JP6499889B2 - Excrement treatment material and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste treatment material and a method for producing the same.

  As a conventional excrement processing material, there exists a thing described in patent document 1, for example. The excrement disposal material described in the same document is an animal excrement disposal material and is composed of a large number of granular materials having water absorption. These granules are laid down in animal toilets. In such animal toilets, animals such as cats are excreted while directly on the excrement disposal material. In the part which received excrement, a lump is formed because a some granular material adhere | attaches mutually.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-190026

  As described above, the excrement disposal material serves as a scaffold when the animal excretes. However, in the animal toilet provided with the conventional excrement disposal material, there is a problem that the granular material constituting the excrement disposal material adheres to the sole of the animal.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the size of each granular body in order to make it difficult to adhere to the soles of animals. However, when the granular body is enlarged, the surface area per unit volume is reduced. Therefore, the adhesion between the plurality of granular materials that have received excrement becomes insufficient, thereby causing a new problem that the mass strength is reduced.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and it aims at providing the excrement disposal material which is hard to adhere to the sole of an animal, and can obtain sufficient lump strength after excretion, and its manufacturing method. .

  The excrement disposal material according to the present invention is an excrement disposal material composed of a plurality of granular materials, and has a first granular material having a first diameter and a second diameter smaller than the first diameter. And a second granular body.

  In the excrement disposal material, first and second granular bodies having different diameters are provided. When the excrement disposal material is laid in the animal toilet, the second granular material having a relatively small diameter enters the gap between the first granular materials. For this reason, the first granular material is mainly exposed on the surface of the excrement disposal material (surface serving as a scaffold when the animal excretes). Thus, when the 1st granule which has a comparatively big diameter is exposed on the surface, the granule which comprises the excrement disposal material becomes difficult to adhere to the sole of an animal. On the other hand, not only the first granular material but also the second granular material contributes to the formation of the mass in the portion that has received the excrement. For this reason, compared with the case where an excrement disposal material consists only of the 1st granular material, the mass intensity after excretion can be raised.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material by this invention is a method of manufacturing the excrement disposal material which consists of a some granule, Comprising: The 1st granule which forms the 1st granule which has a 1st diameter. A body forming step, a second granule forming step for forming a second granule having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, and the first granule and the second granule. And a mixing step of mixing.

  In this manufacturing method, first and second granular materials having different diameters are formed. When the excrement disposal material after production is laid on the animal toilet, the second granular material having a relatively small diameter enters the gap between the first granular materials. For this reason, the first granular material is mainly exposed on the surface of the excrement disposal material. Thus, when the 1st granule which has a comparatively big diameter is exposed on the surface, the granule which comprises the excrement disposal material becomes difficult to adhere to the sole of an animal. On the other hand, not only the first granular material but also the second granular material contributes to the formation of the mass in the portion that has received the excrement. For this reason, compared with the case where an excrement disposal material consists only of the 1st granular material, the mass intensity after excretion can be raised.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the excrement disposal material and its manufacturing method which are hard to adhere to the sole of an animal, and can obtain sufficient firm strength after excretion are implement | achieved.

It is a schematic diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the excrement disposal material by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the granular material 10 in the excrement disposal material of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the granular material 20 in the excrement disposal material of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect of the excrement disposal material of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the excrement disposal material by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the granular material 30 in the excrement disposal 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.
(First embodiment)

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a first embodiment of the excrement disposal material according to the present invention. The excrement disposal material 1 is an excrement disposal material composed of a plurality of granular materials, and includes a granular material 10 (first granular material) and a granular material 20 (second granular material). This excrement disposal material 1 processes the excrement by absorbing excrement of animals such as cats.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the granular material 10. The granular material 10 has a granular core portion 12 (first granulated product) and a coating layer portion 14. The granular core 12 is formed into a granular shape. Examples of the granular shape include a sphere, a cylinder, and an ellipsoid. The granular core part 12 has a function of absorbing and retaining excrement. As a material constituting the granular core part 12, for example, papers, tea husks, plastics, or okara can be used. These materials are preferably the main materials of the granular core 12. Here, the main material of the granular core 12 refers to a material having the largest weight ratio in the granular core 12 among the materials constituting the granular core 12.

  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 classification product (plastic obtained by classifying paper diapers) may be used. The okara is preferably dry okara.

