Sorbent additive and composition
OwnerStephen Marshallinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An additive formulated for blending with bulk absorbent materials to cause the absorbent materials to agglomerate upon the introduction of urine or waste products. The invention also comprises mixtures of the additive with the conventional absorbent materials. The additive itself comprises: a polysaccharide, such as a galactomannan gum; a borate compound for use as a cross-linking agent; a dicarboxylic acid in order to acidify the pH of the additive; and preferably a flow control element such as silica. An additional element may also be added to assist in fixing the additive to the absorbent materials, to control dust during the mixing process, and to improve the flow of the material when poured out of a container by the end user.
Claims33
An additive for use in an absorbent composition to promote clumping and facilitate subsequent removal of urine in said absorbent composition comprising:
- a. a galactomannan gum powder having a particle size distribution allowing at least 90% of said galactomannan gum powder to pass through a 200 mesh sieve;
- b. a sufficient amount of a borate compound to provide cross linking of said absorbent composition upon the addition of said urine;
- and
- c. a sufficient amount of dicarboxylic acid, to lower the pH of said additive to a level where said borate compound and said galactomannan gum powder agglomerate said absorbent composition upon the introduction of said urine.
An absorbent composition to promote clumping and facilitate subsequent removal of urine in said absorbent composition comprising:
- a. conventional absorbent material, wherein said conventional absorbent material has a particle size between 8 and 50 mesh.
- b. guar gum powder having a particle size distribution allowing at least 90% of said guar gum powder to pass through a 200 mesh sieve;
- c. anhydrous borax, in an amount sufficient to provide cross linking of said absorbent composition upon the addition of said urine;
- and
- d. a dicarboxylic acid, in an amount sufficient to lower the pH of said absorbent composition to a level where said borate compound and said guar gum powder agglomerate said absorbent composition upon the introduction of said urine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.