JP7068358B2 - Urination treatment material for pets - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pet urination treatment material, and more specifically, a pet urination treatment material having an excellent dust generation suppressing ability and having a dust generation suppressing ability that does not easily decrease even when subjected to an impact during transportation or the like, and manufacturing thereof. Regarding the method.

For some time, pet urination treatment materials (also called cat sand, toilet sand, etc.) used for urination treatment of pets have been known, and they are spread over pet toilet containers such as urination trays and used. It is a thing. When a pet urinates in a toilet lined with such a pet urination treatment material, the urine is absorbed by the urination treatment material, and the owner removes only the used part that has absorbed the urine with a shovel or the like to make up for the reduced amount. used. The raw materials and composition of urination treatment materials for pets vary widely depending on the product, but typical ones include clay raw materials, wood raw materials, paper raw materials, etc., and the required properties. Examples include water absorption, coagulation and solidification, deodorization, and deodorization.

By the way, until about several decades ago, pet toilets were often placed in places where it is okay to get a little dirty, such as dirt floors, but in recent years, apartments and apartments have increased due to changes in housing conditions. As a result, the number of people who keep pets indoors is increasing, and inevitably, pet toilets are also being placed indoors. As the pet litter box is placed indoors in this way, the fine powder that flies from the packaging bag when the pet urine treatment material is transferred to the pet litter box is scattered around the litter box, which is hygienic. Attention has also been focused on problems and health problems caused by people and pets sucking scattered fine powder, and dust generation suppression effects, which were not so important in pet urine treatment materials before, are also required. ing.

As a raw material for urination treatment materials for pets, conventionally (1) natural bentonite, or a clay-based raw material made of active bentonite containing the bentonite as a raw material and containing an alkaline component,
(2) Wood-based raw materials made of wood-derived materials such as wood flour (sawdust) or wood chips (fine chips), (3) Paper-based raw materials made of recycled paper or paper-derived materials such as recycled pulp,
Etc. are known, and in addition to these, in recent years,
(4) Vegetable fiber-based raw materials derived from soybeans such as okara and corn, etc.
The number of pet urination treatment materials is increasing, and most of the urination treatment materials for pets are made of a base material using any of these (1) to (4) as a main raw material.
And these base materials
(A) Clay-based base material, which uses (1) as the main raw material,
(B) Plant-derived cellulosic base material using any of (2) to (4) as the main raw material,
The urination treatment material base material, which is roughly classified into the above two types and is the target of the dust generation suppression treatment of the present invention, is also a base material belonging to any of the classifications (A) and (B).

The degree of fine powder generation varies depending on the shape and raw material of the pet urination treatment material, but even if it is a granulated material or flaky material with a certain size, it may be partly due to vibration or impact during transportation. Powdered products may be mixed in the packaging bag due to chipping or crumble. Since the transportation of goods goes through the hands of various vendors, it is practically difficult to suppress the generation of fine powder by improving the handling in the transportation process.

As an invention focusing on such a dust generation suppressing effect, Patent Document 1 describes that the surface of a granular molded body formed of a water-swellable clay mineral is treated with polyalkylene glycol, paraffin wax, higher fatty acid, or the like. A technique for improving the pulverization prevention property of the granular molded product is shown. Further, in Patent Document 2, the granulated product containing any one of coal ash, wood powder, clay, etc. is coated with cellulose, water-absorbent polymer powder, fibrous body, gypsum, etc. to scatter the granulated product. Techniques for making it difficult are shown. Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for surface-treating the surface of a urine excretion treatment material base material with a dust generation inhibitor containing sodium silicate, glycerin, and diol-type or triol-type polypropylene glycol.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-42798 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-21018 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-84727

However, in the inventions described in Cited Documents 1 to 3, although powdering and the like are suppressed to some extent in the state immediately after production, the dust generation suppressing ability is significantly reduced when the pet urination treatment material is impacted. was there. That is, the urination treatment material for pets is packed in a bag after manufacturing and transported to a warehouse or a store, but it is actually shocked by vibration during transportation or the bag being thrown into a storage place after being purchased. When used at home, the ability to suppress dust generation was sometimes reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to have an excellent dust generation suppressing function, and the dust generation suppressing ability is lowered even when an impact is received by transportation or the like. The purpose is to provide a difficult pet urination treatment material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a urination treatment material for pets having the above-mentioned performance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dust generation inhibitor used for a pet urination treatment material.

Other objects of the invention as well as their effects will be readily appreciated by those of skill in the art by reference to the following description.

From the standpoint of the supplier of this product, the inventors of the present application have further improved the important dust generation suppression performance required for the urination treatment material for pets in order to meet the current and future needs and further enhance customer satisfaction. And came to the present invention.

That is, the pet urine treatment material according to the present invention has a dust generation inhibitor as a surface treatment agent on the surface of the urine waste treatment material base material, and the dust generation inhibitor is at least polyalkylene glycol and a carboxylic acid. The carboxylic acid is a dicarboxylic acid or a tricarboxylic acid.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to obtain a urination treatment material for pets, which has an excellent dust generation suppressing ability and whose dust generation suppressing ability does not easily decrease even when an impact is received by transportation or the like. The reason why such an effect can be obtained is not clear, but by using a carboxylic acid and a polyalkylene glycol in combination, the hydroxy group (-OH) at the end of the polymer chain of the polyalkylene glycol or the ether bond (-O) inside the polymer chain -) And various hydroxyl groups (-OH) such as the carboxy group of the carboxylic acid or the hydroxycarboxylic acid form a hydrogen bond, and in some cases, an ester bond, and the dust generation inhibitor is used to surface-treat the base material of the urine excretion treatment material. It is presumed that this will result in the state shown in FIG. 3 (b). Therefore, when the carboxylic acid and the polyalkylene glycol are bonded or associated with each other, the surface of the urination treatment material base material is covered more densely than in the case of the polyalkylene glycol alone, and even when an impact is applied to cause chipping. It is considered to be retained by the dust generation inhibitor.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the polyalkylene glycol is preferably polyethylene glycol.

