JP7493715B2 - Integrated fermentation and drying system and fermentation and drying control method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an integrated fermentation and drying system and a fermentation and drying control method.

Patent Document 1 describes a waste treatment device that includes a vertical container for composting organic waste, in which various sensors are attached to the treatment device to monitor the fermentation status. Patent Document 2 describes a method for setting the amount of air sent to a fermentation tank in a closed composting device, using fermentation heat as a fermentation index.

JP 2019-85296 A JP 2018-172272 A

However, in the treatment apparatus described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in order to operate the apparatus so that the fermentation and drying in the container is performed stably, it is necessary to appropriately evaluate the fermentation status based on the experience of an experienced operation manager and to set appropriate operation operations and control parameters based on the evaluation. Once the fermentation and drying goes wrong, it is necessary to reduce the amount of organic waste fed into the treatment apparatus or to stop the treatment apparatus and remove all the contents in the fermentation tank, which may cause problems in continuous operation. Therefore, in order to effectively utilize the functions of the treatment apparatus described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 and maintain stable fermentation, it is necessary for an experienced operation manager to constantly monitor the operation status of the treatment apparatus, properly grasp the fermentation status, grasp changes in the fermentation status early, and perform appropriate operation at the appropriate time. However, there are only a limited number of experienced operation managers who can handle the above, and it is often difficult to train an experienced operation manager for each fermentation and drying facility and establish a system to constantly manage the facility during operation.

This disclosure has been made in light of the above, and aims to provide technology that can achieve stable operation of fermentation and drying equipment.

In order to achieve the above object, an integrated fermentation drying system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an integrated fermentation drying system having a plurality of fermentation drying systems and an integrated control unit that controls the plurality of fermentation drying systems, each of which has a fermentation drying equipment including a closed fermentation tank that performs a fermentation drying process on fermentation raw materials, and an equipment control unit that controls the fermentation drying process in the fermentation drying equipment. The integrated control unit controls the operation of the fermentation drying system by transmitting an operation management signal related to the process to each of the equipment control units of the plurality of fermentation drying systems. The equipment control unit calculates the fermentation heat amount, evaporated water amount, carbon dioxide generation amount, change in the amount of material contained in the fermentation tank, and exhaust temperature discharged from the fermentation drying equipment based on the operation management signal from the integrated control unit, selects at least one piece of information as a fermentation index, and controls at least one of the air supply amount to the fermentation tank, the exhaust amount from the fermentation tank, the blending ratio and supply amount of the fermentation raw materials supplied to the fermentation tank, the discharge amount of fermented and dried product from the fermentation tank after fermentation and drying, and the agitator blade rotation pattern of the fermentation tank based on the calculated operation parameters.

In addition, a fermentation drying control method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a fermentation drying control method using an integrated fermentation drying system having a plurality of fermentation drying systems and an integrated control unit that controls the plurality of fermentation drying systems, each of the plurality of fermentation drying systems having a fermentation drying equipment including a closed fermenter that performs a fermentation drying process on a fermentation raw material, and an equipment control unit that controls the fermentation drying process in the fermentation drying equipment, the integrated control unit controls the operation of the fermentation drying system by transmitting an operation management signal related to the process to the equipment control unit of each of the plurality of fermentation drying systems, and the equipment control unit controls the operation of the integrated control unit. The control unit calculates the amount of fermentation heat, the amount of evaporated water, the amount of carbon dioxide generated, the change in the amount of material contained in the fermenter, and the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the fermentation drying equipment based on the operation management signal from the control unit, and selects at least one piece of information as a fermentation index to calculate operation parameters related to the fermentation drying equipment; and the equipment control unit controls at least one of the amount of air sent to the fermenter, the amount of exhaust gas discharged from the fermenter, the blending ratio and supply amount of the fermentation raw material supplied to the fermenter, the amount of fermented and dried material discharged from the fermenter after fermentation and drying, and the agitator blade rotation pattern of the fermenter based on the calculated operation parameters.

According to the above-mentioned integrated fermentation drying system and the fermentation control method using the integrated fermentation drying system, the operation of the fermentation drying system is controlled by transmitting an operation management signal from the integrated control unit to each equipment control unit of the multiple fermentation drying systems. In addition, in each fermentation drying system, the equipment control unit calculates the fermentation heat amount, the evaporated water amount, the carbon dioxide generation amount, the change in the amount of material contained in the fermenter, and the exhaust temperature discharged from the fermentation drying equipment based on the operation management signal from the integrated control unit, and selects at least one piece of information as a fermentation index to calculate the operation parameters related to the fermentation drying equipment. Then, based on the calculated operation parameters, at least one of the air supply amount to the fermenter, the exhaust amount from the fermenter, the blending ratio and supply amount of the fermentation raw material supplied to the fermenter, the discharge amount of the fermented and dried material from the fermenter after fermentation and drying, and the agitator blade rotation pattern of the fermenter is controlled. Therefore, in the integrated fermentation drying system, the integrated control unit can grasp the operation status of each of the multiple fermentation drying systems in real time and instruct (operation management instruction) to change and improve the control method, etc. as necessary. In addition, in each fermentation drying system, the operation parameters can be calculated based on instructions from the integrated control unit, and appropriate operation control can be performed. This makes it possible to achieve stable operation of the fermentation and drying equipment.

The multiple fermentation and drying systems may be provided as independent facilities, and the integrated control unit may control each of the multiple fermentation and drying systems in parallel.

As described above, by configuring multiple fermentation and drying systems that are set up as independent facilities to be controlled in parallel by an integrated control unit, it becomes possible to collectively control the multiple fermentation and drying systems by the integrated control unit.

The fermentation and drying system may be provided individually for each of a plurality of raw material supply sources that supply the fermentation raw materials.

As described above, by providing individual fermentation and drying systems for multiple raw material supply sources that supply fermentation raw materials, the control content can be changed individually in each fermentation and drying system depending on the characteristics of the fermentation raw materials supplied from the raw material supply sources, making it possible to perform fermentation and drying in the fermentation and drying equipment more stably.

This disclosure provides technology that can achieve stable operation of fermentation and drying equipment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an integrated fermentation and drying system according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a fermentation and drying system included in the integrated fermentation and drying system. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the fermenter. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the function of the equipment control unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining gas flow into and out of the fermenter. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the function of the integrated control unit. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the integrated control unit and the equipment control unit. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the integrated control unit. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the equipment control unit.

Below, the embodiments for implementing the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that in the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

[Integrated fermentation and drying system]
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an integrated fermentation and drying system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the integrated fermentation and drying system 1 includes a plurality of fermentation and drying systems 2 and an integrated control unit 3. The fermentation and drying system 2 includes a fermentation and drying equipment 4 and an equipment control unit 5.

The integrated fermentation and drying system 1 is a system for comprehensively managing a plurality of fermentation and drying systems 2, and the integrated control unit 3 operates and manages the fermentation and drying system 2. The fermentation and drying system 2 is a system that inputs fermentation raw materials and produces fermented and dried products by fermentation and drying processing using aerobic fermentation heat. The objects of the fermentation and drying processing by the fermentation and drying system 2 are, for example, livestock waste, food waste, sewage sludge, etc., and are not particularly limited as long as they are substances that can be dried, reduced in volume, or composted by aerobic fermentation. The purpose of the fermentation and drying processing is to reduce the weight and volume of the input raw materials by removing moisture from the raw materials to be processed, and to improve the handling properties (fluidity, odor, storage stability, etc.) of the fermented and dried products after processing, thereby improving their quality as fuel and as compost. The types of objects of the fermentation and drying processing in the plurality of fermentation and drying systems 2 may be the same or different from each other.

The fermentation drying system 2 may be installed near a location where the raw materials to be subjected to the fermentation drying process are supplied. In FIG. 1, three fermentation drying systems 2A, 2B, and 2C are shown as the multiple fermentation drying systems 2. The fermentation drying system 2A is installed near the first raw material supply source 90A (for example, it may be on the same site), and performs a fermentation process on the raw materials supplied from the first raw material supply source 90A. The fermentation drying system 2B is installed near the second raw material supply source 90B, and performs a fermentation process on the raw materials supplied from the second raw material supply source 90B. The fermentation drying system 2C performs a fermentation process on the raw materials supplied from the third raw material supply source 90C and the fourth raw material supply source 90D. The installation location of the fermentation drying system 2B may be near the third raw material supply source 90C (for example, it may be on the same site), near the fourth raw material supply source 90D (for example, it may be on the same site), or a location where both raw materials are easily collected.

The raw material supply source is a facility (building, location, etc.) where the raw material can be produced. For example, when the fermentation and drying process is to be carried out on livestock waste, the raw material supply source can be a farm. When the fermentation and drying process is to be carried out on food waste, the raw material supply source can be a food processing plant. When the fermentation and drying process is to be carried out on sewage sludge, the raw material supply source can be a sewage treatment plant or a sludge treatment center. However, these are just examples of raw material supply sources and are not limited to these.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fermentation drying system 2 may be provided individually for one raw material supply source, as in the case of fermentation drying systems 2A and 2B, or one for multiple raw material supply sources, as in the case of fermentation drying system 2C. In either case, since the raw materials supplied from the raw material supply source have a high moisture content and are difficult to handle, it is assumed that the fermentation drying system 2 is provided to reduce the movement of raw materials from the raw material supply source. For this reason, it is assumed that the multiple fermentation drying systems 2 are provided in separate locations as independent facilities. In contrast, the integrated fermentation drying system 1 is a system that realizes the centralized management of the fermentation drying systems 2A to 2C provided in separate locations by the integrated control unit 3. In addition, an equipment control unit 5 is provided for the fermentation drying equipment 4 in each system so that the fermentation drying systems 2 can be controlled independently, and each fermentation drying system 2 is controlled individually.

Each fermentation and drying system and the integrated control unit can be connected via wired or wireless connection, and high-speed data communication and large-volume data sharing functions such as the Internet can be used.

The actual control function in the integrated fermentation and drying system 1 is in the equipment control unit 5 of each fermentation and drying equipment (fermentation and drying system 2), especially when applying the short-term fermentation index described below. The integrated control unit 3 has the function of monitoring whether each equipment control unit 5 is controlling properly and improving the higher-level management indexes such as the calculation formulas and conditions that serve as the control basis as appropriate. The control of all fermentation and drying equipment is not centralized in the integrated control unit 3. If the control of all fermentation and drying equipment were centralized in the integrated control unit, the risk of damage due to communication failures and the like would increase, and there is a possibility that problems would arise with the reliability of the entire system. In this way, in the integrated fermentation and drying system 1, the configuration (including the parameter calculation unit 53 described below and the like) that controls each part such as the fermentation tanks included in each fermentation and drying equipment is individually distributed, and the integrated control unit 3 is configured to perform operation management such as changing the conditions for parameter calculation (setting the higher-level management indexes).

