JPH0523803B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a pressurized frozen concentrate production apparatus for producing various beverage liquids, medicinal solutions, or other concentrated liquids. The present invention relates to a pressurized freeze-concentration device capable of removing ice crystals remaining on a moving tensile wire.

[Prior art]

The so-called pressurized freeze concentration method, in which a solution is once frozen and the frozen solid ice crystals are pressurized to separate the solute-rich portion from the ice crystals and produce a concentrated solution, is based on the freezing point of the solution. point) depends on the concentration of the solution, but it also changes depending on the pressure applied to the solution, that is, the freezing point decreases as the applied pressure increases, and the solid fraction (ice crystals) that precipitates when the solution is cooled. This technology focuses on the fact that the solute-rich part of the ice crystal moves from the high-pressure side to the low-pressure side inside the ice crystal.

[Object of the present invention]

The present invention can easily separate the solute-rich portion from the ice crystals that have frozen the solution, making it possible to realize industrialization, and also to remove residual ice crystals attached to the tensile wire that pulls the ice crystals. It has become possible to provide a pressurized freeze concentrator that allows easy operation.

[Configuration of the present invention]

The main structure of the device according to the present invention is that a vertical cooling cylinder having a mother liquor container at the top and cooling means for freezing is connected at the bottom of a pressurizing cylinder having a tapered hole through a heat insulating material. The endless tensile wire is connected through a hole in the bottom of the mother liquor container and is routed through the cylinder, pressurized cylinder, and residual ice crystal removal tank, and the pressurized A drain pipe for collecting concentrated liquid is connected to a tapered hole on the top surface of the cylinder, and a cylinder body having a hole having the same cross-sectional shape as the tensile wire rod is provided in the residual ice crystal removal tank, and the pipe passes through the pressurizing cylinder. The apparatus is provided with a residual ice crystal removal device that passes the tensile wire rod through the hole of the cylinder body and removes residual ice crystals adhering to the tensile wire rod by mechanical action.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of a specific example shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of the device according to the present invention, in which a pressurizing cylinder 3 having a tapered hole serving as a pressurizing portion is connected to the lower part of a vertical cylinder 2 serving as a cooling portion having a tank 1 for mother liquor 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 residual ice crystal removal tank 7 having a drain valve V at the bottom is provided at the bottom of the pressurizing cylinder 3, and a tensile wire rod 8 such as a chain that is endlessly transported is
It enters the residual ice crystal removal tank 7 through the hole in the bottom of the mother liquor container 1, passes through the cylinder 2 and the pressurizing cylinder 3, is reversed upward by the inner wheel 9, is driven by the drive wheel 10, and is moved to the intermediate guide wheel. 11, 12 from the supply wheel 13 as described above, the mother liquor container 1,
It is designed to be sent to cylinder 2.

The cylinder 2 is provided with jackets 14 and 15, which are two upper and lower cooling parts.
7a is an inlet for each cooling medium, 16b and 17b
indicates each same exit.

A jacket 18 is also provided on the pressurizing cylinder 3, which is a pressurizing body, and a constant-temperature medium for appropriately melting ice crystals, which will be described later, is flowed through this jacket. Shows each inlet and outlet for media.

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.

Inside the residual ice crystal removal tank, there is a residual ice crystal removal cylinder 23 for removing ice crystals attached to the tensile wire rod that has passed through the pressure cylinder, and ice crystals that are removed by this cylinder. A residual ice crystal removal device 25 is provided, which comprises a tray 24 for ice crystals.

The cylindrical body 23 is configured to mechanically peel off and remove ice crystals attached to the tensile wire, that is, the third
As shown in the figure, the planar shape of the hole 26 in the cylinder body 23 is made to be the same as the cross-sectional shape of the tensile wire rod, so that the remaining ice crystals are forcibly separated from the tensile wire rod when passing through the cylinder body. In addition, if the tensile wire is a chain, an electric heater 2 is used as shown in Figure 4 to melt the ice crystals remaining in each ring of the chain.
7 may be built-in.

[Effect]

In this device, the solution in the cylinder 2 from the mother liquor container 1 is frozen into ice crystals 30 by the cooling medium flowing through the jacket of the cylinder, and the solution is frozen into 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.

The ice crystals that passed through the cylinder together with the tensile wire
It enters the next pressurizing cylinder 3, where it is squeezed and pressurized by the inner surface of the tapered hole of the pressurizing cylinder.

