TWI878189B - Plant fiber cat litter and its manufacturing method and cat litter product - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a plant-based fiber cat litter, which comprises 1wt% to 94wt% of rice husk, 4.9wt% to 54.9wt% of tapioca starch, 1wt% to 94wt% of corn cob powder, and 0.1wt% to 10wt% of agar powder, based on 100wt% of the plant-based fiber cat litter. The plant-based fiber cat litter can quickly condense with cat excrement to effectively reduce the odor of cat excrement. The present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing the plant-based fiber cat litter, and a cat litter product.

Description

Plant fiber cat litter and its manufacturing method and cat litter product

The present disclosure relates to a plant-based cat litter, and in particular to a plant-based fiber cat litter that can quickly clump with cat excrement to effectively reduce the odor of cat excrement.

As people keep cats as pets indoors, owners will provide cat litter for cats to defecate. Cats need to prepare cat litter and cat litter boxes. Traditional cat litter usually uses natural minerals, clay or tofu dregs as the main ingredients. Although these substances can absorb cat urine, mineral cat litter is not easy to condense into clumps after absorbing urine, making it difficult to clean; although tofu cat litter can condense into lumps after absorbing urine, it is easy to produce unpleasant odors after long-term use. In addition, the waste of mineral cat litter and tofu cat litter after use is easy to cause a certain degree of environmental pollution. In recent years, as people's awareness of environmental protection increases, the demand for environmentally friendly cat litter that is easy to clean and has good deodorizing effects has increased.

In addition, the specific gravity of traditional cat litter is usually greater than that of water, which is 1 gram per cubic centimeter. When cat litter absorbs cat urine, it will become heavier, which will easily cause a burden to the owner or even cause injury when it is bagged and thrown into the garbage truck.

Therefore, how to improve the shortcomings of traditional cat litter and produce environmentally friendly cat litter that can provide better deodorizing performance, reduce adverse environmental impacts and reduce weight has become the research and development direction of those with general knowledge in this field.

The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a plant-based fiber cat litter that can quickly condense with cat excrement to form a mass, effectively reduce the odor of cat excrement, and has a specific gravity of less than 1 gram per cubic centimeter, and can reduce adverse effects on the environment.

Based on the above purpose, a plant-based fiber cat litter is provided. Taking the plant-based fiber cat litter as 100wt%, the plant-based fiber cat litter includes 1wt%~94wt% of rice husk, 4.9wt%~54.9wt% of tamarind starch, 1wt%~94wt% of corn cob powder and 0.1wt%~10wt% of agar powder.

According to the above-mentioned plant-based fiber cat litter, the particle size of the corn cob powder ranges from 10 meshes to 200 meshes.

According to the above-mentioned plant fiber cat litter, the particle size of the corn cob powder is between 30 meshes and 60 meshes.

According to the above-mentioned plant fiber cat litter, the particle size of the corn cob powder is between 40 meshes and 50 meshes.

According to the above-mentioned plant-based fiber cat litter, the particle size of the rice husk is between 0.1 mm and 5 mm.

According to the above-mentioned plant-based fiber cat litter, the particle size of the rice husk is between 0.1 mm and 1 mm.

According to the above-mentioned plant-based fiber cat litter, the moisture content of the corn cob powder and/or rice husk is between 0.3% and 0.8% respectively.

According to the above-mentioned plant-based fiber cat litter, the corn cob powder is 1wt%~10wt%, the rice husk is 62wt%~94wt%, the tapioca starch is 6wt%~20wt%, and the agar powder is 3wt%~8wt%.

Based on the above purpose, a cat litter product is provided. The cat litter product includes the above-mentioned plant fiber cat litter and a packaging bag. The plant fiber cat litter is packaged in the packaging bag after being cooled to room temperature.

