JP2000355502A - Treatment for preserving cut flower - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out the treatment for preserving a cut flower without elongating the treating time in a dipping step, while evading uneven dyeing, and without reducing the productivity by dewatering water in the tissue by using a solvent with an added coloring matter, and dipping the resultant cut flower into a penetrating solution containing a polyethylene glycol and the coloring matter to replace the water in the tissue therewith. SOLUTION: (A) A molecular sieve for adsorbing the water eluted from a petal is spread over the bottom part of a vessel for dewatering, having a largeness corresponding to the amount of the cut flower, and the cut flower is fixed in the vessel for dewatering. The resultant vessel is filled with a solvent having a specific gravity smaller than the water (e.g. acetone), with a coloring matter for dyeing added thereto, as a solvent for the dewatering to progress the dewatering step and to allow the water in the tissue of the cut flower to be eluted in the solvent, replace the water with the solvent and dye the tissue of the cell with the coloring matter. (B) The solvent in the obtained cut flower is replaced by using a penetrating solution obtained, for example, by dissolving a polyethylene glycol in acetone or the like, and adding the coloring matter to the obtained solution to carry out the objective treatment for preserving the cut flower.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for preserving cut flowers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 4-505766 proposes a processing method which enables cut flowers such as roses to be decorated over a long period of time while maintaining the same appearance as fresh flowers. . This treatment method is to dehydrate water in the cell tissue of cut flowers, that is, tissue water, then penetrate polyethylene glycol, replace tissue water with polyethylene glycol, and perform staining as necessary. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing of cut flowers is performed sequentially through a dehydration step, a permeation step, and a drying step.

[0003] The dehydration step is carried out by spreading an appropriate amount of molecular sieve on the bottom and fixing cut flowers in a container filled with a solvent having a specific gravity lower than that of water, for example, an anhydrous organic solvent such as acetone.
In this process, the water in the tissue of the cut flower, that is, the tissue water, gradually elutes into the solvent and at the same time the solvent moves into the tissue, so that the tissue of the cut flower is gradually dissolved in the tissue water while maintaining its mechanical structure. And is dehydrated.

[0004] The infiltration step is performed by fixing cut flowers in a container filled with an infiltration solution of polyethylene glycol to be infiltrated in acetone and cellosolob. At this time, polyethylene glycol having a different molecular weight is appropriately mixed. To use. At this time, by mixing a dye such as a textile dye for acrylic fiber into the infiltration solution, the dye penetrates into the tissue of the cut flower together with the polyethylene glycol for dyeing.

After a predetermined time has passed in the infiltration process, the infiltration solution is discharged, and then dried in the next drying process to obtain cut flowers.

[0006]

However, such a conventional technique has the following problems. a. First, in the related art, depending on the type of cut flower, dyeing is not performed uniformly, and uneven dyeing may occur. In this case, the commercial value of the cut flower is significantly reduced. As a result of the inventor's earnest experiment and study, it has been found that the cause of uneven dyeing is that the penetration of the permeation solution into the petal cell tissue is uneven depending on the petal portion. That is, after the water in the cell tissue is replaced with an anhydrous organic solvent such as acetone in the dehydration step, the solvent is replaced with a permeation solution containing polyethylene glycol in the permeation step. Different for each organization. Therefore, at the time when the permeation process has passed for a predetermined time, in a cell tissue having a high replacement rate, the solvent is immediately replaced with the permeation solution,
Although the cells are stained with the dye added therein, the color of the cell tissue having a low replacement rate becomes light because the ratio of the permeation solution replaced with the solvent is low.

B. Further, in the related art, there are the following problems regarding the dewatering process. That is, as described above,
Since the water eluted from the cut flowers into the solvent during the dehydration process is greater than the specific gravity of the solvent, the specific gravity of acetone tends to gradually increase due to the eluted water. While the molecular sieve is new, most of the eluted water is adsorbed by the molecular sieve, so that the specific gravity corresponding to the water content does not increase significantly, and the dehydration by the solvent is maintained. However, when the dehydration process proceeds and the total amount of eluted water exceeds the water adsorption capacity of the molecular sieve, the water remaining without being adsorbed causes the specific gravity of the solvent to rise sharply and the solvent dewatering capacity to be rapidly lost. . Conventionally, since such dehydration ability is not monitored, the dehydration process may proceed as it is even though the solvent dehydration ability is lost.
It is difficult to perform efficient dehydration.

