JPH11113435A - Excrement-absorbent for small animal and its production - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a granular excrement-absorbent of bentonite containing a deodorizer and an antimicrobial agent, suitable for small animals such as mouse, rat, guinea pig and hamster which are smaller than cat. SOLUTION: This excrement-absorbent 2 for small animals is housed in a lavatory pan 1 integrally molded from a synthetic resin such as polyethylene. The absorbent 2 is obtained by adding each 0.5-5.0 wt.% deodorizer and antimicrobial agent to bentonite (especially sodium bentonite) used as a base, and has particle diameter suitable for mouse, rat, guinea pig and hamster which are generally smaller than cat are excreted thereon by preference. When the small animals excretes feces and urine in the lavatory pan 1, the absorbent 2 is aggregated into mass-like solid material 4 stabilized by instantaneously absorbing water content from these excrements. In the absorbent, the deodorizer removes foreign odor or prevents diffusion and the antimicrobial agent prevents putrefaction and generation of mold of antimicrobial agent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a mouse, a rat,
A small animal excrement absorbent that spreads on the bed of a small animal smaller than a cat such as a guinea pig, a hamster, or a toilet bowl, absorbs the excrement of the small animal, coagulates in a stable mass, and deodorizes to suppress the generation of bacteria. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Small animals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters that are kept as pets at home have a habit of excreting manure in dry sand or places with straw.
Sometimes they are trained that way.

[0003] Therefore, in order to facilitate collection of excreta, the owner installs a special container such as a resin tray in a predetermined place as a bed or a toilet and places a base on which a small animal prefers as an excretion place. .

[0004] Conventional sleeping mats and toilets of small animals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters (also referred to as litter boxes and toilets) are provided with straw, sawdust, wood chips, sand, cutting paper, etc. as a base. It is contained as an absorbent to reduce the spread of unpleasant odors and the discomfort caused by visual perception.

Although the above excrement absorbent is low in cost,
It must be said that water absorption and deodorization of the most important excrement (manure) are extremely insufficient, and it is far from eliminating discomfort.

On the other hand, in recent years, it has been proposed to use a polymer absorbent as an excrement absorbent in place of the above-mentioned conventional excrement absorbent, but the polymer absorbent is relatively expensive. And the treatment after use was also difficult.

Accordingly, bentonite, a kind of clay mineral which is relatively inexpensive and has excellent moisture absorption and deodorization properties of manure, has recently attracted attention, and has been put to practical use mainly as an absorbent for excrement of medium-sized animals such as cats. Have been.

Bentonite is a clay mineral containing montmorillonite as a main component and silicate minerals such as quartz, opal and cristobalite, and alkaline earth metal salt minerals such as gypsum, dolomite and calcite. Due to its characteristics, it has excellent activity even among clay minerals. In particular, it is porous and has a high deodorizing property, high water swelling property, and has a cation exchange property. Conventionally, a mud conditioner for boring, a sand type binder for casting, a pesticide carrier, a soil conditioner,
Alternatively, it is frequently used as a coating aid or the like.

Thus, if the above bentonite is used as an absorbent for excrement of cats and the like, it absorbs the moisture of excrement and coagulates into a stable lump, deodorizes and prevents diffusion of unpleasant odor. In addition, since the aggregated mass is well dispersed in water, disposal treatment is also facilitated.

[0010]

However, bentonite which is currently in practical use as an absorbent for excrement of medium-sized animals such as cats has a particle size of 2000 μm to 8000 μm mainly for cats from the beginning. Yes,
It was unsuitable for use as an absorbent for excrement of small animals smaller than cats such as mice, rats, guinea pigs and hamsters.

That is, excretions of small animals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs and hamsters are smaller than excretions of medium-sized animals such as cats, and the bentonite particles having the above particle size are too large for small animals such as mice. It is not familiar. In fact, even when the cat bentonite excrement absorbent was used by laying it on the toilet bowl of the mouse, the mouse did not prefer to excrete.

If the particle size is large, particles that have absorbed the water of the excrement prematurely are also subject to disposal, so that waste of the absorbent increases and particles that are incompletely agglomerated are generated.

For this reason, bentonite particles as a conventional excrement absorbent mainly intended for cats have an enormous effect as an absorbent for excrement of medium-sized animals such as cats, but are not suitable for small animals such as mice. Its practicality is poor and it has not yet spread.

