Litter for animals

Abstract

The present invention provides a litter for animals capable of sufficiently inhibiting occurrence of bad odor.　A litter (3) for animals according to the present invention comprises a plurality of granular objects. Each of the plurality of granular objects contains an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further contains silica gel in a content amount of 0.0-2.5 mass%.　In addition, the litter (3) for animals according to the present invention is characterized in that: the area of water droplet marks on each of the plurality of granular objects after a colored water drop test is less than 12.6 mm2; the pH of ion exchanged water from the plurality of granular objects after a liquid passage test is lower than 7.62; or the litter has water repellency and an uneven structure having a plurality of projecting portions.

Description

Animal litter

[0001] The present invention relates to animal litter used as bedding in animal litter boxes for cats, dogs, and other animals.

[0002] Conventionally, a known animal litter box for indoor cats, dogs, and other animals includes an open-topped box-shaped litter box and litter consisting of a plurality of granular materials contained in the litter box. Another type of animal litter box is a system animal litter box that includes an upper container with a liquid-permeable bottom and a lower container disposed below the upper container and containing a liquid-absorbent member. The upper container of such a system animal litter box contains litter, and the animal's urine passes between the granular materials in the litter box contained in the upper container and is absorbed by the liquid-absorbent member in the lower container.

[0003] The litter contained in the upper container of the animal litter box system has a predetermined liquid permeability that allows the animal's urine to quickly transfer to the lower container, and at the same time, the litter has a predetermined liquid absorbency that allows it to absorb urine remaining on the surfaces of the granular materials in order to prevent the generation of bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granular materials.

[0004] Thus, litter used in animal litter boxes is required to have both liquid permeability and liquid absorbency, and from this perspective, various types of litter have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes animal litter containing a plurality of granular materials, each of which contains a particle group made of an inorganic porous material, silica gel, and an inorganic binder that binds the particle group and the silica gel together.

[0005] JP 2009-125000 A

[0006] Conventional animal litter made primarily from inorganic porous materials uses a solidifying agent such as cement as a binder. However, solidifying agents such as cement produce calcium hydroxide through a hardening reaction, which increases the pH. As a result, when animal litter comes into contact with urine, the decomposition of urea contained in the urine is accelerated, potentially generating ammonia, which causes a foul odor. For this reason, animal litter such as that described in Patent Document 1 incorporates silica gel into the granules to prevent the pH of the granules from increasing.

[0007] However, even in animal litter such as that described in Patent Document 1, silica gel may adsorb odorous substances in the surrounding environment even before the animal litter is used, and the adsorbed odorous substances may be gradually released, resulting in the generation of an unpleasant odor. Possible odorous substances include odorous substances that may be present in the space of the animal breeding environment, as well as odorous substances that may be present in the space of the manufacturing environment for silica gel and animal litter. Furthermore, even after silica gel has adsorbed odorous substances generated from excrement such as urine, the adsorbed odorous substances may be gradually released, resulting in the generation of an unpleasant odor.

[0008] In addition to the bad odor caused by odorous substances adsorbed onto silica gel, conventional animal litter can still produce bad odors due to various causes, and further improvements in odor suppression are required.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide animal litter that can sufficiently suppress the generation of bad odors.

[0010] The present invention includes the following aspects.

[0011] (Aspect 1) Animal litter containing a plurality of granular materials, each of the plurality of granular materials containing an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, further containing silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less, and having a water drop mark area of ​​12.6 mm after a colored water drop test. ２ Animal litter characterized in that it is less than.

[0012] The animal litter of this embodiment does not contain any silica gel, or if it does contain silica gel, it contains a low content of 2.5 mass% or less, and since no odorous substances are adsorbed to the silica gel or the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel is small, the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel can be reduced as a result. As a result, the animal litter of this embodiment can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by the release of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel.

[0013] Furthermore, in conventional animal litter, after the multiple granules adsorb odorous substances generated from excrement such as urine, the adsorbed odorous substances are gradually released, which may cause an unpleasant odor. Furthermore, in conventional animal litter, there is a risk of generating an unpleasant odor of ammonia, which is generated by the evaporation of urine remaining on the surface of the granules. On the other hand, in the animal litter of this embodiment 1, the area of ​​the water droplet mark after the colored water drop test was 12.6 mm ２ The surface area of ​​the granules is small, so that urine can easily pass between the granules without being absorbed by them. As a result, in the animal litter of this embodiment 1, urine is less likely to remain on the surface of the granules, and ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea contained in urine is less likely to be generated.

[0014] As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment 1 can suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed onto silica gel and granular materials, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granular materials, and malodors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit excellent malodor suppression effects.

[0015] (Aspect 2) Animal litter containing a plurality of granular materials, each of which contains an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further contains silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less, and wherein the pH of ion-exchanged water after a liquid permeation test of the plurality of granular materials is less than 7.62.

[0016] The animal litter of this embodiment 2 also contains no silica gel, or if it does contain silica gel, it contains a low content of 2.5 mass% or less, and since no odorous substances are adsorbed to the silica gel or the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel is small, it is possible to reduce the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel and thus suppress the generation of bad odors caused by the release of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel.

[0017] Furthermore, with conventional animal litter, even those containing silica gel, it is sometimes impossible to control the pH of the multiple granules within an appropriate range, which can result in the generation of ammonia, which causes bad odors. In contrast, with the animal litter of this embodiment 2, the pH of ion-exchanged water after a liquid permeation test of the multiple granules is less than 7.62, making it less likely to generate ammonia, which causes bad odors, even when the animal litter of this embodiment 2 comes into contact with urine. This allows the animal litter of this embodiment 2 to suppress the generation of bad odors caused by ammonia.

[0018] As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment 2 can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed onto silica gel and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit excellent bad odor suppression effects.

[0019] (Aspect 3) Animal litter comprising a plurality of granular materials, each of the plurality of granular materials comprising an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and having water repellency, each of the plurality of granular materials further comprising silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less, and having an uneven structure consisting of a plurality of protrusions.

[0020] The animal litter of this embodiment 3 also contains no silica gel, or if it does contain silica gel, it contains a low content of 2.5 mass% or less, and since no odorous substances are adsorbed to the silica gel or the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel is small, it is possible to reduce the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel and thus suppress the generation of bad odors caused by the release of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel.

