WO2001060148A1

WO2001060148A1 - Binding composition, additive for conferring binding capability to absorbing materials and the use thereof in animal litter

Info

Publication number: WO2001060148A1
Application number: PCT/ES2001/000059
Authority: WO
Inventors: Antonio Alvarez Berenguer; Ignacio Duch Martinez; Francisco De Juan Garcia; Miguel Camara Gandarillas
Original assignee: Tolsa, S.A.
Priority date: 2000-02-18
Filing date: 2001-02-16
Publication date: 2001-08-23
Also published as: ES2160088B1; ES2160088A1

Abstract

The invention concerns an additive for conferring binding capability to a granular component that comprises the following: a polysaccharide dispersible in an aqueous medium (for instance rubber, cellulose, starches and the mixtures thereof), a polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle (for instance polyalcohols such as glycerin) and finely crushed, rheology grade or micronized sepiolite. The invention also concerns a binding composition for the litter of animals, comprising between 90.0 and 99.9 percent by weight of an absorbing component (selected from amongst the sepiolites, attapulgites, diatomites, marls, zeolites, calcites, dolomites, slates, pumice stone, gypsum, bentonites, tobermorites, building material residues, plant compositions and the mixtures thereof) and 0.1 to 10 percent by weight of the organo-mineral additive previously described. Said binding composition can be used in animal litter (for instance cat litter).

Description

BINDING COMPOSITION, ADDITIVE TO CONFIRM BINDING CAPACITY TO ABSORBENT MATERIALS, AND ITS USE IN LITERAS

FOR ANIMALS TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention falls within the technical field of animal berths, especially for small animals and particularly for cats, intended to collect the _.. droppings deposited by animals. More specifically, the invention relates to bunk beds that allow selective removal of the wetted portions of the portion of the litter that has not been wetted.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION

Animal litters are intended to absorb the liquid components of animal droppings such as feces, urine, vomiting etc. in order to avoid, as far as possible, the decomposition of excreta and the consequent formation of bad odors and bacterial contamination. Therefore, the bunk beds must have a high capacity for absorption of urine, a great dehydrating capacity of feces, reduce the formation of odors and inhibit bacterial growth. For this, the berths must comply with a series of basic characteristics related to adsorption, density, particle size, dust formation, odor control, in addition to being accepted by the animal. The acceptance of the litter is also essential to avoid behavioral changes that could alter the hygienic habits of the animal since many animals, including cats, reject wet and smelly bunk beds.

Bunk beds must also conveniently present another set of qualities, that is, they must not stick to the hairs or paws of animals, they must be free of dust and present a adequate mechanical resistance, both in the dry state and after having absorbed liquid, to prevent breakage.

In their great majority, the litters for small animals and, especially, for cats are obtained from clays such as attapulgites, diatomites, sepiolites, bentonites and "fuller ^' s earth", while in a smaller proportion products are also used non-minerals, such as wood or paper and vegetable derivatives, or synthetic minerals such as synthetic calcium silicate and gypsum preparations.

Bunk beds based on mineral materials, usually consist mostly of granules of particle sizes between 0.6 and 4 mm. Clays used as berths for small animals are classified as heavy clays ("heavyweight") among which are "fuller's earth" and bentonite, with apparent densities between 800 and 1,000 g / m ³ , and light clays ("lightweight "), among which are sepiolites, attapulgites and diatomites, with apparent densities between 400 and 700 kg / m ³ .

A special type of berth is agglomerating berths ("dumping") that are mainly composed of sodium and calcium bentonites, or mixtures of sodium bentonites with other clays, with reduced particle sizes. These materials, when exposed to liquids, are able to swell and produce adhesion between the wetted particles, resulting in the formation of solid and consistent agglomerates.

US-A-4,591,581 describes a process for the manufacture of clay-based absorbent particles comprising a selection of particles, a drying stage, mixing of the material. drying with a water dispersible colloid, co-pacting the mixture in a press, crushing the compacted mixture and classifying the mass obtained to a particle size between 0.71 and 4 mm. US-A-4,685,420 describes an animal litter consisting of an inert solid porous substrate and a synthetic polymer powder, which when contacted by the urine of an animal, forms agglomerates that can be removed from the rest of the berth.

