A feed mixture is a blend that plays a key role in providing animals with proper and balanced nutrition. In my thesis, I described the three main types of feed mixtures, complete, complementary and mineral feed mixtures. Each of these has a characteristic composition and intended use, which depend on the type of animal, age, production goals, and other factors. I decided to analyze samples of feed mixtures using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) to determine their phase composition and compare the results with the product declarations.
X-ray powder diffraction is a commonly used method for characterizing crystalline phases. It enables the identification of crystalline components in samples based on their diffraction patterns, which are compared with entries PDF-2 database. XRPD is widely used because it allows for precise determination of sample composition, verification of the presence of specific compounds and detection of any potentially new crystalline phases.
For the thesis, I selected twelve different feed mixture samples, which I properly prepared and recorded their diffractograms. The goal was to identify the crystalline phases in the samples using X-ray powder diffraction and to compare the results with the declared composition. I compared the sample diffractograms with standard patterns from the PDF-2 database and then compared the analytical results with the sample declarations. I found that some samples were very similar to eah other, leading me to conclude that they contained the same crystalline phases. Some samples were even amorphous, which gave me the opportunity to become familiar with amorphous structures and observe the differences between the diffractograms of crstaliine and amorphous samples.
|
