JP6648957B2 - Water absorption material - Google Patents

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a water-absorbing material that absorbs liquid such as human or animal excrement.

Patent Literature 1 describes an excrement disposal material that is a type of water absorption treatment material. In this excrement 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 the advantage of this excrement disposal material is that it can be safely flushed into flush toilets.
JP 2010-104383 A

  However, in order to dispose of the used water-absorbent material in a flush toilet for disposal, the water-absorbent material has sufficient water dissolving property (by contact with water, the bound fibers and particles are quickly separated and dispersed in water). ). Insufficient water dissolving properties of the water-absorbing material cause clogging of toilets. In this regard, the conventional water-absorbing material has room for improvement in terms of water decomposability.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a water-absorbing material having excellent water dissolvability.

  The water-absorbing material according to the present invention is a water-absorbing material that absorbs liquid, and includes a granular core and a coating layer that covers the granular core, and when the material absorbs the liquid, It is characterized in that the granular core and the coating layer disintegrate together and mix with each other.

  In this water-absorbing material, when the liquid is absorbed, both the granular core and the coating layer disintegrate. The collapsed granular core portion and the coating layer portion are in a state of being mixed with each other. For this reason, the water dissolvability is improved as compared with the case where only the coating layer portion collapses (that is, the case where the shape of the granular core portion is maintained).

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the water absorption processing material excellent in water dissolving property can be implement | achieved.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the water absorption treatment material by this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a change when the water-absorbing material of FIG. 1 absorbs a liquid. It is a figure for explaining change when a conventional water absorption material 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 elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols, without redundant description.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the water absorption treatment material according to the present invention. The water-absorbing material 1 is a water-absorbing material that absorbs liquid, and includes a granular core 10 and a coating layer 20. The water-absorbing material 1 is, for example, an excrement-treating material for pets such as cats and dogs. FIG. 1 shows only one granular material including the granular core portion 10 and the coating layer portion 20. In the present embodiment, the water-absorbing material 1 includes a plurality of the granular materials. When the water-absorbing material 1 absorbs the liquid, the granular core 10 and the coating layer 20 collapse together and mix with each other. Then, in a state where the granular core portion 10 and the coating layer portion 20 are mixed with each other, a plurality of granular materials adhere to each other and aggregate.

  The granular core 10 has a function of absorbing and retaining liquid such as urine. The granular core 10 only needs to be formed in the shape of a small lump, and need not be perfectly spherical. As the shape of the granular core 10, for example, a columnar body (elongated shape) or a flat shape can be considered. The material (core material) constituting the granular core 10 may be any water-retentive material having a water-retaining property, such as paper, fibers, wood, plants, plastics, and the like. Rubbers and organic sludge materials can be used. These may be used in combination of two or more.

  Any kind of paper can be used as long as it uses pulp as a raw material. Not only virgin pulp but also various waste materials can be used. For example, tissue paper waste, sanitary paper waste, toilet paper waste, tissue paper waste, decorative paper waste, dustpaper waste, paper cotton waste, paper towel waste, toilet seat waste, newsprint waste, magazine waste, buff powder (mainly in printing companies, Fine paper dust generated during bookbinding cutting and shaving), mechanical pulp waste, chemical pulp waste, titanium paper waste, semi-chemical pulp waste, cottony pulp waste, wood pulp waste, wood pulp waste, fluff pulp, Waste water absorbent fiber material, non-woven fabric waste material, paper dust generated during non-woven fabric manufacturing, paper powder generated during the papermaking process, paper powder generated during the production of sanitary materials, laminated paper waste material, laminated paper printing waste, laminated paper waste, cardboard Scrap, waste paper (trim loss from sanitary maker, paper scrap from paper maker, etc.), wrapping paper, paperboard, used Marks can be used punch waste.

  Further, as papers, a classified material of PVC wallpaper may be used. A PVC wallpaper classifier refers to a powder and a granular material containing papers obtained by classifying a PVC wallpaper. That is, a material obtained by removing materials other than paper from the PVC wallpaper by classification is a PVC wallpaper classification product. However, since it is difficult to completely remove materials other than papers by classification, materials other than papers usually remain to some extent in the classified PVC wallpaper.

