JP6422728B2 - Water absorption treatment material and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs human or animal excrement and other liquids and a method for producing the same.

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

JP 2010-104383 A

  However, in order to dispose of the used water-absorbing treatment material in a flush toilet, the water-absorbing treatment material has sufficient water decomposability (bonded fibers and particles are quickly separated by contact with water and dispersed in water. It is necessary to have a property of Insufficient water disintegration property of the water-absorbing treatment material may cause clogging of the toilet. In this regard, the conventional water-absorbing treatment material has room for improvement in terms of water decomposability.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said subject, and it aims at providing the water-absorbing treatment material excellent in water decomposability, and its manufacturing method.

  The water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention is a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs a liquid, and includes a granulated product containing a foaming agent. Bubbles are generated inside the granule, and the granule is collapsed.

  In this water-absorbing treatment material, a foaming agent is contained in the granulated product. When the liquid is absorbed, the foaming agent reacts, whereby bubbles are generated inside the granulated material, and the granulated material collapses. Thus, when the granulated material collapses during liquid absorption, the water disintegration property of the water-absorbing treatment material can be improved.

  Moreover, the method for producing a water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention is a method for producing a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs a liquid, an addition step of adding a foaming agent to the granulated material, and the above-mentioned foaming agent added And a granulating step of forming a granulated product by granulating the material to be granulated.

  In this manufacturing method, a foaming agent is added to the granulated material prior to granulation of the granulated material. Thereby, the granulated material containing a foaming agent can be obtained. In the water-absorbing treatment material after production, the foaming agent reacts during liquid absorption, thereby generating bubbles inside the granulated product. Since the collapse of the granulated material is promoted by the generation of such bubbles, the water disintegration property of the water-absorbing treatment material can be improved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the water absorption processing material excellent in water decomposability, and its manufacturing method are realizable.

It is a schematic diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the water absorption processing material by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating a change when the water absorption processing material of FIG. 1 absorbed the liquid. It is a schematic diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the water absorption processing material by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the water absorption processing material which concerns on a modification.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same elements, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.
(First embodiment)

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of a water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention. The water-absorbing treatment material 1 is a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs liquid, and includes a granulated product 10. The water absorption treatment material 1 is, for example, an excrement treatment material for pets such as cats and dogs.

  The granulated product 10 has a function of absorbing and retaining a liquid such as urine. The granulated product 10 is formed into a granular shape. Examples of the shape of the granulated product 10 include a sphere, an ellipsoid, and a cylinder. The granulated product 10 is mainly made of paper. Here, the paper being the main material of the granulated product 10 means that the weight ratio of the paper is the largest in the whole material constituting the granulated product 10. Paper refers to a material mainly composed of pulp. Examples of papers include, in addition to ordinary paper, PVC wallpaper classifieds (paper obtained by classifying PVC wallpaper), fluff pulp, papermaking sludge, pulp sludge, and the like. As the fluff pulp, for example, a paper diaper can be classified and a water-absorbing polymer can be removed. In addition, since it is difficult to completely remove the water-absorbing polymer, it is usual that some water-absorbing polymer is attached to the fluff pulp.

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

  The granulated product 10 contains an adhesive material (first adhesive material). Examples of the adhesive material include dextrin, starch, CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose), PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), and a water-absorbing polymer. The water-absorbing polymer preferably has an average particle size of 20 μm or less. Here, the average particle diameter means a minimum opening through which particles of 50% by weight or more can pass when a water-absorbing polymer that is an aggregate of a large number of particles is passed through a sieve. Therefore, an average particle diameter of 20 μm or less means that 50% by weight or more of particles can pass when the water-absorbing polymer is passed through a sieve having an opening of 20 μm. In the present embodiment, dextrin is used as the first adhesive material. The weight ratio of the first adhesive material in the granulated product 10 is preferably 10% or more and 30% or less.

  The granulated product 10 contains a foaming agent 20. The foaming agent 20 is contained in the granulated product 10 in an unreacted state. However, the granulated product 10 may contain a previously reacted foaming agent. Such a previously reacted foaming agent is one in which a part of the foaming agent 20 has reacted in the manufacturing process of the water-absorbing treatment material 1. A foaming agent is a substance that generates bubbles by a chemical reaction such as thermal decomposition. In the present embodiment, sodium hydrogen carbonate is used as the foaming agent 20. Thus, the granulated material 10 containing the foaming agent 20 can be formed by granulating the granulated material to which the foaming agent 20 was added, for example.

