JP6554273B2 - Water absorption treatment material - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water-absorbent material that absorbs human or animal waste and other liquids.

  Patent Document 1 describes an excrement treatment material which is a kind of water absorption treatment material. In this waste disposal material, a core layer containing fibers and a skin layer covering the core layer are provided. The skin layer is configured to include pregelatinized starch and fibers. The document states that as an advantage of the excrement disposal material, it can be safely poured into a flush toilet.

JP 2010-104383 A

  However, in order to dispose of the used water-absorbing treatment material in a flush toilet, the water-absorbing treatment material has sufficient water decomposability (bonded fibers and particles are quickly separated by contact with water and dispersed in water. It is necessary to have the Insufficient water degradability of the water-absorbent material causes clogging of the toilet.

  In this regard, in the conventional water-absorbing treatment material mainly composed of paper, relatively long fibers (pulp) constituting the paper are intertwined and are difficult to unravel, which is a factor that hinders improvement of water disintegration. It was.

  The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned subject, and an object of the present invention is to provide a water absorption processing material which is excellent in water-degradability while using paper as a main material.

  The water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention is a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs liquid, and includes a plurality of granular materials mainly made of paper. When the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, the plurality of granular materials are It is characterized by collapsing and mixing with one another.

  This water absorption treatment material is provided with a plurality of granular bodies mainly composed of paper. At the same time, when the liquid is absorbed, each granular material collapses, and the plurality of collapsed granular materials become mixed with each other. That is, once each granular material is disintegrated once, a mixture consisting of a plurality of granular materials is formed. Thereby, in the said mixture, there is little entanglement of the fibers which comprise paper, and it is easy to unravel. For this reason, the water absorption processing material excellent in water solubility is realized.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a water absorption treated material excellent in water degradability while using paper as a main material.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the water absorption process material by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the change when the water absorption processing material of FIG. 1 absorbs a liquid.

  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 material 1 is a water absorbing material that absorbs liquid, and includes a plurality of granular bodies 10. The water absorption treatment material 1 is, for example, an excrement treatment material for companion animals such as cats and dogs.

  Each granular body 10 is mainly made of paper. Here, that the paper is the main material of the granular material 10 means that the weight ratio of the paper among the materials constituting the granular material 10 is the largest. Papers refer to materials mainly composed of pulp. Examples of the paper include, in addition to ordinary paper, polyvinyl chloride wallpaper classification (paper obtained by classifying polyvinyl chloride wallpaper), fluff pulp, papermaking sludge, pulp sludge and the like.

  Such papers are crushed to a particle size (fiber length) of 1 mm or less. That is, the papers are pulverized using a pulverizer having a screen opening of 1 mm or less. The particle size of the paper is preferably 0.5 mm or less, more preferably 0.3 mm or less.

  Each granular body 10 has a granular core portion 12 and a covering layer portion 14. The particulate core portion 12 has a function of absorbing and retaining liquid such as urine. The granular core portion 12 is formed into a granular shape. Examples of the shape of the particulate core portion 12 include a sphere, an ellipsoid, and a cylinder. The particulate core 12 is mainly made of paper.

  The particulate core 12 contains an adhesive material that has viscosity when it absorbs water. As such an adhesive material, for example, starch, CMC (carboxymethylcellulose), 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. The weight ratio of the adhesive material in the granular core 12 is preferably 10% or more. In this embodiment, the granular core part 12 contains a water-absorbing polymer having an average particle diameter of 20 μm or less as an adhesive material.

  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 also uses paper as a main material.

  The covering layer portion 14 also contains an adhesive material. When the weight of the adhesive material contained in the coating layer portion 14 is 1, the weight of the adhesive material contained in the granular core portion 12 is preferably 4 or more, and more preferably 5 or more. . In the present embodiment, the covering layer portion 14 contains a water absorbing polymer having an average particle diameter of 20 μm or less as an adhesive material.

  The weight ratio of the coating layer portion 14 to the granular material 10 is preferably 1% or more and less than 10%, and more preferably 1% or more and less than 5%. In the present embodiment, the granular core portion 12 is visible through the coating layer portion 14 before the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid. That is, the granular core portion 12 is seen through the covering layer portion 14 without being hidden by the covering layer portion 14.

  The granular core portion 12 or the coating layer portion 14 may contain a dye material that develops or changes color when reacted with moisture. Such a dye material may be contained in both the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14, or may be contained in only one of the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14. When the pigment material is contained in both the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14, the pigment material contained in the granular core portion 12 and the pigment material contained in the coating layer portion 14 have different colors (for example, The former may be colored or discolored (blue) and the latter is yellow). However, when the weight ratio of the coating layer portion 14 to the granular material 10 is less than 4%, the pigment material is preferably contained only in the granular core portion 12 of the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14. As the pigment material, for example, a dye or a pigment can be used.