[0021] Furthermore, in conventional animal litter, after the multiple granules adsorb odorous substances generated from excrement such as urine, the adsorbed odorous substances are gradually released, which can cause an unpleasant odor. Furthermore, conventional animal litter also has the risk of generating an unpleasant ammonia odor due to the evaporation of urine remaining on the surface of the granules. In contrast, in the animal litter of this embodiment 3, each of the multiple granules is water-repellent and has an uneven structure, which makes it easier for urine to pass between the granules without being absorbed by them compared to animal litter that is water-repellent and does not have an uneven structure. As a result, in the animal litter of this embodiment 3, urine is less likely to remain on the surface of the granules, and ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea contained in urine is less likely to be generated.

[0022] As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment 3 can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed onto silica gel and granular materials, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granular materials, and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit excellent bad odor suppression effects.

[0023] (Aspect 4) Animal litter according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3 above, wherein the surface of each of the plurality of granular materials is coated with a water repellent agent.

[0024] In the animal litter of this embodiment 4, the surfaces of the granules are coated with a water repellent, so urine easily passes between the granules without being absorbed by them, and urine is less likely to come into contact with the inside of the granules, making it less likely that ammonia will be generated due to the decomposition of urea in urine. As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment 4 can more reliably suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granules, and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit an even more excellent bad odor suppression effect.

[0025] (Aspect 5) The animal litter according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the surface of each of the plurality of granules is coated with an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

[0026] In the animal litter of Aspect 5, the surfaces of the granules are coated with ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), which makes it difficult for urine to come into contact with the interior of the granules and reduces the generation of ammonia caused by the decomposition of urea in urine. As described above, the animal litter of Aspect 5 can more reliably suppress the generation of malodors caused by ammonia and malodors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granules, thereby achieving an even more excellent malodor suppression effect.

[0027] (Aspect 6) The animal litter according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the surface of each of the plurality of granules is coated with a mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

[0028] In the animal litter of this aspect 6, the surfaces of the granules are coated with a mixture of a water repellent and EVA, which allows urine to easily pass between the granules without being absorbed by them, and also makes it difficult for urine to come into contact with the interior of the granules, reducing the generation of ammonia caused by the decomposition of urea in urine. As a result, the animal litter of this aspect 6 can further suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granules, and malodors caused by ammonia, thereby demonstrating an even more excellent malodor suppression effect.

[0029] (Aspect 7) Animal litter according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein each of the plurality of granular materials contains water-repellent particles at least on the surface thereof.

[0030] In the animal litter of Aspect 7, the granules contain water-repellent particles at least on their surfaces, so urine easily passes between the granules without being absorbed by them, and urine is less likely to come into contact with the interior of the granules, making it less likely that ammonia will be generated due to the decomposition of urea in urine. As described above, the animal litter of Aspect 7 can more reliably suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granules, and malodors caused by ammonia, thereby achieving an even more excellent malodor suppression effect.

[0031] (Aspect 8) The animal litter according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein each of the plurality of granules has an Ra (calculated average roughness) of 0.26 μm or more and 0.95 μm or less.

[0032] In the animal litter of Aspect 8, the granules have an Ra (calculated average roughness) within a predetermined range, so urine easily passes between the granules without being absorbed, and urine is less likely to come into contact with the interior of the granules, making it less likely that ammonia will be generated due to the decomposition of urea in urine. As a result, the animal litter of Aspect 8 can more reliably suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granules, and malodors caused by ammonia, thereby demonstrating an even more excellent malodor suppression effect.

[0033] (Aspect 9) Animal litter according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein each of the plurality of granules has an Rsm (Roughness Mean Spacing) of 20 μm or more and 25 μm or less.

[0034] In the animal litter of Aspect 9, the granules have an Rsm (convex-concave mean spacing) within a predetermined range, which allows urine to easily pass between the granules without being absorbed, and also makes it difficult for urine to come into contact with the interior of the granules, reducing the generation of ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea in urine. As described above, the animal litter of Aspect 9 can more reliably suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granules, and malodors caused by ammonia, thereby achieving an even more excellent malodor suppression effect.

[0035] (Aspect 10) Animal litter according to aspect 3, wherein the uneven structure contains particles that make up the animal litter.

[0036] In the animal litter of this embodiment 10, the uneven structure of the granules contains granule-forming particles that are resistant to plastic deformation, so that the uneven structure is less likely to deform even during use of the animal litter, urine easily passes between the granules without being absorbed by them, urine is less likely to come into contact with the inside of the granules, and ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea in urine is less likely to be generated, thereby maintaining the following effects.As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment 10 can more reliably suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granules, and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit an even more excellent bad odor suppression effect.

[0037] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide animal litter that can sufficiently suppress the generation of bad odors.

[0038] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a system toilet 1 using animal litter 3 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an SEM image of the surface of granules constituting the animal litter 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which have been surface-treated with a water repellent. FIG. 3 is an SEM image of the surface of granules constituting the animal litter 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which have been surface-treated with an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. FIG. 4 is an SEM image of the surface of granules constituting the animal litter 3 according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which have been surface-treated with a mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. FIG. 5 is an SEM image of the surface of granules constituting the animal litter 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, which have not been surface-treated.

[0039] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the animal litter according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this specification, various numerical ranges mean ranges that include the upper and lower limits unless otherwise specified.

[0040] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the inventors conducted extensive research focusing on the causes of malodors and discovered that the generation of multiple types of malodors caused by different causes can be suppressed by the following various methods. Specifically, the inventors discovered that the generation of multiple types of malodors caused by different causes can be suppressed by at least one of the following methods: reducing the silica gel content of the granules that make up the animal litter and reducing the absorption area of ​​the granules, and reducing the silica gel content of the granules that make up the animal litter and controlling the pH of the multiple granules after liquid has passed through them within an appropriate range. The present invention was completed based on these findings and includes the following embodiments.

[0041] First Embodiment First, animal litter 3 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0042] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a system toilet 1 using animal litter 3 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the system toilet 1 includes a cover 2, the animal litter 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a litter storage container 4, a disposable excrement disposal sheet 5, and an excrement disposal sheet storage container 6.

