JP5277141B2 - Foreign matter separation method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for separating foreign matter when producing a liquid feed from food waste.

  Although the applicant has already developed a liquid feed production apparatus using gonococci (see Patent Document 1), foreign matter separation has been a problem. The conventional foreign matter separating device has a principle that a food residue is put into a drum with a round hole and rotated at a high speed to discharge organic matter in a slurry state to the outside while leaving a foreign matter inside. Applications are mainstream.

However, this apparatus has the following three drawbacks.
1. take time.
Since the food residue must be put in small amounts in accordance with the rotation of the drum, the processing takes time and is not efficient.
2. Dangerous and prone to failure.
Since the drum rotates at a high speed inside, if the foreign matter is a cracked object such as a coffee cup, the shards are scattered, which is dangerous for the user and the apparatus is often damaged. Small pieces are also dangerous for the livestock that feed them because they enter the eco feed.
3. Foreign matter separation is not complete.
Small foreign objects such as toothpicks and disposable chopsticks pass through the separation holes and enter the eco feed, and accidents that call the veterinarian often pierce the throat and gums of pigs that have eaten them. In addition, since the foamed polystyrene used as a food container is fragile, it is crushed at the same time as it is put into the drum rotating at high speed, and the separation hole is passed through.

  As of 2006, the food residues discharged from the food wholesale and retail industry and the food service industry are 3.36 million tons and 3.40 million tons per year, of which only 13% and 4% are reused as feed. is there. This is an extremely low value compared to the reuse rate in the food manufacturing industry. One of the major causes is the large number of foreign substances. This is because a large amount of processing cannot be performed at a time with a conventional foreign matter separating apparatus. If the foreign matter separation can be processed efficiently in a short time, the recycling rate will be greatly improved.

JP 2008-178787 A

In the conventional method of removing foreign matter before microbial treatment of the cocoon and putting the cocoon in a drum with a hole of about 10 mm and rotating it at high speed, a large amount of energy is required for high-speed rotation. Boxes were broken and passed through holes, and things that were in plastic bags could not be torn and remained in the foreign body.
In order to solve all the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for separating a foreign substance from an eco-feed more safely, in a shorter time, and more accurately.

The main feature of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus in which foreign matter separation and fermentation treatment are integrated.
In the method of the present invention, first, food waste that has been crushed to a certain extent (breaking a bag or roughly breaking a bento box) with a slicer or the like is fermented as needed.
After the food waste is liquefied by fermentation, the fluid that has passed through the strainer in the net or punching hole is poured out (or sucked out), and the foreign matter that has floated and the foreign matter that has not passed through the strainer are removed.

This method utilizes the fact that organic substances such as food residues are liquefied in a short time by fermentation of certain types of koji molds.
First, food waste is put into a fermentation tank and fermented with koji mold to liquefy. It is liquefied by fermentation of an acid-producing gonococcus, preferably Aspergillus awamori. By liquefying, foreign substances having a low specific gravity such as disposable chopsticks and foamed polystyrene float on the surface and can be easily separated. On the other hand, by discharging the liquid material that has passed through the strainer from the bottom or bottom of the tank, other foreign matters that have not been liquefied can be separated.
According to the present invention, it is possible to completely separate the toothpick and styrofoam lunch box, which have been impossible to separate up to now, and drastically reduce the frequency of emergency stop during operation due to clogging. In particular, the present invention provides a foreign matter separation method that is most suitable for food residue processing in food wholesale and retail businesses and food service industries that contain a large amount of foreign matter.

In the present invention, efficient foreign matter separation can be achieved in a short time by combining fermentation and foreign matter separation.
Further, foreign substances contained in expired convenience store lunches and restaurant residues can be more reliably separated. Since the food residue is liquefied, there is an advantage that the removal rate of foreign substances having a low specific gravity (such as disposable chopsticks, toothpicks, and styrofoam) is very high.
Further, since the liquid material passing through the separation hole of the strainer excludes these light specific gravity foreign substances, there is an advantage that there is no clogging and the abnormal stop occurrence rate during operation is very low.
Moreover, since it is not a high-speed rotation separation type, there is no scattering at the time of foreign material separation, and since foreign material separation is reliable, a safe feed for livestock can be produced.