According to such a configuration, by adopting polyethylene glycol as the polyalkylene glycol, it can be miscible with water or carboxylic acid without separation. Further, it is considered that the length of the carbon chain per molecular weight is longer than that of other polyalkylene glycols, and the urination treatment substrate can be wrapped in a wide range.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is desirable that the carboxylic acid is a tricarboxylic acid.

According to such a configuration, by adopting tricarboxylic acid as the carboxylic acid, there are as many as three carboxy groups per molecule, and hydrogen or proton (H or H ⁺ ) derived from the carboxy group is more efficient. Can be hydrogen-bonded (-OH ... O-) to the oxygen atom (O) of the polyalkylene glycol molecule.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tricarboxylic acid is preferably citric acid.

According to such a configuration, higher dust generation suppressing ability can be obtained by adopting citric acid having a particularly high dust generation suppressing effect among tricarboxylic acids.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the urination treatment material base material is
(A) Natural bentonite, or a clay-based raw material made of active bentonite containing an alkaline component using the bentonite as a raw material.
(B) Plant-derived cellulosic raw materials such as okara, pulp, and wood flour,
It is desirable to include the raw materials of either or both of (A) and (B).

When such a urination treatment material base material is used, a urination treatment material for pets having a high dust generation suppression effect by the dust generation suppression agent according to the present invention and an excellent dust generation suppression function can be obtained.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dust generation inhibitor is the polyalkylene glycol in a concentration of 15 to 45 weight percent, citric acid in a concentration of 15 to 70 weight percent, and the polyalkylene glycol. And the citric acid in a weight ratio of 2: 1 to 1: 4.
When the urination treatment material base material is (A) a natural bentonite or a clay-based raw material made of active bentonite containing the alkaline component as a raw material, the urination treatment material base material is 100 parts by weight. On the other hand, it is used in the range of 0.1 to 1 part by weight.
When the urination treatment material base material is (B) a cellulosic raw material derived from a plant such as pulp or wood flour, 0.1 part by weight or more with respect to 100 parts by weight of the urination treatment material base material. It is desirable to use it in the range of.

According to such a configuration, the blending ratio of each component in the dust generation inhibitor is in an appropriate range, and the amount used for the urination treatment material base material is also in an appropriate range, so that excellent dust generation suppression ability is obtained. In addition to being obtained, the function as a urination treatment material for pets is not impaired, which is preferable.

Further, the invention of the present application can also be regarded as an invention relating to a dust generation inhibitor for a urination treatment material for pets.

The dust generation inhibitor for a pet urine treatment material according to the present invention is used for a pet urine treatment material base material, and contains polyalkylene glycol at a concentration of 15 to 45% by weight per 100 parts by weight. The carboxylic acid is contained in a concentration of 15 to 70% by weight, and the polyalkylene glycol and the carboxylic acid are contained in a weight ratio of 2: 1 to 1: 4, and the carboxylic acid is a dicarboxylic acid or a tricarboxylic acid. It is characterized in that it is used in an amount of 0.1 part by weight or more with respect to 100 parts by weight of the base material for a pet urine treatment material.

By surface-treating the base material of the urination treatment material with a dust generation inhibitor having such a structure, it is possible to impart the dust generation suppression ability to the finished urination treatment material for pets, and urination for pets by transportation or the like. Even when an impact is applied to the treated material, the dust generation suppression ability does not easily decrease.

The invention of the present application can also be regarded as a method for producing a urination treatment material for pets.

The method for producing a urination treatment material for pets according to the present invention is
Steps to prepare the urination treatment material base material,
The step of preparing the dust generation inhibitor and
It has a step of surface-treating the surface of the urination treatment material base material with the dust generation inhibitor.
The urination treatment material base material is
(A) Natural bentonite, or a clay-based raw material made of active bentonite containing an alkaline component using the bentonite as a raw material.
(B) Plant-derived cellulosic raw materials such as okara, pulp, and wood flour,
It contains the raw materials of either (A) and (B) or both of the above.
The dust generation inhibitor contains at least polyalkylene glycol and a carboxylic acid.
The carboxylic acid is characterized by being a dicarboxylic acid or a tricarboxylic acid.

And, according to such a structure, it is possible to efficiently produce a urination treatment material for pets having an excellent dust generation suppressing ability.

The urination treatment material for pets of the present invention has an excellent dust generation suppressing ability, and the dust generation suppressing ability does not easily decrease even when an impact is received by transportation or the like. Further, by setting the blending ratio of the polyalkylene glycol and the carboxylic acid in an appropriate range, in addition to the excellent dust generation suppressing ability, the performance as a urination treatment material for pets is also excellent.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the urination treatment material for pets. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a polyalkylene glycol and a carboxylic acid. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the mechanism of action of the dust generation inhibitor which concerns on this invention. It is a graph (the 1) which shows the comparison result of the dust generation amount in Example 1. FIG. It is a graph which shows the change of the dust generation amount by an impact test. It is a figure (the 1) which shows the result of the solidification property test in Example 1. FIG. It is a graph (No. 2) which shows the comparison result of the dust generation amount in Example 1. FIG. It is a graph which shows the dust generation amount and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure (the 2) which shows the result of the solidification property test in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure (the 3) which shows the result of the solidification property test in Example 1. FIG. It is a chart (the 1) which shows the compounding ratio of an Example and a comparative example. It is a graph which shows the dust generation amount and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 2. FIG. It is a chart (No. 2) which shows the compounding ratio of an Example and a comparative example. It is a graph which shows the dust generation amount and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 3. FIG. It is a graph which shows the dust generation amount and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 4. FIG.

