JP2601626B2 - Continuous concentration immersion equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to kelp, boiled beans, honey stew,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous concentration and immersion apparatus used for seasoning a marron glace and fruits by immersion in an immersion liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, the above-mentioned foods are immersed by gradually increasing the concentration of the immersion liquid and exchanging the moisture in the food with the solid content of the immersion liquid. In this case, if the food is immersed in a high-concentration liquid from the beginning, the outside of the food becomes hard and cannot be sufficiently immersed inside. Therefore, a method of gradually increasing the concentration of the immersion liquid is adopted.

In a conventional immersion apparatus, the immersion liquid in the immersion tank is continuously drawn out by a circulating pump, sent to a heater, heated to a predetermined temperature, and returned to the immersion tank. The water is evaporated to concentrate the immersion liquid, and the immersion liquid is used to immerse the food.

[0004]

In the conventional immersion apparatus, since the evaporation temperature at the time of concentration of the immersion liquid becomes the processing temperature at the time of immersion of the food, if the food is changed to change the immersion temperature (particularly, , When the temperature was lowered), and the amount of evaporation required for concentrating the immersion liquid could not be secured because the auxiliary equipment (such as a heater) was the same. For example, immersion equipment for kelp (evaporation temperature 90 ° C)
When used for boiled beans, the immersion temperature would be 60 ° C., so the incidental equipment required a large one for evaporation at 60 ° C. (The immersion temperature differs depending on the food.)

The present invention has been proposed in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to separately control an evaporation temperature for concentrating an immersion liquid and a temperature for immersing food. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a continuous concentration and immersion apparatus capable of suitably performing a immersion liquid concentration operation without being affected by a food immersion temperature.

[0006]

The continuous concentration immersion apparatus of the present invention comprises an immersion tank and a vacuum concentration apparatus. The immersion tank includes: a first heater for heating the immersion liquid to a predetermined immersion temperature; a first circulation pump for circulating the immersion liquid between the inside of the tank and the first heater; The immersion material thus obtained is immersed in an immersion liquid controlled at a predetermined temperature, concentration and liquid level. The vacuum concentrator is: a gas-liquid separator whose upper space is evacuated by a vacuum generator; a second circulation pump whose suction port is connected to the lower part of the gas-liquid separator; an outlet side is the upper space side of the gas-liquid separator A second heater having an inlet side connected to a discharge port of a second circulation pump via a concentrated liquid circulation pipe, respectively; one end of the immersion liquid circulating from the first circulation pump to the first heater; Immersion liquid lead-out pipe branched and connected to a pipe for use in circulation and the other end branched and connected to a pipe for circulating concentrated liquid from the second circulation pump to the second heater; The other end is branched and connected via a first automatic control valve to a concentrated liquid circulation pipe reaching the heater, and the other end is connected to an immersion liquid circulation pipe reaching the first heater from the first circulation pump. And one end is located upstream of the other end of the immersion liquid outlet pipe, and the other end of the immersion liquid outlet pipe is Concentrate supply pipe located downstream from the end; one end connected to the raw material supply source, and the other end connected to the concentrate circulation pipe from the second circulation pump to the second heater, the second automatic control A raw material introduction pipe branched and connected via a valve and having the other end located downstream of the other end of the immersion liquid outlet pipe; controlling the flow rate of the first automatic control valve according to the liquid level of the immersion tank 1st control means for keeping the liquid level of the immersion tank constant by controlling the flow rate of the second automatic control valve according to the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator. A second control means for maintaining a constant level; a third control means for controlling a heating amount of the second heater in accordance with a concentration and a temperature of the concentrated liquid at an outlet side of the second heater; During processing, the immersion liquid is received from the immersion tank via the immersion liquid outlet pipe, and Immersion liquid, and the stock solution is supplied through a second automatic control valve and the stock solution inlet conduit in response to the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator second
And concentrated by evaporating and separating water in the gas-liquid separator. The concentrated liquid concentrate is supplied to the first automatic control valve and the concentrated liquid supply pipe according to the liquid level in the immersion tank. And feed to the immersion tank.

