JP2016039795A - Water absorbing and treating material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water absorbing and treating material excellent in appearance before and after the use.SOLUTION: A water absorbing and treating material 1 is a water absorbing and treating material which absorbs liquid, and comprises a granular core part 10, a coating layer part 20 and a coloring agent 30. The granular core part 10 having water absorbability is formed in a granular shape. The coating layer part 20 covers the granular core part 10. The coloring agent 30 is contained in the granular core part 10 or the coating layer part 20. A core part material constituting the granular core part 10 or a coating material constituting the coating layer part 20 is colored in a predetermined color by the coloring agent 30 reacting with moisture. Before the water absorbing and treating material 1 absorbs the liquid, the coloring agent 30 in an unreacted state or in an incompletely reacted state is visible. In addition, after the water absorbing and treating material 1 absorbs the liquid, the core part material or the coating material colored by the coloring agent 30 is visible.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs human or animal excrement and other liquids.

  Patent Document 1 describes an excrement treatment material which is a kind of water absorption treatment material. The excrement disposal material described in the document includes a core part that includes pulp and a coating layer that covers the core part. The coating layer contains a pigment or a dye. This excrement disposal material is configured so that the color of a pigment or the like is exposed when urine is absorbed. In other words, colors such as pigments are hidden inside the excrement disposal material before use (before urination absorption) and are not visible, but after use (after urination absorption), they appear on the table of excrement disposal materials and are visible. It becomes possible. Thereby, it becomes easy to visually distinguish the excrement disposal material before use and the excrement disposal material after use.

JP 2014-8046 A

  By the way, when the color of a pigment or the like is exposed at the time of urination absorption, it gives a pattern and color to the appearance of the excrement disposal material, and thus contributes to an improvement in the appearance of the excrement disposal material after use. However, in the excrement disposal material described in Patent Document 1, before use, pigments and the like are hidden inside the excrement disposal material and do not contribute to the beauty of the excrement disposal material. This is a factor that hinders the improvement of the aesthetic appearance of the conventional water-absorbing treatment material before use.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and it aims at providing the water-absorbing treatment material excellent in aesthetics before and after use.

  The water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention is a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs liquid, has a water-absorbing property, has a granular core portion that is formed into granules, a coating layer portion that covers the granular core portion, and the granular core portion Or a colorant that is contained in the coating layer part and reacts with moisture to color the core material constituting the granular core part or the coating material constituting the coating layer part into a predetermined color, and Before the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the colorant in an unreacted state or incompletely-reacted state is visible, and after the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the colorant is colored by the colorant. The core material or the coating material is visible.

  In this water-absorbing treatment material, the colorant reacts with the liquid during liquid absorption, and gives a predetermined color to the core material or the coating material. And by visually recognizing the color of the said core material or coating | covering material, while becoming easy to visually distinguish the water absorption treatment material before and behind use, the beauty | look of the water absorption treatment material after use improves. Moreover, the colorant in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state is visible even before liquid absorption. For this reason, also in the water absorption processing material before use, a colorant contributes to the beauty | look of the said water absorption processing material.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the water absorption processing material excellent in aesthetics can be implement | achieved through before and after use.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the water absorption processing material by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the mode after liquid absorption in the water absorption processing material of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same elements, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention. The water-absorbing treatment material 1 is a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs liquid, and includes a granular core portion 10, a coating layer portion 20, and a colorant 30. The water absorption treatment material 1 is, for example, an excrement treatment material for pets such as cats and dogs.

  The granular core part 10 is formed into a granular shape. Examples of the shape of the granular core 10 include a sphere, an ellipsoid, and a cylinder. The granular core part 10 has water absorption, and has a function of absorbing and retaining water such as urine. In this embodiment, the material (core material) constituting the granular core 10 is composed of a water-absorbing material and an adhesive material. In the core material, the weight ratio of the water-absorbing material is preferably 70% to 95%, and the weight ratio of the adhesive material is preferably 5% to 30%.

  As the water-absorbing material, for example, at least one material selected from the group consisting of papers, plastics, and okara can be suitably used. Paper refers to a material mainly composed of pulp. Examples of papers include, in addition to ordinary paper, PVC wallpaper classifieds (paper obtained by classifying PVC wallpaper), fluff pulp, papermaking sludge, pulp sludge, and the like. As plastics, for example, a paper diaper classified product (plastic obtained by classifying paper diapers) may be used. These materials are used after being pulverized to a particle size of 1 mm or less (preferably 0.5 mm or less, more preferably 0.3 mm or less).