By the way, bentonite is mainly composed of montmorillonite, and Al in the crystal structure is partially replaced by alkali ions or alkaline earth ions. Then, it is classified into sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite, magnesium bentonite and the like according to the substituted ions. Among them, sodium bentonite is said to have high water swellability, calcium bentonite has absorbability but extremely low water swellability, and magnesium bentonite is said to have no water swellability.

[0015] Bentonite having the above-mentioned properties has an effect of removing off-flavor components of excrement, but its removing action is due to physical adsorption action by porous material.
There is a problem that the saturated odor component is likely to be saturated in a relatively short time, and particularly the adsorbed off-flavor component is easily separated under high humidity.

Also, bentonite has poor antibacterial action,
It was hardly expected to control the decay and mold generation of excrement of small animals such as mice, and there was a risk that the propagation of fungi would cause damage to the animals, or that the animals would be affected by the owners.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and completely prevents the spread of off-flavors due to excrement of small animals such as mice based on bentonite, and also prevents rot and fungi of excrement. It is intended to do so.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to (1) a small animal which comprises granular bentonite whose particle size is controlled to be 300 μm to 1700 μm as a main component, to which a deodorant and an antibacterial agent are added. The problem is solved by providing an excrement absorbent.

(2) In the excrement of small animals described in (1), the deodorant is one of ascorbic acid, flavonoid, phenol, potassium permanganate, formalin, bleached powder, or a mixture thereof. The object is achieved by providing a small animal excrement absorbent characterized by being a composite.

(3) In the small animal excrement absorbent according to (1), the antibacterial agent is a biguanide compound or a polyhexamethylene biguanide obtained by polymerizing the compound, a quaternary ammonium salt, glutaraldehyde, The object is achieved by providing a small animal excrement absorber characterized by being one of a cyclic peptide, a polyanion, or a complex thereof.

(4) The above (1), (2) and (3)
The above object is achieved by providing a small animal excrement absorbent, wherein the bentonite is sodium bentonite.

(5) Further, bentonite is 300 μm
(1) or (2), wherein 0.5 to 5.0 wt% of a deodorant and an antibacterial agent are added thereto and mixed with each other. The above object is achieved by providing a method for producing a small animal excrement absorbent according to (3) or (4).

By using granulated bentonite in the above particle size range, small animals smaller than cats excrete preferentially. Particles larger than this range are less compatible with small animals and do not excrete favorably. Particles smaller than this range (smaller than sand particles) also become less familiar to small animals, and are handled in production and sales. Difficulties.

Further, by using sodium bentonite which has a large amount of production and high water swelling property, the production cost can be reduced, and the excrement absorbent which is swollen and coagulated to form a lump by absorbing the moisture of manure can be used. It becomes easy to sort the unused excrement absorbent that has not absorbed the surrounding moisture, and the disposal treatment becomes easy.

The deodorizing agent does not remove the off-flavor by physical adsorption, such as activated carbon or silica gel, but uses a substance that removes or suppresses the off-flavor by chemical action.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the excrement absorbent placed in the urinal of a small animal such as a mouse, rat, guinea pig, hamster and the like according to the present invention and its use state, and FIG. 2 is the excretion of the small animal according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a composition diagram of montmorillonite which is a main component of bentonite as a substance absorbent. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the manufacturing process of the excrement of small animals according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a toilet bowl 1 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene, and a small animal excrement absorbent 2 of the present invention is accommodated therein. Of course, the above-mentioned toilet bowl 1 may be what is called a so-called litter box or a bed.

The excrement absorbent 2 has a particle size of 300 μm to 17 μm.
According to the excrement absorbent 2, when small animals (pet animals smaller than cats) such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters excrete manure and the like in the toilet 1, 3 instantaneously absorbs water and aggregates into a stable solid mass 4. For this reason, there is no danger that the excrement 3 adheres to the animal fur or the like and contaminates the surroundings, and since the excrement is solidified, an unpleasant odor is not diffused and there is no visual discomfort.

Further, since the off-odor is removed or stopped by the action of the deodorant in the excrement absorbent 2, the off-odor is hardly diffused, and the action of the antibacterial agent inhibits the growth of fungi. Rot and mold formation are prevented.

In detail, bentonite is a clay mineral containing montmorillonite as a main component, as is well known, and belongs to a 2: 1 layer type, smectite group, and dioctahedral subgroup in classification. Here, the 2: 1 layer type refers to a three-layer structure including a tetrahedral silicate layer, an octahedral alumina layer, and a tetrahedral silicate layer. Among them, part of the aluminum in the alumina octahedron layer, which is the intermediate layer, is replaced by low-charged magnesium and lacks cations, and sodium,
Cations such as calcium and magnesium are adsorbed. These ions can be exchanged for other ions in water and are called exchangeable cations. Those which are mainly sodium ions are called sodium bentonite and those which are calcium ions are called calcium bentonite.

