FR2881142A1 - Vegetable absorbent material, useful as a cleaning agent, comprises absorbent fibers and granules - Google Patents

Abstract

Vegetable absorbent material (I), comprises absorbent fibers (Ia) and granules (Ib). Independent claims are included for: (1) an absorbent material composition (II) comprising cellulose or other fibers (6%) and starch or other sugars (52%); (2) an absorbent composition (III) for wheat, comprising an absorbent fiber (Ia) at 80% and cleanser granules at 20%; and (3) the preparation of (I).

Description

VEGETABLE ABSORBENT

  The present invention generally relates to the field of plant absorbents and more particularly that of sorbents based on cereals.

  Many products are known and used as absorbents. There are two main types of absorbents: - mineral absorbers, such as clay products (bentonite, sepiolite, attapulgite), calcined diatomaceous earth from marine plankton or volcanic rock products; plant absorbents, such as sawdust, peat, straw, hemp shives, cane bagasse, beet pulp, cellulose (paper, cotton or flax fiber).

  Known absorbents have several disadvantages. Thus, the mineral absorbents have a high density but a low absorbency; they are friable and constitute a source of dust; their use leads to the production of sludge, the treatment of which is expensive because the material is difficult to incinerate.

  As for the known plant absorbents, their absorption powers are satisfactory, but have some shortcomings: they have a low density and are difficult to use outdoors because often volatile; they are flammable, hence the constraint of fireproofing them; they need to be dried and / or dusted, thus generating additional costs; they lead to the formation of sludge, when they are made from whole ground cereals ..

  The present invention aims to overcome the disadvantages of the known plant absorbents and to provide a new plant-based absorbent cereals having a high absorbency and a relatively low manufacturing cost.

  For this purpose and according to a first aspect, the invention relates to a plant absorbent material characterized in that it comprises absorbent fibers and cleaning granules.

  Typically, the plant absorbent according to the invention combines fibers, mainly cellulosic, and granules, mainly starch.

  Fibers here denote flattened particles. The fibers used in the composition of the absorbent according to the invention have a density of less than 400 kg / m 3.

  By granules is meant here rounded particles mainly comprising starch. The granules used in the composition of the absorbent according to the invention have a density greater than 400 kg / m 3.

  Thanks to the presence of cellulosic fibers which are very absorbent by nature, this new material has a high absorbency.

  Thanks to the presence of granules, rather heavy, the absorbent material has a density of between 350 and 450 kg / m3, adapted to its function. Advantageously, all the constituents of the absorbent material according to the invention are obtained from cereal grains.

  The grain or fruit of cereals is a caryopsis formed of three parts: the integument (or the envelope), the germ and the albumen.

  The integument includes the pericarp, which corresponds to the integuments of the fruit, and a proteinaceous base which represents the first constitutive base of the albumen. It is rich in cellulose and protein.

  The germ is formed of the embryo and a cotyledon; it is a reserve organ, rich in proteins and lipids.

  The albumen constitutes most of the grain. It consists of cells filled with starch granules. These have variable dimensions between 2 and 40 m. The larger granules are grouped into groups containing from 2 to 25 granules and are formed of more or less concentric layers or rings.

  From a chemical point of view, the cereal grains have the following composition (in% of the crude product by weight): dry matter of 86 to 88%; humidity of 12 to 14%; carbohydrates of which: o 75% to 80% non-nitrogenous extract; o crude fiber from 2 to 13%; total nitrogen content of 10 to 11%; Lipids from 2 to 6%; - ash from 1.5 to 5.5%.

  The non-nitrogen extractant consists essentially of the starch contained in the albumen. It constitutes by weight the main part of the grain (70 to 85% of the weight of the dry matter).

  The parietal compounds are mainly represented by crude cellulose and hemicellulose. Coated grains are much richer in crude fiber than naked grains. The crude fiber content of wheat is in the order of 2 to 3% whereas for barley, dressed grain, the rate is around 5%. This rate is much higher in buckwheat, rice, when not husked, and 12% in whole oats. The cell walls of cereals are rich in hemicellulose.

  Lipids are scarce in grains, and are present mainly in the germ.

  Total nitrogenous materials are essentially composed of proteins, including insoluble reserve proteins (gliadins or prolamins and glutelins) and soluble proteins (albumin and globulin).

  Ashes are the mineral substances present in cereals; they are rich in phosphorus and potassium and low in calcium.

  In an alternative embodiment, the absorbent material is prepared from wheat grains, in which case it comprises: from 6 to 16% of celluloses and other fibers; from 40 to 52% of starch and other sugars; 13 to 21% protein; from 3 to 9% ash; 2-8% fat; from 13 to 17% of water.

  In another alternative embodiment, the absorbent material is obtained from oat grains, in which case it comprises: from 19 to 29% of celluloses and other fibers; 26 to 38% starch and other sugars; from 10 to 18% of proteins; 4 to 10% ash; from 5 to 11% fat; from 13 to 17% of water.

  The absorbent material according to the invention comprises at least 6% of cellulose and other fibers and at most 52% of starch and other sugars.

  The subject of the invention is also a formulation of wheat-based plant absorbent characterized in that it comprises approximately 80% of materials presented in the form of fibers and 20% in the form of granules.

  The invention also relates to a formulation of vegetable absorbent based on oats characterized in that it comprises about 90% of materials presented in the form of fibers and 10% in the form of granules.

  According to another aspect, the subject of the invention is a process for producing cereal grains from the absorbent material described, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a succession of grinding-sieving cycles C1, C2 and C3 each cycle leading to an intermediate product A, B and C and a co-product A ', B' and C ', respectively; a step of mixing the products A, B and C leading to obtaining the absorbent material.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description which follows, given with reference to the single appended figure which shows schematically and by way of non-limiting example an embodiment of the invention.

