JP3030693B2 - Sea salt production apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing sea salt, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for producing high quality sea salt containing a large amount of mineral components in sea water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, edible salts in Japan include a purified salt produced by an ion exchange resin membrane method and a natural salt produced by crystallizing seawater by natural concentration and evaporation using a salt field or the like. Are known. The purified salt is used for food in ordinary households, is a refined salt having a purity of sodium chloride of 99% or more, and contains many mineral components (calcium ion, potassium ion, sulfate ion, magnesium ion, etc.) contained in seawater. ) Is removed during the manufacturing process and is therefore not substantially contained.

On the other hand, natural salts have a high mineral content, and some brands have a purity of sodium chloride of 92% or less and a mineral component of 8% or more depending on the brand. This mineral component is not only an essential trace element for the human body, but also imparts bitterness and sweetness to salt and adds umami to dishes, and is often used by professional cooks. Also, mineral components contained in natural salt are different from mineral components ingested from other foods, and are considered to be very good for absorption into the human body and good for health.

As a method for producing a natural salt having such an effect, a falling salt method has been known. An example of the falling salt method (first conventional example) is a solar evaporation effect on seawater flowing on a falling plate having a water gradient, along with a concrete block, a branch (such as a bamboo branch), etc. arranged downstream. There is a means for concentrating seawater by utilizing the evaporation effect of wind on flowing seawater.

As another example (second conventional example) of a method for producing a natural salt, a concentrated brine collecting apparatus is known (Japanese Patent Publication No. 31-6876). This concentrated brine collecting device arranges a collecting ship around the mother ship floating on the sea according to the wind direction, spouts fine mist-like seawater from a watering nozzle provided on the mother ship, and evaporates water by solar heat and wind power. It is a device that concentrates seawater by dropping it on a collecting ship and further evaporating it by solar heat on the falling surface.

[0006]

However, the first conventional example requires a large area as a salt field, and the mineral components in the seawater adhere to and remain on the branches and the like during the salt production process. Furthermore, in the case of rainfall, there are many openings on the side walls and roof of the building where branches are installed, so that rain (especially when there is wind) is mixed in during the concentration process, and the concentration of the concentrated solution decreases. is there.

[0007] Further, there is a possibility that impurities such as concrete blocks and bamboo branches constituting branches and the like may be mixed into the concentrated liquid. In particular, bamboo shoots are repeatedly humidified by seawater (humidification) and dried by solar heat, causing vertical cracks in the skin of the bamboo shoots and causing a peeling phenomenon. The peeled material is very fine, and the salt after concentration is sieved. Difficult to remove. Furthermore, since it is configured to use a cross wind or the like to promote the evaporation of water, the cross wind may carry seawater to the surroundings and adversely affect the natural environment such as vegetation and the like (salt damage).

The second prior art is a system in which seawater is scattered by utilizing wind power at sea, but when this scattering system is carried out on land, there is a possibility that an adverse effect (salt damage) may be exerted on the surrounding natural environment. is there.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable efficient production of high quality sea salt rich in mineral components without requiring a large place, without adversely affecting the surrounding environment in the concentration and salt production process. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for producing sea salt.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, seawater is sprayed into a building, seawater after spraying is collected and re-sprayed, and seawater is concentrated by repeating this process. The seawater was evaporated to produce salt.

According to the present invention, a high-quality sea salt rich in mineral components can be efficiently produced without requiring a large area and without adversely affecting the surroundings.

Further, in the present invention, a building provided with an outlet for discharging water vapor, seawater spraying means for spraying seawater into the building, and seawater sprayed from the seawater spraying means are collected and collected. A circulating means for circulating the subsequent seawater and spraying again from the seawater spraying means constituted a seawater concentrating device.

According to the present invention, seawater can be concentrated without requiring a large place and without adversely affecting the surroundings.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a sea salt producing apparatus KS of the present embodiment includes a water supply control unit 10 for controlling the supply of seawater and a concentrated solution of seawater, and seawater supplied from the water supply control unit 10 in the form of mist. It comprises a spraying unit 20 for spraying and concentrating, and a crystal unit 40 for storing concentrated seawater in a water tank and evaporating water by sunlight and solar heat to crystallize salt.

