When do we use Water Soluble Premix?

Water soluble premixes are used in many species. They include milk replacers for calves and piglets, stress and electrolyte packs that can be provided via water lines in poultry and swine barns and more. These formulations utilize spray-dried, crystalline or fine powder product forms for solubility and dispersibility. Carriers typically include whey, cerelose or salts depending on the application. 

Figure 1: Examples of concentrated water-soluble premix on citric acid/salt carrier (left) and milk replacer premix on whey carrier (right).

What is a Dispersible Liquid Concentrate (DLC)?

Primarily used in ruminant feeds, DLCs are colloidal dispersions of fat-soluble vitamins that have been mixed with food grade emulsifiers and solvents:

• Fat soluble vitamins (A, D₃, E)
• Liquid ethoxyquin added for product stability
• N-propyl alcohol added to lower freezing point
• Polyethylene Glycol 400 (PEG-400) used as a diluent

Figure 2: Examples of Dispersible Liquid Concentrate (DLC) blends.

To create a product that is:

• Water Dispersible
• Emulsifiable
• Completely miscible with thixotropic liquids which are gels or fluids that are viscous (thick) under static conditions and will flow over time when shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed. 

Figure 3: DLC blend (left) and DLC dispersed in water (right).

The use of DLC's have a number of advantages over oil-based vitamin premixes including:

• Stable vitamin forms
• Dispersible in Liquid Feeds
• Equivalent bioavailability when compared to dry product forms
• Product form is better suited for micromachines and liquid feeds
• The handling and flowability characteristics can be matched to meet market conditions. They do not freeze or turn gel-like in cold weather climates!

What about oil blends?

Vitamin oil blends consist of fat-soluble vitamins on a carrier of food grade soybean oil. Unlike DLC's, oil blends are not water dispersible and more ideally suitable to a spray coating application on extruded products. Additionally, in cold weather climates, oil blend will crystallize or become gel like and will require heating prior to use.