WATER ABSORPTION TREATMENT MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME

1 . A water absorption treatment material that absorbs a liquid, the water absorption treatment material comprising:

a granule that contains a foaming agent,

wherein, upon the water absorption treatment material absorbing the liquid, gas bubbles are produced in the granule as a result of a reaction of the foaming agent, and the granule collapses.

2 . 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.

3 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,

wherein the foaming agent is composed of sodium hydrogen carbonate.

4 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 3 ,

wherein the foaming agent is composed of the sodium hydrogen carbonate and citric acid.

5 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,

wherein the granule contains paper as a main material.

6 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 1 ,

wherein the granule contains a first adhesive material.

7 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 6 ,

wherein a weight ratio of the first adhesive material in the granule is 30% or less.

8 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 6 ,

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.

10 . 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.

11 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 9 ,

wherein the coating layer portion covers only a portion of a surface of the granule.

12 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 9 ,

wherein the coating layer portion entirely covers a surface of the granule.

13 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 12 ,

wherein the coating layer portion contains the foaming agent.

14 . The water absorption treatment material according to claim 9 ,

wherein a weight ratio of the coating layer portion in a whole of the granule and the coating layer portion is less than 15%.

15 . A method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material that absorbs a liquid, the method comprising:

an adding step of adding a foaming agent to a material to be granulated; and

a granulating step of granulating the material to be granulated to which the foaming agent is added and thereby forming a granule.

16 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 15 , 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 a coating layer portion that covers the granule.

17 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 16 ,

wherein, in the coating step, the coating layer portion is formed so as to cover only a portion of the surface of the granule.

18 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 16 ,

wherein, in the coating step, the coating layer portion is formed so as to cover the entire surface of the granule.

19 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 18 ,

wherein, in the coating step, the foaming agent is added to the coating material before the coating material is made to adhere to the surface of the granule.

20 . The method for manufacturing a water absorption treatment material according to claim 16 ,

wherein, in the coating step, the coating material is made to adhere to the surface of the granule without adding water to the granule.