  As the adhesive material, for example, at least one material selected from the group consisting of starch, dextrin, CMC (carboxymethylcellulose) and a water-absorbing polymer can be suitably used. The average particle diameter of the water-absorbing polymer is preferably 20 μm or less. Here, the average particle diameter means a minimum opening through which particles of 50% by weight or more can pass when a water-absorbing polymer that is an aggregate of a large number of particles is passed through a sieve. Therefore, an average particle diameter of 20 μm or less means that 50% by weight or more of particles can pass when the water-absorbing polymer is passed through a sieve having an opening of 20 μm.

  The covering layer portion 20 covers the granular core portion 10. The covering layer part 20 may cover the entire surface of the granular core part 10 or may cover only a part of the surface of the granular core part 10. The covering layer portion 20 has a function of adhering the water-absorbing treatment materials 1 that have absorbed liquids such as urine during use to make them solid. As the material (coating material) constituting the coating layer portion 20, the above-mentioned water-absorbing material and adhesive material can be used. Before the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, the granular core portion 10 is visible through the coating layer portion 20. When the particle diameter of the granular core 10 is 1, the water absorption treatment material 1 preferably has a particle diameter of 1.13 or less.

  The colorant 30 is contained in the granular core part 10 and the coating layer part 20. The colorant 30 reacts with moisture to color the core material and the coating material into a predetermined color. As the colorant 30, for example, a dye, a pigment, chalk powder, or the like can be used. The colorant 30 is directly contained in the granular core 10 in a powder state.

  In the present embodiment, the color material 30 includes a color material 32 (first color material) and a color material 34 (second color material). The colorant 32 and the colorant 34 are contained in the granular core part 10 and the coating layer part 20, respectively. The colorant 32 has a first color, and the colorant 34 has a second color different from the first color.

  In the water-absorbing treatment material 1, before use, that is, before the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, at least a part of the colorant 30 in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state is visible. Specifically, the colorant 32 in an unreacted state or incompletely reacted state is present in the vicinity of the surface of the granular core part 10 (including the colorant 32 existing at the boundary between the granular core part 10 and the coating layer part 20). ), And the colorant 34 in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state can be seen directly or transparently from the outside of the water-absorbing treatment material 1.

  Here, the unreacted state refers to a state in which the colorant 30 does not react with moisture at all. Further, the incompletely reacted state refers to a state in which the colorant 30 has slightly reacted with moisture. Such a state is caused accidentally when the coloring material 30 touches the moisture contained in the core material or the coating material in the manufacturing process. When the region colored by the colorant 30 that has reacted with moisture remains in a sphere having a diameter of 1 mm, it can be said that the colorant 30 is in an incompletely reacted state.

  The colorant 30 in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state can be visually recognized as a dotted pattern as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, such a dot pattern is visible over substantially the entire surface of the water-absorbing treatment material 1.

  Prior to use of the water-absorbing treatment material 1, it is preferable that all visible colorants 30 are in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state. In particular, it is more preferable if all of the colorant 30 contained in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 is in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state.

  Moreover, in the water-absorbing treatment material 1, after use, that is, after the water-absorbing treatment material 1 has absorbed the liquid, the core material and the coating material colored by the colorant 30 are visible. Specifically, when the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, the colorant 30 reacts with the liquid, and thereby the core material and the coating material are partially or wholly colored. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, at least a part of the colored region 40 in the core material and the covering material can be seen directly or transparently from the outside of the water-absorbing treatment material 1. At this time, when the core material colored in the first color by the colorant 32 and the coating material colored in the second color by the colorant 34 are seen together, the water-absorbing treatment material 1 has the first color. And a second color.

  Although the core material is exclusively colored by the colorant 32, a part of the core material may be colored by the colorant 34 when the colorant 34 that has reacted with moisture penetrates into the granular core part 10. . In that case, the portion is colored in the second color or a mixed color of the first color and the second color. Similarly, although the coating material is exclusively colored by the colorant 34, a part of the coating material may be colored by the colorant 32 when the colorant 32 that has reacted with moisture permeates the coating layer portion 20. In that case, the portion is colored in the first color or a mixed color of the first color and the second color.

