JP7315196B2 - Method for extracting interstitial fluid from leaves of conifers - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for obtaining interstitial fluid from coniferous leaves by distillation using a reduced-pressure (vacuum) drying device. Here, the interstitial fluid is a liquid that constitutes the tissue (cells) of the object (leaf) to be treated, and can also be called tissue water, biological water, or cell water.

Utilizing the fact that the boiling point is lowered when the pressure is reduced, the interstitial fluid of the object to be treated is efficiently evaporated, cooled, and liquefied (distilled) by decompressing and heating the inside of the processing vessel, and the interstitial fluid is taken out.

As an example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the tissue fluid contained in the rhizome of turmeric is extracted by distillation to obtain a moisturizing agent, and the distillation process is performed at a pressure (degree of vacuum) of 98 to 93 kPa and a temperature of 25 to 40°C.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses, as a method for obtaining a biological fluid containing tissue water and enzymes, extraction without deactivating the enzymes by maintaining a pressure of 10 kPa or less in a temperature range of 25 to 45°C.

Japanese Patent No. 5535539 JP 2018-7654 A

Now, in the vacuum distillation method, the higher the degree of vacuum, the lower the boiling point, so the distillation efficiency is improved. However, since Patent Document 1 does not assume a degree of vacuum higher than 98 kPa, there is a limit to improvement in distillation efficiency. On the other hand, Patent Document 2 aims to obtain interstitial fluid containing enzymes, so the upper limit of pressure (lower limit of vacuum degree) is set to 10 kPa (-91.3 kPa). However, if the purpose is not to obtain active enzymes, the operation at such a pressure (degree of vacuum) may result in poor distillation efficiency and poor economy.

In addition, the distillation efficiency increases in proportion to the temperature inside the processing vessel, but if the internal temperature of the processing vessel in the distillation process is set to 25 to 40 ° C. as in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the set temperature is too low. It is assumed that the distillation efficiency may deteriorate. In other words, Patent Literatures 1 and 2 target specific objects to be processed, and it is difficult to say that they can widely cover objects to be processed having various properties.

In addition, if the capacity of the processing vessel is large, the processing capacity per unit time will be large, but since there is only one steam extraction port, the horizontal processing vessel described in both patent documents may cause unevenness in the vacuum suction effect on the object to be processed if the size is increased, which may hinder efficient extraction. In other words, even if the object to be processed is stirred, there is a possibility that the suction effect will be strong in the part near the steam outlet, but the suction effect in the part far from the steam outlet will be weak.

Furthermore, the interstitial fluid of the object to be treated has its own unique active ingredient, and it is conceivable that the combination of multiple types of active ingredients will have even more excellent effects. However, based on this purport, Patent Document 1 uses a single type of fresh turmeric as a raw material, while Patent Document 2 describes many things that can be processed, but it is understood that only one type is processed in actual operation.

The present invention is made to improve such a situation.

The claimed invention is
"It comprises a drying device for drying the object to be processed, a decompression device for decompressing the drying device, a recovery pipeline connecting the drying device and the decompression device, a heat exchanger arranged in the middle of the recovery pipeline for cooling and condensing steam to generate interstitial fluid, and a product tank for storing the generated interstitial fluid.”
It relates to a method for extracting tissue water from coniferous leaves using a liquid extraction device called
"The drying apparatus has an inlet opening upward and is equipped with a processing vessel in which a rotating body that rotates about a horizontal axis is arranged inside and is further decompressed and heated. The rotating body is equipped with a crushing member and a stirring member. The tissue water of the object to be processed is heated under reduced pressure while crushing and stirring the object to be processed inside the processing vessel, thereby evaporating the tissue water of the object to be processed, and the generated steam is cooled and condensed by the heat exchanger to generate tissue water. It is to be collected in the product tank ,
The inside of the processing container is covered with a heating space filled with warm water, and an auxiliary chamber in which a heater is arranged is provided in a downwardly swollen state in the lower part of the heating space,
The process of drying by the processing vessel and cooling/distillation by the heat exchanger is performed while controlling the heater to maintain the internal temperature of the processing vessel within the range of 60 to 70°C, while maintaining the degree of vacuum inside the processing vessel higher than -98 kPa on the vacuum side.
It is configured.