  The covering layer portion 14 covers the granular core portion 12. The covering layer portion 14 may cover the entire surface of the granular core portion 12 or may cover only a part of the surface of the granular core portion 12. The covering layer portion 14 has a function of adhering the granular materials 10 and 20 that have absorbed excrement during use to make them solid. As a material constituting the covering layer portion 14, for example, paper, tea husk, plastics, or okara can be used. These materials are preferably the main materials of the coating layer portion 14.

  The covering layer portion 14 contains an adhesive material. As such an adhesive material, for example, starch, CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose), PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), dextrin, or a water-absorbing polymer can be used. The water-absorbing polymer preferably has an average particle size of 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.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the granular material 20. The granular body 20 has a granular core portion 22 (second granulated product) and a coating layer portion 24. The granular core part 22 is formed into a granular shape. The granular core portion 22 has a function of absorbing and retaining excrement. As a material which comprises the granular core part 22, the thing similar to the granular core part 12 mentioned above can be used.

  The covering layer portion 24 covers the granular core portion 22. The covering layer portion 24 may cover the entire surface of the granular core portion 22 or may cover only a part of the surface of the granular core portion 22. The covering layer portion 24 has a function of adhering the granular materials 10 and 20 that have absorbed excrement during use to make them solid. As a material constituting the covering layer portion 24, the same material as the covering layer portion 14 described above can be used. The covering layer portion 24 also contains an adhesive material.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the granular materials 10 and 20 have different diameters. That is, the granular material 10 has a first diameter, and the granular material 20 has a second diameter smaller than the first diameter. As the first and second diameters, for example, a combination in which the first diameter is 5 mm or more and less than 8 mm and the second diameter is 1 mm or more and less than 3 mm can be considered. The second diameter is preferably 1/3 or less of the first diameter, and more preferably 15% or less of the first diameter.

  Thus, in the excrement disposal material 1, the granular materials 10 and 20 which have a different diameter are mixed. Here, when the weight ratios of the granular material 10 and the granular material 20 in the entire granular material 10 and the granular material 20 are P1 and P2, respectively, it is preferable that P1 ≧ P2. That is, it is preferable that the weight ratio of the granular material 10 is not less than the weight ratio of the granular material 20. As values of P1 and P2, for example, a combination of P1 of 50% to 90% and P2 of 10% to 50% is conceivable.

  Then, an example of the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material 1 is demonstrated as 1st Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material by this invention. This manufacturing method includes a first granule forming step, a second granule forming step, and a mixing step. As will be described below, in the present embodiment, since the granular core parts 12 and 22 are formed by extrusion granulation, substantially cylindrical granular bodies 10 and 20 are obtained.

  The first granular body forming step is a step of forming the granular body 10. In this step, after the material constituting the granular core portion 12 is pulverized to a predetermined size by a pulverizer, it is put into a mixer at a predetermined ratio and mixed. And after adding water as needed, the granular core part 12 is formed by carrying out extrusion granulation of the said material with a granulator (1st granulation process). For this extrusion granulation, a die having a first hole diameter is used.

  Next, the coating layer part 14 is formed by attaching the material which comprises the coating layer part 14 to the circumference | surroundings of the granular core part 12 using a coating apparatus etc. FIG. The material can be attached by, for example, spraying or spraying. Then, the granular material obtained in this way is passed through a sieve having a sieve having a predetermined size, so that only the granular material satisfying a predetermined standard is extracted. Then, the extracted granular material is dried with a dryer. The granular material 10 is formed by the above.

  The second granular body forming step is a step of forming the granular body 20. In this step, after the material constituting the granular core portion 22 is pulverized to a predetermined size by a pulverizer, it is put into a mixer at a predetermined ratio and mixed. And after adding water as needed, the granular core part 22 is formed by carrying out extrusion granulation of the said material with a granulator (2nd granulation process). In this extrusion granulation, a die having a second hole diameter smaller than the first hole diameter is used.

  Next, the coating layer portion 24 is formed by attaching a material constituting the coating layer portion 24 around the granular core portion 22 using a coating apparatus or the like. Then, the granular material obtained in this way is passed through a sieve having a sieve having a predetermined size, so that only the granular material satisfying a predetermined standard is extracted. Then, the extracted granular material is dried with a dryer. Thus, the granular material 20 is formed. The first and second granule forming steps can be executed in any order, and may be executed in parallel.

  As described above, dies having different hole diameters (first and second hole diameters) are used in the first and second granulation steps. The 1st hole diameter and the 2nd hole diameter are set so that a desired diameter may be obtained about granular object 10 and granular object 20 after manufacture, respectively. As the first and second hole diameters, for example, a combination in which the first hole diameter is 5 mm or more and the second hole diameter is less than 3 mm can be considered. The second hole diameter is preferably 1/3 or less of the first hole diameter, and more preferably 15% or less of the first hole diameter.

