JP2008031115A - Method and apparatus for producing liquid composition - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus by which a large amount of a liquid composition (e.g. a mouthwash) can efficiently and stably be produced in a small space and characteristics or kind of the liquid composition to be produced can easily be changed. <P>SOLUTION: The method for producing the liquid composition comprises producing an intermediate mixture solution at higher concentration than the objective concentration in a mixing vessel, further adding a solvent into a discharge passage of the mixing vessel, mixing both with a static mixer and affording the liquid composition at the objective concentration. The apparatus for producing the liquid composition is equipped with the mixing vessel 10 for producing the intermediate mixture solution, a control pump 30 installed in the discharge passage 20 of the mixing vessel, a liquid feeding part 40 connected to the discharge passage for further adding the solvent to the intermediate mixture solution and the static mixer 60 for mixing the added solvent with the solvent and intermediate mixture solution and affording the objective composition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing low viscosity liquid compositions such as mouthwashes, lotions, hair water, liquid flooring agents, deodorants and the like.

  For example, in order to industrially produce liquid compositions such as mouthwash, conventionally, a large-capacity mixing tank is filled with a solvent, and sweeteners, wetting agents, surfactants, physiologically active substances and other ingredients are added and stirred. By doing so, the liquid composition in the mixing tank is made uniform, and the liquid composition is supplied to a production line having a filling process into a container. As what described the general manufacturing method of such a mouthwash liquid, there exists a thing of patent document 1, for example. In order to fill the container with the liquid composition produced in the mixing tank in the continuous operation of the filling process, the liquid composition is produced in the mixing tank during the stoppage time of the filling operation such as at night, and is stored in two or more storage tanks. It is common to store once and supply to the filling process always in one of the storage tanks. And in order to obtain a big production amount, while raising the capability of a filling process, it is necessary to enlarge the volume of each storage tank and a mixing tank, and the big installation space for that is needed. Along with this, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time to feed the raw material into the mixing tank whose volume is increased. Such a problem can occur not only in the mouthwash but also in the production of other liquid compositions.

  While the liquid composition is produced by stirring in a batch system as described above, a method is employed in which the raw material is continuously mixed from the raw material supply to the completion of the target composition by mixing the raw material in the production line. (For example, Patent Document 2). When mixing multiple types of raw materials to a liquid raw material using a continuous mixing method, the liquid raw material is fed in a fixed amount on the production line, while the other raw materials can be fixed in the mixing device installed on the line. In addition, it is common to perform mixing in multiple stages, such as mixing, and further mixing other raw materials quantitatively in the next mixing apparatus. The mixing device is provided with an agitating blade or the like so as to have a positive liquid feeding action so that the liquid is quantitatively sent to the next stage each time mixing is performed.

In such a continuous process, in order to supply the first liquid raw material and the raw material to be added later to the line in a fixed amount, a supply pump is required at each supply point. However, the discharge pressure of the pump on the upstream side affects the discharge side pressure of the pump on the downstream side through the line, and the pumping pressure of the pump on the downstream side is also the liquid supply pressure by the stirring blades of the mixing device on the upstream side. To affect. And the downstream pump can change the discharge amount by these influences. Therefore, when a plurality of raw material supply points are provided on the production line, the discharge amount of the supply pump and the liquid feed amount of the mixing device provided in each must be set in relation to the capabilities of the supply pump and the mixing device before and after that. I must. In addition, since the discharge amount and the liquid supply amount are constantly changing due to fluctuations in the operation of the apparatus due to voltage fluctuations, etc., and changes in the viscosity of the liquid due to ambient temperature, supply lot differences, etc. Must be controlled in conjunction with. As a result, the control mechanism must be very complicated, and it is still difficult to obtain a liquid composition with stable properties. Furthermore, there is a problem that much labor is required when changing the characteristics and types of the liquid composition to be produced.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-215411 (especially, page 2, lower right column, lines 6 to 12) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-196683

