JP2000304900A - Electron beam irradiation device and particle sterilizing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To turn particles more quickly for uniformly applying electron beams to them so as to increase an electron beam processing amount by conveying the particles on a vibrating conveyor while intensively turning and rotating them because of uneven ness and vibration. SOLUTION: In a vibrating conveyor 6 having an uneven vibrating board 7 surface and arranged horizontally/slantingly, an electron beam is irradiated to a part of the vibrating board 7 via an irradiation window. That is, the vibrating board 7 having projections and recesses is vibrated for conveying particles. As the vibrating conveyor 6 blows off the particles forward by vibration, the particles can be conveyed. A dimension and a shape of the particles are varied according to its sort, for example, a dimension and a shape of rice are different from those of wheat, so that the shape and arrangement of unevenness, and a vibration frequency, a vibrating direction and amplitude of the conveying face are properly regulated. For instance, particles are conveyed by the conveyor 6 having a rugged part, and low-energy electron beams are irradiated from the upper side. The particles are continuously fed by means of the vibrating conveyor 6 so as to be processed constantly, so that a processing amount can be greatly increased in comparison with that based on batch processing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of disinfecting grains such as wheat, rice, beans, buckwheat, and pepper, and powders (granules) such as spices with an electron beam, and an electron beam therefor. The present invention relates to an irradiation device. The electron beam irradiation device is a device that generates an electron beam in a vacuum, takes out the electron beam from an irradiation window to the atmosphere, and irradiates an object to be processed with a desired effect. The effect differs depending on the energy and irradiation dose.
It is used for curing of polymers such as cross-linking of electric wire polymer coating, resin curing, and coating film curing. This promotes crosslinking of the polymer and cures it. Another effect is a bactericidal effect. Used for sterilization of medical instruments. There is already a proven track record of sterilizing medical instruments and materials such as tweezers, scissors, tubes, and gauze by irradiating them with electron beams.

Most of the objects to be treated are solid as described above. Since the target is a fixed solid, it is transported inside the housing of the electron beam irradiation device by an endless orbiting conveyor, and receives an electron beam when passing directly below the electron beam irradiation window. Since it is a tangible object, it can be carried by a conveyor. Since the quality of these objects is not changed by the irradiation of the electron beam, the penetration depth of the electron beam may be considerably large. What is necessary is just to irradiate a high energy electron beam. In the case of a small solid sample, it is placed in a tray or the like, placed on an endless conveyor, and moved in a housing. Electron beam treatment should be effective for other than solids, but there is not much experience.

[0003] Here, granular materials such as grains are targeted. Grains should be sterilizable by electron beam irradiation, but have not yet been put to practical use. One is that the electron beam must not penetrate into the interior. Another reason is that an electron beam must be applied to the entire surface. When the electron beam reaches the inside of a grain or the like, the quality deteriorates. Therefore, it must be a weak electron beam that attenuates on the surface. However, since various bacteria are attached to the surface, it is necessary to apply an electron beam to the entire surface in order to completely sterilize the bacteria. That is, it is required that it is difficult to uniformly apply the electron beam only to the surface.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of sterilizing a granular material by an electron beam,
The electron beam must decay at the surface. If the electron beam penetrates to the inside, there is a possibility that the quality of grains and the like will be degraded. Grain bacteria only exist on the surface, so it is only necessary to hit the surface with an electron beam. This means that a low-energy electron beam having low transmission power is irradiated. Due to the low penetrating power, the electron beam must be applied to the entire surface. This is difficult. The electron beam only exits the irradiation window in one direction. The electron beam hits the upper surface of the granular material, but the back side is not shadowed. This should not be. The entire surface must be exposed to an electron beam with low transmission power. What should I do? You just have to rotate the granules. Roll it by vibration. Small particles, such as grains, should be able to turn all sides toward the irradiation window if rotated. If the electron beam is applied while rolling, the entire surface can be irradiated with the electron beam thinly.

