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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY

Cats can be categorized as one of the most popular pets

among the other animal because they are considered as easy

to take care of and low cost. Basically they can be kept

either outdoor or indoor. If they are kept indoor, the

owner will provide their cats with the litter box, which

will need an absorbent material called litter sand. Until

now there are few types of litter sand available in our

market, which are, clay litter, clumping cat litter,

recycled paper cat litter, pine cat litter and etc. Each of

them have their specialities such as, effective moisture

and odour absorbance, biodegradable, dust-free as well as

clumping ability. But at the same time each of them also

have some disadvantages which affect the environment and

also the safety of the cat and the owner. The present

clumpable cat litter contain sodium bentonite clay particle

which will adhere to each other and form a clump when

introduced to moisture or animal gross. So this will make

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it easier to be scooped out from the litter box without

taking out too much unaffected litter sand. This will save

more litter sand while making full utilisation of a batch

of litter. However current studies shows that bentonite

clay used contains mica, which is carcinogenic and thus

raise the safety issues of the cat as well as the owner who

manage the litter (Kory and Hall, 1997). The cat may get

affected by unintentionally consume the litter as they

clean themselves by licking their fur, which is

contaminated with the mica particle. The owner can be

infected when the cat leaves the litter box it will leave

the traces around the house. So the house is contaminated

with the particles and the person can get in touch with the

particle easily as they walk around the contaminated house.

Besides, some of them are high quality litter sand but most

of the cat owner complain about the cost which is quiet

expensive. So it is important

for them to have the best quality litter sand for their cat

and at the same time affordable at the lower price.

Nowadays biomass are one of the hot topic for research by

the scientists on various field such as for the substitute

of fossil fuel, since biomass is predicted to lower the

usage of fossil fuel which soon will replenish. Besides the

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usage of biomass instead of current materials has a lot of

advantage by reducing the production cost, spare more non-

renewable sources, more environmental friendly as well as

to reduce the global warming effect. In order to overcome

these issues we are carrying out a study on the development

of highly adsorbent litter sand derived from biomass.

So there are previous studies and invention on

producing litter sand from corncob grit. Presently, only

60% of the corncob is used in the sand litter, which is

called the grit, woody pulp region of the cob. While the

remaining 40% is called pith and chaff which is considered

as waste. But the sorption of grit is not sufficiently fast

to totally absorb the urine before it leaks to the bottom

tray and then bind with the litter before they stick on the

tray as they dried together. This is unpleasant scenario

for the cat owner. So instead of wasting the remaining 40%

this invention suggest to fully utilise the corncob which

is more economical and will produce less or no waste from

the corncob. Besides it will increase the sorption rate as

well as clumping ability of the litter (Kory and Hall,

1997). But there are some disadvantages which most of the

cat need more time to adapt with the texture of the litter

because some cats feel uncomfortable with the texture and

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smell of the corncob as well as leaving behind some

tracking (Ahlstrom, 2013).

From the present invention also, the adhesive that

used in the production of litter sand is guar gum which is

to reduce the dusty effect from the litter sand as well as

to increase the clumping ability (Vaughn et al., 2013). But

until now the wholesale price of guar gum has been

increased to as high as $18/kg while the history record

that the prices ranged only $1.80/kg to $2.20/kg only

(Bahamdan and Daly, 2006; Barati et al., 2011; Anon.,

2012). So that is why the price of litter sand is getting

higher until now. So there have been researches on

substituting guar gum with the other substances which now

the xanthan gum, and its current price is ranged from $3.9

to $5 per kilogram which is much cheaper compared to guar

gum and at the same time it has higher clumping percentage

compared to guar gum. Now the price for corncob cat litter

which contained guar gum is $17.99 for 8kg bag, which is

considered far expensive (PetSmart, 1999) compared to

common bentonite clay cat litter that cost approximately as

low as $8.99 for 9.5kg bag (Petco, 2013). Thus according to

the invention, the litter sand which is desired to be

produced must be derived from biomass and is very highly

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adsorbent, has an excellent odour control as well as

clumping abilities. From this study we can invent a

biodegradable low cost litter sand and reduce the usage of

non-renewable source.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Litter sand which available in the market nowadays are high

in quality yet expensive. This is due to the increasing

price of guar gum lately which is as high as $18.00/kg, 10

times higher than the historical price which is as low as

$1.80/kg. Besides, the material used also are non-renewable

and not environmental friendly. Most of them which are

lower in cost are lack of quality and has safety issue both

to the cat and the owner. There are cases the cat died from

breathing complication such as asthma due to the dust

affected from the litter sand. Besides, the owner not only

has possibility to get the same problem but in fact more.

They have potential to get lung cancer, intestinal problem

and other critical health issues. The usage of natural

chemical ingredient as a clumping agent in litter sand,

sodium bentonite was suspected to become the major hazard

which cause the illness to the cat and also to the owner,

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which may lead to several problems especially lung cancer,

bronchitis and also intestinal blockage. Sodium bentonite

also contain carcinogenic particle called mica. Most of the

cats got infected as they unintentionally consume it while

they clean their contaminated fur by licking them.

It also not recommended to flush the litter since it

will cause pipe blockage once it getting bigger after

moisture adsorption. This substance also is not

biodegradable since it can easily obtained from mining

activity. Previous invention also has produced an

environmental friendly litter sand from corncob, which is

biodegradable, dust free and carcinogen free (Kory and

Hall, 1997). But the texture of the corncob is

uncomfortable for most of the cat to use it for littering.

Usually they will prefer litter sand which has close

texture to the sand or clay. So the litter sand that going

to be invented must be familiar to the cat comfortness and

will not rejected.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

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In order to overcome those problems, we are carrying out a

study to develop litter sand from biomass which is

affordable and also environmental friendly to the cat and

to the owner. So these are the objectives of this study:

To produce highly moisture and odour adsorbent litter

sand derived from biomass

To produce a safe and low cost litter sand

1.4 SCOPE OF WORK

In this study palm mesocarp or known as palm skin is

considered to be the biomass that will be utilized for this

invention of cat litter sand. Process involve in this

invention is by dry mixing the fibrous agriculture product

with other additives such as odour suppressor which in this

case sodium bicarbonate is considered. Then mixture of the

raw materials will be grinded to a size of maximum 1/32

inch and then pelletized to the suitable size for the usage

of cat litter sand. Before being pelletized another

additive which is natural zeolite, serves as mould

inhibitant. It is claimed that the natural mineral will

provide an efficient trapping mechanism whenever the

mineral in contact with the liquid waste from the cat, the

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ions within the mineral will form bonds with the

nitrogenous ion within the liquid waste which result in the

reduction of ammonia released to atmosphere. Then the

mixture of the mass will be subjected to the air dryer to

remove any excessive moisture content. Then the dried mass

is passed through a 1/8 inch screen to filter any unwanted

fine dust so as to reduce the dust effect of the cat litter

sand. The finalised product then will be analysed according

to three tests which are rainfastness index, clumping

ability and odour control. The results will be analysed so

that any improvement can be implemented to our present

invention so that the best cat litter sand can be produced.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 CAT LITTER SAND