  After the use of the water-absorbing treatment material 1, the area of the region where the core material or coating material colored by the colorant 30 is visible on the surface of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 (hereinafter referred to as “colored area”) is the water-absorbing treatment material. It is preferable that it is 10% or more of the entire surface area (surface area) of 1. The core material or the coating material colored with the colorant 30 may be visible over substantially the entire surface of the water-absorbing treatment material 1.

  The effect of the water absorption processing material 1 is demonstrated. In the water-absorbing treatment material 1, the colorant 30 reacts with the liquid during liquid absorption, and gives a predetermined color to the core material or the coating material. And by visually recognizing the color of the said core part material or coating | covering material, while becoming easy to visually distinguish the water absorption processing material 1 before and behind use, the beauty | look of the water absorption processing material 1 after use improves. Moreover, the colorant 30 in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state is visible even before liquid absorption. For this reason, also in the water absorption treatment material 1 before use, the colorant 30 contributes to the beauty of the water absorption treatment material 1. That is, since the visible colorant 30 gives a pattern and color to the appearance of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 before use, the appearance of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 is improved. Therefore, the water-absorbing treatment material 1 excellent in aesthetics before and after use is realized.

  The colorant 30 in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state can be visually recognized as a dot pattern before the water-absorbing treatment material 1 is used. Thereby, since the water absorption treatment material 1 before use seems to have a dot pattern, it is effective in improving the aesthetics of the water absorption treatment material 1. In particular, in the present embodiment, a dotted pattern is visible over substantially the entire surface of the water-absorbing treatment material 1. Thereby, the dot pattern of the water absorption processing material 1 can be confirmed from any angle.

  When all the visible colorants 30 are in an unreacted state or incompletely reacted state before use of the water-absorbing treatment material 1, these colorants 30 appear as dots or circles having substantially the same size. Thereby, a highly unified pattern can be given to the external appearance of the water-absorbing treatment material 1.

  Further, in this case, when the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, these colorants 30 react with the liquid all at once, so that the colored spots in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use can be kept small. . As a result, the appearance of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use is beautiful in color and high in saturation. In particular, when all of the colorant 30 contained in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 is in an unreacted state or an incompletely-reacted state, colored spots in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use can be further reduced.

  After use of the water-absorbing treatment material 1, the core material or the coating material colored with the colorant 30 can be visually recognized, as described above, making it easy to distinguish the water-absorbing treatment material 1 before and after use and after use. The appearance of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 is improved. From the viewpoint of sufficiently bringing out such effects, the colored area on the surface of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use is preferably 10% or more of the surface area. When the colored area is 30% or more of the surface area, the visibility of the colored portion is improved. In particular, when the colored core material or coating material is visible over substantially the entire surface of the water-absorbing treatment material 1, coloring can be confirmed from any angle.

  When the coloring area is 10% or more and less than 30% of the surface area, in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use, the color of the ground, that is, the original color of the constituent material of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 appears on most of the surface. . Thereby, the pattern and color by coloring can be given to the external appearance of the water absorption processing material 1, utilizing the color of a ground.

  The colorant 30 is directly contained in the water absorption treatment material 1 in a powder state. Thereby, in the water absorption processing material 1 before use, it becomes easy to visually recognize the powdery (dotted) colorant 30. In addition, when the liquid is absorbed, the colorant 30 is likely to come into contact with the liquid and the reaction is promoted, which is advantageous in obtaining clear coloring in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use.

  The colorant 30 includes a plurality of colorants 32 and 34 having different colors, and the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use exhibits a color mixture of these colors. For this reason, in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 before use, a plurality of different colors (colors of the respective color materials 32 and 34) can be seen, and in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use, colors different from those colors can be seen. This contributes to further improvement in the beauty of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 before and after use.

  The core material is made of a water-absorbing material and an adhesive material. Therefore, water absorbability can be imparted to the granular core portion 10 by the water absorbent material, and the solidity of the water absorbent treatment material 1 can be enhanced by the adhesive material. Here, the cohesiveness refers to a property in which a plurality of water-absorbing treatment materials 1 that have absorbed a liquid adhere to form a coagulum.

