TWI830675B - Bamboo shoot shell cat litter production method and bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for making cat litter from bamboo shoot shells. The main steps include coarsely crushing bamboo shoot shells, adding citric acid and hydrolyzing them by hydrothermal method to obtain bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber containing carboxyl group and hydroxyl group. , then mix the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber with an antibacterial agent, deodorant and starch binder, add water and granulate to make bamboo shoot shell cat litter with high water absorption and easy clumping. Among them, the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder contains Cellulose absorbs water and produces a binder-like function, which increases the performance of the clumps, and the hydrolyzed product contains hydrolyzed fibers from bamboo shoots with a length of less than 5mm, which can also increase the speed of the clumps and reduce dust, making the clumps easier to remove from the cat litter. .

Description

Bamboo shoot shell cat litter production method and bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure

The present invention relates to a method of making cat litter, and in particular, to a method of making cat litter with bamboo shoot shells and a structure of the cat litter with bamboo shoot shells.

Press, when ordinary people raise pet cats at home, they usually place cat litter in the cat litter box as a place to train cats to urinate. The most common cat litter on the market is made of mineral sand, such as clay minerals and silicate minerals. , however, although it has good water absorption, because mineral sand contains powder with small particle size, it is quite easy to raise dust whether the owner is cleaning it or the cat is playing with the cat litter before and after excretion, which will not only cause damage to the home Environmental pollution may also affect the health of owners and cats due to inhalation of dust or germs.

In addition, there are two commonly used cat litters on the market: crystal sand made of silicone and tofu litter made from the residue after processing of tofu. The tiny pores on the surface of the silicone can absorb water, or the plant components in the tofu residue. The water absorption properties of crystal sand and tofu litter make it possible to obtain good water absorption performance, so that crystal sand and tofu litter have the advantage of not producing dust. However, the disadvantage is that these two cat litters are more expensive, crystal sand is more difficult to cover feces, and tofu litter is prone to moisture. Mold produces odor, and after absorbing cat urine, there are also problems such as inability to effectively clump and easy disintegration of clumps, which will cause trouble for owners in subsequent cleanup. Therefore, it has good water absorption, no dust, and is easy to clump. Good cat litter with properties such as disintegration, antibacterial, mildew prevention, and deodorization are still to be developed.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a bamboo shoot shell cat litter production method and a bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure. By using bamboo shoot shell waste with a high content (50~70%) to make cat litter products, the cat litter produced by the present invention can be made. Bamboo shoot cat litter contains a large amount of bamboo shoot material, which can not only significantly reduce costs, but also provide high-value business opportunities for agricultural waste. It is also combined with functional auxiliary additives such as antibacterial, deodorizing and adhesion to make the bamboo shell made Cat litter has excellent water absorption, clumping, deodorization and mildew resistance, and can avoid the problem of dust scattering during handling.

In order to achieve the aforementioned purpose, the present invention provides a method for making bamboo shoot cat litter, which includes the following steps: A. Preparation of bamboo shoot shell water-absorbent raw materials: first coarsely crush the bamboo shoot shell, add citric acid as an additive, hydrolyze it using a hydrothermal method at a temperature of 120°C to 200°C, and then grind and dry the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fibers. Afterwards, sieve 60 mesh to obtain powdery bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and fine fiber-like bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber; wherein, the length of the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber is less than 5mm; B. To make bamboo shoot shell cat litter: Mix bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder, bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber, antibacterial agent, deodorant and starch binder, add an appropriate amount of water to granulate into granules, and dry at 120°C for 6 hours. The bamboo shoot shell cat litter of the present invention can be obtained; wherein, the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder content in the bamboo shoot shell cat litter is between 40wt% and 60wt%, the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber content is about 10wt%, and the deodorant content is between 10wt% to 15wt%, the antibacterial agent content is between 5wt% and 10wt%, and the starch binder content is between 15wt% and 25wt%.

Furthermore, the present invention further provides a bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure made by the above production method, which has particles composed of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder, bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber, deodorant, antibacterial agent and starch binder bonded to each other. The granular body is provided with a plurality of fine fiber segments composed of hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fibers inside the granular body. The length of each fine fiber segment is less than 5 mm, and a rough surface is formed on the outer surface of the granular body. And the particle size of the granular body is between 3 and 6 mm.

