GB2206474A

GB2206474A - Fertilisers and feeds

Info

Publication number: GB2206474A
Application number: GB08815671A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Walker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-07-03
Filing date: 1988-07-01
Publication date: 1989-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 2008-07-01
Also published as: GB8815671D0; GB2206474B

Abstract

Liquid fertilisers, liquid animal feeds or components thereof are formulated using by-products from other production. One by-product is slaughterhouse blood. This may be incorporated into sprayable liquid fertiliser. Another by-product is a liquid plant extract obtained from crushing and pressing plant material such as grass. The liquid is utilised in liquid animal feed supplements or components or liquid fertilisers in each case in admixture with other nutrients. A liquid animal feed component may be mixed with an edible solid which absorbs it, giving a solid feed.

Description

FERTILISERS AND FEEDS This invention relates to fertilisers and animal feeds.

In this invention two materials, which are both by-products can be utilised in such fertilisers and feeds.

Slaughterhouse blood has a high nutrient value.

It is a particularly rich source qf organic nitrogen.

It has been well known for many years to use dried blood, in powder forum, as a fertiliser.

I have now appreciated that it would be possible and useful to utilise slaughterhouse blood in a liquid form, in a fertiliser or in an animal feed.

It is known to crush and press grass, to remove liquid from it, preparatory to drying the grass and using the dried grass to make a solid feed for animals.

The liquid is effectively a waste product, and is discarded, perhaps by putting it back on the land which grew the grass originally.

I have now appreciated that such liquid plant extracts can advantageously be utilised in a fertiliser or in an animal feed, especially for herbivorous animals such as cattle.

Surprisingly, in liquid fertiliser, such a liquid plant extract has a similar nutritional value to farmyard slurry.

Accordingly, therefore, this invention provides a liquid material which is an animal feed or component thereof or a fertiliser or component thereof and which comprises a liquid extract of plant matter or comprises blood.

Preferred forms of the invention are liquid extract of plant material mixed with other nutrient material(s), liquid blood mixed with an anticoagulant or dispersed to a mobile state after congealing, and mixtures in which a liquid material of the invention is mixed with solid absorbent material.

In another aspect the invention comprises incorporating blood, or incorporating a liquid extract of plant matter and other nutrient materials into a sprayable composition, and spraying the composition over plants and/or land.

In yet another aspect this invention comprises a method of making an animal feed which comprises incorporating blood, or incorporating a liquid extract of plant matter and other nutrient materials into a liquid composition.

The liquid materials of this invention may be utilised as a liquid, notably as fertiliser, which can be applied as a spray (possibly a coarse spray). Such a fertiliser may provide a feed to the foliage as well as the roots of plants and has the advantage of ease of application. Plant extracts are also well suited for use as liquid animal feed supplements.

The liquid materials may also be mixed with a solid absorbent, giving a solid product. Even if it is necessary to include a drying step to reduce the moisture content, the amount of moisture which has to be removed is less than when blood is dried to powder form.

Particularly preferred is mixing with an edible solid absorber to give an animal feedstuff.

Liquid fertilisers comprising blood.

One form of this invention is slaughterhouse blood mixed with a chemical anticoagulant, notably sodium citrate. Blood naturally congeals to a jelly like condition within a fairly short space of time. For this form of the invention it is very desirable to mix the blood with the anticoagulant at the slaughterhouse before the blood has congealed. Even so, the blood may be subjected to a shear treatment, such as by passage through a high shear mixer, to comminute any congealed blood.

Another form of the invention utilises congealed blood which is subsequently dispersed to a mobile state.

The blood may be dispersed to form a mobile product which is supplied to a user, e.g. a farmer, in that liquid. A high-shear mixer may be employed to disperse the blood. A further possibility within the invention is for slaughterhouse blood to be supplied to a user in a semi-solid jelly like state and then dispersed into a sprayable form by the user. This could be done in a sprayer having an agitator, so that dispersion, dilution and spraying were all effected in the same apparatus.

This also has the advantage that the liquid blood fertiliser can be produced in the sprayer in the quantity required thus eliminating or greatly reducing wastage.

A product supplied to a user, e.g. a farmer, will generally be diluted with water in order to be sprayed.

The concentration for application may be such as to apply between 0.5 and 20 pints of blood per acre, notably 2 to 10 pints per acre.

A product according to this invention may contain blood as the only organic material. However, in this invention the blood may be mixed with other organic material. One possibility for this is to mix the blood and anticoagulant with a liquid extract from farmyard manure, notably the liquid fractions obtained by separating the liquid and solids of farmyard slurry which can be done for example by settling, pressing and/or filtration.

The ratio of blood to liquid manure might lie in the broad range 95:5 to 5:95 by volume, preferably 75:25 to 25:75, but is not limited to such a range.

Chemical fertilisers can be added to the liquid blood. Liquid blood fertiliser can also be sprayed jointly with weed killer so as to provide what might be termed a "feed-weed" solution in order to kill weeds whilst at the same time promoting crop growth.

