JPH0457362B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a pressurized freeze-concentrator for producing various beverage liquids, medicinal liquids, or other concentrated liquids.

[Prior Art] The so-called pressurized freeze concentration method involves once freezing a solution and pressurizing the frozen solid ice crystals to separate the solute-rich portion from the ice crystals to produce a concentrated solution. The freezing point (freezing point) of ice crystals depends on the concentration of the solution, but it also changes depending on the pressure applied to the solution.In other words, the higher the applied pressure, the lower the freezing point, and the more solute-rich parts of the ice crystals are This technology was developed with a focus on melting from areas of high concentration due to pressure.

However, with the above-mentioned technology and apparatus, there is a risk that the concentrated liquid separated from the ice crystals may be frozen again, and as the separated liquid becomes concentrated, its viscosity increases, which may hinder the recovery of the obtained liquid. Yes, and in fact, such situations occur frequently.

[Object of the present invention] The present invention provides a pressurized freeze concentrator that can easily separate solutes from ice crystals that have frozen a solution, and that can quickly and efficiently recover the concentrated liquid separated from the ice crystals. We have made it possible to provide

[Configuration of the present invention] The main configuration of the pressurized freeze-concentrator according to the present invention is that the vertical cooling cylinder has a mother liquid container in the upper part and a cooling part for freezing, and has a tapered hole in the lower part thereof. The upper part of the pressurized cylinder is connected through a heat insulating material so that an endless tensile wire is routed through the inside of the cylinder and the pressurized cylinder through a hole drilled in the bottom of the mother liquor container, and A recessed pocket is provided around the entrance of the tapered hole on the upper surface of the pressurizing cylinder, and the other end of a drain pipe for recovering concentrated liquid is connected to this pocket, one end of which is connected to a liquid recovery device.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described with reference to a specific example shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of the apparatus according to the present invention, in which a pressurizing cylinder 3, which is a pressurizing part and whose inner surface is tapered downward, is connected to the bottom of a vertical cylinder 2, which is a cooling part and has a mother liquid container 1 at the top. The cylinder 2 and the pressurizing cylinder 3 are connected with a heat insulating material 6 interposed between the flanges 4 and 5 of the two.

Further, a tank 7 having a drain valve V at the bottom is provided at the bottom of the pressurizing cylinder 3, and a tensile wire 8 such as a chain, which is endlessly fed, is passed from a hole at the bottom of the mother liquor container 1 to the cylinder 2, It passes through the pressurized cylinder 3 and enters the collection tank 7, and is reversed and raised by the wheel 9 inside.
It is driven by a drive wheel 10 and sent from a supply wheel 13 via intermediate guide wheels 11 and 12 to the mother liquor container 1 and cylinder 2 as described above.

The cylinder 2 is provided with jackets 14 and 15, which are two upper and lower cooling parts, as shown in FIG. 2, and 16a and 17a are inlets for each cooling medium;
16b and 17b indicate the same exits.

A jacket 18 is also provided on the pressurizing cylinder 3, which is a pressurizing body, through which a fluid for appropriately melting the surface of ice crystals, which will be described later, is allowed to flow. Each inlet and outlet for fluids is shown.

A concave pocket 20 for storing liquid is provided on the upper surface of the pressure cylinder 3, that is, around the entrance of the tapered hole, and the inner bottom of this pocket is inclined in one direction, and the lowest part is connected to the drain pipe 21. It is connected to the liquid recovery container 22 by the
The pressure inside the chamber 2 is reduced by a vacuum pump 23.

Furthermore, a heater 24 is provided around the pocket 20 to prevent freezing.

[Function] In this device, the solution in the cylinder 2 from the mother liquor container 1 is frozen by the cooling medium flowing through the jacket of the cylinder and becomes ice crystals 25, which forms the tensile wire 8.
join to.

The tensile wire 8 is driven to descend within the cylinder 2, thereby causing the ice crystals to also descend.

When the ice crystals that have passed through the cylinder together with the tensile wire rod enter the next pressurizing tube 3, they are squeezed and pressurized by the inner surface of the tapered hole of the pressurizing tube.

This pressurization lowers the freezing point of the ice crystal, and the solute-rich parts of the ice crystal melt from the high-concentration part, and the melted concentrate flows from the high-pressure part to the low-pressure part, i.e. The concentrated liquid moves from the lower side of the taper hole to the upper inlet side and accumulates in the inlet pocket 20 as a concentrated liquid, and the concentrated liquid in the pocket 20 is collected from the drain pipe 21 into the collection container 22.

Since the pressure inside the collection container is reduced by the vacuum pump 23, the concentrated liquid in the pocket is efficiently collected into the collection container.

In the apparatus of this embodiment, the cylinder 2 as a cooling cylinder and the pressurizing cylinder 3 for melting are constructed as separate bodies, and a heat insulating material 6 is interposed at the connection between the two, so that the cold air in the cylinder 2 is is prevented from being transmitted to the pressurized cylinder 3, so that the separation of the solute by melting of the ice crystals in the pressurized cylinder 3 can be carried out without any inconvenience, and there is no risk that the separated concentrate will be refrozen. Without,
As mentioned above, the concentrate is immediately collected in the pocket.

Note that by flowing a fluid with a temperature slightly higher than the freezing point of the mother liquor into the jacket 18 of the pressurizing cylinder 3,
This promotes the separation phenomenon involving melting and recrystallization between fine dense parts and thin parts of ice crystals inside the pressurizing cylinder, and controls the smooth movement of the ice crystals inside the pressurizing cylinder.

[Effects] According to the present invention, as described above, the cold air in the cylinder serving as the cooling cylinder is prevented from being transmitted to the pressurizing cylinder by the heat insulating material, and therefore the concentrate can be effectively separated by the pressurizing cylinder. Further, it is possible to provide a freezing and pressurizing type concentrate manufacturing apparatus in which the concentrated liquid quickly accumulates in the pocket and the accumulated concentrated liquid can be efficiently recovered from the drain pipe to the recovery container.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view. In the figure, 1... Mother liquid container, 2... Cooling cylinder, 3... Pressurizing cylinder, 4, 5... Flange, 6...
Insulating material, 7...tank, 8... tensile wire, 9-13...
... Wheels, 14, 15 ... Jacket as a cooling part, 18 ... Jacket for pressurizing cylinder, 20 ... Pocket, 21 ... Drain pipe, 22 ... Recovery container, 23 ... Vacuum pump, 24 ... Heater, 25
……ice crystals.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The upper part of a pressurizing cylinder having a tapered hole is connected via a heat insulating material to the lower part of a vertical cooling cylinder having a mother liquid container at the upper part and a cooling part for freezing. , an endless tensile wire rod is fed through the cylinder and the pressurizing tube through a hole drilled at the bottom of the mother liquor container, and a recessed hole is formed around the entrance of the tapered hole on the top surface of the pressurizing tube. A pressurized frozen concentrated liquid production device comprising a pocket, one end of which is connected to a liquid recovery container, and the other end of a drain pipe for recovering concentrated liquid connected to the pocket. 2. A pressurized frozen concentrate production apparatus according to the invention according to item 1, wherein the pocket is provided with a heater. 3. A pressurized frozen concentrated liquid production apparatus according to the invention according to item 1, in which the liquid recovery container is a vacuum container.