In claim 2 as a development example of the present invention,
"The processing container can be turned over so that the inlet opens downward, and after the extraction process is completed, the processed material is discharged downward by turning over the processing container."
It is configured.

The invention of claim 3 is also a development example of claim 1,
"A take-out port with a lid is provided at one end of the processing container when viewed from the axial direction of the rotating body, and after the extraction process is completed, the take-out port is opened to discharge the treated material to the outside."
It is configured.

In the present invention, leaves of one or more species of cedar, cypress, Japanese hemlock, asunaro, cypress, pine or other coniferous trees are used as the object to be treated.

In the present invention , the distillation process is carried out in a state in which the degree of vacuum of the processing vessel is maintained higher than -98 kPa on the vacuum side. By maintaining the inside of the processing vessel at such a high vacuum, evaporation can be promoted and the interstitial fluid extraction efficiency can be greatly improved. Such a high vacuum can be realized by a decompression device using a water ejector, or by a decompression device using a vacuum pump.

In the present invention, the distillation process is performed in the range of 60 to 70 ° C. By performing it in such a temperature range, evaporation of the liquid (interstitial fluid) contained in the object to be processed is promoted, and the distillation efficiency can be significantly improved.

Trees are roughly classified into coniferous trees and broad-leaved trees, and interstitial fluid contained in the leaves of coniferous trees such as Japanese cypress and Japanese cedar has deodorizing, bactericidal and aromatic effects. Since leaves of coniferous trees are hard, it is difficult to extract interstitial fluid, but in the present invention, distillation is performed at a higher vacuum and at a higher temperature than in the conventional technology, so interstitial fluid can be efficiently extracted even from leaves of coniferous trees having a high texture. Specifically, a deodorizing liquid containing hinokitiol can be extracted from cypress leaves, while a liquid with excellent bactericidal and insect-repellent properties can be extracted from cedar leaves. Leaves of Japanese hemlock, hiba, asunaro, pine, etc. are also expected to contain active ingredients.

Most of the plantations in Japan are coniferous trees, mainly cedar and cypress. In addition, the decline in competitiveness with cheap foreign lumber is also one of the causes of the devastation of forests. However, in the present invention, it is possible to effectively use leaves, which are waste, to impart high economic value, and it is expected to greatly contribute to the promotion of forestry and the revitalization of mountain villages.

In the present invention, a mixture of multiple types of raw materials can be used as the object to be processed.

For example, different raw materials can be mixed, such as mixing cedar leaves and cypress leaves.

1 is a layout block diagram of an apparatus used in the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drying device of a first embodiment used in the present invention; FIG. It is a front view of a drying device of a 1st embodiment . FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3; (A) is an IVA-IVA view of FIG. 4, (B) is a BB cross-sectional view of (A), (C) is another example of the crushing member 44, (D) is a view seen from the IVC-IVC view of FIG. It is a front view of a reference example . It is a vertical front view of the principal part of a reference example . (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along the VIIIA-VIIIA plane of FIG. 7, (B) is a perspective view of the main part, (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the VIIIC-VIIIC of FIG. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment, (A) is a perspective view of an external appearance, (B) is a rough longitudinal front view. (A) is a detailed view of the rotor shown in FIG. 9, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of (A).

(1).Outline of Fluid Extractor ( Interstitial Fluid Collection System ) Next, the apparatus used in the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the outline of the liquid extraction device will be described with reference to FIG.

The liquid extracting apparatus includes a drying device (dryer) 1 for drying the object to be processed, a decompression device 2 for decompressing the drying device 1, a recovery pipeline 3 connecting the drying device 1 and the decompression device (vacuum generation source) 2, a heat exchanger 4 disposed in the middle of the recovery pipeline 3 for condensing and liquefying the steam, and a product tank 5 for storing the generated interstitial fluid.