Cat is one of the most popular pet adopted by the people

across the world. From those previous years, there have

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been a lot of revolutions on how to manage our cat so that

the cat and the owner will always in a good health and full

of comfort. When adopting cats, there are some people who

keep their cats indoor. The major problem regarding indoor

cat is the litter. Some of the cat owner trained their cat

to litter in the toilet while some people trained the cats

to litter in a litter box with filler that contains litter

sand.

The first cat litter was invented by Ed Lowe in

Cassopolis when he joined his father’s company which sold

industrial absorbents such as sawdust and an absorbent clay

called Fuller’s Earth. In 1947, one day he met one of his

neighbour who used ashes for her cat’s box. She was tired

dealing with sooty paw prints around her house. So she

asked some sand from Ed but he advised her to use his clay.

From that day, she continued to use the clay as she noticed

that clay was much more absorbent compared to sand. Ed

thought that the other cat owner would love his clay too so

he decided to fill 10 brown bags with clay, and named them

“Kitty Litter”. He brought them to local pet shop for sale

but the shop owner doubted if anyone would pay 65 cents for

a five-pound bag of Kitty Litter Brand. Then he told the

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shop owner to just give it away. Later on, more people

would asking for more and they started willing to pay for

his products. Until 1990, his products were gone through a

lot of improvement and innovation. His litter sand was 99

percent dust free and was sanitized with Healthguard which

can control the growth of bacteria and

has the ability to control the odour (Ament, 1997). This

will promise a better environment for the cats as well as

for their owners. Until now a lot of studies had been

carried out to produce a cat litter sand that will ensure

the safety of the cats and the owner is guaranteed from any

side effects. The common cat litter box with filler is

illustrated as Figure 2.1 below.

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Figure 2.1: Litter box with filler (R.Kory and E.Hall, 2000)

Since the first invention of the litter sand, further

modification and improvement have been carried out so that

the cat owner will have more option to choose any type of

litter sand which is suitable for their cats and meet their

budget.

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2.2 TYPE OF CAT LITTER SAND

Generally there are two types of litter sand which

available nowadays and those two can be categorized as

natural litter sand and chemical litter sand. Commonly the

nature based cat litter sand is made of the by-product from

agriculture which is biodegradable while chemical based is

made from natural sources but blended with chemical

additives to enhance the clumpability, absorbent ability

and odour control. Basically they are not biodegradable.

That is why this type of cat litter sand is not preferable

to be flushed down into the toilet since it may cause

clogging and piping problems.

2.2.1 Natural based type

Generally, natural based litter sand is derived from

biomass and natural sources and renewable sources such as

recyclable paper, remaining of sawdust, as well as

biodegradable stuff like fruit bunches. For natural litter

sand, there are a numbers of example of its kind which have

different characteristics and advantages.

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2.2.1.1 Recycled paper cat litter

Recycled paper cat litter is one of the natural based

litter sand. Basically it is made of recycled newspaper

that was processed into pellets and granules and it works

well as a cat litter sand. The advantages of this litter

sand are environmental friendly because it is

biodegradable. It is also very highly adsorbent which is

one of the most wanted characteristics as a cat litter

sand. Besides it is dust free which meant safe for the cat

and the owner. Because one of the major hazard arise from

litter sand was serious illness caused by the tiny dust

from the litter sand itself such as asthma. This litter

sand also is a great odour absorbent. Besides it is safe

for the new born kitten and post-surgical cats. There are

several disadvantages regarding its cost which is quiet

expensive compared to common clay litter and it is also

available only at the pet store. Very difficult to find it

at the grocery store.

2.2.1.2 Pine cat litter

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This litter sand is wholly made from recycled pine woods

which meant only used pine wood is used up and no pine wood

is cut off for this production. It is produced by

pelletized the pine woods and it is recommended for those

who looking for natural product. It is good for its

characteristics which make it safe for flushing and will

not cause blockage in the sewer system. From the previous

years, the clay type litter sand was restricted from being

flushed down because it will cause the sewer system to

clog. This is because once it absorbs the moisture around,

it will getting bigger and increase up to 15 times from its

original size. Different with pine litter sand it will not

cause any clogging since it will gradually degrade from

time to time. Besides this litter sand also is safe and do

not cause any harm to the small animal such as bird. Its

natural and chemical free ingredients make it safe for any

kind of animal. In spite of its naturality and

environmental friendly, actually not all animal will feel

comfortable with the texture and the scent of the pine

wood. Most of them will reject it initially and not readily

use the litter sand. It take them quite sometimes to adapt

with the texture and its smell. Besides the cost of this

litter sand is much more expensive compared to common clay

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litter and it is not always available at the common

groceries store. Maybe we have to find it at the pet store.

2.2.1.3 Corn cat litter

This cat litter is derived from the whole kernel of corn or

known as corn cob. It has excellent clumping ability as

well as odour control. As this litter has clumping ability

it is easy for the owner to scoop off and dispose the cat

litter out from the box. By this way the owner can save

more litter sand that will be change periodically. It

provides a large surface area of the kernel for the

absorption of ammonia and urine odour naturally. It has a

soft texture and free of silica dust, which is one of the

major hazards found in common litter sand that can cause

serious illness since it has been reported to be

carcinogenic. This litter sand also reduce the tracking.

This is one of the best advantages of this litter sand. The

cat owner will not have to worry about mess from the

tracking left around the house. It is safe to be composed

off and it is biodegradable. There are several

disadvantages of this litter. Usually not all the cats will

readily to adapt with the scent and smell of the corn cob

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texture. They need more time to comfortable with this

litter sand. The pricing also costs much higher compared to

common litter sand.

2.2.2 Chemical based litter sand

Chemical litter sand basically can be categorized into two

major groups which are conventional and clumping litter.

Generally the conventional litter sand has a gravel-like

texture. This type of litter sand usually have an excellent

dust-free and deodorizer which function as the odour mask.

