Natural fillers esp.for packing - consist of pieces of stems from plants with high pith or pulp content

摘要

A filler, esp. for packing consists of pieces of stems from plants contg. a lot of pith or pulp. The plants used are C3 and C4 plants (such as maize, Sorghum bicolor, Durrha, rushes) or Scirpus lacustris. The plant stems are in dry torn and the leaves have been removed. They are cut into lengths of 0.5-10(esp. 2-5, esp. pref. 2-3)cm. The ripe plants are left in the fields until the solids content is 80-90% and the plants which have dried in the field are then harvested using a harvester. The plant stems, or plant stem bundles produced are then cut, with or pref. without the leaves. The leaves can be removed mechanically, esp. by blowing air through the stems. USE/ADVANTAGE - The filler are very light natural, biodegradable fillers which will rot and can replace the use of synthetic, packing materials such as styropor. They are non-dusting unlike previously used natural fillers, e.g. popcorn. The prepn. of the fillers requires very little energy as they are left in the field, in the sun and then harvested. The fillers can also be degraded in an ecologically friendly manner by CO2-neutral combustion. Alternatively, they need not be degraded, but can be used as animal feed. Fallow land can be cheaply reactivated by using it to grow the fillers. The fillers can be used to pack toys and games, esp. the moving components of recreational or educational toys or games. They can also be used as carrier for perfumes, esp. aromatic materials used against vermin, eg. as carriers for coffee wax and esp. for plant tonics. The fillers can also be used as pore formers in the prepn. of porous building materials such as pore concrete, insulation plates and bricks,. The fillers are need in bags, esp. made of paper.