  Fibers are thread-like substances used as raw materials such as cloths, and are not limited in type. It may be a natural fiber or a chemical fiber. For example, fiber waste (cotton waste, wool waste, hemp waste, lint waste, cloth waste, cotton waste, waste waste, rayon waste, nylon waste, polyester waste, rope waste) discarded from a textile factory can be used.

  As wood, various kinds of waste wood (waste wood of structures, waste wood generated in the manufacture of wood products, wooden furniture, wooden pallets, planing waste, sawdust, barks, packaging waste, board scraps, waste chips, logging, Waste wood, pruned branches, wood flour, etc. generated by cutting can be used.

  The plants may be of any type, and may be, for example, sasa, bamboo, defoliation, and cut grass, as well as plant residues. Here, the vegetable residue refers to a solid unnecessary substance of a plant used as a raw material in a food manufacturing industry, a pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, a fragrance manufacturing industry, a restaurant or the like. For example, sauce grounds, soy sauce grounds, koji grounds, sake grounds, beer grounds, ame grounds, seaweed grounds, starch cakes, tofu grounds, okara, green beans, tea husks, extracted residues of roasted coffee beans, rice / wheat flour, soybean grounds , Fruit peels and seeds, vegetable wastes, herb residues, and oil residues.

  Plastics include synthetic polymer solids (polypropylene, vinyl chloride, polychlorinated biphenyl, polystyrene, polyacetal, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, vinylidene chloride, acrylic resin, polyurethane (urethane foam), biodegradable Any type can be used as long as it is plastic. Various kinds of waste materials may be used as the plastics. For example, waste plastics, waste polyurethane, waste styrene (including styrofoam), waste agricultural film, waste of various synthetic resin-based packaging materials, waste photographic film, waste plastic containers, wire covering waste, lining waste, waste polymer , Paint dregs, adhesive dregs, and waste bakeland (print base, etc.) can be used.

  In addition, plastic-rich separation products of waste excrement disposal materials, plastic-rich separation products of disposable diaper waste materials (such as non-standard disposable diapers that are produced by sanitary material manufacturers), and plastic-rich separation of sanitary napkin waste materials Plastic products, waste products of milk pad waste, plastic products of sweat pad waste, plastic products of incontinence pad waste, plastic products of animal sheet waste, plastic of bedding sheets waste Separation products due to abundant classification, plastic-rich separation products for mask waste materials, plastic-rich separation products for eye mask waste materials, plastic-rich separation products for head cover waste materials for seats, vinyl chloride wallpaper waste materials, and plastic-rich separation products for pillow cover waste materials Products and synthetic resin fiber waste can also be used .

  In addition, excrement disposal materials, disposable diapers, sanitary napkins, milk pads, sweat pads, incontinence pads, animal sheets, bedding sheets, masks, eye masks, seat cover wastes Also, waste pillowcases can be used.

  Since plastics have a small amount of ash, when they are used, it is possible to reduce the weight after incineration and to increase the calorific value during incineration.

  Any kind of rubber can be used as long as it is a polymer material having excellent elasticity. Natural rubber or synthetic rubber may be used. Various waste materials may be used as the rubbers. For example, waste tires and synthetic rubber waste can be used.

  As the organic sludge, for example, muddy substances remaining after treatment of factory wastewater and the like, and muddy substances generated in the manufacturing processes of various manufacturing industries can be used. For example, papermaking sludge, pulp sludge, sewage sludge, digested sludge (excess sludge), and scum can be used.

  When two or more types of water retention materials having different properties are appropriately combined as the core material, the water retention performance can be effectively improved by the synergistic effect of those materials.

  For example, a combination of fluff pulp (paper) and vegetable residue (such as okara), a combination of fluff pulp (paper) and vegetable residue (such as okara) and wood (wood flour), fluff pulp (paper) ) And vegetable residue (such as okara) and organic sludge (pulp sludge), combination of vegetable residue (such as okara) and organic sludge (pulp sludge), plastics (vinyl chloride wallpaper) and organic Combination with sludge (pulp sludge) is conceivable.

  Even when a water retention material having low water retention performance is used, high water retention performance can be realized by combining with another water retention material. Therefore, even a material having low water retention performance can be suitably used as a water retention material, and the range of selection of the water retention material is widened.

  The granular core 10 preferably contains a swellable material (first swellable material) that swells when absorbing water. As such a swellable material, for example, a water-absorbing polymer (including a super-absorbing polymer; the same applies hereinafter) can be used. Here, the weight ratio of the swellable material in the granular core 10 is preferably 5% or more.