Hereinafter, suitable embodiments of the urination treatment material for pets according to the present invention will be described in detail.

As described above, the pet urination treatment material according to the present invention is obtained by surface-treating the base material for the urination treatment material with a dust generation inhibitor.

[Dust generation inhibitor]
First, the dust generation inhibitor will be described. The dust generation inhibitor used in the present invention contains at least a polyalkylene glycol and a carboxylic acid.

Examples of the polyalkylene glycol that can be used in the present invention include polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol. Among them, polyethylene glycol (hereinafter, may be referred to as PEG) is preferable. Polyethylene glycol does not separate from water and is easy to handle when spraying a dust generation inhibitor. In addition, the molecular chain per weight is longer than that of other polyalkylene glycols. You can expect it. In addition, although the inventors conducted tests with polyethylene glycols having various average molecular weights, no significant difference was observed in the amount of dust generated. Therefore, in the present invention, the molecular weight of polyethylene glycol has almost no effect on the suppression of the amount of dust generated. It is considered to be.

The blending amount of the polyalkylene glycol is preferably in the range of 15 to 45 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the dust generation inhibitor, and more preferably in the range of 25 to 35 parts by weight. By blending the polyalkylene glycol in the above range, it is expected that it will be easy to bond with the carboxylic acid and the complex of the polyalkylene glycol and the carboxylic acid will be easily formed.

Next, examples of the carboxylic acid that can be used in the present invention include citric acid, tartrate acid, malic acid, maleic acid, oxalic acid, aconitic acid and the like, among which tricarboxylic acid is bonded to more polyalkylene glycols. Citric acid and aconitic acid are preferable because they can be expected to be used.

According to the verification by the present inventors, even if it is a carboxylic acid, not all carboxylic acids contribute to high dust generation suppressing ability when used in combination with polyalkylene glycol, but rather some carboxylic acids are generated. In some cases, the amount of dust generated may be increased as compared with the case where the dust inhibitor is not used. It is considered that such a difference may be caused by the difference in the valence of the carboxylic acid.

For example, acetic acid, which is a monocarboxylic acid, does not have the ability to suppress dust generation even when used in combination with polyalkylene glycol, and rather, the amount of dust generation may increase as compared with the case where the dust generation inhibitor is not used. This is because when a monocarboxylic acid having a small molecule is used in combination with polyalkylene glycol, not only the monocarboxylic acid does not contribute to the reinforcement of the network, but also the surface layer portion of the granules is easily peeled off after drying for some reason, resulting in dust. It is speculated that this may have led to an increase in.

On the other hand, when dicarboxylic acid and polyalkylene glycol are used in combination, although there are some differences depending on the carboxylic acid used, it is about the same as the use of polyalkylene glycol alone or slightly more than the use of polyalkylene glycol alone depending on the type of carboxylic acid. Excellent dust generation suppression ability can be obtained.

Furthermore, when tricarboxylic acid and polyalkylene glycol are used in combination, higher dust generation suppressing ability can be obtained than when polyalkylene glycol is used alone. It is considered that this is because having three carboxy groups per molecule causes more complicated entanglement with the polyalkylene glycol and suppresses dust generation.

In the present invention, the blending amount of the carboxylic acid is preferably in the range of 15 to 70 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the dust generation inhibitor, and more preferably in the range of 30 to 45 parts by weight. By blending the carboxylic acid in the above range, it can be expected that the bond with the polyalkylene glycol is easily formed and the complex of the polyalkylene glycol and the carboxylic acid is easily formed.

Further, in the present invention, the addition of the dust generation inhibitor is performed by spraying the dust generation inhibitor on the surface of the urination treatment material base rather than kneading the dust generation inhibitor into the raw material of the urination treatment material base material. It is preferable to use a method that can be unevenly distributed on the surface of the base material.

[Base material for urination treatment material]
Next, the base material for the urination treatment material will be described. As the urine treatment material base material used for the urine treatment material for pets of the present invention, various types of urine treatment material base materials that may generate dust can be used. Specifically, (A) natural bentonite. Or, using the bentonite as a raw material, a clay-based raw material made of active bentonite containing an alkaline component, (B) a cellulosic raw material derived from plants such as pulp and wood flour, and the like can be molded. The obtained urine treatment material base material can be used.

When a clay-based raw material is used as a raw material, natural bentonite or an active bentonite obtained by treating the bentonite with an alkali is used. The natural bentonite and active bentonite that make up the clayey raw material are naturally made from natural raw materials, and from the viewpoint of being able to express more water absorption and coagulation and solidification properties, naturally natural Ca-type smectite is used. It is often used as a raw material, and it is often preferable. Here, Ca-type smectite is a clay mineral generally present in the middle layer of a smectite-based clay deposit, and many exchangeable cations such as Ca ion and Mg ion are present between layers of the smectite structure. It is clay. Such a urination treatment material base material containing Ca-type smectite as a main raw material has excellent properties such as water absorption and coagulation and solidification, but has a problem of being brittle and easily chipped. By performing surface treatment with the dust generation inhibitor of the present invention, dust generation can be suppressed even with a urination treatment material base material made of such a brittle raw material.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the shape of a pet urination treatment material when a clay-based raw material is used. In this example, the pet urination treatment material has a cross-sectional diameter R1 of 2 to 4 mm and a length R2 of 4 to 7 mm.

Next, an example of a method for producing a urination treatment material for pets according to the present invention will be described. As the dust generation inhibitor, polyethylene glycol is used as the polyalkylene glycol and citric acid is used as the carboxylic acid. To 100 g of water, 100 g of polyethylene glycol and 50 to 100 g of citric acid are added and mixed while heating at about 70 ° C. A dust generation inhibitor is obtained when polyethylene glycol and citric acid are dissolved in water and become uniform. By spraying the obtained liquid dust generation inhibitor onto the surface of the urination treatment material base material, the urination treatment material for pets according to the present invention can be obtained.

