JP2007277436A - Method for producing molded product - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a molded product containing coffee grounds, good in moldability of e.g. a polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polystyrene resin, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin, homogeneously dispersing coffee grounds in the final molded product even when a relatively inexpensive general-purpose resin is used, thus giving the good final molded product. <P>SOLUTION: The method comprises the step of blending first resin(s) with coffee grounds followed by granulation to obtain pellets comprising the coffee grounds and the first resin(s), and the step of blending the pellets with a second resin followed by molding. In this method, a styrene-based elastomer and/or a hydrogenated styrene-based elastomer is(are) used as the first resin(s). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for reusing coffee extract residue and expired regular coffee beans, i.e., coffee mash, produced in the process of producing coffee beverages, and in particular, a molded product obtained by molding coffee candy with a resin. It relates to a method of manufacturing.

  The extraction residue in extracting the coffee extract from the roasted coffee beans, that is, the coffee cake, has become enormous with the increase in demand for coffee beverages such as canned coffee and instant coffee. This coffee cake contains a large amount of water, is not suitable for incineration, and contains a large amount of fat, and therefore requires a great deal of cost for its processing. Therefore, from the viewpoint of reducing the cost required for processing, an effective method for reusing coffee mash or expired regular coffee beans as an extraction residue of a coffee extract has been desired.

  On the other hand, for example, in Patent Document 1, mixed pellets composed of vegetable food residue powder such as coffee lees and constir as a binder and biodegradable plastic were mixed and stirred, and obtained. A molded product is disclosed in which a mixed material is put into a molding machine and molded into a specific shape.

  However, in this patent document 1, since the process of mixing and pelletizing coffee lees and konstachi is adopted, it has the following problems. That is, the starch contained in this pellet is excellent in moldability such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (ABS), and a relatively inexpensive general-purpose resin. The compatibility is poor and it has the property that it cannot be uniformly mixed with these general-purpose resins. For this reason, the technique of Patent Document 1 has a problem that it cannot be used in combination with these general-purpose resins. Furthermore, the starch used in Patent Document 1 also has a problem that heat resistance is low. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a molding method for obtaining a molded product is limited. In addition, there is a problem that the heat resistance of the obtained molded product is low.

  In addition, for example, when these general-purpose resins and coffee candy are directly mixed to obtain a molded product, peeling (delamination) occurs at the interface between the general-purpose resin and the coffee candy. There was a problem that the coffee cake could not be uniformly dispersed. For this reason, it has been necessary to use the coffee grind in advance by crushing it to about 30 μm using, for example, a mill. However, even when such a method is adopted, the effect of preventing delamination at the interface between the general-purpose resin and the coffee grinder is not sufficient, and the processing cost such as the fine grinding cost is increased. There existed a problem and the problem that the handleability of the fine powder obtained will deteriorate.

  Further, as described above, when the coffee mash is pulverized to about 30 μm in advance and pulverized, the general-purpose resin and the pulverized coffee mash are mixed and pulverized by a mill or the like. There were also the following problems depending on the oil content. That is, when mixing and pulverizing in a mill or the like, the screen mesh and the strainer of the injection machine are clogged by the oil content of the coffee mash, and therefore, for example, the problem that mass production of about 50 kg or more cannot be performed, There is a problem that the strainer needs to be cleaned, resulting in an increase in processing costs.

JP 2001-8201 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and is excellent in moldability such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin, and the like and relatively inexpensive when producing a molded product containing coffee koji. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a molded product that can uniformly disperse the coffee grind in the molded product even when a general-purpose resin is used, and can give a good molded product.

  As a result of intensive studies to achieve the above object, the present inventors first mixed coffee grounds with a specific resin (first resin), pulverized, and granulated at room temperature to identify the coffee grounds. It is found that the above object can be achieved by producing pellets containing the resin (first resin) and then dispersing the pellets in a resin (second resin) having excellent moldability. It came to complete.

That is, the method for producing a molded product according to the present invention includes:
A method for producing a molded product containing coffee candy,
Mixing and granulating the coffee cake and the first resin to obtain pellets containing the coffee cake and the first resin;
Mixing and molding the pellet and the second resin,
As the first resin, a styrene elastomer and / or a hydrogenated styrene elastomer is used.