Although details will be described later, the equipment control unit 5 calculates the amount of fermentation heat, the amount of evaporated water, the amount of carbon dioxide generated, the change in the amount of material contained in the fermenter, and the temperature of the exhaust air discharged from the fermentation drying equipment in the fermentation drying system 2 based on the operation management signal from the integrated control unit 3, and selects at least one piece of information as a fermentation index to calculate operation parameters related to the fermentation drying equipment. In addition, based on the calculated operation parameters, the equipment control unit 5 controls at least one of the amount of air supplied to the fermenter, the amount of exhaust air from the fermenter, the blending ratio and supply amount of the fermentation raw materials supplied to the fermenter, the amount of fermented and dried material discharged from the fermenter after fermentation and drying, and the agitator blade rotation pattern of the fermenter.

Fermentation indices are classified into short-term fermentation indices and long-term fermentation indices. Short-term fermentation indices are indices suitable for evaluation over a span of several minutes to several hours, and fermentation heat, evaporated water amount, carbon dioxide generation amount, temperature inside the device, and exhaust temperature are assumed. When applying a short-term fermentation index, the parameter calculation unit 53 (see FIG. 4) of the equipment control unit 5 calculates the fermentation index and calculates operating parameters such as the amount of air sent, and a control signal based on the calculated operating parameters is sent to each unit from the equipment control signal output unit 55 (see FIG. 4). The fermentation drying equipment 4 also operates based on the signal sent from the equipment control unit 5. The control of each fermentation drying equipment is completed within each fermentation drying equipment, and the integrated control unit has the function of selecting the fermentation index and instructing the parameters of various calculations performed in the parameter calculation unit. On the other hand, long-term fermentation indices are indices suitable for evaluation over a span of several hours to several days, and changes in the amount of material contained in the fermenter are assumed. When applying a long-term fermentation index, the parameter calculation unit 53 (see FIG. 4) calculates the fermentation index, and the integrated control unit sets the operating parameters. In this way, the functional division of the equipment control unit and integrated control unit of each fermentation and drying equipment differs between short-term and long-term fermentation indicators.

The standard correspondence between fermentation indexes and operating parameters is shown in Table 1. Note that this correspondence is only an example and is not limited to the relationship shown in Table 1.

Below, we will explain the configuration of the fermentation and drying system 2, and then explain the integrated control unit 3 that encompasses all of these.

[Fermentation and drying system]
Fig. 2 is a standard schematic diagram of the fermentation drying system 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the fermentation drying system 2 includes a fermentation drying equipment 4 and an equipment control unit 5. The fermentation drying equipment 4 includes a fermenter 41, a raw material supply unit 42, a dried material discharge unit 43, an air blower 44, an air heater 45, a dust removal tower 46, an exhaust fan 47, and a cleaning and deodorization tower 48. The fermentation drying system 2 produces a fermented and dried material (dried sludge) obtained by fermenting and drying the fermentation raw material. In addition, exhaust gas generated during the fermentation of the fermentation raw material is subjected to a predetermined treatment.

In the following embodiment, as an example, a case will be described in which the main raw material to be fermented and dried is sewage sludge. Even if the main raw material is something other than sewage sludge, a configuration similar to that of the fermentation and drying system 2 shown in FIG. 2 can be used, but the system configuration can be changed as appropriate.

The fermentation tank 41 has the function of feeding fermentation raw materials and carrying out fermentation treatment. In the fermentation tank 41, aerobic treatment is carried out using aerobic microorganisms. In addition to the main raw material, auxiliary raw materials that contribute to fermentation, etc. are fed into the fermentation tank 41 via line L1.

The amount of raw materials supplied to the fermentation tank 41, the mixing ratio, and the like are adjusted, for example, by the raw material supply unit 42. The fermented and dried product after fermentation is discharged from the fermentation tank 41 via line L2. The amount of the fermented and dried product discharged is adjusted, for example, by the dried product discharge unit 43. Air is supplied to the fermentation tank 41 via line L3. Gas and water vapor (hereinafter referred to as exhaust) generated by fermentation in the fermentation tank 41 are discharged via line L4.

The raw material supply unit 42 has the function of adjusting the supply amount and blending ratio of the fermentation raw materials supplied to the fermentation tank 41. Details of the fermentation raw materials will be described later, but in addition to the main raw materials to be fermented and dried, multiple types of raw materials such as auxiliary raw materials can be supplied to the fermentation tank 41. The supply amount and blending ratio of the fermentation raw materials can affect the fermentation and drying conditions in the fermentation tank 41. Therefore, the fermentation and drying in the fermentation tank 41 is controlled by adjusting the supply amount and blending ratio of the fermentation raw materials in the raw material supply unit 42.

The dried matter discharge section 43 has a function of adjusting the discharge amount of the fermented and dried matter. In FIG. 2, the dried matter discharge section 43 is shown as being provided on line L2, but it is common for the dried matter discharge section 43 to open and close the discharge outlet of the fermentation tank 41 (described below) while the operator of each fermentation and drying system checks the discharge amount and the quality of the fermented and dried matter on-site. In addition, the opening and closing of the discharge outlet may be controlled by a mechanism that controls the opening and closing of the discharge outlet of the fermentation tank 41 (described below) based on changes in the weight of the fermentation tank.

The air blower 44 has the function of supplying gas to the line L3. A motor M1 is connected to the air blower 44, and air from the outside is introduced into the line L3 by the air blower 44 operated by the motor M1.

The air supply heater 45 has a function of heating the gas introduced into line L3. The temperature of the air introduced into the fermenter 41 is, for example, about 50°C to 80°C. The air supply heater 45 has a function of heating the gas flowing through line L3 so that the gas is within a predetermined temperature range. A heat exchange means (not shown) may be provided upstream of the air supply heater 45, for example, to heat the outside air introduced into the container from the air supply fan by using the heat of the exhaust gas from line L4. The form of the heat exchange means is not particularly limited, and the exhaust gas from line L4 is cooled by heat exchange. Meanwhile, the heated air is introduced into the fermenter 41 via line L3.

The dust removal tower 46, exhaust fan 47, and cleaning and deodorizing tower 48 are provided on line L4, which discharges exhaust gas from the fermenter 41. The dust removal tower 46 and the cleaning and deodorizing tower 48 function as wet deodorizing devices that perform deodorizing treatment on the exhaust gas.

The dust removal tower 46 has the function of introducing the exhaust gas flowing through line L4 and removing dust contained in the exhaust gas. Equipment such as a scrubber is used as the dust removal tower. The gas from which dust has been removed is sent to the cleaning and deodorizing tower 48 via the exhaust fan 47.

The exhaust fan 47 has the function of moving the exhaust gas in the line L1. A motor M2 is connected to the exhaust fan 47, and the exhaust gas is moved downstream by driving the exhaust fan 47 by the operation of the motor M2. The fan can be one whose fan rotation speed can be controlled by the inverter frequency.

The cleaning and deodorizing tower 48 has the function of removing trace odor components such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide contained in the exhaust gas from the fermentation tank. As an example, the cleaning and deodorizing tower is a wet cleaning tower, and can be an acid cleaning and deodorizing tower that uses sulfuric acid. The cleaning and deodorizing tower 48 is not limited to an acid cleaning and deodorizing tower, and various configurations can be adopted as long as they are configured to perform cleaning and deodorizing, such as alkaline cleaning and deodorizing, and alkaline and hypochlorite cleaning and deodorizing, and remove odors. The cleaning and deodorizing can be appropriately selected depending on the gas to be treated. For example, an acid cleaning tower is used when ammonia is to be deodorized. In addition, depending on the type and number of gases contained in the exhaust gas and the allowable component concentration after treatment, multiple cleaning and deodorizing towers can be connected in series. If there is a possibility of hydrogen sulfide generation, an alkaline and hypochlorite cleaning and deodorizing tower that combines sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite may be further provided.

The wet deodorizing device is not limited to the above configuration. For example, it may include an adsorption tower filled with activated carbon, which removes odorous components that cannot be sufficiently removed by the action of the liquid through the adsorption action of the activated carbon. The adsorption tower may be installed at the last stage of multiple treatment devices.

In the fermentation and drying equipment 4, multiple sensors may be provided at various locations. FIG. 2 illustrates multiple sensors 49a to 49g that may be provided in the fermentation and drying system 2. For example, the sensor 49a is a weight meter that measures the weight of the fermentation tank 41. The sensor 49b is a pressure gauge that measures the pressure (atmospheric pressure) inside the fermentation tank 41 (more precisely, inside the container described below). The sensor 49c is a thermometer that measures the temperature inside the fermentation tank 41. The sensor 49d is a flow meter that measures the amount of gas supplied to the line L3. A thermometer that measures the temperature of the gas, a pressure gauge that measures the pressure of the gas, etc. may be provided in the same location as the sensor 49d. The sensor 49e is a thermometer that measures the temperature of the gas heated by the air supply heater 45. The sensor 49f is a thermometer that measures the temperature of the exhaust gas from the fermentation tank 41, and the sensor 49g is an oxygen concentration meter that measures the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas. In this way, the fermentation and drying equipment 4 can be provided with various sensors for checking its operation.

The equipment control unit 5 has the function of controlling each part of the fermentation drying equipment 4. The equipment control unit 5 receives output signals from a plurality of sensors etc. provided in various places in the fermentation drying system 2 and from each of the above-mentioned parts. Based on these output signals, the equipment control unit 5 can change the control content of the equipment. Details of the equipment control unit 5 will be described later.

[Fermentation tank]
Next, the fermenter 41 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the fermenter 41. The fermenter 41 is a sealed vertical fermenter. The fermenter 41 has a container 61 extending vertically (in the direction A in the figure) with respect to the installation surface. An inlet 62 for feeding the main raw material, auxiliary raw material, etc. is provided above the container 61. The raw material supply unit 42 is connected upstream of the inlet 62 via a line L1. In addition, an outlet 63 for discharging the fermented and dried product after processing in the container 61 is provided below the container 61. The outlet 63 is connected to the dried product discharge unit 43 via a line L2.

Both the inlet 62 and the outlet 63 are provided with a lid-like member (not shown) that can be opened, closed, or removed. By attaching this lid-like member to the inlet 62 and the outlet 63, the container 61 in the fermenter 41 can be sealed. In this way, the fermenter 41 enables aerobic fermentation in a closed system. From the viewpoint of further improving the efficiency of drying the contents using aerobic fermentation heat, the fermenter 41 may have an insulated structure, for example, by arranging a heat insulating material on the outer peripheral surface of the container 61.

