Plant protecting and regulating compositions – Fertilizers with insecticide – fungicide – disinfectant – or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-16
2002-10-22
Clardy, S. Mark (Department: 1616)
Plant protecting and regulating compositions
Fertilizers with insecticide, fungicide, disinfectant, or...
C071S019000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06468943
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plant-cultivating artificial material, and a process for producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been used various fertilizer components for promoting growth of plants. For example, bone meal has been added as a fertilizer in soil, containing calcium phosphate as a major component Although calcium phosphate constituting the bone meal corresponding to the fertilizer, is hardly dissolved by water; it can be dissolved by organic adds such as root acids secreted from roots of plants. Thus, such calcium phosphate comes to be absorbed into the roots of the plants together with water and other components included in soil.
Although bone meal is added in soil, the bone meal component dissolved by the organic acid easily flows together with water, such as rain water. Accordingly, water containing the bone meal component can easily escape from roots of plants. Thus, the above-described conventional technique does not always provide a sufficient effect of promoting growth of plants by addition of bone meal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been conceived in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plant-cultivating artificial material and a process for producing the plant-cultivating artificial material which can promote growth of plants by holding of a bone material component or calcium phosphate.
In a first aspect of the present invention, a plant-cultivating artificial material comprises: (1) a porous sintered body containing at least one of silica and alumina as a major component; and (2) a substance mainly composed of a bone material component or calcium phosphate being held in the porous sintered body.
In the first aspect of the present invention, since the sintered body is porous, it has sufficient water-holding and air-ventilating abilities to promote growth of plants effectively. A bone material component is mainly composed of calcium phosphate or calcium phosphate from the composed additive—it is hardly dissolved by water but such can be dissolved by organic acids secreted from roots of plants.
Fertilizer components are generally absorbed to plants together with water. A component supplied from the bone material being held in the sintered body, or calcium phosphate supplied from the additive mainly composed of calcium phosphate can be dissolved by organic acids to form nourishing water. The nourishing water can be easily held in pores of the sintered body and hardly escapes from the pores of plant-cultivating artificial material Also, having sufficient hardness to provide a strong structure, the sintered body constituting the plant-cultivating artificial material can hold the nourishing water throughout a long term.
In a second aspect of the present invention, a plant-cultivating artificial material comprises: (1) a porous sintered body containing at least one of silica and alumina as a major component; (2) a substance mainly composed of a bone material component or calcium phosphate being held in the porous sintered body; and (3) a nitric acid component being held in the porous sintered body.
In the second aspect of the present invention, since the sintered body is porous, it has sufficient water-holding and air-ventilating abilities to promote growth of plants effectively. A bone material component is mainly composed of calcium phosphate or calcium phosphate from the composed additive—it is hardly dissolved by water but such can be easily dissolved by organic adds secreted from roots of plants to form a nourishing water. Also, such can be easily dissolved by nitric acid solutions to form a nourishing water when the nitric add component is dissolved by water to form nitric acid solutions. This nourishing water is easily held in pores of the sintered body to hardly escape from the pores of the plant-cultivating artificial material. Also, the sintered body constituting the plant-cultivating artificial material can hold the nourishing water throughout a long term having a hardness to hardly be broken.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a moderate process for producing the plant-cultivating artificial material described in the first aspect. In the third aspect of the present invention, a process for producing a plant-cultivating artificial material comprises the steps of (1) preparing a base material containing at least one of silica and alumina as a major component and having a powder or granular shape, and preparing a mixing substance mainly composed of at least one of bone material and an additive, the bone material containing calcium phosphate and gathered from an organism, the additive mainly composed of calcium phosphate; (2) mixing the base material with the mixing substance to obtain a mixture, and forming a green body by the mixture; and (3) heating the green body in a heated atmosphere to obtain a porous sintered body so that it can hold the bone material component supplied from the bone material or to hold calcium phosphate supplied from the additive in the porous sintered body, thereby obtaining a plant-cultivating artificial material.
In the third aspect of the present invention, the porous sintered body can hold a bone material component supplied from the organism, or can hold calcium phosphate supplied from the additive mainly composed of calcium phosphate. In particular, the bone material component or calcium phosphate can be held not only in the surface layer of the sintered body but also inside the sintered body. Accordingly, when the bone material component or calcium phosphate is dissolved by the organic acids from roots of plants to form a nourishing water, this nourishing water is easily held in pores of the sintered body to hardly escape from the pores of the plant-cultivating artificial material. Thus, the sintered body can hold the nourishing water throughout a long term because of the strong structure provided by sufficient hardness having a hardness to hardly be broken.
A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a moderate process for producing the plant-cultivating artificial material of the second aspect. In the fourth aspect of the present invention, a process for producing a plant-cultivating artificial material comprises the steps of: (1) preparing a base material containing at least one of silica and alumina as a major component and having a powder or granular shape, and preparing a mixing substance mainly composed of at least one of bone material and an additive, the bone material containing calcium phosphate and gathered from an organism, the additive mainly composed of calcium phosphate; (2) mixing the base material with the mixing substance to obtain a mixture, and forming a green body by the mixture; (3) heating the green body in a heated atmosphere to sinter a porous sintered body to hold a bone material component from the bone material or to hold calcium phosphate from the additive in the porous sintered body; and (4) bringing the porous sintered body into contact with a liquid including a nitric add component thereby holding the nitric acid component in the sintered body, and thereby constituting a plant-cultivating artificial material.
In the fourth aspect of the present invention, the porous sintered body can hold the nitric acid component, besides the bone material component and calcium phosphate. In particular, the nitric add component, the bone material component, and calcium phosphate can be held not only in the surface layer of the sintered body but also inside the sintered body.
The nitric add is dissolved by water to form the nitric acid solution. The bone material component supplied from the bone material being held on the sintered body, or calcium phosphate supplied from the additive mainly composed of calcium phosphate—such can be dissolved by the organic acids or by the nitric acid solution so as to form nourishing water. This nourishing water is easily held in pores of the sintered body to hardly escape from the por
Hattori Toshihiro
Yoshimi Hitoshi
Aisin Takaoka Co. Ltd.
Clardy S. Mark
LandOfFree
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