This pressurization lowers the freezing point of the ice crystals, and the ice crystals melt from the area with high solute concentration, and the melted concentrated liquid flows from the area where the pressure on the ice crystals is high to the area where the pressure is low, that is, the lower part of the tapered hole. The concentrated liquid in the pocket 20 is collected from the drain pipe 21 into the collection container 22.

In the device of this embodiment, the cylinder 2, which is a cooling tube,
The cylinder 2 is constructed separately from the pressurizing cylinder 3 that separates the concentrated liquid, and a heat insulating material 6 is interposed at the connection between the two, so that the cold air from the cylinder 2 is transmitted to the pressurizing cylinder 3. Therefore, the separation of the solute-rich portion by the pressurized cylinder 3 is carried out without any inconvenience,
Furthermore, there is no risk that the separated concentrate will be refrozen.

In addition, since a pocket 20 is provided around the entrance of the tapered hole in the pressurizing cylinder 3, the concentrated liquid separated from the ice crystals in the pressurizing cylinder can be immediately collected into the pocket, and the concentrated liquid can be efficiently collected without waste. can be obtained.

The ice crystals remaining on the tensile wire rod that has passed through the pressurizing tube 3 are removed by the remaining ice crystal removing device 25 in the remaining ice crystal removing tank 7.

That is, residual ice crystals adhering to the outside of the tensile wire 8 are forcibly removed by mechanical action when passing through the cylindrical body 23, and when the tensile wire is a chain, the remaining ice crystals form the chain. Ice crystals that remain in each ring without being mechanically removed are removed by the electric heater 27.
is melted and removed by the heat.

The mechanically removed ice pieces are dropped into the tray 24 and discharged as ice pieces or as drain.

Further, the liquid melted by the heater or the like accumulates in the remaining ice crystal removal tank, and is drained by opening the drain valve V as appropriate.

The tensile wire from which the remaining ice crystals have been removed in this way passes through the wheel and descends from the mother liquor container into the cylinder again, but the tensile wire that enters the mother liquor container does not have any remaining ice crystals attached to it, which has less solute. , the mother liquor is not diluted by residual ice crystals.

Furthermore, by flowing an appropriate constant temperature medium slightly higher than the freezing point of the mother liquor into the jacket 18 of the pressurizing cylinder 3, the surface of ice crystals is prevented from freezing on the inner surface of the pressurizing cylinder, and the ice inside the pressurizing cylinder is It promotes the separation phenomenon involving melting and recrystallization between the fine concentrated portion and dilute portion inside the crystal, and controls the smooth movement of the ice crystals in the pressurized cylinder.

〔effect〕

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, so that the concentrated liquid is effectively separated by the pressurizing cylinder, and the concentrated liquid is separated by the pocket. is recovered without wastage.

In addition, residual ice crystals with a low solute content adhering to the tensile wire that has passed through the pressurized tube are removed by a residual ice crystal removal device, and the tensile wire is free from residual ice crystals with a low solute content. Since the solution is sent to the mother liquor container in a state in which the solution is not diluted by residual ice crystals, it is possible to provide an industrially profitable pressurized freeze-concentration device that can obtain a concentrated solution of uniform quality. can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional plan views of a cylinder for the residual ice crystal removal device. . In the diagram: 1... Mother liquid container, 2... Cooling cylinder, 3... Pressurizing cylinder, 4, 5... Flange, 6...
Insulating material, 7... Remaining ice crystal removal tank, 8... Tensile wire rod,
9 to 13... Wheel, 14, 15... Jacket serving as a cooling part, 18... Jacket serving as a pressurizing cylinder, 2
0...pocket, 21...drain pipe, 22...
...Recovery container, 23...Remaining ice crystal removal cylinder, 24...
Receiver, 25... Remaining ice crystal removal device, 26... Hole in cylinder, 27... Electric heater.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The upper part of a pressurizing cylinder having a downwardly tapered hole is connected to the lower part of a vertical cooling cylinder having a mother liquor container at the upper part and a cooling means for freezing, and an endless tensile The wire rod is fed through a hole drilled in the bottom of the mother liquor container into the cylinder, the pressurizing cylinder, and the remaining ice crystal removal tank, and the concentrated liquid is collected through a tapered hole on the top surface of the pressurizing cylinder. A cylindrical body is provided in the residual ice crystal removal tank to which a drain pipe is connected, and which has a hole having the same cross-sectional shape as the tensile wire rod, and the tensile wire passed through the pressurizing tube is removed from the cylindrical body. A pressurized freezing and concentrating device with a residual ice crystal removal mechanism, which is equipped with a residual ice crystal removal device that mechanically removes residual ice crystals attached to a tensile wire through holes.