The fermentation tank 41 is equipped with stirring equipment 64 for mixing the raw materials in the fermentation tank. As an example, the stirring equipment 64 includes a stirring blade 64a provided in the vessel 61, a rotating shaft 64b connected to the stirring blade 64a, and a rotary drive device (not shown) provided outside the vessel 61. The stirring blade 64a is connected to the rotary drive device provided outside the vessel 61 via the rotating shaft 64b, and rotates in a fixed direction using a hydraulic cylinder as a driving source. The stirring blades 64a may be provided in multiple stages spaced apart at predetermined intervals from the lower part to the upper part of the rotating shaft 64b. By further providing the stirring equipment 64, excessive compaction of the contents can be suppressed, and the aerobic fermentation efficiency can be improved.

The fermentation tank 41 also includes an air supply means 65 for supplying oxygen-containing gas such as air into the fermentation tank 41, and an exhaust means 66 capable of exhausting the gas in the container 61 to the outside of the container 61. The oxygen-containing gas F can be, for example, air. As an example, the oxygen-containing gas F may be supplied from the air supply means 65 provided outside the container 61 to the vertically lower side of the agitator 64a via the hollow rotating shaft 64b and the vent hole of the agitator 64a. The air supply means 65 is connected to the line L3, and the gas flowing through the line L3 is supplied as the oxygen-containing gas. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of gas flow holes through which the oxygen-containing gas F can flow are provided vertically below the agitator 64a provided at the bottom. In this case, the oxygen-containing gas F can be evenly supplied to the container 61 while the contents are being stirred by the agitator 64a. The oxygen-containing gas F present in the vessel 61 and the gas produced by aerobic fermentation are exhausted as exhaust gas to line L4 (see FIG. 2) via exhaust means 66 provided above the vessel 61.

From the viewpoint of increasing the contact efficiency between the oxygen-containing gas and the contents and increasing the aerobic fermentation efficiency of the fermentation target in the container 61, the oxygen-containing gas F can be supplied from the vertically lower side of the container 61, and the exhaust gas containing the oxygen-containing gas F can be exhausted from the vertically upper side of the container 61.

The fermentation raw materials are continuously or intermittently fed into the container 61 of the fermentation tank 41 through the feed port 62. After aerobically fermenting the fermentation raw materials in the fermentation tank 41, they are discharged from the discharge port 63 as fermented, dried material.

In the above-mentioned fermentation tank 41, the fermentation raw material is put into the container 61 from the inlet 62, and after the processed material is fermented in the container, the fermented and dried product is taken out from the outlet 63 at the bottom of the container 61. In the fermentation tank 41, a predetermined amount of outside air is introduced from the ventilation holes of the lowest stirring blade 64a by the air supply means 65, and the air is exhausted from the exhaust means 66. In this state, each stirring blade 64a is rotated at a low speed to aerate and stir the fermentation raw material and cause aerobic fermentation, thereby fermenting. At the same time, the contents are dried by the fermentation heat. The air exhausted from the exhaust means 66 contains gases such as carbon dioxide and ammonia generated during the fermentation process, as well as water vapor, in contrast to the gas introduced into the container from the ventilation holes and flowing upward while passing through the processed material.

An example of the operating procedure of the fermentation tank 41 is as follows. First, the main raw material and auxiliary raw material are charged into the fermentation tank 41 through the charging port 62, leaving 10 to 30% of the internal volume of the container 61. By charging the raw materials while leaving the above amount of space, the raw materials can be sufficiently and uniformly stirred and aerated. Therefore, fermentation and drying in the container 61 can be efficiently performed. As an example, the raw materials are charged every day. That is, the raw materials can be charged multiple times at predetermined intervals (every fixed period). In addition, the raw materials are fermented and dried for a predetermined residence time (about 3 to 20 days) in the fermentation tank 41, and a predetermined amount of the fermented and dried product is taken out from the discharge port 63 every fixed period (for example, every day). The raw materials are charged after the fermented and dried product is taken out from the discharge port 63. In this way, the fermentation process is continuously performed while repeatedly charging a portion of the raw materials and taking out a portion of the fermented product in a fixed time cycle. The fermented and dried product obtained by the above procedure is a powdered or granular solid, and partially lumpy.

The equipment control unit 5 can maintain a high fermentation rate in the fermentation tank 41 by controlling the fermentation tank 41 and each device in its periphery. As an example, the equipment control unit 5 can adjust the amount of air sent by the air sending means 65 to the container 61 of the fermentation tank 41, and adjust the amount of exhaust by the motor M2 of the exhaust fan 47 used to exhaust the gas in the fermentation tank 41.

[Fermentation ingredients]
The raw materials used in the production of the fermented and dried product in the fermenter 41 include a main raw material, which is a component to be fermented and dried, and auxiliary raw materials, etc., which assist the fermentation and drying of the main raw material. Details of each raw material and their mixing ratios, etc. are described below.

(Main ingredient)
Examples of the main raw material include sewage sludge obtained by dehydrating excess sludge produced during the activated sludge treatment of sewage using a dehydrator such as a filter press, livestock manure generated in livestock facilities or the like or livestock manure purified sludge obtained by subjecting it to activated sludge treatment, and sludge obtained by activated sludge treatment of food waste, etc. These main raw materials are sludge-like or paste-like substances containing organic matter, inorganic matter, and water. For example, when the main raw material is sewage sludge, the sewage sludge may be used as it is, or a self-fermented product of sewage sludge such as digested sludge may be used.

The moisture content of the main raw material is not particularly limited, but is, for example, about 50% to 90%, and preferably 50% to 85%. The sludge used as the main raw material may be selected based on at least one of its moisture content, whether it has been digested, and the dehydration method.

(Secondary raw materials)
The fermentation raw material may contain a secondary raw material. The secondary raw material is a material that promotes stable aerobic fermentation of the main raw material when the fermentation raw material is subjected to fermentation by being contained together with the main raw material. Specifically, the secondary raw material is used to reduce the moisture content of the main raw material, to increase the breathability of the fermentation raw material containing the main raw material and the secondary raw material, to supply easily decomposable organic matter that serves as a nutrient source for microorganisms that contribute to aerobic fermentation, and to supply aerobic microorganisms for efficiently progressing aerobic fermentation.

The shape of the auxiliary ingredients used is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, solid, granular, powdery, or paste-like. The total content of the auxiliary ingredients can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the physical properties and purpose of the auxiliary ingredients used, but the total weight parts of the auxiliary ingredients per 100 parts by weight of the main ingredient is preferably 5 parts by weight to 100 parts by weight, more preferably 5 parts by weight to 50 parts by weight, and even more preferably 5 parts by weight to 40 parts by weight. In this case, the mass of the main ingredient used as the standard is the mass in a water-containing state.

This section explains ventilation aids and nutritional aids that can be used as examples of secondary ingredients.

(Ventilation aid)
The secondary raw material may contain an aeration aid for the purpose of reducing the moisture content and improving the breathability. Examples of the aeration aid include organic aeration aids such as rice straw, rice husks, sawdust, bark, plants, or dried or crushed materials thereof, and inorganic aeration aids such as perlite, zeolite, diatomaceous earth, and coal ash. By containing an aeration aid, it is possible to ensure breathability while suppressing excessive compaction, and it is advantageous in that aerobic fermentation of the main raw material can be stably and effectively promoted.

The shape of the ventilation aid is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, solid, granular, powdery, pasty, fluid, liquid, etc. The content of the ventilation aid can be adjusted appropriately depending on the physical properties and purpose of the secondary raw materials used, but the total weight of the ventilation aid per 100 parts by weight of the main raw material is preferably 5 parts by weight to 80 parts by weight, more preferably 5 parts by weight to 50 parts by weight. In this case, the weight of the main raw material used as the standard is the weight in a water-containing state.

As an example of the above-mentioned ventilation aid, a configuration including fly ash can be used. Fly ash is a type of coal ash generated by burning coal, and examples thereof include coal ash generated when pulverized coal is burned at a coal-fired power plant and collected by an electric dust collector or the like. The fly ash has a bulk density of preferably 0.2 g/cm ³ or more and 1.5 g/cm ³ or less, a Blaine specific surface area of preferably 1000 cm ² /g or more and 20000 cm ² /g or less, and includes silica, alumina, calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide, etc.

By using fly ash as a secondary raw material in the fermentation and drying process, aerobic fermentation can proceed stably from the initial stage. The reason for this is unclear, but it is thought that fly ash itself is highly dispersible due to its relatively fine particles. It is also thought that the CaO component contained in the fly ash makes it easier for the particles of the main raw material to aggregate and form flocs, which makes it easier to reduce the density of the fermentation raw material in the container 61.

(Nutritional supplement)
From the viewpoint of promoting aerobic fermentation of the fermentation raw material, a nutritional supplement may be further included as a secondary raw material. The nutritional supplement is a secondary raw material that can be used to supply easily decomposable organic matter that serves as a nutrient source for microorganisms that contribute to aerobic fermentation. Examples of nutritional supplements include food processing residues such as food sludge, sake lees and shochu lees, waste clay, paper sludge, waste cooking oil, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), meat and bone meal, food waste, human waste, livestock feces, compost, activated sludge, scum, etc. These can be used alone or in combination.

Among the above-mentioned nutritional supplements, meat and bone meal can be used because it further promotes aerobic fermentation and increases the effect of increasing the temperature during fermentation. Meat and bone meal is, for example, obtained by heat-treating beef, pork, or chicken together with organs and meat scraps after removing the meat, and is, for example, a dried ground product that has been pulverized into a powder. The powdered meat and bone meal can be mixed more efficiently with other fermentation raw materials such as sewage sludge. The content of the nutritional supplement is preferably 5 parts by weight to 100 parts by weight, more preferably 5 parts by weight to 50 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the main raw material. In this case, the weight of the main raw material used as the standard is the weight when it contains water.

[Mixing of fermentation ingredients and moisture content]
The fermentation raw material may be, for example, a mixture of a main raw material and an auxiliary raw material. As an example, the main raw material and the auxiliary raw material may be mixed in advance before being supplied to a fermentation device such as the fermentation tank 41 to prepare a mixture of fermentation raw materials. The fermentation raw material may also be prepared as a pile by piling one of the main raw material and the auxiliary raw material on the other, indoors or outdoors. Furthermore, one of the sewage sludge and the auxiliary raw material may be supplied to a fermentation vessel, and then the other may be supplied to the vessel, so that the raw materials are alternately piled in the vessel to form a pile. In this case, fermentation may be started from the pile state, or the pile may be mixed in the vessel and fermentation may be started after mixing.