Based on the above purpose, a method for making plant-based fiber cat litter is provided. The method for making plant-based fiber cat litter comprises: uniformly mixing rice husk, yam starch, corn cob powder and agar powder to produce a uniform mixture, wherein the plant-based fiber cat litter comprises 1wt% to 94wt% of rice husk, 4.9wt% to 54.9wt% of yam starch, 1wt% to 94wt% of corn cob powder and 0.1wt% to 10wt% of agar powder based on 100wt% of the uniform mixture; granulating the uniform mixture to form cylindrical particles with a cylindrical appearance; and cooling the cylindrical particles to room temperature.

In summary, plant-based fiber cat litter can quickly condense with cat excrement to effectively reduce the odor of cat excrement, and plant-based fiber cat litter also has the effect of rapid dissolution in water, so the plant-based fiber cat litter can be directly flushed into the toilet after use, which can improve the user's quality of life and reduce the adverse impact on the environment. In addition, the specific gravity of plant-based fiber cat litter is less than 1 gram/cubic centimeter, so plant-based fiber cat litter is lighter than traditional cat litter after absorbing cat urine, which can reduce the burden of cat owners cleaning cat litter.

In order to make it easier for the reviewers to understand the technical content, features and effects of the present disclosure, the present disclosure will be more clearly explained with the presentation of embodiments and comparative examples, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. In addition, the use of "~" in this specification and the scope of the patent application indicates that the numerical range refers to the range covering the numerical values recorded before and after "~" as the lower limit and the upper limit; the use of "wt%" in this specification and the scope of the patent application refers to the weight percentage.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a manufacturing method of the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 disclosed herein, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cat litter product 300 disclosed herein. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the cat litter product 300 includes the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 and a packaging bag 200. The plant-based fiber cat litter 100 is packaged in the packaging bag 200 after cooling to room temperature. The plant-based fiber cat litter 100 is calculated as 100wt%, and the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 includes 1wt%~94wt% of rice husk, 4.9wt%~54.9wt% of yam starch, 1wt%~94wt% of corn cob powder, and 0.1wt%~10wt% of agar powder.

The manufacturing method of the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 includes the following steps. First, in step S1, rice husk, yam starch, corn cob powder and agar powder are weighed respectively and then put into a blender in sequence for uniform mixing to produce a uniform mixture, the blender is, for example, a commercially available planetary blender, drum blender or spiral blender; the weighing is based on the uniform mixture as 100wt%, which includes 1wt%~94wt% of rice husk, 4.9wt%~54.9wt% of yam starch, 1wt%~94wt% of corn cob powder and 0.1wt%~10wt% of agar powder. Then, in step S2, the homogeneous mixture is subjected to a granulation process to form cylindrical particles with a cylindrical appearance. For example, the homogeneous mixture is subjected to granulation by a screw extrusion granulator to form a plant fiber cat litter of cylindrical particles. Preferably, the length of the cylindrical particles is 5 to 8 mm and the diameter is 1.5 mm. In addition, the temperature of the plant fiber cat litter of the cylindrical particles is higher than room temperature due to the screw extrusion process. Afterwards, in step S3, the plant fiber cat litter of the cylindrical particles is cooled to room temperature so that the water content of the plant fiber cat litter of the cylindrical particles is about 0.3%.

Before or after the cylindrical particles, these particles can be preliminarily screened. For example, the operator can directly observe these particles and remove particles that do not meet the desired standards (for example, the particle size is not qualified) to leave the qualified particles after screening. The qualified particles after screening can be optionally dried to form the plant fiber cat litter 100. After the plant fiber cat litter 100 is cooled to room temperature, the plant fiber cat litter 100 can be packed into a packaging bag 200. In the following description, the above steps will be described in detail.

First, corn cob powder can be obtained by drying the corn cobs left after removing the corn kernels from the corn plant. For example, the corn cobs can be exposed to the sun for 3 days and then optionally dried at 80 degrees Celsius for 3 hours after exposure to the sun for 3 days, so that the fresh corn cobs with high moisture content can be transformed into dry corn cobs with low moisture content, so that the moisture content of the corn cobs is between 0.3% and 0.8%. Then, after the corn cobs have completed the aforementioned drying process, they can be cut or ground into corn cob powder, so that the particle size of the corn cob powder can meet the use standard.