European patent application EP-A-0424001 describes a composition and method for absorbing animal waste, where the litter consists of loose particles of 0.5 to 3.35 mm of a non-compacted and water-swellable bentonite, which of effectively absorbs liquid animal waste and forms agglomerated in stable masses that allow the removal of waste from clean particles.

US-A-5,180,064 describes a method to increase the absorption capacity of smecty clays, capable of swelling, such as sodium montmorillonites, reaching a berth that, when contacted by urine, forms agglomerates of great cohesion . This berth comprises a mixture of clays with osmotic swelling, a cellulosic material and a density controlling material.

European patent application EP-A-0717928 describes an absorbent litter for sepiolite-based animals comprising a sepiolite-based absorbent granular solid with a particle size particle size distribution between 6 and 60 ASTM meshes and an apparent density between 400 and 800 kg / m; a polymer or mixture of absorbent polymers, selected from cellulose and starch derivatives, gums from algae, plants or microorganisms, polysaccharides, seed oils and animal tails, in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by weight with respect to sepiolite. This bunk, combines a great capacity of absorption of liquids with the formation of very solid agglomerates that maintain their strength and mechanical resistance during prolonged periods of time. However, the compositions described in European patent application EP-A-0717928 have a certain drawback, in that the agglomerates formed from thicker granulometry compositions described therein between 0.125mm and 5.0mm have a mechanical strength. maximum that would be of interest to increase. This is mainly due to the fact that larger particles have a smaller external surface and a greater weight than small particles, so that cohesion between these particles to form agglomerate is more difficult.

On the other hand, although many of the conventional agglomerating berths can be used with satisfactory results, they have the disadvantage that none of them allows the formation of agglomerates of great mechanical resistance at the time the animal deposits its droppings on the litter. This implies that the animal, after having deposited its droppings, can step on the wetted particles that have not yet acquired mechanical resistance, and break the masses in agglomeration phase and spread parts of these masses throughout the rest of the litter, which makes it difficult the removal of contaminated particles and, on the other hand, entails that the scattered parts in turn bind to non-contaminated particles, thus producing waste of clean material. This is especially accentuated in the case of those animals, such as cats, which have a habit of "scratching" the place where they have deposited their droppings. Likewise, many of the binder clays have the disadvantage of presenting absorption capacities worse than non-binder materials, so it would be desirable to have berths that combine the good absorbent qualities of certain non-binder materials with the ability to form agglomerates.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the state of the art berths by means of a binder composition, an additive for conferring binder capacity to mineral clays and porous materials in granular form, and their use in berths for animals. The binder composition according to the invention comprises at least

90.0 to 99.9% by weight, preferably 95-99.5% by weight, of an absorbent component selected from clay minerals or porous absorbent substrates;

- 0.1 to 10% by weight, preferably 0.5 to 5% by weight, of a granulated organ-mineral additive; in which

- the additive comprises - a dispersible polysaccharide in aqueous medium,

- a non-aqueous polyhydroxy liquid vehicle that does not deactivate the polysaccharide;

- a sepiolite component selected from micronized sepiolite, rheological grade sepiolite or mixtures thereof, which acts as a batter or binder.

The invention also relates to the use of the compositions specified above in berths for animals, especially for small animals, and particularly for cats. The absorbent mineral preferably has a particle size distribution mostly between 5 and 0.125 mm, preferably between 0.25 and 3.35 mm, and is selected from sepiolites, attapulgites, diatomites, marls, zeolites, calcites, dolomites, slates, Pumice stone, plaster, tubermorites, construction waste, plant compositions such as sawdust, straw, wood shavings, paper pulp, paper, paper waste, corn fibers, and mixtures thereof, albeit in preferred embodiments of the invention, the absorbent component is bentonite, preferably sodium bentonite, sepiolite or attapulgite. Basically all granular materials conventionally used as absorbent berths for animals that have little or no agglomeration capacity between their particles when they contact with liquids are valid.

The polysaccharide is selected from natural or modified gums, celluloses and starches, and mixtures thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the polysaccharide is guar gum.