In order to ensure a sufficient amount of moisture for aerobic fermentation to proceed stably from the initial stage of fermentation, the moisture content of the fermentation raw material can be 30% or more and 70% or less. Furthermore, if the moisture content is 40% or more and 60% or less, aerobic fermentation can proceed more stably. The moisture content can be measured, for example, using a commercially available infrared moisture meter or halogen moisture meter, based on the difference in weight before and after drying when dried at a heating temperature of 100°C to 120°C. Alternatively, it can be measured in accordance with JIS A 1203 "Test method for moisture content of soil". The moisture content of the fermentation raw material can be appropriately adjusted, for example, by selecting raw materials so as to obtain the desired moisture content, or by adding water to the raw materials or fermentation raw materials.

The above-mentioned fermentation raw materials can be subjected to aerobic fermentation treatment by supplying them to the container 61 of the fermenter 41 in the form of a sediment or mixture as described above.

[Use of fermented and dried products]
As the fermentation of the fermentation raw material progresses, the moisture content of the fermentation raw material gradually decreases. As a result, the moisture content of the fermentation dried product is about 10% to 40%, preferably about 15% to 35%. When the fermentation raw material (main raw material) is sewage sludge, the fermentation dried product can be used for cement production applications such as cement clinker raw material and thermal energy source. When the fermentation raw material (main raw material) is food waste, livestock waste, etc., the fermentation dried product can be used for compost production applications. When compost is produced, the drying time in the fermentation drying system may be adjusted to be longer. Furthermore, as a thermal energy source, it may be used in various plants, for example, various plants that require a heat source such as a power plant.

[Facility Control Unit]
The equipment control unit 5 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The equipment control unit 5 includes an operation management signal acquisition unit 51, a sensor signal acquisition unit 52, a parameter calculation unit 53, an operation status output unit 54, an equipment control signal output unit 55, and a parameter calculation information storage unit 56.

The operation management signal acquisition unit 51 has a function of acquiring an operation management signal related to processing from the integrated control unit 3. The operation management signal from the integrated control unit 3 is a signal related to the selection of a fermentation index, the setting of a calculation method and calculation parameters when setting operation parameters from the fermentation index, the setting of the raw material blending ratio and input amount at the time of the next raw material input, the setting of the discharge amount at the time of the next fermentation and drying product discharge, the setting of the fermentation tank internal pressure control method, and the setting of the rotation pattern of the fermentation tank agitator blade. More specifically, the operation management signal is, for example, information specifying the start/end of the operation of the fermentation and drying equipment 4, the blending ratio and input amount of the fermentation raw material at the time of the next raw material input, information specifying the production amount of the fermentation and drying product at the time of the next product discharge (how much fermentation and drying product is desired to be discharged), information for selecting a fermentation index as the operation content of the fermentation and drying equipment 4, information for selecting an operation parameter, information for selecting an operation parameter, information for setting a calculation method and calculation parameters for the fermentation index and operation parameters, information for setting a fermentation tank internal pressure control method, and information for setting a rotation pattern of the fermentation tank agitator blade. Here, the information for selecting the fermentation index means selecting at least one of the following as the fermentation index: fermentation heat, evaporated water amount, carbon dioxide generation amount, change in the amount of material in the fermenter, temperature inside the device, and exhaust temperature of the fermentation drying equipment. The information for setting the operating parameters and calculation method will be described in detail later, but for example, it is information for selecting the air supply volume as the operating parameter and specifying the calculation formula and calculation parameters when setting the air supply volume in response to changes in the fermentation index.

The sensor signal acquisition unit 52 has a function of acquiring signals from sensors 49a to 49g installed at various locations in the fermentation and drying equipment 4. In addition to the information from the sensors 49a to 49g, information relating to the operating status of each part constituting the fermentation and drying equipment 4 may also be acquired, such as the operating status and inverter frequency of the motor M1 of the air blower 44, the inverter frequency and operating status of the motor M2 of the exhaust fan 47, the rotation pattern of the fermentation tank agitator blades (continuous rotation, intermittent rotation, stop and operating interval during intermittent rotation) and information relating to the operating status (rotation torque, temperature of the hydraulic system). In addition, when the mixing and input of the fermentation raw materials and the removal of the fermentation and drying products are performed on-site by the operators of each fermentation and drying system, it is preferable to incorporate a man-machine interface 52a (see FIG. 4) in the equipment control unit 5, and have the operators of each fermentation and drying system input the actual mixing ratio of the fermentation raw materials, the actual input amount, the actual discharge amount of the fermentation and drying products, and the moisture content.

More specifically, the operating information of the fermentation and drying equipment 4 that can be acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit 52 includes the actual input amount and actual blending ratio of the raw materials, the actual withdrawal amount and actual moisture of the fermented and dried product, the fermenter weight, the temperature inside the fermenter, the pressure inside the fermenter, the fermenter exhaust temperature, the fermenter air supply temperature, the fermenter air supply flow rate (including the temperature and pressure at the flow rate measurement point), the fermenter exhaust flow rate (including the temperature and pressure at the flow rate measurement point), the air supply blower operating data (inverter frequency, etc.), the exhaust fan operating data (inverter frequency, etc.), the fermenter agitator operating data (rotation pattern, torque, hydraulic system oil temperature), the fermenter air supply pressure, and the oxygen concentration of the fermenter exhaust. However, this is not limited to these.

The parameter calculation unit 53 calculates the fermentation evaluation index and operation parameters required to control the operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4 based on the operation management signal related to the process acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51 and the signal acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit 52. Although details will be described later, the signals acquired from various sensors etc. are information related to the fermentation status in the fermenter 41 of the fermentation drying equipment 4. Therefore, based on this information, the parameter calculation unit 53 calculates the operation parameters (operation parameters) of each part so that the fermentation drying process is performed appropriately in the fermentation drying equipment 4.

The operating status output unit 54 has a function of transmitting the information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit 52 to the integrated control unit 3. The integrated control unit 3 uses the information transmitted from the equipment control unit 5 as information for monitoring whether the fermentation drying equipment 4 is operating properly and for leading the fermentation drying equipment 4 to a good condition (i.e., for operational management).

The equipment control signal output unit 55 has the function of outputting operation signals for each part of the fermentation and drying equipment 4 corresponding to the operating parameters calculated by the parameter calculation unit 53.

The parameter calculation information storage unit 56 has a function of storing information used by the parameter calculation unit 53 when calculating parameters. It may also have a function of storing the results calculated by the parameter calculation unit 53.

[Relationship between fermentation index, operation parameters and operation control signals]
Standard correspondence between the fermentation index and the operation parameters and the operation management signal is shown in Table 2. The relationship between the fermentation index and the operation parameters is the same as that shown in Table 1. Note that this correspondence is only an example and is not limited to the relationship shown in Table 2.

[Calculation of parameters in the equipment control unit]
An example of the relationship between the information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit 52 and the information calculated by the parameter calculation unit 53 and output from the equipment control signal output unit 55 will be described.

[Parameter Calculation Unit Operation Example 1]
The operation of the parameter calculation unit will be described below when the fermentation heat quantity is selected as the fermentation index and the fermenter air supply volume is selected as the operation parameter (information determined by the integrated control unit and acquired by the operation management information acquisition unit).

(Fermentation heat)
The amount of heat of fermentation can be calculated from the amount of heat (enthalpy) of the outside air (oxygen-containing gas) introduced into the container 61 of the fermenter 41 and the amount of heat (enthalpy) of the inside air exhausted from the container 61. Since the heat of fermentation is generated in the process of decomposing organic matter by opportunistic microorganisms in the composting process, the amount of heat of fermentation can be directly and quantitatively evaluated as the fermentation rate, like the amount of oxygen consumed and the amount of carbon dioxide produced.

The amount of heat of fermentation is calculated from the difference between the amount of heat of the exhaust gas discharged from the fermenter 41 and the amount of heat of the air sent to the fermenter 41. That is, the amount of heat of fermentation satisfies the relationship shown in the following formula (1).
Fermentation heat (kJ/min) = Exhaust heat (kJ/min) - Air supply heat (kJ/min) ... (1)

FIG. 5 shows the balance of supply and exhaust in the vessel 61 of the fermenter 41. As described above, in the fermenter 41 (vessel 61), fermentation is performed while supplying and exhausting air. At this time, the conditions for supplying air to the vessel 21 are set as follows: dry gas amount V0 (Nm ³ /min), water vapor amount S0 (kg/min), and air supply temperature T0 (°C). In the vessel 61, fermentation progresses in the fermentation raw material that has been supplied with air, and gas is exhausted from the fermentation raw material (fermented dried material) into the vessel 61. If the exhaust gas exhausted from the fermentation raw material is set as exhaust gas 1, the exhaust gas 1 has a dry gas amount V1 (Nm ³ /min), a water vapor amount S1 (kg/min), and an exhaust gas temperature T1 (°C). In addition, gas is exhausted from the vessel 61 to the outside via a line L4. If the exhaust gas discharged from container 61 (gas discharged from line L4) is called exhaust gas 2, then exhaust gas 2 has a dry gas volume V2 ( ^Nm3 /min), a water vapor volume S2 (kg/min), and an exhaust gas temperature T2 (°C).

As described above, the amount of fermentation heat can be calculated based on the above formula (1). As shown in formula (1), the amount of fermentation heat is calculated from the difference between the amount of exhaust heat and the amount of supplied air heat, but more accurately, the amount of exhaust heat used to calculate the amount of fermentation heat refers to the amount of heat of exhaust 1 in the container 61, and the amount of supplied air heat refers to the amount of heat of supply 1 in the container 61.

Here, the calorific value of the supplied air 1 is calculated, for example, by the following method:
1) Calculate the molar ratio (-) of dry gas to water vapor in the supplied gas from the atmospheric relative humidity (if no measured value is available, this may be fixed at 75%), the outside air temperature, and the saturated water vapor pressure at that time (based on the steam table of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, etc.).
2) The amount of wet gas (Nm ³ /min) is calculated from the actual measured values of the flow rate, temperature, and pressure of the gas on line L3.
3) The amount of wet gas is the sum of the amount of dry gas V0 ( ^Nm3 /min) and the amount of water vapor ( ^Nm3 /min), so the amount of dry gas V0 (Nm3/min) and the amount of water vapor S0 ( ^kg /min) are calculated from the molar ratio (-) of dry gas and water vapor in the supply gas in 1 above and the amount of wet gas ( ^Nm3 /min) in 2.
4) Using the enthalpy of air and water vapor at the actual measured temperature of the gas immediately before it is supplied to the container 61 (based on the steam table of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, etc.), calculate the heat of the gas supply from the dry gas volume V0 ( ^Nm3 /min) and water vapor volume S0 (kg/min) in 3 above.