  The granular core 10 preferably contains an adhesive material (first adhesive material) having viscosity when absorbing water. As such an adhesive material, for example, a water-absorbing polymer or dextrin can be used. Here, the weight ratio of the adhesive material in the granular core 10 is preferably 10% or more.

  The coating layer 20 covers the granular core 10. The coating layer portion 20 may cover the entire surface of the granular core portion 10 or may cover only a part of the surface of the granular core portion 10. The weight ratio of the coating layer 20 to the granular core 10 is preferably 2% or more and 10% or less, more preferably 2% or more and 5% or less. In the present embodiment, the granular core 10 is visible through the coating layer 20 before the water-absorbing material 1 absorbs the liquid. That is, the granular core 10 is seen through the coating layer 20 without being hidden by the coating layer 20.

  As a material (coating material) constituting the coating layer portion 20, for example, an organic material can be used. It is preferable to use paper powder, wood powder or okara as the organic material.

  Examples of paper powder include tissue paper, tissue paper waste material, sanitary paper, sanitary paper waste material, toilet paper paper, toilet paper waste material, tissue paper paper, tissue paper waste material, decorative paper paper, decorative paper waste material, dust paper paper, dust paper waste material, paper Cotton, paper cotton waste, paper towel, paper towel waste, toilet seat waste, mechanical pulp, mechanical pulp waste, chemical pulp, chemical pulp waste, semi-chemical pulp, semi-chemical pulp waste, cottony pulp, cottony pulp waste, wood Pulp, wood pulp waste, crushed waste paper pulp, fluff pulp, water-absorbent fiber waste, paper powder containing water-absorbent resin, paper powder generated during bookbinding, paper powder generated during nonwoven fabric manufacturing, paper powder generated in the papermaking process In addition, paper powder generated during the production of sanitary materials can be used. These may be used in combination of two or more. Each of them is preferably used after being crushed into granules having a particle size of preferably 0.5 mm or less, more preferably 0.3 mm or less.

  The coating layer portion 20 preferably contains a swellable material (a second swellable material) that swells when absorbing water. As such a swellable material, for example, a water-absorbing polymer can be used. Assuming that the weight of the swellable material contained in the coating layer portion 20 is 1, the weight of the swellable material contained in the granular core 10 is preferably 5 or more, more preferably 10 or more. .

  It is preferable that the coating layer portion 20 contains an adhesive material (second adhesive material) having viscosity when absorbing water. As such an adhesive material, for example, a water-absorbing polymer or pregelatinized corn starch can be used. When the weight of the adhesive material contained in the coating layer portion 20 is 1, the weight of the adhesive material contained in the granular core portion 10 is preferably 4 or more, more preferably 5 or more. .

  As the adhesive material contained in the granular core portion 10 or the coating layer portion 20, various known substances other than those described above can be used. For example, a paste, a phenol resin-based adhesive, a vinyl acetate resin Emulsion adhesives. Specifically, for example, starch (potato starch, wheat starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca starch, rice starch), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), acrylamide, polyacrylamide, sodium polyacrylate, sodium alginate, Vinyl ester, bentonite, pullulan, casein, gelatin. These may be used in combination of two or more. The starch may be either α-starch or β-starch.

  The granular core portion 10 or the coating layer portion 20 may contain a pigment material that develops or changes color when reacted with moisture. Such a coloring material may be contained in both the granular core 10 and the coating layer 20, or may be contained in only one of the granular core 10 and the coating layer 20.

  The effect of the water absorbing material 1 will be described. In the water-absorbing material 1, when the liquid is absorbed, both the granular core 10 and the coating layer 20 collapse as shown in FIG. The collapsed granular core 10 and the covering layer 20 are in a state of being mixed with each other. Then, in that state, the adjacent granular materials adhere to each other. That is, due to the viscosity of the mixture 30 composed of the disintegrated granular core 10 and the coating layer 20, a plurality of particulates adhere to each other and are aggregated. For this reason, the water dissolvability is improved as compared with the case where only the coating layer portion 20 collapses (that is, the case where the shape of the granular core portion 10 is maintained). Therefore, the water-absorbing material 1 excellent in water dissolving property is realized.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, in the conventional water-absorbing material 100, when the liquid is absorbed, the shape of the granular core 110 is maintained while the coating layer 120 is collapsed. Then, due to the viscosity of the disintegrated coating layer portion 120, a plurality of granular materials adhere to each other and are aggregated. As described above, in the conventional water-absorbing material, the shape of the granular core 110 is maintained even after the liquid is absorbed, which is a factor that lowers the water dissolvability of the water-absorbing material. In this respect, according to the water-absorbing material 1, not only the coating layer portion 20 but also the granular core portion 10 collapses, so that such a problem can be solved.

