Biodegradable and plastic free absorbent layers for sanitary pads and diapers

Abstract

Biodegradable and Plastic Free Absorbent Layers for Sanitary Pads and Diapers The present invention relates to the development of biodegradable and plastic free absorbent layers for sanitary pads and diapers using stubble / reaped crops of wheat as well as rice. The present invention utilizes stubbles those are burnt in very large quantities for making useful product related absorbent layers for sanitary pads and diapers. The present invention helps in reducing air pollution that is caused due to burning of stubble and helps in making of plastic free sanitary pads which are easily biodegradable and thus environment friendly. The stubble based absorbent layers have low cost with comparable absorbent capacity.

Description

Field of the Invention:The present invention relates to the development of bio-degradable and plastic freeabsorbent layers used in sanitary pads and diapers by using stubble (reaped cropsof wheat as well as rice).Background of the Invention:India is known for its agricultural capabilities, and agriculture with allied sectorscontribute more than 20% in Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of nation. The majorcontributions in GDP comes by producing Wheat (more than 112 million tonne in2022-23) and Rice (more than 100 million tonne in 2022-23). The major of wheatproduction happens in Northern and Central part of India while rice productionhappens in Northern and Southern part of India. The crops related to wheat arereaped during months of February-March while rice are usually reaped duringSeptember-October. It is a typical tradition followed by majority of farmers of Indiato burn the stubble (reaped crops of wheat as well as rice) before harvesting newchain of crops in different parts of India.The burning of stubble usually leads in great amount of air pollution, and largelyaffects the daily-life of people residing in nearby areas of farms. The level of airpollution created by burning stubble has been drastically increased in recent times,and needs to be controlled by finding appropriate use of stubble. This will not onlyreduce the level of air pollution but it will also provide an opportunity to get valueof stubble for farmers.Indian women are also observed to be very reluctant in use of sanitary pads, and itis observed that less than 20% of women from India use the sanitary pads duringtheir menstrual periods. Authorities of various levels are putting lots of efforts toencourage women for the use of sanitary pads. However, most of sanitary padsavailable in market consists a reasonable amount of non-biodegradable plastics, andare very difficult to dispose. In case, 50% of Indian women are motivated to initiatethe use of traditional sanitary pads then another challenge related to disposal ofplastic available in traditional sanitary pads will come up in front of authorities.Therefore, there is a pressing need to address both challenges mentioned above bydevelopment of bio-degradable plastic free sanitary pads with the use of stubblethat are burnt in very large quantity in India every year. Sanitary pads are usuallycomprised of various layers including top layer (nonwoven, hydrophobic, skinfriendly), intermediate layers (absorbent and antibacterial) and bottom layer(hydrophobic with appropriate gripping arrangement). The present invention ismainly focused on development of biodegradable and plastic free absorbent layersused in sanitary pads as well as diapers with the use of stubble.Object of the Invention:The main objective of the present invention is to develop biodegradable and plasticfree absorbent layers used in sanitary pads and diapers with the use of stubble(reaped crops of wheat as well as rice).Another objective of the present invention is to utilize the stubble that are burnt invery large quantities every year for making useful product related absorbent layersfor sanitary pads and diapers.Yet another objective of the present invention is to encourage farmers to reduce theburning of stubble and generate value from stubble.Yet another objective of the present invention is to enhance the quality of air byreducing air pollution occurred due to burning of stubble.Yet another objective of the present invention is to eliminate the use of plastic inmaking sanitary pads and diapers.Yet another objective of the present invention is to develop low cost sanitary padsand diapers with comparable absorbent capacity.Summary of the Invention:The present invention is mainly focused on development of biodegradable andplastic free absorbent layers used in sanitary pads as well as diapers with the use ofstubble (reaped crops of wheat as well as rice). There is a pressing need to addressthe challenges of burning of stubble which leads to the increase in air pollution anddisposition of non-biodegradable sanitary pads. The present invention overcomesboth the challenges by utilizing the stubble for making useful product relatedabsorbent layers used in sanitary pads and diapers.The present invention eliminates the use of plastic by making biodegradableabsorbent layers for sanitary pads and diapers and also encourages farmers toreduce the burning of stubble, and generate value from stubble. The presentinvention also enhances the quality of air by reducing air pollution occurred due toburning of stubble. The stubble based absorbent layers are environment friendlywith low cost and comparable absorbent capacity.Brief Description of drawings:Figure 1 shows Wheat stubble in farmFigure 2 shows Wheat stubbleFigure 3 shows Chopped stubbleFigure 4 shows Pulverise machineFigure 5 shows Stubble transformed into fibresFigure 6 shows thick slurry prepared from boiled flaked stubbleFigure 7 shows Bleached stubble in the form of pulpFigure 8 shows thin absorbent layerFigure 9 shows Absorbent layer with required shape for sanitary padDetailed Description of the Invention:The following description relates to a particular manifestation of the presentinvention. The present invention relates to the development of absorbent layers usedin sanitary pads and diapers by using stubble those are burnt in very large quantitiesevery year.Sanitary pads are usually comprised of various layers including top layer(nonwoven, hydrophobic, skin-friendly), intermediate layers (absorbent andantibacterial) and bottom layer (hydrophobic with appropriate grippingarrangement). The present invention relates to developing biodegradable andplastic free absorbent layers for sanitary pads as well as diapers with the use ofstubble.It is a typical tradition followed by majority of farmers of India to burn the stubble(reaped crops of wheat as well as rice) before