Attempts have been made to rotate the granular material to irradiate it with a low energy electron beam, but this is not yet sufficient. Two conventional technologies are introduced. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-215765, "Method of sterilizing grain and grain rotating apparatus used for the same" Toru Hayashi, Setsuko Suzuki, Kenichi Otsubo, Hidechika Toshima, Hiroshi Okadome put tray trays on vibrators and shakers It proposes a grain sterilizer that has an electron beam irradiation device placed on top of it. Irradiate soft electrons to sterilize brown rice, wheat, red beans, soybeans, etc. The vibrator imparts longitudinal vibration to the tray. The shaker provides lateral vibration. The grain in the tray jumps, bouncing and jumping due to shaking and shaking. Various rotations turn various surfaces toward the irradiation window. By continuing the irradiation treatment for a long time, all surfaces of the grain are irradiated with the electron beam, so that the entire surface is sterilized. This invention is unique in that it combines shaking (horizontal direction) and vibration (vertical direction). If only vibration is applied, the entire surface cannot be irradiated with an electron beam. On the other hand, he recalls that shaking alone does not allow uniform irradiation of the electron beam. Left and right amplitude (shaking) is 3cm, vertical (vibration) amplitude is 0.2cm
Is preferred. The tray is made of plastic and measures 30 cm × 9 cm × 3.5 cm. Put the cereals on the tray so that they do not overlap one another. It seems that there is a case where the electron beam does not hit if it overlaps in two or three stages.

Therefore, it seems that it is necessary to arrange them in one layer. For example, when soft electrons of 160 to 230 keV are irradiated at 4 μA, the irradiation time is about 1 hour. According to this, the number of viable bacteria of 10 ⁶ to 10 ⁷ cells / g was reduced to 10 cells / g or less at first. In the case of rice, the peroxidation of lipids proceeds by the electron beam. This is undesirable. Since the polished rice is polished after being irradiated with the electron beam, the surface portion is removed, and the portion deteriorated by the electron beam irradiation is removed. However, in the case of brown rice, the effect of electron beam irradiation remains because the entire surface is not removed. In order to prevent peroxidation, the electron beam must have an energy of less than 160 keV. The throughput is a problem. It is a batch process and one process takes about one hour. Since the grains need to be accommodated without overlapping, the throughput depends on the bottom area of the tray. In the case of brown rice, the weight is 10 to 70 g, preferably about 20 to 40 g. Increasing the size of the tray increases the amount of processing at one time, but it also has its limits. The throughput of this apparatus is about 50 g per hour. Of course, this depends on the particle size. Soybeans, red beans and the like have different processing capacities than rice.

Japanese Patent Application No. 10-142873 "Electron Beam Irradiation Apparatus" Inventors Mutsumi Mizutani, Toshiro Nishiki, and Applicant Nissin High Voltage Co., Ltd. have developed a method in which particles are conveyed on a water-cooled flat vibration conveyor while the particles are conveyed. A device for irradiating rays is proposed. Although it is powder and indefinite, it can be loaded in a plastic bag and put on a conveyor, but it cannot be performed because it takes time to take out a bag. Also, an electron beam having a low transmission power must be used so as not to cause quality deterioration, but it is difficult to make the electron beam impinge on the entire powder. For that reason, there has been no practical device for irradiating powder or granules with an electron beam. This is the first proposal of an electron beam irradiation apparatus for processing particulate matter. It uses a vibratory conveyor rather than an endless orbiting conveyor. Even when the granular material is placed on a tray and sent by an endless orbiting conveyor to irradiate the electron beam, the electron beam only hits the surface. Therefore, the granular material is pushed up and rolled by vibration placed on a flat vibrating conveyor so that all of the granular material is subjected to electron beam processing. Since a thin granular material is handled, an electron beam is often directly applied to the conveyor, and the conveyor is heated. Thus, a cooling mechanism for directly cooling the vibrating conveyor is provided. It should not overlap many layers, but it does not have to be one layer. Since the granular material moves up and down by the vibration and rotates, all the particles can be turned up and down so as to be exposed to the electron beam.

[0008]

There are only proposals for treating an amorphous object with an electron beam as described above. For cereals (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-215765)
) Is a batch process, so it must be replaced every time irradiation is performed. It is laborious and inefficient. In addition, the processing amount per time is small. 30
Even if a tray with a bottom area of cm × 9 cm is used, only about 50 g can be sterilized in one hour. Since the process is a batch process and the tray does not move, the area of the electron beam irradiation window must be 30 cm × 9 cm or more. Since only 50 g of grain can be processed for 1 hour using such an electron beam irradiation apparatus, the cost is high. For example, it takes 200 hours to sterilize 10 kg of rice. It is not practical.