The polyhydric liquid carrier is selected from polyalcohols, derivatives of polyalcohols and mixtures thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the liquid vehicle is glycerin.

In accordance with the invention, the sepiolite component is selected from finely ground sepiolite, micronized sepiolite, rheological grade sepiolite or mixtures thereof, as a batter.

It is known that natural sepiolite has acicular particles that form bundles or aggregates that are held together thanks to the existence of forces between particles, so that the aggregates do not disintegrate spontaneously when natural sepiolite disperses in water or other liquids.

The finely ground sepiolite that can be used in the additive of the present invention, preferably consists essentially of particles smaller than 40μ.

The micronized sepiolite that can be used in the additive of the present invention preferably comprises 81% by weight, more preferably 97% by weight, of particles smaller than 5μm in size.

On the other hand, the rheological grade sepiolite is obtained by special micronization processes that disaggregate the beams into their individual particles, rheological grade sepiolite that is easily dispersed in water and other polar liquids is obtained. European patent EP-A-0170299 describes a sepiolite of suitable rheological grade as a batter in the organo-mineral additive according to the present invention. The rheological grade sepiolite is also being manufactured and marketed by TOLSA, S.A., Madrid under the name PANGEL.

The additive according to the invention is effective both in terms of clay minerals or absorbent porous substrates that practically do not have binder capacity when they contact with water or liquids, in view of the fact that when absorbing water and liquids, they do not swell but retain liquids in their structure without showing appreciable variations in their mechanical properties or in the physical appearance of their constituent particles, as in relation to bentonite with respect to which the addition of the additive leads to the formation of agglomerates of greater resistance than those of Conventional bentonite

The binder capacity is conferred, or where appropriate, reinforced to the compositions by the additive granulated organ-mineral which, when contacted with water or aqueous solutions, has the property of spontaneously dispersing and, in the presence of particles of clay ore or porous absorbent substrate in granular form, acts as a binder of the granules and binds strongly to each other very quickly, forming rigid structures, of great mechanical resistance and discrete that can be easily separated from the rest of the mixture. The granulated organ-mineral additive consists of a dispersible polysaccharide in aqueous medium, a non-aqueous polyhydroxylated vehicle that protects and does not deactivate the polymer, and the finely ground, micronized and / or rheological grade sepiolite that protects the system against degradation . So that the additive can confer the binding effect to the granular composition of mineral clay or to the porous substrate, only reduced concentrations are required. The almost instantaneous binder properties that the organo-mineral additive confers on the clay or porous substrate, result in a substantial reduction in the amount of berth that must be periodically replenished, with respect to other materials that are conventionally used as berths, based on inflatable bentonites or clays and substrates of binder character. Due to its organ-mineral nature, the additive has a high surface compatibility with the clay or the porous substrate.

The organo-mineral granulated additive can be obtained by a conventional granulation process, in which the polysaccharide and the rheological grade sepiolite are dry mixed and homogenized. Once the mixture is homogenized, the polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle is added under rapid agitation until the pellet formation is substantially hemispherical of the appropriate size for subsequent dry mixing with the absorbent porous substrate.

The purpose of this granulation process is to give the additive particles a size similar to that of the absorbent granular component, which prevents segregation of the additive particles from those of the absorbent granular component, inside the berth.

The suitability of the additive to the desired particle size is achieved by controlling factors in the granulation process, such as the speed and kneading time and / or the polysaccharide / polyhydroxylated liquid carrier ratio. Thus, the criteria followed to decide the appropriate size of the pellets formed with the additive, are based on the adaptation of the particle size distribution of the additive to the particle size distribution curve presented by the substrate to which it is desired to grant agglomerating qualities, in order to avoid segregation phenomena of the additive in the final mixture that would prevent a correct agglomeration of the particles of the granular component. A particle size of the additive of 5 and 0.125mm is especially suitable in view of the fact that a large part of the granular components useful as berths for animals commonly have this particle size. By the aforementioned adaptation, the additive may be correctly homogenized with the different fractions of the granular component in order to confer an adequate binder capacity to the final composition. In this way, the homogenization of the additive is advantageously achieved throughout the entire absorbent granular component, that is, a homogeneous incorporation is achieved with which the segregation of the additive is avoided, which was not achieved with the additives of the state of the technique that was added to the granular component in the form of fine powder which meant a reliable and lasting incorporation and, therefore, a decrease in the binding capacities of the final compositions. Advantageously, in the preparation of the additive of the present invention, the non-aqueous polyhydroxylated liquid carrier must be added to and homogenized with the dispersible polysaccharide mixture as quickly as possible, for which, for example, an addition rate of 10 to 15 seconds of the liquid vehicle and a homogenization time of about 5 minutes at high speeds of the mixing machine.