[0007]

In the immersion tank, the immersion raw material supplied into the immersion tank is immersed in an immersion liquid controlled at a predetermined temperature, concentration and liquid level. The temperature of the immersion liquid can be controlled at a predetermined temperature by controlling the amount of heating heat of the first heater. The concentration of the immersion liquid is determined by supplying the immersion liquid to the vacuum concentrator via the immersion liquid outlet pipe, and returning the concentrated liquid concentrated to a predetermined concentration by the vacuum concentrator to the immersion tank via the concentrate supply pipe. Controlled by concentration. The concentration of the concentrated solution is controlled by controlling the amount of heat of the second heater in accordance with the concentration and the temperature of the concentrated solution at the outlet of the second heater by the third control means. The liquid level of the immersion liquid is controlled to a predetermined liquid level by controlling the amount of the concentrated liquid supplied from the vacuum concentrator. The supply amount of the concentrated liquid is controlled by controlling the flow rate of the first automatic control valve according to the liquid level of the immersion tank by the first control means. By the way, the immersion treatment targeted by the present invention is to replace the moisture in the immersion raw material such as food with the solid content (active ingredient) in the immersion liquid. The active ingredient in the immersion liquid is absorbed into the food, and conversely, the water in the food is absorbed into the immersion liquid. Therefore, a decrease in the concentration of the immersion liquid is caused by a decrease in the active ingredient and an increase in the amount of water. The amount of water can be adjusted by a so-called concentration process called evaporation, but it is necessary to consider replenishment of the active ingredient from outside the system. Otherwise, the total amount of liquid in the system decreases over time, and the liquid level required for the immersion treatment cannot be maintained. In addition, there is a concern that the apparatus may run idle due to an extreme decrease in the total liquid amount. On the other hand, if the replenishment of the active ingredient is performed by artificial management and replenishment means, it is not troublesome. Therefore, in the present invention, by controlling the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator and controlling the flow rate of the second automatic control valve according to the liquid level, the second automatic control valve and the second automatic control valve A configuration is provided in which the stock solution can be automatically supplied to the concentration cycle of the vacuum concentrator through the raw material introduction pipe. To simplify the explanation, first, the concentration of the immersion liquid changes, and the liquid level of the immersion tank does not change (constant)
Assume that When the concentration of the immersion liquid supplied to the vacuum concentrator decreases, the amount of heating heat of the second heater is increased by the third control means, and the amount of evaporated water increases. Therefore, the amount of concentrated liquid remaining after water is separated in the gas-liquid separator decreases, and the liquid level decreases. The lowering of the liquid level is detected by the second control means, and the flow rate of the second automatic control valve is controlled according to the lowering amount of the liquid level (open, large flow rate). Then, an amount of stock solution corresponding to the amount of decrease in the liquid level is automatically supplied from the raw material supply source into the concentration cycle via the second automatic control valve and the raw material introduction pipe. Thereby, the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator is kept constant, and the amount of the concentrated liquid supplied to the immersion tank is secured. In addition, idle operation of the device is also prevented. On the other hand, when the concentration of the immersion liquid supplied to the vacuum concentrator increases, the amount of heating heat of the second heater is reduced by the third control means, and the amount of evaporated water decreases. Therefore, the amount of concentrated liquid remaining after water is separated in the gas-liquid separator increases, and the liquid level rises. The second control means detects this rise in the liquid level, sets the flow rate of the second automatic control valve according to the rise amount of the liquid level (closed, small flow rate), and determines whether the supply of the raw material is stopped. Or, reduce the supply amount. As a result, the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator is kept constant, and excess supply (overflow) is prevented. Next, it is assumed that the liquid level of the immersion liquid changes and the concentration of the immersion liquid does not change (constant). When the liquid level of the immersion liquid drops, the first control means detects the drop in the liquid level and controls the flow rate of the first automatic control valve in accordance with the drop amount of the liquid level (large flow rate). . Then, the amount of the concentrate supplied from the vacuum concentrator to the immersion tank via the first automatic control valve and the concentrate supply pipe increases, and the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator drops. And, in the manner described above,