Japanese Patent Application No. 10-142873 uses a vibration conveyor for vibrating a flat surface. The vibration itself given by the vibration generator is minute vibration. So the rotation of the granules is incomplete. Since the rotation is incomplete, the electron beam does not hit all surfaces. That is, the sterilization process is incomplete.
If you want to irradiate all surfaces with electron beams, you have to increase the time. The vibrating conveyor feeds the object to be processed in one direction by the vibration itself, but the vibration speed and direction may be adjusted to reduce the feed speed. However, when the feed speed is reduced, the throughput decreases.

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to propose an electron beam irradiation apparatus capable of rotating a granular material more quickly and uniformly applying an electron beam to further increase an electron beam throughput. The material to be treated is expressed as a grain in, and a granular material in.
Hereinafter, it is expressed as a powder. Both represent almost the same thing. The present invention covers cereals such as wheat, rice, beans, buckwheat, and pepper. However, the present invention can be used for other objects requiring sterilization. Therefore, it is generally referred to as a granular material or a granular material.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a granular material is transported by using a vibrating conveyor having an uneven surface. Use a vibrating conveyor, but it is not flat, but the surface (transport surface)
With irregularities. The interaction between the vibrations and the irregularities enhances the rotation of the granular material. The granules are conveyed on a vibrating conveyor while rolling and rotating the granules strongly by the unevenness and vibration. Although the electron beam irradiation is performed in only one direction, the whole surface can be irradiated with the electron beam by rotating the granular material by the unevenness. The vibrating conveyor having the unevenness can vigorously rotate the granular material more than the vibrating conveyor having the flat surface. The entire surface of the granular material can be irradiated with the electron beam thinly and uniformly in a shorter time. Processing capacity is increased. Asperities are formed by a large number of parallel V grooves, round grooves, trapezoidal grooves, perpendicular to the traveling direction (z direction),
A rectangular groove may be used. Alternatively, parallel oblique grooves may be used.
Two sets of parallel oblique grooves may intersect. Instead of grooves, holes or projections at a large number of isolated points may be periodically arranged in the xz direction. Since it is a vibrating conveyor, it may be horizontal or inclined. To increase the traveling speed, a conveyor inclined forward may be used. The unevenness has an excellent effect of diversifying the contact state between the granular material and the vibration plate in the vibration conveyor and promoting the rolling rotation.

[0012]

FIG. 1 shows an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Although this is a non-scanning (area-type) electron beam irradiation apparatus, the present invention can be applied to a scanning electron beam irradiation apparatus. Since it is an area type, a cylindrical vacuum chamber 2 having a filament 1
Is provided on the shielded housing 3, and the filament 1
, An electron beam E is extracted downward. Filament 1
Is supplied with a resistance heating current, and is heated by this current. Because of the high temperature, thermoelectrons are emitted from the filament. A negative voltage is applied to the filament, and the chamber 2 is at the ground potential. Below the chamber 2 is a rectangular opening. This is the irradiation window 4. The irradiation window 4 has Ti,
A window foil 5 of Al or the like is stretched. Since the irradiation window 4 and the window foil 5 have the same potential as the chamber, the electron beam E is accelerated between the filament and the irradiation window. Since there is a vacuum above the irradiation window and an atmospheric pressure below the irradiation window, it is necessary to partition by the window foil 5. The electron beam E can pass through the window foil. Loses energy by penetrating the window foil. It becomes heat in the window foil. When the window foil is heated, it melts, so it is necessary to remove heat. Air is blown for cooling, or the window foil is held down with a beam and the beam is water-cooled.