The water supply control section 10 has a water receiving tank 11 for storing seawater and seawater concentrated liquid. Seawater is supplied to the water receiving tank 11 from the outside via a seawater supply pipe 12 and an opening / closing valve 13. As this seawater, a layer of seawater of a depth of 200 m or less to which sunlight does not reach (referred to as deep water) is preferable. Unlike ordinary seawater, this deep water has almost no bacteria and contains high concentrations of mineral components (calcium ion, potassium ion, sulfate ion, magnesium ion, etc.) which are most necessary and important to the human body. is there.

A water supply pipe 14 having a water pump 15 is disposed in the water receiving tank 11, and seawater is supplied to the spray unit 20 by the operation of the pump 15. Further, a concentrated liquid feed pipe 17 having a pump 18 is disposed in the water receiving tank 11, and the seawater concentrated by the operation of the pump 18 is supplied to the crystal part 40.
Supplied to

FIG. 2 is a vertical and horizontal sectional view showing the spraying section 20. The spraying section 20 is composed of a building 21 having a gable roof 22 and the like. And the roof 22 and surrounding side walls 23
(23a to 23d) are made entirely of transparent glass which is a solar heat permeable member, and the floor 24 is tiled (for example, ceramic tile) having a water gradient toward the receiving groove 25. By making the entire surface covered with glass, evaporation of seawater by sunlight and solar heat is promoted, and the seawater on the floor is efficiently guided to the receiving groove 25 by the tiled structure. Reference numeral 16 denotes a water pipe for transporting the dropped seawater (concentrated seawater) to the water receiving tank 11. In addition, since it has a gable roof, water droplets condensed and attached to the inclined ceiling portion easily flow down according to the roof gradient.

On the side walls 23a and 23b of the building 21, water pipes 14a and 14b branched from the water pipe 14 are provided upright. From the water pipe 14a, three branch pipes 26a, 27a, 28a are arranged horizontally on the ground along the side wall 23a. Similarly, from the water supply pipe 14b, three branch pipes 26b, 27b, 28b are arranged horizontally on the ground along the side wall 23b. A large number of spray nozzles 29 (see FIG. 3) described below are attached to the branch pipes at predetermined intervals.

At the positions where the side walls 23c and 23d and the top of the gable roof 22 intersect, outlets 31a and 31b with an insect-proof net (not shown) for discharging water vapor to the outside are provided, respectively. Outside of the respective outlets 31a, 31b, cross wind prevention plates 32a, 32b for preventing the intrusion of cross wind are provided.
Is installed.

Further, horizontally long water vapor discharge ports 33a and 33b are provided at positions of the side walls 23a and 23b covered by the roof eaves. Further, on the floor side of the side walls 23a and 23b, a laterally long outside air intake 34 (34a and 34b) with an insect net is arranged. The opening of the outside air intake 34 is directed downward so that wind or the like does not blow.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the spray nozzle. The spray nozzle 29 includes a tubular fixing portion 29a fixed to the branch pipe 26 or the like, a tubular T-shaped portion 29b whose vertical portion is detachable from the fixing portion 29a by a screw, and a T-shaped portion 29b.
Cylindrical rotating part 29 attached to each end of the horizontal part
d, 29e. The rotating parts 29d, 29e
Spray ports 29f, 29 having large, straight water passages are respectively provided in cylindrical mounting portions 29j, 29k formed at right angles to the cylinder.
g is attached, and each spray port 29f, 29g can adjust the angle in the α direction by rotating the angle adjusting screws 29h, 29i.

The spray nozzle 29 is attached to the mounting portions 29j, 2
A filter member (filter) made of a rust-proof stainless steel mesh is accommodated inside 9k. Therefore, the spray nozzle 2
Seawater sprayed from 9 contains no impurities such as garbage,
Further, when the performance of the filter member is deteriorated due to clogging of the filter member due to dust or the like, it is possible to easily remove dust and the like by removing the spray port.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views showing the crystal part 40 and a partially enlarged view of its constituent members (water tank), which are constituted by a building 41 having a gable roof 42. The roof 42 and the surrounding side walls 43 (43a, 43b) are entirely covered with glass. Left and right side walls 4 of building 41
At the positions covered by the roof eaves 3a and 43b, there are provided water vapor discharge ports 44a and 44b with a horizontally long insect repellent net. On the floor side of the side walls 43a and 43b, laterally long outside air inlets 45a and 45b with insect repellent nets are arranged.