The example of this invention apparatus is shown with the perspective view of an apparatus external appearance. The example of this invention apparatus is shown with the perspective view inside an apparatus.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.
As a preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention, first, 75% or more of moisture, more preferably 80% or more of food residue is charged into the fermentation tank. The food residue may be sterilized in advance, and for example, a food residue that has been heat sterilized and cooled while containing foreign substances is used. The food residue is preferably crushed as easily as the packaging material (lunch box, bag, etc.) is torn. It is preferable to add a sufficient amount of the food residue so that the floating foreign matter floats above the strainer.
Here, spores of acid-producing gonococci such as Aspergillus.awamori having high citric acid-producing ability are sprayed and cultured. Preferably, it is sprayed to a concentration of 10 ⁸ or more Bacillus spores per 1 kg of food residue.
Incubate overnight at the optimum temperature, preferably at approximately 30 ° C. with aeration and agitation, so that the koji molds grow predominantly and aerobic fermentation proceeds. Preferably, aeration of 0.8 liter / min is performed for 1 kg of the raw material in the tank.
As the koji mold grows, acid is secreted from the koji mold to prevent spoilage. On the other hand, the liquefaction enzyme is also secreted from the koji mold and the viscosity of the food residue is lowered. For example, the viscosity drastically decreases from 5000 CP or more to about 300 CP. The culture time is, for example, 6 to 24 hours. The fermentation is preferably performed to a liquid having a viscosity of less than 5000 mPa · s, more preferably less than 4000 mPa · s.

  By liquefaction, foreign matter with a low specific gravity such as plastic or wood floats and can be easily removed. The floating foreign matter may be scooped out, but the amount of liquid matter taken out from the lower part may be adjusted to leave the floating foreign matter in the tank. When separating floating foreign substances by adjusting the amount of liquid substance taken out, the liquid substances may be discharged until the upper layer containing the floating foreign substances remains at a height above the strainer, and separated together with the strainer trap.

Further, other foreign matters that have not been liquefied are separated by a strainer such as punching metal or a net. A punching metal strainer is more preferred. The strainer is preferably a round hole punching metal having a diameter of 1 cm or less or a wire mesh having an eye size of 1 cm or less. Further, the strainer is provided in the fermentation tank between the charging port and the liquid material outlet, and the foreign matter captured by the strainer is preferably taken out from the foreign matter outlet door that opens at the height of the strainer.
The liquid that has passed through the strainer hole is withdrawn from the bottom or bottom of the fermentation tank. The liquid material may be sucked out and removed from the fermentation tank, or the liquid material may be poured out by gravity.
The obtained liquid material can be used as a liquid feed having a high nutritional value containing the koji mold enzyme.

The apparatus according to the present invention is a food waste treatment apparatus in which a foreign matter separation apparatus and a fermentation treatment apparatus are integrated. The apparatus makes it possible to carry out the above method.
You may connect the bag breaker injection | throwing-in apparatus with the apparatus which concerns on this invention. The bag breaking input device gently cuts the food residue in the bag body. Since conventional bag breaking is performed in a drum that rotates at high speed, polystyrene foam is crushed into pieces and easily passes through a hole for separation. However, in the present invention, the packaging material is broken because it is liquefied and separated. In this case, it can be put into the fermentation tank as it is, and the packaging material can be easily and reliably separated, so that mild separation is possible.
A fermentation tank is a tank which can ferment the food residue which contains a foreign material with a koji mold. The purpose is to increase fluidity by fermentation treatment. The fermentation tank may be cylindrical, rectangular, or any other shape, but is preferably cylindrical.
Fermentation is promoted and preferably provided with a stirring means in the fermentation tank. Since it is stirring for promoting the fermentation of Aspergillus, the stirring blade rotates at, for example, 2 to 12 rotations / minute.
More preferably, an aeration apparatus that promotes aerobic fermentation is provided.