The above objects and advantages of the present invention can be easily understood from the following detailed description of selected embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

The invention provides a method for making bamboo shoot shell cat litter, which can make full use of discarded bamboo shoot shell materials in agriculture, thereby not only providing reuse of agricultural waste, but also greatly reducing the raw material cost of cat litter, which is conducive to low-cost commercialization. . As shown in Figure 1, the method for making bamboo shoot cat litter provided by the present invention mainly includes the following steps:

A. Preparation of bamboo shoot shell water-absorbent raw materials: Use bamboo shoot shells with high fiber content (bamboo shoot shells or white bamboo shoot shells). After coarsely crushing the bamboo shoot shells, add a certain amount of citric acid as an additive according to the amount of bamboo shoot shells, and heat it with water. The method is to heat for 2 hours at a temperature of 120°C to 200°C to hydrolyze the crude fiber of the bamboo shoot shell, then directly grind the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fiber into finer bamboo shoot shell fiber by wet grinding, and then dry it. , the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder containing carboxyl group and hydroxyl group in powder form and the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber in the form of fine fibers can be obtained through sieving, so as to serve as the bamboo shoot shell cat litter of the present invention with high water content. Among them, the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell powder is sieved through a 60-mesh screen, and the length of the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fiber is less than 5mm, and using citric acid as an auxiliary will make the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and bamboo shoots Shell hydrolyzed fiber has a higher moisture content. The conventional treatment method of bamboo shoot shells is to add specific fermentation bacteria (such as lactic acid bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, etc.) for fermentation treatment. However, because the bamboo shoot shell itself has a high crude fiber content, fermentation treatment is not only It must take a long time to ferment, and the bamboo shoot fiber obtained after fermentation will still be too thick, which is obviously not conducive to the commercial application of subsequent grinding into powder and fine fibers, as shown in Figure 2, Figure 2 (A) Photos of bamboo shoot husk fiber obtained by the conventional fermentation method of adding fermentation bacteria, while Figure 2 (B) shows a photo of bamboo shoot husk fiber processed by the hydrothermal hydrolysis method of the present invention. Comparing the two with each other makes it clear It can be seen that the bamboo shoot shell fibers treated by hydrothermal hydrolysis in the present invention can be in the form of powder and fine fibers, which means that the hydrolysis method used in the present invention can not only significantly shorten the life span of bamboo shoot shells to obtain the required cellulose, The processing time is shortened, and at the same time it is conducive to subsequent grinding into powder and fine fibers for commercial applications.

B. Making bamboo shoot shell cat litter: Mix the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell powder and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber of the present invention with an antibacterial agent, a deodorant and a starch binder, and then add an appropriate amount of water to granulate them. After being granulated, the bamboo shoot shell cat litter of the present invention can be obtained by drying at 120°C for 6 hours. The antibacterial agent is water-soluble alum, the deodorant is citric acid, and the starch binder is corn starch. , and the content of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder in the bamboo shoot shell cat litter is between 40wt% and 60wt%, the content of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber is about 10wt%, the content of citric acid is between 10wt% and 15wt%, and the content of alum is between 5wt% to 10wt%, and the corn starch content ranges from 15wt% to 25wt%.

In the above-mentioned steps of making bamboo shoot cat litter, the granulation method can be kneading, rounding, extrusion and agglomeration by a granulator, etc. to form a granular cat litter structure with a particle size controlled between 3 and 6 mm. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure made by the method of the present invention has a granular body 11 composed of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder, bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber, citric acid, alum and corn starch bonded to each other. The granular body 11 is provided with a plurality of fine fiber segments 21 composed of hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fibers inside and outside. The length of each thin fiber segment 21 is less than 5 mm. The hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fiber can be easily covered during granulation and rolling forming. The outer surface of the granular body 11 forms a porous and rough rough surface to increase the adsorption of urine and the stability of the particles, and the particle size of the granular body 11 is between 3 and 6 mm.

Then, relevant experiments are conducted on the bamboo shoot shell cat litter made by the present invention and the test results are used to verify the efficacy of the bamboo shoot shell cat litter made by the present invention.

1. Test of moisture content of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder after hydrothermal hydrolysis treatment As shown in Figure 5, the moisture content of the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder after the hydrothermal hydrolysis of the bamboo shoot shell fiber with or without citric acid added under heating conditions of 120°C to 200°C was tested and analyzed. Among them: Pre-treatment conditions for sample moisture content test: dry at 120°C for 10 hours, then place at room temperature for 24 hours. Moisture content test conditions: dry at 100°C for 15 minutes by drying method.

