Amlan’s proprietary mineral technology is the foundation of our innovative value-adding products for poultry and livestock. As the animal health business of Oil-Dri® Corporation of America, Amlan products are backed by Oil-Dri’s more than 80 years of mineral science expertise. Additionally, vertical integration means Oil-Dri and Amlan own every step of the production process to consistently deliver safe, high-quality animal intestinal health products around the world.
Composed of calcium montmorillonite with high-capacity opal-CT lepispheres
Type of phyllosilicate constructed of nano-scale layers
Mined from a single source in the USA
Low bulk density and high surface area
Extensive porosity with networks of capillary channels
Interconnected pores mean more than 99% of the total surface area is internal
Raw montmorillonite has a high moisture content due to water between the mineral layers
Optimal thermal processing eliminates free moisture, making the mineral more hydrophobic
The processing method is optimized for each product to create unique functionalities
Thermal processing avoids the use of harmful chemicals others use to alter the chemical composition of minerals
Thermal processing allows interactions between hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules and the inter-mineral layer
Targeted molecules migrate towards internal sites on the mineral’s surface
Smaller molecules travel further into the finer pores, while larger molecules travel to peripheral sites
Vertical integration allows us to control every step of the production process to deliver safe, high-quality products
We perform extensive core drilling analyses to selectively mine the highest quality raw materials
Independent laboratories regularly test our calcium montmorillonite to ensure that it is safe to be fed to animals
Our Mineral Technology IS the Amlan Difference
There are several industry misconceptions about the efficacy of clay minerals in animal health. Get the real facts by clicking the tabs below.
The chemical and structural properties of calcium montmorillonite can vary significantly between mines and even within a single mine. That’s why we select the calcium montmorillonite used in Calibrin®-Z and other Amlan products from very specific locations within our mine, ensuring a consistent efficacy and the highest-quality final product.
Why are we so specific about our mineral? Its unique composition of calcium montmorillonite and naturally occurring opal-CT lepispheres create extensive porosity and allow for a proprietary thermal processing method that is specifically tailored for each Amlan product. Thermal processing of Calibrin-Z ensures the mineral’s structural integrity and optimizes its broad utility, ultimately helping producers maximize animal performance and production economics.
The clay minerals typically used in mycotoxin-control products contain water molecules — it’s what makes these products hydrophilic and attractive for binding hydrophilic (polar) mycotoxins like aflatoxins. Our processing technique eliminates most of the water molecules from mineral-based Calibrin®-Z, making it more hydrophobic. This allows Calibrin-Z to bind hydrophilic (polar) and hydrophobic (nonpolar) mycotoxins such as zearalenone, fumonisin, ochratoxin and T-2 toxin. In addition to mycotoxins, Calibrin-Z binds pathogenic bacteria and their toxins.
Concern has occasionally been voiced that mineral-based products are “blind,” and that they bind both harmful substances within the animal gastrointestinal tract but also the beneficial nutrients and mineral compounds that nutritionists formulate to ensure optimum animal performance. In the case of Calibrin-Z, while it is possible that some minor quantity of nutrients could temporarily be absorbed into the mineral’s pores, this is through weak thermodynamic and kinetic interactions that are readily reversible. Therefore, nutrients can travel into and out of Calibrin-Z particles based on concentration gradients in the gastrointestinal tract (termed competitive adsorption-desorption dynamics).
Essentially all mycotoxin-control products sold today contain various clay minerals as their base, typically in the range of 45–100% of the formula by weight. If these minerals truly bound nutrients in an irreversible manner, then commercial producers would see this impact in reduced animal performance. This has not been the case, and these products have been used for decades with good effect.
In a 42-day swine study with pigs fed a common basal diet, Calibrin-Z was included at 5 kg/MT, a level that was 10 times the recommended dose. Even at this very high inclusion rate, Calibrin-Z had no adverse effects on nutrient availability, supporting equivalent weight gain and feed conversion.
