JPS6225020B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for heat-treating particulate materials such as grains, foods, cosmetics, etc. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for heat-treating particulate materials such as grains, foods, cosmetics, etc., which heat-sterilizes, heat-denatures, etc. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for drop-type heat treatment of powdery substances. When heat-treating particulate materials such as grains, it is essential to disperse the particles in order to uniformly heat the entire material, and this is also a necessary condition from the viewpoint of shortening the processing time. From this point of view, the present applicant first proposed the "Method and Apparatus for Producing Puffed Foods Using Air Flow Heating Method" (Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-34747, hereinafter referred to as "Air Flow Heat Treatment Method"), which heat-processes grain raw material particles while dispersing and suspending them. ) and “Puffed food manufacturing equipment”
No. 26695 (hereinafter referred to as fluidized heat treatment method) was filed and patented. However, although the raw materials are certainly dispersed and heat-treated uniformly in the above equipment, the raw materials are forced to disperse and float by air current from the start to the end of heating, which requires a high-pressure and large blower, which increases equipment costs and running costs. However, it was expensive and not completely satisfactory. A recent example is ``Method and Apparatus for Heat Treatment of Cereals'' (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-159463). This method uses high-temperature air as a heating medium to heat-process grains in a cyclone, but with this method, the entire interior of the cyclone does not have a uniform temperature, and especially in the air retention area, it is cooled by the outside air. This is not necessarily an effective method because the temperature is lowered and the time during which the raw material inside the cyclone comes into contact with substantially high-temperature air is limited. In view of these current circumstances, the inventor of the present application has conducted intensive research and focused on the property of saturated steam that always maintains a constant temperature at the same pressure, and has developed a method for producing raw materials by using saturated steam, superheated steam, or a mixture of these steams as the heating medium. The present application has been made based on the knowledge that if particles are dispersed by airflow or mechanically and then allowed to fall through the steam, each raw material particle can be uniformly heated and kept in constant contact with high-temperature steam. Made an invention. That is, the present invention is characterized in that the powdery material raw material is heated under pressure while being dropped in a dispersed state through saturated steam, superheated steam, or a mixed steam thereof by a raw material dispersion means, and then released under lower pressure. This is a method and apparatus for drop-type heat treatment of powder and granular materials. The present invention will be explained in detail below. The granular material raw materials used in the present invention are not particularly limited, and include grains such as soybeans, defatted soybeans, soybean meal, wheat, barley, rice, brown rice, and corn, and their pulverized products, fishmeal, vegetables, etc. Food raw materials such as small pieces, bread crumbs, starch powder, koshiyo, curry powder, drugs or drug raw materials and their fillers, as well as feed and cosmetic raw materials, etc., and if necessary, hydrated by normal means. The aforementioned raw materials can also be used. As the heating medium, saturated steam, superheated steam, or a mixture thereof is used, and the heat treatment conditions are preferably relatively low pressure when the purpose is to sterilize raw materials, and the pressure is 4 kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) or less, 1 to 15 seconds at a temperature below 260℃, preferably under pressure
Heat treatment is performed at 0.3 to 3.5 Kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) and a temperature of 240° C. or less for 2 to 5 seconds. On the other hand, when the purpose is to modify raw materials, grains are often used as raw materials at pressures of 2 to 12
Heat treatment is performed at a pressure of 4 to 8 kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) and a temperature of 290° C. or less for 1 to 15 seconds, preferably at a pressure of 4 to 8 kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) and a temperature of 290° C. or less. In addition, when it is desired to expand the raw material, it is preferable that the pressure is high, and the raw material may be rapidly discharged to a low pressure. The present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, referring to FIG. 1, an example will be described in which saturated steam is used as the heating medium for the raw material. Reference numeral 1 denotes a circulation pipe forming a closed circuit, through which saturated steam is circulated by the action of a blower 2. Reference numeral 3 denotes an input valve for supplying the raw material to the circulation pipe 1 in an airtight manner, and FIG. 1 shows an example using the "Transporting and Supplying Apparatus for Powder and Granules" (Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-9917) by the present applicant. The input valve 3 has a raw material inlet 3a at the upper part, and a gas inlet 3b and a gas outlet 3c at the lower part, and these inlets and outlets 3b and 3c are connected to the circulation pipe 1, respectively. The raw material is supplied from the raw material inlet 3a, and the gas outlet 3