FIG. 2 is a composition diagram of montmorillonite.
5 is a hydroxyl group, 6 is a silicon molecule, 7 is an oxygen molecule, 8 is an aluminum molecule (partially a magnesium molecule), 9 is an exchangeable cation, and the amount of sodium bentonite in which the exchangeable cation 9 is a sodium ion. In the present application, sodium bentonite is mainly used. The reason is that, as described above, a large amount of output is obtained, it is reliable and easy to obtain, and it leads to cost reduction.

Incidentally, in addition to sodium bentonite, there are calcium bentonite, potassium bentonite, lithium bentonite, magnesium bentonite and the like.
It is also possible to use a mixture of two or more selected from them.

For example, there are sodium bentonite and calcium bentonite, sodium bentonite and potassium bentonite, sodium bentonite and magnesium bentonite, calcium bentonite and magnesium bentonite, and the like. Among them, the combination of sodium bentonite and calcium bentonite is known for being excellent in water absorption and dispersion in water, and will be useful as a component of the excrement absorbent according to the present invention.

Next, as can be seen from the flow chart of FIG. 3, the process for producing the excrement of small animal excrement according to the present invention comprises (A) mining bentonite ore, transporting it to the plant, and then (B) ) Granulated by impeller breaker 11, double roll crusher 12, etc., and (C) sized trommel 13
(30 mm in opening), roughly classified, (D) dried to a water content of 10% or less in a rotary kiln 14, and (E) a required 300 μm through a vibrating circular sieve (screen) 15.
Classify to a particle size range of １1700 μm.

It should be noted that the above manufacturing process does not include the process of baking or compressing bentonite as a raw material. When covered and baked, the water swelling property will be lost, and compression is exceptional for other purposes, and it is an unnecessary treatment as an excrement absorbent, and the produced bentonite is controlled in particle size as it is in the above process flow The product is most effective as a waste excrement absorbent.

On the other hand, porous substances such as activated carbon, zeolite and silica gel are well known as deodorants, but in the present application, they do not remove off-flavors by physical adsorption like these, but use chemical action. Use substances that remove or control off-flavors.

In particular, those which have a large effect of removing ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, methyl sulfide and the like, which are typical off-flavor components of manure, are used.

For example, as such deodorants, aromatic substances such as ascorbic acid (ascorbic acid-iron salt) and flavonoid which have an effect of suppressing an off-odor by masking, phenol and potassium permanganate which have an effect of removing an off-odor can be used. Examples include formalin, bleaching powder, or a composite thereof. And, according to those deodorants, the diffusion of an unpleasant odor can be prevented for a long time by the chemical action. Incidentally, ascorbic acid and flavonoids may be used in the form of a plant extract containing these in a predetermined amount.

Antibacterial agents include biguanide compounds such as sodium salt of 2-pyridylthiol oxide and chlorhexidine and polyhexamethylene biguanides obtained by polymerizing the same, cyclic peptides such as quaternary ammonium salts, glutaraldehyde, gramicidin and tyrosidine. And polyanions such as urea-formaldehyde resin and hydrolyzate of divinyl ether-maleic anhydride copolymer, and composites thereof. Among them, 2-pyridylthiol oxide sodium salt is a gram-positive bacterium,
It has a strong bactericidal activity at a low concentration against gram-negative bacteria and yeasts, and is particularly useful as a fungicide of the present invention because it shows a growth inhibitory effect at 0.25 ppm or less against molds. The safety of this antibacterial agent has been confirmed by oral toxicity tests using rats and mice, and no abnormalities have been observed in subacute toxicity tests using monkeys. Not allowed.

Also, polyhexamethylene biguanide and cyclic peptides are effective in inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive bacteria and have extremely low toxicity to mammals, so that they are also useful as the antibacterial agent of the present invention.

The absorbent 2 according to the present invention is sodium bentonite or bentonite having a low sodium content, which has been subjected to an activation treatment (a treatment of spraying colloid of sodium carbonate and drying) (referred to as modified bentonite). Is controlled to a particle size of 300 μm to 1700 μm, and the above-mentioned deodorant and antibacterial agent are added to each other in an amount of 0.5% by weight to 5.0% by weight and mixed.

