Development and application of novel dehulling and stabilisation technology to enhance the value of oats as a sustainable feed for ruminants and monogastrics

燕麦是一种高价值的牲畜饲料，但燕麦的使用已经减少，被小麦和大麦所取代。燕麦的纤维船体降低了其消化率和营养品质。目前从燕麦中去除外壳（脱壳）的方法是昂贵的，因为它们已经被开发用于将外壳去除到人类食品部门所需的水平（>99.5%），并且是开发燕麦用于牲畜饲料的“瓶颈”。对于动物饲料部门来说，这种去除水平并不那么重要，因此替代的、较便宜的脱壳系统可能是可行的。该提案将开发和应用创新的工程方法，以开发低成本和高效的燕麦谷物脱皮和稳定系统，以利用燕麦谷物作为反刍动物和单胃动物的高品质牲畜饲料的价值，并为Senova提供商业回报。将测量燕麦品种之间脱皮容易性的差异以及脱皮效率对饲料价值的影响。该项目还将量化使用燕麦壳的经济效益，燕麦壳目前被视为“废物”产品，作为平台化学品的来源，为生产链增加价值。

Oats are a high value livestock feed however the use of oats has diminished being replaced by wheat and barley. the fibrous hull of oats reduces its digestibility and its nutritional quality. Current methods of removing the husk (dehulling) from the oats are expensive as they have been developed to remove the husks to a level (>99.5%) required by the human food sector and are a “bottleneck” in exploiting oats for livestock feed. For the animal feed sector such levels of removal are less crucial so that alternative, less expensive dehulling systems may be feasible. This proposal will develop and apply innovative engineering approaches to the development of low cost and efficient systems of dehulling and stabilising oat grain, to capitalise on the value of the oat grain as a high quality livestock feed for ruminants and monogastrics and deliver commercial return to Senova. Differences in ease of dehulling between oat varieties and impact of dehulling efficiency on feed value will be measured. The project will also quanify the economic benefit of using the oat husks, currently regarded as a “waste” product, as a source of platform chemicals adding value to the production chain.