US 11,912,632 B2
Materials suitable as substitutes for peat mosses and processes and apparatus therefor
Mont Andrew Handley, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Matt Collins Knapp, Pittsburgh, PA (US); and Mark David Goldman, Sewickley, PA (US)
Assigned to PITTMOSS, LLC, Ambridge, PA (US)
Filed by PITTMOSS LLC, Ambridge, PA (US)
Filed on Sep. 17, 2015, as Appl. No. 14/856,663.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/060,911, filed on Oct. 7, 2014.
Prior Publication US 2016/0096779 A1, Apr. 7, 2016
Int. Cl. C05F 11/00 (2006.01); C05G 5/12 (2020.01); C09K 17/50 (2006.01); C09K 17/52 (2006.01); C09K 17/16 (2006.01); C05G 3/80 (2020.01)
CPC C05F 11/00 (2013.01) [C05G 3/80 (2020.02); C05G 5/12 (2020.02); C09K 17/16 (2013.01); C09K 17/50 (2013.01); C09K 17/52 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A bulk material for use in the horticulture industry as a substitute for Sphagnum peat moss and having a bulk density of 70 to 150 grams per liter and physical properties that enable the bulk material to be mixed into soil in order to promote moisture retention and enhance aeration in the soil and/or used as media for propagation, seed starting and/or rooting applications, the bulk material comprising porous individual materials having a rolled form, each porous individual material comprising abrasive small granular particles (SGPs) dispersed in a core comprising rearranged shredded fragments of a cellulose material and having an internal fibrous structure, porosity characterized by internal pores for moisture-holding, and an external structure comprising the following shapes: twisted, curled, and clumped;
wherein:
the core has a coiled structure with overlapping portions;
all of the SGPs are individually distributed and dispersed throughout the internal fibrous structures and the external structures of the cores and between the overlapping portions of the cores;
at least some of the SGPs are confined within the cores;
the bulk material has a texture of Sphagnum peat moss; and
the SGPs are a size of about 1/16 to about 1 mm.