harvesting new chain of crops indifferent parts of India. Burning of stubble usually leads in great amount of airpollution, and largely affects the daily-life of people residing in nearby areas offarms. The level of air pollution created by burning stubble has been drasticallyincreased in recent times, and needs to be controlled by finding appropriate use ofstubble. The present invention helps in utilization of stubble that are burnt in verylarge quantities every year by making valuable product related to absorbent layersused in sanitary pads and diapers.Most of the sanitary pads available in market consists a reasonable amount of nonbiodegradable plastics, and are very difficult to dispose. The present inventionaddresses the problem by making biodegradable and plastic free absorbent layers.The present invention eliminates the use of plastic by making biodegradableabsorbent layers for sanitary pads and diapers and also encourages farmers toreduce the burning of stubble, and generate value from stubble. The presentinvention also enhances the quality of air by reducing air pollution occurred due toburning of stubble. The stubble based absorbent layers are environment friendlywith low cost and comparable absorbent capacity.The main embodiment of the present invention which involves specific quantity ofpulverised powder prepared from stubble related to wheat for making absorbentlayer is elaborately explained as follows:1. Stubble related to wheat that are likely to be burnt easily available fromfarmers. However, specific size of stubble does not play any important rolefor further proceedings. Stubble related to wheat is available at routinefarms, and taken for development of absorbent layer as shown in figure 1and figure 2.2. Wheat stubble are collected, and chopped (manually or with the help ofchopper machine) into size of 10-15 cm in length as shown in figure 33. Chopped stubble are transformed into the form of flakes using pulverizemachine (figure 4) with mesh size of 6 (nearly 3 mm size of hole) (figure5).4. Specific quantity of flaked stubble has been mixed with specific quantity ofwater in the ratio of 1:15, and boiled using suitable equipment (pressurecooker if working at domestic level or autoclave if working at industriallevel) for 15 minutes at 240 0C. Flaked stubble has been transformed intothick slurry (figure 6), and allowed it cool till room temperature for furtherproceedings.5. Thick slurry prepared from flaked boiled stubble has been filtered(approximately with the size of 75-micron mesh), followed by nonpressurized washing with distilled water (usually in the ratio of 1:20 and fornot more than 10 minute).6. Washed stubble (in wet form) has been bleached (using Calcium Hypochlorite with concentration of 95-98%) with ratio of 1:10 for 8-12hours till the color of washed stubble becomes white. The bleached stubbleis the form of pulp, as shown in figure 7.7. Bleached stubble (in the form of pulp) has been non-pressurized washedwith distilled water in the ratio of 1:30 for the period of 30-45 minutes.8. Pulp is collected in separate container, and mixed with distilled water in theratio of 1:20. This mixture is manually or mechanically stirred withsufficient revolution per minute in order to keep particles of pulp floated ontop surface of mixture of pulp and water.9. Sieve of 100-micron with suitable diameter is dipped (manually ormechanically) inside mixture of pulp and water to collect particles of pulpover sieves. This is dried with heat (in the range of temperature of 50-60 °C)for the period of 5-10 minutes. This leads in development of thin layer ofabsorbent layer (figure 8).10. Thin absorbent layer is then cut into required shape, and shown in figure 9.Furthermore, the details of the items used in the making of absorbent layers is asfollows:Main embodiment of the present invention, a Biodegradable and Plastic FreeAbsorbent Layers for Sanitary Pads and Diapers comprising of:a) top nonwoven, hydrophobic and skin-friendly layer;b) intermediate absorbent and antibacterial layers made up of by usingstubble / reaped crops of wheat and rice; andc) bottom hydrophobic with appropriate gripping arrangement layer;wherein said absorbent layer is biodegradable, plastic free, environmentallyfriendly, and low cost with comparable absorbent capacity.Another embodiment of the present invention, said absorbent layer tested for itsabsorbent capacity to absorb 13 ml of water within 80 seconds.Another embodiment of the present invention, a method for making Biodegradableand Plastic Free Absorbent Layers for Sanitary Pads and Diapers from stubblecomprising of:a) Wheat stubble are collected, and chopped manually or with the help ofchopper machine into size of 10-15 cm in length;b) Chopped stubble are transformed into the form of flakes using pulverizemachine with mesh size of 6 and nearly 3 mm size of hole;c) Specific quantity of flaked stubble has been mixed with specific quantity ofwater in the ratio of 1:15, and boiled using pressure cooker or autoclave for 15minutes at 240 0C;d) Thick slurry prepared from flaked boiled stubble has been filtered with thesize of 75-micron mesh, flaked stubble has been transformed into thick slurry andallowed it cool till room temperature;e) Non-pressurized washing of mixture of step d) with distilled water in theratio of 1:20 and for not more than 10 minutes;f) Washed stubble in wet form has been bleached by using CalciumHypochlorite with concentration of 95-98% with ratio of 1:10 for 8-12 hours till thecolor of washed stubble becomes white;g) Bleached stubble in the form of pulp has been non-pressurized washed withdistilled water in the ratio of 1:30 for the period of 30-45 minutes;h) Pulp is collected in separate container, and mixed with distilled water in theratio of 1:20;i) mixture is manually or mechanically stirred with sufficient revolution perminute in order to keep particles of pulp floated on top surface of mixture of pulpand water;j) Sieve of 100-micron with suitable diameter is dipped manually ormechanically inside mixture of pulp and water to collect particles of pulp oversieves;k) Pulp is dried with heat in the range of temperature of 50-60 °C for the periodof 5-10 minutes leads in development of thin layer of absorbent layer; andl) Thin absorbent layer is then cut into required shape.Absorbent layer was also tested for its absorbent capacity. It was observed thatstubble based absorbent layer was able to absorb 13 ml of water within 80 seconds(9.75 ml per minute). There are no specific requirements related to capacity ofabsorption is mentioned in IS 5405: 2019 (Sanitary Napkins: Specification).However, absorbent capacity of stubble based absorbent layer is found competitive.