c, it is introduced into the circulation pipe 1 by riding on the airflow of saturated steam. As the input valve 3, the present applicant's "transfer device with forced discharge device" (Japanese Patent Publication No. 1973-
8927) or a regular rotary valve. Reference numeral 5 denotes a replenishment pipe for steam, which is a heating source, and is connected to the boiler to replenish the saturated steam consumed by the apparatus. 6 is a heating can for heating the raw material, and its overall shape is a vertical cylinder. The cross-sectional shape may be rectangular or polygonal depending on the arrangement of the device, but considering the separation of the heating medium and the raw material, the residence time of the raw material, or the effective dispersion of the raw material in the heating can 6, etc., as will be described later. A circular shape is most suitable. Further, the lower end of the heating can 6 is preferably formed into a conical shape for effective discharge of raw materials. A steam inlet 7 is installed at the upper side of the heating can 6, a steam outlet 8 is installed at the upper end vertically, and a raw material outlet 9 is installed at the lower end vertically. A discharge valve 10 is provided for discharging the water to the outside. As the discharge valve, the above-mentioned "transfer device having a forced discharge device" is effective. In this embodiment, since the raw material is dispersed in the airflow of saturated steam, the steam inlet 7 also serves as a raw material input port. The steam inlet 7 and outlet 8 are each connected to the circulation pipe 1, and the saturated steam flowing through the pipe 1 circulates there and at the same time flows into the heating can 6, so that the can 6 is filled with saturated steam. become. It is preferable that the steam inlet 7 of the heating can 6 is provided in the tangential direction of the upper side surface, and the steam outlet 8 is provided in the vertical direction of the top, as shown in FIG. With this configuration, the heating can 6 acts like a cyclone, effectively separating the saturated steam and the raw material, and preventing the raw material from scattering from the steam outlet 8 into the circulation pipe 1. Furthermore, since the raw material falls while swirling inside the heating can 6, the contact time with the saturated steam can be extended, and by changing the angle α (see Fig. 1) of the steam inlet 7 with respect to the vertical direction, the raw material can be The residence time in the heating can 6 can be controlled. The connecting portion 1' of the circulation pipe 1 between the input valve 3 and the steam inlet 7 only needs to be long enough to disperse the raw material, and can be appropriately determined depending on the type of raw material, particle size, wind speed of the connecting portion 1', etc. Needless to say, it's a good thing. The same applies to the height and diameter of the heating can 6. Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. First, saturated steam generated in the boiler is introduced into the apparatus through the steam replenishment pipe 5, and circulated through the circulation pipe 1 by the action of the blower 2. At this time, the saturated steam also flows into the heating can 6, and the circulation pipe 1
The pressure inside and inside the heating can 6 are the same. The raw material is supplied into the circulation pipe 1 through the input valve 3, and is immediately transported in a dispersed floating state by riding on the airflow of circulating saturated steam and introduced into the heating can 6. In the heating can 6, the raw material and saturated steam are effectively separated by the action of centrifugal force, and the raw material is heated while rotating and falling inside the heating can 6. This swirling and falling action is effective in dispersing the raw material. The raw material is then discharged to the outside from the discharge valve 10 and recovered as a product. The condensed water of saturated steam generated during the above heat treatment is either absorbed by the raw material or released to the outside together with the product. On the other hand, the saturated steam separated from the raw material is discharged from the steam outlet 8, circulates through the circulation pipe 1, and is reused. Then, the amount of saturated steam leaked during inputting and discharging the raw material or the amount consumed by heating the raw material is supplied from the steam replenishment pipe 5 to maintain the pressure in the heating can 6 and the circulation system. Next, FIG. 3 shows an example in which superheated steam is used as the heating medium. In this example, the configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 except that the raw material is heat-treated by converting saturated steam into superheated steam using a superheater 11.