Next, the heat quantity of the exhaust gas 1 is calculated, for example, in the following manner:
5) The relative humidity of exhaust gas 1 is assumed to be 100%. (This is a reasonable assumption given the structure of the sealed vertical fermentation tank.) (Assumption A)
6) Since the exhaust gas 1 is discharged from the fermentation raw material filling section in the vessel 61 into the space at the top of the vessel 61, it is difficult to directly measure (accurately grasp) the dry gas volume V1 ( ^Nm3 /min), water vapor volume S1 (kg/min) and T1 of the exhaust gas 1, which are required to calculate the exhaust heat.
7) Therefore, we assume that exhaust 1 and exhaust 2 are exactly the same, and V1 = V2, S1 = S2, and T1 = T2. (Assumption B)
8) Furthermore, it is assumed that the amount of dry gas does not change when the aeration gas passes through the fermenter (this is a reasonable assumption based on the reaction formula of aerobic fermentation), and V1 = V2 = V0. (Assumption C)
9) Based on the actual measured values of the pressure inside the container 61 and the temperature of the gas flowing through line L4 and assumption A, the saturated water vapor pressure of the exhaust gas 2 and the partial pressure of the dry gas are set, and S2 is calculated from V2 (= V1 = V0).
10) Using the enthalpy of air and water vapor at the actual measured temperature of the gas flowing through line L4, calculate the exhaust heat quantity from the above dry gas volume V2 (=V0) (Nm ³ /min) and water vapor volume S2 (kg/min).
11) It is also possible to actually measure V2 instead of 8 above. A flow meter, a thermometer, and a pressure gauge are installed on line L4. The relative humidity at the measurement point is assumed to be 100%, and the dry gas flow rate V2 (Nm3/min) may be calculated from the wet gas flow rate (actual flow meter measurement value) and the saturated water vapor pressure.

From the above, formula (1) can also be expressed as formula (3) below.
Fermentation heat amount = exhaust heat amount (V1, S1, T1) - supply heat amount (V0, S0, T0) ... (1)
= Exhaust heat quantity (V2, S2, T2) - Supply heat quantity (V0, S0, T0) ... (2)
= Exhaust heat quantity (V0, S2, T2) - Supply heat quantity (V0, S0, T0) ... (3)
Although V1, S1, and T1 included in the above formula (1) are measured values or are difficult to calculate from measured values, V0, S0, S2, T0, and T2 included in the formula (3) can be measured values or calculated values from actual measurements. Therefore, the fermentation heat can be calculated using the above formula (3).

V1, S1, and T1 included in the above formula (1) are difficult to measure or calculate from the measured values, but for V0, S0, S2, T0, and T2 included in formula (3), it is possible to use the information (actual measured values) acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit 52 or values calculated from the actual measured values. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the fermentation heat quantity using the above formula (3).

First, a method for controlling the amount of air sent using the absolute value of the amount of fermentation heat (parameter calculation unit operation example 1-1) will be described. In the parameter calculation unit 53 of the equipment control unit 5, the amount of fermentation heat is calculated at intervals of several minutes to several hours (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ hours) using the above formula (3) from the information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit. The amount of air sent is calculated using the calorific value/air sent amount relational equation input in advance so that the absolute value of the amount of fermentation heat becomes a predetermined value (for example, a design value), and the operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4 can be controlled by outputting the inverter frequency (equipment control signal) of the motor M1 of the air sent blower 44 corresponding to the amount of air sent from the equipment control signal output unit 55. Here, the absolute value of the amount of heat generated as an index, the target value of the fermentation heat, the calorific value/air sent amount relational equation, and the fermentation index calculation interval (calculation frequency) are specified by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

Next, we will explain a method for controlling the amount of air supplied using an increase or decrease in the amount of fermentation heat (parameter calculation unit operation example 1-2). (In the parameter calculation unit 53 of the equipment control unit 5, the fermentation heat amount is calculated at intervals of several minutes to several hours (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) using the above formula (3) from the information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit, and the air supply amount is adjusted using the increase/decrease ΔQ of the fermentation heat amount in Δ time as an index. The operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4 can be controlled by outputting the inverter frequency (equipment control signal) of the motor M1 of the air supply blower 44 from the equipment control signal output unit 55 so that the air supply amount is increased in predetermined increments if Q increases, i.e., ΔQ is positive, and the air supply amount is decreased in predetermined increments if Q decreases, i.e., ΔQ is negative. For V1, S1, T1, V0, S0, S2, T0, and T2 in formula (3), it is preferable to use average values of Δ time or a predetermined time less than Δ time. Here, ΔQ is used as an index, the increase/decrease width (increment) of the air supply amount, the calculation frequency of the heat amount (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time), and the predetermined time for calculating the above average value are specified by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

In addition, as an alternative to the procedure described above (parameter calculation unit operation example 1-2), the amount of air supplied may be adjusted using an index that combines the increase or decrease in fermentation heat ΔQ and the increase or decrease in exhaust temperature T2 ΔT2 over the fermentation index calculation interval Δ time. (Parameter Calculation Unit Operation Example 1-3) In the parameter calculation unit 53 of the equipment control unit 5, ΔQ is calculated at Δ time intervals, and, for example, when both Q and T2 increase in Δ time, the frequency of the motor M1 of the air blower 44 is increased by a predetermined width ΔHZ1, when either Q or T2 increases in Δ time, the frequency of the motor M1 of the air blower 44 is increased by a predetermined width ΔHZ2, when either Q or T2 decreases in Δ time, the frequency of the motor M1 of the air blower 44 is decreased by a predetermined width ΔHZ2, and when both Q and T2 decrease in Δ time, the frequency of the air blower 44 is decreased by a predetermined width ΔHZ1. By outputting an equipment control signal from the equipment control signal output unit 55, it is possible to control the operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4. Here, the index is a combination of the fermentation heat increase/decrease ΔQ and the exhaust temperature T2 increase/decrease ΔT2, the calculation frequency (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ hours), and the air blower frequency increase/decrease ranges ΔHZ1 and ΔHZ2 are included in the information specified by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51 and are set by the integrated control unit 3.

Whether the fermentation index is the fermentation heat quantity Q, the fermentation heat increase/decrease ΔQ over Δ time, or a combination of the fermentation heat increase/decrease ΔQ over Δ time and the fermenter exhaust temperature T3 is included in the information specified by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51 and is set by the integrated control unit 3.

The above calculation method for calculating the amount of fermentation heat may be stored in advance in the parameter calculation information storage unit 56.

When the fermentation heat is calculated using the above formula (3), the above assumptions A, B, and C must be satisfied. However, if the fermentation tank pressure becomes extremely negative, outside air will enter through the fermentation tank raw material input portion, and the above assumptions A, B, and C will no longer be satisfied, the calculation accuracy of the fermentation heat will deteriorate, and as a result, the air supply volume control will not function properly. To prevent this, it is preferable to provide the parameter calculation unit with a function (normal PID control function) to control the exhaust volume of the exhaust fan in response to fluctuations in the fermentation tank air supply volume so that the pressure inside the fermentation tank does not become extremely negative, that is, to control the motor rotation speed (inverter frequency) of the exhaust fan. Here, the operation of the above pressure control, the fermentation tank pressure which is the set value of the PID control when it is operating, and the motor rotation speed (inverter frequency) of the exhaust fan when it is not operating are specified by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

[Parameter Calculation Unit Operation Example 2]
The operation of the parameter calculation unit 53 will be described when the amount of evaporated water is selected as the fermentation index and the amount of air sent to the fermenter is selected as the operating parameter (information determined by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51).

(Amount of evaporated water)
The amount of evaporated water is calculated by the following equation: Amount of evaporated water (kg/min) = Amount of water vapor in exhaust S1 (kg/min) - Amount of water vapor in intake air S0 (kg/min). If S2 = S1 as in Parameter Calculation Unit Operation Example 1, the amount of evaporated water is calculated by the following equation: Amount of evaporated water (kg/min) = Amount of water vapor in exhaust S2 (kg/min) - Amount of water vapor in intake air S0 (kg/min). S0 and S2 can be calculated in the same manner as described above.

First, a method for controlling the amount of air sent using the absolute value of the amount of evaporated water S (parameter calculation unit operation example 2-1) will be described. In the parameter calculation unit 53 of the equipment control unit 5, the amount of evaporated water is calculated at intervals of several minutes to several hours (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) from the information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit. The amount of air sent is set according to the evaporated water amount/air sent amount relational expression input in advance so that the absolute value of the amount of evaporated water becomes a predetermined value (for example, a design value), and the operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4 can be controlled by outputting the frequency (equipment control signal) of the motor M1 of the air sent blower 44 corresponding to the amount of air sent from the equipment control signal output unit 55. Here, the absolute value of the amount of evaporated water is used as an index, the setting of the evaporated water amount target value (for example, a design value), the evaporated water amount/air sent amount relational expression, and the calculation frequency (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) are specified by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

Next, a method for controlling the amount of air sent using the increase or decrease in the amount of evaporated water (parameter calculation unit operation example 2-2) will be described. In the parameter calculation unit 53 of the equipment control unit 5, the amount of evaporated water is calculated at intervals of several minutes to several hours (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) from the information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit, and the amount of air sent is adjusted using the increase or decrease ΔS in the amount of evaporated water in Δ time as a fermentation index. The operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4 can be controlled by outputting the frequency of the motor M1 of the air blower 44 from the equipment control signal output unit 55 so that the amount of air sent increases in a predetermined increment when S increases, and decreases in a predetermined increment when S decreases. Here, the use of the increase or decrease in the amount of evaporated water as an index, the amount of increase or decrease in the amount of air sent (increments), and the calculation frequency of the amount of evaporated water (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) are specified by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

Whether the fermentation index is the amount of evaporated water S or ΔS of Δ time is set in the integrated control unit 3 as operation management information.

The above calculation method for calculating the amount of evaporated water may be stored in advance in the parameter calculation information storage unit 56.

[Parameter Calculation Unit Operation Example 3]
The operation of the parameter calculation unit will be described below when the amount of carbon dioxide generated is selected as the fermentation index and the amount of air sent to the fermenter is selected as the operation parameter (information determined by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51).

(Amount of carbon dioxide produced)
The rate of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) generation may be used as an index for understanding the fermentation status in the fermenter 41 .

The aerobic fermentation in the fermenter 41 can be roughly considered to be the reaction shown in the following formula (A).