  The mixing step is a step of mixing the granulates 10 and 20 formed in the first and second granule forming steps. In this step, it is preferable to mix the granular material 10 and the granular material 20 so that P1 ≧ P2 with respect to the above-described P1 and P2.

  The effect of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the granular material 10 and the granular material 20 which have a different diameter are provided. When the excrement disposal material 1 is laid on the animal toilet, the granular material 20 having a relatively small diameter enters the gap between the granular materials 10. For this reason, the granular material 10 is mainly exposed on the surface of the excrement disposal material 1. Thus, when the granular material 10 having a relatively large diameter is exposed on the surface, the granular materials 10 and 20 constituting the excrement disposal material 1 are less likely to adhere to the soles of animals. On the other hand, not only the granular material 10 but also the granular material 20 contributes to the formation of the lump in the portion that has received the excrement. For this reason, compared with the case where the excrement disposal material 1 consists only of the granular material 10, the mass intensity | strength after excretion can be raised.

  Furthermore, the granular material 20 enters the gap between the granular materials 10, so that the plurality of granular materials (the granular materials 10, 20) can be used as animal toilets as compared with the case where the excrement disposal material 1 is composed of only the granular material 10. There is also an advantage that it can be spread with high density. Thus, by laying down the granular materials 10 and 20 at high density, the sinking of the excrement disposal material 1 when an animal rides can be kept small. Thereby, since the scaffold is stable, the burden placed on the animal's feet and legs when excreted is reduced. Moreover, since the walk on the excrement disposal material 1 becomes easy due to the stability of the scaffold, the animal can easily excrete at a favorite place in the toilet.

  When the second diameter (diameter of the granular material 20) is equal to or less than one third of the first diameter (diameter of the granular material 10), the granular material 20 easily enters the gap between the granular materials 10. The same applies to the case where the second hole diameter is one third or less of the first hole diameter.

  When the second diameter is 15% or less of the first diameter, the granular material 20 is more likely to enter the gap between the granular materials 10. The same applies when the second hole diameter is 15% or less of the first hole diameter.

  This point will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, three large circles C1 circumscribing each other and one small circle C2 circumscribing the three circles C1 are shown. The circle C2 corresponds to the largest of the circles that fit in the gap between the three circles C1. Here, the radii of the circle C1 and the circle C2 are R and r, respectively. At this time, the length of the line segment L1 connecting the center of the circle C1 and the center of the circle C2 is equal to (R + r). A triangle T1 obtained by connecting the centers of the three circles C1 is an equilateral triangle having a side length of 2R. Accordingly, the length of the perpendicular line extending from the apex of the triangle T1 to the base is expressed by the following equation.

また、円Ｃ２の中心は三角形Ｔ１の重心に一致するから、線分Ｌ１の長さは、上記垂線の長さの３分の２に等しい。すなわち、線分Ｌ１の長さは、次式のようになる。

Since the center of the circle C2 coincides with the center of gravity of the triangle T1, the length of the line segment L1 is equal to two-thirds of the length of the perpendicular line. That is, the length of the line segment L1 is as follows.

したがって、線分Ｌ１の長さについて、次の等式が成り立つ。

Therefore, the following equation holds for the length of the line segment L1.

これをｒについて解くと、次式のようになる。

Solving this for r yields:

よって、第２の直径が第１の直径の１５％以下であれば、複数の粒状体１０が最密充填された状態にあっても、それらの粒状体１０どうしの隙間に粒状体２０が入り込みやすくなる。

Therefore, if the second diameter is 15% or less of the first diameter, the granular material 20 enters the gap between the granular materials 10 even when the plurality of granular materials 10 are in the closest packed state. It becomes easy.

  As described above, increasing the diameter of the granular body 10 makes it difficult for the granular body 10 to adhere to the soles of animals. From this viewpoint, the first diameter is preferably 5 mm or more. However, if the diameter of the granular material 10 is excessively increased, the production of the granular material 10 may be hindered. Therefore, the first diameter is preferably less than 8 mm.

  On the other hand, by reducing the diameter of the granular material 20, the granular material 20 easily enters the gap between the granular materials 10. From this point of view, the second diameter is preferably less than 3 mm. However, if the second diameter is too small, the production of the granular material 20 may be hindered. Therefore, the second diameter is preferably 1 mm or more.