As can be seen from Figure 5, adding citric acid can increase the moisture content of the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell powder after hydrolysis, and when the heating temperature is 120°C, the moisture content of the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell powder with citric acid can reach more than 7%. When the temperature is 160℃, the moisture content can exceed 15%; when the hydrothermal temperature increases to above 180℃, the high temperature will cause the breaking of polymer bonds, resulting in a reduction in the number of hydrophilic groups. At this time, the moisture content will increase with the hydrothermal temperature. Increase and decrease.

2. Cat litter performance test uses bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber obtained by crushing and drying under hydrothermal hydrolysis conditions of 160℃/2 hours and then sieving. Three different mixing ratios of experimental groups A, B, and C are used. The bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder, bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber, citric acid, alum, and corn starch (as shown in Table 1 below) are added with water to granulate, and then dried at 120°C for 6 hours to make granular bamboo shoot shell cat litter for cat litter production. Performance test analysis. Table 1: Ingredient formula of bamboo shoot shell cat litter Experimental group A Experimental group B Experimental group C Bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder (wt%) 40 50 60 Bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber (wt%) 10 10 10 Citric acid(wt%) 15 10 10 Alum(wt%) 10 10 5 Corn starch(wt%) 25 20 15

1. Water absorption test: Take 100 grams of the bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention, use a urea aqueous solution with a 1% content (1 gram of urea and 99 grams of water), drip it into the bamboo shoot cat litter with a dropper, and test its saturated water absorption capacity (Unit is ml).

2. Clumping test: Take 100 grams of bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention, use 20 ml of urea aqueous solution with 1% content (1 gram of urea and 99 grams of water), pour it directly into the bamboo shoot cat litter, and test the clump required. Time (in seconds).

3. Mildew resistance test: Take 100 grams of the bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention and put it into a 200 ml beaker, use 30 ml of a urea aqueous solution with a 1% content (1 gram of urea and 99 grams of water), and pour it directly into the bamboo shoot cat litter. Place it in a cool, dry place and observe whether there is mold or hair growing on the surface of the clumps of cat litter. The maximum observation time should not exceed 10 days.

4. Deodorization test: Take 100 grams of bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention and place it in a 1000 ml Erlenmeyer flask, use 10 ml of urea aqueous solution with a 1% content (1 gram of urea and 99 grams of water), and pour it directly into the bamboo shoot cat litter. Then seal the bottle mouth in the sand, and test the ammonia content (unit: ppm) remaining in the Erlenmeyer flask after 2 hours.

5. Dust amount test: Stir the bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention directly with your hands, and directly observe with the naked eye whether there is dust rising.

The cat litter performance test results are shown in Table 2 below: Table 2: Cat litter performance test results table Experimental group A Experimental group B Experimental group C water absorbency 35ml 42ml 50ml clumping 8 seconds 6 seconds 5 seconds Mildew resistance No mold No mold No mold within 9 days Deodorizing property 12ppm 18ppm 23ppm Dust amount without without without

It has been confirmed by the above experimental test that the bamboo shoot shell cat litter made by the present invention has a large amount of fiber structure through the bamboo shoot shell. Cellulose can be obtained after hydrolysis. Using citric acid as an auxiliary, the bamboo shoot shell is first coarsely crushed into Crude fiber: hydrolyze the crude fiber of bamboo shoot shell through hydrothermal treatment to produce bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber containing carboxyl group and hydroxyl group, which can be used as water-absorbent raw materials with high moisture content. , and then mix antibacterial agents, deodorants and starch binders in the subsequent granulation process to form bamboo shoot shell cat litter with high water absorption and high cohesiveness. The cellulose produced after the bamboo shell is hydrolyzed can absorb water. It produces a function similar to that of a binder, so it can not only increase the performance of the agglomeration but also reduce the amount of starch binder, and the bamboo shoot shell cat litter made by the present invention also contains bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fibers with a length of less than 5 mm, and is more It has the effect of improving the stability of the clumps and reducing dust, making the clumps easier to remove from the cat litter. The citric acid contained in the bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention can not only improve the hydrolysis efficiency during the hydrolysis process, Citric acid also has certain deodorizing and antibacterial effects. When combined with alum, it can provide excellent deodorizing and anti-fungal effects. Citric acid and alum are both acidic, so they can also absorb urine at the same time. The role of ammonia in the invention ensures that the bamboo shoot shell cat litter made in the present invention has excellent deodorization properties; in addition, the ingredients of the bamboo shoot shell cat litter in the present invention are all made of natural materials, so it can be directly used after use. Pour it into the toilet and flush it, which is quite convenient.

