WATER ABSORPTION TREATMENT MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Provided are a water absorption treatment material with excellent water disintegrability and a method for manufacturing the water absorption treatment material. A water absorption treatment material is a water absorption treatment material that absorbs a liquid, and includes a granule. The granule contains a reacted foaming agent. Gas bubbles that have been produced as a result of a reaction of the foaming agent are present in the granule.
1 . A water absorption treatment material that absorbs a liquid, the water absorption treatment material comprising:
a granule that contains a reacted foaming agent,
wherein gas bubbles that have been produced as a result of a reaction of the foaming agent are present in the granule.
2 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,
wherein the granule is configured to collapse once the water absorption treatment material absorbs the liquid.
3 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,
wherein the granule is formed by granulating a material to be granulated to which an aqueous solution containing the foaming agent is added.
4 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,
wherein the foaming agent is composed of sodium hydrogen carbonate.
5 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 4 ,
wherein the foaming agent is composed of the sodium hydrogen carbonate and citric acid.
6 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,
wherein the granule contains paper as a main material.
7 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,
wherein the granule contains a first adhesive material that exhibits viscosity upon absorbing water.
8 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 7 ,
wherein the first adhesive material is dextrin.
9 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 , the water absorption treatment material further comprising:
a coating layer portion that covers the granule, the coating layer portion containing a second adhesive material that exhibits viscosity upon absorbing water.
10 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 9 ,
wherein the coating layer portion contains paper that is composed mainly of a virgin pulp, as a main material.
11 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 9 ,
wherein the second adhesive material is a water-absorbent polymer that has a mean particle size of 20 μm or less.
12 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 9 ,
wherein the coating layer portion covers only a portion of a surface of the granule.
13 . A method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material that absorbs a liquid, the method comprising:
a water addition step of adding an aqueous solution containing a foaming agent to a material to be granulated; and
a granulating step of granulating the material to be granulated to which the aqueous solution is added and thereby forming a granule.
14 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 13 ,
wherein, in the water addition step, before the aqueous solution is added to the material to be granulated, the foaming agent is reacted in the aqueous solution.
15 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 14 ,
wherein, in the water addition step, before the aqueous solution is added to the material to be granulated, the aqueous solution is heated.
16 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 13 ,
wherein, when a weight of the material to be granulated is taken as 1, a weight of the aqueous solution that is added to the material to be granulated in the water addition step is 0.9 or less.
17 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 13 , the method further comprising:
a drying step of heating the granule formed in the granulating step and thereby drying the granule.
18 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 13 , the method further comprising:
a coating step of making a coating material adhere to a surface of the granule formed in the granulating step and thereby forming coating layer portion that covers the granule.
19 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 18 ,
wherein, in the coating step, the coating layer portion is formed so as to cover only a portion of the surface of the granule.
20 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 18 ,
wherein, in the coating step, the coating material is made to adhere to the surface of the granule without adding water to the granule.