The metal housing 3 is a horizontally long box in which the vibration conveyor 6 is installed. The vibrating conveyor 6
It comprises a vibrating plate 7, a vibrator 8, a support 9 and a spring 10. The vibrator 8 applies vibration to the diaphragm 7 in an oblique direction. FIG. 2 is a plan view of only the diaphragm. The diaphragm has parallel V-grooves. Side plates 20, 20 are raised at both ends so that the granular material does not spill. In FIG. 2, the granular material is sparsely written, but this is to show the V-groove. Actually, about one to three layers are equivalently vertically stacked. When the vibration is severe, the granular materials may be overlapped by about 5 to 10 layers. FIG. 3 shows a partial cross section of the diaphragm. Irregularities are provided on the diaphragm 7.
In this example, a large number of parallel V grooves 13 are cut in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction. The diaphragm vibrates in an oblique direction. The object to be processed can be transported in one direction by vibrating back and forth. Since the object to be processed is a granular material, the object jumps up and rolls due to vibration. The unevenness (V groove) makes the granular material jump up and roll more actively. The irregularities also have the effect of supporting the granular material obliquely. This allows the electron beam to strike all surfaces.

The amplitude and direction of vibration of the diaphragm can be changed. The object to be processed can be transported on the horizontal vibrating conveyor because the vibration includes a feed direction component. It is not possible to send forward only by vertical movement. Case 3
An entrance hopper 11 is provided on one side. From here, the granular material S is introduced to the start end of the vibration plate 7 of the vibration conveyor 6. An outlet hopper 12 is provided on the other side of the housing 3 immediately below the end of the diaphragm 7. The granular material S conveyed by vibration from the start end to the end of the vibration plate 7 is discharged from the outlet hopper 12. The granular material is continuously introduced from the entrance hopper 11, soars above the diaphragm 7, is thrust up, and moves forward while falling down. The electron beam E is irradiated when passing immediately below the irradiation window 4. The electron beam energy is low and is absorbed near the surface.
If the energy is too high, the electron beam penetrates into the interior and deteriorates the quality if the energy is too high. The electron beam energy is low because only the bacteria on the surface need be hit. The electron beam energy is less than 500 keV. For example, 50
It is about keV to 300 keV. Current is several mA to 50
It is about 0 mA. The voltage and current are adjusted depending on the type of the object. Although the energy is low, the granular material jumps up and rotates due to the diaphragm, so that the electron beam hits all surfaces equally. Penetrates only a short distance from the surface and sterilizes all surfaces. The powder particles whose entire surface has been subjected to electron beam treatment pass directly below the irradiation window. When passing through the area immediately below the irradiation window, the granular material is continuously subjected to electron beam treatment. Further, the granular material S is discharged from the outlet hopper 12. Since the processing is continuous processing instead of batch processing, processing efficiency is increased.

The vibrator 8 can generate vibration by, for example, rotating a rotating plate having a decentered center of gravity with a motor. Schematic diagrams are shown in FIGS. A vertical plate 23, a bottom plate 24, and a swash plate 25 are fixed directly below the diaphragm 7.
The motor 26 is fixed to the vertical plate 23. An eccentric flywheel 28 is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 27 of the motor 26. The center of gravity of the eccentric flywheel 28 is different from the axis of the rotating shaft 27.
As the flywheel rotates, it is drawn toward its center of gravity.
The diaphragm 7 is elastically supported by a spring 10.
The diaphragm 7 vibrates obliquely right and left by the rotation of the motor. The direction of the vibration is represented by FG. This is a vibrator with an eccentric motor. When the rotating plate is rotated at a high speed, the motor shaft is pulled in a direction having a center of gravity, so that vibration occurs. The frequency can be increased by increasing the motor rotation. By changing the mounting inclination angle of the motor, the vibration direction can be changed.

The vibrator is, besides the motor for rotating the eccentric plate,
There is a type in which a leaf spring is attracted by an electromagnetic coil. FIG.
3 shows a schematic diagram. The lower ends of the ferromagnetic leaf springs 31 and 32 are attached to the support 30 at an angle. The diaphragm 7 is attached to the upper ends of the leaf springs 31 and 32. Bracket 3 on support 30
Make three. At a position facing the leaf spring 31, the coil 34 is fixed to the bracket. When an alternating current is applied to the coil 34, the coil 34 attracts the leaf spring 31 at twice the frequency. Since the leaf spring returns by its own elasticity, the diaphragm vibrates in an oblique direction by the coil. The direction of the vibration is determined by the inclination direction of the leaf springs 31 and 32. The amplitude is determined by the coil current. Thus, there are several modes of vibration of the vibrating conveyor. Thus, the vibration conveyor itself is known. The present invention can be used in any manner. The amplitude of the vibration is a distance from F to G, and is about 0.1 mm to 50 mm. The frequency is about 1 to 500 Hz.