[0043] The cover 2 is a member that limits the entrance and exit points for animals such as cats and forms an outer wall that acts as an enclosure to prevent the scattering of excrement and animal litter 3. The litter container 4 is a container for storing the animal litter 3 and is equipped with a bottom (e.g., a slatted base) having a structure (e.g., a porous structure or a mesh structure) that allows urine excreted from the animal to pass through. The excrement disposal sheet 5 is a disposable liquid-absorbent sheet that is placed below the bottom of the litter container 4 and absorbs and retains the animal litter 3 and urine that has passed through the bottom. The excrement disposal sheet container 6 is a container for storing the excrement disposal sheet 5 and is installed below the litter container 4 so that it can be freely inserted and removed.

[0044] The system toilet 1 shown in Figure 1 is configured so that when an animal urinates inside the cover 2, the urine passes through the animal litter 3 and is absorbed and retained by the excrement disposal sheet 5 located below the animal litter 3. As the urine passes through the animal litter 3, it is absorbed little by little by the multiple granules that make up the animal litter 3, passing between the granules and flowing downward.

[0045] The system toilet 1 is configured to suppress the spread of bad odors caused by urine by absorbing and retaining urine inside the animal litter box 3 and the excrement disposal sheet 5, and by the animal litter box 3 covering from above the internal space of the excrement disposal sheet storage container 6 which contains the excrement disposal sheet 5. Therefore, in the system toilet 1, the animal litter box 3 has predetermined liquid permeability and absorbency, as well as predetermined adsorption properties that enable it to adsorb odorous substances produced by excrement.

[0046] The animal litter 3 of this embodiment is animal litter containing a plurality of granular materials, each of which contains an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent. In this embodiment, each of the granular materials further contains silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less, and the area of ​​the water droplet mark after the colored water drop test is 12.6 mm ２ is less than.

[0047] Here, in this specification, "further containing silica gel in an amount of 0.0 mass % or more and 2.5 mass % or less" means that the composition does not contain any silica gel at all, or that even if silica gel is contained, the amount is 2.5 mass % or less.

[0048] The animal litter 3 of this embodiment does not contain any silica gel, or if it does contain silica gel, it contains a low content of 2.5 mass% or less, and since no odorous substances are adsorbed to the silica gel or the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel is small, the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel can be reduced as a result. As a result, the animal litter 3 of this embodiment can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by the release of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel.

[0049] As mentioned above, conventional animal litter has the risk of generating an unpleasant odor when the granules absorb odorous substances generated from excrement such as urine and then gradually release the absorbed odorous substances. Furthermore, conventional animal litter has the risk of generating an unpleasant odor from ammonia, which is generated when urine remaining on the surface of the granules evaporates. On the other hand, the animal litter 3 of this embodiment has a water droplet mark area of ​​12.6 mm after the colored water drop test. ２ Because the absorption area of ​​the granules is small, urine easily passes through the gaps between the granules without being absorbed by them. As a result, the animal litter 3 of this embodiment is less likely to produce ammonia due to the decomposition of urea contained in urine.

[0050] As described above, the animal litter 3 of this embodiment can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to silica gel and granular materials, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surface of granular materials, and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit excellent bad odor suppression effects.

[0051] In this embodiment, the area of ​​the water droplet marks after the colored water drop test on the granular material is 12.6 mm ２ The means for making the water absorbency less than this is not particularly limited, and any means for adjusting water absorbency known in the art can be used. Specific examples include adjusting the composition of the components constituting the granular material, and / or coating the surface of the granular material with a surface treatment agent such as a water repellent agent and adjusting the amount or coating form of the agent.

[0052] (Method for measuring the area of ​​the water drop mark after the colored water drop test) The area of ​​the water drop mark after the colored water drop test can be measured as follows. (1) First, 5 μL of blue-colored water is measured using a micropipette and dropped onto the sample of granular material to be measured. (2) Next, the water droplets on the granular material are absorbed using filter paper manufactured by ADVANTEC. (3) The size of the water drop mark left on the surface of the granular material is measured. At this time, the water drop mark is considered to be elliptical, and the lengths of the points corresponding to its major axis (mm) and minor axis (mm) are measured. (4) The area of ​​the water drop mark (mm) is then calculated using the following formula: ２ ) is calculated. Area of ​​water drop mark = (long diameter / 2) x (short diameter / 2) x 3.14

[0053] The granular materials that make up the animal litter 3 of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0054] (Constituent Components of Granules) In this embodiment, the granules that make up the animal litter 3 contain an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further contain no silica gel at all, or if they contain silica gel, the content is low, at 2.5 mass% or less. These constituent components will be described below.

[0055] (Inorganic Porous Material) The inorganic porous material, which is one of the constituent components of the granules, is not particularly limited as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention, and any inorganic porous material that can be used as a constituent component of animal litter can be used. Examples of such inorganic porous materials include zeolite, sepiolite, attapulgite, diatomaceous earth, and diatomaceous shale.

[0056] The particle size of the inorganic porous material is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 400 μm or less, preferably 300 μm or less, and more preferably 200 μm or less.

[0057] Furthermore, the content of the inorganic porous material in the granules is not particularly limited as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention, and any content can be adopted depending on the desired odor suppression effect, strength, etc. Examples of such contents include a content of 50 to 98% by mass. The content of the inorganic porous material in the granules is preferably 50 to 95% by mass, and more preferably 60 to 90% by mass. The content of the inorganic porous material in the granules refers to the mass ratio of the inorganic porous material contained per particle of the granules.

[0058] (Solidifying Agent) The solidifying agent, which is one of the constituent components of the granular material, is not particularly limited as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention, and any solidifying agent that can be used as a constituent component of animal litter can be used. Examples of such solidifying agents include cement-based solidifying agents and non-cement-based solidifying agents. The cement-based solidifying agent and the non-cement-based solidifying agent may be used alone or in combination.

[0059] A cement-based solidifying agent is a solidifying agent made of cement, primarily composed of calcium silicate, which hardens by reacting with water (hydration). Examples of cement include Portland cement and white cement. Using such cement as a solidifying agent can increase the strength of the granules that make up the animal litter.

[0060] Alternatively, low-alkali cement may be used as the cement-based solidifying agent. Low-alkali cement is a low-alkali cement with a pH of approximately 11, in which the alkali metal (Na, K) content in the cement is adjusted to a predetermined level or less. By using low-alkali cement as a solidifying agent, the pH of the granules constituting the animal litter can be lowered. By lowering the pH of the granules in this way, ammonia, which causes bad odors, is less likely to be generated even when the granules come into contact with urine, thereby further suppressing the generation of bad odors caused by ammonia.