  When the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, bubbles are generated inside the granulated product 10 by the reaction of the foaming agent 20, and the granulated product 10 is collapsed. Specifically, when sodium hydrogen carbonate (foaming agent 20) reacts, carbon dioxide is generated in addition to sodium carbonate and water, and bubbles are generated inside the granulated product 10 by the carbon dioxide. Note that the collapse of the granulated product 10 means that the granulated product 10 is collapsed to such an extent that the granular shape cannot be maintained. The water-absorbing treatment material 1 is used in a state where a plurality of granules 10 are laid on an animal toilet or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of granulated materials 10 that have collapsed by receiving a liquid such as urine are mixed with each other to form a mixture 30 that is a muddy mass. In this mixture 30, the individual granulates 10 can no longer be distinguished.

  As a first embodiment of the method for producing a water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention, an example of a method for producing the water-absorbing treatment material 1 will be described. First, the material (granulated material) constituting the granulated product 10 is pulverized to a predetermined size with a pulverizer, and the pulverized granulated material is put into a mixer at a predetermined ratio and mixed. At this time, the foaming agent 20 is added to the granulated material (addition process). For example, the foaming agent 20 can be added to the granulated material by adding the foaming agent 20 together with the granulated material into a mixer. In the case of this embodiment, paper, dextrin and sodium hydrogen carbonate are mixed, but this mixing may be carried out stepwise. For example, it is conceivable that dextrin and sodium bicarbonate are mixed in advance and then mixed with paper.

  Next, after adding water as needed, the granulated material 10 to which the foaming agent 20 has been added is granulated to form the granulated product 10 (granulation step). At this time, in order to obtain a granulated product 10 that easily disintegrates during liquid absorption, it is preferable to reduce the compressive force applied to the granulated material during granulation. For example, the compression force applied to the granulated material can be reduced by reducing the thickness of the die of the granulator.

  Subsequently, the granulated product 10 produced in the previous step is passed through a sieve having a sieve with a predetermined size (a sizing step). Thereby, only the granulated material 10 which satisfy | fills a predetermined specification is extracted. Thereafter, the granulated product 10 extracted in the previous step is dried with a dryer (drying step). The moisture content of the granulated product 10 is appropriately adjusted by drying. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of mold | fungi etc. can be prevented at the time of preservation | save of the water absorption processing material 1. FIG. Thus, the water absorption treatment material 1 is obtained.

  The effect of this embodiment will be described. In the water absorption treatment material 1, the foaming agent 20 is contained in the granulated product 10. When the liquid is absorbed, the foaming agent 20 reacts, thereby generating bubbles inside the granulated product 10. The collapse of the granulated product 10 is promoted by the generation of such bubbles. In fact, in this embodiment, the granulated product 10 is configured to collapse upon absorption of liquid. Thereby, compared with the case where the granulated material 10 does not collapse after liquid absorption, the water disintegration property of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 can be improved.

  The granulated product 10 is formed by granulating a granulated material to which the foaming agent 20 is added. That is, prior to granulation of the granulated material, the foaming agent 20 is added to the granulated material. Thereby, the granulated material 10 containing the foaming agent 20 can be obtained easily.

  The granulated product 10 is mainly made of paper. Paper is a material excellent in water absorption and water retention. However, in the conventional water-absorbing treatment material mainly made of paper, relatively long fibers (pulp) constituting the paper are entangled with each other, making it difficult to unravel. It was. In this regard, in the present embodiment, as described above, bubbles are generated inside the granulated product 10 by the foaming agent 20, thereby promoting the collapse of the granulated product 10. For this reason, the water-absorbing treatment material 1 excellent in water disintegration property can be realized while using paper as a main material.

  The papers are pulverized to a particle size of 1 mm or less. By finely pulverizing the papers in this way, the fibers constituting the papers can be easily unwound, and the water decomposability of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 can be improved. From this viewpoint, the paper is preferably pulverized to a particle size of 0.5 mm or less, and more preferably pulverized to a particle size of 0.3 mm or less.

  The granulated product 10 contains dextrin as an adhesive material. Thereby, the shape retention property of the granulated product 10 before use of the water-absorbing treatment material 1 (before liquid absorption) can be enhanced. In addition, dextrin has a property that the viscosity decreases upon water absorption. Therefore, when the water-absorbing treatment material 1 absorbs the liquid, the viscosity of the dextrin in the granulated product 10 decreases. This also promotes the collapse of the granulated product 10 in combination with the generation of bubbles by the foaming agent 20.

