JP2000262431A - Water absorptive paper product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform the manufacture of the subject product inexpensive and gentle to environments while suppressing the generation of toxic gas in incineration and aiming at forest conservation by adding starch that is natural material to a starting pulp mainly made from a perennial plant to make a paper. SOLUTION: A paper towel 1 is made from a starting pulp mainly made from reed without using wood pulp. Since the strength of the paper is weak when only the reed is used as the raw material, there is the possibility that the paper towel 1 is unusefully broken in the middle by a downward pulling force 5 added to take out it from a housing box 2. Therefore, starch that is a natural material is added to the starting pulp to enhance at least the vertical strength of the paper towel 1. The paper towel 1 is flexible and soft in touch since the fiber of the reed as the main raw material is thin and short, and further easily fitted to the hand since the repelling force of the paper is reduced by absorption of water, so that the water left on the hand can be efficiently wiped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water-absorbing paper product used as a paper towel, kitchen towel or the like, and more particularly, to the use of natural materials other than wood pulp to suppress the generation of harmful gases during incineration. To protect the forest,
The present invention relates to a water-absorbing paper product that is environmentally friendly and can be implemented at low cost.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, water-absorbing paper products such as paper towels and kitchen towels for wiping moisture during hand washing and kitchen work have excellent water absorbing properties and physical properties such as tensile strength required for use. Moreover, since it can be supplied at low cost, paper made from pulp using wood as a main raw material is used.

[0003]

The above-described conventional water-absorbing paper products mainly made of wood pulp have the following problems. Polyamide derivatives such as polyethylene oxide,
Chemical compounds are often added, and bleaching may occur due to chlorine-based chemicals, which may generate harmful gases such as dioxin during incineration or pollute the environment by burial.

In recent years, a large amount of wood, which is a forest resource for which the importance of protection is pointed out, is consumed, which may lead to environmental destruction.

[0005] The present invention solves the above problems, and uses a natural material other than wood pulp to suppress the generation of harmful gases during incineration and protect the forest, to provide an eco-friendly and inexpensive water-absorbing paper product. Making it a technical issue.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a water-absorbing paper product constructed as follows. That is, the present invention is characterized in that papermaking is performed by adding starch, which is a natural material, to raw pulp mainly composed of perennial plants.

Here, the starch added to the raw pulp is not limited to a specific raw material as long as it is a natural material, but it can be obtained at a low cost when manufactured from a material used for feed such as corn. More preferred.

[0008]

[Action] Perennial plants are regrown from the remaining roots the following year after cutting the stems and the like, so that raw materials can be easily secured. Pulp obtained from perennial plants such as reeds has thin fibers and short fibers, and therefore has a slightly lower strength than wood pulp, but is excellent in water absorption and soft and has a good touch. In addition, since starch is added to the raw pulp mainly composed of perennial plants, paper-made products have the necessary strength as water-absorbing paper products such as paper towels. In addition, since the water-absorbing paper product is thin and short in fiber, the repulsive force of the paper is easily reduced by water absorption, the paper is easily adapted to hands and the like, and the bulk at the time of disposal is reduced. Moreover, the addition of starch, which is a natural material, enhances paper strength and eliminates the need to add other chemical compounds.Therefore, there is no danger of generating harmful gas when incinerated at the time of disposal. Decomposes naturally and becomes fertilizer.

[0009] By increasing the amount of the starch, the strength of the product can be more uniformly increased. However, if the amount exceeds 15% by weight based on the raw pulp, the effect is not so high. % By weight or less, and more preferably 10% by weight or less from the viewpoint of addition efficiency.

[0010] When reeds are used as the above perennial plants, the reeds grow rapidly and distribute widely over a period of two to three meters in half a year, and they do not require any special cultivation work because they grow naturally. Thus, the raw materials can be more easily secured. On the other hand, when sugarcane is used as a perennial plant, stems and the like that have been discarded after harvest can be effectively used.

Further, when the raw material pulp is constituted by mixing cotton fibers with the pulp made from the perennial plant, the cotton fibers absorb water well, so that the water absorption of the whole paper product is improved. Here, the cotton fiber to be mixed means pulp-like or powdered cotton. In this case, the mixing amount of cotton fiber is
The more the product, the better the water absorption of the whole product. However, since the cotton fiber is generally more expensive than the perennial plant, it is preferable to use 30% by weight or less of the whole raw material pulp.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a paper towel, and is a perspective view showing a state in which the paper towel is housed in a container.

As shown in FIG. 1, this paper towel (1)
For example, it is folded and stored in a storage box (2) attached to a wall surface of a washroom or the like, and an outlet (3) on a lower surface of the storage box (2).
The end (4) of the paper towel (1) at the lowermost end is protruded. And the downward end pulling force is applied to the protruding end (4).
By adding (5), one paper towel (1) is taken out and the end of the next paper towel (1) protrudes from the take-out opening (3) in the same manner as above, and this operation is repeated. Thereby, the required number of paper towels (1) are sequentially taken out one by one. In this embodiment, the paper towel is configured to be taken out from the lower surface of the storage box, but the container for storing the water-absorbent paper product of the present invention is not limited to the above-described shape and structure, and It is also possible to use it without containing it in a specific container.

The paper towel (1) does not use wood pulp, but is made from raw pulp mainly composed of reeds.
However, when only the reeds are used as raw materials, the paper towel (1) is broken midway due to the downward pulling force (5) applied when the paper is taken out of the storage box (2) because the paper is weak. May not be able to withstand. Therefore, in the present invention, starch, which is a natural material, is added to the raw pulp to increase the strength of the paper towel (1) at least in the vertical direction in FIG.