  From the viewpoint of allowing the water-absorbing treatment material 1 to exhibit sufficient solidity, the weight ratio of the adhesive material in the core material is 5% or more (the weight ratio of the water-absorbing material is 95% or less). It is preferable. On the other hand, when the ratio of the adhesive material is too large, the liquid is difficult to move in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use, which may hinder the reaction of the colorant 30. From this point of view, the weight ratio of the adhesive material in the core material is preferably 30% or less (the weight ratio of the water-absorbing material is 70% or more).

  In particular, when the adhesive material includes a water-absorbing polymer, the water-absorbing polymer swells when it absorbs the liquid, which may cause a delay in the movement of the liquid in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use. In this respect, the water-absorbing polymer is pulverized to suppress swelling during liquid absorption. From such a viewpoint, the average particle diameter of the water-absorbing polymer is preferably 20 μm or less.

  Then, an example of the manufacturing method of the water absorption processing material 1 is demonstrated. This manufacturing method includes a granulation step, a covering step, a sizing step, and a drying step. In the granulation step, the core material is pulverized to a predetermined size by a pulverizer, and the pulverized core material is added to the mixer at a predetermined ratio together with the color material 32 and mixed. Then, the core material mixed with the colorant 32 is extruded and granulated by a granulator. At this time, it is preferable to adjust the water content in the core material so that the moisture content of the granular core 10 immediately after granulation is about 17 to 18%. Thereby, the granular core part 10 is obtained.

  In the coating step, a coating material mixed with the colorant 34 is attached to the periphery of the granular core portion 10 using a coating apparatus or the like. The coating material can be applied, for example, by spraying or spraying. Thereby, the coating layer part 20 is obtained.

  In the sizing step, the water-absorbing material produced in the previous step is passed through a sieve having a sieve with a predetermined size. Thereby, only the water absorption processing material which satisfy | fills a predetermined specification is extracted. In the drying step, the water-absorbing treatment material extracted in the previous step is dried with a dryer. The moisture content of the granular core part 10 is appropriately adjusted by drying. Thereby, while preventing the water | moisture content of the granular core part 10 from changing to the coating layer part 20 and a water absorption capability falling, it can prevent that mold | fungi etc. generate | occur | produce at the time of preservation | save of the water absorption processing material 1. FIG.

  In the granulation step, it is preferable to reduce the compressive force applied to the core material during granulation. If the compressive force is too large, the moisture in the core material spreads over a wide area in the granular core 10, which makes it easier for the colorant 30 to react in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 before use. is there. For example, the compressive force applied to the core material can be reduced by reducing the thickness of the die of the granulator.

Further, specific examples of the composition of the core material and the colorant 32 are as follows. The numerical values in parentheses indicate the weight ratio of each material (however, the total of the core material excluding the colorant 32 is 100%).
<Example 1>
Pulp (90%)
Starch (10%)
Dye (0.03%)
<Example 2>
Papermaking sludge (70%)
Dextrin (25%)
Starch (5%)
Dye (0.05%)
<Example 3>
Okara (50%)
Pulp (30%)
Starch (20%)
Dye (0.06%)
<Example 4>
Paper diaper classification (70%)
Dextrin (15%)
CMC (10%)
Finely pulverized water-absorbing polymer (5%)
Dye (0.05%)

  The water absorption treatment material by this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Various deformation | transformation is possible. In the said embodiment, the example in which the color material 30 was directly contained in the granular core part 10 or the coating layer part 20 was shown. However, the colorant 30 may be indirectly contained in the granular core part 10 or the coating layer part 20. Specifically, the colorant 30 may be contained in the granular core part 10 or the coating layer part 20 via the medium in a state where it is supported on the medium such as silica gel. In that case, in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 before use, since the colorant 30 is less likely to touch moisture, an accidental reaction of the colorant 30 can be suppressed.

  In the said embodiment, the water absorption processing material 1 did not collapse after use, but the example in which a granular shape was maintained was shown. However, when the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, the granular core portion 10 and the covering layer portion 20 may be collapsed and mixed with each other. In that case, in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use, the granular shape is no longer maintained. Accordingly, the surface area per volume is increased as compared with the case where the granular shape is maintained (for example, a sphere that is typical of the granular shape has a shape that minimizes the surface area per volume. ). This means that the ratio of the part which can be visually recognized in the water absorption processing material 1 after use becomes large. Therefore, the visibility of the colored part in the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use is improved.