  Preferably, the ratio between the coffee cake and the first resin is a weight ratio in the range of coffee cake: first resin = 1: 3 to 1: 1. In addition, the coffee mash used in the present invention usually contains moisture, and in the present invention, for example, with respect to 100% by weight of the coffee mash in a state of containing moisture (that is, moisture + coffee residue). Use coffee mash containing 15-30% by weight. Therefore, in the present invention, the weight of the coffee cake in the above ratio is defined by the weight of the coffee cake containing moisture.

  In the present invention, the first resin is not particularly limited as long as a styrene elastomer and / or a hydrogenated styrene elastomer is used, and has a property that the compatibility between the coffee grinder and the second resin is high. However, it is preferable to have rubber elasticity. Examples of such a resin include a block copolymer containing aromatic vinyl and a diene compound as main components and / or a block copolymer containing aromatic vinyl and a diene compound as main components. A polymer obtained by hydrogenation is preferably used.

  The second resin is not particularly limited, but is polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) because it is excellent in moldability, relatively inexpensive, and highly versatile. ), Polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-styrene resin (AS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (ABS), nylon, polycarbonate (PC), nylon (NL), acrylic resin (AC), polyvinyl chloride resin (PVC), etc. Is mentioned. Among these, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin are particularly preferably used.

  Alternatively, in the present invention, various biodegradable resins may be used as the second resin. By using a biodegradable resin, it becomes possible to reduce the environmental load. Furthermore, in the present invention, various biodegradable resins may be mixed and used together with general-purpose resins that are excellent in moldability such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) and are relatively inexpensive.

  The production method of the present invention employs a process in which coffee mash is uniformly dispersed in a specific first resin in advance, pelletized, and then the resulting pellet is mixed with the second resin to obtain a molded product. is doing. Therefore, as in the past, general-purpose resins having excellent moldability such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin, etc. and relatively inexpensive (these general-purpose resins are examples of the second resin used in the present invention). However, it is possible to effectively solve the problem in the case of directly mixing the coffee mash with the coffee mash, that is, the problem of delamination at the interface between the general-purpose resin and the coffee mash. Therefore, the coffee cake can be uniformly dispersed in the obtained molded product, and a molded product excellent not only in moldability but also in design properties can be obtained due to the color and matting effect of the coffee cake.

  Moreover, in the manufacturing method of this invention, in order to disperse | distribute coffee lees uniformly beforehand in specific 1st resin, in a state with a comparatively high moisture content (for example, 15-30 weight%) Can be used. Therefore, the cost required for drying the coffee grinder can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing method of this invention, it can be used, without grind | pulverizing coffee mash beforehand. For this reason, for example, it is not necessary to pulverize the coffee grind to about 30 μm with a mill or the like, so that the processing cost can be reduced from this point. Furthermore, the handleability of the coffee grinder when finely pulverized does not occur.

  In particular, in the present invention, the oil component generated when the coffee grind is finely pulverized can be adsorbed by the specific first resin. Therefore, by previously mixing and pulverizing the coffee cake and the first resin, the oil content generated from the coffee cake can be pulverized while adsorbing the oil content to the first resin, and as a result, the oil content generated from the coffee cake. It is possible to effectively prevent clogging of the screen mesh and the strainer of the injection machine due to the above. Therefore, according to the present invention, for example, mass production on a scale of about 1,000 kg or more is possible as well as production on a scale of 50 kg or more, and furthermore, the cost required for cleaning the screen mesh or strainer is suppressed. Can do.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of a molded product according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, the coffee cake is reused by converting the coffee cake into a molded product by using the coffee cake as an extraction residue when extracting the coffee extract from roasted coffee beans. A method will be described.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a process as shown in FIG. 1 is adopted when reusing coffee mash as an extraction residue.
That is, first, the coffee cake is dried, and the resulting dried coffee cake and the first resin are mixed and coarsely pulverized. Then, the obtained coarsely pulverized product is further finely pulverized and granulated, whereby the coarsely pulverized product is pelletized to obtain a pellet (master batch) containing the coffee cake and the first resin.
And the pellet (masterbatch) obtained by doing in this way is mixed with 2nd resin, and finally this mixture is shape | molded in a desired shape, and it is set as a molded article (reuse goods).
Details will be described below.