An amount of stock solution is automatically replenished in the concentration cycle according to the amount of the liquid level drop of the gas-liquid separator, whereby the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator is kept constant and supplied to the immersion tank. Concentrate volume is ensured. In addition, idle operation of the device is also prevented. On the other hand, when the liquid level of the immersion liquid rises, the first control means detects the rise in the liquid level, and controls the flow rate of the first automatic control valve according to the rise in the liquid level (low flow rate). ). Then, the amount of the concentrate supplied from the vacuum concentrator to the immersion tank via the first automatic control valve and the concentrate supply pipe decreases, and the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator rises. Then, in the above-described embodiment, the supply of the raw material is stopped or the supply amount is reduced, whereby the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator is kept constant, and excess supply (overflow) is prevented. As described above, the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator is monitored,
By automatically controlling the replenishment of the stock solution according to the fluctuation of the liquid level, the immersion liquid in the immersion tank can always be maintained at a predetermined concentration and a predetermined liquid level. At the same time, overflow of the concentrate and idle operation of the apparatus can be prevented.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of an essential part showing an example of a continuous concentration and immersion apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
(2) is a circulation pump, (3) is a first heater, (4) is a piping for circulating an immersion liquid, (5) is a shower nozzle of an immersion liquid installed at an upper part in an immersion tank (1), ( 6) is a tray or a cage which is loaded with food as an immersion raw material and is inserted into the immersion tank (1), (7) is a vacuum concentrator, and (8) is a second concentrator installed on the vacuum concentrator (7) side. (9) is a gas-liquid separator which is a main part of the vacuum concentrator (7), (10) is a circulating pump on the vacuum concentrator (7) side, (11) is a concentrated liquid circulation pipe, ( 12) is a stock solution introduction pipe, (13) is a flow control valve installed in the middle of the immersion liquid circulation pipe (4),
(14) is a flow control valve provided in the middle of the concentrate circulation pipe (11), and (15) is branched from the upstream of a flow control valve (13) provided in the middle of the immersion liquid circulation pipe (4). Flow control valve (14) in the middle of the concentrated liquid circulation pipe (11)
An immersion liquid outlet pipe connected downstream of the immersion liquid, and (16) a immersion liquid circulation pipe (4) branched from the upstream of a flow rate control valve (14) provided in the middle of the concentrated liquid circulation pipe (11). ), A concentrated liquid supply pipe connected downstream of a flow control valve (13), (17) is a concentration measuring device for the concentrated liquid, and (18) is a liquid of the immersion liquid in the immersion tank (1). (19) is a concentrated liquid supply pipe (1)
6) an automatic control valve installed in the middle of
By 8), the supply amount of the concentrate is automatically controlled so that the liquid level of the immersion liquid in the immersion tank (1) becomes constant. (2
Reference numeral 0) denotes a liquid level meter for detecting the liquid level of the concentrated liquid in the gas-liquid separator (9), and reference numeral (21) denotes an automatic control valve provided in the middle of the undiluted solution introduction pipe (12). By (20), the supply amount of the stock solution is automatically controlled so that the liquid level of the concentrated solution in the gas-liquid separator (9) becomes constant. (22) a steam supply pipe of the first heater (3), (23) a temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the immersion liquid at the outlet side of the first heater (3),
(24) is an automatic control valve installed in the middle of the steam supply pipe (22), and the temperature of the immersion liquid at the outlet side of the first heater (3) is set to a preset temperature detector (23). ), The amount of steam supplied to the first heater (3) is automatically controlled so as to reach the set temperature. (25) is a concentration measuring device (1)
A concentration detector installed in 7), (26) a temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the concentrate at the outlet side of the second heater (8),
(27) is a steam supply pipe of the second heater (8), (2)
8) is an automatic control valve installed in the middle of the steam supply pipe (27). The concentration and the temperature of the concentrated liquid at the outlet side of the second heater (8) are measured by the concentration detector (25) and the temperature detector. Container (2
The supply amount of steam to be supplied to the second heater (8) is automatically controlled so that the concentration and the temperature are set in advance in (6). (29) is a vacuum generator comprising a water ejector,
(30) is a water tank, (31) is a circulation pump, (32)
Is a water circulation pipe, (33) is an intake pipe, (34) is a condenser, (35) is a cooling water pipe, and (36) is a flow rate regulator installed in the middle of the immersion liquid outlet pipe (15). Yes,
This flow controller (36) is for balancing the flow between the vacuum concentrator (7) and the immersion tank (1).