The superheated steam that has flowed into the heating can 6 changes into saturated steam while heating the raw material, and this equilibrium state is maintained thereafter. Therefore, in this embodiment, the heating can 6 is filled with saturated steam and superheated steam. As described above, in the present application, saturated steam and superheated steam can be used as the heating medium. Next, FIG. 4 shows another embodiment. This embodiment is an example in which saturated steam is blown into the heating can 6 at high speed and the raw material is dispersed by the velocity energy. First, the heating can 6 has a raw material inlet 15 in the vertical direction at the top, a steam inlet 7 in the upper side, a steam outlet 8 in the lower side, and a raw material outlet 9 in the lower end. A discharge valve 10 is installed at the valve 3 and the raw material discharge port 9, respectively. In this embodiment, the steam inlet 7 is provided tangentially as shown in FIG.
5 is installed, and by configuring such a positional relationship, it is effective in terms of residence time due to the dispersion and swirling fall of the raw materials. On the other hand, in the blower 2 for circulating saturated steam, its suction port is connected to the steam outlet 8 and its discharge port is connected to the steam inlet 7, respectively. Here, the steam inlet 7 is narrow so that the blown saturated steam reaches a high velocity, and the steam outlet 8 has a large diameter so that the blower 2 does not suck in the raw material, and its tip is placed downward in the heating can 6. It will be even more effective if it is opened. Furthermore, as a modification of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, spraying saturated steam onto the falling raw material from below to above is also effective for dispersing the raw material. Next, the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is an example in which superheated steam is used instead of saturated steam in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the heating can 6 is first filled with superheated steam, but as the raw materials are introduced, the superheated steam changes to saturated steam, and the upper part of the heating can is filled with superheated steam, and the lower part is filled with saturated steam. However, in this case, it goes without saying that the ratio of superheated steam to saturated steam in the heating can 6 varies depending on the temperature of the superheated steam or the weight ratio of the superheated steam to the raw material. Next, another embodiment of the heating can 6 is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, an inner cylinder 1 is placed concentrically inside the heating can 6.
2 is installed, and a donut-shaped outer chamber 13 and an inner tube 12 are partitioned by the outer wall 11 and the inner tube 12 of the heating can 6.
The inner chamber 14, which is divided by This is an example of a configuration configured to do so. According to this embodiment, the raw material and the condensed water can be separated, and it is possible to prevent water from being absorbed into the raw material more than necessary. Further, FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the material dispersion means. In this embodiment, a raw material inlet 15 and a rotary blade stirrer 16 for dispersing the loaded raw material are installed in the upper part of the heating can 6, and when saturated steam is used as the heating medium, it is not necessary to circulate it. There is no need to supply it to the heating can 6. On the other hand, when superheated steam is used as the heating medium,
As shown in FIG. 11, if superheated steam is supplied from the steam inlet 7 provided at the bottom of the heating can 6 and discharged from the steam outlet 8 provided at the top, processing can be performed in a completely dry state. In this case, it goes without saying that the method of supplying superheated steam as shown in FIG. 1 may be employed. Next, FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which raw materials are treated in two stages using the same pressure source. In this embodiment, the steam outlet 8a of the first stage heating can 6a and the steam inlet 7b of the second stage heating can 6b are communicated, and the raw material discharge port 9a of the heating can 6a is opened in the connecting pipe 17. The raw material heated to some extent in the heating can 6a by the saturated steam flow discharged from the heating can 6a is supplied to the heating can 6b and further heated there. This embodiment is effective when there is a limit on the height of the heating can 6 and it is necessary to lengthen the heating time. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the discharge valve 10a of the first stage heating can 6a may be omitted since both heating cans 6a, 6b are at the same pressure. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the pressure source is different and the raw material is heated in two stages as in the previous embodiment, and an example is shown in which superheated steam is used as the heating medium. According to this embodiment, the heating conditions for the first stage and the second stage can be set separately. Here, the method according to the present invention can be used to improve the digestibility of the product (see note 1 on page 17 of this specification), or the nitrogen dissolution utilization rate (see note 2 on page 18 of this specification) when used in the production of soy sauce, as well as the processing of raw materials. How effective this method is in terms of the power required, ie, the power of the blower for circulating the heating medium, etc., will be shown below using experimental examples in comparison with conventional methods (airflow heat treatment method, fluidized heat treatment method). Experimental Example 1 Table 1 shows the results when defatted soybeans were heat treated.