The recovery pipeline 3 connects the drying device 1 and the decompression device 2, and a heat exchanger 4 and a product tank 5 are arranged in the middle thereof with the heat exchanger 4 on the upstream side . The heat exchanger 4 is a water-cooled type in which cooling water passes through the inside of a plate-shaped or pipe-shaped cooling element. The cooling water is supplied from a cooling water tank 8 by a cooling water circulation path 7 equipped with a pump 6. A water intake pipe 10 and a drain pipe (overflow pipe) 11 are connected to the cooling water tank 8 .

As the decompression device 2, a water ejector system is used in this example. That is, the decompression device 2 has a water tank 12 and a circulation line 14 for circulating the water in the water tank 12 by means of a pumping pump 13. An ejector 15 is inserted in the middle of the circulation line 14, and the starting end of the recovery line 3 is connected to the end of the ejector 15. The decompression device 2 of this example can realize a high vacuum of -98 kPa or more.

In this example, a portion of the cooling water circulation path 7 downstream of the cooler 9 passes through the water tank 12 of the decompression device 2 . That is, the cooling water circulation path 7 is provided with a meandering heat exchange portion 7 a inside the water tank 12 to cool the water in the water tank 12 . As a result, the temperature of the water acting on the ejector 15 is prevented from rising, and the generation of air bubbles is prevented, thereby improving the decompression effect.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 denotes a drain pipe, and reference numeral 17 denotes a filter having a sterilizing function. The decompression device 2 is not limited to the water ejector type, and various structures such as an air ejector, a steam ejector, and a vacuum pump can be used.

The drying apparatus 1 of the first embodiment is of a horizontal type, and a rotating body 19 having a stirring function and a crushing function is arranged inside a processing container 18 so as to rotate around a horizontal axis. Details of the drying apparatus 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(2) Basic Structure of Drying Apparatus As shown in FIG. 2, the drying apparatus 1 has a processing container 18 having a rectangular inlet 18 d on the upper surface thereof, and left and right support frames 20 for supporting the processing container 18 . A center shaft 21 is provided on both left and right end surfaces of the processing container 18 , and the center shaft 21 is supported by a support frame 20 via bearings 22 . A large-diameter sprocket 23 is fixed to the central shaft 21, while a reversing motor 24 is arranged under the support frame 20, and a chain 26 is wound around the small-diameter sprocket 25 and the large-diameter sprocket 23 provided on the reversing motor 24. - 特許庁

Accordingly, by driving the reversing motor 24, the processing container 18 can be reversed between attitudes with the inlet 18d facing upward and attitudes with the inlet 18d facing downward, and when the inlet 18d is oriented downward, the dry object to be processed can be taken out. It should be noted that other transmission mechanisms such as a gear mechanism can also be employed as the reversing means. Further, instead of using the processing container 18 as an inverting type, an outlet for the workpiece W may be provided at the bottom of the processing container 18 . In this case, the outlet can be closed with a hinged lid or a detachable lid.

The inlet 18 d is closed with a lid 27 . Although not shown, the lid 27 is rotatably connected to the upper surface of the processing container 18 by a hinge means, and can be opened and closed by a driving means such as a hydraulic cylinder, an air cylinder, or an electromagnetic cylinder (a manual opening/closing system is also possible). A lid 27 is provided with a viewing window 28 made of a thick transparent plate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the central shaft 21 is fixed to the end surface of the processing container 18 via a cylinder 29 and a flange 30, and the end of the rotating shaft 31 that constitutes the rotating body 19 is arranged inside the cylinder 29. The end of the rotating shaft 31 is rotatably held by the end plate of the processing container 18 via a bearing, and the rotating motor 32 is fixed to the cylindrical body 29 on the side closer to the reversing motor 24 to rotate the rotating shaft 31 via a transmission mechanism such as a bevel gear mechanism or a worm gear mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 4, the processing container 18 has an outer plate 34, an inner plate 35, and an intermediate plate 36 positioned between them. Therefore, the inner surface of the processing container 18 is entirely arcuate. A heat insulating layer 37 having a heat insulating material is provided between the outer plate 34 and the intermediate plate 36 , and a heating space 38 is provided between the inner plate 35 and the intermediate plate 36 . Warm water is passed through the heating space 38 .