In this embodiment, the particle size of the corn cob powder can be between 10 meshes and 200 meshes, that is, the particle size of the corn cob powder is 0.075mm~1.7mm. In a preferred embodiment, the preferred particle size of the corn cob powder is between 30 meshes and 60 meshes, that is, the particle size of the corn cob powder is 0.25mm~0.55mm. In a more preferred embodiment, the more preferred particle size of the corn cob powder is between 40 meshes and 50 meshes, that is, the particle size of the corn cob powder is 0.27mm~0.38mm. The corn plant can be selected from corn plants grown in the Chia-Nan Plain of Taiwan.

In some embodiments, the rice husk can be dried after removing the rice grains from the ears of fresh rice, for example, by first drying in the sun, and then optionally drying in the sun, for example, drying at 80 degrees Celsius for 3 hours, so that the moisture content of the dried rice husk is between 0.3% and 0.8%. Then, after the rice husk is dried, it can be cut or ground so that the particle size of the rice husk can meet the use standard.

In this embodiment, the particle size of the rice husk is between 0.1 mm and 5 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the particle size of the rice husk is between 0.1 mm and 1 mm. In a more preferred embodiment, the particle size of the rice husk is between 0.2 mm and 0.6 mm. The rice can be selected from the rice grown in the Changnan Plain of Taiwan.

The corncob powder contained in the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 disclosed herein can produce the aroma of natural plant fibers. Furthermore, the moisture content of the corncob powder is between 0.03% and 0.08% and/or the particle size of the corncob powder is between 0.075 mm and 1.7 mm in the plant-based fiber cat litter 100. The high specific surface area formed by the low moisture content and/or the particle size range can enable the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 to quickly condense into a mass with cat excrement; therefore, the corncob powder can serve as a flavoring agent.

Rice husks are cheap to obtain and thus can reduce the overall cost of the plant-based fiber cat litter 100. In addition, rice husks have porosity and can increase the ability to absorb the odor of cat excrement. Similar to the above-mentioned corn cob powder, the moisture content of rice husks is between 0.3% and 0.8% and/or the particle size of rice husks is 0.1 mm to 5 mm in the plant-based fiber cat litter 100. The high specific surface area formed by the low moisture content and/or the particle size range can not only enable the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 to quickly condense into a mass with cat excrement, but also increase the porosity and the ability to absorb the odor of cat excrement; therefore, rice husks can act as a deodorant.

In addition, adding tapioca starch can make the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 quickly coagulate with cat excrement. Tapioca starch absorbs the moisture of cat excrement to form dextrin, which can coagulate corn cob powder and rice husk that have absorbed cat excrement into a ball, and the ball will not fall apart after coagulation; therefore, tapioca starch can act as a coagulant.

Adding agar powder is helpful for the granulation process of the aforementioned step S2, especially when the screw extrusion process is performed, the temperature of the aforementioned uniform mixture will increase in the screw extrusion granulator, causing at least part of the agar powder to produce a bonding effect through a small amount of moisture from the rice husk and corn cob powder, thereby bonding the tapioca starch, rice husk, corn cob powder and the agar powder itself together. When the aforementioned cylindrical granules of the vegetable fiber cat litter 100 are cooled to room temperature, the cylindrical granules are completely formed, which is beneficial for the subsequent loading in the packaging bag, stacking and transportation without destroying the integrity of the cylindrical granules; therefore, the agar powder can act as an adhesive.

As described above, after the corn cob powder and rice husk are dried and ground into appropriate particle sizes, the corn cob powder, rice husk, yam starch and agar powder can be uniformly mixed to produce a uniform mixture. For example, taking the uniform mixture as 100wt%, the cylindrical granules of the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 formed by the uniform mixture granulation process can include 1wt%~94wt% of corn cob powder, 1wt%~94wt% of rice husk, 4.9wt%~54.9wt% of yam starch and 0.1wt%~10wt% of agar powder. In a preferred embodiment, based on 100wt% of the plant-based fiber cat litter 100, corn cob powder can be 1wt%-10wt%, rice husk can be 62wt%-94wt%, tapioca starch can be 6wt%-20wt%, and agar powder can be 3wt%-8wt%. The plant-based fiber cat litter 100 uniformly mixed within the above specific weight percentage range can have the effect of being quickly soluble in water, so the used plant-based fiber cat litter 100 can be directly flushed into the toilet.