  Furthermore, in the water-absorbing material 1, the agglomeration of the plurality of granular materials occurs due to the viscosity of the entire mixture 30 including the collapsed granular core 10 and the coating layer 20, as described above. For this reason, compared with the conventional water-absorbing material 100 (see FIG. 3) in which agglomeration is caused solely by the viscosity of the coating layer portion 120, it is also superior in terms of lump strength.

  As described above, in the water-absorbing material 1, the granular core portion 10 and the coating layer portion 20 combine to exhibit the agglomerating function, so that even if the coating layer portion 20 is formed thin, a sufficient agglomerating function can be obtained. . Reducing the thickness of the coating layer portion 20 contributes to a reduction in the procurement cost of the material and, in turn, the manufacturing cost of the water-absorbing material 1. From such a viewpoint, the weight ratio of the coating layer portion 20 to the granular core portion 10 is preferably 2% or more and 10% or less, more preferably 2% or more and 5% or less.

  When the granular core 10 contains a swellable material, it is possible to promote the collapse of the granular core 10 when the water-absorbing material 1 absorbs a liquid. Similarly, when the covering layer portion 20 contains a swellable material, the disintegration of the covering layer portion 20 can be promoted when the water-absorbing material 1 absorbs a liquid.

  From the viewpoint of promoting the disintegration of the granular core 10 as described above, the weight ratio of the swellable material in the granular core 10 is preferably 5% or more. From the same viewpoint, when the weight of the swellable material contained in the coating layer part 20 is set to 1, the weight of the swellable material contained in the granular core part 10 is preferably 5 or more, more preferably 10 or more. Is done.

  When the granular core 10 contains an adhesive material, when the water-absorbing material 1 absorbs liquid, it is possible to promote agglomeration of a plurality of particulates. The same applies to the case where the coating layer section 20 contains an adhesive material.

  From the viewpoint of promoting agglomeration as described above, the weight ratio of the adhesive material in the granular core 10 is preferably 10% or more. From the same viewpoint, when the weight of the adhesive material contained in the coating layer portion 20 is set to 1, the weight of the adhesive material contained in the granular core portion 10 is preferably 4 or more, more preferably 5 or more. Is done.

  When the pigment material is contained in the granular core portion 10 or the coating layer portion 20, the change in color of the water-absorbing material 1 makes it possible to distinguish between a state before use and a state after use, and The appearance of the processing material 1 can be enhanced.

  In particular, when both the granular core portion 10 and the coating layer portion 20 contain a coloring material, the coloring material that develops or changes color to the first color is contained in the granular core portion 10 and is different from the first color. By including a pigment material that develops or changes color to the second color in the coating layer portion 20, when the water-absorbing material 1 absorbs the liquid, the third color that is a mixed color of the first color and the second color. Color. For example, blue, yellow, and green can be considered as a combination of the first color, the second color, and the third color.

  Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the water-absorbing material 1 will be described. This manufacturing method includes a granulation step, a coating step, a sizing step, and a drying step.

  In the granulation step, the core material is pulverized to a predetermined size by a crusher, and the pulverized core material is put into a mixer at a predetermined ratio and mixed. The mixing ratio (weight ratio) of the core material is, for example, 63% of a classified PVC wallpaper, 27% of papermaking sludge (water content: 62% by weight), 5% of a water-absorbing polymer, and 5% of dextrin. In this example, the water-absorbing polymer corresponds to the swellable material, and the water-absorbing polymer and dextrin correspond to the adhesive material. After the water is added, the core material is extruded and granulated by a granulator. Thereby, the granular core part 10 is obtained.