  The present invention solves such problems of the prior art, can produce a large amount of liquid composition efficiently and stably in a small space, and changes the characteristics and types of the liquid composition to be produced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus that can be easily performed.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for producing a liquid composition having a target concentration, wherein a predetermined amount of a solute and an amount of a solvent that dissolves the solute at a concentration higher than the target concentration are contained in a mixing tank. To produce an intermediate mixed liquid by mixing, discharging the intermediate mixed liquid from the mixing tank to the discharge path at a constant flow rate by the liquid feeding device, and further supplying the intermediate mixed liquid in the discharge path to the liquid supply apparatus. The present invention provides a method for producing a liquid composition, characterized in that a solvent is added at a constant flow rate and mixed with a static mixer provided in the discharge path to obtain a target concentration.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention also includes a mixing tank that contains and mixes a solute and a solvent to produce an intermediate mixed liquid, a discharge path that discharges the intermediate mixed liquid from the mixing tank, and a discharge path A liquid feed section that is provided and allows a fixed amount of the intermediate mixed liquid to flow in the discharge path; a liquid supply section that is connected to the discharge path and further adds a solvent to the intermediate liquid mixture at a constant flow rate; And a static mixer for producing the target composition by mixing the intermediate mixed solution and the solvent, and providing a liquid composition production apparatus.

  In the method for producing a liquid composition according to the present invention, an intermediate mixed solution having a concentration higher than the target concentration is produced in a mixing tank, and a solvent is further added to the mixture to mix to produce a liquid composition having the target concentration. Therefore, the volume of the mixing tank can be reduced as compared with the case where the liquid composition having the target concentration is performed in the mixing tank. Further, since the subsequent addition of the solvent is performed on the discharge path from the mixing tank, the installation space for the addition can be reduced. As a result, a large amount of liquid composition can be efficiently produced in a small space. In addition, since the liquid composition is manufactured in two stages through an intermediate mixed solution, when changing the characteristics and types of the liquid composition to be manufactured, it is only necessary to replace the raw material at the required stage. Less path cleaning is required. Even when the raw material replacement is required at both stages, the raw material replacement and cleaning are easy because the size of the equipment is small.

  In particular, since the mixing in the discharge path is performed by a static mixer (static mixing stirrer), the liquid feeding device and the liquid supply that discharge the mixture from the mixing tank to the discharge path and add the solvent to the discharge path at a constant flow rate, respectively. The influence on the quantitativeness in the apparatus can be reduced, and a liquid composition having a target concentration can be obtained with certainty. That is, the static mixer performs mixing by dividing, reversing, changing the position of the material to be mixed when passing through a fixed element provided inside. Therefore, there is no active driving part such as a stirring blade, and there is no liquid feeding action that is inevitably caused by the driving part. Moreover, since an intermediate liquid mixture is manufactured in a mixing tank beforehand, the solvent added after that may be performed at one place or a limited number of places. As a result, the interaction with the discharge side pressure of the liquid feeding device and the liquid supply device can be suppressed very slightly (the pressure according to the flow resistance when flowing through the internal element is generated, but this is almost constant) is there). Therefore, the liquid feeding device and the liquid feeding control of the liquid feeding device can be easily and accurately performed while mixing in the discharge path, and a liquid composition having a target concentration can be stably obtained.

  In the apparatus for producing a liquid composition according to the present invention, a mixing tank for producing an intermediate mixed solution, a metering pump for flowing the intermediate mixed solution into a discharge path, and a liquid supply unit for further adding a solvent into the discharge path; By providing a static mixer that mixes the added solvent and the intermediate mixture, the above method can be carried out efficiently and reliably. In particular, a concentration measuring device for measuring the concentration of the target composition is provided on the downstream side of the static mixer in the discharge path, and the liquid supply unit includes a liquid supply control device for adjusting the amount of liquid supplied to the discharge path, By adopting a configuration in which the liquid supply control device adjusts the liquid supply amount in accordance with a concentration signal from the measuring device, a liquid composition having a target concentration can be produced more reliably.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an apparatus for carrying out the method for producing a liquid composition according to the present invention.