When the urination treatment material base material is a cellulosic raw material, the amount of the urination treatment material for pets is in the range of 0.1 to 1 g with respect to 100 parts by weight of the urination treatment material base material. When the urination treatment material base material is a plant-derived cellulosic raw material, the dust generation inhibitor solution is applied in a range of 0.1 part by weight or more with respect to 100 parts by weight of the urination treatment material base material. It is preferable to use it. In the case of a urination treatment material made of a clay-based raw material, solidification is important, so it is preferable to use it within a range that does not impair the solidification. On the other hand, plant-derived cellulosic raw materials generally do not have as much importance as clay-based raw materials, or do not originally have solidifying properties, and solidifying properties even when the amount of spraying increases. Since there is almost no effect on such things, it is possible to increase the amount of spraying to have a dust generation suppression effect. The amount of spraying here also includes the weight of water.

[About the surface treatment process]
Next, in the present invention, a step of surface-treating the base material of the urination treatment material with a dust generation inhibitor will be described. As the surface treatment with the dust generation inhibitor, a general coating method such as spraying a liquid dust generation inhibitor on the urine excretion treatment material base material, putting it in a case and shaking it, etc. can be appropriately used. From the viewpoint of evenly adhering the dust generation inhibitor to the surface of the urine treatment material base material, while shaking the entire urine discharge treatment material base material in the container, a liquid dust generation inhibitor is dropped or sprayed onto the surface. If necessary, a method of transferring to a suitable container and uniformly treating by vibration or rotation is preferable. As an example, a predetermined amount of a mixed solution of a dust generation inhibitor is added dropwise while shaking the urination treatment material base material placed in a predetermined container, and after sealing, the container is quickly placed on a rotary stand for about 30 to 30 to. By rotating at a rotation speed of about 200 rpm for about 30 seconds to 5 minutes, the surface of the urination treatment material base material can be coated with an appropriate amount of dust generation inhibitor.

Next, the mechanism of action of the dust generation inhibitor according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 3. FIG. 2A shows the structural formula of citric acid, and FIG. 2B shows the structural formula of polyethylene glycol. Further, FIG. 3 (a) shows a schematic diagram when the surface treatment is performed only with polyethylene glycol, and FIG. 3 (b) is a schematic diagram when the surface treatment is performed with a dust generation inhibitor using polyethylene glycol and citric acid in combination. The figure is shown. In FIG. 3, polyethylene glycol is represented by a polygonal line, and citric acid is represented by a gray triangle.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the surface treatment of the surface of the urination treatment material base material with polyalkylene glycol suppresses dust generation because the polyalkylene glycol is like a stitch on the surface of the urination treatment material base material. It is thought that this is because the powder falling is suppressed to some extent by covering with. On the other hand, if the urination treatment material itself is chipped due to an impact on the urination treatment material for pets in this state, dust generation cannot be suppressed because the holding power of the polyalkylene glycol alone is not sufficient. There is no such thing, or the surface is peeled off, which directly reduces the dust generation suppression ability.

On the other hand, according to the knowledge of the present inventors, the dust generation inhibitor according to the present invention can be heated by using a polyalkylene glycol and a carboxylic acid in combination, for example, of the hydroxy group of the polyalkylene glycol and the carboxylic acid. It is presumed that the carboxy group forms a hydrogen bond, and in some cases an ester bond, and the surface treatment of the urine excretion treatment material substrate with this dust generation inhibitor results in the state shown in FIG. 3 (b). Will be done. By binding or associating the carboxylic acid with the polyalkylene glycol, the surface of the urination treatment material base material is covered more densely than in the case of the polyalkylene glycol alone, and dust generation is suppressed even when impact is applied to cause chipping. It is believed to be retained by the agent.

As described above, the pet urination treatment material according to the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the small amount of dust generated immediately after production, the ability to suppress dust generation after impact is also small. It is something to do. In order to evaluate both of these, in the present invention, it was decided to look at the amount of dust generated and the amount of change in the amount of dust generated.

In the present invention, the method for measuring the amount of dust generated will be described later, but if the amount of dust generated is 100 cpm or less, most people do not feel the generation of dust, and if the amount of dust generated is about 100 to 300 cpm. It is a level at which most people do not care about dust, and if the amount of dust generated is about 300 to 500 cpm, some dust can be felt. Therefore, in the present invention, the amount of dust generated by the pet urination treatment material is preferably 300 cpm or less, and more preferably 100 cpm or less. When using a pet toilet of a general size, the amount of replenishment of the pet urination treatment material at one time is generally about 100 to 250 g, so the amount of dust generated per kg is 400 cpm or less. If so, the amount of dust generated at the time of replenishment is 100 cpm or less, and it is considered that most people do not feel the generation of dust.

In the present invention, when the dust generation inhibitor is a clay-based raw material, it is preferably used in the range of 0.1 to 1 part by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the urination treatment material base material, and 0.2 to 1 part by weight. It is more preferable if it is in the range of parts by weight. By using the dust generation inhibitor in the above range, sufficient dust generation suppression ability can be obtained without impairing the urine absorption and solidification property as a urination treatment material for pets.

On the other hand, when the urination treatment material base material is a cellulosic raw material of a plant, it is preferable to use the dust generation inhibitor solution in the range of 0.1 part by weight or more with respect to 100 parts by weight of the urination treatment material base material. It is more preferable if it is in the range of 0.1 to 2 parts by weight. This is because plant-derived cellulosic raw materials have a light bulk specific gravity, and the volume of 100 parts by weight of the urination treatment material base material becomes large, so spraying more than clay-based raw materials to obtain a sufficient effect. This is because it is preferable.

