Compacted rumen protected nutrient pellets and method of manufacture

1. A process for producing a compacted rumen-protected nutrient pellet comprising:

(a) blending a C 4-24 fatty acid and a biologically active ingredient to form solid central core particles,

(b) compacting said core particles to form pellets, and

(c) sequentially coating said pellets with an organic solvent which is liquid at room temperature selected from the group consisting of mineral oil and vegetable oil, and then an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid to form a compacted central core having an inner coating of an organic solvent which is liquid at room temperature and an outer coating of an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the biologically active ingredient is blended with a mixture of long chain fatty acids.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein the mixture of long chain fatty acids is a vegetable oil.

4. The process of claim 3 wherein the vegetable oil is castor oil.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the biologically active ingredient is niacin or lysine.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the organic solvent is a petroleum product.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein the petroleum product is mineral oil.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein the alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid is a long chain fatty acid alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salt.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the long chain fatty acid alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid is calcium stearate.

10. The process of claim 1 wherein the solid central core comprises 10 to 50 wt % fatty acid and 50 to 90 wt % biologically active ingredient.

11. The process of claim 1 wherein the pellets are sequentially coated at least twice with an organic solvent and an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein the weight ratio of organic solvent to fatty acid alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid is between 1:1 to 1:9.

13. The process of claim 9 wherein the weight ratio of organic solvent to alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid is between 2:3 to 1:4.

14. The process of claim 1 wherein the weight ratio of pelletized core particles to both coatings is 1:1 to 20:1.

15. The process of claim 1 wherein the weight ratio of pelletized core particles to both coatings is 1:1 to 10:1.

16. The process of claim 1 wherein the coated pellets have an average volume based particle size of between 0.2 to 0.4 inches.

17. The process of claim 1 wherein the coated pellets have a length of between 0.5 to 1 inch and a diameter of between 0.1 to 0.25 inches.

18. The process of claim 2 wherein the C 4 -C 24 fatty acid is heated to between 230 and 280° F. prior to blending with the biologically active ingredient.

19. The process of claim 18 wherein the heated C 4-24 fatty acid is spray coated onto solid particles of the biologically active ingredient.

20. The process of claim 1 wherein the core particles are compacted in a pellet mill.

21. The process of claim 4 wherein the core particles are compacted in a pellet mill by thermally heating the particles to between 120 and 150° F. to soften the particles, and extruding the softened particles through a dye having openings smaller than 0.1 in 2 .

22. The process of claim 1 wherein the pellets are screened prior to coating to remove undersized pellets.

23. The process of claim 1 wherein the organic solvent is spray coated onto the pellets and the solvent coated pellets are then tumbled with the alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid.

24. The process of claim 23 wherein the sequential steps of spray coating organic solvent onto the pellets and tumble coating the alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid onto the solvent coated pellets is repeated at least once.

25. A compacted rumen-protected nutrient supplement comprising a compacted central core having an inner coating of an organic solvent which is liquid at room temperature selected from the group consisting of mineral oil and vegetable oil and an outer coating of an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid, wherein the core includes at least a blend of a C 4-24 fatty acid and a biologically active ingredient.

26. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the C 4-24 fatty acid is a mixture of long chain fatty acids.

27. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the biologically active ingredient is niacin or lysine.

28. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the organic solvent is mineral oil.

29. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid is an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a long chain fatty acid.

30. The supplement of claim 29 wherein the alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a long chain fatty acid is calcium stearate.

31. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the compacted central core comprises 10 to 50 wt % fatty acid and 50 to 90 wt % biologically active ingredient.

32. The supplement of claim 27 wherein the compacted central core comprises 10 to 30 wt % fatty acid and 70 to 90 wt % biologically active ingredient.

33. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the compacted central core is sequentially coated at least twice with an organic solvent and an alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid.

34. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the weight ratio of organic solvent to alkali or alkaline earth metal salt of a fatty acid is between 2:3 to 1:4.

35. The supplement of claim 32 wherein the weight ratio of compacted central core to both coatings is 2:1 to 10:1.

36. A supplement mass comprising a plurality of coated pellets, each comprising a coated compacted central core in accordance with claim 25 , wherein the coated pellets have an average volume based particle size of between 0.1 to 0.6 inches.

37. The supplement of claim 25 wherein the coated compacted central core has a length of between 0.5 to 1 inch and a diameter of between 0.1 to 0.25 inches.