The by-product of cottonseed oil extraction - cottonseed meal

What is cottonseed meal?
The flour cake obtained by pressing cottonseed is separated from most of the residual oil through leaching process, resulting in a slightly red or yellow granular substance. It is the main raw material for making feed and contains more than 40% crude protein.
Cotton meal production process
The production process of cottonseed meal mainly includes the following steps:
1. Fleece stripping: Cotton seeds are stripped of short fibers by a lint stripping machine to obtain polished cotton seeds. 2. Peeling: Further husking the cottonseed to separate the cottonseed shell and kernel. 3. Squeezing: Cottonseed kernels are pressed to extract cottonseed oil and obtain cottonseed cake (i.e. the initial form of cottonseed cake). 4. Steaming and frying: In order to eliminate free gossypol and maintain the protein content of cottonseed cake during the oil making process, the cottonseed cake is lightly steamed and fried. This step helps to form bound gossypol and reduce the loss of lysine. 5. Leaching: Extract the remaining cottonseed oil from the oil meal using organic solvents to obtain leached cottonseed meal. 6. Refining and desolvation: The leached cottonseed meal undergoes refining and desolvation treatment to remove residual organic solvents and other impurities, resulting in the final product cottonseed meal. 7. Fermented cottonseed meal (optional process): Anaerobic fermentation is carried out by adding bacterial strains to further improve the nutritional value and digestion absorption rate of cottonseed meal. 8. Packaging and Storage: Processed cottonseed meal is packaged and stored in a suitable environment.
The nutritional value of cottonseed meal
Cotton meal has a high crude protein content, generally above 40%, and is a high-quality protein feed material that can provide necessary amino acids and energy for animals. The crude fat content is relatively low, usually around 1%, and rich in unsaturated fatty acids and linolenic acid, which have a certain promoting effect on the growth, development, and immune function of animals. The high content of cellulose is helpful for the digestive health of animals and also has a promoting effect on intestinal health. The ash content is relatively high, usually around 10%. Ash is mainly composed of minerals, which can provide certain trace elements and minerals, and also help the healthy growth of animals
The feeding value of cottonseed meal
1 chicken
The feeding value of cottonseed meal for chickens mainly depends on the content of free gossypol and crude fiber. Cotton meal with high shell content, high crude fiber content, and low thermal energy should be avoided in broiler chickens.
2 pigs
High quality cottonseed meal is a good protein feed material for pigs, which can replace 50% of soybean meal in feed without side effects, but needs to be supplemented with lysine, calcium, phosphorus, and carotenoids. Cotton meal is a good source of tryptophan for pigs, but its methionine content is low, so it is generally not used for suckling pigs and piglets.
3 Ruminating animals
Adding appropriate cottonseed meal to cow feed can increase milk fat percentage. If the dosage exceeds 50% of concentrate, it will affect palatability and cause milk fat to harden. Cotton meal is a constipated feed material and should be used in conjunction with soft and laxative feed materials such as sesame meal. The recommended dosage is generally 20% -35% in concentrated feed. When feeding fine cattle, it is advisable to use less than 20% of the concentrate, and it should be paired with high-quality roughage that is high in carotene. Beef cattle can use cottonseed meal as the main protein feed, but high-quality roughage should be supplied, supplemented with carotenoids and calcium, which can achieve good weight gain effects. Generally, it can account for 30% -40% of the feed in concentrate. Cotton meal can also be used as a high-quality protein feed source for sheep, and it also needs to be combined with high-quality concentrate. Consuming more than 50% of the concentrate can cause palatability issues.