ES2292316B1 - PROCEDURE AND INSTALLATION FOR THE BOILING AND WASHING OF CORK BY SPRAYING WATER AT HIGH TEMPERATURE. - Google Patents

Abstract

Procedure and installation for boiling and washing of cork by spraying water at high temperature, which comprises the simultaneous spraying or spraying of a plurality of bales with water at very high temperature. The installation comprises a chamber of suitable dimensions and of stainless material or not attacked by moisture, equipped with filling and emptying accesses provided with airtight seal, and inside which a plurality of high temperature water sprayers or sprinklers are provided. on the bales, water supplied by means including a heater and decalcification and dechlorination filters, while the corresponding water collection sinks have been enabled on the floor of the chamber. The installation includes a safety device to cut its operation in case of presence of people inside the camera.

Description

Procedure and installation for boiling and cork washing by spraying water at high temperature.

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a procedure and installation for boiling and washing cork by high temperature water spray.

Background of the invention

Cork for plugs (or other uses) comes as  raw material in bales that are preserved for long periods of time (from 6 to 24 months) protected from soil and rain, so they have a very low degree of humidity, and due to this a rigidity that does not allow its manipulation to obtain cork stoppers.

For this reason the bales are subjected to a washing and boiling process in which the cork is cleaned and it also recovers the elasticity necessary for the transformation into corks.

Currently this process of washed-boiled is done in vats or autoclaves

In the first case the water is reused for several washes so microorganisms proliferate and Cleaning and safety conditions are lower.

In the case of high temperature autoclave and pressures achieved are very aggressive for cork. In addition, the humidity provided does not get to penetrate much in the cork by what is required to be cut with some speed, since the moisture is lost.

In both cases, in addition, the ability to production is low since they are washed-boiled two or three bales simultaneously maximum.

These inconveniences are corrected with the procedure of the invention and its installation installation practice.

Description of the invention

The process and installation of the invention serve in an optimal way for boiling and washing cork bales, with a volume of work much greater than that offered by the procedures and means known at present, and with optimal hygienic, safety and of preservation of
cork.

According to the invention, the procedure comprises simultaneous spraying or spraying of a plurality of Cork bales with chlorine and lime-free water at very high temperature, usually between 95 of 98 ° C, during a Approximate time of one hour.

This achieves the following advantages:

-The bales are treated with clean water and all volatile components (organochlorines) likely to create Sensory problems are greatly reduced.

- microbiological improvement at all levels.

- Increase the profitability of the process since once bale quantities can be boiled much higher than two or three that are processed simultaneously with the methods current.

- No steam or pressure is used and therefore the process is quite less aggressive.

- The humidity level is higher than transmits the procedure with autoclave, eliminating the problem of premature dryness and that forces the early cutting of the pieces of cork, also giving the cork more elasticity for its plug transformation.

To implement this procedure the invention has provided an installation comprising a camera of suitable dimensions for simultaneous spraying or spraying of the number of bales desired depending on the volume of production sought.

This camera is made of materials unattainable by moisture and resistant to operating temperatures, and ideally in stainless steel, and incorporates the corresponding accesses with hermetic closures.

On the top and inside of the camera a plurality of sprinklers or sprayers of the high temperature water that will wash / boil the bales to give them moisture. The installation therefore also includes means to heat this water and supply it under pressure adequate. In addition these media include filters that will eliminate any trace of chlorine or calcium in the water to avoid damage the cork or strangle the circulation ducts of the  water by accumulation of such.

Finally, a camera has been enabled in the camera sump system to collect water and a device security that allows to cut the operation of the installation and force the opening of the camera accesses in case of presence of people inside to preserve their physical integrity Due to the high water spray temperature.

As for the water collected by the sinks, this can be poured into a sanitation system after the corresponding debugging if necessary, or it can be treated for reuse again in the procedure in a subsequent washing.

With the installation of the invention they are achieved The following advantages:

- Improves cleanliness, since the material The chamber's stainless steel remains clean, and the Inner water spraying allows the evacuation of soil and unproductive pieces of cork.

- Security thanks to the devices of security installed in the camera.

- Production volume much higher than with current procedures, depending on the dimensions of the camera.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of the installation of the invention.