It will control the unpleasant smell of the cat’s urine and

waste. While clumping litter was on market in 1989 and made

up 30% of the world litter sand.

2.2.2.1 Clay litter

Basically this type of litter is the regular and

traditional cat litter and usually this kind is the lowest

in costing. Basically it can absorb the cat urine quiet

well besides it is readily adapt by the cat because of its

texture. Most of the cats do not need more time to comfort

themselves with its granules-like texture since it is

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exactly the same texture as outdoor sand. It also has the

ability to control the unpleasant odour of urine which came

from ammonia, and some brands do contain fragrance. But not

all cat can accept the smell of the fragrance. When using

this litter, the filler must be discarded periodically to

ensure that the cat will always get fresh supply of litter

(Hall, 2013). Usually this kind of litter sand is the

dustiest type. This concern has been arise regarding its

effects to the cat and the owner. The tiny dust from the

litter sand can induce asthma attack to the cat as well as

the owner. The typical clay litter sand is shown as Figure

2.2 below.

There is another type of clay litter which has an

advantage which is clumping ability. Basically it will

consists of smaller granule which will sticks together as

they come in contact with liquid or moisture. So that

referred to what the term ‘clumping’ is. By using this

litter, when the cat urinates and littering, the little

granule will clump together on the waste and cover the

waste which then form a solid clump. By this it is easier

for the owner to scoop out the solid clump out of the

litter box while save more litter sand from being scooped

out. By this way less amount of litter sand will be used to

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replace the clumped granules. But there are major health

issue arise from the usage of this kind. Some experts

claimed that as the cat grooms, it may consumed some of the

sticky granules and this can be hazardous to the cat as the

granules may clump in the intestine. Besides another

disadvantages of this litter sand is, the track caused by

the tiny granules that stick to the paw of the cat and will

cause a total mess as the cat come out from the litter box

and walk around the house (Hall, 2013). The common clumping

cat litter is shown as Figure 2.3 below.

Figure 2.2: Clay Litter (Mcneill, 2010)

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Figure 2.3: Clumping Litter (Alderton, 2010)

2.2.2.2 Silica gel cat litter

Actually silica gel litter Figure 2.4 or known as crystal

litter is still new to our market today. This cat litter is

made up of sodium silicate a kind of salt which possessed

an excellent ability to absorb liquid and moisture. For

that advantage that is why it is commercialized for cat

litter since incredible absorption rate is one of the

characteristics that is compulsory for a cat litter.

Basically when we use this kind of cat litter we will have

to scoop off the faeces everyday recommended, and the urine

is vanished as it was absorbed by the sodium silicate.

Until the cat litter is soaked up by the urine than that is

the time to completely replace the whole cat litter since

the ability for absorption is reached to the maximum limit.

Most people use this cat litter since it is the most

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economic as they can use only 2kg bag for the whole one

month. That is one of the advantages. Besides that it is

totally dust free since it is consist of only crystal. This

can be an alternative for those who are allergic to dust

and easily got an asthma attack. It is also save to our

environment and no side effect of toxic contents.

Figure 1.4: Silica gel cat litter (Life, 2011)

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2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CAT LITTER SAND

2.3.1 Density

We should know how the characteristics of the best cat

litter sand are look like, so that we can choose the best

for the cat to use, as well as convenience for the cat

owner to manage them. One of the major issue regarding cat

litter is the track left by the cat right after the cat

came out from the litter box after littering. Tracking

occurs when the litter sticks to the paws or fur of the cat

and when the cat leaves, it is brought out of the litter

box. The litter than falls off from the paw of the cat

gradually, leaving behind litter particle’s ‘tracking’ and

will cause unpleasant sight and mess around the house. This

will burden the owner to clean their house periodically as

the cat use the litter box.

The problem will not stop there. The litter particles

may carry a numbers of bacteria or microorganism

transferred from the cat, which can cause side effects

especially on health concern. So the cat owner has a high

potential to get infected the same disease that the cat

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has. This problem has been a serious issue since a few

years back. Studies have been carried out to produce a cat

litter that have the best density of the particle which

will lower the degree of it from being displaced out of the

litter box easily and carried over by the cat. These

studies shall minimize the tracking left around the house

caused by the cat.

Besides that, there is one type of cat litter which is

clay cat litter which compose of sodium clay bentonite.

This is one of the excellent natural clumping agent used in

the litter sand. The usage of this particle have raised the

health issue regarding breathing problem especially. It is

started when this clay form a clump by absorbing moisture

from the urine and litter. It will increase its size 15-18

times from the original size. Then as the cat digging the

cat litter it will stirring up the clay dust from the clump

and spread it into the open air. This dust once inhaled

either by the cat or the owner, it may enter the

respiratory system such as lung, and getting bigger in size

periodically. This will lead to serious respiratory

problems to the cat as well as to the owner (Natural,

2013).

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2.3.2 Excellent Absorbent

The most important criteria that must be available for a

cat litter sand of course, the absorbent ability of the

litter towards any moisture which in contact within the

litter box. This is the main purpose of the cat litter

which is to absorb the moisture content especially from the

urine as well as the litter. If the cat litter ability to

absorb all of the urine is not sufficiently fast before it

reaches the bottom tray, this will be a disaster for the

cat owner. As the urine reaches the bottom tray before it

is completely absorbed by the cat litter, it will starts to

collect and bond the litter to the tray once it dries up

(R.Kory and E.Hall, 2000). This is an unpleasant scenario

since it will be difficult to dispose of the bonded litter

from the bottom tray and it will cause a smelly odour which

come from the urine and the litter.

This condition unintentionally will promote the growth

of bad bacteria which will cause a serious health effect

and illness to the cat and also to the cat owner, such as

Toxoplasmosis (KJ and CG, 2013). The cat owner also has potential

to get asthma. Originally not the urine which will cause

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asthma but the ammonia content in the urine has

possibilities to trigger the asthma attacks. Besides people

with allergies and weakened immune system can easily suffer

irritation in the lungs in fact even bronchitis if long

term and extreme over exposure to ammonia (Hamilton, 2011).

2.3.3 Clumping ability

From the first invention of litter sand until 1989, the

first clumping litter sand was introduced into the market

and today about 30% of world litter sand are of this kind.

Undeniable clumping ability provided by this litter sand is

becoming more popular since it made the cleaning job of

litter box easier and quick. As the litter sand is in

contact with the cat waste and any moisture, the small

granule of the litter sand will tend to stick to the

surface of the waste. As more and more particles are

attracted to the waste they will finally form a scoopable

solid clump. So periodically the cat owner will dispose of

the clump made up of the particles and the waste. That

meant the owner will dispose only the affected particles.