An auxiliary chamber 39 communicating with the heating space 38 is formed in the lower portion of the processing container 18 for passing hot water through the heating space 38 , and a heater 40 is arranged in the auxiliary chamber 39 . It is also possible to place a heater 40 in the heating space 38 . In order to connect the heating space 38 and the auxiliary chamber 39, the intermediate plate 36 may be provided with a large number of small holes or communication holes.

(3) Rotating body As can be understood from FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of first and second arms 42 and 43 facing in opposite directions are fixed to bosses provided at the left and right ends of the rotating shaft 31 constituting the rotating body 19. A plate-like crushing member 44 is fixed to the pair of first arms 42, and a plate-like stirring member 45 is fixed to the pair of second arms 43.

The crushing member 44 is made of a metal plate such as a stainless steel plate, extends nearly the entire length inside the processing container 18 , and is fixed with a bolt 47 to a beam 46 fixed to the first arm 42 . While the crushing member 44 is intermittently formed with a notch 48 opening outward, a plate-shaped fixed blade 49 through which the notch 48 of the crushing member 44 passes is arranged at a portion of the processing container 18 below the rotating shaft 31 and where the crushing member 44 moves downward.

Although the tip of the crushing member 44 is angular, as shown in FIG. 5(C), the rear surface in the direction of rotation may be inclined to form an acute tip. In any case, the object W to be processed is pressed in the gap between the processing container 18 and the crushing member 44 and the gap between the notch 48 and the fixed blade 49 and crushed finely.

The stirring member 45 is made of, for example, a hard resin plate, and is fixed to the beam 46 with bolts 47 like the crushing member 44 . The stirring member 45 is also formed with a notch 50 for escaping from the fixed blade 49 . However, since the stirring member 45 is made of resin, it does not have a crushing function. 5B and 5E, the length of the stirring member 45 in the axial direction is shorter than that of the crushing member 44, but it may be set to the same length as the crushing member 44. FIG. By bringing the tip of the stirring member 45 into contact (sliding contact) with the inner peripheral surface of the processing container 18 , it is possible to scrape off the object to be processed that has stuck to the processing container 18 .

The stirring member 45 can be made of a metal plate such as a stainless steel plate, the main body can be made of a metal plate, and only the tip portion can be made of synthetic resin, or the entirety can be made of a metal plate such as a stainless steel plate, and an abrasion suppressing layer made of resin or the like can be formed at a portion that abuts or is close to the inner surface of the processing container 18. It is also possible that the whole or the tip of the stirring member 45 is made of an elastic metal plate such as a plate spring, and the tip is brought into contact with the inner surface of the processing container 18 against elasticity.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a steam extraction port 51 for extracting steam generated inside the processing container 18 is open at the upper end of the processing container 18, and the end of the recovery pipe line 3 is connected to the steam extraction port 51.

(4) Summary In the above configuration, after the object W to be processed is introduced into the processing container 18 from the inlet 18d, the interior of the processing container 18 is decompressed by the decompression device 2 and heated to an appropriate temperature while the rotating body 19 is driven to agitate and crush the object W to be processed, whereby the object W to be processed can be quickly dried. As described above, the steam generated inside the processing container 18 is condensed by the heat exchanger 4 into a liquid, and the liquid (tissue water) is stored in the product tank 5 .

In addition, the object W to be processed is pressed against the inner surface of the processing container 18 by the crushing member 44 to be broken into small pieces and grains, and is also broken into small pieces and grains by the pinching action of the fixed blade 49 and the crushing member 44. Therefore, the object W to be processed is agitated while being broken into small pieces and grains to increase the surface area, thereby improving the drying efficiency (extraction efficiency) . Moreover, since the decompression device 2 of this example can realize a high vacuum of -98 kPa or higher, the drying efficiency can be further improved.