The compositions of the present invention are obtained by simple dry mixing of the granulated mineral additive with the clay-based granulated material and / or absorbent porous substrate, without the need to subject the material to any special compaction, extrusion or impregnation process. This implies that, in order to apply it to the granulated material, the additive does not need to be dissolved or dispersed previously in any liquid vehicle, thereby avoiding liquid handling and costly operations of applying solutions or suspensions of the additive by spraying, spraying, are not necessary. immersion etc., neither phases or special drying facilities.

In the way in which the additive is made and presented, it does not suffer any deactivation of its properties, so it gives the clay mineral or porous substrate instant and long lasting binder properties. The process of preparation of the additive also allows, to regulate or adjust the particle size distribution, either so that the binder properties conferred by granulated material are selective and only take place in a specific granulometric fraction of its particles by variations of the concentrations of the components of the additive by variations of the particle size or so that it can be used as a binder additive for any clay mineral or porous substrate that has a coarse particle size distribution, which otherwise could not have any binder capacity, even if conventional binder additives were added. The possibility of regulating the particle size of the additive prevents segregations and separations of the mixture with the clays or porous substrates, which in turn prevents the loss of the binder capacity of the composition. Thus, on the one hand, in the process of granulation of the additive the average particle size can be selected to adapt it to the absorbent granular composition and, on the other, the presence of a liquid polyhydroxylated vehicle, prevents deactivation by degradation and / or aging, from which the polysaccharide is itself susceptible in aqueous media.

The granulated organ-mineral additive contains 20 to 45%, preferably 30 to 45% by weight of the dispersible polysaccharide in aqueous medium,

20 to 45%, preferably 30 to 45% by weight of the non-aqueous polyhydroxy liquid liquid vehicle that does not deactivate the polysaccharide;

10 to 25%, preferably 15 to 25% by weight of a sepiolite component selected from finely ground sepiolite, micronized sepiolite, rheological grade sepiolite, or mixtures thereof.

The invention also relates to the use of the organo-mineral additive in the preparation of berths for animals. This use is that the additive is mixed with any of the clays or with any of the absorbent porous substrates, in the aforementioned amounts.

The present invention is especially advantageous with respect to cat litters, although its application in berths for other small animals, such as hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits etc. It is also totally satisfactory.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be further illustrated based on the following embodiments.

Example 1: 10 kg of an additive according to the present invention were prepared following the following method. They were mixed in a LODIGE mixer equipped with a main homogenization main propeller and an auxiliary propeller located perpendicular to the movement of the main propeller shaft, 40kg of guar gum and 20kg of PANGEL rheological grade sepiolite, manufactured and marketed by TOLSA, SA, Madrid, Spain, until a homogeneous mixture is obtained for 5 minutes at a rotation speed of the main propeller of 720 rp.

The auxiliary propeller was put into operation and the rotation speed of the main propeller was increased to 1455 rpm and 40kg of glycerin was added at a speed of approximately 310kg / min so that all the glycerin was added in about 11 seconds, keeping homogenization for 5 minutes until obtaining a particle size of the pellets thus formed with a granulometric distribution between 0.6 and 2.36mm.

Subsequently, the pellets were unloaded from the mixer, distributed in trays and dried in a forced air oven until approximately 10% of final humidity is obtained.