Water tanks 46a and 46b for storing a plurality of concentrated seawater (concentrated seawater) are disposed on the floor of the building 41, and black tiles 47 are attached to the entire inner surfaces (bottom surfaces and peripheral side surfaces) of the water tanks 46a and 46b. Have been. By using a black tile, sunlight and solar heat can efficiently pass through the concentrated seawater, and evaporation is promoted. As the tile, for example, a ceramic tile is preferable. Side wall outlets 44a, 44b
Are provided in the vicinity of, and the wind direction of each of the blowers is directed to the water surface of each of the water tanks 46a and 46b. In response to the wind from each blower, evaporation of the concentrated seawater in the water tank is promoted.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the valve 13 (FIG. 1) of the water supply control unit 10 is opened, a pump (not shown) is operated, and seawater (deep water) is stored in the water receiving tank 11 via the seawater supply pipe 12, and when an appropriate amount of water is stored. The valve 13 is closed. At this time, the seawater is appropriately filtered using a filter or the like. Next, the pump 15 is operated to feed the seawater in the water receiving tank 11 to the spray unit 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2) via the water pipe 14. Sea water has 6 branch pipes 2
6a, 26, 27a, 27b, 28a, 28b, a large number of spray nozzles 29 (FIG. 3) attached to the building 2
1 is sprayed. This spray promotes the evaporation of seawater. The fan-shaped angle of the spray (see reference numerals A and B in the right diagram of FIG. 2) is adjusted by rotating the adjusting screws 29h and 29i of the spray nozzle.

At the time of this spraying, since the inside of the building 21 is covered with glass, the temperature is maintained at a high temperature (for example, 45 ° C. or higher), the water in the seawater evaporates, the water vapor rises and the water vapor outlet 31
a, 31b, 33a, 33b are discharged outside. Outside air is introduced from the inlet 34, and the rise of the water vapor is further promoted. Accordingly, part of the seawater sprayed in the building 21 evaporates, and the rest falls and reaches the floor 24. Since a water gradient is provided on the floor 24, the concentrated seawater is returned to the water receiving tank 11 via the receiving groove 25 and the water pipe 16.

The roof 22 of the building 21 may be provided with one or more windows that can be opened and closed. By opening this window when the weather is fine, evaporation of the water in the sprayed seawater can be further promoted, thereby improving the seawater concentration efficiency. In case of rain, close the windows to prevent rainwater.

The seawater returned to the water receiving tank 11 is again sprayed into the building 21 through the pump 15, the water pipe 14, and the spray nozzle 29, and repeats the same concentration operation as described above (circulation operation). . When the salt concentration of the seawater stored in the water receiving tank 11 becomes 15 to 18 degrees (% by weight), the above-described circulation operation is stopped. If a salt concentration detecting means is provided in the water receiving tank 11 and a control device for stopping the circulating operation according to the detected concentration of the concentration detecting means is installed, when a predetermined salt concentration is reached. It is possible to stop the circulation operation automatically. Alternatively, the circulation may be stopped after the circulation operation for a predetermined number of days.

Next, the water pump 18 of the water supply control unit 10 is operated, and the concentrated liquid is supplied to the crystal unit 4 through the concentrated liquid feed pipe 17.
0 (FIGS. 1 and 4) to the water tanks 46a and 46b.
To stop storing water. Eventually, the internal temperature of the building 41 is raised to 80 ° C to 120 ° C by sunlight and solar heat,
The water content of the concentrated liquid in the water tanks 46a and 46b evaporates. At this time, the air from the blowers 48a and 48b is applied to the surface of the concentrated liquid in the water tank, so that the evaporation of water is promoted. The evaporated water rises due to the air taken in from the outside air inlets 45a and 45b, and becomes higher than the steam outlets 44a and 44b.
Since the water is discharged to the outside from 4b, the water vapor does not saturate in the building.

The concentrated liquid in the water tanks 46a and 46b is completely evaporated by solar heat or blowing, and natural salt is precipitated at the bottom of the water tank, leaving only crystals. This natural salt is rich in mineral components (calcium, potassium, sulfate, magnesium, etc.) because it uses seawater. Also, when seawater is concentrated (spraying section 20), since there is no opening in the building 21 other than the water vapor discharge ports 21 and 33 with the insect repellent net and the outside air intake 34 with the insect repellent net, garbage and impurities outside the room are reduced. Since the filter member (filter) is built in the spray nozzle 29 without mixing, seawater is sprayed without mixing of impurities such as dust.