[0061] On the other hand, non-cement-based solidifying agents are solidifying agents other than cement-based solidifying agents and do not contain calcium silicate as a main component. Examples of non-cement-based solidifying agents include dolomite, calcium oxide, calcium sulfate, and magnesium oxide. In particular, when a mixture of a cement-based solidifying agent and a non-cement-based solidifying agent is used as the solidifying agent, the strength of the granules can be increased while the pH can be lowered, and the generation of unpleasant odors caused by ammonia can be more reliably suppressed.

[0062] As a non-cement-based solidifying agent, a hydraulic solidifying agent containing calcium sulfate and magnesium oxide as its main components may be used. Such hydraulic solidifying agents exhibit nearly neutral properties. Furthermore, the magnesium hydroxide produced during the hardening of the solidifying agent exhibits weak basicity. Therefore, using such a hydraulic solidifying agent as a non-cement-based solidifying agent can lower the pH of the granules, thereby more reliably suppressing the generation of unpleasant odors caused by ammonia.

[0063] In the hydraulic solidifying agent containing calcium sulfate and magnesium oxide as main components, the content of calcium sulfate is preferably 50 to 95 mass %, and the content of magnesium oxide is preferably 5 to 50 mass %. Here, the content of calcium sulfate is the content when converted into an anhydrous form.

[0064] The content of the solidifying agent in the granules is not particularly limited as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention, and any content can be adopted depending on the desired malodor suppression effect, strength, etc. Examples of such contents include a content of 5 to 30% by mass. The content of the solidifying agent in the granules is preferably 10 to 25% by mass in terms of malodor suppression effect, strength, etc.

[0065] (Silica Gel) As described above, in this embodiment, the granular material constituting the animal litter 3 does not contain any silica gel, or if it does contain silica gel, it contains a low content of 2.5 mass% or less. In other words, silica gel is an optional component of the granular material constituting the animal litter 3.

[0066] In this embodiment, the silica gel that can be used as a constituent component of the granules is not particularly limited in type or structure, and any silica gel that can be used as a constituent component of animal litter can be used as long as the content is 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less. Examples of such silica gel include commercially available silica gels such as type A silica gel, type B silica gel, and type C silica gel.

[0067] As described above, the content of silica gel in the granules is 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less. When the content of silica gel in the granules is within this range, no odorous substances are adsorbed by the silica gel, or the amount of odorous substances adsorbed by the silica gel is small, which results in a reduction in the amount of odorous substances adsorbed by the silica gel that are released. As a result, the animal litter 3 of this embodiment can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by the release of odorous substances adsorbed by the silica gel.

[0068] (Other Components) In this embodiment, the granules constituting the animal litter 3 may further contain any additive components other than the inorganic porous material, solidifying agent, and silica gel. Such additive components are not particularly limited, but include, for example, various functional components such as fragrance components, antibacterial components, test agent components, hydrophilizing components, hydrophobizing components, other deodorizing components, antiseptic components, bactericidal components, antifungal components, and coloring components. These functional components may be used alone or in combination of two or more types.

[0069] The fragrance component is not particularly limited as long as it contains a compound having an aromatic property, and examples thereof include alcohols such as geranol, citronellol, citral, eugenol, phenethyl alcohol, thymol, linalool, leaf alcohol, menthol, and benzyl alcohol; aldehydes such as hexyl cinnamaldehyde; and oils. The fragrance component may further contain a dispersant for dispersing the aromatic compound in water. Examples of the dispersant include glycols and their polymers that are liquid at room temperature (25°C).

[0070] The antibacterial component is not particularly limited as long as it can inhibit the growth of bacteria, etc., and any antibacterial agent can be used, for example, organic, inorganic metal, photocatalytic, natural, etc. Among them, it is preferable to use an organic surfactant-type antibacterial agent, since it can inhibit the growth of bacteria, etc. even after the granular material has absorbed excrement such as urine.

[0071] The test reagent component is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the health condition of an animal, and for example, a drug that changes color depending on the components of urine, such as a pH test reagent, a protein test reagent, a glucose test reagent, an occult blood test reagent, or a urobilinogen test reagent, can be used.

[0072] The hydrophilizing component is not particularly limited as long as it can hydrophilize the granular material, and for example, a surfactant can be used. Furthermore, the hydrophobizing component is not particularly limited as long as it can hydrophobize the granular material, and for example, an aliphatic hydrocarbon, a silicone resin, a fatty acid and its metal salt, a polyglycol, a fatty acid ester, a wax, a low molecular weight polyolefin, a fluorine-based resin, and the like can be used.

[0073] The other deodorizing components are not particularly limited as long as they are components other than the inorganic porous materials and silica gel described above and have a deodorizing effect, and examples include those that neutralize the ammonia odor, such as citric acid and baking soda.

[0074] Furthermore, the granular material constituting the animal litter 3 may contain activated carbon instead of the silica gel. That is, the granular material may contain activated carbon in addition to the inorganic porous material and solidifying agent. When the granular material contains such activated carbon, the activated carbon can also adsorb odorous substances, and the gradual oxidation of the activated carbon can reduce the pH of the granular material, making it less likely to generate ammonia, which causes bad odors.

[0075] (Surface Coating) In this embodiment, the granular material constituting the animal litter 3 may have its surface coated with any surface treatment agent such as a water repellent or an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

[0076] In particular, it is preferable that the surfaces of the granular materials constituting the animal litter 3 of this embodiment are coated with a water repellent. When the surfaces of the granular materials are coated with a water repellent, urine is more likely to pass between the granular materials without being absorbed by the granular materials, and urine is less likely to come into contact with the interior of the granular materials, making it less likely that ammonia will be generated by the decomposition of urea in urine. Therefore, animal litter 3 composed of such granular materials can more reliably suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granular materials, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granular materials, and bad odors caused by ammonia, thereby achieving an even more excellent odor suppression effect.

[0077] There are no particular limitations on the water repellent agent that can be used in the animal litter 3 of this embodiment, and any water repellent agent that can be used in animal litter can be used. Examples of such water repellent agents include waxes such as paraffin wax, silicone resins, and fluororesins.