C. Next, in the prior art, the cut flowers after the infiltration process are dried as they are in the drying process,
There are the following issues. That is, since acetone and cellosolve are volatile in the components of the permeation solution and thus diffuse into the air during the drying process, polyethylene glycol, which is a high-molecular substance, remains as it is on the outer surface of the petals. Polyethylene glycol remaining on the outer surface of the petal absorbs moisture in the atmosphere at a certain humidity or higher and becomes sticky when touched. The value will be significantly reduced. However, conventionally, no measure has been taken against such a point. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, first, as shown in claim 1, a dehydration step of dehydrating tissue water of cut flowers using a solvent, and a step of removing polyethylene glycol after dehydration. In a method for preserving cut flowers having a permeation step of permeating and replacing tissue water with polyethylene glycol, a dye for staining is added to the permeation solution in the permeation step and to the solvent in the dehydration step. We propose a preservation method for cut flowers.

In the present invention, as described in claim 2,
In the above configuration, the dehydration step shall be performed by laying an appropriate amount of molecular sieve on the bottom and fixing cut flowers in a container filled with a solvent having a smaller specific gravity than water, and in this step,
By measuring the specific gravity of the solvent, the dehydration ability according to the progress of dehydration is monitored, and a method for preserving cut flowers is proposed, which detects the point of time when the molecular sieve is replaced.

In the present invention, as described in claim 3,
In a method for preserving a cut flower having a dehydration step of dehydrating tissue water of cut flowers using a solvent and a penetration step of permeating polyethylene glycol after dehydration and replacing the tissue water with polyethylene glycol, the dehydration step includes a molecular sieve at the bottom. , The cut flowers are fixed in a container filled with a solvent having a specific gravity smaller than that of water.In this process, the specific gravity of the solvent is measured to monitor the dehydration ability due to the progress of dehydration, and the molecular sieve is used. The present invention proposes a method for preserving cut flowers, in which a dye for dyeing is added to a permeation solution during the permeation process after dehydration.

Further, in the present invention, as described in claim 4,
In each of the above configurations, it is proposed to provide a washing step of washing cut flowers in which tissue water has been replaced by polyethylene glycol in the infiltration step with a solvent not containing polyethylene glycol.

According to the present invention, as described in claim 5, in the above structure, the solvent in the dehydration step is acetone, and as described in claim 6, in the above structure, the solvent in the permeation step and the washing step is Proposes to use a mixed solvent of acetone and cellosolve.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the dye is added to the solvent in the cell tissue which has been replaced with water in the dehydration step. Even in the petal portion where the replacement speed is low and the ratio of the permeated solution replaced with the solvent is low, the dye concentration does not change, so that uneven dyeing can be avoided.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the dehydration ability of the solvent can be monitored by measuring the specific gravity of the solvent.
By detecting the point at which the specific gravity rises rapidly and replacing the molecular sieve with a new one at that point, the dehydration ability of the solvent is restored, and the solvent can be used continuously. On the other hand, the exchanged molecular sieve can be reused by drying.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the polyethylene glycol remaining on the outer surface of the petal after the infiltration process can be washed off with a solvent, and the excess polyethylene glycol on the outer surface of the petal is removed to remove the polyethylene glycol. The occurrence of stickiness after the process can be prevented.

[0017]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a flow of a process of a preservation treatment method for cut flowers according to the present invention. In this treatment method, a dehydration process, a permeation process, a washing process, and a drying process are performed. In the above, a dye for dyeing is added. First, in the dehydration step, as in the above-described conventional technique, a molecular sieve (adsorbing water eluted from petals) is placed at the bottom of a dehydration container having an appropriate size, that is, a size corresponding to the amount of cut flowers to be processed at the same time. (Zeolite, trade name) is spread in a thickness of about 2 cm, cut flowers are fixed in this container for dehydration, and as a solvent for dehydration, a solvent having a specific gravity smaller than that of water, in this example, 100% acetone is filled to perform the treatment. Let it go. At this time, in the present invention, a dye for desired dyeing was added to the solvent. Examples of the added dye and the concentration thereof are the same as those in the permeation process described later, and will be described later. The dehydration process in the above state was performed at room temperature (2
0-30 ° C) and processed for a minimum of 24 hours.
Extending the dehydration cycle beyond 48 hours did not find any particular benefit. During the above-mentioned dehydration process, the specific gravity of the solvent was constantly measured and monitored with a hydrometer. In one experiment, as the dehydration process proceeded, the specific gravity of the solvent acetone gradually increased from 0.78 of 100% acetone, but increased rapidly from above 0.82 to a specific gravity of 0.85.
Then, the effect of dehydration was hardly recognized. From this, it can be estimated that, under the conditions of this experiment, before and after the time when the specific gravity of the solvent reached 0.82, the total amount of eluted water exceeded the water adsorption capacity of the molecular sieve. Therefore, if the molecular sieve is replaced with a new one at this time, the solvent can be dehydrated and the solvent can be used continuously, so that the solvent can be used continuously, so that the dehydration step can proceed without wasting time. The exchanged molecular sieve can be reused by drying.