The foreign matter separation device is integrated with the fermentation tank. In the fermentation tank, a strainer such as a punching metal or a net provided so that the liquefied material passes by gravity or by suction is provided to separate foreign matters remaining without being liquefied. A punching metal strainer is preferable. The size of the hole is, for example, a round hole punching metal having a diameter of 1 cm or less or a wire net having a size of 1 cm or less. The strainer is preferably mounted horizontally in the lower half of the fermentation tank, whereby the interior of the fermentation tank is divided in two.
On the other hand, floating foreign substances such as toothpicks and polystyrene foam float on the surface of the liquefied material after fermentation. Therefore, when removing the liquid material from the fermentation tank, an adjustment stopper may be provided at the liquid material outlet so that the amount of the liquid material removed can be adjusted so that the upper layer containing floating foreign substances remains above the strainer. The liquid material outlet is attached to the bottom or lower part of the fermentation tank.
An openable / closable door for taking out foreign matter may be provided at a position higher than the strainer, preferably such that the lower side of the opening is at the same height as the strainer. A scraper for removing foreign substances may be attached, but if the fermentation tank is cylindrical, it can function as a scraper by installing the stirring blade so that the bottom of the rotating stirring blade contacts the entire top of the strainer. Can be made. However, when the fermentation tank is square, it is convenient to attach a scraper separately from the stirring blade.

An embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the apparatus.
The packaging material is cut easily, and the food waste whose water content is adjusted to 80% or more is introduced from the upper part of the cylindrical fermentation tank 1. Furthermore, Aspergillus.awamori, which is an acid-producing rod, is added.
The agitation blade 7 is rotated while aeration is being performed by the aeration apparatus to ferment food waste. Food waste changes from slurry to liquid.
After stirring and fermenting for 12 hours or more, the liquid material is sucked from the take-out port 3, and the suction is stopped when the liquid level becomes 1 cm to 5 cm higher than the punching metal. This liquid is used for livestock feed as a liquid feed.
On the other hand, when the foreign matter extraction port 2 at the height of the punching metal is opened and the stirring blade 7 is rotated, the foamed polystyrene, vinyl, toothpick and other waste that has not been liquefied remaining on the punching metal 6 are pushed out. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fermentation tank 2 Foreign material extraction port 3 Removal port 4 Aeration pump 5 Stirring motor 6 Punching metal 7 Stirring blade 8 Aeration pipe

Claims (4)

In a method of fermenting food waste with acid-producing rods,
The food waste and the acid-producing bacilli that contain foreign substances are removed by a punching metal or mesh strainer, and an openable and closable foreign matter outlet and a stirring blade provided at the lower side of the punching metal or mesh strainer. Put it into the fermentation tank you have,
The food waste is fermented by rotating the stirring blade while aeration is being performed by the aeration apparatus,
A method in which food waste is liquefied by koji mold fermentation, and after removing the liquid from the liquid outlet , foreign matter on the punching metal or net strainer is separated by rotating a stirring blade .   The method according to claim 1, wherein the food waste containing foreign matters is cut before the fermentation tank is charged.   The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the acid-producing gonococcus is Aspergillus.awamori. A food waste liquefaction treatment apparatus having a fermentation tank for koji mold fermentation,
A punching metal or mesh strainer horizontally attached to the lower half of the tank so as to bisect the inside of the fermentation tank, an openable and closable foreign matter outlet and a stirring blade provided at the bottom of the punching metal or mesh strainer And having a liquid material outlet and an aeration device below the strainer or at the bottom of the tank.

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