  This manufacturing apparatus is for manufacturing a mouthwash (liquid composition for oral cleaning), and includes a mixing tank 10 for manufacturing an intermediate mixed solution. The mixing tank 10 is provided with a raw material inlet 11 on the upper wall, a stirring blade 12 is mounted inside, and a motor 13 for rotating the stirring blade is installed at the top. Further, a supply path 14 and a solvent supply path 16 extending from the dissolution tank 15 are connected to the upper part of the mixing tank 10, and a discharge path 20 for discharging the internal liquid and sending it to the storage tank 80 is connected to the bottom part. ing.

  In the middle of the discharge path 20, a control pump 30 and a flow meter 31 are provided as a liquid feeding section (liquid feeding device). The control pump 30 is controlled based on a flow rate detection signal from the flow meter 31 so that a predetermined amount of the intermediate mixed solution flows in the discharge path. Connected to the discharge path 20 is a liquid supply unit 40 for adding a solvent to the intermediate mixed solution at a constant flow rate. A static mixer 60 that mixes the intermediate mixed solution and the solvent to produce the target composition is provided on the downstream side of the connection portion of the discharge path 20. Further, a concentration measuring device 70 is provided on the downstream side of the static mixer 60 in the discharge path 20 to measure the concentration of the liquid composition in the discharge path.

  A liquid supply unit (liquid supply device) 40 includes a supply pipe 41 having one end connected to a solvent supply source (not shown) and the other end connected to the discharge path 20, and a feed pipe provided in the middle of the supply pipe. A liquid control pump 42, a flow meter 43, and a dampener (cushion tank) 44 are provided. The control pump 42 is controlled based on the flow rate detection signal from the flow meter 43 so that a predetermined amount of solvent flows in the discharge path. The liquid supply unit 40 further includes a liquid supply control device 45 that adjusts the amount of liquid supplied to the discharge path 20. The concentration measuring device 70 sends a concentration signal corresponding to the measured concentration to the liquid supply control device 45, and the liquid supply control device controls the liquid composition passed through the static mixer 60 according to the concentration signal so that the liquid composition reaches the target concentration. 42 is adjusted.

  The storage tank 80 is for storing the liquid composition to be sent to the container filling process. In this embodiment, two storage tanks 80 are provided, each of which has the above-described discharge path 20 and the liquid composition in the filling process. A liquid supply path 81 for sending an object is connected. The supply to the two storage tanks 80 is performed by branching the discharge path 20 and is appropriately switched by a switching valve 90 provided immediately upstream of the branching point. The storage tank 80 has a large capacity so that liquid supply to the filling process can be performed without interruption. On the other hand, the mixing tank 10 supplies liquid to the storage tank 80 every time an intermediate liquid mixture is manufactured. Small capacity. In this embodiment, the storage tank 80 has a capacity of several tons to several tens of tons, and the mixing tank 10 has a capacity of 30 to 70%, as in a general manufacturing facility for mouthwash liquids and the like.

  As the control pump 30 and the control pump 42, a MONO pump excellent in quantitativeness is used, but other pumps can also be used. When the pump itself is highly quantitative, feedback control based on the measured value of the flow meter on the discharge side of the pump is not particularly required.

  Of the components of the intermediate mixed solution, it is desirable to select a solute and a solvent that can be sufficiently mixed by the stirring rotor blades to be charged into the mixing tank 10. By doing so, the solvent added from the liquid supply unit 40 can be easily mixed with the intermediate liquid mixture, and sufficiently uniform mixing can be obtained by a static mixer that does not include an active driving member.

  FIG. 2 shows a desirable configuration for the structure of the mixing tank 10 and the storage tank 80. Inside the mixing tank 10 and the storage tank 80 (hereinafter collectively referred to as a tank), a cleaning spray nozzle 101 is permanently installed or inserted when necessary, and the cleaning liquid is stored in the tank while rotating the injection port. Spray on the inner wall. The tank is provided with a hatch 102 for charging the raw material, a piping portion 103 for installing instruments such as a pressure gauge, and for supplying the raw material.

