processing parameters including temperature, time, and catalyst concentration to achieve efficient biomass degradation. By controlling these parameters, the invention simplifies the overall process while maintaining high feed additive quality. The ionic polymer catalysts enable milder processing conditions compared to conventional methods, reducing energy requirements and simplifying equipment needs
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The feed additive improves weight gain, feed efficiency, and reduces mortality and intestinal lesions in monogastric animals, offering a safer alternative to antibiotics by promoting gut health and altering physiological functions.
Implementation Method 1
contacting the biomass with a catalyst to form a reaction mixture, wherein the catalyst is an ionic polymer or a combination of ionic polymers... degrading the biomass in the reaction mixture to produce a liquid phase and a solid phase
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an animal feed additive comprising oligosaccharides, proteins, lipids, phenolic compounds and minerals, wherein the oligosaccharides comprise glucans, xylans, arabinans and mannans, and wherein degree of polymerisation (DP) of the oligosaccharides is DP1 to DP30 and to a method for preparing thereof from biomass.