Densified Biomass (Biomass Pellet & Biomass Block) for Animal Bedding

In contrast to wood pellets used for fuel so that their quality or characteristics are reviewed from the combustion side such as calorific value, ash content to ash chemistry, wood pellets used for animal bedding have different quality requirements. In wood pellets for fuel, the performance factor and efficiency of power plants are the benchmarks, while for wood pellets for animal bedding, the health factor of livestock is the benchmark. The use of animal bedding is mainly in subtropical areas or areas with four seasons and the need is increasing in winter. The use of wood pellets for animal bedding is indeed not as popular as wood pellets for fuel so its usage is also not as much as use for fuel. For animal bedding, the quality of wood pellets required is the ability to absorb water, not too hard (low density), not containing harmful ingredients and a soft texture. Not only wood pellets are commonly used as animal bedding, but also biomass blocks.

By compacting (densification) such as pellets and blocks, transportation costs are cheaper, making it easier for storage and use. Historically, the first animal bedding used was straw because it was easy to obtain and widely available. Lack of straw, such as low water absorption, so that more urine flows out than is absorbed, and also after being mixed with urine and livestock manure, the livestock can still eat it so that it often causes stomach pain, which encourage the innovations for animal bedding. In addition, straw also often contains quite a lot of dust and requires a large space for storage. Wood shaving is the next animal bedding material that is better than straw.

Wood shaving in the form of bales is usually traded for this animal bedding. The dust is also removed before the wood shaving is baled, so it does not become a respiratory problem in certain animals such as horses and dairy cows. The water absorption ability of wood shaving is also better than that of straw, which is around 260% to 420% while that of straw is only around 200%. Some manufacturers even enrich the wood shaving with enzymes and bacteria to bind ammonia so it doesn't escape into the air. This product makes the life of animal bedding longer and after that it can be a good compost manure. However, because the density of the bales of wood shaving is quite low, which is less than 200 kg/m3 so it is less economical for transportation and long-distance use. This is so that biomass densification into wood pellets or biomass pellets and biomass blocks is the solution to this problem.

A number of the above biomass compaction products have been used for animal bedding. In a number of countries with four seasons such as horses, dairy cows and chickens using animal bedding, this product indirectly supports food security, especially animal protein sources such as meat and milk. Another important factor is that the animal bedding products do not come from biomass which contains hazardous materials or must come from untreated wood (if it comes from wood biomass), so that raw materials from wood that are painted, polished, caulked or contain other chemicals cannot be used. As for the raw materials above, albasia is a type of soft wood, EFB or empty fruit bunch of palm oil, OPT or oil palm trunks are commonly obtained during replanting of the palm oil plantations and cocopeat is a side product of the cocofiber industry or coconut fiber processing.

Modern Ruminant Livestock Paradigm: Reducing Methane Production and Increasing Feed Efficiency

The gases in the atmosphere that can capture the sun's heat are called greenhouse gases (GHG). Which includes greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, among others, are carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and freon (SF6, HFC and PFC). Methane gas (CH4) is a dangerous gas for the earth's atmosphere and one of the greenhouse gas groups above because of the destructive power of methane gas 21 times carbon dioxide (CO2). This requires efforts to prevent methane gas and reduce its production. An example is the use of POME waste or palm oil mill effluent for biogas production. In this way, methane occurring in the open air (aerobic) will be avoided (methane avoidance scenario) and will not be released into the atmosphere with the biogas unit. The livestock sector also has the potential to produce, namely the group of ruminant farms or ruminant animals. The methane is produced in the ruminant's rumen as part of the digestion process. It is estimated that the contribution of methane from ruminant livestock is dominant and of course it needs to be reduced. The production of methane gas (CH4) besides being an environmental problem also causes a lot of energy loss in livestock. And it turns out that there is a process of reducing methane production which simultaneously improves health and increases body weight and milk production.

Large ruminant farms should be more aware of this condition and have a greater incentive to reduce methane production. Biochar is a feed supplement that can be used for the above purposes. The use of 1-3% biochar from dry feed ingredients has been shown to significantly increase body weight gain in beef cattle, as well as milk production in dairy cows. Experiments in Australia on beef cattle for 2 months have given a weight gain of 10% compared to those who do not use biochar. As for dairy cows, it has provided a profit of $ 70,000 per year. For more details, read here. Meanwhile, the reduction in methane gas emissions is estimated at 29% from the use of biochar. Once paddle 2-3 islands, so the saying goes.

Another effect of using biochar as a feed additive is that livestock manure becomes denser and less smelly. Biochar can also be used alone to deal with the smell and viscosity of livestock manure, so that the cage becomes cleaner and does not smell strong. In addition, if the manure is used for production, the biogas production will also increase, for more details, please read here. The composted digestate will also produce better organic fertilizer (compost) because of the additional biochar.

The quality of biochar is also very important, especially for animal feed supplements. Meat and milk are livestock production to meet human food needs, so that it will also affect humans in the end. The quality of biochar is determined by the raw materials used and the production process carried out. This indicates that not all biochar has the same quality, for example biochar from agricultural wastes with high ash content with traditional processes, with wood biomass raw materials with a small ash content and modern processes, of course the results are different, for example using the same modern technology will have different results. The differences mainly lie in their physical chemistry properties.

Biochar production should also be designed according to its objectives, for example the biochar feed supplement above must use selected biomass raw materials and modern processes so that the quality is stable and maintained. Meanwhile, the reference for biochar quality can be OMRI, USDA or IBI. World feed livestock associations or organizations such as FEFAC, IFIF and AFIA are currently very concerned about safety and sustainability, so this can be in line with biochar as a feed additive. Biochar as a feed additive, especially dairy cattle, has been accepted by almost all European Union countries. Meanwhile, for purposes such as reducing odors and the dilution of impurities, biochar is produced from any biomass and even by using simple technology (low tech).