To further explain, the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 that absorbs cat excrement will condense into a ball. Since the minimum particle size of the corn cob powder is 0.075mm and the minimum particle size of the rice husk is 0.1mm, it will not cause clogging of the toilet even if it is flushed into the toilet. One of the characteristics of tapioca starch and agar powder is that they are soluble in water, so they can be directly flushed into the toilet without causing clogging of the toilet.

In other words, after the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 absorbs cat excrement, it no longer needs to be thrown into a garbage truck, but can be directly flushed into the toilet and enter the septic tank. The corn cob powder, rice husk, tamarind starch and agar powder can be at least partially or even completely biodegraded in the septic tank, thereby reducing the adverse impact on the environment.

<Preparation of Plant Fiber Cat Litter 100 of Examples 1 to 6>

The plant-based fiber cat litter 100 of Examples 1 to 6 is prepared according to the ratio of corn cob powder, rice husk, yam starch and agar powder listed in Table 1. The corn cob powder is a feed-grade corn cob powder purchased from Zhensheng Industrial Co., Ltd., with an average particle size of 75 meshes, and a moisture content of 0.5% measured by a moisture content meter; the rice husk is purchased from Tainan Hongchang Rice Milling Factory, and is dried at 80 degrees Celsius for 3 hours after being exposed to the sun, and then grinded to a particle size of about 3 mm by a grinder, and a moisture content of 0.5% measured by a moisture content meter; the yam starch is purchased from Qunfu Industrial Co., Ltd., and the agar powder is purchased from Chuang Fengrong Chemical Enterprise Co., Ltd. Next, a spiral mixer produced by Xiaolin Machinery Co., Ltd. and a screw extrusion granulator produced by Chuangbao Special Precision Industry Co., Ltd. are used to prepare plant-based fiber cat litter with cylindrical particles of 6 mm in length and 1.5 mm in diameter in accordance with the aforementioned steps S1, S2, and S3.

＜Cat litter of Comparative Example 5~Comparative Example 6＞

Comparative Example 5 is mineral cat litter, and Comparative Example 6 is tofu cat litter, both of which were purchased from Zhen Sheng Industrial Co., Ltd.

＜Effect test and results of cat litter of embodiment, application embodiment, comparative example and application comparative example＞

The application embodiments described below are tested by using the corresponding embodiments, and the application comparative examples described below are tested by using the corresponding comparative examples.

＜ Measurement and evaluation of specific gravity ＞

The measurement was performed using an economical solid specific gravity meter MH-300E from Yongxin Co., Ltd. The judgment standard is that if the specific gravity is less than or equal to 1.0 g/cm3, it is judged as qualified and marked as "○", and if the specific gravity is higher than 1.0 g/cm3, it is judged as unqualified and marked as "X". After measurement, the specific gravity of Examples 1 to 6 is between 0.85 and 0.9 g/cm3 (g/ ^cm3 ), the specific gravity of Comparative Example 5 is 2.3g/ ^cm3 , and the specific gravity of Comparative Example 6 is 1.3g/ ^cm3 . Therefore, Examples 1 to 6 are qualified and marked as "○", and Comparative Examples 5 and Comparative Examples 6 are unqualified and marked as "X", please see Table 1 below.