When only the crushing member 44 exists on the rotating body 19, the object W to be processed is excessively pressed against the processing container 18 by the crushing member 44, and the object W to be processed may stick to the inner surface of the processing container 18. However, if the crushing member 44 and the stirring member 45 are provided separately in the circumferential direction as in the present embodiment, the object W to be processed is prevented from being excessively pressed against the inner surface of the processing container 18, thereby preventing the phenomenon of sticking and stirring. can be improved.

As indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 4, one or both of the pair of arms 42 and 43 may be provided with a stirring member 45 located between the proximal end and the distal end thereof. Further, in this example, the arms 42 and 43 are arranged in pairs so as to face in opposite directions, but it is also possible to arrange three pairs of arms in a trident shape and provide one or two pairs of stirring members 45, or arrange four pairs of arms in a cross shape so that the stirring members 45 and the crushing members 44 are arranged at intervals of 90 degrees.

Furthermore, although the arms 42 and 43 are provided in pairs on the rotating shaft 31, it is also possible to provide one arm corresponding to one crushing member 44 and one stirring member 45, or three or more pairs. Further, the arms 42 and 43 can be made of a rod material or a pipe material such as a round bar or a round pipe, and when they are made of a plate material as in this example, they can be twisted with respect to the axis as shown in FIG. 5(F). In the case of (F), since the object W to be processed can be moved in the axial direction, the stirring function of the object W to be processed can be further improved.

The higher the temperature of the processing container 18, the higher the drying efficiency. However, when collecting interstitial fluid from the processing object W, the internal temperature of the processing object W should be set as high as possible in consideration of the heat resistance temperature of the processing object W. When the object W to be processed is a soft raw material such as flower petals or herbs and the interstitial fluid has a low denaturation temperature, the temperature is preferably about 40° C. or less (about 30 to 40° C.).

That is, since the leaves of conifers are hard, it can be said that the temperature may be particularly high.

Needless to say, when a liquid is extracted from the object W to be processed, there are cases where only the extracted liquid is useful, and there are cases where the dried object W is also valuable as a useful classification .

Since the crushing member 44 is plate-shaped, it also has a stirring function. Therefore, the object W to be processed can be evenly scraped up by the agitating action of both the agitating member 45 and the crushing member 44, so that the object W to be processed can be evenly vacuumed and dried efficiently (interstitial fluid can be efficiently extracted).

When hot water is used as the heating means as in the embodiment , since it has a large specific heat, it is possible to quickly heat the object W to be processed, speed up the start-up of the operation, and achieve excellent temperature stability .

In any case, if the outer layer of the processing container 18 is composed of the heat insulating layer 37 as shown in the figure, the heat radiation into the room can be suppressed, so that the thermal efficiency can be improved and the air conditioning cost can be suppressed.

When using plant leaves as the material to be processed W, only leaves without branches may be used, but if the outside diameter of the branches is within 3 or 4 mm, they may be with branches. In the case of cypress leaves, even if they have thin branches, they can be used as long as they are about 10 cm long. Of course, it is preferable to use it in a state in which it does not contain any branches. It is also possible to cut the leaves, for example, to a size of several centimeters and use them. Cedar leaves are branched from long, thin branches, but they may be attached with thin branches, or may be used in a state in which a plurality of thin branches are connected.

(5).Drying equipment of reference example (Figs. 6 to 8)
Next, a vertical drying apparatus 1 of a reference example will be described with reference to FIGS. A processing container 18 of this drying apparatus has an upper constricted portion 18a, a lower constricted portion 18b, and a straight cylindrical portion 18c positioned between them, and has an appearance like an abacus bead. An inlet 18d is provided in the upper narrowed portion 18a, and the inlet 18d is closed with a hatch-like lid 27. As shown in FIG. The lid 27 is of a manual type and rotates in a substantially horizontal direction, but it is also possible to configure it to be of a vertical rotation type.

A header 53 is fixed to the upper end of the upper constricted portion 18 a via an upper flange plate 54 , and the beginning end of the recovery pipe line 3 is connected to the upper end of the header 53 . The processing container 18 is supported by the left and right support frames 20 via brackets 55 fixed to the upper narrowed portion 18a. The left and right support frames 20 are connected by a reinforcing frame 56 at their lower portions.