  First, a coffee gruel is prepared as an extraction residue when extracting a coffee extract from roasted coffee beans. Such coffee mash as an extraction residue is in a state containing moisture, and the water content in the coffee mash as an extraction residue is usually determined as follows. ) It is about 60 to 90% by weight with respect to 100% by weight. Therefore, first, in this embodiment, in order to reduce the moisture contained in the coffee cake, the coffee cake is dried.

  Although drying may be performed using a dryer, in the present embodiment, even when the water content of the coffee cake is relatively high, as described below, it is uniform in the first resin and the second resin. Therefore, a method of drying at room temperature can also be employed. By drying at room temperature, the cost required for drying can be reduced. The drying time when drying at room temperature is preferably about 24 to 48 hours. Or when drying using a dryer, it is preferable to dry on the conditions of temperature 80-120 degreeC. If the drying temperature is too high, the aroma and color of the coffee grinder may be deteriorated.

  In the present embodiment, the moisture content in the coffee cake after drying is preferably 15 to 30% by weight with respect to 100% by weight of the coffee cake containing moisture (ie, moisture + coffee residue). And more preferably in the range of 12 to 18% by weight. In the present embodiment, as will be described below, since the coffee candy is first dispersed in the specific first resin, even when the water content is relatively high as described above, the coffee candy is dispersed. Can be performed satisfactorily. And since dispersion | distribution in a state with comparatively much water content is attained, the energy which drying requires can be reduced, As a result, processing cost can be restrained low. In addition, the water | moisture content contained in the coffee mash will be removed by the granulation process demonstrated later.

  In addition to the problem that if the water content in the coffee candy is too low due to drying, the cost required for drying will increase, it will trap malodorous substances etc. in the fine pores of the coffee candy, so the resulting molded product May cause an unpleasant odor and reduce the product value. On the other hand, when the water content in the coffee cake is too high, dispersion in the first resin becomes difficult.

  Next, the coffee mash having a predetermined water content by drying and the first resin are mixed, coarsely pulverized, and then finely pulverized.

  In this embodiment, since the process of pre-dispersing the coffee cake in the first resin to be described later is employed, the dried coffee cake is mixed and pulverized with the first resin without being pulverized in advance. be able to. That is, the coffee cake as the extraction residue can be used with a particle size of about 300 μm. For this reason, it is not necessary to pulverize the coffee cake with a freezing pulverization or a dedicated mill beforehand, so that the processing cost can be reduced. Conventionally, there has been a problem that uniform dispersion is extremely difficult if, for example, the coffee mash as an extraction residue is used without pulverizing it with a particle size of about 300 μm. On the other hand, this embodiment also solves such a problem effectively.

  In the present embodiment, the coffee lees are pulverized by being coarsely pulverized and finely pulverized together with the first resin. The coarse pulverization and fine pulverization may be performed so that the average particle size of the coffee grind in the obtained pulverized product is preferably about 30 to 80 μm.

  Further, the ratio between the coffee cake and the first resin is a weight ratio, preferably in the range of coffee cake: first resin = 1: 3 to 1: 1, more preferably 1: 2 to 1: 1. Range. In the above ratio, the weight of the coffee cake means the weight of the coffee cake containing moisture (that is, moisture + coffee residue).

  When the ratio of the coffee koji is too large, the dispersibility of the pellets obtained when pelletized together with the first resin in the second resin tends to deteriorate. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of reusing coffee mash, a higher ratio of coffee mash is preferable, and therefore the lower limit of the ratio of coffee mash is preferably set in the above-described range.

  In addition, the content of the dried coffee cake contained in the molded product that is the final product is 100% by weight based on the entire molded product (that is, the total of the coffee cake, the first resin, and the second resin described later). Thus, it is preferably about 1.5 to 30% by weight, more preferably about 10 to 15% by weight.

  The first resin is not particularly limited as long as a styrene-based elastomer and / or a hydrogenated styrene-based elastomer is used. If the first resin has a property of being highly compatible with the second resin described later. Although it is good, it is preferable to have rubber elasticity.