The owner can save more unaffected particles and dispose

less amount of litter sand. That meant only small amount of

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litter sand will be replaced every time the cat litters and

urinates. Besides this ability can cover up the unpleasant

look of the cat waste as the particles stick around the

waste and hide the waste from visible eyes.

2.3.4 Dust free

From the first invention until today a lot of improvement

have been proposed and implemented. In spite of all those

improvements now more people are demanding for the best

litter sand which have all those improvements and at the

same time considering for the dustless litter sand. Until

now this is the same and common issue shared by the most

cat owners as well as litter sand manufacturers. Most of

the current type of litter sand that available in the

market are containing fine particles and dust. Usually

during the manufacturing process air filters are used to

filter the fine dust but it is the purpose of protection to

the workers only, not to remove the dust which present in

the ingredients. So as the cat owner open the packaging and

transferred into the litter box the fine particles will be

released into the surrounding of cat owners’ house. Many

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have complained on this situation and the lack of dust free

litter sand.

It is not just a common problem but more than that.

The fine particles can be hazardous if prolonged and

extremely exposed. A lot of health and safety concern have

been raised regarding this issue. According to a studies

which carried out in America, toxoplasmosis is a parasitic

disease that highly risk for anyone who inhaled the dust

from the contaminated litter sand especially pregnant

woman. The cat itself can be the potential carrier of the

parasite which is through the faeces. The cat owner may get

infected while cleaning the litter box where the dust of

the litter sand is stir up with the parasite. So once the

dust is inhaled the parasite can get into the body system.

If the cat owner eat with unwashed hand after changing the

litter box the parasite also may get into the digestive

system (Coffman, 2013). So that is why more people are more

demanding for dust free litter sand since they have

acknowledge the risk that may arise from the inhalation of

the dust from the litter sand.

2.3.5 Odour control

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When using litter sand for our cat, of course one of the

most thing that we take in consideration is to control the

odour of the litter sand. It is logic if we let our cat

littering in our house then our house will have the scent

of the litter. But our technology nowadays have a lot more

to prefer to enhance our quality of life. So that is how

the idea of litter sand with excellent odour control

generated and now it has been implemented to the current

type of litter sand that available in our market. Odour

control ability of the litter sand is very important

because without this ability, it is like letting your cat

to litter in the house as if they are littering outdoor and

left the litter smell spreading around the house.

Yes, we are allowing the cat to litter indoor but we

do not want it to be so obvious that the cat is littering

as outdoor. So at the same time we still want to maintain

and control the good environment in our house while the cat

are kept safe in our house even they don’t have to go

outside to litter. So win-win situation is what we looking

for in this case.

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2.4 BIOMASS

Biomass can be defined as any matter that can be utilized

as a source of energy. It can be seaweed, animal wastes,

wood and crops. There are four major type of biomass

sources which are available today such that any products

from agriculture and wood, landfill gas and biogas, alcohol

fuels as well as solid waste. Biomass can be considered to

be the oldest sources of energy after our sun since our

ancestors have been using them for heating and cooking long

time ago (Project, 2012). Generally biomass is carbon based

and other mixture which composed of hydrogen, oxygen,

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nitrogen, alkali, alkaline earth and other heavy metals.

Theoretically biomass contains energy derived from the sun

through photosynthesis where plants will use the energy

from the sun and convert carbon dioxide and water into

carbohydrates. This process is illustrated as Figure 2.5

below.

Figure 2.5: Biomass energy (Project, 2012)

2.4.1 Sources of biomass

Actually any raw materials that can be used to utilise for

the formation of biomass can be called as the sources and

they are widely available across the world and can be

classified into several forms and types. So we have

categorized them into a few of major groups which represent

different classes each them.

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2.4.1.1 Wood and agriculture

In general, agricultural biomass that can be utilized for

the production of energy is defined as biomass residue from

agricultural crops such as branches, stalks, straw and

leaves. There are also biomass from the by-products of

agricultural products which for example are residue from

the grinning of cotton, fruit pits and olive pits. Actually

agricultural residues have a various type and each of them

have different energy conversion technologies and protocols

of handling. Basically we can categorized them into two

major division which is between those that are dry and

those that are predominantly wet.

2.4.1.2 Industrial waste and co-products

As we all should know, most of the industrial processes and

manufacturing line will produce waste, co product or also

known as residues. Actually all those things are potential

to be used for utilization into biomass energy. They can be

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further classified into woody materials, as in Figure 2.6

below and non-woody materials. Generally the technologies

used to utilize the woody waste and co-products are exactly

the same as those used for the utilization of virgin wood.

This kind of waste can be utilized by a different types of

thermal conversion technologies. It can be burned in a

combustion system such as a boiler for electric generation

in an integrated system, heat generation for space heating

or process heat, or can be used for combined heat and power

system. Actually there is another way of utilizing it by

pyrolysis.

Figure 2.6: Broken up pallets ((BEC), 2008)

2.4.1.3 Virgin wood

Commonly virgin wood composed of wood and other products

such as bark and sawdust which never gone through any

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finishes or chemical treatments. They can be obtained from

a number of sources which will affect the characteristics

either physically or chemically. Basically virgin wood is

suitable for green energy applications which it can be

burned for heat and power generation. From here there is a

new technology which capable of producing liquid or gaseous

biofuels from woody materials. As mentioned earlier virgin

wood is untreated and clean. It may contain as high as 60%

of moisture contain as fresh green wood. Before further

processing they will undergo removal process where any

impurities such as mud, stones, ices or nails are removed.

There are also maybe some chemical contaminants such as

heavy metals or halogens and commonly their level is very

low.

2.4.2 Method of preparation for energy utilization

Until today there are three methods on how we can utilize

the biomass to produce usable energy either for fuels

purpose or to produce other chemical products. The common

technologies for energy utilisation are combustion for a

boiler to produce steam for a turbine that will generate

electricity. Gasification is also one of the alternative

33

way for the utilisation of biomass. Basically it is the

process of breaking down the carbon contents of the waste

substances by oxidation process. There is another way of

biomass energy conversion technology which is pyrolysis.

Actually this process include both combustion and

gasification process.

2.4.2.1 Direct combustion

Generally this process is an application of thermochemical

concept of utilizing these major by products which are

wood, municipal solid waste as well as agriculture waste.

As we all know, this combustion process will generate heat

and steam which in turn can be used for energy generation

especially electricity. The general process are illustrated

as below in Figure 2.7.