Easily decomposable organic matter + O ₂ → CO ₂ + H ₂ O + fermentation heat ... (A)

Specifically, the easily decomposable organic matter contained in the fermentation raw material is decomposed into water and carbon dioxide by the action of oxygen-requiring microorganisms and the like. The fermentation heat generated during the decomposition of the organic matter reduces the moisture content in the tank. The rate at which carbon dioxide is produced can be used as an indicator for determining whether the reaction shown in the above formula (A) is progressing in the fermentation tank 41.

To grasp the rate at which carbon dioxide is generated in the fermentation tank 41, it is necessary to grasp the change in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the fermentation tank 41. In addition, since the amount of gas entering and leaving the fermentation tank 41 can change, it is necessary to take into account the flow rate of the moving gas.

In addition, information on the concentration of carbon dioxide contained in the exhaust gas from the fermenter 41 can be obtained, for example, by providing a carbon dioxide concentration meter on line L4, which serves as the exhaust line, to measure the carbon dioxide concentration. However, instead of directly measuring carbon dioxide, a configuration may be adopted in which the measurement results of the oxygen concentration are used to calculate the carbon dioxide generation rate. That is, the carbon dioxide concentration may be estimated from reaction formula (A) based on the amount of oxygen concentration reduction relative to the air, measured using a concentration meter that measures the oxygen concentration. In general, oxygen concentration meters are less susceptible to deterioration due to impurities than carbon dioxide concentration meters, and therefore are considered to be suitable for use in this embodiment, which performs measurements related to exhaust gas.

As an example, when calculating the rate of carbon dioxide generation using the measurement results of the oxygen concentration, the calculation can be based on the following formula (4).

Here, F is the exhaust volume (dry gas flow rate at normal temperature and pressure) (unit: ^Nm3 /min (normal temperature and pressure)), and _O2 is the actual measured value of the oxygen concentration contained in the gas flowing through the exhaust line (line L4), which is generally the oxygen concentration based on dry gas at normal temperature and pressure. Therefore, if the exhaust volume and oxygen concentration are known, the amount of carbon dioxide generated per unit time (generation rate) can be calculated. Regarding the exhaust volume, it is possible to measure the amount of gas flowing through line L4 using a flow meter or the like, but exhaust gas contains dust and saturated water vapor. Therefore, it is often difficult to accurately measure the exhaust flow rate using a flow meter. If the amount of air leaking from the fermentation tank can be made negligible in relation to the amount of air supplied by adjusting the rotation speed of the motor M2 of the exhaust fan 47 and maintaining the pressure in the fermentation tank at a slight negative pressure, then the amount of air supplied = the amount of dry gas exhausted, based on the above-mentioned assumptions A, B, and C. Therefore, the amount of dry gas supplied can be calculated from the rotation speed of the motor M1 of the air supply blower 44, or the outputs of the flowmeter, thermometer, and pressure gauge provided on the line L3, and the relative humidity of the outside air, and this can be used as the amount of dry gas exhausted.

When the above information is obtained, the parameter calculation unit 53 can calculate the carbon dioxide generation rate. The parameter calculation unit 53 may be configured to change the control content of the air supply amount to the container 61 of the fermentation tank 41 based on the calculation result of the carbon dioxide generation amount. An example of a method for controlling the air supply amount using the carbon dioxide generation rate as a fermentation index is described below. For example, when the carbon dioxide generation rate (amount generated per unit time) in the fermentation tank 41 increases by increasing the air supply amount, the air supply amount may be further increased to control to further activate fermentation. For example, when the carbon dioxide generation rate (amount generated per unit time) in the fermentation tank 41 decreases by increasing the air supply amount, the air supply amount may be reduced to control to improve the sluggish fermentation. For example, when the carbon dioxide generation rate (amount generated per unit time) in the fermentation tank 41 decreases by decreasing the air supply amount, the air supply amount may be increased to control to improve the sluggish fermentation. For example, if the rate of carbon dioxide generation (amount generated per unit time) in the fermentation tank 41 increases by reducing the amount of air sent, the amount of air sent may be further reduced to further activate fermentation. The amount of air sent may also be determined from a relational equation between the amount of carbon dioxide generated and the amount of air sent that is input in advance. In this way, the parameter calculation unit 53 instructs the change in the amount of air sent according to the above-mentioned air sent setting logic, and the equipment control signal output unit 55 outputs the frequency (equipment control signal) of the motor M1 of the air sent blower 44, thereby controlling the operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4. Here, the selection of the air sent setting logic, the relational equation between the amount of carbon dioxide generated and the amount of air sent, the amount of increase or decrease in the amount of air sent (increments), and the frequency of calculation of the amount of carbon dioxide generated (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) are specified by the integrated control unit and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit.

The above calculation method for calculating the carbon dioxide generation rate may be stored in advance in the parameter calculation information storage unit 56.

[Parameter Calculation Unit Operation Example 4]
The operation of the parameter calculation unit will be described below when the fermentation tank exhaust temperature T3 is selected as the fermentation index and the fermentation tank air supply volume is selected as the operating parameter (information determined by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51).

(Exhaust gas temperature)
First, a method for controlling the amount of air sent using the absolute value of the exhaust temperature T3 (parameter calculation unit operation example 4-1) will be described. In the parameter calculation unit 53 of the equipment control unit 5, an average value is calculated at intervals of several minutes to several hours (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) from the exhaust temperature T3 information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit. The amount of air sent is set using the exhaust temperature/air sent amount relational expression input in advance from the average value of the exhaust temperature T3, and the frequency (equipment control signal) of the motor M1 of the air sent blower 44 corresponding to the amount of air sent is output from the equipment control signal output unit 55, whereby the operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4 can be controlled. Here, the absolute value of the exhaust temperature T3 is used as an index, the exhaust temperature/air sent amount relational expression, and the calculation frequency (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) are specified by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

Next, a method for controlling the amount of air sent using an increase or decrease in exhaust temperature T3 (parameter calculation unit operation example 4-2) will be described. In the parameter calculation unit 53 of the equipment control unit 5, an average value is calculated at intervals of several minutes to several hours (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) from the exhaust temperature T3 information acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit, and the amount of air sent is adjusted using the increase or decrease in T3 at Δ time ΔT3 as a fermentation index. The operation of the fermentation drying equipment 4 can be controlled by outputting the frequency (equipment control signal) of the motor M1 of the air sending blower 44 from the equipment control signal output unit 55 so that the amount of air sent increases at a predetermined interval if T3 increases, and decreases at a predetermined interval if T3 decreases. Here, the use of an increase or decrease in exhaust temperature T3 as an index, the amount of increase or decrease in the amount of air sent (increments), and the calculation frequency of the average value of T3 (fermentation index calculation interval: Δ time) are specified by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

[Parameter Calculation Unit Operation Example 5]
The operation of the parameter calculation unit will be described below when the change in the amount of material contained in the fermentation tank is selected as the fermentation index, and the blending ratio and input amount of the fermentation raw materials, and the discharge amount of fermented dried matter are selected as the operating parameters (information determined by the integrated control unit 3 and acquired by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51).

(Changes in the amount of material in the fermenter)
In the container 61 of the fermenter 41, organic matter decomposes as fermentation progresses and water evaporates due to the heat of fermentation. As a result, the weight of the contents of the container 61 decreases. Therefore, it is considered effective to use the change in weight of the contents as a fermentation index.

The weight of the contents of the fermenter is measured by placing the fermenter 41 on a weight sensor such as a load cell. The weight of the fermentation equipment including the contents is several tens to 200 tons, so due to the accuracy of the weight sensor, it is generally difficult to accurately grasp weight changes of several tens of kg or less. On the other hand, weight changes of the fermenter contents occur due to the evaporation of water and the decomposition of the fermentation ingredients. Considering the evaporation rate of water and the decomposition rate of the fermentation ingredients, the weight change of the fermenter contents in a few minutes is smaller than the measurement accuracy of the weight sensor, and it is difficult to accurately evaluate the weight change. Therefore, it is preferable to set the evaluation span of the weight change to several hours to one day. From this point of view, the weight change of the contents (ΔW/Δt) is positioned as a long-term fermentation index.

The weight of the contents of the fermentation tank is measured by a weight sensor in the fermentation tank 41. The sensor signal acquisition unit 52 repeatedly acquires the weight (measurement value) of the fermentation raw material at any acquisition interval (1 minute interval), and the parameter calculation unit 53 corrects the weight change associated with the input of raw materials and the removal of fermented dried products, removes gravity sensor output noise associated with the driving of the agitator blades, and calculates the weight reduction rate ΔW/Δt.

The setting of the calculation span Δt in the calculation of the above ΔW/Δt will be described. Since ΔW/Δt is used as a long-term fermentation index, the calculation span may be about 1 hour to 24 hours, or even about 1 week, and in particular, 6 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours are more preferable. The unit of ΔW/Δt is, for example, kg/6 hours, kg/12 hours, or kg/day. In the fermentation and drying equipment 4, the fermentation raw materials are input and the fermented and dried products are discharged at a fixed time once a day. If the fermentation raw materials are input or the fermented and dried products are removed within the above calculation span, the weight increase or decrease at that time must be corrected when calculating ΔW, and this is done by the parameter calculation unit 53. In this way, the parameter calculation unit 53 calculates several types of ΔW/Δt and transmits them to the integrated control unit 3.

The data on changes in the amount of material contained in the fermentation tank is handled as a long-term fermentation index in the integrated control unit 3 as described above. Using the ΔW/Δt data provided by each fermentation and drying equipment, the integrated control unit determines the fermentation raw material mix ratio, the fermentation raw material input amount, and the fermentation dried product output amount using the previously inputted relationship between ΔW/Δt and the mix ratio and ΔW/Δt, and the relationship between ΔW/Δt and the fermentation dried product output amount, and transmits this to each equipment control unit 5 as operation management information.

The operation management signal acquisition unit 51 in each equipment control unit 5 acquires instruction information related to the above-mentioned fermentation raw material blending ratio, fermentation raw material input amount, and fermentation and drying product removal amount, and executes it via the control signal output unit. When the operator of each fermentation and drying equipment manually blends and inputs the fermentation raw materials, and discharges the fermentation and drying product (in most cases), the above instruction information may be displayed on the operation management signal acquisition unit.

The agitator operation pattern may be changed using the change in fermenter weight as a fermentation index. The agitator can rotate continuously or intermittently, and in the case of intermittent rotation, it is necessary to set the stop time and rotation time. If the change in fermenter weight is large, it is preferable to have a small stop time/rotation time ratio in the case of continuous or intermittent rotation. In addition, if the change in fermenter weight is small, it is not preferable to stir the inside of the tank excessively, so it is preferable to increase the stop time/rotation time ratio as much as possible in intermittent operation. The agitator operation pattern is determined by the integrated control unit 3 based on the change in fermenter weight calculated by each parameter calculation unit, and is executed by each fermentation and drying equipment 4 via the control signal output unit. If the operator of each fermentation and drying equipment 4 manually changes the agitator operation pattern, instruction information may be displayed by the operation management signal acquisition unit 51.