  Further, from the viewpoint of increasing the proportion of the granular material 10 exposed on the surface of the excrement disposal material 1, the weight ratio (P1) of the granular material 10 and the weight ratio (P2) of the granular material 20 are in a relationship of P1 ≧ P2. Preferably there is. However, if the weight ratio of the granular material 20 is too small, the contribution of the granular material 20 to the formation of the mass is reduced, and the mass strength of the excrement disposal material 1 as a whole cannot be obtained sufficiently. Therefore, the value of P2 is preferably 10% or more (the value of P1 is 90% or less).

  By the way, it is necessary to dispose of the used excrement disposal material 1, but if it can be disposed of by being flushed in a flush toilet, convenience for the user is enhanced. In this way, the granular materials 10 and 20 have sufficient water disintegration properties (the property that the bonded fibers and particles are quickly separated and dispersed in water by contact with water) to be disposed in the flush toilet. Is required.

  As one of the methods for improving the water decomposability of the granular materials 10 and 20, it is conceivable to increase the porosity of the granular materials 10 and 20. Where there are a large number of voids in the interior of the granular material 10 (mainly the interior of the granular core portion 12), the porosity of the granular material 10 is defined as the volume ratio of the voids in the entire granular material 10. The same applies to the granular material 20. Thus, it is preferable that the porosity of each granular material 10 and 20 is 20% or more from a viewpoint of improving the water decomposability of the granular materials 10 and 20.

  However, in the conventional excrement disposal materials, when the porosity of the granular material is increased, the specific gravity is reduced, so that the problem that the granular material adheres to the sole of the animal becomes significant. Therefore, the excrement disposal material 1 according to the present embodiment is particularly useful when the porosity of the granular materials 10 and 20 is high.

  Regarding the manufacturing method, the first and second granule forming steps include first and second granulation steps, respectively. That is, in this embodiment, the granular core parts 12 and 22 are formed by extrusion granulation using dies having different pore sizes. Thereby, the granular materials 10 and 20 which have a different diameter can be obtained easily.

  In addition, as a means for obtaining granular materials having different sizes, it is conceivable to change not the diameter but the length of the granular materials. That is, it is also conceivable to form a plurality of granules having different lengths. However, since the length of the granulated product formed by extrusion granulation tends to vary greatly, it is difficult to obtain a granule having a desired length. Therefore, for example, even in the case where it is desired to form a relatively long granule and a relatively short granule, the proportion of both is easily affected by chance factors such as manufacturing variations. There is a problem that it is difficult to control the ratio.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the granular materials 10 and 20 with different sizes are obtained by changing the diameter. In this respect, although a variation occurs in the diameter of the granulated product formed by extrusion granulation, the variation is much smaller than the variation in length. Therefore, a granular material having a desired diameter can be easily obtained by adjusting the hole diameter of the die. For this reason, there exists an advantage that it is easy to control the ratio from which each granular material 10 and 20 is obtained.
(Second Embodiment)

  FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the excrement disposal material according to the present invention. The excrement disposal material 2 is an excrement disposal material composed of a plurality of granular materials, and includes a granular material 30 (third granular material) in addition to the granular material 10 and the granular material 20. The structure of the granular material 10 and the granular material 20 is as having demonstrated in 1st Embodiment. This excrement disposal material 2 processes the excrement by absorbing excrement of animals such as cats.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the granular material 30. The granular body 30 has a granular core portion 32 (third granulated product) and a coating layer portion 34. The granular core part 32 is formed into a granular shape. The granular core part 32 has a function of absorbing and retaining excrement. As a material which comprises the granular core part 32, the thing similar to the granular core part 12 mentioned above can be used.

  The covering layer portion 34 covers the granular core portion 32. The covering layer part 34 may cover the entire surface of the granular core part 32, or may cover only a part of the surface of the granular core part 32. The covering layer portion 34 has a function of adhering the granular materials 10, 20, and 30 that have absorbed excrement during use to solidify. As a material constituting the covering layer portion 34, the same material as the covering layer portion 14 described above can be used. The covering layer portion 34 also contains an adhesive material.

  Granule 30 has a third diameter. The third diameter is smaller than the first diameter and larger than the second diameter. Thus, in the excrement disposal material 2, the granular materials 10, 20, and 30 which have a different diameter are mixed. Here, when the weight ratios of the granular material 10, the granular material 20, and the granular material 30 in the entire granular material 10, the granular material 20, and the granular material 30 are P1, P2, and P3, respectively, P1 ≧ P3 ≧ P2. It is preferable.

