AGROINDUSTRIAL RESIDUALS ALKALINE TREATMENT OF THE TEQUILA PRODUCTION, FOR ITS USE AS A RUMIANTS’ FOOD COMPLEMENT

Abstract

In the Tequila production, an alcoholic beverage from Mexico, almost 0.8 Kg of agroindustrial residuals (agave bagasse) are generated for every tequila liter produced. These residuals are currently being deposited in confined places, without any treatment or utilization. The agave bagasse analysis resulted in: cellulose 42%, lignin 14%, hemicellulose 18.5%, total nitrogen 2.6%, pectine 0.8%, fats and oils 0.8%, total reducer sugars 5%, ashes 6.2%. In this research, the technical feasibility of the use of bagasse as ruminant fodder was studied. To be able to use the bagasse as fodder complement it is necessary to increase its digestibility, so bagasse alkaline treatments were carried out for this purpose. Sodium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide were used for the alkaline treatments. The process operating conditions were: temperature 30 and 50 °C; alkali concentration 2, 5 and 10 %, bagasse humidity 20 and 80%, reaction time 24 hours. The bagasse digestibility with treatment and without treatment was carried out by the in sacco method. The digestibility increase with alkali was as follows: with sodium hydroxide it was around 43%, with ammonium hydroxide it was 50% approximately and with calcium hydroxide it was about 54% without treatment the bagasse digestibility was of 36%.

Key Words: Agave, alkaline treatment, bagasse, digestibility.