(Control by short-term fermentation index and control by long-term fermentation index)
As described above, the amount of fermentation heat, the amount of evaporated water, the amount of carbon dioxide generated, the temperature inside the device, and the exhaust temperature are calculated as short-term fermentation indices in the parameter calculation unit 53, which convert them into operation parameters such as the amount of air sent to the fermenter, and a control signal based on these is sent from the equipment control signal output unit 55 to each unit. The fermentation drying equipment 4 operates based on the signal sent from the equipment control unit 5. In this way, the control based on the short-term fermentation indices is completed within each fermentation drying equipment, and the integrated control unit only has the function of selecting the fermentation indices and instructing the parameters of various calculations performed in the parameter calculation unit. On the other hand, the change in the amount of substance contained in the fermenter is calculated as a long-term fermentation indices in the parameter calculation unit 53. The parameter calculation unit 53 only calculates the fermentation indices, and the integrated control unit sets the operation parameters. In this way, the function allocation between the equipment control unit and the integrated control unit of each fermentation drying equipment is different between the control based on the short-term fermentation indices and the control based on the long-term fermentation indices.

In addition, in setting various relational expressions and parameters related to the calculation of fermentation indexes and operating parameters performed by the integrated control unit 3, formula information for calculation may be stored in advance, and the desired parameters may be calculated by applying information obtained from sensors, etc. to the formula information. However, instead of these methods, methods such as machine learning may be used. For example, a data set consisting of a combination of information from each sensor, information related to the settings (parameters) of each part for optimally operating the fermentation drying equipment 4 in that state, and information on the fermentation raw materials input into the fermenter 41 in that state and the fermentation dried product obtained may be prepared as teacher data, and machine learning may be performed. In this case, it is possible to calculate parameters by inputting sensor information. In addition, it is assumed that the integrated control unit 3 performs aggregate management and machine learning of data on various relational expressions and parameters individually constructed in the fermentation drying system A, the fermentation drying system B, and the fermentation drying system C, and utilizes the data in the fermentation drying system D.

[Integrated Control Unit]
The integrated control unit 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The integrated control unit 3 may be realized as a terminal device (man-machine interface) in which the manager of the integrated fermentation and drying system 1 is the user (operation manager). The integrated control unit 3 is capable of wireless or wired communication with the equipment control unit 5 of the fermentation and drying system 2. In particular, when a single integrated control unit is used to operate and manage a plurality of widely distributed fermentation and drying systems, it is preferable to utilize the high-speed data communication function of the Internet and the large-capacity data sharing function of the cloud or the like. The integrated control unit 3 includes an operation status signal acquisition unit 31, an operation management signal output unit 32, an operation status display unit 33, an operation management instruction acquisition unit 34, an operation status information storage unit 35, and an operation information analysis unit 36.

The operation status signal acquisition unit 31 has a function of acquiring signals (operation manager) related to the operation status (including the control status) transmitted from the equipment control unit 5 of each of the multiple fermentation drying systems 2. The operation status signal acquisition unit 31 may acquire the operation status signal at a specific timing, or may be configured to constantly receive the operation status signal in real time from each of the multiple fermentation drying systems 2, for example.

The operation management signal output unit 32 transmits an operation management signal to the equipment control unit 5 based on instructions from the user (operation manager) of the integrated control unit 3. The operation management signal does not need to be transmitted at once to all of the fermentation drying systems 2 included in the integrated fermentation drying system 1, and may be transmitted to some of the fermentation drying systems 2, or may be configured to be transmitted individually to each fermentation drying system 2. The content of the operation management signal and the method of transmission are changed based on the instructions from the user (operation manager).

The operation status display unit 33 has a function of displaying the operation status of each fermentation drying system 2 (fermentation drying equipment) and the operation status of various controls on a monitor or the like based on the signal acquired by the operation status signal acquisition unit 31. There are no particular limitations on the display method, but the configuration can be such that, for each fermentation drying system 2, the contents of the operation management signal transmitted from the integrated control unit 3 to each fermentation drying system 2, the control contents of the fermentation drying equipment 4 by the equipment control unit 5, operation information acquired from each sensor, etc. are displayed.

The operation management instruction acquisition unit 34 is a man-machine interface that has the function of acquiring operation management instructions from a user (operation manager) to each fermentation drying system 2. The operation management instructions may be input, for example, by the user (operation manager) operating the man-machine interface. Based on the operation management instructions acquired by the operation management instruction acquisition unit 34, the operation management signal output unit 32 creates and transmits an operation management signal to the equipment control unit 5 of each fermentation drying system 2.

The operation status information storage unit 35 has a function of storing information contained in signals related to the operation status and various control statuses transmitted from the equipment control unit 5 of each of the multiple fermentation drying systems 2. The operation status information storage unit 35 may also store information related to operation management signals transmitted from the integrated control unit 3 to each fermentation drying system 2. Furthermore, the operation status information storage unit 35 may store the control contents of the fermentation drying equipment 4 by the equipment control unit 5 in each of the multiple fermentation drying systems 2, operation information acquired from each sensor, and the operating status and performance information of the equipment of the fermentation drying equipment 4.

The operation information analysis unit 36 has a function of analyzing the fermentation status of each fermentation drying system 2 (fermentation drying equipment) based on the operation information acquired by the operation status signal acquisition unit 31. Here, the analysis of the fermentation status includes, for example, analysis of the change over time of the fermentation index and sensitivity analysis of the operation parameters. Furthermore, it may include a function of consolidating and managing the operation information of multiple fermentation drying systems, optimizing the relational equation between the fermentation index and the operation parameters using a machine learning function, and a function of early detection of signs of deterioration of the fermentation status and warning the user (operation manager).

[Hardware for integrated control unit and equipment control unit]
The hardware of the integrated control unit 3 and the equipment control unit 5 is composed of, for example, one or more control computers. For example, the integrated control unit 3 and the equipment control unit 5 have a circuit 100 shown in FIG. 7. The circuit 100 has one or more processors 101, a memory 102, a storage 103, an input/output port 104, and a timer 105. The storage 103 has a storage medium readable by a computer, such as a hard disk. The storage medium stores a program for causing the integrated control unit 3 or the equipment control unit 5 to execute a procedure related to the control described below. The storage medium may be a removable medium such as a non-volatile semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. The memory 102 temporarily stores the program loaded from the storage medium of the storage 103 and the calculation result by the processor 101. The processor 101 executes the above-mentioned program in cooperation with the memory 102 to perform the functions of each part of the integrated control unit 3 or the equipment control unit 5 described above. The input/output port 104 inputs and outputs electrical signals between the integrated control unit 3 and the equipment control unit 5 according to an instruction from the processor 101. The timer 105 measures the elapsed time by, for example, counting a reference pulse at a constant period.

The integrated control unit 3 and the equipment control unit 5 control each unit included in the integrated fermentation and drying system 1 with the above configuration. Note that the above hardware configuration of the integrated control unit 3 and the equipment control unit 5 is an example and is not limited to the above.

[Method for managing operation of a fermentation and drying system using an integrated control unit]
The process performed by the integrated control unit 3 in the fermentation drying control method of the integrated fermentation drying system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In Fig. 8, the control of one fermentation drying system 2 included in the integrated fermentation drying system 1 will be described. When the integrated fermentation drying system 1 is configured to include a plurality of fermentation drying systems 2, the process shown in Fig. 8 can be performed individually for each fermentation drying system 2.

Here, it is assumed that the fermentation drying system 2 has already started operating. Here, the operation status signal acquisition unit 31 of the integrated control unit 3 acquires sensor acquisition information in the fermentation drying system and signals related to the operation status of each device (including control devices) (hereinafter referred to as operation status signals) from the equipment control unit 5 of the fermentation drying system 2 (S01). When the operation status signal acquisition unit 31 acquires a control status signal, the operation status display unit 33 displays the sensor acquisition information of the fermentation drying equipment 4 of the fermentation drying system 2 and the operation status of each device (including control devices) (S03). This allows the user (operation manager) of the integrated control unit 3 to grasp the operation status of the fermentation drying equipment 4 of the fermentation drying system 2. In addition, after acquiring the operation status signal, the operation information analysis unit 36 may incorporate a process of analyzing various data related to the operation status (S02). For example, it is assumed that the fermentation drying system A, the fermentation drying system B, and the fermentation drying system C perform aggregation and management of data on various relational expressions and parameters individually constructed and optimization by machine learning, and that these results are utilized in the fermentation drying system D. Note that analysis of various data related to driving conditions (S02) may be omitted.

Now, assume that the user (operation manager) has issued an operation management instruction to the fermentation drying equipment 4 of the fermentation drying system 2. The operation management instruction may include starting/stopping the operation, setting/changing the fermentation index and operation parameters, setting/changing the fermentation index and operation parameter calculation formula, setting/changing the parameters included in the calculation formula, setting/changing the fermentation raw material blend ratio and input amount, and setting/changing the amount of fermented and dried product taken out. In the integrated control unit 3, the operation management instruction acquisition unit 34 acquires the operation management instruction from the user (operation manager) (S04). In this case, the operation management signal output unit 32 creates an operation management signal based on the operation management instruction and outputs it to the equipment control unit 5 of the target fermentation drying system 2 (S05). This series of operations continues until the operation of the integrated control unit 3 ends (until S06-YES is obtained).

The timing of obtaining the operation status signal from the fermentation drying system 2 (S01) may be predetermined, for example, every few minutes to every few hours. The operation status signal may be obtained as a response signal from the equipment control unit 5 in response to the transmission of an operation status signal instruction from the integrated control unit 3 to the equipment control unit 5. The timing of obtaining an operation management instruction from the user (operation manager) (S03) may occur regardless of the obtaining (S01) and displaying (S03) of the operation status signal. In other words, the obtaining (S01) and displaying (S03) of the operation status signal may be performed independently of the obtaining (S04) of an operation management instruction from the user (operation manager) and the outputting (S05) of the operation management signal.