[0078] Furthermore, the granules constituting the animal litter 3 of this embodiment may have their surfaces coated with ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA). When the surfaces of the granules are coated with EVA, urine is less likely to come into contact with the interior of the granules, and ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea in urine is less likely to be generated. Therefore, animal litter 3 made of such granules can more reliably suppress the generation of bad odors caused by ammonia and bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granules, thereby achieving an even more excellent odor-suppressing effect.

[0079] Furthermore, the surfaces of the granules constituting the animal litter 3 of this embodiment may be coated with a mixture of the water repellent and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA). When the surfaces of the granules are coated with a mixture of the water repellent and EVA, urine is more likely to pass between the granules without being absorbed by them, and urine is less likely to come into contact with the interior of the granules, reducing the generation of ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea contained in urine. Therefore, animal litter 3 composed of such granules can further suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granules, and malodors caused by ammonia.

[0080] Figures 2 to 4 are SEM (scanning electron microscope) images of the surfaces of granules constituting the animal litter 3 of this embodiment that have been surface-treated with a water repellent, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, or a mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, respectively, and Figure 5 is an SEM image of the surface of a granule that has not been surface-treated and that constitutes the animal litter 3 of this embodiment. Compared to the surfaces of the granules shown in Figure 5, the surfaces of the granules shown in Figures 2 to 4 are rougher, and in particular, the granules surface-treated with the mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer in Figure 4 have a significantly uneven structure, indicating that the presence or absence of surface treatment affects the unevenness of the surface of the granules.

[0081] The surface treatment agent used to coat the granular surface may further contain any inorganic powder or additive component in addition to the water repellent and EVA described above. Examples of such inorganic powders include talc, mica, kaolin, calcium carbonate, and aluminum oxide. The additive component is not particularly limited, but examples include functional components similar to those of the additive components of the granular material described above, such as fragrance components, antibacterial components, test agent components, hydrophilic components, hydrophobic components, deodorizing components, preservative components, bactericidal components, antifungal components, and coloring components. These functional components may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0082] The means for coating the surface of the granular material with the surface treatment agent is not particularly limited, and any application means can be used, such as spraying the surface treatment agent onto the surface of the granular material or immersing the granular material in a surface treatment solution.

[0083] When the surface of the granular material is coated with the above-mentioned surface treatment agent, the amount of coating is not particularly limited as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention, and any amount of coating can be adopted depending on the desired malodor suppression effect, strength, etc. Such a coating amount is, for example, 0.01 to 5.00% by mass, preferably 0.05 to 3.00% by mass, and more preferably 0.10 to 1.00% by mass, relative to the mass of the granular material.

[0084] The individual coating forms of the plurality of granules are not particularly limited as long as they do not impair the effects of the present invention, and the entire surface of each granule may be coated with the surface treatment agent, or only a portion of the surface of each granule may be coated with the surface treatment agent. Furthermore, the surfaces of all of the plurality of granules may be coated with the surface treatment agent, or only the surfaces of some of the granules may be coated with the surface treatment agent.

[0085] Although the multiple granules that make up the animal litter 3 of this embodiment each have a substantially cylindrical outer shape, the shape of the granules is not limited to this. The granules may have any outer shape, such as a substantially spherical shape or irregularly shaped granules. However, a substantially cylindrical shape is preferred in order to reduce scattering of the granules when the animal litter is used.

[0086] Furthermore, the size of the granules is not particularly limited as long as it does not impair the effects of the present invention, and any size can be adopted depending on the desired malodor suppression effect, strength, etc. Examples of such granule sizes include particle diameters in the range of 3.0 to 8.0 mm.

[0087] The particle size of the granules is preferably within the range of 3.5 to 6.0 mm. When the particle size of the granules falls within this range, gaps are more likely to form between the granules, allowing urine to pass through between the granules. Therefore, animal litter made with granules of this particle size can more reliably suppress the generation of odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed by the granules and by urine remaining on the surface of the granules. Furthermore, the particle size within the above specific range is small enough that the particles are less likely to get trapped between the paw pads of animals such as cats. Therefore, even if an animal walks around the room on the animal litter, the granules are less likely to be scattered throughout the room, which has the advantage of suppressing the spread of odors associated with such granules.

[0088] The particle size of a granular material is the size of the granular material determined by a sieving method, i.e., the mesh size of a sieve. Specifically, the particle size of a granular material means the mass median determined from the particle size distribution obtained by the sieving method, i.e., the particle size (mm) of the granular material corresponding to 50% by mass. The particle size distribution can be obtained by sieving a predetermined mass (e.g., 150 g) of granular material for a predetermined time (e.g., 3 minutes) using a vibrating sieve machine (e.g., "AS-200" manufactured by Retsch) equipped with multiple sieves with different mesh sizes, and calculating the mass percentage (%) from the mass (g) of the granular material remaining on each sieve.

[0089] The multiple granules that make up the animal litter of the present invention can be obtained by granulating the granule components, including the inorganic porous material and solidifying agent, using any granulator. The granulator used to granulate the granules is not particularly limited, but examples include compression granulators such as disc pelletizers, briquette machines, and tablet presses, as well as extrusion granulators. If the surfaces of the granulated granules are to be coated with the surface treatment agent, the surface treatment agent can be applied to the surfaces of the granulated granules using any coating means.

[0090] Second Embodiment Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention, i.e., a second embodiment of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment described above only in the pH characteristics after the liquid has passed through, will be described. Note that, since the other points are basically the same as the first embodiment described above except for the pH characteristics after the liquid has passed through, which are different from the first embodiment described above, a description thereof will be omitted.

[0091] The animal litter of a second embodiment of the present invention also includes a plurality of granules, each of which includes an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further includes silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less. In this embodiment, the pH of ion-exchanged water after a liquid permeation test of the plurality of granules is less than 7.62.

[0092] The animal litter of this embodiment also does not contain silica gel, or if it does contain silica gel, it contains a low content of 2.5 mass% or less, and since no odorous substances are adsorbed to the silica gel or the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel is small, it is possible to reduce the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel and thus suppress the generation of bad odors caused by the release of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel.