  Usually, as shown in FIG. 3, these hatches and piping portions protrude out of the tank so as to rise substantially perpendicularly to the wall surface of the tank. In general, the spray nozzle 101 is arranged at the center of the tank so that the inside of the layer can be uniformly cleaned. In such an arrangement, when the hatch and the piping part are provided as shown in FIG. 3, the peripheral wall including the rising part (indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure) does not contact the straight line indicating the cleaning liquid injection direction. A dead space is formed. As a result, the cleaning in the dead space is not performed properly, which may cause a problem of affecting the characteristics of the liquid composition to be manufactured thereafter.

  On the other hand, in the tank shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral walls of the hatch 102 and the pipe portion 103 are inclined in a direction in contact with a straight line indicating the cleaning liquid injection direction. Therefore, a dead space for the cleaning liquid injection from the spray nozzle 101 is not formed, and as a result, the hatch and the pipe are reliably cleaned.

  In order to manufacture a mouthwash having predetermined characteristics using this manufacturing apparatus, the following steps are performed. The mixing tank 10 is filled with a solvent (mainly water) via a supply path 16, and a water-soluble blending component (solute) is supplied into the mixing tank 10 from the inlet 11. In the dissolution tank 15, oil-soluble blending components (solutes) are dissolved by alcohols (such as lower alcohols and polyhydric alcohols) or a mixture of alcohol and water and supplied to the mixing tank 10 via the supply path 14. The Each amount is set so that a mixed solution having a concentration higher than the target concentration as the mouthwash can be obtained. And stirring is performed by the stirring blade 12, and an intermediate liquid mixture is manufactured.

  The obtained intermediate mixed liquid is discharged from the mixing tank 10 to the discharge path 20. Then, a solvent is further added from the supply pipe 41 connected to the discharge path 20, and the added solvent is uniformly mixed by the static mixer 60. In this embodiment, as a solvent to be added, water supplied from the supply path 14 and a solvent having the same components as the hydroalcoholic solvent are used, and mixing by the static mixer 60 is possible due to easy mixing.

  The liquid composition to which the solvent has been added and mixed is supplied from the discharge path 20 to the storage tank 80. And if the storage tank 80 is satisfy | filled with sufficient quantity, a liquid composition will be sent to the filling process from the liquid sending path 81. FIG. When the remaining amount of the liquid composition in one of the two storage tanks 80 becomes very small, liquid feeding is stopped, and liquid feeding from the other storage tank 80 to the filling process is performed. And the liquid composition supply from the discharge path 20 is performed to the storage tank which stopped liquid feeding in the meantime. In addition, it is also possible to supply the liquid composition from the discharge passage 20 in parallel to the storage tank 80 where the liquid is being sent. In this case, an appropriate liquid amount is held in one storage tank. In addition, continuous liquid feeding to the filling step can be performed.

[Example]
Below, the Example of mouthwash liquid manufacture is described. As an example according to the production method of the present invention, an intermediate mixed solution of components shown in column A of Table 1 is manufactured in the mixing tank 10, a solvent shown in column B is added from the liquid supply unit 40, and mixed by the static mixer 60. A mouthwash was prepared. Table 1 shows the concentration ratio of the liquid mixture sent to the storage tank, which is the concentration ratio of the intermediate liquid mixture produced in the mixing tank. That is, the concentration ratio is a ratio of the concentration of the intermediate mixed solution to the target concentration.

  In order to investigate the characteristics of the mouthwash produced by this method, a mouthwash having a target concentration was produced using a conventional method, that is, only a mixing tank, and compared. As described above, the conventional method involves problems such as requiring a large installation space, but has actually achieved good characteristics with respect to flavor. Here, it was tested whether or not the mouthwash obtained by the method of the present invention can exhibit characteristics comparable to those of the conventional method.

  When a flavor test was conducted on the mouthwash produced by the method of the present invention and the mouthwash obtained by the conventional method, the results shown in the lower part of Table 1 were obtained.