As shown in FIG. 7, the processing container 18 has an outer plate 34 and an inner plate 35 with a heating space 38 formed therebetween. It is also possible to form the heat insulating layer 37 outside the heating space 38 as in the first embodiment .

As shown in FIG. 7 , inside the processing container 18 , a vertical rotating shaft 57 that rotates around the center line of the processing container 18 is arranged as an element of the rotating body 19 . The upper end of the vertical rotary shaft 57 is rotatably held by the upper flange plate 54 via bearings, while the lower end of the vertical rotary shaft 57 is rotatably held by the bottom plate 58 of the processing vessel 18 through bearings 59, as shown in FIG. A lower end portion of the rotor 19 protrudes downward from the bearing 59, and a chain driven by a motor (not shown) is wound around a sprocket 60 provided on the downward protruding portion.

The bottom of the processing container 18 is a straight cylinder 18e . In addition, an outlet 61a for the dried workpiece W and a cleaning hole 61b are formed in a symmetrical portion of the bottom plate 58 away from the vertical rotary shaft 57, and these are closed with lids 62a and 62b that can be fitted and removed from below. Therefore, when the lids 62a and 62b are removed, the dried workpiece W can be taken out and the inside can be cleaned (for example, washed with water).

In this example, the rotating body 19 has the above-described vertical rotating shaft 57 as a basic element, and first to fourth arms 63 to 66 are fixed to the vertical rotating shaft 57 in order from the top via cylindrical bosses 67. The first arm 63 and third arm 65 and the second arm 64 and fourth arm 66 face in opposite directions.

Each of the arms 63 to 66 is made of a round bar, and is inclined downward toward the tip, and the tip is directed toward the lower constricted portion 18b of the processing vessel 18. As shown in FIG. A crushing member 44 close to the lower narrowed portion 18b of the processing container 18 is fixed to the tips of the first to third arms 63, 64, 65, and a plate-like stirring member 45 is fixed to the middle part of the third arm 65 and the tip of the fourth arm 66. A notch portion 48 is formed in the intermediate portion of the crushing member 44 . A fixed blade through which the notch 48 passes may be protruded from the processing container 18 . The notch 48 is not necessarily required, but if provided, a plurality of the cutouts 48 may be formed.

As shown in FIGS. 8D and 8E, the stirring member 45 is only roughly shown in FIGS. 7 and 8A, but when the stirring member 45 is fixed to the tip of the arm 66, the plate 69 is welded to the flat portion 68, and the stirring member 45 is fixed to the plate 69 with bolts 70. The fixing structure of the crushing member 44 is also the same.

As can be understood from FIG. 8(B), the crushing member 44 is generally elongated in the vertical direction and is inclined so as to become lower in the direction of rotation. Therefore, the crushing member 44 also has a stirring function of raking up the object W to be processed.

On the other hand, as can be understood from FIGS. 8B and 8C, the stirring member 45 is inclined so as to become lower in the direction of rotation, and is also inclined so as to become lower in the direction of rotation when viewed from the axial direction of the arms 65 and 66. Therefore, it is excellent in the function of scooping up the object W to be processed.

As shown in FIG. 8F, a cylindrical boss 67 is fixed to the lower end of the vertical rotary shaft 57, and a plate-like lower stirring member 71 is fixed to the cylindrical boss 67 so as to be close to the bottom plate 58 of the processing container 18. By inclining the lower stirring member 71 so as to deviate forward in the rotational direction as it goes downward, the workpiece W is pushed upward obliquely by its rotation. The lower stirring members 71 are arranged one by one on both sides of the axis, but it is also possible to arrange three lower stirring members 71 in the shape of a three-pointed arrow or four lower stirring members 71 in the shape of a cross.

In the drying apparatus of this example, since the lower portion of the processing container 18 is tapered to form a tapered portion 18b, the objects W to be processed gather at the bottom portion of the processing container 18. As shown in FIG. That is, the workpiece W tends to increase in density as it goes down the processing container 18 . Therefore, the object W to be processed can be efficiently scraped up by the stirring member 45 and the crushing member 44 .