The above-mentioned paper towel (1) is soft and easy to handle because the fibers of the reed, which is the main raw material, are thin and short, and the repelling force of the paper is reduced due to water absorption, so that the paper is easily adapted to the hand and the moisture remaining in the hand Can be wiped off efficiently. In addition, since the repulsion of the paper is reduced by water absorption, the bulk of the paper after wiping off the water and then discarding the paper can be reduced.

When the raw material pulp of the paper towel (1) is composed only of reeds, the pulp has sufficient water absorbency to wipe off moisture remaining in the hands after hand washing. In the case of quickly sucking out moisture spilled into the water, better water absorption is required. Therefore, in this embodiment, 80% by weight of reed pulp and 20% by weight of cotton pulp are mixed to form the raw material pulp, and the paper towel obtained thereby can exhibit excellent water absorption.

FIG. 2 shows the results of comparison between the product of the present invention and the conventional product regarding the strength and water absorption of the paper. That is, for the strength of the paper towel, the tensile strength of the paper was measured based on the tensile test method of JIS P 8113.
The water absorption rate was measured based on the dropping method of SL 1907.

As a result, as apparent from FIG. 2, although the paper has only about one-third the tensile strength of the conventional product, the product of the present invention has a strength and the like that can be taken out from the storage box. , Strength required for paper towels (for example, 10
(About 0 N / m or more). The water absorption rate of the product of the present invention is about twice as long as that of the reed pulp alone containing no cotton fiber as compared with the conventional product, but the cotton fiber has a water absorption rate of 18 times.
When it is added by weight%, water can be absorbed in about 1/5 of the conventional product in a short time. Therefore, a paper product having desired water absorbency can be obtained by appropriately setting the amount of the added cotton fiber.

Next, a method of manufacturing the paper towel (1) will be described. First, the reeds that grow naturally are cut off to remove foreign substances such as garbage, and pulp is formed. Pulp-like or powder-like cotton is mixed with this reed pulp at a ratio of 80 reeds / 20 cotton and dissolved in water, and washed several times with water to remove impurities. Thereafter, 10% by weight of starch is added to the whole raw pulp, paper is made by a conventional method, and dried. In the papermaking, a hydrogen peroxide solution or a small amount of paper strengthening agent may be added as needed as long as there is no risk of polluting the environment at the time of disposal. It is preferable to make paper only with the material.

In the above embodiment, the case where reeds are used as a perennial plant has been described, but it is also possible to use sugarcane, kenaf, wheat straw and the like. However, wheat straw and kenaf are not native and need to be cultivated. In particular, wheat straw often contains pesticides and other foreign substances, and it is costly to remove them. Is more preferably used as a main raw material.

The present invention can be applied not only to the paper towel described in the above embodiment but also to other water-absorbent paper products such as tissue, but the strength of the paper is small because the fibers of the raw pulp are thin and short. However, it is preferable that the present invention be applied to paper towels and kitchen towels that do not require exceptionally high strength during use. There is no need to add wood pulp or synthetic compounds such as synthetic fiber or paper strength agent to increase the strength of paper, and it can be easily composed only of natural materials without consuming wood. Because you can.

[0022]

Since the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, it has the following effects.

(A) Since perennial plants are newly grown every year from the roots remaining after cutting, pulp raw materials can be easily secured without consuming the wood which is a forest resource, and the cost can be reduced. be able to.

(B) It is excellent in water absorbency, is soft and has a good touch, and since starch is added to the raw pulp, it can have the necessary strength as a water absorbent paper product. For example, paper folded from inside a box Towels and the like can be taken out one by one without being broken in the middle.

(C) After use, the bulk can be reduced by water absorption, so that disposal treatment can be performed easily. Moreover, because they are made of natural materials and do not contain chlorine-based substances or other chemical compounds, there is no danger of generating harmful gases by incineration or polluting the natural environment by burial, It may be naturally decomposed into fertilizer when buried,
An eco-friendly water-absorbing paper product can be provided.

(D) When the perennial plant is a reed, the reed grows rapidly and grows naturally and can be harvested without any special cultivation work. it can.

(E) When the perennial plant is sugarcane, stalks and the like that have been discarded after harvesting can be effectively used, so that pulp raw materials can be secured at low cost.

(F) When the above-mentioned raw pulp is mixed with the above-mentioned perennial pulp and cotton fibers, the cotton fibers are excellent in water absorption. Etc. can be instantaneously absorbed and can exhibit excellent water absorption.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a paper towel,
It is a perspective view in the state where this paper towel was stored in a container.

FIG. 2 is a test result showing the strength and water absorption of a paper towel according to an embodiment of the present invention in comparison with a conventional product.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... water absorbent paper product (paper towel), 2 ... accommodation box, 3 ... take-out opening, 4 ... end of paper towel, 5 ... downward pulling force.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A water-absorbent paper product obtained by adding paper, which is a natural material, to a raw pulp mainly composed of a perennial plant. 2. The water-absorbent paper product according to claim 1, wherein the perennial plant is a reed. 3. The water-absorbing paper product according to claim 1, wherein the perennial plant is sugarcane. 4. The water-absorbing paper product according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the starch added is 15% by weight or less based on the raw pulp. 5. The water-absorbent paper product according to claim 1, wherein the raw pulp is formed by mixing cotton fibers with the pulp made from the perennial plant. 6. The water-absorbent paper product according to claim 5, wherein a mixing amount of the cotton fiber is set to 30% by weight or less of the whole raw material pulp. 7. The water-absorbent paper product according to claim 1, wherein the water-absorbent paper product is a paper towel or a kitchen towel.