JPH08140469A - Artificial sphagnum moss - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain artificial sphagnum moss useful for a foliage plant, etc., capable of being colored variously, preferable in terms of a sense of beauty, providing raising effect on plant better than that of natural sphagnum moss, containing a specific soluble glass, comprising a fiber aggregate composed of a specific amount of synthetic fibers having fixed fineness of single fiber. CONSTITUTION: This sphagnum moss comprises a fiber aggregate which is composed of >=50 synthetic fibers such as the ones constituted of an acrylic polymer, having >=50wt.% water content based on the weight of the short fibers after centrifugal dehydration at 1,500rpm for 2 minutes, containing soluble glass containing two or more components selected from among B, Ca, Mg, K, P, Fe, Mo, Mn, Cu and Zn and having 7-50 deniers of fineness of single fiber. The amount of the soluble glass used is preferably 0.3-5wt.% based on the synthetic fibers.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to artificial water moss effective for plant development.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, natural water moss has been often used for potted cultivation of orchids and foliage plants, but due to the increasing demand and depletion of resources in recent years, supply shortage and price Inviting soaring. For this reason, various proposals have been made regarding artificial moss instead of natural moss.

For example, a film having a porous or water-absorbing polymer layer cut into slits (Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-53-
No. 27174, Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-21485, etc.), slit nonwoven fabric obtained by heat-bonding water-absorbent fibers into slits (Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-44889), and the like are known. It is rich, but its water retention is poor, and since it is a planar material, it hinders the growth of roots, which makes it difficult to divide the plants when changing pots, which is essential for pot planting.

Further, a fiber aggregate containing a nep-like material (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 60-110214), a stitch of which is cut into slits (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 60-110215).
No.), fibers containing nep-like material, plastic strips, and flaky foam (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-25).
No. 421), a nep-shaped material, a flake-shaped foam, and a string-shaped material (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-79529) are known, but they are rich in air permeability and water retention, but are replanted. There is a problem that it is difficult to divide the stocks or the workability is poor.

In Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-40243, the properties of natural moss are studied, and an artificial moss composed of fiber aggregates having similar water retention, shape retention and water release is proposed. There is. However, in terms of plant growth, it was not always superior to natural moss. The present inventors have made intensive studies to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks and have completed the present invention.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an artificial moss having excellent properties comparable to those of natural moss as described above.

[0007]

The artificial moss of the present invention has 15
The water content after centrifugal dehydration at 00 rpm for 2 minutes is 50% by weight or more of the short fiber weight, and B, Ca, Mg, K, P,
Artificial water consisting of a fiber assembly containing at least 50% by weight of synthetic fiber having a single yarn fineness of 7 to 50 denier containing a soluble glass containing at least two components selected from compounds of Fe, Mo, Mn, Cu and Zn. It is moss.

In the present invention, the water content after spin-drying at 1500 rpm for 2 minutes is set to 50% by weight or more of the short fiber weight, because this is the water retaining ability of natural water moss.

The synthetic fiber in the present invention means a solution containing 5% by weight or more of a fiber-forming polymer, spun in a poor solvent, coagulated and then cut to obtain a dehydrated water content of short fiber weight. 50% by weight or more, preferably 50 to 200% by weight, of 7 to 50 denier short fibers. Water content is 2
If it exceeds 100% by weight, rooting is likely to occur during cultivation, which is not preferable.

Examples of the fiber-forming polymer include synthetic polymers such as polyester, polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyacrylic resins. From the viewpoint of easy handling of solvent and coagulation bath composition, acrylic polymers such as, for example, Acrylic copolymer containing 80% by weight of acrylonitrile and 30% by weight or more of 80% by weight of acrylonitrile
Less, especially 30 to 60 wt% modacrylic copolymer is preferred.

Examples of solvents for these fiber-forming polymers include m-cresol and nitrobenzene in the case of polyester, m-cresol, formic acid and phenol in the case of polyamide, and xylene and toluene in the case of polyethylene and polypropylene. In the case of polyacrylics such as carbon tetrachloride, there are dimethylformamide, dimethylsulfoxide, concentrated nitric acid, rhodanate salt solution and the like.