Further, in this example, the crushing member 44 is arranged close to the inner surface of the processing container 18 in view of its function, but the stirring member 45 in this example is arranged at a position considerably distant from the inner surface of the processing container 18, so that the entire object to be processed W is evenly stirred. Therefore, the entire object W to be treated can be exposed to a reduced pressure environment and dried efficiently.

In other words, the object W to be processed is agitated while being crushed by the crushing member 44 in the inner peripheral portion of the processing container 18, and is agitated by the agitating member 45 in the portion closer to the vertical rotary shaft 57. Due to this double effect, the object W to be treated is evenly agitated. Furthermore, since the lower agitating member 71 is provided, it is possible to prevent a phenomenon in which a part of the workpiece W remains accumulated at the bottom of the processing container 18 .

The number of arms 63, 64, 65, 66 can be arbitrarily set according to the size of the processing container 18 and the like. Also in this example, the arms 63, 64, 65, 66 can be arranged in a three-pointed arrow shape, a cross shape, or the like. Also, if the arms 63, 64, 65, 66 are arranged in a stepped manner, the stirring function and the crushing function are excellent, but if the volume of the processing container 18 is small, it is also possible to arrange two oppositely facing arms at the same height, for example.

In this example, since the outlet 61 for the object W to be processed is provided at the bottom of the processing container 18, the dried object W to be processed can be easily recovered. It is also possible to feed the object W to be processed from the input port 18d by a conveyor, and carry out the object W to be processed that has fallen from the take-out port 61 by the conveyor.

(6). Drying Apparatus of Third Example Next, the drying apparatus 1 of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 will be described. The drying apparatus 1 of the second embodiment is of a horizontal type and is a fixed type that does not turn over.

As in the first embodiment , the drying apparatus 1 has a processing container 18 that includes a heat insulating layer 37 and a heating space 38 for hot water , and is U-shaped when viewed from the axial direction. Therefore, the processing container 18 has an arcuate portion in substantially the lower half. The drying apparatus 1 of this example is small with a capacity of several tens of liters, and the processing container 18 is arranged inside a casing 75 comprising an L-shaped corner post 73 and a decorative plate 74 . The processing container 18 and the casing 75 share the top plate 76 , and the processing container 18 is suspended from the top plate 76 . Although not shown, the processing container 18 has a steam outlet opening.

In the first example, the rotating shaft 31 extends long through the processing container 18, but in the second embodiment , the rotating shaft is separated into a first rotating shaft 78 rotatably held at one end of the processing container 18 via a first bearing 77 and a second rotating shaft 80 rotatably supported at the other end of the processing container 18 via a second bearing 79. The second rotating shaft 80 is driven by the motor 32. The motor 32 is arranged inside the casing 75 .

In this example, a take-out port 81 for taking out the dried object W is provided at the lower portion of one end surface of the processing container 18, and a chute 82 for guiding the take-out of the object W is provided on the outer surface of the processing container 18. The outlet 81 is closed with a lid 83 during operation.

The rotating body 19 of this embodiment has the above-described first and second rotating shafts 78 and 80 and a triangular rotating bracket 84 fixed to each of these rotating shafts 78 and 80 . Accordingly, the pair of rotating brackets 84 has three arm portions 84a, 84b, 84c, respectively, the plate-like crushing member 44 is fixed to the two pairs of arm portions 84a, 84b, and the plate-like stirring member 45 is fixed to the pair of arm portions 84c.

In this case, the crushing member 44 is designed as a cutter with a pointed end facing the inner surface of the processing container 18, but the stirring member 45 is the same member as the crushing member 44, but the tip is oriented in the direction of rotation. Therefore, although the stirring member 45 has a sharp tip, it does not have a crushing function, but only a stirring function.