[0093] Furthermore, as mentioned above, with conventional animal litter, even those containing silica gel, the pH of the multiple granules may not be controlled within an appropriate range, which may result in the generation of ammonia, which causes bad odors. In contrast, with the animal litter of this embodiment, the pH of ion-exchanged water after a liquid permeation test of the multiple granules is less than 7.62, making it less likely to generate ammonia, which causes bad odors, even when the animal litter comes into contact with urine. This allows the animal litter of this embodiment to suppress the generation of bad odors caused by ammonia.

[0094] As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed onto silica gel and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit excellent bad odor suppression effects.

[0095] In this embodiment, the means for adjusting the pH of the ion-exchanged water after the liquid passage test of the granular material to less than 7.62 is not particularly limited, but examples include adjusting the composition of the components that make up the above-mentioned granular material, and / or coating the surface of the granular material with the above-mentioned surface treatment agent and adjusting the amount or coating form.

[0096] (Method for Measuring the pH of Ion-Exchanged Water After a Liquid Passage Test) The pH of ion-exchanged water after a liquid permeation test of granular material can be measured as follows. (1) First, a cylinder with an inner diameter of 84 mm and a depth of 30 mm is filled with the granular material sample to be measured. (2) Next, approximately 20 g of ion-exchanged water, the mass (g) of which has been measured in advance, is dropped from a height of 2 cm above the granular material sample in the cylinder. (3) The ion-exchanged water that has passed through the cylinder and flowed out from the bottom of the cylinder is recovered and its mass (g) is measured. (4) The mass of the ion-exchanged water after passing through the cylinder is divided by the mass of the ion-exchanged water before dropping, and the result is multiplied by 100 to calculate the liquid permeability (%) of the granular material. (5) Furthermore, the pH of the ion-exchanged water after passing through the cylinder is measured using any pH meter (for example, a compact pH meter "LAQUAtwin pH-22" manufactured by HORIBA). The measured pH value thus obtained is used as the pH of the ion-exchanged water after the liquid permeation test of the granules.

[0097] The animal litter of the present invention may also be an animal litter that combines the first and second embodiments described above. That is, this combined animal litter is an animal litter that contains a plurality of granular materials, each of which contains an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further contains silica gel in an amount of 0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less. In this embodiment, each of the plurality of granular materials has a water droplet mark area of ​​12.6 mm after a colored water drop test. ２ Furthermore, the pH of the ion-exchanged water after the liquid passage test for the plurality of granules is less than 7.62.

[0098] The animal litter of this embodiment can achieve the effects of both the first and second embodiments described above. That is, the animal litter of this embodiment can suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel and granular materials, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granular materials, and malodors caused by ammonia.

[0099] <Third embodiment> Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention, i.e., the third embodiment of the present invention, which differs from the first embodiment described above only in that the granular material has water repellency and an uneven structure, will be described. Note that, other than the water repellency and uneven structure, which are different from the first embodiment described above, the third embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment described above, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0100] The animal litter of a third embodiment of the present invention also includes a plurality of granules, each of which includes an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further includes silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less. In this embodiment, the plurality of granules are water-repellent and have an uneven structure consisting of a plurality of convex portions. In this specification, a granule having an uneven structure means that the granules have an Ra (calculated average roughness) of 0.20 μm or more and an Rsm (mean spacing between convex and concave portions) of 20 μm or more, measured according to the description of this specification.

[0101] The animal litter of this embodiment also does not contain silica gel, or if it does contain silica gel, it contains a low content of 2.5 mass% or less, and since no odorous substances are adsorbed to the silica gel or the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel is small, it is possible to reduce the amount of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel and thus suppress the generation of bad odors caused by the release of odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel.

[0102] In the animal litter of this embodiment, each granule is water-repellent. In this specification, "water-repellent" means that the water contact angle of the granule surface is 90° or greater. There are no particular limitations on the means by which each granule is made water-repellent, and any means for adjusting water repellency known in the art can be used. Specific examples include adjusting the composition of the components that make up the granule, and / or coating the surface of the granule with a surface treatment agent such as a water repellent, and adjusting the amount and coating form.

[0103] The water contact angle of the granular surface can be measured as follows. (1) An aluminum ring (outer diameter: 430 mm, inner diameter: 400 mm, height: 50 mm) and granular material dried at 120°C for 60 minutes are placed in a constant temperature and humidity chamber at a temperature of 20±5°C and a humidity of 65±5% RH, and allowed to stand for 24 hours. (2) One granular material is evenly packed into the aluminum ring, and the granular material, together with the aluminum ring, is compressed at a pressure of 3 MPa for 1 minute using a press with a smooth bottom to smooth the surface of the granular material. (3) The water contact angle of the compressed granular material is measured in accordance with Section 6, Sessile Drop Method, of JIS R 3257:1999, "Test Method for Wettability of Substrate Glass Surfaces." An example of a contact angle measuring device is the Automatic Contact Angle Meter CA-V Model manufactured by Kyowa Interface Science Co., Ltd. The water contact angle is the value measured 200 ms after dropping deionized water. (4) The water contact angle is measured for 20 different samples, and the average value is used.

[0104] When adjusting the composition of the components constituting the granules to make each of the granules water-repellent, it is preferable that the granules contain water-repellent particles at least on their surfaces. The water-repellent particles may be mixed into the raw material of the granules or may be sprinkled on the surface of the granules during the formation process.

[0105] The water-repellent particles are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include polytetrafluoroethylene resin (hereinafter referred to as "PTFE"), fluorinated pitch, fluorinated graphite, silicone powder, methylsilicone powder, and PTFE solvent dispersion. As the water-repellent particles, particulate fluororesin is preferred, and as the particulate fluororesin, PTFE is particularly preferred. Furthermore, as long as the water-repellent resin has water repellency, particles of the thermoplastic resins listed below as preferred may also be used.

[0106] When PTFE is used as the water-repellent particles, the preparation method is not particularly limited. However, since PTFE has a high water-repellent effect and is well-mixed with a solidifying agent, PTFE with a low molecular weight, specifically, PTFE with an average molecular weight of 500 to 5000, is preferred.

[0107] The average primary particle size of the water-repellent particles is preferably 0.05 μm to 60 μm, and more preferably 0.05 μm to 30 μm.

[0108] In the animal litter of this embodiment, when the granules contain water-repellent particles at least on their surfaces, urine is more likely to pass between the granules without being absorbed by them, and urine is less likely to come into contact with the interior of the granules, making it less likely that ammonia will be generated due to the decomposition of urea in the urine. As described above, when the granules contain water-repellent particles in the animal litter of this embodiment, the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granules, and bad odors caused by ammonia can be more reliably suppressed, thereby achieving an even more excellent bad odor suppression effect.

