Wheat gluten protein-based biodegradable or edible films are produced using aqueous, essentially alcohol-free casting dispersions containing modified wheat protein and a plasticizer. The modified wheat protein is prepared by treating purified naturally occurring wheat protein with a reducing agent (e.g., sodium metabisulfite) in order to reduce the average molecular weight of the wheat protein and to cleave disulfide bonds therein. Such modified wheat gluten protein lowers the viscosity and allows increased solid contents in the casting dispersions, allowing fabrication of improved films.
Improved compositions for coating paper stock, methods of forming such compositions, and methods of coating paper stock with those compositions are provided. The compositions comprise an aqueous dispersion including therein from about 20-45% by weight filler (e.g., a starch such as wheat starch) and from about 6-18% by weight wheat gluten. Preferably, the gluten is initially modified with a reducing agent so that the average molecular weight of the gluten is less than about 1,000 kDa. The compositions have a viscosity of up to about 2000 cP and a solids content of from about 25-57% by weight, thus making them suitable for high speed coating of paper stock. The finished, coated stock may be conventionally printed to achieve high gloss end products. The compositions are preferably water soluble, thereby greatly facilitating repulping of the coated stock.
A livestock feed supplement block including a molded base and a livestock feed supplement composition compressed into and extending upwardly from the base. The molded base includes a generally cylindrical wall having a radially inwardly extending annular shelf, and a generally circular floor that is integrally formed with the wall to define an upwardly open interior cavity. The floor of the base is configured and arranged to define a downwardly open channel, the opposite ends of the channel being defined by a pair of downwardly open notches in the wall, the channel having a center line disposed away from the center of the generally circular floor. A plurality of upwardly extending pins are located at intervals along the annular shelf of the wall. The livestock feed supplement composition has an upper end and a generally cylindrical outer surface, and the distance between the upper end of the feed supplement composition and the lower end of the cylindrical wall is at least about twice the distance between the upper and lower ends of the wall of the base.