The flavor test is conducted by sensory evaluation, and 10 ml of mouthwash is contained in the mouth, and the mouth is rinsed by rinsing after spreading the solution in the mouth. The flavor felt in the above was scored in the following three stages.
A: Equivalent to mouthwash liquid by conventional method B: Slightly weaker than mouthwash liquid by conventional method C: Clearly weaker than mouthwash liquid by conventional method This was done by 5 expert panelists and evaluated based on it . The symbols in the table indicate the following evaluations.
◎: All are A and scoring ○: 3 or more are A and the rest are B and scoring ×: Other than the above As a result, as shown in Table 1, the concentration ratio of the intermediate mixture is 4 times or less A favorable evaluation was obtained by this, and a more preferable evaluation was obtained by setting it to 3.3 times or less. As described above, if the concentration exceeds the predetermined concentration range, an appropriate flavor cannot be obtained because the content of water in the intermediate liquid mixture has decreased, so that the dissolved state of the fragrance in the final liquid composition is It is considered that the result is different from that obtained by the conventional method.

  Further, in order to reduce the volume of the mixing tank obtained by producing the high-concentration intermediate mixed liquid in the mixing tank, it is necessary to increase the concentration of the intermediate mixed liquid to some extent. From this point of view, it is desirable that the concentration ratio of the intermediate liquid mixture is 2 times or more.

  The mouthwash shown in Table 1 is a general one obtained by diluting a commonly used active ingredient with water or a hydroalcoholic solvent. Therefore, when such a general mouthwash is produced according to the present invention, it is desirable that the concentration of the intermediate mixture is 2 to 4 times the target concentration, and 2 to 3.3 times. More desirable.

It is a figure which shows roughly an example of the apparatus for enforcing the manufacturing method of the liquid composition which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematically a preferable example of the tank of a liquid composition manufacturing apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematically a part of unpreferable example of the tank of a liquid composition manufacturing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

10 Mixing tank 20 Discharge path 30 Control pump (liquid feeding device / liquid feeding part)
40 Supply Unit 42 Control Pump (Liquid Supply Device / Liquid Supply Unit)
45 Liquid supply control device 60 Static mixer 70 Concentration measuring device

Claims (4)

A method for producing a liquid composition having a target concentration, wherein an intermediate mixed solution is manufactured by storing and mixing a predetermined amount of a solute and a solvent capable of dissolving the solute at a concentration higher than the target concentration in a mixing tank. Then, while discharging the intermediate mixed solution from the mixing tank to the discharge path at a constant flow rate by a liquid feeding device, a solvent is further added to the intermediate mixed solution in the discharge path by a liquid supply device at a constant flow rate, and the discharge path A method for producing a liquid composition, which is mixed with a static mixer provided therein to obtain a target concentration. The method for producing a liquid composition according to claim 1, wherein the solvent is an aqueous or hydroalcoholic solvent. A mixing tank that contains and mixes a solute and a solvent to produce an intermediate mixed solution;
A discharge path for discharging the intermediate mixed liquid from the mixing tank; a liquid feeding section provided in the discharge path for flowing a fixed amount of the intermediate mixed liquid into the discharge path;
A liquid supply unit connected to the discharge passage and further adding a solvent to the intermediate liquid mixture at a constant flow rate;
An apparatus for producing a liquid composition, comprising: a static mixer that is provided on the downstream side of a connection portion of the liquid supply part in the discharge path and that mixes the intermediate mixed solution and a solvent to produce a target composition. A concentration measuring device for measuring the concentration of the target composition in the discharge passage and emitting a concentration signal is provided downstream of the static mixer in the discharge passage, and the liquid supply unit determines the amount of liquid supplied to the discharge passage. 4. A liquid supply control device for adjusting the liquid supply amount, wherein the liquid supply control device adjusts the liquid supply amount according to the concentration signal so that the target composition having passed through the static mixer has a target concentration. An apparatus for producing the liquid composition as described in 1. above.

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