[Basic performance as a urination treatment material for pets]
As described above, the urination treatment material for pets according to the present invention is mainly intended to suppress dust generation, but on the other hand, the urination treatment material for pets such as water absorption capacity (urine absorption capacity) and solidification strength. It is configured to meet the basic performance as well.

Here, the solidification strength of the urination treatment material for pets means the strength of the solidified mass after sucking urine, and if the solidification strength is high, it does not self-destruct when the solidified mass is removed after sucking urine, and at this time, Even if it is accidentally dropped on the floor or the like, the shape is maintained as it is, so that the solidified lumps after urination can be removed hygienically. Furthermore, if the water absorption capacity of the pet urination treatment material is high, urine can be quickly absorbed by a small amount of the pet urination treatment material, so that it is difficult to flow downward and the amount used at one time is reduced, which is economical. Also preferable.

Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited to the following configurations.

[Manufacturing of urination treatment material base material]
Dioctahedral type smectite clay mined from the sub-bentonite deposit in Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture was used as a raw material, and water was added as needed to obtain a crushed product with a water content of 33%. Put 300 g (= 5.7 equivalents) of the coarsely crushed product and sodium carbonate powder of the active bentonite agent as Na ₂ CO ₃ in the same polyethylene bag and shake well at 150 ° C. in terms of dry matter, and then shake well, and then the pore diameter is 10 mm. Mix and knead in a single-screw horizontal extruder with a molding plate three times. The coarse granules are granulated using a desk peretter (rotary roll type vertical extruder granulator) with a molded plate having a pore diameter of 3 mm, dried at 170 ° C. in a small rotary drying furnace, and then combined with a crusher. A self-adhesive urination treatment material substrate was obtained by sieving.

[Manufacturing of dust generation inhibitor]
To 100 g of water, add 100 g of polyethylene glycol as polyalkylene glycol (manufactured by Sanyo Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd .: polyethylene glycol for business use-4000s) and 100 g of citric acid as carboxylic acid (Fuji Film Wako Junyaku Co., Ltd. Wako special grade kuenic acid). A liquid dust generation inhibitor was obtained by mixing while heating to about 70 ° C.

[Manufacturing of urination treatment materials for pets]
Put 1 kg of the urine treatment material base material in a wide-mouthed pot (cylindrical container) with a plastic screw lid with an internal volume of about 3000 mL, add 1.78 g of the dust generation inhibitor solution while shaking the whole, and then quickly pot mill. The pet urine treatment material according to Example 1-1 was obtained by placing it on a rotary stand and rotating it at a rotation speed of 100 rpm for 1 minute.

Next, by changing a part of the formulation in Example 1-1, urination treatment materials for pets according to Examples 1-2 to 1-5 and Comparative Example 1-5 were obtained. The blending ratios pertaining to these are shown in FIG. 11 (a).

[Measurement of dust generation: Measurement after 1 minute]
For the urination treatment material for pets according to each Example and Comparative Example, prepare 3 kg of the material which has been allowed to acclimatize the dust generation inhibitor after being sprayed with the dust generation inhibitor and left to stand overnight or more, and use this as a sample. A circular flat-bottomed bat is installed inside, and a semi-sealed wooden container for self-made dust measurement with a height of about 45 cm, a length of about 35 cm, and a width of about 35 cm connected to a dust meter, and a manually openable circle with a diameter of 5 cm at the bottom. Prepare a round-bottomed container with holes, transfer 1 kg of the sample to the round-bottomed container, open the bottom circular hole of the round-bottomed container in the semi-sealed container for self-made dust measurement, and fill the entire sample with a circular flat bottom. After spontaneously dropping to the bat at a distance of 30 to 40 cm, close the self-made dust measurement semi-sealed container. After standing for 1 minute as it is, it was obtained by sucking the atmosphere inside the self-made dust measurement semi-sealed container with a dust meter (light scattering method, digital dust measuring machine LD-5D, manufactured by Shibata Kagaku Co., Ltd.) for 1 minute. Measure the amount of dust (unit: cpm). This measurement was performed three times, and the average value was taken as the dust generation amount (cpm). Strictly speaking, the amount of dust here represents the amount of scattered light (cpm value) of the dust, but the amount of scattered light of the dust is the concentration of dust floating in the air (mg / m ³ ). Since it is proportional, this was used as the dust generation amount (cpm / kg) indicating the dust generation property of each sample. In the "immediate measurement" described later, the amount of dust is immediately measured without standing for 1 minute after the fall.

[Dust suppression rate]
Dust generation suppression rate I (%) indicating how much the amount of dust generated by the pet urination treatment material of each Example and Comparative Example is reduced as compared with the amount of dust generated in Comparative Example 1-5 corresponding to the blank sample. ) Is expressed by the following equation. Here, DX indicates the amount of dust generated by the target sample, and DB indicates the amount of dust generated by the untreated product (Comparative Example 5).
I = (DB-DX / DB) × 100 ・ ・ ・ Equation (1)
That is, the dust generation suppression rate obtained by the above formula (1) indicates the dust generation suppression rate, and if I is 60, 60% of the dust generation amount in the untreated state is suppressed and the sample is generated. The amount of dust means that the value is 40% of the amount of untreated dust generated DB.

[Impact test]
Using the urination treatment materials for pets according to each example and comparative example as samples, put 3 kg each in a commercially available polyethylene bag (length 280 mm x width 200 mm x thickness 0.04 mm), hold the mouth of the polyethylene bag by hand, and put it in the bag. The bag is rotated once so that all the urination treatment materials for pets are evenly rubbed and moved, and this is regarded as a one-turn impact. For each sample, the amount of dust generated is measured by the method described above before the start of the rotational impact, and then the sample is placed in a polyethylene bag. After that, 1 kg of the sample was taken out after 10 rotation impacts, and the amount of dust generated was measured in the same manner. Samples were taken out and the amount of dust generated was measured at 315 times, respectively.