＜ Measurement and evaluation of water condensation test ＞

500 grams of each of the application example, application comparative example 5, and application comparative example 6 were taken, and three cups of 100 ml of water were poured into the application example, application comparative example 5, and application comparative example 6, respectively. The judgment standard was that if it condensed into a lump within 10 seconds, it was judged as qualified and marked as "○", and if it condensed into a lump after 10 seconds or failed to condense into a lump, it was judged as unqualified and marked as "X". After measurement, all of the embodiments 1 to 6 condensed into a lump within 5 seconds, while comparative examples 1, 2, and 5 failed to condense into a lump, and comparative example 6 condensed into a lump within 8 seconds. Therefore, Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Example 6 are qualified and marked as "○", while Comparative Example 1, Comparative Example 2 and Comparative Example 5 are unqualified and marked as "X", see Table 1 below.

＜ Measurement and evaluation of water solubility test ＞

Take 500 grams of each of the application examples, comparative example 5, and comparative example 6, and pour the three portions of the application examples, comparative example 5, and comparative example 6 into three 5-liter buckets of water, respectively. The judgment standard is that if at least 50 wt% is dissolved in water, it is judged as qualified and marked as "○", and if less than half is dissolved in water or cannot be dissolved in water, it is judged as unqualified and marked as "X". After measurement, 60 wt% to 80 wt% of the components of Examples 1 to 6 are dissolved in water, while Comparative Example 1, Comparative Example 2, and Comparative Example 5 cannot be dissolved in water, and 55 wt% of the components of Comparative Example 6 are dissolved in water. Therefore, Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Example 6 are qualified and marked as "○", while Comparative Example 1, Comparative Example 2 and Comparative Example 5 are unqualified and marked as "X", see Table 1 below.

＜ Measurement and evaluation of deodorization test ＞

Three cups of cat excrement with the same weight percentage were poured into 500 grams of the application example, application comparison example 5, and application comparison example 6, and the odor molecules in the air were detected after 1 minute. The detection was performed using the XP329IIIr portable odor detector of Yian Co., Ltd. The judgment standard was that if the concentration of odor molecules was less than 10ppm, it was judged as qualified and marked as "○", and if the concentration of odor molecules was greater than 10ppm, it was judged as unqualified and marked as "X". After measurement, the concentration of odor molecules in Examples 1 to 6 was between 5ppm and 8ppm, while the concentration of odor molecules in Comparative Examples 1, Comparative Examples 2, Comparative Examples 5, and Comparative Examples 6 were all greater than 13ppm. Therefore, Examples 1 to 6 are qualified and marked as "○", while Comparative Examples 1, 2, 5 and 6 are unqualified and marked as "X", see Table 1 below.

Please refer to the following Table 1, which shows application examples 1 to 6 and application comparison examples 1 to 6 of the plant-based fiber cat litter 100. Plant-based Fiber Cat Litter Specific gravity test Water condensation test Water solubility test Deodorization test Overall evaluation Corn cob powder wt% Rice wt% Yam starch wt% Agar powder wt% Application Example 1 Embodiment 1 1 94 4.9 0.1 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Application Example 2 Embodiment 2 10 85 4.9 0.1 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Application Example 3 Embodiment 3 33 62 4.9 0.1 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Application Example 4 Embodiment 4 94 1 4.9 0.1 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Application Example 5 Embodiment 5 90 1 6 3 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Application Example 6 Embodiment 6 1 71 20 8 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Application Comparison Example 1 Comparison Example 1 0 95 4.9 0.1 ○ ○ ○ X ○ Application Comparison Example 2 Comparison Example 2 95 0 4.9 0.1 ○ ○ ○ X ○ Application Comparison Example 3 Comparison Example 3 10 85 0 5 ○ X X ○ ○ Application Comparison Example 4 Comparison Example 4 10 85 5 0 ○ X X ○ ○ Application Comparison Example 5 Comparison Example 5 Mineral sand cat litter X X X X X Application Comparison Example 6 Comparison Example 6 Tofu cat litter X ○ ○ X X Table 1