  Then, an example of the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material 2 is demonstrated as 2nd Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material by this invention. This manufacturing method includes a first granule forming step, a second granule forming step, a third granule forming step, and a mixing step. The contents of the first and second granule forming steps are the same as in the first embodiment. As described below, in the present embodiment, since the granular core portion 32 is formed by extrusion granulation, a substantially cylindrical granular body 30 is obtained.

  The third granular body forming step is a step of forming the granular body 30. In this step, after the material constituting the granular core portion 32 is pulverized to a predetermined size by a pulverizer, it is put into a mixer at a predetermined ratio and mixed. And after adding water as needed, the granular core part 32 is formed by carrying out extrusion granulation of the said material with a granulator (3rd granulation process). In this extrusion granulation, a die having a third hole diameter smaller than the first hole diameter and larger than the second hole diameter is used.

  Next, the coating layer portion 34 is formed by attaching a material constituting the coating layer portion 34 around the granular core portion 32 using a coating apparatus or the like. Then, the granular material obtained in this way is passed through a sieve having a sieve having a predetermined size, so that only the granular material satisfying a predetermined standard is extracted. Then, the extracted granular material is dried with a dryer. Thus, the granular body 30 is formed. Note that the first to third granular material forming steps can be executed in any order, and may be executed in parallel.

  The mixing step is a step of mixing the granulates 10, 20, and 30 formed in the first to third granule forming steps. In this process, it is preferable to mix the granular material 10, the granular material 20, and the granular material 30 so that it may become P1> = P3> = P2 about the above-mentioned P1, P2, and P3.

  The effect of this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, in addition to the granular body 10, a granular body 30 having a smaller diameter is provided. Thereby, when constructing the excrement disposal material 2 in the animal toilet, the granular material 30 enters the gap between the granular materials 10. Furthermore, since the granule 20 having a smaller diameter than the granule 30 is provided, the granule 20 enters the gap between the granule 30 and the gap between the granule 10 and the granule 30. Become. For this reason, compared with the case where the excrement disposal material 1 consists only of the granular material 10 or the case where it consists only of the granular material 10 and the granular material 20, a several granular material (granular material 10,20,30) is for animals. It becomes possible to lay in the toilet with high density. Other effects of the present embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. In the said embodiment, the granular material 10 showed the example which has the multilayer structure which consists of the granular core part 12 and the coating layer part 14. As shown in FIG. However, it is not essential to provide the covering layer portion 14. That is, the granular material 10 may have a single-layer structure including only the granular core portion 12. In that case, it is preferable that the granular core portion 12 contains an adhesive material. The same applies to the granular body 20 and the granular body 30.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Excrement processing material 2 Excrement processing material 10 Granule (1st granule)
12 granular core part 14 coating layer part 20 granular object (2nd granular object)
22 granular core part 24 coating layer part 30 granular material (3rd granular material)
32 granular core part 34 coating layer part

Claims (6)

A method for producing excrement disposal materials consisting of a plurality of granular materials,
A first granule forming step of forming a substantially cylindrical first granule having a first diameter;
A second granular body forming step of forming a substantially cylindrical second granular body having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter;
Mixing the first granule and the second granule, and
The first granule forming step includes a first granulation step of forming a first granulated material constituting the first granule by extrusion granulation using a die having a first pore diameter. Including
In the second granule forming step, a second granulated material constituting the second granule is formed by extrusion granulation using a die having a second hole diameter smaller than the first hole diameter. The manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material characterized by including the 2nd granulation process to do. In the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material according to claim 1 ,
The method for producing an excrement disposal material, wherein the second hole diameter is one third or less of the first hole diameter. In the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material according to claim 2 ,
The method for producing an excrement disposal material, wherein the second hole diameter is 15% or less of the first hole diameter. In the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3 ,
The first hole diameter is 5 mm or more;
The method for producing an excrement disposal material, wherein the second hole diameter is less than 3 mm. In the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
In the mixing step, when the weight ratios of the first granule and the second granule occupying the whole of the first granule and the second granule are P1 and P2, respectively, P1 ≧ The manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material which mixes the said 1st and 2nd granule so that it may become P2. In the manufacturing method of the excrement disposal material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5 ,
A method for producing excrement disposal materials including a third granule forming step of forming a third granule having a third diameter smaller than the first diameter and larger than the second diameter.

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