[Preparation of pseudo-urine aqueous solution]
The applicant has previously devised a pseudo-urine aqueous solution that imitates the electrolyte component in cat urine in order to test the behavior of the pet urination treatment material on cat urine. Will be created. 2 kg of deionized water is put into a 5 L beaker, and the following 7 kinds of reagents weighed separately are sequentially added and dissolved while stirring.
1_CaCl _{2.2H 2 O} (= 147.01; ≧ 99%): 0.22 g
2_MgCl _{2.6H 2 O} (= 203.30; ≧ 97%): 2.83 g
3_KCl (= 74.55; ≧ 99%): 27.11 g
4_NaCl (= 58.44; ≧ 99%): 3.54 g
5_Na ₂ SO ₄ (= 142.04; ≧ 99%): 17.22 g
6_NaHCO ₃ (= 84.01; ≧ 99.5%): 17.73 g
7_NaH ₂ PO _{4.2H 2} O (= 155.99; ≧ 99%): 37.82 g
Then, deionized water was further added to make the total amount 3 kg, and the mixture was further stirred to obtain a homogeneous solution to obtain a simulated urine aqueous solution. When the pH of the obtained simulated urine aqueous solution was measured, the pH was 6.0 to 6.5 (20 to 30 ° C.).

[Stiffening test]
A 500 ml beaker is filled with a sample of the urination treatment material for pets and scraped off, and then 20 ml of 1% saline solution or 20 ml of a simulated urine aqueous solution is dropped from a height of 1 cm from the upper surface of the packed layer over 10 seconds with a syringe. After allowing it to stand for 30 minutes, take out the water-absorbing solidified material of the urination treatment material for pets from the packed bed, and visually and photograph the solidified shape and solidified length (length of the solidified material with respect to the pouring direction). , Observe the suitability for solidification. In this test, it is judged that a substance having excellent water absorption and a short solidification length is excellent in solidification property without disintegrating when the solidified substance is taken out. On the other hand, if the water absorption is inferior and the solidification length becomes long and reaches the bottom of the container, it is judged that the solidification property is inferior.

[Comparative test 1: Comparison with conventional examples]
First, in order to compare the effects of the conventional dust generation inhibitor and the dust generation inhibitor according to the present invention, a comparative test of dust generation amount and solidification performance was conducted. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the comparison result of the dust generation amount in Example 1, FIG. 5 is a graph showing the comparison result of the dust generation amount by the impact test, and FIG. 6 is solidification in Example 1. The results of the sex test (No. 1) are shown respectively.

When the amount of dust generated was measured for Examples 1-1, 1-2 and Comparative Examples 1-1, 1-5, as shown in FIG. 4, Example 1 was 482 ppm, and Example 2 was 579 ppm. Comparative Example 1 was 759 ppm, and Comparative Example 5 was 970 ppm. Comparative Example 1 in which polyethylene glycol alone was used as a dust generation inhibitor corresponds to a conventional example, but in Comparative Example 1-1, the amount of dust generated was reduced by about 22% as compared with Comparative Example 5 which was a blank sample. In Examples 1-1 and 1-2 according to the present invention, the dust generation suppressing ability is greatly improved with a 50% reduction and a 40% reduction, respectively. Both Examples 1-1 and 1-2 showed higher dust generation suppressing ability than Comparative Example 1-1, but Example 1-1 containing a large amount of citric acid showed higher dust generation suppressing ability. Had had.

Although Example 1-1 contains a smaller amount of polyethylene glycol than Comparative Example 1-1, Example 1-1 is clearly superior in dust generation suppressing ability to Comparative Example 1-1. From this, it is clear that the combined use of polyalkylene glycol and carboxylic acid improves the dust generation suppressing ability as compared with the use of polyalkylene glycol alone.

Further, the results of impact tests on the samples of Example 1-1, Comparative Example 1-1, and Comparative Example 1-5 are shown in FIG. In each sample, the amount of dust generated when the number of stirrings was 10 to 45 was lower than in the initial state, but this is because the dust remained in the polyethylene bag due to the influence of static electricity. Conceivable.

In Comparative Example 1-5 which was not treated with the dust generation inhibitor, the amount of dust generated was large even in the state before the impact was applied, and the amount of dust generated was further increased after the impact was applied by the rotational impact. Further, in Comparative Example 1-1 in which only polyethylene glycol was used as the dust generation inhibitor, the amount of dust generated was smaller than that in Comparative Example 1-5 in the initial state, but the amount of dust generated gradually increased as the number of rotational impacts increased. Is increased, and in the state where the number of rotational impacts is 315, the result is almost the same as that of Comparative Example 1-5. It is considered that this is because not only the pet urination treatment material was chipped due to the rotational impact, but also the surface portion treated with the dust generation inhibitor was peeled off and the dust generation suppression ability was impaired. On the other hand, in Example 1-1 in which polyethylene glycol and citric acid were used in combination, there was almost no difference in the amount of dust generated between the number of rotation impacts of 45 and 130, and Comparative Example 1 even in the state of stirring 315 times. The amount of dust generated is clearly smaller than that of -1, 1-5. It is probable that the combined use of polyethylene glycol and citric acid held the surface of the pet urination treatment material wider and stronger, so that the rate of peeling off was small even when an impact was applied.