  When the water absorbing material 1 absorbs the liquid, the plurality of particles 10 disintegrate and mix with each other. In detail, substantially the whole of each granular object 10 collapses. That is, not only the covering layer portion 14 but also the granular core portion 12 collapses. Moreover, not a part of the granular core portion 12 but substantially the whole collapses. The plurality of broken up granular bodies 10 mix with one another to form a mixture which is a mud-like mass. In this mixture, the individual granules 10 can no longer be distinguished.

  The effect of the water absorption treatment material 1 will be described. The water absorption treatment material 1 includes a plurality of granular bodies 10 mainly made of paper. As it is, when the liquid is absorbed, as shown in FIG. 2, each granular body 10 is collapsed, and the plurality of collapsed granular bodies 10 are in a mixed state with each other. That is, after each granular material 10 is once collapsed, a mixture 20 composed of a plurality of granular materials 10 is formed. Thereby, in the mixture 20, there is little entanglement of the fibers which comprise paper, and it is easy to unravel. For this reason, the water absorption processing material 1 excellent in water-disintegratability is realized.

  On the other hand, in the conventional water-absorbent material mainly composed of papers, even if the liquid is absorbed, the granular material does not collapse and the granular shape is maintained. This means that a state in which fibers constituting the papers are entangled and difficult to unwind is also maintained. This is a factor that hinders the improvement of the water degradability of the conventional water absorption treatment material. In this respect, according to the water-absorbing treatment material 1, since the granular material 10 is totally collapsed, this problem can be solved.

  Papers, which are the main material of the granular material 10, are ground to a particle size of 1 mm or less. By finely pulverizing the paper in this manner, the fibers constituting the paper can be easily melted and the water degradability of the water absorption treated material 1 can be improved. From this point of view, the papers are preferably ground to a particle size of 0.5 mm or less, and more preferably 0.3 mm or less.

  In the water absorption treated material 1, both the particulate core portion 12 and the covering layer portion 14 are disintegrated. For this reason, the viscosity of both the broken granular core portion 12 and the covering layer portion 14 contributes to the agglomeration (formation of lumps) of the plurality of granular bodies 10. So, the water absorption processing material 1 is excellent also in terms of solidity and strength as compared with the conventional water absorption processing material in which the viscosity of the coating layer part contributes to clumping.

  As described above, in the water-absorbing treatment material 1, the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14 together contribute to the agglomeration, so that sufficient cohesive strength can be obtained even if the coating layer portion 14 is formed thin. Making the coating layer portion 14 thin contributes to the reduction of the material procurement cost and the manufacturing cost of the water-absorbing treatment material 1. From such a viewpoint, the weight ratio of the coating layer portion 14 to the granular material 10 is preferably 1% to less than 10%, more preferably 1% to 5%.

  The particulate core 12 contains an adhesive material. Thereby, when the water absorption processing material 1 absorbs the liquid, it can accelerate | stimulate that the some granular material 10 agglomerates. Similarly, the covering layer portion 14 also contains an adhesive material. This can further accelerate the agglomeration of the plurality of particles 10.

  Thus, from the viewpoint of promoting agglomeration, the weight ratio of the adhesive material in the granular core 12 is preferably 10% or more. From the same viewpoint, when the weight of the adhesive material contained in the coating layer portion 14 is 1, the weight of the adhesive material contained in the granular core portion 12 is preferably 4 or more, more preferably 5 or more. Is done.

  The particulate core portion 12 and the covering layer portion 14 contain a water absorbing polymer as an adhesive material. The water absorbing polymer has a property of swelling when liquid is absorbed, but when the water absorbing polymer swells, the liquid is less likely to spread to the whole of the granule 10. For this reason, the swelling of the water absorbing polymer causes the disintegratability of the granular material 10 and the water degradability of the water absorbing material 1 to be reduced. In this respect, the water-absorbent polymer is finely pulverized to suppress swelling at the time of liquid absorption. Therefore, in order to suppress swelling of the water-absorbing polymer, the average particle diameter of the water-absorbing polymer contained in the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14 is preferably 20 μm or less, and more preferably 10 μm or less.

  When the particulate core portion 12 or the coating layer portion 14 contains a pigment material, it is possible to distinguish between the state before use and the state after use by changing the color of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 during liquid absorption. As a result, the appearance of the water absorption treated material 1 can be enhanced.

  In particular, when the pigment material is contained in both the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14, the pigment material spreads over a wide range in the mixture composed of the plurality of granular bodies 10, so the color of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 that has absorbed the liquid is increased. It will be easier to see changes.

  When the coloring material contained in the granular core portion 12 and the coloring material contained in the coating layer portion 14 develop or change colors to different colors, when the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, those colors It is possible to exhibit mixed colors. For example, the coloring material contained in the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14 may be blue and yellow, so that the water-absorbing treatment material 1 that has absorbed the liquid exhibits a green color. it can.