  When the water-absorbing treatment material 1 after use collapses in this way, the colorant 32 in the unreacted state or the incompletely reacted state existing inside the granular core portion 10 is exposed and visible by the collapse. You may be comprised so that it may become.

  In the said embodiment, the example in which both the color material 32 and the color material 34 are visually recognizable before use of the water absorption processing material 1 was shown. However, only one of the color material 32 or the color material 34 may be visible.

  In the said embodiment, the example in which the color material 30 contained in both the granular core part 10 and the coating layer part 20 was shown. However, the colorant 30 may be contained only in either the granular core part 10 or the coating layer part 20.

  In the said embodiment, the water absorption processing material 1 of the 2 layer structure which consists of the granular core part 10 and the coating layer part 20 was illustrated. However, the water absorption treatment material 1 may have a structure of three or more layers. For example, the water-absorbing treatment material 1 having a structure of three or more layers can be realized by making the coating layer portion 20 have a multilayer structure.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water absorption processing material 10 Granular core part 20 Covering layer part 30 Color material 32 Color material (1st color material)
34 Color (second color)

Claims (19)

A water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs liquid,
A granular core having water absorption and formed into a granular shape;
A coating layer covering the granular core;
A colorant that is contained in the granular core part or the coating layer part and reacts with moisture to color the core material constituting the granular core part or the coating material constituting the coating layer part into a predetermined color; and With
Before the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the colorant in an unreacted state or an incompletely reacted state is visible.
A water-absorbing treatment material, wherein the core material or the coating material colored with the colorant is visible after the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 1,
The water-absorbing treatment material in which all of the visible colorant is in the unreacted state or the incompletely-reacted state before the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 2,
The water absorption treatment material in which all of the colorant is in the unreacted state or the incomplete reaction state before the water absorption treatment material absorbs the liquid. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
Before the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the colorant in the unreacted state or the incompletely-reacted state is visible as a dot-like pattern. In the water absorption processing material of Claim 4,
The dotted pattern is a water-absorbing treatment material that is visible over substantially the entire surface of the water-absorbing treatment material. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
After the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the area of the region where the core material or the coating material colored by the colorant is visible on the surface of the water-absorbing treatment material is the area of the entire surface. A water-absorbing treatment material that is 10% or more and less than 30%. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
After the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the area of the region where the core material or the coating material colored by the colorant is visible on the surface of the water-absorbing treatment material is the area of the entire surface. Water absorption treatment material that is 30% or more. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 7,
After the water absorption treatment material absorbs the liquid, the core material or the coating material colored with the colorant is visible over substantially the entire surface of the water absorption treatment material. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8,
The colorant is a water-absorbing treatment material that is directly contained in the granular core portion or the coating layer portion in a powder state. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8,
The colorant is a water-absorbing treatment material contained in the granular core portion or the coating layer portion via the silica gel in a state of being supported on the silica gel. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 10,
The colorant is a water-absorbing treatment material contained in both the granular core part and the covering layer part. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 11,
The colorant contained in the granular core has a first color,
The colorant contained in the coating layer portion has a second color different from the first color,
The water-absorbing treatment material is a water-absorbing treatment material that exhibits a mixed color of the first color and the second color after absorbing the liquid. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 12,
When the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the granular core portion and the coating layer portion both collapse and mix with each other. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 13,
When the particle diameter of the granular core is 1, the water absorption treatment material has a particle size of 1.13 or less. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 14,
The core material is a water-absorbing treatment material comprising a water-absorbing material and an adhesive material. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 15,
The water-absorbing treatment material in which the weight ratio of the water-absorbing material is 70% to 95% and the weight ratio of the adhesive material is 5% to 30% in the core material. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 15 or 16,
The water-absorbing material is at least one material selected from the group consisting of papers, plastics, and okara. The water-absorbing treatment material according to any one of claims 15 to 17,
The water-absorbing treatment material, wherein the adhesive material is at least one material selected from the group consisting of starch, dextrin, CMC and a water-absorbing polymer. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 18,
The adhesive material includes the water-absorbing polymer,
The water-absorbing treatment material has an average particle diameter of 20 μm or less.

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