Example 2: A litter composition was prepared by mixing 9.6 kg of conventional sepiolite with a granulometric distribution between 0.6 and 2.36 mm and 0.4 kg of the additive obtained according to example 1. 2.5kg were introduced in an impermeable tray conventional 40cm x 30cm x 10cm, and the tray was made available to an adult cat so he could make his bowel movements. At 24 hours it was found that the agglomerates formed from the contact of the composition with the cat's urine could be easily removed with the help of a plastic paddle.

Example 3: A litter composition was prepared by mixing 9.6 kg of conventional attapulgite with a granulometric distribution between 0.6 and 2.36 mm and 0.4 kg of the additive obtained according to example 1. 2.5kg were introduced in an impermeable tray conventional 40cm x 30cm x 10cm, and the tray was made available to an adult cat so he could make his bowel movements. At 24 hours it was found that the agglomerates formed from the contact of the composition with the cat's urine could be easily removed with the help of a plastic paddle.

Example 4: On a litter for cats consisting of 2.5kg of conventional sepiolite contained in a conventional waterproof tray of 40cm x 30cm x 10 cm, adding 200g of the additive obtained according to example 1 was added, sprinkling the additive and sepiolite with help of a trowel. The tray was made available to an adult cat so he could make his bowel movements. At 24 hours it was found that the agglomerates formed from from the contact of the composition with the cat's urine they could be easily removed with the help of a plastic pallet.

Example 5: A litter composition was prepared by mixing 9.6 kg of conventional sodium bentonite with a granulometric distribution between 0.6 and 2.36 mm and 0.4 kg of the additive described in example 1. 2.5kg were introduced into a tray Conventional raincoat of 40cm x 30cm x 10cm, and the tray was made available to an adult cat so he could make his bowel movements. At 24 hours it was found that the agglomerates formed from the contact of the composition with the cat's urine could be easily removed with the help of a plastic paddle.

Example 6: In order to evaluate the mechanical strength of the agglomerates that are formed in contact with liquids, samples of agglomerates formed with the compositions of Examples 2 to 5 were tested and compared with agglomerates formed from samples of conventional sepiolite compositions with 1.5% by weight guar powdered gum, and sodium bentonite. The agglomerates were obtained by wetting 2.5kg of each composition with 20ml of water. Samples of the agglomerates were allowed to stand, respectively, 5 minutes, 3 hours and 24 hours.

The evaluation of the mechanical resistance was carried out by dropping three samples of agglomerates of each material and corresponding to 5 minutes, 3 hours and 24 hours, on a hard and flat surface, from increasing heights (15cm, 30cm, 45cm, 60cm). The samples were dropped consecutively from each of the heights indicated until, if their breakage occurred. The samples that resisted consecutive drops from 15cm, 30cm, 45cm and 60cm were assigned, within what is usual in this type of test, 75cm resistors.

In this way, a maximum drop height (in centimeters) was established for each sample.

The following table reflects the maximum height resulting from the three tested samples of each material.

Table 1

From the results of the tests carried out, it follows that the use of the additive according to the present invention provides agglomerates of a resistance much higher than that of the conventional compositions from 3 hours and maintenance of said resistance for at least 24 hours.

It can also be observed that, in the case of the sodium bentonite added with the additive of the present invention, not only is the final mechanical strength and durability of the agglomerates substantially increased, but also obtaining the highest strength agglomerates in a very short time

Claims

1. A binder composition for animal litter comprising at least

90.0 to 99.9% by weight of an absorbent component selected from granular clay minerals or porous absorbent substrates; and

- 0.1 to 10% by weight of an organo-mineral additive; characterized in that said additive is a granule that comprises

- a polysaccharide dispersible in an aqueous medium, a non-aqueous polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle that does not deactivate the polysaccharide; and

- a sepiolite component selected from finely ground sepiolite, micronized sepiolite, rheological grade sepiolite and mixtures thereof.

2. A composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the granulated organo-mineral additive comprises

- 20 to 45% by weight of the polysaccharide,

- 20 to 45% by weight of the polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle, and

- 10 to 25% by weight of the sepiolite component.

3. A composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the granulated organo-mineral additive comprises - 30 to 45% by weight of the polysaccharide,

30 to 45% by weight of the polyhydroxylated liquid carrier, and

15 to 25% by weight of the sepiolite component.