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Figure 2.7: Direct combustion (Mullan et al., 2009)

If the combustion system is properly designed almost all of

the specified industrial by products can be burned until

66% of minimum efficiency and 99% if the plant is very well

maintained and is insulated perfectly so that there is less

heat loss through the surrounding.

2.4.2.2 Gasification

Gasification of biomass is another process of

thermochemical for utilization of agricultural waste, wood

and municipal solid by product. Theoretically gasificaton

is a partial oxidation process the carbon contents of the

matter is broken down into hydrogen, carbon dioxide and

carbon monoxide. This mixture of gases which also known as

as product gas has its own characteristics that will

dependant on the parameter of gasification process such as

temperature as well as the oxidizer that has been used.

35

Generally biomass can be categorized into low temperature

gasification where the temperature ranges from 700oC to

1000oC and high temperature gasification where its

temperature ranges from 1200oC to 1600oC. Gasification

process can run either under atmospheric pressure or

elevated pressure.

2.4.2.3 Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a process which is an integration of both

gasification and direct combustion process. The common

products that produced from this process are gas, liquid

and a solid char which the proportion of each component is

controlled by the pyrolysis parameters. Generally pyrolysis

can be categorized into two main groups which are fast

pyrolysis and slow pyrolysis.

2.4.3 Advantages

From the utilization of biomass, a lot of benefits and

advantages that we can earn from that. For an example, as

we all knew that biomass is a renewable source of energy

since we can get the unlimited supply of biomass without

36

any worry of replenishment of biomass sources. Besides the

utilization of biomass especially for energy generation can

reduce of reliance on fossil fuels which is non-renewable

energy sources. The supply of fossil fuel are draining by

time. So biomass energy can be an alternative for our

future. Not limited to that scope of view, actually from

this new alternative we are also creating new jobs and

vacancy especially for people who live in rural areas that

affected by this development, since most of these

industries will involve timber and construction sector

which located at rural areas.

Besides, by reducing the overcrowded and removing the

unhealthy forests and woody biomass can increase the health

of the forests. So by thinning and removing the

undergrowth trees for biomass energy utilization by leaving

only the hardiest trees in their places, this procedure

helps the forest to become less susceptible to damage from

the fire, wind and diseases which also provide a resource

for restoration activities (Zeller, 2010).

37

2.4.4 End products

As we all know, until today the utilization of biomass has

produced a very wide range of end products from energy

sources to commercialized products. For an example, char

produced from pyrolysis process can be fully utilized as

renewable fuel. It can be used either directly or by co-

fired process with other solid fuels in energy generator

plant (Brownsort, 2009). Besides, from gasification of

biomass the produced gas can be used for fuel in vehicle

which was popular during 2nd World War time. During that

time there was a shortage of petroleum and as an

alternative biomass gasification system was introduced for

vehicles and more than a million vehicles were operated on

this system in Europe during that war time (Susta et al.,

2003).

38

2.5 BIOMASS IN LITTER SAND

The utilization of biomass in the production of cat litter

sand have been worked out since the promotion of green

technology usage few years ago. Besides that it was due to

the raising issues regarding the safety and healthiness of

the available cat litter sand in the current market now.

Some studies have found out that several contents of the

current clay litter sand are hazardous and carcinogenic.

For example as we all knew from some researches, silica

that contains in some of the cat litter products is

39

carcinogenic and potentially to cause cancer both to the

owner and the cat. So from there a lot of researches and

studies have been carried out to find other alternatives

that possesses almost the same characteristics and has

potential to replace the hazardous contents. So it is more

beneficial if we try the greener way which will not only

will replace the hazardous content but at the same we take

part in conserving our natural sources for the future. So

there are several alternatives have been found out

according to the present invention.

2.5.1 Corn cob

Actually the usage of corn cob for cat litter sand has been

quite some time. It has been used since it is

biodegradable, compostable and has the odour control

ability. Since its first invention only 60% of the corn cob

is used and the remaining 40% is treated as waste. So the

latest invention suggest that the whole corn cob is used in

the cat litter sand or it will be not fast enough for the

litter sand to absorb all the moisture content including

the urine before it reach the bottom of the litter box

tray. From there the urine will mix with the litter of the

40

cat and bind together at the bottom tray. This will be hard

for the cat owner to remove the clump. As suggested in the

latest invention, the litter sand produce is biodegradable,

compostable and free from carcinogen. Besides they are

dust-free, excellent odour control, as well as excellent

clumping abilities.

2.5.2 Corn starch

Until now there is an invention on producing a cat litter

sand from modified corn starch or known as polysaccharide.

Besides that it is composed of zeolite and sawdust as well

as anti-microbial agents. Zeolite actually is a natural

mineral which composed of silica and alumina that will

trapped ammonia, the source of the bad odour. Here the most

preferable anti-microbial agent is calcium propionate that

will help to protect from the growth of bacteria, microbes

and moulds. Basically the sawdust is readily available as a

scrap product and has been used as cheap filler for

41

bedding. Modified corn starch has been used in alcohol

manufacturing and also provide cohesiveness in cat litter

sand production. Generally the litter sand are composed

mostly of sawdust which made up almost 70% of the litter

sand.

2.5.3 Peat

This is one of the latest invention which cat litter sand

made up of peat or can be defined as partially carbonized

vegetable matter. Basically it is an organic compound in

different stages of decomposition that accumulates over a

period of time in the water saturated environment. Commonly

peat is produced in a condition where there are a lot of

interactions between water, topography, climate and plants.

In an environment where peat is produced the plant that

decompose on a less water –saturated condition will

accumulates faster than the plant material decomposes. So

the material which decomposes partially is what we knew as

peat. In the application of cat litter sand, peat will

become an odour absorbent which it will absorbs the urea

and inhibit the urine odour. Basically cats’ urine is

composed of urea, salt and water. Ammonia is released as

42

the urine starts to decompose chemically. So peat will be

provided in a specific amount with respect to the urine

that will be absorbed (C.RIchards, 1990).

2.6 CLUMPING AGENT

The first clumping cat litter was commercially produced in

the United Kingdom in the middle of 1950 by Fuller’s Earth

Union. One of the popular type of clumping agent was

bentonite clay. Most of them are composed of granulated

bentonite clay which will clump together as they are wet

and will form a solid clump which then will separated from

other undisturbed litter. This is very convenient for the

cat owner since it is easy for them to manage their litter

box as the clumped solid can be scooped off without

replacing a lot of litter sand. From there they can save

more litter sand. Until then more non-hazardous clumping

agent have been introduced and one of them is guar gum. But

lately the price of guar gum is increasing drastically,

which is from $1.80/kg to $18/kg (Vaughn et al., 2013).

