Applied Animal Nutrition-I

CHEMICAL TREATMENT

Alkali treatment

• Straw is treated with NaOH, NH₄OH, CaOH, KOH and Urea. When straw is exposed to the alkali the ester linkages between lignin and cellulose/hemicellulose are hydrolysed causing the cellulose/ hemicellulose to be available for digestion by microbes.