By using bamboo shoot shell waste with high fiber content, the invention uses high-temperature hydrothermal method and additives to hydrolyze the crude bamboo shoot shell fiber, which facilitates subsequent grinding into bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder (60 mesh sieve) and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber (length < 5mm), and use the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber as water-absorbent raw materials to make cats with a high content of 50~70% (the sum of the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder and bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber). Sand products, and the process of adding water to granulate is simple, so that the bamboo shoot shell cat litter made by the invention contains a large amount of bamboo shoot shell materials, which can not only greatly reduce the cost and facilitate low-cost commercialization, but also provide agricultural waste There are business opportunities for high-value products; furthermore, the present invention uses bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber in cat litter particles, which can effectively increase the speed and strength of the agglomeration and avoid the problem of dust scattering during processing.

Finally, it must be noted that the disclosure of the above embodiments is only for illustrating the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Therefore, any changes in numerical values or replacement of equivalent components shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

To sum up, when it can be understood by those who are familiar with this art that the present invention can clearly achieve the aforementioned purpose, it actually complies with the provisions of the patent law, so the application is filed in accordance with the law.

11: Granular body 21:Fine fiber segment

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the production process of the present invention. Picture 2 is a comparison of photos of bamboo shoot fiber after fermentation and hydrothermal hydrolysis of bamboo shoot shells. Figure 3 shows the physical appearance of the bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the bamboo shoot cat litter of the present invention. Figure 5 is a comparison chart of the relationship between the moisture content of the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder of the present invention and the hydrothermal hydrolysis temperature.

Claims (10)

A method for making bamboo shoot shell cat litter includes the following steps: A. Preparation of bamboo shoot shell water-absorbent raw materials: first coarsely crush the bamboo shoot shell, add citric acid as an additive, hydrolyze it using a hydrothermal method at a temperature of 120°C to 200°C, and then grind and dry the hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fibers. Finally, the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder in the form of powder and the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber in the form of fine fibers are obtained through sieving; B. To make bamboo shoot shell cat litter: Mix bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder, bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber, antibacterial agent, deodorant and starch binder, add an appropriate amount of water to granulate into granules, and dry at 120°C for 6 hours. The bamboo shoot shell cat litter of the present invention can be obtained. The production method of bamboo shoot shell cat litter as described in claim 1, wherein the content of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder in the bamboo shoot shell cat litter is between 40wt% and 60wt%, the content of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber is about 10wt%, and the content of deodorant The content of the antibacterial agent is between 10wt% and 15wt%, the antibacterial agent content is between 5wt% and 10wt%, and the starch binder content is between 15wt% and 25wt%. The method for making bamboo shoot cat litter as described in claim 2, wherein the deodorant is citric acid. The method for making bamboo shoot cat litter as described in claim 2, wherein the antibacterial agent is water-soluble alum. The method for making bamboo shoot cat litter as described in claim 2, wherein the starch binder is corn starch. The production method of bamboo shoot shell cat litter as described in claim 1, wherein the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder is passed through a 60 mesh screen, and the length of the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber is less than 5 mm. A bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure made by the bamboo shoot shell cat litter production method described in claim 1, which has particles composed of bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder, bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber, antibacterial agent, deodorant and starch binder mutually adhered to each other The granular body is provided with a plurality of fine fiber segments composed of hydrolyzed bamboo shoot shell fibers, and a rough surface is formed on the outer surface of the granular body. The bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure as described in claim 7, wherein the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder is sieved through a 60-mesh screen, the length of each fine fiber segment is less than 5 mm, and the particle size of the granular body is between 3 and 6mm. The bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure as described in claim 7, wherein the content of the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed powder is between 40wt% and 60wt%, the content of the bamboo shoot shell hydrolyzed fiber is about 10wt%, and the content of the deodorant is between 10wt% and 15wt %, the content of antibacterial agent is between 5wt% and 10wt%, and the content of starch binder is between 15wt% and 25wt%. The bamboo shoot shell cat litter structure as described in claim 9, wherein the deodorant is citric acid, the antibacterial agent is water-soluble alum, and the starch binder is corn starch.