The vacuum generator (29) includes a water tank (3)
0) and a water circulation pipe (3) by a circulation pump (31).
2) circulate and supply water to the ejector part via
Injection is performed from the ejector portion, and the upper portion in the gas-liquid separator (9) is evacuated by utilizing the suction action generated in the throat portion of the ejector, thereby lowering the boiling point of the concentrated solution and reducing the water content in the concentrated solution. The vaporized and separated vapor is condensed on the way through a condenser (34) by an intake pipe (33) and then guided to a throat portion of an ejector to be discharged into a water tank (30). ing.

[0010] The immersion tank (1) may be a square or cylindrical type,
It is formed in an appropriate shape, and an opening / closing door (not shown) is opened to load and insert a food serving as an immersion raw material into a tray or a cage (6), and the food can be taken out after the immersion treatment. As an immersion method of the immersion raw material in the immersion tank (1), an optimal system for the immersion raw material such as a flooded type, a low bath ratio type (a method of immersion with the smallest possible amount of immersion liquid) or the like is selected and adopted.

The immersion liquid supplied into the immersion tank (1) is supplied to the first heater (3) by the circulation pump (2) through the immersion liquid circulation pipe (4). The immersion material is heated to the optimum immersion temperature for the immersion material, and sprinkled from above from the shower nozzle (5) onto the immersion material loaded in the tray or cage (6) in the immersion tank (1). The heating temperature of the first heater (3) is preset in the temperature detector (23), and the steam supplied from the steam supply pipe (22) to the first heater (3) so as to reach the set temperature. Is automatically controlled by the automatic control valve (24).

The amount of heating by the second heater (8) is controlled by the concentration detector (25) and the temperature detector (26) via the automatic control valve (28) to the second heater (8). This is performed by controlling the amount of steam supplied from the supplied steam supply pipe (27). The inside of the gas-liquid separator (9) is evacuated by a vacuum generator (29) through an intake pipe (33) to lower the boiling point of the concentrated liquid, and
Since it is heated by the second heater (8), the evaporation of the water in the concentrated liquid is actively performed. Thereby, the concentration of the concentrate is performed. The vapor separated and evaporated in the gas-liquid separator (9) is sucked toward the vacuum generator (29) by the suction pipe (33), and is condensed by the condenser (34) on the way to generate a vacuum. It is discharged into the water tank (30) via the water ejector of the device (29).

When the liquid level of the concentrated liquid in the gas-liquid separator (9) drops below a predetermined level due to the evaporation and separation of water, the liquid level meter (2)
According to 0), the undiluted solution is appropriately supplied from the undiluted solution supply pipe (12) via the automatic control valve (21), and is maintained at a predetermined liquid level.