Next, FIG. 6 shows the results of solidification tests performed on Examples 1-1 and 1-2 and Comparative Examples 1-1 and 1-5. If the water absorption capacity of the pet urination treatment material is sufficient, the pet urination treatment material rapidly absorbs the contacted urine, so that the urine does not flow to the lower part of the pet toilet and the solidification length of the solidified material becomes short. On the contrary, if the water absorption capacity of the pet urination treatment material is not sufficient, the urine that has not been absorbed will flow downward and the solidification length will become longer, and in some cases, it will reach the bottom of the pet toilet, which is also preferable from the viewpoint of hygiene. not. As is clear from FIG. 6, the solidification length of the pet urination treatment material according to Examples 1-1 and 1-2 according to the present invention is about the same as the solidification length of Comparative Examples 1-1 and 1-5, and the shape is also organized. It can be seen that the urination treatment material for pets according to the present invention is also excellent in water absorption and solidification.

[Comparative test 2: Examination of spray amount]
Next, in order to examine the appropriate amount of the dust generation inhibitor, the dust generation amount and the solidification performance were compared with various spray amounts. FIG. 7 shows a graph (No. 2) showing the comparison result of the amount of dust generated in Example 1, and FIGS. 9 and 10 show the result of the solidification test in Example 1 (No. 2 and 3), respectively. There is.

When the amount of dust generated was measured for Examples 1-1, 1-3 to 1-7 and Comparative Examples 1-1 to 1-5, the results shown in FIG. 7 were obtained. As described above, Example 1-1, in which the blending amount of polyethylene glycol is smaller than that in Comparative Example 1-1, has an excellent dust generation suppressing ability, but the spraying amount is 1 / of that of Comparative Example 1-1. The second amount of 0.89 g of Example 3 also has a better dust generation suppressing ability than Comparative Example 1-1. Further, also in Comparative Example 1-2 in which the spraying amount is 0.45 g, the dust generation suppressing ability close to that of Comparative Example 1-1 is obtained. From this, it can be seen that by using polyalkylene glycol and citric acid in combination, the same level of dust generation suppressing ability can be obtained even when the amount of polyalkylene glycol used alone is about half.

Regarding the change in the dust generation suppressing ability when the spraying amount was increased, although the dust generation suppressing ability was improved up to Examples 1-6 in which 7.12 g of the dust generation suppressing agent was sprayed, the dust generation suppressing ability was further improved. The dust generation suppression ability reached a plateau in the amount of spraying.

Next, FIGS. 9 and 10 show the results of solidification tests performed on Examples 1-1, 1-3 to 1-7 and Comparative Examples 1-1 to 1-5. Although there was no significant difference in the solidification length up to Examples 1-4 in which 3.56 g of the dust generation inhibitor was sprayed, the solidification length gradually increased when the spray amount was larger than that, and Comparative Examples 1-3, 1- In 4, the water reached the bottom of the beaker. Comparative Examples 1-3 and 1-4 in which water flows down to the bottom are considered to be unfavorable as a urination treatment material for pets from the viewpoint of solidification. From the results of Comparative Test 1-2, the range of the amount of the dust generation inhibitor to be sprayed on the clay-based substrate made of active bentonite or the like is 0.1 to 1 per 100 parts by weight of the urination treatment material for pets. It is considered to be about the weight part.

[Comparative test 3: Examination of dust generation inhibitor concentration]
Next, in order to examine the appropriate mixing ratios of the carboxylic acid, polyethylene glycol, and water as the dust generation inhibitor, the dust amount was compared at various mixing ratios. FIG. 8 shows a graph showing the amount of dust generated and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 1.
When the amount of dust generated was measured for Examples 1-8 to 1-11 and Comparative Examples 1-1 and 1-5, the results shown in FIG. 8 were obtained. All of Examples 1-8 to 1-11 had a dust generation suppressing ability superior to that of Comparative Example 1-1 sprayed with polyethylene glycol alone. Therefore, it is considered that polyalkylene glycol can be suitably used in the range of 15 to 45 parts by weight and carboxylic acid in the range of 15 to 70 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the dust generation inhibitor.
In particular, Example 1-9 containing 35 parts by weight of polyethylene glycol and 30 parts by weight of citric acid per 100 parts by weight of the dust generation inhibitor and 25 parts by weight of polyethylene glycol and 25 parts by weight of citric acid per 100 parts by weight of the dust generation inhibitor. Example 1-10 containing 45 parts by weight of citric acid had excellent dust generation suppressing ability as compared with Example 1-8 and Example 1-11. Therefore, it is considered that polyalkylene glycol has a better dustproof suppressing ability by using it in the range of 25 to 35 parts by weight and carboxylic acid in the range of 30 to 45 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the dust generation inhibitor. Be done.

Next, the types of carboxylic acids will be examined. By changing a part of the formulation in Example 1-1, the urination treatment materials for pets according to Examples 2-1 to 2-6 and Comparative Examples 2-1 to 2-2 were obtained. The blending ratios relating to these are shown in FIG. 11B, and the graph showing the dust generation amount and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 2 is shown in FIG. 12, respectively.

As is clear from the results of FIG. 12, in the examples of PEG + tartaric acid (Example 2-2), PEG + maleic acid (Example 2-3), and PEG + oxalic acid (Example 2-4), only PEG is used (comparison). The same level of dust generation suppression ability as in Example 2-1) was obtained, and in the examples of PEG + citric acid (Example 2-1) and aconitic acid (Example 2-6), dust generation suppression was higher than in the case of PEG alone. Noh was obtained. On the other hand, in the example of PEG + acetic acid (Example 2-5), the amount of dust generated was increased as compared with Comparative Example 2-2 in which the dust generation inhibitor was not added.