4. A composition according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sepiolite component is finely ground sepiolite with particles of size less than 40 μm.

5. A composition according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sepiolite component is finely ground sepiolite with 81% by weight of particles of size less than 5 μm.

6. A composition according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sepiolite component is finely ground sepiolite with 97% by weight of particles of size less than 5 μm.

7. A composition according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sepiolite component is rheological grade sepiolite.

8. A composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the granular mineral is selected from sepiolites, attapulgites, diatomites, marls, zeolites, calcites, dolomites, slates, pumice, gypsum, bentonites, tubermorites, construction waste, plant compositions, and mixtures thereof.

9. A composition according to claim 1 or

8. characterized in that the clay mineral is sepiolite.

10. A composition according to claim 1 or

8, characterized in that the clay mineral is bentonite.

11. A composition according to claim 10, characterized in that the clay mineral is sodium bentonite.

12. A composition according to claim 1 or

8 to 11, characterized in that the clay mineral has a particle size distribution mainly between 5 and 0.125 mm.

13. A composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the vegetable compositions are selected from sawdust, straw, wood chips, paper pulp, paper, paper waste, corn fibers, and mixtures thereof.

14. A composition according to any of claims 1 or 8 to 11, characterized in that the particle size distribution of the granular component is 0.25 to 3.35 mm.

15. A composition according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the polysaccharide is selected from gums, celluloses and starches, natural or modified, and mixtures thereof.

16. A composition according to claim 15, characterized in that the polysaccharide is guar gum.

17. A composition according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle is selected from polyalcohols, derivatives of polyalcohols and mixtures thereof.

18. A composition according to claim 17, characterized in that the liquid carrier is glycerin.

19. A composition according to claim 1, characterized in that the proportion of the organo-mineral additive is 0.5 to 5%.

20. An additive to confer binding capacity to a granular component, characterized in that the additive is a granulated organo-mineral additive comprising

- a polysaccharide dispersible in an aqueous medium, a non-aqueous polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle that does not deactivate the polysaccharide; - a sepiolite component selected from finely ground sepiolite, micronized sepiolite, rheological grade sepiolite and mixtures thereof.

21. An additive according to claim 20, characterized in that it comprises

- 20 to 45% by weight of the polysaccharide,

- 20 to 45% by weight of the polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle, and

- 10 to 25% by weight of the sepiolite component.

22. An additive according to claim 20, characterized in that it comprises

- 30 to 45% by weight of the polysaccharide, - 30 to 45% by weight of the polyhydroxylated liquid carrier, and

- 15 to 25% by weight of the sepiolite component.

23. An additive according to any of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that the polysaccharide is selected from gums, celluloses and starches, natural or modified, and mixtures thereof.

24. An additive according to claim 20 or 23, characterized in that the polysaccharide is guar gum.

25. An additive according to any of claims ---0 to 22, characterized in that the polyhydroxylated liquid vehicle is selected from polyalcohols, derivatives of polyalcohols and mixtures thereof.

26. An additive according to claim 20 or 25, characterized in that the liquid carrier is glycerin.

27. An additive according to any of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that the sepiolite component is finely ground sepiolite with particles of size less than 40 μm.

28. An additive according to any of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that the sepiolite component is finely ground sepiolite with 81% by weight of particles with a size less than 5 μm.

29. An additive according to any of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that the sepiolite component is finely ground sepiolite with 97% by weight of particles of size less than 5 μm.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)

30. An additive according to any of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that the sepiolite component is rheological grade sepiolite.

31. Use of a composition according to any of claims 1 to 19, in litters for animals.

32. Use according to claim 31, characterized in that the bunk beds are bunk beds for small animals.

33. Use according to claim 32, characterized in that the bunk beds are cat litters.

34. A method for using an organo-mineral additive according to any of claims 20 to 31, characterized in that between 0.1 to 10% of the additive is mixed with 99.9 to 90% of an absorbent component selected from granular clay minerals or porous substrates; to obtain an animal litter.

35. A method according to claim 34, characterized in that a litter for small animals is prepared.

36. A method according to claim 34, characterized in that a cat litter is prepared.

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)