Design of calcium hydroxide–based granules for livestock sanitation

Abstract

Calcium hydroxide has the potential to be an effective disinfectant against viruses and pathogenic bacteria due to its strong alkalinity. Herein we report user-friendly calcium hydroxide–based granules for livestock sanitation. The granules, which are composed of calcium hydroxide and natural zeolite, are produced via a high shear wet granulator without any binder. The effects of granulation time and particle size of the feed zeolite on the size distribution and the load value of the dried granules are investigated. Especially, the load values are proportional to the inverse of the feed zeolite particle size as long as the target is similarly sized granules. This can be explained based on the Rumpf equation assuming a constant coordination number and porosity. From the disintegration tests using a vehicle, the appropriate range in the load values of granules can be proposed.

Keywords

• Calcium hydroxide
• Natural zeolite
• Granulation
• Livestock sanitation
• Disintegration