The dextrin recovers its viscosity by drying after the viscosity is reduced by water absorption. Therefore, when a certain time has elapsed after the water-absorbing treatment material 1 has absorbed the liquid, the dextrin dries in the mixture 30 and recovers its viscosity. Thereby, dextrin contributes to the improvement of the mass strength of the mixture 30. By the way, adhesive materials such as dextrin are relatively expensive materials. Therefore, reducing the amount of use contributes to the reduction of the manufacturing cost of the water-absorbing treatment material 1. From this point of view, the weight ratio of the adhesive material in the granulated product 10 is preferably 30% or less.
(Second Embodiment)

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention. The water-absorbing treatment material 2 is a water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs liquid, and includes a coating layer portion 40 in addition to the granulated product 10. The configuration of the granulated product 10 is as described in the first embodiment.

  The covering layer portion 40 covers the granulated product 10. The covering layer portion 40 is a portion that covers at least a part of the surface of the granulated product 10. In the present embodiment, the covering layer portion 40 covers only a part of the surface of the granulated product 10. The weight ratio of the covering layer portion 40 to the entire granulated product 10 and the covering layer portion 40 is preferably 1% or more and less than 15%, and more preferably 1% or more and less than 10%. As the main material of the covering layer portion 40, for example, paper can be used.

  The covering layer part 40 contains an adhesive material (second adhesive material). As the second adhesive material, the same material as the first adhesive material described above may be used, or a different material may be used. In the present embodiment, a water-absorbing polymer having an average particle diameter of 20 μm or less is used as the second adhesive material.

  As a second embodiment of the method for producing a water-absorbing treatment material according to the present invention, an example of a method for producing the water-absorbing treatment material 2 will be described. First, the granulated product 10 is formed by the method described in the first embodiment. Next, the coating layer part 40 is formed by making the material (coating material) which comprises the coating layer part 40 adhere to the surface of the granulated material 10 (coating process). In the coating step, the granulated product 10 is not hydrated. That is, in this embodiment, the coating material is attached to the surface of the granulated product 10 without adding water to the granulated product 10. The coating material can be attached by, for example, spraying or spraying using a coating apparatus or the like. Then, the water absorption processing material 2 is obtained by performing a granulation process and a drying process.

  The effect of this embodiment will be described. In the water absorption processing material 2, the coating layer part 40 containing an adhesive material is provided. Thereby, the mass intensity | strength of the mixture formed at the time of use of the water absorption processing material 2 can be raised.

  Decreasing the ratio of the coating layer portion 40 contributes to the reduction of the material procurement cost and the manufacturing cost of the water-absorbing treatment material 2. From this viewpoint, the weight ratio of the covering layer portion 40 to the entire granulated product 10 and the covering layer portion 40 is preferably less than 15%, and more preferably less than 10%. On the other hand, when the ratio of the coating layer part 40 is too small, the effect of the coating layer part 40 to increase the mass strength is not sufficiently exhibited. From this viewpoint, it is preferable that the weight ratio of the covering layer portion 40 to the entire granulated product 10 and the covering layer portion 40 is 1% or more.

  The covering layer portion 40 covers only a part of the surface of the granulated product 10. In other words, the remaining part of the surface of the granulated product 10 is exposed without being covered with the coating layer part 40. Thereby, at the time of use of the water absorption processing material 2, the granulated material 10 can absorb a liquid rapidly. This is advantageous for promoting the reaction of the foaming agent 20 and enhancing the disintegration property of the granulated product 10.

  The coating layer part 40 contains a water-absorbing polymer as an adhesive material. Where the water-absorbing polymer has a property of swelling during liquid absorption, the water-absorbing polymer swollen in the coating layer portion 40 blocks the liquid from reaching the granulated product 10. For this reason, the swelling of the water-absorbing polymer becomes a factor that deteriorates the disintegration property of the granulated product 10, and consequently the water disintegration property of the water-absorbing treatment material 2. In this respect, the water-absorbing polymer is finely pulverized to suppress swelling during liquid absorption. Therefore, in order to suppress swelling of the water-absorbing polymer, the average particle diameter of the water-absorbing polymer contained in the coating layer portion 40 is preferably 20 μm or less, and more preferably 10 μm or less.