[0109] When surface treating granules to make each granule water-repellent, it is preferable to coat the surface of the granules with a surface treatment agent such as a water repellent, and the means for adjusting the amount and coating form can be those mentioned above in the explanation of "(surface coating)" as long as the water contact angle of the surface of the granules can be made 90° or more.

[0110] In the animal litter of this embodiment, each of the granules has an uneven structure consisting of a plurality of convex portions. The method for forming the uneven structure on the granules is not particularly limited, and for example, the raw material for the granules can be filled into a mold having an uneven structure on the inside, and then heated to solidify, or the raw material for the granules can be heated to solidify, and then a physical impact can be applied to the granules to shake off some of the particles that make up the animal litter, forming a plurality of concave portions in the granules and causing a plurality of convex portions in areas other than the plurality of concave portions.

[0111] As described above, in conventional animal litter, after multiple granules adsorb odorous substances generated from excrement such as urine, the adsorbed odorous substances are gradually released, which can cause an unpleasant odor. Furthermore, conventional animal litter also has the risk of generating an unpleasant ammonia odor due to the evaporation of urine remaining on the surface of the granules. In contrast, in the animal litter of the present embodiment, each of the multiple granules is water-repellent and has an uneven structure, which makes it easier for urine to pass between the granules without being absorbed by them compared to animal litter that is water-repellent and does not have an uneven structure. As a result, the animal litter of the present embodiment makes it less likely for urine to remain on the surface of the granules, and reduces the generation of ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea contained in urine.

[0112] As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment can suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to silica gel and granular materials, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surface of granular materials, and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit excellent bad odor suppression effects.

[0113] Furthermore, as described in the first embodiment above, a concave-convex structure can also be formed on the surface of a granular material by surface treatment of the granular material. In particular, a significant concave-convex structure is observed on the granular material surface-treated with a mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. This is thought to be because, since the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer is a thermoplastic resin, particles that collide with other granular material and are shaken off when the granular material is molded and then heated and solidified while being stirred, tend to re-adhere.

[0114] To facilitate the formation of an uneven structure on the surface of the granules, the granules constituting the animal litter may further contain a thermoplastic resin in addition to the inorganic porous material, solidifying agent, and silica gel. The thermoplastic resin is not particularly limited, and examples include low-density polyethylene, medium-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, ethylene-α-olefin copolymer, homo-, block-, or random-polypropylene, propylene-α-olefin copolymer, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. For example, an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer can be referred to as a block copolymer or random copolymer of propylene and an α-olefin. Examples of the α-olefin component include ethylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-heptene, 1-octene, and 4-methyl-1-pentene. The melting point of the thermoplastic resin is, for example, 50 to 135°C, preferably 60 to 120°C, from the viewpoints of ease of molding the animal litter of this embodiment, ease of developing water repellency, and odor suppression effect.

[0115] The Ra (calculated average roughness) of the granules constituting the animal litter of this embodiment is 0.20 μm or more and preferably 1.0 μm or less, and more preferably 0.26 μm or more and 0.95 μm or less, from the viewpoint of allowing urine to easily pass between the granules without being absorbed by the granules.

[0116] In the animal litter of this embodiment, the granules have an Ra (calculated average roughness) within a predetermined range, which allows urine to easily pass between the granules without being absorbed, and also makes it difficult for urine to come into contact with the interior of the granules, reducing the generation of ammonia caused by the decomposition of urea in urine. As a result, the animal litter of this embodiment can more reliably suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granules, and malodors caused by ammonia, thereby achieving an even more excellent malodor suppression effect.

[0117] The Rsm (mean irregularity spacing) of the granules constituting the animal litter of this embodiment is 20 μm or more and preferably 30 μm or less, and more preferably 20 μm or more and 25 μm or less, from the viewpoint of allowing urine to easily pass between the granules without being absorbed by the granules.

[0118] In the animal litter of this embodiment, the granules have a predetermined Rsm (convex-concave mean spacing), which allows urine to easily pass between the granules without being absorbed, and also makes it difficult for urine to come into contact with the interior of the granules, reducing the generation of ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea in urine. As a result, the animal litter of this embodiment can more reliably suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granules, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granules, and malodors caused by ammonia, thereby providing an even more excellent malodor suppression effect.

[0119] In this specification, Ra (calculated average roughness) and Rsm (average irregularity spacing) of a granular material were measured using a laser displacement meter (model: KS-1000) manufactured by Keyence Corporation, and the surface roughness in the longitudinal direction of the granular material was measured at 10 different locations under the following measurement conditions, and the average value was adopted. Measurement range: X-axis 500 μm, Y-axis 5000 μm Measurement pitch: X-axis 10 μm, Y-axis 10 μm Travel speed: 500 μm / s

[0120] In the animal litter of this embodiment, the uneven structure of the granular material preferably includes particles that make up the animal litter. As described above, the particles that make up the animal litter mean the inorganic porous material, the solidifying agent, the silica gel, and any added components.

[0121] In the animal litter of this embodiment, the uneven structure of the granular material contains granular material-constituting particles that are resistant to plastic deformation, so that the uneven structure is less likely to deform even during use of the animal litter, urine is less likely to pass between the granular material without being absorbed by the granular material, urine is less likely to come into contact with the interior of the granular material, and ammonia produced by the decomposition of urea in urine is less likely to be generated, thereby maintaining the following effects.As described above, the animal litter of this embodiment can more reliably suppress the generation of bad odors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the granular material, bad odors caused by urine remaining on the surface of the granular material, and bad odors caused by ammonia, and can exhibit an even more excellent bad odor suppression effect.

[0122] The animal litter of the present invention may also be an animal litter that combines the third embodiment with the first or second embodiment. That is, this combined animal litter is animal litter that contains a plurality of granular materials, each of which contains an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further contains silica gel in an amount of 0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less, has water repellency, and has an uneven structure consisting of a plurality of convex portions. In this embodiment, each of the plurality of granular materials has a water drop mark area of ​​12.6 mm2 after a colored water drop test. ２ or the plurality of particles have a pH of ion-exchanged water after a liquid passage test of less than 7.62.