43

This have affected the price of the natural cat litter sand

so much and most of the cat owner can afford only the

traditional clay litter which is far more cheaper but not

all of them knew the implication and bad effects to their

cats and themselves (B.Bond, 2000).

2.6.1 Guar gum

Guar gum also known as guaran. It can be obtained from the

endosperm of guar beans, which is currently used as a

clumping agent in cat litter sand. Besides that, it can be

utilized as a coating for litter sand for the reduction of

fine dust particle in the cat litter sand. Commonly it will

be used together with another type of mineral oil for the

coating purpose. Until now it is used to produce a

biodegradable litter sand which is can be decomposed by

itself. It has been use as an alternative to sodium

bentonite clay which is hazardous to the cat and the owner.

Until now due to the increment in the usage and lower

production of guar gum, the wholesale price of guar gum has

been increased drastically. So several natural gums have

been studied as an alternative to guar gum not only in cat

44

litter production but also in other applications such as

food industries.

2.6.2 Xanthan gum

Generally xanthan gum is a heteropolysaccharide which

derived from the sugars fermentation, where in this process

it is produced by the bacteria Xanthomonus campestris as an

extracellular polysaccharide which consist of a linear main

chain having the same structure as cellulose (Vaughn et

al., 2013). It can be dissolved in both cold and hot water

and is applicable with other different products. Besides

biodegradable cat litter, it can be used in other

applications such as cell immobilization, oil and gas

industries as well as industrial emulsion stabilizers.

Commonly it is used as absorbent agent for cat litter sand.

Besides that due to the increment of guar gum price

nowadays a few studies on xanthan gum have been carried out

to replace the guar gum usage in cat litter sand

production.

45

2.7 METHOD OF ANALYSIS OF CAT LITTER SAND PRODUCT

From what we have proposed for this invention, we are going

to analyse the characteristics of our cat litter sand

through several tests and experiments. From there we will

46

further analyse the results that we obtained so that we can

choose the best biomass that qualifies with the

characteristics required for cat litter sand.

2.7.1 Clumping ability

This test is to determine of the cat litter sand possessed

an excellent clumping ability since this is one of the

requirement as a cat litter sand. Clumping test is carried

out by placing 5.0g of the sample into petri plates which

then 10.00ml of water is dropped from a 100ml burette. The

sample then is placed in a drying oven at 40oC for about 24

hours. Then the sample is emptied through a 6 mesh sieve,

where the unclumped sample is allowed to pass. Then the

sample is placed on an orbital shaker that is set at 250

rpm for at least 60 seconds. The percentage of clumping is

calculated which 40% is the acceptable value. The test is

run four times (Vaughn et al., 2013).

2.7.2 Odour control

100 grams of sample is tested with 150ml of 67 mg/l of

ammonia sulphate solution. In the process of analysing,

47

assumption of 1ml is equal to 1 gram. Here it will test the

moisture absorption rate and odour absorbency of the

sample. The ammonia concentration in mg/l was multiplied by

the volume of the filtrate to determine the weight/quantity

of unabsorbed. In this test the amount of ammonia absorbed

by the sample will be calculated (Harrison, 1987).

2.7.3 TGA analysis

In this analysis nitrogen gas will be used to test the

adsorbency of nitrogenous ion by the sample.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Described in this section is the methodology on the

preparation of highly adsorbent cat litter sand derived

48

from biomass which in this case is palm mesocarp. It is to

provide an excellent moisture adsorbent, odour control, and

clumping cat litter sand. The raw material provided is

grinded to particular size which is optimum for the

utilization into cat litter sand.

3.2 RAW MATERIALS

In this studies, palm mesocarp as in Figure 3.1 is selected

to be used as a raw material for fibrous agriculture by-

products that was mentioned to be used in this invention.

The raw material will be collected from any supplier that

available for this. For odour repellent, sodium carbonate

as in Figure 3.2 will be used. Vegetable oil as in Figure

3.3 also will be used to serve as a binder when the mixture

is pelletized. Mould inhibitor may be added to the mixture,

generally known as zeolite as in Figure 3.4. They can be

hydrated silicate of aluminium that contains sodium or

calcium. While for clumping agent, xanthan gum as in Figure

3.6 is added. To homogenize them, warm water is required to

mixed them and form a homogenized dough.

49

Figure 3.1: Grinded palm mesocarp

Figure 3.2: Sodium carbonate

50

Figure 3.3: Vegetable oil

Figure 3.4: Zeolite

Figure 3.5: Xanthan gum

51

3.3 APPARATUS

Cutting mill machine (Figure 3.6)

Hot plate (Figure 3.7)

Magnetic stirrer

Stainless steel plate

100ml burette

Drying oven

52

Figure 3.6: Retsch cutting mill

Figure 3.7: Cimarec hot plate

3.4 PREPARATION OF CAT LITTER SAND FROM PALM MESOCARP

3.4.1 Grinding process of palm mesocarp

53

Palm mesocarp is subjected into hammer mill which will

reduce their size for 5/16 inch hammer mill screen.

3.4.2 Mixing of raw materials

Then the grinded raw material is then mixed with vegetable

oil which will act as the binder of the mixture which is

prior for the preparation of pelletizing process. The

vegetable oil added should be less than 10 percent by

weight of the palm skin. Besides that, mould inhibitant may

also be added. In this invention, sodium bicarbonate is

used. Warm water then is added into the mixture so that to

form a wet and heated mass. The temperature should not be

elevated higher than 200oF and not lower than 165oF. The

preferable temperature is 190oF. It is then is mixed until

all of the components are homogenized. A dough then will be

formed.

3.4.3 Drying process, pelletizing & dust elimination

Before undergo drying process, the wet mass will be

shredded into pieces so that to increase the surface area

per unit which will shorten the time for drying process.

54

The dried pieces then is grinded by cutting mill to the

size of 1mm for pelletizing purpose. This size will reduce

the formation of dust before being pelletized. Before

packaging, the product is passed through a 33μm sieve plate

shaker to remove any small and fine dust. Only large

particle will be considered as the final product. This is

due to the reduction of fine dust content in our invention.

The product then is ready to be analysed.