As a method of mixing bentonite with a deodorant and an antibacterial agent, (1) a method of mixing with a mixer, (2) a method of adding slaked lime or calcium carbonate powder onto a belt conveyor for transporting bentonite and vibrating. There are a method of mixing with an apparatus, a method of (3) a method of directly adding slaked lime or calcium carbonate powder from a dropping port of a hopper containing bentonite, and a method of (4) a method of batch mixing using a drum.

When potassium permanganate or bleaching powder is used as a deodorant, and sodium 2-pyridylthiol oxide is used as an antibacterial agent, they may be added directly to bentonite at the above-mentioned weight ratio. However, it is preferable to convert them into an aqueous solution and impregnate the carrier with a carrier such as a natural mineral adjusted to the same particle size as bentonite.

Finally, the excrement absorbent obtained by mixing the deodorant and the antibacterial agent with the granular bentonite having a uniform particle size within a required range through the above steps is packed and shipped.

As a result, the excrement absorbent 2 according to the present invention
According to the present invention, it is well-adapted to small animals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters (of course, other small animals may be used) smaller than cats.
The small animal excreted manure in preference to the toilet bowl 1 containing the excrement absorbent 2. This means that the trouble of training small animals kept as pets in excretion sites is eliminated.

The excretion of small animals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs and hamsters is smaller than that of medium-sized animals such as cats, and excrement of granular bentonite controlled to a particle size of 300 μm to 1700 μm is obtained. When used as an absorbent, the lump that absorbs the water of excrement becomes only a lump necessary for absorption, reducing the amount of bentonite consumed and the amount of replenishment of the absorbent reduces the cost burden. become.

Further, since the deodorant and the antibacterial agent are mixed, the odor of the excrement is not diffused to the surroundings.
By suppressing decay of excrement and generation of mold,
This improves sanitation near the breeding site, thereby eliminating the discomfort of the owner.

[0049]

As described above, the small animal excrement absorbent according to the present invention has a bentonite content of 300 μm to 17 μm.
Since the particle size is controlled to be 00 μm, it becomes well compatible with small animals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters, which are smaller than cats. This has an excellent effect of facilitating the treatment of excrement.

In particular, since a deodorant is added to the bentonite, an unpleasant odor is removed, or there is no diffusion of the unpleasant odor in combination with the agglutination of bentonite, so that the owner is not uncomfortable.

In addition, since an antibacterial agent is added, it is sanitary without decay of excrement and mold generation, and in particular, since it can prevent the spread of fungi by transmitting animals, these animals can be kept indoors with confidence. be able to.

In addition, the use of sodium bentonite, which has a high yield in Japan, as bentonite as a raw material, has an excellent effect that the cost can be reduced and the treatment after use is facilitated by utilizing the water swelling property of sodium bentonite. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sleeping stool showing a use state of a small animal excrement absorbent according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a composition diagram of montmorillonite which is a main component of bentonite as a small animal excrement absorbent according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a process for producing a small animal excrement absorbent according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Animal toilet 2 Excrement absorbent 3 Excretion 4 Solid matter 5 Hydroxyl group 6 Silicon molecule 7 Oxygen molecule 8 Aluminum molecule 9 Exchangeable cation 11 Impeller breaker 12 Double roll crusher 13 Sizing trommel 14 Rotary kiln 15 Round sieve

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A small animal excrement absorbent comprising, as a main component, granular bentonite whose particle size is controlled to 300 μm to 1700 μm, and to which a deodorant and an antibacterial agent are added. 2. The small animal excrement absorbent according to claim 1, wherein the deodorant is one of ascorbic acid, flavonoid, phenol, potassium permanganate, formalin, bleaching powder, or a compound thereof. An absorbent for excrement of small animals, characterized in that: 3. The small animal excrement absorbent according to claim 1, wherein the antibacterial agent is a biguanide compound or a polyhexamethylene biguanide obtained by polymerizing the compound, a quaternary ammonium salt, glutaraldehyde, a cyclic peptide, a polyanion. A small animal excrement absorbent, which is one of the above, or a composite thereof. 4. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 3.
2. The excrement absorbent of small animals according to claim 1, wherein the bentonite is sodium bentonite. 5. A method for preparing bentonite from 300 μm to 1700 μm.
The particle size of m is controlled, and a deodorant and an antibacterial agent are added to each and added in an amount of 0.5% by weight to 5.0% by weight, respectively, and mixed. Claim 3
Alternatively, the method for producing a small animal excrement absorbent according to claim 4.