Further, at the time of evaporation of the concentrated liquid (crystal part 40), since there is no opening other than the steam discharge port 44 with the insect repellent net and the outside air inlet 45 with the insect repellent net in the building 41, there is no garbage in the room. No impurities are mixed. Therefore, it is possible to produce high-quality salt without contamination. Further, since the conventional falling-type concentrator uses a method in which seawater flows down along concrete blocks, bamboo branches, and the like, there is a possibility that color fading may occur depending on the material due to the action of seawater. For example, since the spraying method is used without using these members (members having no durability), the members do not discolor and the salt is not colored.

Further, according to this embodiment, the buildings 21, 4
Since concentration and crystallization are performed inside 1, seawater does not scatter to the surroundings due to crosswinds or the like, and does not cause salt damage. Since the conventional flow-down type concentrator uses a large amount of bamboo shoots and the like, it blocks out sunlight and solar heat, lowers the temperature in the apparatus, and degrades the concentration efficiency. Department,
Since the roof and walls of the crystal part are made of transparent glass (or transparent vinyl), there is no obstruction to sunlight and solar heat, and sunlight spreads evenly in the spray part and crystal part, and the concentration efficiency is extremely high. Good for

Since there is almost no structure in the building 21,
Mineral components and the like of the sprayed seawater do not adhere to the structure, and a decrease in mineral components can be prevented. Of course, the seawater is not polluted by the deterioration or dirt of the structure, and is extremely clean and sanitary. Most of the members used in this embodiment are inexpensive and can be used for a long period of time, so that high-quality natural salt can be produced at low cost.

As a modification, as shown in FIG.
The branch pipe 51 of the spraying section 20A is moved 1
Only books may be arranged. In FIG. 5, the same components as those in all the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show another modified example in which two branch pipes are arranged on the floor, wherein FIG. 6A is a plan view and FIG. 6B is a partial side view of the branch pipe. As shown in FIG.
1 and 62 are arranged at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of upright pipes 63 are connected to the branch pipes 61 and 62 at predetermined intervals so as to extend in the vertical direction.
Is attached, for example, as shown in FIG. The spray direction of each spray nozzle 29 can be freely set in all directions. Thereby, seawater can be sprayed evenly in the building 21.

[0036]

As described above, according to the inventions described in the claims, a large area is not required, the surrounding environment is not adversely affected in the concentration and salt production process, and a high quality mineral-rich material is provided. Sea salt can be produced efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical and horizontal cross-sectional view of a spray unit in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a spray nozzle used in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a crystal part and a plan view of a water tank in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a vertical and horizontal sectional view of a spray unit according to a modification of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another modified example in which two branch pipes are arranged on the floor surface.

[Explanation of symbols]

 KS sea salt manufacturing apparatus 10 water supply control unit 11 water receiving tank 12 seawater water supply pipe 14 water supply pipe 15 pumping pump 17 concentrated liquid water supply pipe 20 spraying unit 21 building 26, 27, 28 branch pipe 29 spray nozzle 31, 33 steam outlet 34 outside air Intake 40 Crystal part 41 Building 46 Aquarium 48 Blower

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. Evaporation of water while spraying seawater into a building
The sea where water is circulated, collected, and re-sprayed
Water concentrating means, and the seawater concentrated by the seawater concentrating means
Produce sea salt by evaporating water with solar thermal evaporation means
Sea salt production equipment, The building is A sunlight transmitting means for transmitting sunlight, An outside air intake for taking in outside air from below the building; Heated by sunlight passing through the sunlight transmitting means
Equipped with a steam outlet for discharging the generated steam to the outside
An apparatus for producing sea salt, characterized in that: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outside air inlet or the steam outlet is small.
At least one of them is a foreign substance that prevents foreign substances from entering
2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising an intrusion prevention means.
Sea salt production equipment. 3. The building has a skylight that can be opened and closed on the ceiling side.
3. The sea according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
Salt production equipment. 4. The means for spraying seawater sprays seawater.
Nozzle type spraying means, wherein the nozzle type spraying means is different.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a filter for blocking an object.
The sea salt production apparatus according to claim 3. Wherein said seawater, sea salt manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a deep water.