3.5 ANALYSIS OF CAT LITTER SAND

There are three types of analysis that considered in this

study. These analysis will determine if the cat litter

produced in this study is qualify to the requirement of a

cat litter sand. There are three major physical

characteristics that will be determined through this

analysis by a few tests. Three test that have been

considered in this study are TGA analysis which indicate

the nitrogen gas adsorbency of the product, clumping test

will determine the clumping ability of the product and for

odour control same test will be used as we test the

55

adsorbancy of the product, since nitrogenous ion is

originated from ammonia compound which is the major source

of the smelly odour of the pet waste.

3.5.1 Clumping ability

5.0g of the sample is prepared in a petri plate and 10.0ml

of water is dropped from 100.0ml burette. The sample than

is kept in a drying oven set at 40oC for 24 hours. Then

empty the sample through a 6 mesh sieve. Any unclumped

sample will passed through the sieve. Then the sample is

subjected to the orbital shaker set at 250rpm for 60

seconds. The test is repeated four times. 40% clumping is

the minimum value for qualification (Vaughn et al., 2013).

3.5.2 Odour control & adsorbency of nitrogenous ion

100g of sample is tested with 150ml of 67 mg/l of ammonia

sulphate solution. The sample is mixed with the solution

and is stirred for 4 minutes. Then filter the solution.

Each filtrate is weighed. The amount of ammonia in the

filtrate will be measured. The concentration of ammonia in

mg/l is multiplied by the volume of the filtrate so that we

56

can determine the unabsorbed quantity of ammonia by

calculating the differences (Harrison, 1987). To determine

the nitrogeneous ion adsorbency of the sample, TGA analysis

will be used to obtain the data required. The data then

will be analysed and interpreted into the relevant

information.

3.6 PROCESS FLOWCHART

Process flowchart in Figure 3.8 below summarizes the

general process of preparing the cat litter sand derive

from palm mesocarp.

Figure 3.8: Process flowchart of preparing and analyzingcat litter sand

Basically the production process of this biomass cat litter

is an implementation from the method of producing a cat

gri nd ing pro ce ss of pa lm mes oc arp

mi xi ng pr oc ess of t he ra w ma te rials

dr yi ng pr oc ess, pe ll etiz ing an d du st el im inat ion

a naly sis of t he l itte r s andclu mpi ng

abi lit yodo ur cont rolnit rog eneo us ion ads orb ency

57

litter derived from the mixture of ground peanut hull,

vegetable oil and natural zeolite mineral. The vegetable

oil added is serve as a binder of the mixture when it is

pelletized. The mixture is initially heated by the

injection of steam before extruded into pellets which then

is air dried. This invention is considered since this

process is suitable for the processing of agricultural by-

products for utilization into other usage such as for

renewable energy generation from biomass.

CHAPTER 4

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

58

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This project consist of several results and have few

analysis methods. The results were touched on the several

issues which are the clumping effect of the product, the

affordability of this litter sand, the dust free product as

well as odour and nitrogenous ion adsorption ability. While

the analysis that carried out for this product were ammonia

adsorption and TGA analysis with nitrogen gas injection.

4.2 AMMONIA AND ODOUR ADSORPTION

As already known, ammonia is one of the gas that will be

released by the liquid waste of the cat which will cause

the smelly odour. So it is important to test if this litter

sand is able to adsorb the ammonia compound and thus to

reduce the smelly odour of the waste. So 67 mg/l of ammonia

solution was mixed with 150 g of the sample for at least

four minutes for the substance to mix well and give time

for the adsorption to take place. Figure 1 illustrates the

results.

59

0 40

20

40

60

8067

49

time, minute

concentration of

ammonia in

ammonium

sulphate

solution, mg/L

Figure 4.1: Ammonia adsorption in four minutes

60

From Figure 4.1 above, it can be concluded that the

ammonia content in the ammonia sulphate solution was

decreasing from 67 mg/l to 49 mg/l. It shows that the

missing 18 mg/l of ammonia concentration in the solution

was adsorbed by the litter sand upon the mixing process. So

from the Figure 4.1 above it is proven that this litter

sand have the ability to adsorb the ammonia content in the

solution. So this also proven that this product will be

able to adsorb the ammonia gas released by the cat urine.

The contact time for mixing of the litter sand with the

solution can be longer so that to increase the amount of

ammonia to be adsorbed by the product. In order to collect

more data regarding the adsorption ability of this product,

analysis by TGA also is suggested. In this analysis,

nitrogen gas is used to analyse the adsorption ability of

nitrogenous ion because in nitrogenous ion contain in the

ammonia compound. So if this sample able to adsorb this

gas, it will also able to adsorb the ammonia gas released

by the cat urine. The result is illustrated in the Figure

4.2 below.

61

Figure 4.2: Isotherm for adsorption of nitrogen gas

The isotherm in the Figure 4.2 above relate that there is

adsorption of nitrogen gas occur upon contact with the

surface of the litter sand pellet. This shows that this

sample was able to adsorb the nitrogenous ion from the

nitrogen gas. This also prove that this sample have the

ability to trap and adsorb the ammonia gas released from

the liquid waste and thus able to adsorb the smelly odour.

. This ion trapping mechanism is came from the cage like

structure of the zeolite particle as in Figure 4.3 which

can trap any neighbouring ion and exchange with the

originally cation which trapped within them. The zeolite

used in this invention is not the natural type. It might

have been synthesized to fit with its function. Natural

type zeolite will have their own random pore size. But the

synthetic zeolite will have the uniform pore size that will

fit with the specific usage. They also known as ‘molecular

(Pa)

62

sieve’ since they have the ability to trap certain size of

molecule while trap the bigger molecule. Basically this

theory is applied for medical purposes, especially for

heavy metal poisoning. By the treatment from zeolite, this

mineral will trapped the toxic and hazardous structures out

from body without any harm (Woodford, 2014).

Figure 4.3: Cage structure of zeolite for ion trapping

mechanism (Natalie, 2013)

Besides the same method is used in the wastewater

treatment where the zeolite is used to adsorb the heavy

metal contains in the wastewater that may affect the

aquatic organism and thus the whole aquatic ecosystem. This

is because the toxicity that contain in the wastewater can

alter the contents of the dissolved oxygen which is caused

by the excess concentration of ammonia in the water

(Barlokova, 2008). So instead of wastewater same

63

application is applied in this invention of the cat litter

sand made of biomass.

4.3 CLUMPING EFFECT OF XANTHAN GUM

This analysis is to test whether the sample is able to

clump and cover up the waste from the cat. This will be one

of the advantage since it will be easier for the pet owner

to scoop out the waste without wasting a lot of the litter

sand. This also can prevent the unpleasant look and smell.