[Table] The results in Table 1 show that the conventional method is heated at a much higher temperature than the method of the present invention, and due to excessive heating, the raw material is overdenatured and becomes difficult to be decomposed by the Aspergillus enzyme, resulting in a higher digestibility. Alternatively, it is lower than the method of the present invention in terms of nitrogen dissolution utilization rate, etc. On the other hand, the defatted soybean protein treated by the method of the present invention does not undergo excessive denaturation, does not leave any undenatured protein, and has excellent digestibility and nitrogen dissolution utilization rate by moderate heating. Also, the power can be extremely reduced. The present invention is constructed as described above, and can produce a product with a high yield with extremely simple means, and greatly contributes to energy saving. *Note 1 Digestibility To measure digestibility, denatured soybeans after heat treatment are dried under reduced pressure at low temperatures, then crushed, 1 g of this powder is taken into a shaking test tube, and 10 g of 0.5 molar phosphate buffer (PH7.2) is added.
ml, 20 ml of enzyme solution (see notes below), and 1 ml of triol, and seal tightly. The test tube was kept at 37°C for 7 days with gentle shaking to allow enzymatic degradation. Next, add distilled water to the decomposition solution to bring the total volume to 100%.
ml and separate it into a liquid phase and a solid phase by centrifugation. Add 15 ml of 1.2 mol trichloroacetic acid to 30 ml of the liquid phase, filter out the precipitate (undegraded protein), take 5 ml of the filtrate, and determine the nitrogen content using the Kjeldahl method. Measure.
A blind test is conducted in the same manner without adding the powder sample, and the value obtained by subtracting the latter value from the former value is defined as A. On the other hand, the nitrogen content in 1 g of the powder sample is measured by the Kjeldahl method, the value is defined as B, and the digestibility is calculated using the following formula. (Note) The above enzyme solution is extracted from the koji of Aspergillus sojae, a typical koji mold used in soy sauce brewing, and has a proteinase activity of 53 (PU) cas・30°・FR・γ-tyr・/ml. Refers to the extract. Here, 1(PU)cas・30°・FR・γ-tyr・/ml is the equivalent of 1γ tyrosine per minute when the enzyme reaction is carried out at 30°C and pH 7.2 using 1% milk casein as a substrate. It refers to the enzyme activity that shows the amount of foliin coloration. *Note 2 Nitrogen dissolved utilization rate Nitrogen dissolved utilization rate refers to the ratio of the total amount of nitrogen dissolved in aged moromi liquid to the total nitrogen contained in proteins, etc. contained in soybeans and wheat, which are the raw materials for soy sauce brewing. Examples of the present application are shown below. In the following examples, Examples 1 and 2 are shown in Figure 1, and Example 3 is shown in Figure 7.
Example 4 and Example 5 were carried out using the apparatus shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 3, respectively. Example 1 First, defatted soybeans (moisture: 10.5% W/W, particle size 16~
24 mesh) using a regular screw sprinkler to adjust the moisture content to 25.4% W/W. This raw material is fed into a circulation pipe that is ventilated with saturated steam of 6.5 kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) at a rate of 4000 kg/h, and is dispersed in a heating can (inner diameter: 470 mm). , height; 6m). The soybeans were heat-treated for about 3 seconds while being rotated and dropped along the inner wall surface in a heating can, and then discharged under atmospheric pressure to obtain expanded defatted soybeans. Circulation amount of saturated steam is 4450
Kg/h, and the amount of steam replenishment was 530 Kg/h. Then, immediately add water to the expanded defatted soybeans to reduce the moisture to 62%.
Adjust to W/W and add 3100% roasted cracked wheat to this.
After mixing Kg/h and seed koji at a rate of 10 Kg/h, koji was continuously produced to obtain soy sauce koji with a moisture content of 28.3% W/W. This koji was mixed with 13 water, and then fermented, matured and pressed using conventional means to obtain raw soy sauce having the analytical values shown in Table 2 below.

[Table] Example 2 Cracked wheat (moisture: 10.9%, grain size 12-16 mesh) was charged at a rate of 3500 kg/h into a circulation pipe in which saturated steam of 8 kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) was aerated. The mixture is dispersed and supplied to a heating can (inner diameter: 470 mm, height 8 m). After being heated in a heating can for about 3.1 seconds while rotating and dropping along the inner wall, the product is released under atmospheric pressure, resulting in a digestibility of 95.7% and a degree of gelatinization of 75.