  By using such a first resin, when granulation is performed later, the coffee cake can be uniformly dispersed in the first resin, and further, an extract (aroma, Fragrance, pigment, etc.) can be adsorbed to the first resin. On the other hand, for example, in the case of directly mixing coffee granule and a general-purpose resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene and granulating, peeling (delamination) occurs at the interface between the general-purpose resin and the coffee grinder, The coffee cake could not be uniformly dispersed in the general-purpose resin. That is, this embodiment effectively solves such a problem.

  Specific examples of the styrenic elastomer as the first resin include a block copolymer containing aromatic vinyl and a diene compound as main components. Examples of the hydrogenated styrene elastomer include those obtained by hydrogenating a block copolymer containing aromatic vinyl and a diene compound as main components.

  The aromatic vinyl forms a polystyrene block (S). Although it does not specifically limit as aromatic vinyl, For example, styrene, (alpha) -methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene etc. are mentioned.

  On the other hand, the diene compound forms an elastomer block (E). Although it does not specifically limit as a diene type compound, For example, 1, 3- butadiene, isoprene, 2-methyl- 1, 3- butadiene, 2, 3- dimethyl- 1, 3- butadiene, 2-ethyl- 1, 3 -Butadiene, 1,3-pentadiene and the like. In the elastomer block (E), non-diene unsaturated monomers such as 1-butene and ethylene may be copolymerized together with these diene compounds.

  There is no particular limitation on the bonding mode of the polystyrene block (S) and the elastomer block (E) in the block copolymer, but these blocks are block copolymers in the form of S-E and S-E-S. Is preferred.

  The ratio of the polystyrene block (S) and the elastomer block (E) in the block copolymer is a weight ratio and ranges from polystyrene block (S): elastomer block (E) = 10: 90 to 60:40. Is preferred. When the ratio of the polystyrene block (S) is smaller than the above range, the affinity with the coffee grinder tends to be reduced. On the other hand, when the ratio of the elastomer block (E) is smaller than the above range, the rigidity of the obtained molded product tends to decrease.

  Such a block copolymer can be obtained, for example, by polymerizing an aromatic vinyl compound and a diene compound alternately by anionic polymerization.

  The molecular weight of the styrene elastomer or hydrogenated styrene elastomer as the first resin is not particularly limited, but is a number average molecular weight, preferably in the range of 30,000 to 250,000, more preferably 45,000 to 180,000. Range.

  When the first resin is a hydrogenated styrene elastomer, a hydrogenated double bond derived from a diene compound in the elastomer block may be used.

  In the present embodiment, when mixing and pulverizing (coarse pulverization and fine pulverization) with the coffee cake and the first resin, the purpose is to improve the flowability and workability as necessary. Various additives may be added. Examples of such additives include polyolefin-styrene graft copolymers, anhydrous maleic copolymers, ethylene copolymers, ethylene terpolymers, and the like. The content of the additive is preferably 3 to 5 parts by weight when the total weight of the coffee cake and the first resin is 100 parts by weight.

  Next, the finely pulverized product obtained above is granulated and pelletized to obtain a pellet (master batch) containing coffee koji and the first resin. Although the magnitude | size of a pellet is not specifically limited, Usually, it is set as a cylindrical shape about 3-5 mm in diameter and about 5-30 mm in height. Moreover, as a method of granulating and pelletizing, the method of using a pelletizer is mentioned, for example. In the present embodiment, the moisture contained in the coffee cake is removed by friction due to granulation in this granulation step. Therefore, the moisture content in the obtained pellets is reduced to 5 to 7% by weight with respect to 100% by weight as a whole of the coffee gruel (weight in a state including moisture, ie, moisture + coffee residue).

  Next, the pellets containing the coffee cake and the first resin obtained above and the second resin are mixed using a tumbler or the like. The pellets obtained above are added to the second resin as a master batch.

  The second resin is not particularly limited as long as it is a resin excellent in moldability, but it is excellent in moldability, is relatively inexpensive, and has high versatility, so that polyethylene (PE), polypropylene ( PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-styrene resin (AS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (ABS), nylon, polycarbonate (PC), nylon (NL), acrylic resin (AC), A polyvinyl chloride resin (PVC) etc. are mentioned. Among these, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin are particularly preferably used.