Thus, a product according to this invention containing blood may contain this as the only material having an effect on the growth of plants, or blood may be one of a plurality of active ingredients. Inorganic material, such as chemical fertiliser, and/or organic material other than blood, may be present.

Liquid products comprising plant extract.

Forms of the invention which comprise a liquid extract of plant matter can be animal feed or fertiliser. Additional nutrients may be present in an amount which is at least 10% by weight of the liquid extract.

The liquid extract is preferably obtained from the vegetable matter by mechanical action, such as crushing and pressing.

The liquid extract which is employed could come from a variety of plants. In particular it may come from a forage crop. Grass is the most likely, but lucerne is another possibility. A crop extract may also be obtained by crushing or cooking seaweed.

In a liquid animal feed the liquid extract is advantageous in that it is nutritious and cattle find it palatable. A liquid animal feed according to the present invention may be employed as a feed supplement.

Additional nutrients which may be added to it include blood, urea and sources of calcium, magnesium or trace elements. These may be included singly or in combination.

A liquid fertiliser according to the present invention may include as the additional nutrients one or more of urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium dihydrogen phosphase, potassium nitrate, potassium sulphate and potassium chloride. Organic nutrients may be included.

Some liquid phase from cattle slurry could be included.

Blood could be included, or specifically excluded.

Preferably nutrients added to a liquid fertiliser provide all three of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous.

When a fertiliser according to this invention contains blood and a liquid extract of plant matter (e.g. from grass, lucerne or seaweed) the blood will constitute an additional nutrient. Yet further nutrients may also be included.

Solid products A liquid material according to this invention may be used as a component of a solid product by mixing it with a solid absorbent. In particular, a liquid material may be mixed with an edible solid to produce a solid animal feed. The liquid solid mixing ratio can vary considerably, but may be in the.range 2:1 to 1:20 or more preferably 1:2 to 1:10.

One possibility here is to spray or pour a liquid extract from plant matter onto straw to enhance palatability. Straw, a cereal by-product, is usually utilised as animal bedding or even discarded completely.

Although not usually palatable to farm animals, it compares favourably with some hays in terms of nutritional value. Spraying straw with a plant extract of the present invention encourages palatability by virtue of taste and perhaps colour, and further increases the nutritional value of this fodder.

Another possibility is to mix liquid blood or a composition containing it with meal, to form a solid or paste-like product. Such a product can serve as an animal feed, e.g. for pigs or poultry and will have an enhanced protein content compared with the meal. It can be subjected to a drying step if necessary. The end product can resemble meal (i.e. be a powder) or the product may be extruded into rods and broken up into pellets.

All products A liquid product according to this invention may be supplied to a user in a form which is intended to be diluted with water before use, or may be supplied at a concentration ready for use.

A product according to the invention may be stabilised against undesirable bacterial action by the inclusion of a chemical stUbilising agent. One such agent is formalin. Suitably, sufficient formalin solution may be added as to give a formaldehyde concentration in the product of at least 0.3%. Such a concentration can give a storage life of 12 months yet not be harmful to crops or animals. Other sterilising/ stabilising agents can also be used.

A product according to the invention may alternatively be stabilised by heat treatment.

A liquid product according to this invention, or a liquid plant extract used in it, may be filtered to remove solids. This is particularly preferred for fertilisers, in order that the product can be applied by spraying. Other techniques for separation of solids such as centrifugation could alternatively be used.

To provide further explanation, Examples embodying the invention will now be given.

Example 1 A 4 w/w sodium citrate solution is made by dissolving 4Kg of sodium citrate in 96Kg water.

Containers are partially filled with this solution and delivered to a slaughterhouse where they are filled with fresh animal blood. The resulting solution contains blood and the original sodium citrate solution in a ratio of approximately 9:1.

Formalin, in an amount of 5% by weight of the blood solution is added at this stage. A proprietary deodorising chemical, such as "Maskomal" supplied by Antac International may also be added.

The solution is delivered to a farmer who dilutes it further with water in the tank of a sprayer. This is then used to spray the solution onto a crop. The sprayer delivers a predetermined volume of liquid per acre. Each 4.6 pints of the blood solution is diluted with water to this volume, so that this volume of liquid applied to one acre contains 4 pints of the slaughterhouse blood.

The proportion of citrate to fresh blood may be varied. It is generally desirable to use 2% to 20% w/w citrate solution in a ratio of blood:citrate solution of 5:1 to 50:1. The ratio of solid citrate to blood may lie in the range 2 to 10 g of citrate per litre of blood. Solid citrate could possibly be used, especially if it is possible to mix solid citrate with blood at a slaughterhouse.

Example 2 A solution of blood and sodium citrate is obtained as in Example 1.