%, the degree of swelling was 1.85 times, and the moisture content was 12.1%. The amount of saturated steam circulated was 4800 kg/h, and the amount of steam replenishment was 420 kg/h. Example 3 Crushed corn (moisture: 10.5%, particle size 12-16
Mesh) is supplied at a rate of 4100 kg/h to a heating can (inner diameter: 470 mm, height 8 m) through which superheated steam of 6.5 kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) is vented from the raw material input port directly above the steam flow. and disperse. Next, the raw material was heated in a heating can for about 3.1 seconds while being dropped, and then released under atmospheric pressure to obtain a product with a gelatinization degree of 75%, a swelling degree of 2.8 times, and a moisture content of 9.87%. The circulating amount of superheated steam was 4900 kg/h, the amount of steam replenishment was 420 kg/h, and the temperature of the superheated steam was 235° C. immediately before the steam inlet and 195° C. at the steam outlet of heating can 6. Example 4 Defatted soybeans (moisture: 10.5% W/W, particle size 16-24 mesh) are sprinkled with water to adjust the moisture content to 25.4% W/W. This hydrated defatted soybean was mixed at a rate of 1720Kg/h and cracked wheat at a rate of 1420Kg/h, and 6.5Kg/h was mixed.
Saturated steam of cm ² (gauge pressure) is supplied from the raw material inlet to a ventilated heating can (inner diameter: 470 mm, height: 6 m) and dispersed using a stirrer. Next, the raw material was heated in a heating can for about 2.7 seconds while being dropped, and then released under atmospheric pressure to obtain a expanded brewing raw material. The amount of steam replenishment was 550 kg/h. Then, immediately add water to the expanded brewing raw material to remove moisture.
After adjusting to 47% W/W, seed koji is added at a rate of 4.5 kg/h, and the koji is continuously made to produce koji and the water content of the koji is 28.3.
% of koji was obtained. Next, this koji was mixed with 13 water, and then fermented, matured, and pressed using conventional means to obtain raw soy sauce having the analytical values shown in Table 3 below.

[Table] Example 5 Bran (moisture 10.8% W/W, particle size 28 mesh or less) was introduced at a rate of 800 kg/h into a circulation pipe ventilated with superheated steam at 3 kg/cm ² (gauge pressure) and dispersed. While heating, feed the mixture to a heating can (inner diameter: 470 mm, height: 6 m). The mixture was heated in a heating can for about 3.3 seconds while being rotated and dropped along the inner wall surface, and then released under atmospheric pressure to obtain a product with a moisture content of 11.4% W/W. The number of general viable bacteria, which was 2.8×10 ⁶ cells/g in the raw material, decreased to 0. The circulation rate of superheated steam is 1760Kg/h, the amount of steam replenishment is 220Kg/h, and the temperature of superheated steam at each location is 227℃ just before raw material supply, 181℃ at the gas outlet of the heating can, and 143℃ (saturated) just above the discharge valve. water vapor).

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a flow sheet diagram of a heat treatment apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of the heating can in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a heat processing apparatus showing another embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flow sheet diagram of a heat treatment apparatus showing another embodiment, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4, and FIGS. Processing equipment flow sheet diagram,
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heating can, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line C--C in FIG. 8, and FIGS. 10 to 13 show other embodiments. In the drawings, 1 is a circulation pipe, 2 is a blower, 3 is an input valve, 6 is a heating can, 10 is an exhaust valve, and 11 is a super heater.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Heat-treating the raw material of granular material while dropping it in a dispersed state under pressure into saturated steam, superheated steam, or a mixed steam thereof using a raw material dispersion means, and then heating the raw material under lower pressure. A falling heat treatment method for powder and granular substances, characterized by releasing. 2. A vertical cylindrical heating can having a raw material input port, a raw material discharge port, a heating medium inlet, and a heating medium outlet, an input valve connected to the raw material input port, a discharge valve connected to the raw material discharge port, and What is claimed is: 1. A drop-type heat treatment apparatus for powdery substances, comprising a raw material dispersion means provided near a raw material input port.