Claims

1. A Biodegradable and Plastic Free Absorbent Layers for Sanitary Pads and Diapers comprising of: a) top nonwoven, hydrophobic and skin-friendly layer; b) intermediate absorbent and antibacterial layers made up of by using stubble / reaped crops of wheat and rice; and c) bottom hydrophobic with appropriate gripping arrangement layer; wherein said absorbent layer is biodegradable, plastic free, environmentally friendly, and low cost with comparable absorbent capacity.

2. The biodegradable and Plastic Free Absorbent Layers for Sanitary Pads and Diapers as claimed in claim 1, wherein said absorbent layer tested for its absorbent capacity to absorb 13 ml of water within 80 seconds.

3. A method for making Biodegradable and Plastic Free Absorbent Layers for Sanitary Pads and Diapers from stubble comprising of: a) Wheat stubble are collected, and chopped manually or with the help of chopper machine into size of 10-15 cm in length; b) Chopped stubble are transformed into the form of flakes using pulverize machine with mesh size of 6 and nearly 3 mm size of hole; c) Specific quantity of flaked stubble has been mixed with specific quantity of water in the ratio of 1:15, and boiled using pressure cooker or autoclave for 15 minutes at 240 0C; d) Thick slurry prepared from flaked boiled stubble has been filtered with the size of 75-micron mesh, flaked stubble has been transformed into thick slurry and allowed it cool till room temperature; e) Non-pressurized washing of mixture of step d) with distilled water in the ratio of 1:20 and for not more than 10 minutes; f) Washed stubble in wet form has been bleached by using Calcium Hypochlorite with concentration of 95-98% with ratio of 1:10 for 8-12 hours till the color of washed stubble becomes white; g) Bleached stubble in the form of pulp has been non-pressurized washed with distilled water in the ratio of 1:30 for the period of 30-45 minutes; h) Pulp is collected in separate container, and mixed with distilled water in the ratio of 1:20; i) mixture is manually or mechanically stirred with sufficient revolution per minute in order to keep particles of pulp floated on top surface of mixture of pulp and water; j) Sieve of 100-micron with suitable diameter is dipped manually or mechanically inside mixture of pulp and water to collect particles of pulp over sieves; k) Pulp is dried with heat in the range of temperature of 50-60 °C for the period of 5-10 minutes leads in development of thin layer of absorbent layer; and l) Thin absorbent layer is then cut into required shape.