The method of spinning the fiber-forming polymer solution in a poor solvent to coagulate it may be carried out by a conventional wet spinning method. In the present invention, since it is necessary to produce the synthetic fiber having the specific water content after dehydration by such spinning, consideration such as setting the temperature of the poor solvent for spinning the polymer solution to a high value is required. preferable. The poor solvent used herein is preferably an aqueous solution of the polymer in a solvent from the polymer solution, which is economical in terms of solvent recovery.

When the single yarn fineness of the synthetic fiber is less than 7 denier, the fiber aggregate may be composed of only the short fibers, or the content of the short fibers in the aggregate is relatively high. The entanglement between the fibers is strong, and it may inhibit root growth, which is not preferable. Also, it becomes difficult at the stock splitting point. On the contrary, when the single yarn fineness exceeds 50 denier, it is difficult to apply mechanical crimp, which is not preferable. From this viewpoint, the single yarn fineness of the fiber is preferably 10 to 30 denier.

The fiber length of the synthetic fiber of the present invention is 5 to 200 m.
It is generally preferable that the plant be cut into m in order to grow plants. However, it is desirable to vary the fiber length in detail depending on the type of plant, the degree of growth, or the time of pot planting, replanting, etc. For example, the fiber length should be 5 to 15 mm when sowing, and should be longer as it grows. In the case of 1, the longer one is easier to handle, and it is preferable to use the shorter one when the stock split is planned in the future.

The melting glass in the present invention is a general term for glasses whose composition is adjusted in consideration of the physical and chemical characteristics of the glass so as to have a suppressed solubility. B, Ca, Mg, K, P, Fe, Mo, M effective for plant growth
A soluble glass containing at least two components selected from n, Cu, and Zn compounds can elute metal ions at a constant rate over an arbitrary period of several hours to several years.

[0016] For example, it is said that the eluted Cu ions are absorbed into the soil and effectively act on the following symptoms.
Open-wall disease that occurs in vegetables, sugar beets, etc. The eruption disease and branch wilting of citrus and the copper content in the plant are
Usually, it is said to be about 2 to 20 ppm, but when it is deficient, the symptoms appear on the tips of new leaves and young shoots. or,
Not only the main components of fertilizers such as K, P and Cu, but also other components such as B, Fe, Mn, Zn and Mo, which are other trace components necessary for plant development, The ions are eluted at a fixed constant rate over an arbitrary period of several hours to several years to be useful for plant development.

In the present invention, the above components, for example, in the case of copper ions, are represented by CuO in an amount of 0 to 25% (same as below by weight%), similarly B ₂ O ₃ 0 to 65%, CaO 0 to 0%.
45%, MgO 0-45%, K ₂ O 0-25%, P
_{2 O 5 0~65%, FeO0~25%} , MnO 0~
25%, ZnO 0-25%, Mo ₂ O ₃ 0-25%
The fine powder of soluble glass contained is used.

The average particle size of the fine powder used in the present invention is 0.1.
˜2 μm is preferred. If the average particle size of the fine powder is less than 0.1 μm, agglomeration is likely to occur and uniform fine dispersion becomes difficult even if a dispersing device or a dispersant is used. Is not preferable in consideration of fiber performance. Furthermore, the presence of aggregated particles of 10 μm or more is not preferable in operation because the spinning filtration pressure increases in a short time and many yarn breakages occur.

In the present invention, the amount of the soluble glass fine powder added to the synthetic fibers depends on the amount of metal ions in the soluble glass, but is usually 0.1 to 10% by weight, preferably 0.3 to 5%.
% By weight. If the content of the fine powder is less than 0.1% by weight, the expected effect may not be obtained, and 10% by weight
If it exceeds, the fiber performance may be deteriorated and the spinnability in spinning may be deteriorated.

The synthetic fiber of the present invention preferably has 3 to 15 crimps per inch in terms of shape retention in view of its blending work, and 60% by weight of the fiber constituting the fiber polymer. It is preferable that the above have the crimps because there is no cotton fluff. The crimping may be performed by a usual method, for example, using a staff ink box, a gear or the like.

The synthetic fiber obtained as described above may be used alone or in a mixture with other fibers to form a fiber assembly containing at least 50% by weight of the fiber by a conventional mixing operation. In this case, by mixing ordinary short fibers having a fineness according to the application, it is possible to keep the apparent water content of water moss or more as an aggregate. Of course, it is more preferable that the short fine fibers have a water content after dehydration equivalent to the water content after dehydration that the synthetic fiber according to the present invention has.