From the above results, it was found that even if polyalkylene glycol and carboxylic acid are used in combination, sufficient dust generation suppressing ability cannot be obtained depending on the type of carboxylic acid. When PEG is used in combination with citric acid or acetic acid, which are tricarboxylic acids, higher dust generation suppression ability is obtained than when PEG is used alone, and when dicarboxylic acids such as tartrate acid, maleic acid, and oxalic acid are used in combination with PEG. The dust generation suppressing ability is as high as or slightly higher than that of PEG alone, and when acetic acid, which is a monocarboxylic acid, and PEG are used in combination, the dust generation amount is increased as compared with Comparative Example 2-2 in which the dust generation suppressing agent is not used. bottom. From these results, it was found that tricarboxylic acid and dicarboxylic acid are preferable as the carboxylic acid used as the dust generation inhibitor in the present invention.

Next, the effect of suppressing dust generation when a base material made of okara, which is a plant-derived raw material, is used will be examined. The urination treatment material for pets made of okara used in this embodiment is in a form of being flushed to the toilet after use without solidifying even if urine is sucked.

[Manufacturing of urination treatment materials for pets]
Okara-made pet urination treatment material (Okara Nekosago Green Hitachi Kako Co., Ltd.) is dried overnight in a dryer set at 90 ° C, and then a predetermined amount is generated per 1 kg of pet urination treatment material. By spraying a dust inhibitor (see FIG. 13 (a)) on the surface, the pet urination treatment materials according to Examples 3-1 to 3-6 and Comparative Example 3-1 were obtained. The blending ratios relating to these are shown in FIG. 13 (a), and the graph showing the dust generation amount and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 3 is shown in FIG. 14, respectively.

In Example 3 and Example 4 described later, "immediately after measurement" was also performed in addition to the above-mentioned "measurement after 1 minute" when measuring the amount of dust generated. This is because in Examples 3 and 4 using the okara base material and the pulp base material, the time for dust to fly up is shorter than in Examples 1 and 2 using the clay base material. Therefore, when the clay was allowed to stand for 1 minute, the dust was almost settled at the time of measurement, and it was difficult to make a difference.

As is clear from the results shown in FIG. 14, by using the dust generation inhibitor according to the present invention, the dust generation suppression effect was also obtained for the pet urination treatment material made from okara. Regarding the addition amount, the dust generation suppressing ability is improved in proportion to the addition amount up to 8 g (Example 3-3), but after that, the increase is only moderate, and 16 g (Example 3-5) is almost the same. It will reach a plateau. After measuring the amount of dust generated, the water absorption was confirmed with 20 ml of 1% saline solution and 20 ml of the above-mentioned simulated urine aqueous solution. It was confirmed that the water absorption was equivalent to that of Comparative Example 3-1 in which was not used.

Next, the dust generation suppressing effect when a pulp base material made from recycled pulp derived from waste paper is used will be examined. The pulp-made urination treatment material for pets used in this example is in the form of solidifying after sucking urine.

[Manufacturing of urination treatment materials for pets]
After drying the pulp urination treatment material for pets (Deo Sand Multiple Cat Paper Sand Unicharm Co., Ltd.) overnight in a dryer set at 90 ° C, a predetermined amount of dust is generated per 1 kg of urination treatment material for pets. By spraying an inhibitor (see FIG. 13B) on the surface, the pet urination treatment materials according to Examples 4-1 to 4-6 and Comparative Example 4-1 were obtained. The blending ratios relating to these are shown in FIG. 13 (b), and the graph showing the dust generation amount and the dust generation suppression rate in Example 4 is shown in FIG. 15, respectively. Further, since the pulp urination treatment material for pets has a light bulk specific gravity and it is difficult to measure 1 kg due to the size of the container, the amount of dust generated at 500 g was measured.

As is clear from the results shown in FIG. 15, by using the dust generation inhibitor according to the present invention, the dust generation suppression effect was also obtained for the urination treatment material for pets made of pulp. Regarding the addition amount, no clear difference was observed in the dust generation suppressing ability from 2 to 8 g (Examples 4-1 to 4-3), but gradually with an addition amount of 12 g (Examples 4-4) or more. The dust generation suppression ability was improved, and 20 g (Example 4-6) was the most effective. After measuring the amount of dust generated, 20 ml of 1% saline solution and 20 ml of the above-mentioned simulated urine aqueous solution were confirmed for water absorption and solidification, respectively. It was confirmed that the water absorption and solidification properties were equivalent to those of Comparative Example 4-1 in which no dust inhibitor was used.

As described above, the pet urination treatment material according to the present invention is expected to have the same effects as before, while suppressing dust generation, without impairing the properties such as water absorption and solidification required for the pet urination treatment material. It is a thing.

In addition, even when an impact is applied to the urination treatment material for pets due to transportation or the like, the dust generation suppressing ability is less likely to decrease, and excellent dust generation suppressing ability can be expected.

Claims (2)

A dust generation inhibitor used for a base material for a urine treatment material for pets, in which polyalkylene glycol is contained in a concentration of 15 to 45% by weight, carboxylic acid is contained in a concentration of 15 to 70% by weight, and the polyalkylene glycol is used. The carboxylic acid is contained in a weight ratio of 2: 1 to 1: 4, and the carboxylic acid is a dicarboxylic acid or a tricarboxylic acid, which is 0.1 with respect to 100 parts by weight of the pet urine treatment material base material. A dust generation inhibitor characterized by being used in a range of parts by weight or more. Steps to prepare the urination treatment material base material,
The step of preparing the dust generation inhibitor and
It has a step of surface-treating the surface of the urination treatment material base material with the dust generation inhibitor.
The urination treatment material base material is
(A) Natural bentonite, or a clay-based raw material made of active bentonite containing an alkaline component using the bentonite as a raw material.
(B) Plant-derived cellulosic raw materials such as okara, pulp, and wood flour,
It contains the raw materials of either (A) or (B) or both of the above.
The dust generation inhibitor contains at least polyalkylene glycol and a carboxylic acid.
A method for producing a urination treatment material for pets, wherein the carboxylic acid is a dicarboxylic acid or a tricarboxylic acid.

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