A pair of bracket portions 85 are fixed by welding to both ends of the crushing member 44 and the stirring member 45, and the bracket portions 85 are fixed to the arm portions 84a to 84c by bolts 86. As shown in FIG. The crushing member 44 and the stirring member 45 are also positioned outside the arm portions 84a to 84c, but the short portion positioned outside and the long portion positioned inside are separated. Therefore, each of the crushing member 44 and the stirring member 45 extending in a straight line is composed of three parts. Of course, both the crushing member 44 and the stirring member 45 may be composed of one member as a whole.

In this example, the rotating shafts 78 and 80 are not connected, and the rotating body 19 has a kind of basket shape. Therefore, it is easy for a person to insert his/her hand to clean the inside. Therefore, cleaning can be easily performed. In addition, while the fluidity of the work W inside the processing container 18 is high, the rotating body 19 has two crushing members 44 and one stirring member 45, and the stirring member 45 has a function of raking up the work W in the direction of the rotation axis.

The crushing member 44 having the inclined surface 87 is also used as the stirring member 45. When used as the stirring member 45, the inclined surface 87 is arranged in the direction of rotation. Therefore, it is excellent in the function of moving the workpiece W toward the rotation axis.

In this example, the three pairs of arm portions 84a to 84c are separately used for the crushing member and the stirring member, but it is also possible to fix the crushing member 44 to the tip of each arm portion 84a to 84c and fix the stirring member 45 in the middle between the base end and the tip. Furthermore, the crushing member 44 does not necessarily have to be shaped like a blade, and the tip can be angular as in the first embodiment . Furthermore, it is also possible to make the stirring member 45 made of synthetic resin and bring it close to or in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the processing container 18 .

The rotary bracket 84 may be disc-shaped, but if a form in which a plurality of arm portions 84a to 84c are separated like a three-pointed arrow is adopted, the object W to be processed can be smoothly moved to both the left and right sides of the rotary bracket 84, which has the advantage of improving the stirring function. Also in the second embodiment , it is possible to provide the fixed blade 49 of the first embodiment . In this case, the notch 48 is formed in the crushing member 44 .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various other ways.

The present invention can be embodied in a method for extracting interstitial fluid from coniferous leaves . Therefore, it can be used industrially.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 drying device 2 decompression device 3 recovery pipeline 4 heat exchanger 15 ejector 18 processing vessel
18d slot
19 rotating body 21 central shaft 31 rotating shaft
38 heating space
39 auxiliary room
40 heater
44 Crushing member 45 Stirring member 49 Fixed blade
81 outlet
83 Lid

Claims (3)

A method of extracting tissue water from conifer leaves using a liquid extraction device comprising a drying device for drying an object to be treated, a decompression device for decompressing the drying device, a recovery pipeline connecting the drying device and the decompression device, a heat exchanger disposed in the middle of the recovery pipeline for cooling and condensing steam to generate interstitial fluid, and a product tank for storing the generated interstitial fluid,
The drying apparatus comprises a processing container having an upwardly opening inlet and a rotating body rotating about a horizontal axis in the interior thereof, the interior of which is decompressed and heated. The rotating body includes a crushing member and a stirring member. The material to be processed is crushed and stirred in the processing container and heated under reduced pressure to evaporate the tissue water of the object to be processed. It is collected in the product tank ,
The inside of the processing container is covered with a heating space filled with warm water, and an auxiliary chamber in which a heater is arranged is provided in a downwardly swollen state in the lower part of the heating space,
The process of drying by the processing vessel and cooling/distillation by the heat exchanger controls the heater to maintain the internal temperature of the processing vessel in the range of 60 to 70 ° C., and the degree of vacuum inside the processing vessel is maintained higher than -98 kPa on the vacuum side.
A method for extracting interstitial fluid from coniferous leaves. The processing container can be turned over so that the input port opens downward, and by turning over the processing container after the extraction step is completed, the processed material to be processed is discharged downward.
The method for extracting interstitial fluid from coniferous leaves according to claim 1. An extraction port with a lid is provided at one end of the processing container when viewed from the axial direction of the rotating body, and after the extraction process is completed, the extraction port is opened to discharge the treated object to the outside.
The method for extracting interstitial fluid from coniferous leaves according to claim 1.

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