  Moreover, the ratio of the pellet (masterbatch) containing the coffee cake and the first resin and the second resin is a weight ratio, and preferably the pellet (masterbatch): second resin = 1: 1 to 1. : 100, more preferably 1:10 to 1:20. When there is too little content of a pellet (masterbatch), it exists in the tendency for the rigidity of the molded object obtained to deteriorate. On the other hand, when there is too much content of a pellet (masterbatch), it exists in the tendency for the intensity | strength of the molded object obtained to deteriorate.

  Finally, the mixture obtained above is molded into a desired shape by, for example, injection molding to obtain a molded product (reused product). Although it does not specifically limit as a molded product, For example, various molded products, such as a milk box, a container, a bowl, a pallet, a dust box, parts of a vending machine, a stationery, and a fan fan, can be obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the embodiment using the extraction residue when extracting the coffee extract from the roasted coffee beans is illustrated as the coffee candy, but the coffee candy is not limited to such an extraction residue. It is also possible to use expired regular coffee beans.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a general-purpose resin such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) is used as the second resin is exemplified. However, various biodegradable resins may be used as the second resin. good. Such biodegradable resins are not particularly limited, but include cellulose acetate (CA), caprolactone-butylene succinate (CL-BS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), poly Butylene succinate adipate modified (PBSA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polybutylene succinate carbonate modified (PEC), polyethylene terephthalate succinate (PETS), polyethylene succinate (PES), polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polylactic acid (PLA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), etc. are mentioned.

  Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated based on a more detailed Example, this invention is not limited to these Examples.

Example 1
First, coffee cake: 80 kg as an extraction residue when extracting a coffee extract from roasted coffee beans was prepared. Next, the coffee cake was dried at room temperature for 48 hours to obtain a dried coffee cake (weight after drying: 16 kg). In this example, the moisture content in the coffee cake after drying was 16% by weight with respect to 100% by weight of the coffee cake containing moisture (that is, moisture + coffee residue).

  Next, 16 kg of dried coffee grounds and 32 kg of a styrene elastomer (styrene and isoprene block copolymer) as a first resin are mixed, coarsely pulverized using a pin mill, and then turbo milled. The resulting finely pulverized product was granulated and pelletized by a pelletizer to obtain cylindrical pellets (master batch) having a diameter of 5 mm and a height of 7 to 8 mm. .

  Next, 5 kg of the pellets (master batch) obtained above were mixed with 75 kg of polypropylene (spherical shape having a diameter of about 6 mm). And when the obtained mixture was injection-molded with an injection molding machine to produce a cylindrical injection-molded product having a diameter of 10 mm, the coffee cake was uniformly dispersed, and excellent in design and moldability. A molded product could be obtained.

  In Example 1, an example in which a styrene-based elastomer was used as the first resin was shown, but similar results were obtained when a hydrogenated styrene-based elastomer was used. Moreover, in Example 1, although the example which uses a polypropylene as a 2nd resin was illustrated, the same result was obtained also when using a polyethylene, a polystyrene, and an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin as a 2nd resin. .

Comparative Example 1
The coffee lees were mixed with the polypropylene as the second resin directly without being pelletized with the first resin in advance, and then coarsely pulverized and finely pulverized, and then injection molded in the same manner as in Example 1. A molded product was manufactured. In the present embodiment, the conditions for drying the coffee cake are changed, and the moisture content is 7 wt.% With respect to 100 wt.% Of the coffee cake containing moisture (ie, moisture + coffee residue). % Coffee mash was used.

  As a result, the coffee cake and polypropylene were separated (delaminated) at the interface, and a good molded product could not be obtained.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a manufacturing process of a molded product according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (4)

A method for producing a molded product containing coffee candy,
Mixing and granulating the coffee cake and the first resin to obtain pellets containing the coffee cake and the first resin;
Mixing and molding the pellet and the second resin,
A method for producing a molded product, wherein a styrene elastomer and / or a hydrogenated styrene elastomer is used as the first resin.   2. The method for producing a molded product according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of the coffee candy and the first resin is a weight ratio of coffee candy: first resin = 1: 3 to 1: 1.   A block copolymer in which the first resin contains aromatic vinyl and a diene compound as main components and / or a block copolymer that contains aromatic vinyl and a diene compound as main components. The method for producing a molded article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the molded article is hydrogenated. The method for producing a molded product according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second resin is at least one selected from polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin.

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