The analysis are repeated four times to get more precise

results. The amount of the xanthan added to the sample are

not more than 20 % of the weight of the sample.

During the analysis, as the water is dropped into the

sample dish, the water is adsorbed from the drop spot to

the other dry region. This shows how the neighboring

zeolite ions provide an efficient trapping mechanism of

nitrogenous ion in the liquid waste from the cat. This

mechanism will help to reduce the amount of ammonia

released through the atmosphere. Otherwise the smell can be

unbearable. As the litter has cover up most of the wetted

area, the affected area gradually form a big clump, to

prevent the water from spreading to the other area. Then

the samples are put in the drying oven for 24 hours at

64

40oC. The dried samples then is subjected into sieve plate

so that to remove the non-clumping samples. The percentage

will be obtained by this formula (Vaughn et al., 2013);

[Clumped sample (g) / 5 (g)] x 100

The results for the analysis of clumping ability of the

litter sand are tabulated in the Table 4.1 and illustrated

as in Figure 4.4.

Table 4.1: The clumping percentage after in contact with

liquid

Sample Before

(g)

After

(g)

Clumping

%1 5.0 4.53 90.62 5.0 3.54 70.83 5.0 4.57 91.44 5.0 4.81 96.2

65

Figure 4.4: Analysis of clumping ability

The size of the sieve tube used is big enough to allow the

unclumped sample to felt down while hold the clumped sample

on the plate. The shaker sieve plate is run for about 60

seconds. So the clumped litter sand will remain on the

sieve plate while the unclumped is separated in the

collecting plate. The unclumped sample will be weighed to

find the differences in weight between the clumped sample

Unclumped sample

Clumped sample

66

and the sample at the initial time. The higher percentage

meant higher clumping ability.

4.4 LOW MAINTENANCE COST AND AFFORDABLE

Litter sand with high clumping ability is better than non-

clumping ability. This advantage will help the pet owner to

manage the pet easier with low maintenance cost. Whenever

the pet used the litter sand, the waste will be covered up

by the litter sand and reduce the smelly odor of the waste.

Besides whenever it is the time to tidy up the place, it is

unnecessary to remove all of the bedding. This would be a

great waste of money. Since only the affected area is

clumped, thus the owner can easily remove the affected area

only while keep the unaffected litter sand for the next

batch. This may save cost for the maintenance of the

bedding itself. Compared to the other type of bedding, it

will need replacement at least for every three days so that

to maintain the hygienic and prevent the buildup of

bacteria and microorganisms due to the waste of the pet.

Fail to maintain the hygienic environment will affect the

health quality which will then affect the health of the pet

as well as the owner because the bacteria from the pet

waste contain a lot of dangerous bacteria which will

67

promote the spreading of the disease, which known as

Toxoplasmosis. This infection is caused by the ingestion of

Toxoplasma gondi parasite, which reside in the cat feces.

So most of the pet owners got infected by accidently ingest

the feces especially while cleaning the litter box (Feline,

2013). So that is why the hygienic of the litter box must

be well maintained at any time.

Besides the low cost for the maintenance, the cost for

the litter sand itself will be lower compared to the

conventional type which made of chemical materials. This is

because the raw material itself can be easily obtain in

Malaysia since this country has commercialize the usage of

palm fruit and one of the biggest contribution for export

product in Malaysia. So it is not possible to get the palm

mesocarp from the palm processing plant with low price as

low as 160 MYR/tonne (Chuah, 2009) because they are

considered as waste and cannot be utilized at the plant

anymore. There are some processing plants which will either

burn the waste or spare for the outsiders to collect the

waste for other purpose. Since the main raw material can be

obtained easily and at low price, the production cost also

will be lower and thus the consumer price also will be

lower compared to the common chemically derived litter

sand.

4.5 DUST FREE

68

Besides this litter sand are made of biomass which is free

from health and safety hazard, compared to the litter sand

available in the market currently which are mostly made of

chemical substance. This substance are not 100% safe to the

pet, even to the pet owner. Until now there are cases where

asthma attack and toxoplasmosis disease reported by the pet

owner even they do not have the disease before (Coffman,

2013). This can be caused by the tiny dust contain in the

packaging of the litter sand. In this latest invention the

final product of the litter sand is dust free. Only

selected particle size is delivered as the final product

which is as big as 33μm. This size is suitable for the

bedding since it will not be easily displaced by the low

velocity wind blow. This is due to its large particle size.

So there also will be no dust as illustrated in Figure 4.5

below. Besides when the pet step on the litter box, with

this size it will not easily messed around by the pet

itself because it will not stick to the fur and carried

away easily by the pet.

Compared to the common litter sand, the small dust

particle that build up in the packaging has cause a lot of

problem. Not even the bad health effects, but messed up the

indoor by the footprints left by the pet. Due to the small

69

size, it is easily stick to the fur of the pet and carried

away together with the pet.

Figure 4.5: Litter sand with tiny dust

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSION

From the results and analysis of the previous chapter, it

can be conclude that this litter sand which was invented in

this research can adsorb the ammonia gas released from the

liquid waste of the pet. This is proven by the ammonia

adsorption by this sample from the ammonia sulphate

solution. This results showed that this litter sand is able

to adsorb smelly odour which come from ammonia gas release.

Tiny

70

The TGA analysis result strengthen the fact that the data

showed the adsorption of nitrogen gas by this sample. This

meant that this sample can be excellent odour adsorbent.

The result from clumping test also prove that this litter

sand able to clump like the other chemical clumping litter

sand. Besides, even though this litter sand have the

excellence abilities, it will not cost too much. It will be

affordable and also low maintenance cost compared to the

other common litter sand which derived from chemical.

Besides, this litter sand is safe and hazard free because

it is 90% made of natural sources which is palm mesocarp

and the most important is dust free. The additives of this

litter sand is guaranteed to cause no hazard to the pet and

the owner. It can be conclude that this litter sand

research has achieved all of the objectives required.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to get the exact cost of this litter sand, deeper

economic studies must be done so that the cost of every

process, the utilities, raw materials and consumer cost

also can be obtained. Besides, more studies regarding the

safety of this product should be carried out so that any

potential hazards from this litter sand can be prevented.

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B.BOND, A. 2000. The Dangers of Clumping Litter [Online]. InnerTraditions. Available:http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-dangers-of-clumping-cat-litter.html [Accessed 28 November 20132013].

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C.RICHARDS, J. 1990. Cat Litter. Minnesota patent application510092.

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