The gist of the present invention resides in that the vibrating plate is provided with irregularities so that the granular material rolls and jumps so strongly. The size and shape of the unevenness, the repetition period, and the like are arbitrary. The projection may be like a projection.
Alternatively, it may be a concave and convex as a groove or a hole. It is good if it is not a flat surface.

FIG. 4 is a partial surface sectional view showing another example of the diaphragm. A trapezoidal groove 14 is provided parallel to the surface of the diaphragm. This is an inverted trapezoidal groove that is trapezoidal with a wide top and a narrow bottom. The hypotenuse faces diagonally upward. Due to the vibration, this surface can effectively push up the granular material and roll strongly. In addition, when it hangs on the hypotenuse, it stops at an angle.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the diaphragm. In this case, semicircular grooves 15 are provided on the diaphragm in parallel and periodically.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which a number of rectangular grooves 16 are provided in parallel on the surface of the diaphragm. It has a surface structure that includes the bottom, vertical and top surfaces.

The above grooves have different cross-sectional shapes. It was perpendicular to the direction of travel. However, it is not always necessary to be perpendicular to the traveling direction. FIG. 7 shows a diaphragm in which two sets of such grooves 17 and 18 are provided obliquely to the traveling direction. The inclination angles of the left inclined groove 17 and the right inclined groove 18 may not be equal. Here, grooves 17 and 18 having unequal inclination angles are drawn. In this case, since the particulate matter is also blown obliquely, the rotation becomes more intense.

So far, a diaphragm having a groove has been exemplified.
Instead of grooves, a number of convex shapes may be formed in parallel.
The cross section is opposite to the groove. Here, illustration is omitted. FIG.
It can be seen that 13 is convex.

Further, a large number of isolated projections may be provided. Further, a large number of isolated holes may be provided. FIG. 8 shows an example of a diaphragm having a large number of isolated projections 19 provided on the surface. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view. A large number of hemispherical projections are periodically formed.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of a diaphragm having a large number of isolated holes. A large number of hemispherical holes 22 are provided on the diaphragm surface. The plan view is the same as FIG. The hole is a triangular pyramid,
Any shape such as a square pyramid or a truncated pyramid may be used. The size of both the protrusion and the hole is 0.1 mm to 50 mm.

Next, the effect of the unevenness will be described. FIG. 14 shows a case where the granular material S is on the flat surface diaphragm and receives the electron beam E. The granules are irregular but have a stable landing and contact the diaphragm at points H and I on the landing. The electron beam hits only the upper surface of the granular material. It is difficult to turn or turn over a granular material by oblique vibration. Since the wheel slides on the flat diaphragm, the stable surface HI always becomes the bottom surface.

However, when the raised portion 36 is present as in the present invention, when the raised portion moves in the G direction due to vibration as shown in FIG. 15, the granular material S is strongly knocked obliquely rightward. The particulate matter jumps up in the V direction. It rotates greatly depending on the shape. Thus, the dynamic effect of soaring and knocking up the granular material by the impact is large. The granules can be turned over, turned sideways, and effect a change in posture. Also exposed to electron beams during the rotation. It receives an electron beam even in a new position when it lands.

In addition to dynamic effects, there are also static effects. As shown in FIG. 16, there is a case where one end J of the elongated granular material S rides on the ridge 37 and the other end K is supported by the lower surface 35. The granular material S stays in the inclined posture. The electron beam descends from just above, but also hits the tail. FIG.
The more stubby granular material S contacts the ridge 38 at point L,
The one that contacts the low surface 35 at the point M is shown. A flat surface does not take such a position, but is possible because of the ridges 38. The electron beam also hits the top.

FIG. 18 shows a state where the elongated granular material S is supported by the inclined surface 39. Electron beams hit even sharp surfaces. If it is a flat surface, it will not stand in such a state. Such various stable states are created because of various uplifts and depressions.

