Compressed Coconut Coir Pith Granules and Methods for the Production and use Thereof

a technology granules, which is applied in the field of compressed coconut coir pith granules, can solve the problems of large shipping and handling costs, cumbersome use of compressed coir pith bricks for consumers, and large expansion of entire bricks with water for a relatively long tim

Inactive Publication Date: 2009-05-07
OMS INVESTMENTS INC
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]The compressed granular coconut coir pith products produced in accordance with the present disclosure may be composed of coconut coir pith only or may contain other horticulturally acceptable media such as fertilizers, micronutrients, pH adjus...

Problems solved by technology

However, the use of compressed coir pith bricks is cumbersome for use by consumers.
The entire brick must first be expanded with water for a relatively long period of time.
However, coconuts are typically only grown in tropical and sub tropical regions, while demand for the substrate is in the United States and Europe, which entails significant shipping and handling costs,
Presently, the forms in which coconut coir pith is available for import into the United States and Europe are rather limited.
This processing step is relatively slow and requires the entire disc, brick, or blocks to be out-turned at once.
Also, coconut coir pith that is outturned is either dry and dusty or wet and heavy which contributes to further processing problems.
Furthermore, coconut coir pith is not commonly baled in the manner of sphagnum peat because this form is l...

Method used

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  • Compressed Coconut Coir Pith Granules and Methods for the Production and use Thereof

Examples

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example 1

[0041]Coir pith bricks of Sri Lankan origin were obtained from Haymark (Spring, Tex.). The bricks were out turned using a pin mill and screened through ⅜″ screen. The loose coir had a moisture content of between 10 and 17% by weight. A horticulturally acceptable surfactant was obtained from BASF, Pluronic L-62 is the name of the proprietary non-ionic surfactant. The coir was blended with 1% by weigh solution of a 1:1 mixture of surfactant and water. The surfactant treated coir was then fed into a Chilsonator Model 1.5 L×8 D Roll Compactor manufactured by Fitzpatrick Co. The roll pressure (oil pressure) was operated at between 1200 and 1800 psi. The feed screw was turning at 70 rpms. The coir left the compactor as a mixture of fines and semi-continuous ribbons. The compacts were collected and screened using a Sweco vibratory screener to +¼″. The fines were recycled back to the compactor. After about 20 lbs of compacts larger than ¼″ were collected, the material was milled in a Fitzmi...

example 2

[0042]Coir pith bricks of Sri Lankan origin were obtained from Haymark (Spring, Texas). The coir bricks were outturned using an Extructor Model RE-12 manufactured by Bepex (Minneapolis, Minn.). The coir was then milled using a Pulvicron, PC-20 (Bepex) in order to reduce the length of fibers present with the pith. The pulvicron is an air-swept mill with and internal classifier. Use of this mill is effective at reducing the fiber length and adjusting the moisture content of the coir pith by controlling the temperature and / or humidity of the air stream. Moisture content of the coir pith was typically between 10% and 15% by weight after milling. The pith was then batch blended in a ribbon blender with pulverized dolomite lime to adjust pH and 15-15-15 fertilizer (containing ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, diammonium phosphate, and potassium chloride). The blended coir was compacted into ribbons using a Model MS-75 Compactor (Bepex) with a medium compression feed screw and flat (smoo...

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Abstract

Compressed coconut coir pith granules having unique physical and horticultural characteristics are provided along with methods for producing such compressed products by subjecting coconut coir pith to compaction utilizing a roll compactor and subsequently granulating the compacted material.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference in its entirety U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 000,818 entitled “Compressed Coconut Coir Pith Granules and Methods for the Production and Use Thereof” to Marcus Bertin, et al. filed Oct. 29, 2007.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]The present disclosure relates to compressed coconut coir pith granules for use as growth media and to methods for producing such granules or flakes. More particularly, the compressed granules or flakes produced in accordance with the present invention exhibit enhanced size, density, flowability and abrasion resistance characteristics which render the granules highly desirable for use in seeding mulch, potting mix, garden soil and flower and vegetable furrow covering applications.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE[0003]Coconut coir pith is a by-product of the coconut husk fiber processing industry. Coir is the name given to the fibrous mate...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A01G13/00C05F11/00
CPCA01G9/1086C05F5/002C05F11/00A01G2031/008B02C19/00C05F11/02A01G24/23A01G24/25A01G24/28A01G24/42A01G24/44Y02P20/145Y02A40/20Y02A40/28
Inventor BERTIN, MARCUSNELSON, ERICYELANICH, MARK
Owner OMS INVESTMENTS INC
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