Application Examples 1 to 6 in Table 1 all passed the specific gravity test, water coagulation test, water solubility test, and deodorization test, so the overall evaluation results were all qualified. On the other hand, the formula of Application Comparison Example 1 in Table 1 did not use corn cob powder, so the deodorization effect was not as good as that of Application Examples 1 to 6 using corn cob powder, and its evaluation result was unqualified. Moreover, the formula of Application Comparison Example 2 in Table 1 did not use rice, so the deodorization effect was not as good as that of Application Examples 1 to 6 using rice formula, and its evaluation result was unqualified. In addition, the formula of Application Comparison Example 3 in Table 1 did not use cassava starch, so the effects of water coagulation and water solubility were not as good as those of Application Examples 1 to 6 using cassava starch, and its evaluation result was unqualified. The formula of Application Comparative Example 4 in Table 1 does not use agar powder, so the water coagulation and water dissolution effects are not as good as those of Application Examples 1 to 6 using agar powder, and its evaluation result is unqualified. In addition, the mineral cat litter used in Application Comparative Example 5 did not pass any test, so the overall evaluation result was unqualified. The tofu cat litter used in Application Comparative Example 6 did not pass the specific gravity test and the deodorization test, so the overall evaluation result was also unqualified.

In summary, the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 produced by uniformly mixing corn cob powder, rice husk, tamarind starch and agar powder in the above-mentioned appropriate weight percentage range can quickly condense with cat excrement to effectively reduce the odor of cat excrement, and the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 also has the effect of being quickly soluble in water, so the used plant-based fiber cat litter 100 can be directly flushed into the toilet, which can improve the user's quality of life and reduce the adverse impact on the environment. In addition, the specific gravity of the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 is less than 1 gram/cubic centimeter. Therefore, the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 is lighter than traditional cat litter after absorbing cat urine, which can reduce the burden of cleaning the plant-based fiber cat litter 100 for the owner.

However, the above is only an example of the present disclosure, and should not be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application and the content of the patent specification of the present disclosure are still within the scope of the present patent.

100: Plant-based fiber cat litter 200: Packaging bag 300: Cat litter product S1: Step S2: Step S3: Step

Other features and effects of the present disclosure will be clearly presented in the implementation method of the reference drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the manufacturing method of the plant-based fiber cat litter of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the cat litter product of the present disclosure.

S1: Steps

S2: Step

S3: Step

Claims (10)

A plant-based fiber cat litter, based on 100wt% of the plant-based fiber cat litter, comprises: 1wt%~94wt% of rice husk; 4.9wt%~54.9wt% of yam starch; 1wt%~94wt% of corn cob powder; and 0.1wt%~10wt% of agar powder. The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in claim 1, wherein the particle size of the corn cob powder is between 10 mesh and 200 mesh. The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in claim 2, wherein the particle size of the corn cob powder is between 30 meshes and 60 meshes. The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in claim 3, wherein the particle size of the corn cob powder is between 40 mesh and 50 mesh. The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in claim 1, wherein the particle size of the rice husk is between 0.1 mm and 5 mm. The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in claim 5, wherein the particle size of the rice husk is between 0.1 mm and 1 mm. The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in claim 1, wherein the moisture content of the corn cob powder and/or the rice husk is between 0.3% and 0.8% respectively. The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in claim 1, wherein the corn cob powder is 1wt%~10wt%, the rice husk is 62wt%~94wt%, the tapioca starch is 6wt%~20wt%, and the agar powder is 3wt%~8wt%. A cat litter product, comprising: The plant-based fiber cat litter as described in any one of claims 1 to 8; and A packaging bag (200) for containing the plant-based fiber cat litter, wherein the plant-based fiber cat litter is packaged in the packaging bag (200) after being cooled to room temperature. A method for making plant-based fiber cat litter comprises: Evenly mixing rice husk, yam starch, corn cob powder and agar powder in sequence to produce a uniform mixture, wherein the plant-based fiber cat litter comprises 1wt%~94wt% of the corn cob powder, 1wt%~94wt% of the rice husk, 4.9wt%~54.9wt% of the yam starch and 0.1wt%~10wt% of the agar powder based on 100wt% of the uniform mixture; Performing a granulation process on the uniform mixture to form cylindrical particles with a cylindrical appearance; and Cooling the cylindrical particles to room temperature.

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