Description of a practical embodiment of the invention

The process of the invention consists of treat the cork bales by spraying or spraying on them of water at very high temperature, ideally between 95 and 98 ° C, for an approximate time of one hour.

This procedure allows the treatment simultaneous of a number of bales of cork much higher than it is capable of being carried out by means of vats or autoclaves (two or three simultaneously), depending on the dimensions of the installation.

Precisely installation 1 comprises a chamber 2 made of stainless material or not attacked by moisture or high temperatures, and ideally constituted in steel plates stainless.

The dimensions of this camera can be variables depending on the desired production volume, although they consider ideal surface dimensions about 50 meters squares, which allow the simultaneous treatment of about 50 bales 3 cork

The camera has the relevant accesses 4, with the peculiarity that these incorporate a hermetic seal during treatment Ideally, this access closure is it materializes with 5 hermetic doors whose closure is secured with pistons 6, with luminous witnesses being provided, no represented, which will light up when the closure is effective. A safety device is also provided that prevents opening of these doors during the process, due to the high temperatures that will be generated inside, and it has also been provided another security system consisting of controls, not represented, interior and / or exterior to the chamber capable of stop the process by cutting the electric current and deblocking the interlocking pistons the doors, which for this reason will be preferably tires. All these securities in order to prevent the accidental entry or permanence of people in the Inside the chamber during the process.

On the top inside of the camera you have provided a plurality of sprayers or sprinklers 7 of the high temperature water on cork bales, water supplied from a storage tank 8, at whose exit intercalating filters 9 for decalcification and dechlorination of the water to ensure that there is no trace of chlorine that may affect cork, or any calcium residue that may clog water pipes or sprayers. I also know insert a boiler 10 of superheated water, preferably with diesel burner, heat exchanger and groups 11 of Pressure.

The evacuation of the water spray is solved by installing sinks on the floor of the chamber, and preferably constituting the entire floor of the chamber in a single lattice 12. The collected water can be treated for reuse or discharge to a sanitation network.

Once finished process the assurances of access and opening of the doors will be deactivated to be able to extract from treated cork.

Describe sufficiently the nature of the invention, as well as how to perform it in practice, should be noted that the provisions indicated above and represented in the attached drawings are susceptible to modifications of detail as long as they do not alter the principle fundamental.

Claims (10)

1. Procedure for boiling and washing cork by spraying water at high temperature; of the type used to recover the conditions of moisture and elasticity of the cork stored in bales for a long time in low humidity conditions; characterized in that it comprises the simultaneous spraying or spraying of a plurality of bales with water at a very high temperature. 2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that the spraying and / or spraying of the bales is prolonged for approximately one hour. 3. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that the ideal temperature of the water for spraying or spraying ranges between 95 and 98 degrees Celsius. 4. Installation for boiling and washing cork by spraying water at high temperature characterized in that it comprises a chamber of suitable dimensions and of stainless material or not attacked by moisture, equipped with filling and emptying accesses provided with a hermetic seal, and in whose interior a plurality of high temperature water sprayers or sprinklers are provided on the bales, water supplied by means including a heater and decalcification and dechlorination filters, while the corresponding sinks have been enabled on the floor of the chamber water collection; The installation includes a safety device to cut its operation in case of presence of people inside the camera. 5. Installation according to claim 4 characterized in that it allows the spraying of up to 50 bales simultaneously in a chamber of 50 square meters of surface. 6. Installation according to claim 4 characterized in that the hermetic closure of the accesses to the chamber consists of hermetic doors whose closure is secured by pneumatic pistons. 7. Installation according to claim 4 characterized in that the water heater consists of an overheated boiler that operates through a diesel burner, with heat exchanger. 8. Installation according to claim 4 characterized in that the water supply means incorporate pressure groups. 9. Installation according to claim 4 characterized in that the sumps of the chamber are materialized by means of a single grid that covers the entire surface of the chamber. 10. Installation according to claims 4 and 6 characterized in that the safety device for cutting off the operation thereof in the presence of people inside the chamber consists of internal and / or external controls capable of interrupting the process by cutting off the current electric and unlocking the interlocking pistons the doors.