  Subsequently, an example of a method of manufacturing the water absorption treated material 1 will be described. The manufacturing method includes a granulation step, a coating step, a sizing step, and a drying step.

  In the granulation step, the material (core part material) constituting the particulate core part 12 is crushed to a predetermined size by a crusher, and the ground core material is put into a mixer at a predetermined ratio and mixed . Then, after the water is added, the core material is extruded and granulated by a granulator. At this time, in order to obtain the particulate core 12 which is easily disintegrated during liquid absorption, it is preferable to reduce the compressive force applied to the core material at the time of granulation. For example, by reducing the thickness of the die of the granulator, the compressive force applied to the core material can be reduced. Thereby, the granular core portion 12 is obtained.

  In the coating step, a material (coating material) constituting the coating layer portion 14 is adhered to the periphery of the granular core portion 12 using a coating apparatus or the like. The application of the coating material can be carried out, for example, by spraying or spraying. Thereby, the covering layer portion 14 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 satisfies a predetermined standard is extracted.

  In the drying step, the water absorption treated material extracted in the previous step is dried by a dryer. The moisture content of the particulate core 12 is appropriately adjusted by drying. Thereby, while preventing the water | moisture content of the granular core part 12 to the coating layer part 14 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.

  The water absorbing material according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In the said embodiment, the example in which the adhesive material was contained in both the granular core part 12 and the coating layer part 14 was shown. However, it is not essential that both the particulate core portion 12 and the covering layer portion 14 contain the adhesive material. Of the particulate core portion 12 and the covering layer portion 14, only the covering layer portion 14 may contain an adhesive material.

  In the said embodiment, the granular material 10 of the multilayer structure which consists of the granular core part 12 and the coating layer part 14 was shown. However, providing the covering layer portion 14 is not essential. That is, the granular material 10 may have a single-layer structure consisting of only the granular core 12.

  Further, in the plurality of granular materials 10, even if the granular material 10 having a multilayer structure composed of the granular core portion 12 and the coating layer portion 14 and the granular material 10 having a single-layer structure composed only of the granular core portion 12 are mixed. Good. That is, the structure which has the granular core part 12 and the coating layer part 14 among some granular materials 10 may be sufficient.

  In the said embodiment, the example in which the pigment material was contained in the granule 10 was shown. However, it is not essential that the granular material 10 contains a pigment material. Moreover, in the some granular material 10, the granular material 10 containing a pigment | dye material and the granular material 10 which does not contain may be mixed. That is, only a part of the plurality of granular bodies 10 may contain the pigment material.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water absorption processing material 10 Granule 12 Granular core part 14 Covering layer part 20 Mixture

Claims (11)

A water absorption material that absorbs liquid,
A plurality of granular bodies mainly composed of paper and containing an adhesive material having viscosity when absorbed with water ,
Each of the granular bodies has a granular core portion mainly composed of the paper, and a coating layer portion covering the granular core portion,
The adhesive material is contained only in the coating layer portion of the particulate core portion and the coating layer portion,
When the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, both the granular core portion and the coating layer portion collapse to collapse the plurality of granular bodies, and the plurality of collapsed granular bodies are mixed with each other to form a mass. A water-absorbing treatment material characterized by forming. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 1,
The paper is a water-absorbing treatment material pulverized to a particle size of 1 mm or less. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 2,
The paper is a water-absorbing treatment material pulverized to a particle size of 0.5 mm or less. In the water absorption processing material of Claim 3,
The paper is a water-absorbing treatment material pulverized to a particle size of 0.3 mm or less. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4 ,
A water absorption treated material comprising a pigment material in which at least a part of the plurality of particles react with moisture to develop or discolor. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5 ,
In the state before the said water absorption processing material absorbs the said liquid, the said granular core part can be visually recognized through the said coating layer part. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6 ,
The water absorption processing material whose weight ratio of the said coating layer part to each said granular material which has the said coating layer part is 1% or more and less than 10%. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 7 ,
The weight ratio of the coating layer portion is 4% or more and less than 10%,
The covering layer portion is a water absorption treated material containing a pigment material which reacts with moisture to develop color or color. In the water absorption treatment material according to claim 8 ,
The water absorbing treatment material, wherein the pigment material is contained in both the particulate core portion and the covering layer portion. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 9 ,
The water-absorbing treatment material in which the pigment material contained in the granular core portion and the pigment material contained in the coating layer portion develop or change colors to different colors. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 7 ,
The weight ratio of the coating layer portion is 1% or more and less than 4%,
A water-absorbing treatment material containing a pigment material in which only the granular core portion of the granular core portion and the coating layer portion develops or changes color by reacting with moisture.

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