Devenish Nutrition partnered with Perstorp, specialty chemicals company, to launch a new moisture management technology to help milling efficiency in animal feed mills.

Devenish has partnered with specialty chemicals innovator Perstorp to launch a new patented technology that will help animal feed mills to improve milling efficiency, prevent loss of volume, and ultimately reduce energy consumption and wastage during the milling process.

Developed in collaboration between the two companies, SmartMoisture is a moisture management product designed to maintain target moisture levels during the manufacturing process which delivers a range of production, performance, and economic benefits.

Globally, between 1-3% of animal feed is lost due to moisture loss and evaporation during storage and the milling process, which equates to approximately 30 million tonnes of feed wasted each year. Managing feed moisture as a feed ingredient is key to ensuring consistent feed quality and preventing these losses.

Trials carried out by Devenish and Perstorp have shown that up to 3% moisture can be reintroduced into feed using SmartMoisture in pelleted feed and up to 4% in extruded feed, with no adverse impact on either animal performance or product quality.

One of the product's unique features is that it uses the esters of propionic acid - rather than the more common salts of organic acids - which directly prevent the growth of moulds and offer longer protection to the treated feed.