In the above-mentioned dehydration process, the water in the cell tissue of the cut flowers, ie, tissue water, gradually elutes into acetone, and at the same time, acetone moves into the tissues together with the dissolved pigment. While maintaining its mechanical structure, the tissue water is gradually replaced by acetone and dehydrated. Then, since a predetermined concentration of dye is added to the acetone in the tissue of the cut flower that has been replaced with the tissue water, the cell tissue is in a state stained with the dye.

Next, in the permeation step, a permeation solution in which polyethylene glycol to be permeated was dissolved in acetone and cellosolob was filled into a permeation container to which cut flowers were fixed. The infiltration solution is prepared by appropriately mixing polyethylene glycols having different molecular weights (for example, PEG1000 and PEG400) at the following ratio, for example, and dissolving this in a solvent such as acetone: cellosolve = 1: 1. The same dye as that added to the above was added to a predetermined concentration. Example of infiltration solution PEG1000 500 g PEG400 100 ml Acetone: cellosolve = 1: 1 solvent was added to make the total amount 1
Liters. Since the infiltration solution of the above ratio hardens at 15 ° C or less, it is hardened at a temperature higher than the solidification temperature, for example, 25 to 35 ° C by immersing it in hot water or putting it in an incubator.
Optimum permeation effect was obtained by treating at a treatment temperature of about 24 hours for about 24 hours. Theoretically, the treatment time can be reduced by performing the infiltration treatment at a high temperature. However, in actual experimental results, the treatment time at room temperature (20 to 30 ° C.) is higher than that obtained by performing the treatment at 50 ° C. for 12 hours. The polyethylene glycol permeated more uniformly after the time treatment. Examples of dyes added in dehydration step and permeation step Dye name: methyl red Color: vermilion Concentration: 3 (g / l) Dye name: tartrazine Color: yellow Concentration: 1 (g / l) Dye name: acid green 25 (acid green 25) Color: green Density: 2 (g / l) Pigment name: Acid blue 80 Color: Blue Concentration: 2 (g / l) The pigments above are solids (powder), and the concentration is the concentration with respect to the solvent for dehydration and the permeation solution. The above dyes are used alone when dyeing cut flowers into primary colors, but when dyeing into intermediate colors, these dyes may be appropriately mixed.

In the above-described permeation step, acetone in the cell tissue replaced with the tissue water in the dehydration step is replaced with a permeation solution containing polyethylene glycol, but the rate differs for each cell tissue. . In other words, acetone is immediately replaced by the infiltration solution in the cell tissue with a fast replacement rate, but acetone remains in the cell tissue without being replaced by the infiltration solution until a sufficient time has elapsed in the cell tissue with a slow replacement rate. Would. Therefore, in the conventional technique of adding a dye only to the permeation solution and performing staining only in the permeation process, the treatment time of the permeation process is set to a sufficiently long time until acetone is replaced with the permeation solution for all cell tissues. Otherwise, in tissue with a slower replacement rate, the amount of dye migrating into the tissue will be reduced in proportion to the amount of residual acetone, so that the concentration of dye in this tissue will be lower and therefore the color will be lighter. This was uneven dyeing. In other words, the cause of the uneven dyeing in the conventional technique is that the penetration of the permeation solution into the cell tissue is uneven in some parts, that is, that there is a difference in the amount of polyethylene glycol penetrating depending on the petal site of the cut flower. is there.
In contrast, in the present invention, since the dye is also added to acetone for dehydration, the dye itself is contained in acetone itself in the cell tissue replaced with tissue water, and the replacement speed is reduced. Even if acetone remains in the slow cell tissue, the dye concentration in the cell tissue does not change, so that uneven staining can be avoided. However, the present invention in which the dye is added in the dehydration step can avoid uneven dyeing, but does not increase the replacement speed depending on the site of the cell tissue. It is necessary to determine in consideration of the possibility of occurrence of inconveniences such as distortion of cut flowers and partial overdrying due to non-uniformity, and the productivity of cut flowers to be dyed. That is, in general, when a product having uneven dyeing is compared with a product in which the polyethylene glycol penetration amount is somewhat uneven but the dyeing is uniform, the evaluation of the product having uneven dyeing is remarkable. When the effect of polyethylene glycol to a certain degree is not practically harmful, application of the present invention can avoid uneven dyeing without extending the treatment time in the infiltration process, thereby reducing productivity. There is an advantage of not lowering. It is preferable that the concentration of the dye in the dehydration step is equal to or slightly lower than the concentration of the dye in the permeation step.

