US 11,919,830 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 Nov. 8, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/521,022.
Application 17/521,022 is a division of application No. 14/856,663, filed on Sep. 17, 2015.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/060,911, filed on Oct. 7, 2014.
Prior Publication US 2022/0055959 A1, Feb. 24, 2022
Int. Cl. C05F 11/00 (2006.01); C05G 3/80 (2020.01); C05G 5/12 (2020.01); C09K 17/16 (2006.01); C09K 17/50 (2006.01); C09K 17/52 (2006.01)
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)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A process for forming a bulk material for use in the horticulture industry as a substitute for sphagnum peat moss, the bulk material comprising porous individual materials, each porous individual material comprising a core and abrasive granular particles (SGPs) that comprise a solid material and are dispersed in the core, the core having an external structure comprising twisted, curled, and clumped shapes that form rolled and coiled overlapping portions of the core, an internal fibrous structure, and porosity characterized by internal pores between the rolled and coiled overlapping portions of the core for moisture-holding, the process comprising:
combining and moistening the SGPs and shredded fragments of a cellulose material with at least one liquid; and
mixing the shredded fragments and the SGPs for a duration so that the SGPs grind the shredded fragments to produce the porous individual materials and permit separation of the porous individual materials in the bulk material, wherein the cores of the porous individual materials are twisted and curled around the SGPs, and the SGPs do not form a cohesive layer that encases the core but instead are individually distributed and dispersed throughout internal fibrous structures and external structures of the cores and between the rolled and coiled overlapping portions of the cores, wherein at least some of the SGPs are confined within the cores.