  In the coating step, a coating material is adhered around the granular core 10 using a coating device or the like. The application of the coating material can be performed, for example, by spraying or spraying. The mixing ratio (weight ratio) of the coating material is, for example, 56% of pregelatinized corn starch, 24% of a water-absorbing polymer, and 20% of paper powder. At this time, the weight ratio of the coating layer portion 20 to the granular core portion 10 is, for example, 3%. Alternatively, 60% of pregelatinized corn starch, 15% of water-absorbing polymer and 25% of paper powder may be used, and the weight ratio of the coating layer portion 20 to the granular core 10 may be set to 2.5%. In these examples, the water-absorbing polymer corresponds to the swellable material, and the pregelatinized corn starch and the water-absorbing polymer correspond to the adhesive material. Thereby, the covering layer portion 20 is obtained.

  In the sizing process, the water-absorbing material produced in the previous process is passed through a sieve having a sieve having a predetermined size. Thereby, only the water-absorbing material that satisfies the predetermined standard is extracted.

  In the drying step, the water-absorbing material extracted in the previous step is dried by a dryer. By appropriately adjusting the water content of the granular core 10 by drying, it is possible to prevent the water in the granular core 10 from being transferred to the coating layer 20 and to reduce the water absorbing ability, and to preserve the water absorbing material 1. It is possible to prevent mold and the like from occurring at times.

  In addition, you may perform a fragrance | flavor addition process after a drying process. In this step, a fragrance is put in a packaging bag used for packing the water-absorbing material 1. The fragrance is sprayed into the packaging bag together with air, for example. The injection of the air is performed to open the packaging bag. This step is preferably performed before the step of packing the water-absorbing material 1 in a packaging bag (bag packing step).

  Since the fragrance adheres to the water-absorbing material 1 in the packaging bag, the water-absorbing material 1 having aromaticity is obtained. By putting the fragrance into the packaging bag in this way, it is possible to prevent the fragrance from adhering to the manufacturing apparatus in an earlier process. Therefore, cleaning of the device after manufacture becomes easy.

  When the fragrance is injected into the packaging bag together with the air, there is no need to provide a device for putting the fragrance into the packaging bag, separately from the device for injecting air into the packaging bag. For this reason, it is possible to obtain the water-absorbing material 1 having aromaticity while avoiding complication of the manufacturing equipment.

  When the fragrance addition step is performed before the bag packing step, the water-absorbing material 1 can be packed in a state where the fragrance is spread throughout the packaging bag. Therefore, it becomes easy to make the fragrance adhere to the plurality of water absorbing materials 1 in the packaging bag uniformly.

  Further, since the fragrance is sprayed into the packaging bag, the fragrance is wasted as compared with the case where the fragrance is sprayed outside the packaging bag (for example, when the fragrance is sprayed on the water-absorbing material 1 before being packed in the packaging bag). The amount of perfume can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water absorption material 10 Granular core 20 Coating layer 30 Mixture

Claims (9)

A water-absorbing material that absorbs cat urine,
A granular core containing papers and a water-absorbing polymer ,
Covering the granular core portion, comprising a coating layer portion containing a water-absorbing polymer,
In the paper, among the materials constituting the granular core, the weight ratio to the granular core is the largest,
When the water-absorbing material absorbs the urine, the granular core and the coating layer disintegrate together and mix with each other. The water-absorbing material according to claim 1,
A water-absorbing material having a weight ratio of the coating layer portion to the granular core portion of 2% or more and 10% or less. The water-absorbing material according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A water-absorbing material having a weight percentage of the water-absorbing polymer of 5% or more in the granular core. The water-absorbing material according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A water-absorbing material, wherein the granular core contains a first adhesive material having viscosity when absorbing water. The water-absorbing material according to claim 4 ,
A water-absorbing material in which the weight ratio of the first adhesive material in the granular core is 10% or more. The water-absorbing material according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
A water-absorbing material, wherein the granular core portion or the coating layer portion contains a coloring material that changes color or discolors in response to moisture. The water-absorbing material according to claim 6 ,
A water-absorbing material, wherein the coloring material is contained in both the granular core and the coating layer. The water-absorbing material according to claim 6 ,
The water-absorbing material, wherein the coloring material is contained only in the granular core portion of the granular core portion and the coating layer portion. The water-absorbing material according to claim 6 ,
The water-absorbing material, wherein the coloring material is contained only in the coating layer portion of the granular core portion and the coating layer portion.

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