  In the coating step, the coating material is adhered to the surface of the granulated product 10 without adding water to the granulated product 10. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an unnecessary amount of coating material from adhering to the surface of the granulated product 10. Moreover, the manufacturing process of the water-absorbing treatment material 2 can be simplified by omitting the hydration process. In addition, even if it is a case where a hydration process is abbreviate | omitted in this way, the water | moisture content required for adhesion | attachment of a coating material can be covered with the water | moisture content contained in the granulated material 10. FIG. The other effects of this embodiment are as described in the first embodiment.

  The water-absorbing treatment material and the manufacturing method thereof according to the present invention are not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In the said embodiment, the foaming agent which consists of sodium hydrogencarbonate was illustrated. However, as a foaming agent, what consists of sodium hydrogencarbonate and a citric acid may be used. In that case, the composition (weight ratio) of the granulated product 10 can be, for example, 80% for papers, 10% for dextrin, 6.5% for sodium bicarbonate, and 3.5% for citric acid. Thus, by mixing citric acid with sodium hydrogen carbonate, the reaction of the foaming agent can be promoted. Moreover, as a foaming agent, you may use sodium lauryl sulfate or ammonium carbonate.

  In the said embodiment, paper was illustrated as a main material of the granulated material 10. FIG. However, a water-absorbing material other than paper may be used as the main material of the granulated product 10. Examples of such a water-absorbing material include plastics or tea leaves. The same applies to the main material of the covering layer portion 40.

  In the said embodiment, the case where only a part of surface of the granulated material 10 was covered with the coating layer part 40 was shown. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the entire surface of the granulated product 10 may be covered with the covering layer portion 42. The configuration of the covering layer portion 42 is the same as that of the covering layer portion 40 except that the entire surface of the granulated product 10 is covered. The covering layer portion 42 may contain the foaming agent 20. That is, the foaming agent 20 may be contained in both the granulated product 10 and the coating layer portion 42. Such a coating layer portion 42 can be formed, for example, by adding the foaming agent 20 to the coating material prior to adhesion of the coating material to the granulated product 10 in the coating process. Thus, when the foaming agent 20 is contained also in the coating layer part 42, collapse of the coating layer part 42 as well as the granulated product 10 can be promoted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water absorption processing material 2 Water absorption processing material 10 Granulated material 20 Foaming agent 30 Mixture 40 Covering layer part 42 Covering layer part

Claims (16)

A water-absorbing treatment material that absorbs liquid,
A granulated product containing a foaming agent is provided,
When the water-absorbing treatment material absorbs the liquid, bubbles are generated inside the granulated product due to the reaction of the foaming agent, and the granulated product collapses. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 1,
The granulated product is a water-absorbing treatment material formed by granulating a granulated material to which the foaming agent is added. In the water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 or 2,
The foaming agent is a water absorption treatment material made of sodium hydrogen carbonate. In the water absorption processing material of Claim 3,
The foaming agent is a water absorption treatment material comprising the sodium bicarbonate and citric acid. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
The granulated product is a water-absorbing treatment material mainly composed of paper. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 5,
The paper is a water-absorbing treatment material pulverized to a particle size of 0.3 mm or less. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6,
The granulated product is a water-absorbing treatment material containing a first adhesive material. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 7,
The water absorption processing material whose weight ratio of the said 1st adhesive material to the said granulated material is 30% or less. In the water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 7 or 8,
The first adhesive material is a water absorption treatment material that is dextrin. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 9,
A water-absorbing treatment material comprising a coating layer portion that contains a second adhesive material and covers the granulated product. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 10,
The second adhesive material is a water-absorbing treatment material that is a water-absorbing polymer having an average particle diameter of 20 μm or less. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 10 or 11,
The said coating layer part is a water absorption processing material which has covered only a part of surface of the said granulated material. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 10 or 11,
The said coating layer part is a water absorption processing material which has covered the whole surface of the said granulated material. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 13,
The water absorption processing material in which the said foaming agent contains in the said coating layer part. In the water absorption processing material in any one of Claims 10 thru | or 14,
The water absorption processing material whose weight ratio of the said coating layer part to the whole of the said granulated material and the said coating layer part is less than 15%. The water-absorbing treatment material according to claim 15,
The water absorption processing material whose weight ratio of the said coating layer part to the whole of the said granulated material and the said coating layer part is less than 10%.

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