  The diagram represented in this figure essentially illustrates the different steps of the process of the invention, comprising an alternation of grinding-sieving cycles of the raw material.

  The raw materials used are generally all cereals. Preferably, these raw materials are selected from: common wheat, durum wheat, barley, buckwheat, oats, rye, triticale, spelled, rice, buckwheat, sorghum and wheat. But.

  The method of the invention comprises a preliminary cleaning step, which consists of carefully cleaning the selected cereal with a suitable material in order to obtain a grain free of dust and foreign bodies.

  Characteristically, the process of the invention comprises a succession of milling cycles and sieving of the grains in order to obtain in each cycle on the one hand an intermediate product which will enter the composition of the absorbent material and on the other hand a co-product that can not be used for the invention. The latter essentially includes the friable fine grain.

  In a preferred embodiment, the process of the invention comprises a succession of three cycles designated C1, C2 and C3 milling-sieving, each cycle leading to the production of an intermediate product A, B and C and a co-product A ', B' and C ', respectively.

  Grinding is performed with any type of mill (hammer, attrition, grinding, percussion, ball) or may include the use of cylinders.

  In one embodiment: the first sieving is carried out by means of two screens, the first of which is less than 350 gm and the second is greater than 700 m; the second sieving is carried out by means of two sieves, the first of which is less than 350 lm and the second is greater than 500 m; the third sieving is carried out by means of sieves whose mesh is less than 350 m.

  Product A is the component of the absorbent whose particle size is greater than 700 μm; this product comprises 90 to 100% of fibers and 0 to 10% of granules.

  Product B is the component of the absorbent whose particle size is greater than 500 μm and less than 700 μm; this product comprises from 70 to 80% of fibers and 20 to 30% of granules.

  Product C is the component of the absorbent whose particle size is greater than 350 μm and less than 500 μm; this product comprises from 50 to 70% of fibers, and 30 to 50% of granules.

  The absorbent material according to the invention is obtained by mixing the products A, B and C in the following proportions: This new absorbent material has many advantages: it has a high absorbency; it has a density of between 350 and 450 Kg / m3 adapted to its function; - it is biodegradable by nature; : 30 - it has a dual function: absorbing and descaling; A: 35 to 45%; B: de35à45%; C: de10à30%.

  It has a relatively low manufacturing cost because the raw materials are readily available and the process is easy to implement; - It has a low cost of reprocessing, especially compared to mineral absorbents.

  In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of the compositions mentioned above for the preparation of a cleaning agent.

  The cleaning agents most commonly used for the cleaning of heavily soiled hands contain either solvents or abrasive elements such as plastic beads, sawdust, pumice, olive stones. This type of cleaning agent is characterized by expensive manufacturing because of the presence of synthetic chemicals, and by a low cleaning efficiency and soil absorption, hence the need to incorporate very abrasive products to increase its effectiveness.

  The applicants have demonstrated that the absorbent material of the invention has remarkable cleaning and soil absorption capabilities. This double effect is due, on the one hand, to the presence of the abrasive granules of starch, which participate in the cleaning, and, on the other hand, to the presence of cellulosic fibers able to absorb the dirt.

  For this purpose, the invention relates to the use of the absorbent material as a cleaning agent.

  Preferably, the absorbent material is in this case colored, scented, or mixed with a detergent base for the hands.

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Claims (14)

  1. Absorbent plant material characterized in that it comprises absorbent fibers and granules.   2. Material according to claim 1 characterized in that it has a density of between 350 and 450 kg / m3.   3. absorbent material composition according to any one of claims 1 and 2 characterized in that it comprises at least 6% of cellulose and other fibers and at most 52% of starch and other sugars.   4. Composition of absorbent material based on wheat according to claim 3 characterized in that it comprises: from 6 to 16% of celluloses and other fibers; from 40 to 52% of starch and other sugars; 13 to 21% protein; from 3 to 9% ash; from 2 to 8% of fat; from 13 to 17 of water.   5. Composition of oatmeal absorbent material according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises: from 19 to 29% of celluloses and other fibers; 26 to 38% starch and other sugars; from 10 to 18% of proteins; 4 to 10% ash; from 5 to 11% fat; from 13 to 17% of water.   6. Formulation of wheat-based absorbent material characterized in that it comprises about 80% fibrous absorbent and about 20% granular cleaner.   7. Formulation of oatmeal absorbent material characterized in that it comprises about 90% of absorbent in the form of fibers and about 10% of cleaner in the form of granules.   8. A method of manufacturing from cereal grains of an absorbent material according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a succession of cycles C1, C2 and C3 milling-sieving each cycle leading to an intermediate product A, B and C and a co-product A ', B' and C ', respectively; A step of mixing the products A, B and C leading to obtaining the absorbent material.   9. Method according to claim 8 characterized in that it comprises a preliminary step of cleaning cereal grains.   10. Method according to any one of claims 8 and 9 characterized in that the product A is composed of 90 to 100% of fibers and 0 to 10% of granules.   11. Method according to any one of claims 8 to 10 characterized in that the product B is composed of 70 to 80% of fibers and 20 to 30% of granules.   12. Method according to any one of claims 8 to 11 characterized in that the product C is composed of 50 to 70% of fibers and 30 to 50% of granules.   13. Method according to any one of claims 8 to 12 characterized in that the absorbent material is obtained by mixing the products A, B and C in the following proportions: A from 35 to 45%; B from 35 to 45%; C from 10 to 30%.   14. Use of the absorbent material according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or obtained by carrying out the method according to any one of claims 8 to 13 as a cleaning agent, with or without detergent base.