The present invention vibrates the vibrating plate having the protrusions and depressions as described above to convey the granular material. In general, the vibrating conveyor vibrates, even if the conveying surface is horizontal, so that the granular material is flipped forward, so that it can be conveyed.
Even if the irregularities are provided, the granular material can be transported in the same manner. As shown in FIG. 15, the bump may fly the granular material forward, but may also fly backward. Effectively, the friction between the granular material and the transfer surface increases, the transfer speed decreases, and the transfer amount may decrease. If the transport amount decreases, the conveyor can be tilted forward to increase the transport speed. Conversely, if the transport amount is too large,
It may be tilted backward.

Since the size, shape, and the like of the granular material differ depending on the type of the granular material (eg, rice and wheat), the shape and arrangement of the unevenness, the frequency, the vibration direction, and the amplitude of the transport surface are appropriately adjusted.

[0031]

According to the present invention, a granular material is conveyed by a vibrating conveyor having irregularities and irradiated with a low energy electron beam from above. The granules are continuously fed by the vibrating conveyor,
Since processing can be performed continuously, the processing amount is significantly increased as compared with batch processing. Since there are irregularities instead of flat surfaces, the rolling and momentum of the powder and granules become active. The inclined state can be maintained by the raised depression. In other words, the particles are carried while being caught on the irregularities. Even if the flat surface vibrates, the granular material does not rotate so much, but if the surface itself is inclined, the granular material is likely to roll. Since the rotation becomes more intense, the entire surface can be irradiated with the electron beam in a short time. To accommodate more processing, the conveyor surface can be tilted and increased. In comparison with this, the rotation of the grains is promoted, so that the processing time of the whole grains can be shortened and the throughput can be increased. That is, the efficiency of the sterilization treatment is increased. Sterilization is more complete because the electron beam is applied to all surfaces of the irregular shaped granules.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a diaphragm of the electron beam irradiation apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the surface of the diaphragm of FIG. 2 having a V-groove.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a diaphragm having a trapezoidal groove.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a diaphragm having a semicircular groove.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a diaphragm having a rectangular groove.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a diaphragm having parallel intersection grooves.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a diaphragm having many isolated bumps.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a partial surface of the diaphragm shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of a diaphragm having a large number of isolated holes.

FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a vibrator having a vibration motor.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a portion of a vibration motor.

FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of a vibrator that generates vibration by a leaf spring and a coil.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the granular material on the flat surface diaphragm is irradiated with an electron beam.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a granular body is flipped off by a raised diaphragm.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the elongated granular material is supported obliquely by the protrusion.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a round granular material is held vertically by a protrusion.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the elongated granular material is vertically supported by the protrusion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Filament 2 Vacuum chamber 3 Case 4 Irradiation window 5 Window foil 6 Vibrating conveyor 7 Vibrating plate 8 Vibrator 9 Support base 10 Spring 11 Inlet hopper 12 Outlet hopper 13 V groove 14 Trapezoidal groove 15 Semicircular groove 16 Rectangular groove 17 Cross groove 18 Intersecting groove 19 Isolated ridge 20 Side plate 22 Semicircular hole

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification FI FI Theme Court ゛ (Reference) G21K 5/04 G21K 5/04 E (72) Inventor Toru Hayashi 2-1-2 Kannondai, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki Pref. Inside the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Institute (72) Inventor Kenji Kato Inside Nisshin High Voltage Co., Ltd. 47, Umezu Takaune-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture New High Voltage Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mutsumi Mizutani F-term (reference) 2B051 AB01 BA09 BB11 BB20 3F037 AA08 BA03 4B021 LA44 LP10 LT01 LT02 LW09 4B069 AA02 GA05 HA18 HA20

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vibrating conveyor having unevenness on the surface of a vibrating plate and provided horizontally or inclined, and an electron beam for generating an electron beam and irradiating a part of the vibrating plate of the vibrating conveyor with an electron beam through an irradiation window. A generator, a housing provided continuously with the electron beam generator and surrounding the vibrating conveyor, an inlet hopper for supplying the granular material to the vibrating conveyor in the housing, and a granular material falling from the vibrating conveyor to the outside. An electron beam irradiation device having an outlet hopper for taking out. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the granular material is continuously supplied to a vibrating conveyor having unevenness on the surface of the vibration plate and provided horizontally or inclined.
A method for sterilizing a granular material, comprising transporting the granular material while rolling by vibration, irradiating the granular material with a low-energy electron beam during the transportation, and collecting the granular material irradiated with the electron beam and falling from the vibrating conveyor.