Artificial snow in an aggregate form of snow granules
AssigneesMiura Dolphins Co., Ltd., Tonen Corporation, Osaka Organic Chemical Industry Ltd., Tonen Chemical Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Masahisa Ohtsuka
InventorsYuichiro Miura, Kazuo Hirano, Takayuki Nate, Taiji Kambayashi, Masahisa Ohtsuka, Toshitake Nagai
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Abstract
Artificial snow granule in granule form comprising a super absorbent polymer in granule form as a nucleus and an ice layer surrounding the nucleus is provided here. An aggregate form is provided by linkage of adjacent ice layers and/or granules. Further, a snow granule quality improver is provided. A method for making the above-mentioned snow granule in a granule or an aggregate form is also provided here.
Claims9
A method for making artificial snow in granule form having an average particle size of about 0.05 to 5 mm which comprises the steps of:
- (a) absorbing water into a super absorbent polymer in granule form which retains the granule form after absorption of water without sticking to other granules and has a deionized-water absorbability of about 30 to 500 times the weight of the dry polymer and an average particle size of about 20 to 500 .mu.m before water absorption so as to give a water-swollen super absorbent polymer having an average particle size of about 0.05 to 5 mm;
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- (b) freezing said water-swollen super absorbent polymer while mixing the polymer with a coolant with stirring.
A method for making an artificial snow cover used to cover ski slopes which comprises the steps of:
- (a) absorbing water in a super absorbent polymer in granule form which retains the original granule form after absorption of water without sticking to other granules and has a deionized-water absorbability of about 30 to 500 times the weight of the dried polymer with an average particle size of about 20 to 500 .mu.m before water absorption so as to give a water swollen polymer having an average particle size of about 0.05 to 5 mm;
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- (b) freezing said water-swollen super absorbent polymer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.