When the content of the above-mentioned specific synthetic fiber in the fiber assembly is less than 50% by weight, the ordinary water content of fine fibers can be mixed to obtain a certain water content of the assembly. Since such water content is attached to the spaces between the fibers to impair the air permeability, for example, root rot is likely to occur in the cultivation of orchid plants and the like, and the fibers are relatively thin and the plants are relatively small. If it grows, it may not support the load and may fall down, which is not preferable.

[0023]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION By using the artificial moss of the present invention, a plant growth effect can be obtained more than natural moss, and it can be variously colored and is aesthetically pleasing. It can be used for, and does not cause decay of plant roots even if left as it is with natural moss.

[0024]

The present invention will be specifically described with reference to the following examples. Unless otherwise specified,% means% by weight.

Examples 1 to 3, Comparative Examples 1, 2 P ₂ O ₅ 45%, K ₂ O 30%, CaO 9%, ZnO 6
%, MgO 5%, CuO 5% with an average particle size of 0.
Acrylonitrile (AN) / methyl acrylate (MA) / 5% of which 8% of soluble glass was added to the polymer
2-acrylamido-2-methylsulfonic acid sodium (S
AM) = 91.2 / 8.0 / 0.8 in a DMF solution of an acrylic polymer was adjusted to the concentration shown in Table 1 to prepare a spinning dope.

Each of the stock solutions was spun into a 50% DMF aqueous solution at 20 ° C., washed with water for stretching while removing the solvent, and then dried with a hot roller at 100 ° C. After drying, crimp is applied at a rate of 10 pieces / inch, and then cut to give a fineness of 10
d, a synthetic fiber having a cut length of 51 mm was obtained.

The water retention properties of these and natural moss were compared. That is, 2 g of each sample was weighed and allowed to stand in water at room temperature for 30 minutes, then dehydrated for 2 minutes at 1500 rpm / min in a centrifugal dehydrator, and the weight thereof was measured. The results are also shown in Table 1.

70 fibers each of four types of fibers prepared under the above conditions
% And 30% of 5 d × 51 mm polyester short fibers were mixed and a seedling cultivation test was conducted. Length without root is about 5c
The seedlings of m were potted, and 0.1 l of tap water was poured once a day, and the growth rate was measured by the length. Table 1 shows the results.

[0029]

[Table 1]

In Comparative Example 2, the water retention capacity of the fiber was insufficient,
The chrysanthemum was almost dead.

Examples 4 to 6, Comparative Examples 3 to 5 P ₂ O ₅ 45%, K ₂ O 30%, CaO 10%, MgO
5%, ZnO 4%, FeO 3%, MnO 2%, CuO
A soluble glass having a composition of 0.5%, B ₂ O ₃ 0.3% and MoO ₃ 0.1% and an average particle diameter of 1 μ was added to the polymer 7
% Added AN / vinylidene chloride (VDC) / SAM =
20% DM of acrylic polymer composed of 47/40/3
The F solution was prepared. The spinning solution was spun into a 45% DMF aqueous solution at 15 ° C., desolvated, washed with water for stretching, and dried with a hot roller at 90 ° C. After drying, crimping was applied at 10 pieces / inch, and a cut was made to 51 mm.
Five kinds of synthetic fibers described in 1. were obtained. The water content measurement results are also shown. In Comparative Example 5, the melting glass was not added,
Others were made under the same conditions as the synthetic fibers.

60 kinds of 6 kinds of fibers prepared under the above conditions
% And 5d × 51 mm polyester short fiber 40% were mixed and cultivated. Cultivation test was carried out once every 2 days on various media using sun suberica grown in natural moss for 1 year.
l of tap water was poured and the change in growth was observed. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0033]

[Table 2]

As is clear from Tables 1 and 2, it is understood that the example products are artificial moss that is more effective for plant growth than the comparative products.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The water content after centrifugal dehydration at 1500 rpm for 2 minutes is 50% by weight or more of the short fiber weight, and B and C.
a, Mg, K, P, Fe, Mo, Mn, Cu, Zn containing at least 50% by weight of synthetic fiber having a single fiber fineness of 7 to 50 denier containing soluble glass containing at least two components selected from compounds Artificial water moss consisting of aggregates of fibers.