Next, the operation of the entire apparatus will be described. The immersion tank (1) is loaded with the immersion raw material contained in a tray or a cage (6). Thereafter, the immersion liquid is supplied via the vacuum concentrator (7), and immersion is started. Immediately after the start of the immersion, the concentration of the immersion liquid decreases as shown in (Note 1) of FIG. 2, which is a result of the replacement of the immersion liquid with the moisture from the immersion raw material. During the immersion, the immersion liquid is circulated by the circulation pump (2) on the immersion tank (1) side, and the concentrated liquid is circulated by the circulation pump (10) on the vacuum concentrator (7) side. (13) At the flow rate adjusted in (14), a part of the immersion liquid is supplied to the vacuum concentrator (7), and the concentrated liquid is supplied to the immersion tank (1). As a result, the liquid concentration on the immersion tank (1) side and the liquid concentration on the vacuum concentrator (7) side are linked, and only when the operation is started, as shown in (Note 1) in FIG. This is because the water from the immersion raw material is replaced by the immersion liquid, and thereafter the concentration is increased in the relationship shown in FIG. Becomes In the apparatus of the present invention, since the immersion liquid is concentrated independently of the immersion apparatus, the immersion liquid can be efficiently concentrated without being restricted by the immersion temperature.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By combining the immersion tank and the vacuum concentrator, the temperature suitable for immersion and the temperature suitable for concentration can be distinguished, and the immersion liquid is applied to foods having different immersion temperatures by the first heater on the immersion tank side. The immersion temperature can be set to be optimal for immersion of the food, and the second heater on the side of the vacuum concentrator can be heated to a temperature optimal for concentration to perform the concentration satisfactorily. Since the operation can be performed at the optimum immersion temperature as described above, the immersion tank can select the optimal operation conditions of pressurization / normal pressure / reduced pressure. In particular, under reduced pressure conditions, oxidation by oxygen in the air can be prevented, and oxidation can also be prevented by nitrogen replacement. In addition, since the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator is monitored and the replenishment of the undiluted solution is automatically controlled in accordance with the fluctuation of the liquid level, the immersion liquid in the immersion tank is always kept at a predetermined concentration and a predetermined liquid level. Can be maintained at the level. At the same time, overflow of the concentrate and idle operation of the apparatus can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of an essential part showing an example of a continuous concentration and immersion apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the concentration of an immersion tank and the concentration of a vacuum concentrator during the immersion treatment of the apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 immersion tank 2 circulation pump 3 first heater 4 immersion liquid circulation pipe 5 shower nozzle 6 tray or cage 7 vacuum concentrator 8 second heater 9 gas-liquid separator 10 circulation pump 11 concentrated liquid circulation pipe 12 Undiluted solution supply pipe 13, 14 Flow control valve 15 Immersion liquid lead-out pipe 16 Concentrated liquid supply pipe 17 Concentration measuring instrument 18, 20, Liquid level gauge 19, 21, 24, 28 Automatic control valve 23, 26 Temperature detector 25 Concentration detection 22 and 27 Steam supply pipe 29 Vacuum generator 34 Condenser

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first method for heating an immersion liquid to a predetermined immersion temperature.
And the immersion liquid is circulated between the tank and the first heater.
And a first circulating pump for causing
The pickled raw materials are controlled at the specified temperature, concentration and liquid level.
An immersion tank for immersion treatment in a immersion liquid, and a gas-liquid separator in which the upper space is evacuated by a vacuum generator,
A second circulating pon whose suction port is connected to the lower part of the gas-liquid separator
And the outlet side is the upper space side of the gas-liquid separator, and the inlet side is the
Concentrate circulation pipes are connected to the discharge ports of the circulation pump
A second heater connected through a first circulation port at one end.
Branch connection to the immersion liquid circulation pipe from the pump to the first heater
The other end reaches the second heater from the second circulation pump.
Immersion liquid outlet piping branched to the concentrated liquid circulation piping
At one end from the second circulation pump to the second heater.
The other end of the first circulating pump is branched and connected to the contraction circulation pipe.
The first immersion liquid circulating pipe from the pump to the first heater
Branched via a dynamic control valve, and one end is connected to the immersion liquid
Located upstream from the other end of the outlet pipe, the other end leads out the immersion liquid
A concentrate supply pipe located downstream of one end of the pipe,
One end is connected to the raw material supply source and the other end is a second circulation pump
A second automatic line is connected to the concentrated liquid circulation pipe from the heater to the second heater.
Branch connected via control valve, and the other end is immersion liquid discharge
A raw material introduction pipe located downstream from the other end of the pipe,
The flow rate of the first automatic control valve is controlled according to the liquid level of the pickling tank.
Control to keep the liquid level in the immersion tank constant.
Control means and a second control means depending on the liquid level of the gas-liquid separator.
The liquid in the gas-liquid separator is controlled by controlling the flow rate of the automatic control valve.
Second control means for keeping the surface level constant, and a second heater
Depending on the concentration and temperature of the concentrate at the outlet side of
And third control means for controlling the amount of heating heat of the heater,
During the immersion treatment, the immersion liquid is transferred from the immersion tank through the immersion liquid outlet pipe.
Immersion liquid received from the immersion tank and gas-liquid
A second automatic control valve and a stock solution according to the liquid level of the separator;
Heat the stock solution replenished via the inlet pipe with the second heater
At the same time as evaporating and separating water in the gas-liquid separator.
Depending on the liquid level in the immersion tank.
Immersion tank via the first automatic control valve and the concentrate supply pipe
Continuous immersion equipment consisting of
Place .