[Fermentation and drying control method by equipment control unit]
A method of controlling the fermentation and drying equipment 4 by the equipment control unit 5 in the fermentation and drying control method of the integrated fermentation and drying system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

Here, it is assumed that the fermentation drying system 2 has already started operating. Here, the operation management signal acquisition unit 51 of the equipment control unit 5 acquires the operation management signal transmitted from the integrated control unit 3 (S11). In addition, the sensor signal acquisition unit 52 of the equipment control unit 5 acquires the sensor signal from the sensor attached to each part of the fermentation drying equipment 4 (S12). The acquisition of the operation management signal (S11) and the acquisition of the sensor signal (S12) are not necessarily performed simultaneously, and only one of them may be performed. When the mix and input of the fermentation raw materials and the removal of the fermented and dried products are performed manually on-site by the operators of each fermentation drying system, a man-machine interface may be installed in the equipment control unit, and the operators of each fermentation drying system may acquire the operation information (S21) by inputting the actual mix ratio of the fermentation raw materials, the actual input amount, the actual discharge amount of the fermented and dried products, and the moisture.

Triggered by at least one of the acquisition of an operation management signal (S11), the acquisition of a sensor signal (S12), and the acquisition of operation information from the man-machine interface (S21), the parameter calculation unit 53 calculates the fermentation index and operation parameters (S13). The method of calculating the parameters is as described above, and can be performed based on the acquired sensor information.

The equipment control signal output unit 55 transmits the operating parameters calculated by the parameter calculation unit 53 as control signals to each unit of the fermentation drying equipment 4, and the equipment control unit 5 controls the fermentation drying equipment 4 (S14). Based on the control signal from the equipment control unit 5, the fermentation drying equipment 4 performs operations such as switching the operating conditions of the rotating equipment and control equipment in the fermentation drying system as necessary.

The operation status output unit 54 of the equipment control unit 5 outputs the operation status to the integrated control unit 3 (S15). This process does not need to be performed after the equipment control unit 5 controls the fermentation and drying equipment 4 (S14), and may be performed at a timing independent of the series of processes (S11 to S14) based on instructions from the integrated control unit 3, for example.

The above series of operations continues until the operation of the equipment control unit 5 is completed (until S06-YES is reached), that is, until the operation of the fermentation and drying equipment 4 is completed.

[Action]
According to the above-mentioned integrated fermentation drying system 1 and the fermentation control method using the integrated fermentation drying system 1, the operation of the fermentation drying system 2 is controlled by transmitting an operation management signal from the integrated control unit 3 to each of the equipment control units 5 of the multiple fermentation drying systems 2. In addition, in each fermentation drying system 2, the equipment control unit 5 acquires information related to the amount of fermentation heat, the amount of evaporated water, the amount of carbon dioxide generated, the change in the amount of material contained in the fermenter, and the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the fermentation drying equipment based on the operation management signal from the integrated control unit 3, selects at least one fermentation index, calculates the corresponding operation parameter for the fermentation drying equipment 4, and then controls at least one of the amount of air sent to the fermenter 41, the rotation pattern of the stirring blades of the fermenter, the internal pressure of the fermenter, the amount of exhaust gas from the fermenter, the blending ratio and supply amount of the fermentation raw material supplied to the fermenter, and the amount of fermented and dried material discharged after fermentation and drying based on the calculated operation parameter. Therefore, in the integrated fermentation drying system 1, the integrated control unit 3 can control each of the multiple fermentation drying systems 2, and further, in each fermentation drying system 2, the equipment control unit 5 can calculate the operation parameter based on the instruction from the integrated control unit 3 and perform appropriate operation control. Therefore, it is possible to realize stable operation of the fermentation and drying equipment 4.

Conventionally, various studies have been conducted on adjusting the amount of air sent to the fermentation tank, etc., to properly perform the fermentation and drying process in the fermentation and drying system 2. However, for example, when there are multiple fermentation and drying systems 2, in order to precisely control each fermentation and drying system 2 so that the fermentation and drying conditions in each fermentation and drying system 2 are appropriate, it is necessary to assign an experienced operation manager to each fermentation and drying system, but this is often difficult to achieve, and as a result, there has been a situation where the introduction of fermentation and drying equipment has not progressed.

In contrast, in the above-mentioned integrated fermentation and drying system 1, the equipment control unit 5 of the fermentation and drying system 2 calculates operating parameters based on operation management signals from the integrated control unit 3, and the fermentation and drying equipment 4 of the fermentation and drying system 2 is controlled based on these operating parameters. Meanwhile, in the integrated control unit 3, an experienced operation manager of the fermentation and drying system monitors the operating status of each fermentation and drying system, and sends operation management signals related to processing such as processing conditions to the fermentation and drying system 2 as necessary, thereby allowing multiple fermentation and drying systems 2 to be appropriately managed by a small number of experienced operation managers. Therefore, the above-mentioned integrated fermentation and drying system 1 is particularly useful when it is desired to manage multiple fermentation and drying systems 2 collectively.

In addition, multiple fermentation and drying systems 2 may be provided as independent facilities, and the integrated control unit 3 may control each of the multiple fermentation and drying systems 2 in parallel. In this case, it is possible to collectively control the multiple fermentation and drying systems 2 using the integrated control unit 3.

Furthermore, the fermentation and drying system 2 may be provided individually for each of a plurality of raw material supply sources that supply the fermentation raw materials. By providing a separate fermentation and drying system for each of a plurality of raw material supply sources that supply the fermentation raw materials, the control content can be changed individually in each fermentation and drying system according to the characteristics of the fermentation raw materials supplied from the raw material supply sources, and the fermentation and drying in the fermentation and drying equipment 4 can be performed more stably.

When the raw material supply sources are different from one another, it is expected that the characteristics of the fermentation raw materials supplied from the supply sources will also be different from one another. For example, raw material supply sources 90A-90D (see FIG. 1) may supply fermentation raw materials with different moisture contents, bulk densities, and organic matter compositions. If the moisture contents, organic matter (easily decomposable organic matter) content that contributes to fermentation, and breathability of the fermentation raw materials are different from one another, it is expected that the suitable fermentation and drying conditions in the fermentation tank 41 will be different from one another. In such cases, it is expected that the progress of fermentation in the fermentation tank 41 will also be different from one another. In response to this, by configuring each fermentation and drying system 2 to manage and control the fermentation and drying conditions, it is possible to appropriately manage the fermentation and drying conditions in each fermentation and drying system 2, and therefore it is expected that the fermentation and drying products produced will be suitable for the intended use.

[Modification]
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified in various ways.

For example, the configurations of the integrated fermentation and drying system 1, fermentation and drying system 2, integrated control unit 3, fermentation and drying equipment 4, equipment control unit 5, etc. described above are merely examples and can be modified as appropriate.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which one integrated control unit 3 is provided in the integrated fermentation and drying system 1, but multiple integrated control units 3 may be provided. For example, a configuration can be realized in which multiple users (operation managers) control the fermentation and drying system 2 included in the integrated fermentation and drying system 1 from integrated control units 3 provided in different locations. When multiple integrated control units 3 are provided, the integrated control unit 3 that takes priority in the event of conflicting operation management instructions may be specified in advance, or the range that each integrated control unit 3 can control may be determined in advance.

1...integrated fermentation and drying system, 2, 2A-2C...fermentation and drying system, 3...integrated control unit, 4...fermentation and drying equipment, 5...equipment control unit, 41...fermenter, 90A-90D...raw material supply source.

Claims (5)

An integrated fermentation and drying system having a plurality of fermentation and drying systems and an integrated control unit that controls the plurality of fermentation and drying systems,
Each of the plurality of fermentation and drying systems comprises:
A fermentation and drying facility including a sealed fermentation tank for performing a fermentation and drying process on the fermentation raw material;
An equipment control unit that controls the fermentation and drying process in the fermentation and drying equipment;
having
The integrated control unit controls the operation of the fermentation and drying systems by transmitting an operation management signal related to the process to each of the equipment control units of the plurality of fermentation and drying systems;
The operation management signal includes information specifying a fermentation index,
The equipment control unit includes:
Calculating the amount of fermentation heat, the amount of evaporated water, the amount of carbon dioxide generated, the change in the amount of material contained in the fermenter, and the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the fermentation drying equipment based on the operation management signal from the integrated control unit, and calculating operation parameters related to the fermentation drying equipment by selecting at least one piece of information as the fermentation index from the amount of fermentation heat, the amount of evaporated water, the amount of carbon dioxide generated, the change in the amount of material contained in the fermenter, and the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the fermentation drying equipment ;
An integrated fermentation and drying system that controls at least one of the amount of air supplied to the fermentation tank, the amount of exhaust from the fermentation tank, the blending ratio and amount of the fermentation raw materials supplied to the fermentation tank, the amount of fermented and dried product discharged from the fermentation tank after fermentation and drying, and the agitator blade rotation pattern of the fermentation tank based on the calculated operating parameters. The integrated fermentation and drying system according to claim 1 , wherein the operation management signal includes information designating a calculation method and calculation parameters when setting the operation parameters from the fermentation indexes. A plurality of the fermentation and drying systems are provided as facilities independent of each other,
The integrated fermentation and drying system according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the integrated control unit controls each of the plurality of fermentation and drying systems in parallel. The integrated fermentation and drying system according to claim 1 , wherein the fermentation and drying system is provided individually for a plurality of raw material supply sources that supply the fermentation raw materials. A fermentation and drying control method using an integrated fermentation and drying system having a plurality of fermentation and drying systems and an integrated control unit that controls the plurality of fermentation and drying systems,
Each of the plurality of fermentation and drying systems comprises:
A fermentation and drying facility including a sealed fermentation tank for performing a fermentation and drying process on the fermentation raw material;
An equipment control unit that controls the fermentation and drying process in the fermentation and drying equipment;
having
The integrated control unit controls the operation of the fermentation drying system by transmitting an operation management signal related to the process to each of the equipment control units of the plurality of fermentation drying systems, the operation management signal including information specifying a fermentation index ;
the equipment control unit calculates, based on the operation management signal from the integrated control unit, an amount of fermentation heat, an amount of evaporated water, an amount of carbon dioxide generated, a change in the amount of substances contained in the fermenter, and an exhaust temperature discharged from the fermentation drying equipment in the fermentation drying equipment, and selects at least one piece of information from the amount of fermentation heat, the amount of evaporated water, the amount of carbon dioxide generated, a change in the amount of substances contained in the fermenter, and the exhaust temperature discharged from the fermentation drying equipment as the fermentation index to calculate an operation parameter related to the fermentation drying equipment;
The equipment control unit controls at least one of the amount of air sent to the fermenter, the amount of exhaust from the fermenter, the blending ratio and amount of the fermentation raw material to be supplied to the fermenter, the amount of fermented and dried material discharged from the fermenter after fermentation and drying, and the rotation pattern of the agitator blades of the fermenter based on the calculated operating parameters;
A method for controlling fermentation and drying using an integrated fermentation and drying system.

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