[0123] The animal litter of this embodiment can achieve the effects of both the third embodiment and the first or second embodiment described above. That is, the animal litter of this embodiment can suppress the generation of malodors caused by odorous substances adsorbed to the silica gel and granular materials, malodors caused by urine remaining on the surfaces of the granular materials, and malodors caused by ammonia.

[0124] The animal litter of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments or the examples described below, and appropriate combinations, substitutions, modifications, etc. are possible within the scope of the object and intent of the present invention. In this specification, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between items to which the ordinal numbers are assigned, and do not indicate the order, priority, importance, etc. of each item.

[0125] EXAMPLES The present invention will be explained in more detail below by way of examples and comparative examples, but the present invention should not be construed as being limited to these examples alone.

[0126] (Preparation of Animal Litter) 80% by mass of zeolite powder (produced in Aiko, Miyagi Prefecture, 60 mesh pass product, average particle size 150 μm, moisture content 7% or less) and 20% by mass of white cement (manufactured by Taiheiyo Cement Corporation) were mixed and stirred in a Lödige mixer. The resulting mixture was compressed and granulated using a disc pelleter (manufactured by Dalton Co., Ltd.). The disc outlet dimensions were 5.5 mm in diameter, 35 mm in thickness, and 12 mm in effective length.

[0127] The granules thus obtained were left at room temperature (20°C) for 72 hours to allow the cement to solidify. The granules were then dried in a rotary kiln dryer until the final moisture content was 10% or less.

[0128] A surface treatment agent consisting of a mixture of 50% by mass of a wax-based resin (TH-44, manufactured by Nicca Chemical Co., Ltd.) as a water repellent and 50% by mass of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) was applied to the dried granules in an amount of 1.00% by mass relative to the mass of the granules. During application, the surface treatment agent was sprayed onto the dried granules while stirring and mixing them.

[0129] Next, the granular particles coated with the surface treatment agent were sieved using a 10 mm × 10 mm sieve to remove granular particles larger than a predetermined size. Then, the granular particles were sieved again using a 5 mm × 10 mm sieve to remove granular particles and powder particles smaller than a predetermined size, thereby obtaining granular particles within a predetermined size range. In this way, the animal litter of Example 1 was obtained.

[0130] Animal litter for Examples 2 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 10 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the composition of the granules and the surface coating (type of surface treatment agent) were changed to those shown in Table 1 below. Commercially available C-type silica gel (manufactured in Qingdao, China) was used as the silica gel.

[0131] For the obtained animal litter of Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 10, the area of ​​the water droplet marks after the above-mentioned colored water drop test, the liquid passage rate, and the pH of the ion-exchanged water after the liquid passage test were each measured. Furthermore, for the animal litter of each Example and Comparative Example, the above-mentioned surface roughness (Ra (calculated average roughness) and Rsm (mean spacing between irregularities)) was measured, and the presence or absence of water repellency and an irregular structure was confirmed. Furthermore, a sensory evaluation of the malodor suppressing effect of urine on the animal litter of each Example and Comparative Example was performed according to the <Method for sensory evaluation of urine odor> below. The results of these measurements and sensory evaluations are shown in Table 1 below. Regarding the presence or absence of water repellency and the presence or absence of an irregular structure, ◯ is indicated if the litter has water repellency and an × is indicated if the litter does not have an irregular structure.

[0132] <Method for sensory evaluation of urine odor> (1) A sample of the animal litter to be evaluated is filled into a cylinder with an inner diameter of 84 mm and a depth of 30 mm placed on a drainboard. (2) 20 mL of real urine (actual cat urine) is dripped three times from above the animal litter sample filled in the cylinder. The total amount dripped is 60 mL. (3) After dripping the real urine, the sample is placed in a sealable container with a capacity of 700 mL. (4) The sample in the container is smelled and evaluated based on the following evaluation criteria for urine odor intensity and pleasantness / unpleasantness. The evaluation uses the average score of the 20 evaluations.

[0133] (Evaluation criteria for urine odor intensity) 1: barely detectable odor or no odor 2: weak odor that is recognizable 3: easily detectable odor 4: strong odor 5: very strong odor

[0134] (Evaluation criteria for comfort / discomfort) 1: Very comfortable 2: Comfortable 3: Neither comfortable nor uncomfortable 4: Uncomfortable 5: Very uncomfortable

[0135]

[0136] As shown in Table 1, the animal litter of Examples 1 to 6 of the present invention all had low evaluation scores for urine odor intensity and pleasantness / unpleasantness, indicating that they were able to sufficiently suppress the generation of malodors. On the other hand, the animal litter of Comparative Examples 1 to 10 all had high evaluation scores for at least one of urine odor intensity and pleasantness / unpleasantness, indicating that they were unable to sufficiently suppress the generation of malodors.

[0137] 1 System toilet 2 Cover 3 Animal litter 4 Litter container 5 Waste disposal sheet 6 Waste disposal sheet container

Claims

1. An animal litter comprising a plurality of granules, Each of the plurality of granules includes an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent; The composition further contains silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less, and the area of ​​the water droplet mark after the colored water drop test is 12.6 mm ２ is less than The animal litter is characterized in that the surface of each of the plurality of granules is coated with a mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

2. An animal litter comprising a plurality of granules, Each of the plurality of granular materials includes an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and further includes silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less; The plurality of granules have a pH of 7.62 or less after a liquid passage test of ion-exchanged water, The animal litter is characterized in that the surface of each of the plurality of granules is coated with a mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

3. An animal litter comprising a plurality of granules, Each of the plurality of granular objects includes an inorganic porous material and a solidifying agent, and has water repellency; Each of the plurality of granular materials further contains silica gel in an amount of 0.0% by mass or more and 2.5% by mass or less, and has an uneven structure consisting of a plurality of convex portions, The animal litter is characterized in that the surface of each of the plurality of granules is coated with a mixture of a water repellent and an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

4. 4. Animal litter according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of granular objects contains water-repellent particles at least on its surface.

5. 4. The animal litter according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of granules has an Ra (calculated average roughness) of 0.26 μm or more and 0.95 μm or less.

6. The animal litter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the plurality of granules has an Rsm (roughness mean spacing) of 20 µm or more and 25 µm or less.

7. 4. Animal litter according to claim 3, wherein the uneven structure contains particles that constitute the animal litter.