Next, in the washing step, the cut flowers that have undergone the infiltration step are treated with acetone: cellosolve =
Washing was performed by immersion in a 1: 1 solvent for a predetermined time, for example, 2 to 8 hours. In this case, if the cut flowers are immersed in the solvent for a longer time than necessary, the polyethylene glycol itself that has permeated into the tissue of the petal cells during the immersion process also flows out, so that time management is required. In this time management, the immersion time may be set based on data obtained by an experiment in advance under conditions such as the type and size of cut flowers.

After the washing step, the cut flowers are dried through an appropriate drying step as described in the above-mentioned prior art, so that decoration over a long period of time can be performed while maintaining the same appearance as fresh flowers. A cut flower product can be obtained.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing another embodiment of the process flow of the cut flower preservation processing method according to the present invention. The flow of this processing method is the same as the flow of the processing method shown in FIG. It has a dehydration step, a permeation step, a washing step, and a drying step. In this treatment method, the dye is not added to the solvent for dehydration in the dehydration step. Other steps are the same as the processing method shown in FIG. This treatment method is suitable for application to cut flowers in which the permeability of the infiltration solution into the cell tissue is partially nonuniform in some parts. In the processing method of FIG. 1, a dehydration container is required for each dye to be dyed. On the other hand, in the processing method of FIG. 2, the dehydration container is not affected by the dye to be dyed in the permeation process. There is an advantage that the container for dehydration can be used.

[0024]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. a. According to the first aspect of the present invention, uneven dyeing can be avoided without extending the treatment time in the permeation process, and the productivity does not decrease. b. According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, in the dehydration step, the dehydration step does not proceed in spite of the fact that the solvent has lost the dehydration ability. Therefore, the dehydration step can be performed without wasting time. By proceeding, efficient dehydration processing becomes possible. c. According to the invention of claim 4, the polyethylene glycol remaining in an adhering state on the outer surface of the petal after the permeation process can be washed away with the solvent, and the excess polyethylene glycol on the outer surface of the petal is removed, whereby the stickiness after the drying process is reduced. Occurrence can be prevented, and the commercial value of the product can be significantly increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a process flow of a cut flower preservation processing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the process flow of the cut flower preservation processing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process of a conventional cut flower storage processing method.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method for preserving cut flowers, comprising: a dehydration step of dehydrating tissue water of cut flowers using a solvent; and a permeation step of permeating polyethylene glycol after dehydration and replacing tissue water with polyethylene glycol. A preservative treatment method for cut flowers, characterized in that a dye for adding to a permeation solution in a permeation step and a solvent in a dehydration step are added. 2. The dehydration step shall be performed by laying an appropriate amount of molecular sieve on the bottom and fixing cut flowers in a container filled with a solvent having a specific gravity lower than that of water. In this step, the specific gravity of the solvent is measured. 2. The method for preserving cut flowers according to claim 1, wherein the dehydration ability according to the progress of the dehydration is monitored to detect the time point of replacement of the molecular sieve. 3. A method for preserving cut flowers, comprising: a dehydration step of dehydrating tissue water of cut flowers using a solvent; and a permeation step of permeating polyethylene glycol after dehydration and replacing tissue water with polyethylene glycol. Is to spread the appropriate amount of molecular sieve on the bottom and fix the cut flowers in a container filled with a solvent having a lower specific gravity than water.In this process, the specific gravity of the solvent is measured, and the dehydration ability due to the progress of dehydration is measured. A method for preserving cut flowers, comprising monitoring and detecting the time of replacement of the molecular sieve, and adding a dye for staining to the permeation solution during the permeation process after dehydration. 4. The cut flower according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein a washing step of washing a cut flower in which tissue water has been replaced by polyethylene glycol in the infiltration step with a solvent containing no polyethylene glycol is provided. Storage processing method 5. The method for preserving cut flowers according to claim 1, wherein the solvent in the dehydration step is acetone. 6. The method for preserving cut flowers according to claim 1, wherein the solvent in the infiltration step and the washing step is a mixed solvent of acetone and cellosolve.