Farmyard slurry is passed through a belt press to separate the liquid from the solids. The liquid may additionally be filtered, if desired. The resulting solution is mixed with an equal quantity-of the blood solution and 5t by volume of formalin is also added.

This mixed solution is delivered to a farmer who dilutes it in the tank of a sprayer, so that the amount of spray applied to one acre of crop contains 4-6 pints of the solution delivered to him and hence 2 pints of the slaughterhouse blood.

Example 3 A quantity of blood from a slaughterhouse is allowed to congeal to a jelly like state. This is placed in a high shear mixer with an equal quantity of liquid extract from farmyard slurry, and mixed until the mixture is virtually all in a sprayable liquid form.

The liquid is filtered, leaving a small quantity of residue. 5% by volume of formalin is added.

The liquid is delivered to a farmer who dilutes it in the tank of a sprayer such that the amount applied to one acre of crop contains 2 pints of the blood.

Instead of the liquid from slurry, other liquid extracts may be used in the same way.

The mixing ratio may of course be varied from the 1:1 ratio used in Examples 2 and 3.

Example 4 A liquid extract is obtained from the commercial crushing and pressing of grass. The extract is used to make a sprayable liquid fertiliser.

As a first stage the extract is filtered to remove any solids in the liquid. Next the filtered extract is mixed with solid additives and formalin to give a product of the following composition (percentages are by weight) urea 15% ammonium dihydrogen phosphate 158 potassium sulphate 15% formalin 0.3 - 5% liquid extract balance The solids dissolve in the liquid. The mixture is suitable for supply to farmers or turf managers to spray on crops or turf after diluting it with up to 20 times its own volume of water. Preferably it is diluted with at least 5 times its own volume of water.

Example 5 A liquid extract is obtained from the commercial crushing and pressing of grass. This extract is used to make a cattle feed supplement.

The extract is mixed with solid additives and formalin to give a product of the following composition (percentages by weight) urea 45% magnesium chloride 5% calcium chloride 5% formalin 0.3 - 5% liquid extract balance The solids dissolve in the liquid. The mixture is suitable for supply to cattle farmers for use as a feed supplement. They can dilute it with, say 5 to 20 times its own volume of water and allow cattle to lap it. Alternatively they can pour it or spray it onto straw, with or without dilution, and feed the straw as fodder. It can conveniently be applied to straw as a very coarse spray, i.e. using a garden watering can.

Example 6 A solution of blood and sodium citrate is obtained as in Example 1 and passed through a high shear mixer to comminute any clots. Formalin, in an amount of 1% by weight of the blood solution is added at this stage.

After 48 hours the blood is mixed with a meal prepared by grinding wheat and barley grains to a coarse powder. Mixing is carried out in a mill, with a liquid : solid ratio of 1:4 by weight. The product is a damp meal in which the added blood has substantially increased the protein content from the value of about 10% by weight in the original meal.

The meal is dried to reduce its moisture content to 10 to 12% by weight and is then dry in appearance.

It is useful as a feed for pigs or poultry. A solid feedstuff prepared in this manner preferably has a moisture content of not more than 15% by weight and a formaldehyde content of not more than 0.4% by weight.

In the above examples, formalin can be replaced with another disinfecting chemical if desired.

Alternatively the mixtures can be sterilised by heating.

Claims

1. A liquid material which is an animal feed or component thereof or a fertiliser or component thereof and which comprises a liquid extract of plant matter or comprises blood.

2. A material according to claim 1 comprising slaughterhouse blood mixed with an anticoagulant.

3. A material according to claim 1 comprising congealed blood dispersed to a mobile state.

4. A material according to claim 1 comprising a liquid extract derived from grass.

5. A liquid material according to claim 1 comprising a liquid extract of plant matter and other nutrients.

6. A material according to any one of the preceding claims and also containing inorganic salt(s).

7. A material according to claim 6 wherein the salt(s) comprise ammonium, potassium and phosphate ions.

8. A material according to claim 6 wherein the salt(s) comprise calcium ions.

9. A material according to any one of the preceding claims also containing urea.

10. A liquid material substantially as any described herein and exemplified.

11. A material according to any of the preceding claims which is a liquid animal feed.

12. A material according to any one of claims 1 to 10 which is a sprayable liquid fertiliser.

13. A material according to any one of claims 1 to 10 mixed with a solid absorbent material.

14. A material according to claim 13 wherein the absorber is straw.

15. A material according to claim 13 wherein the absorber is grain, comminuted to meal.

16. A method which comprises incorporating blood, or incorporating a liquid extract of plant matter and other nutrient materials into a sprayable composition, and spraying the composition over plants and/or land.

17. A method of making an animal feed which comprises incorporating blood, or incorporating a liquid extract of plant matter and other nutrient materials into a liquid composition.

18. A method according to claim 17 further comprising mixing the liquid composition with an edible solid absorbent material.

19. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 18 wherein liquid blood is utilized and is subjected to shear to comminute any congealed blood.