Method of producing a pelleted slow-release NPN feed for ruminants from waste polysaccharide materials

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF PREPARING A NONTOXIC PELLETED RUMINANT FEED, WHICH COMPRISES: A. PROVIDING AN AQUEOUS REMINANT FEED SUPPLEMENT COMPRISING 4 TO 8 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF WATER SOLUBLE SULFATE, UP TO 20 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF MOLASSES, 20 TO 35 PARTS BY WEIGHT OF UREA, AND 10 TO 25 PARTS BY WEIGHT, ON A DRY BASIS, OF AN ACID SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF SUPERPHOS: PHORIC ACID AND AQUEOUS AMMONIATED SUPERPHOSPHORIC ACID HAVING A NITROGEN CONTENT OF ABOUT 9 TO 12 PERCENT BY WEIGHT, A TOTAL H PHOSPHORUS CONTENT MEASURED AS P2O5 OF 28 TO 39% BY WEIGHT, AND WHEREIN POLYMERIC PHOSPHATES REPRESENT ABOUT 30 TO 70 PERCENT BY WEIGHT BASED ON THE TOTAL PHOSPHORUS CONTENT, SUFFICIENT ACID BEING PRESENT TO PROVIDE A PH NO GREATER THAN ABOUT 4.8 B. MIXING SAID FEED SUPPLEMENT WITH A SOLID WASTE OR BYPRODUCT CARBOHYDRATE MATERIAL CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF WATER-SOLUBLE AND WATER-INSOLUBLE POLYSACCHARIDES AND LESS THAN 1 PERCENT OF BY WEIGHT OF NITROGEN AND CONTAINING 25 TO 75 WEIGHT PERCENT OF WATER TO IMPREGNATE THE SOLID WASTE OR BY-PRODUCT CARBOHYDRATE MATERIAL AND PROVIDE ABOUT 2 TO 10 WEIGHT PERCENT TOTAL NITROGEN ON A DRY BASIS AND PROVIDE AN ACID CATALYST FOR HYDROLYSIS OF THE POLYSACCHARIDES OF FORM ALDEHYDIC CARBONYL GROUPS REACTIVE TO UREA, SAID MIXTURE HAVING PH NO GREATER THAN 6.7; C. DRYING AND REACTING THE MIXTURE FROM STEP (B) IN A CONVENTIONAL GAS FIRED DRYER AT A TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE RANGE 160* TO 290*F. FOR 5 TO 60 MINUTES TO OBTAIN A DRIED, REACTED, SLOW-RELEASE NITROGEN PRODUCT CONTAINING 5 TO 12 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF WATER; D. GRINDING SAID DRIED PRODUCT SUFFICIENTLY TO PASS THROUGH A 12-MESH TYLER SCREEN; E. THEN PELLETING AND AGGLOMERATING SAID DIRED PRODUCT AT A PRESSURE OF 500-20,000 P.S.I.G. WHILE MAINTAINING THE TEMPERATURE THEREOF AT ABOUT 140*F. TO 300*F.; AND F. COOLING THE RESULTING PELLETED PRODUCT TO AMBIENT TEMPERATURE TO FORM HARD PELLETS WHEREIN 50 TO 90 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL NITROGEN IS WATER-INSOLUBLE NITROGEN.