JP2009254341A - Device of sterilizing mushroom culture medium, and production system for producing mushroom culture medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device of sterilizing mushroom culture medium and shortening time to greatly reduce energy consumption when sterilizing a mushroom culture medium, and to provide a system of producing a mushroom culture medium. <P>SOLUTION: This device of sterilizing mushroom culture medium comprises means for heat-sterilizing a culture medium for mushroom bed cultivation by steam. In more details, the device comprises heating saturated steam which is generated and introduced by a steam generator 55, by a superheated steam generator 12 so as to generate superheated steam, for supplying the superheated steam to a heat sterilizing chamber 20 in which a mushroom medium is held, and for circulating the steam with a circulatory vent path 13 to which the heat sterilizing chamber 20 and the superheated steam generator 12 are connected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a mushroom medium sterilizer for artificial mushroom bed cultivation, a system thereof, a mushroom waste medium regenerator, and a mushroom medium production system. Examples of the types of mushrooms that are subject to fungus bed cultivation include enoki, shimeji mushrooms, nameko, maitake, and biling.

Conventionally, in order to produce a mushroom medium, each material is mixed and water is added, and raw materials prepared such as moisture are packed in bottles or bags, and then put in a steam pot and sterilized by heating.
Heat sterilization using a conventional steam kettle takes a long time. This is considered to be because it is necessary to sterilize by raising the temperature to the inside of a bottle or the like, and it is also necessary to heat the adjusted moisture to a high temperature. In addition, steam is exhausted to the outside, and a large amount of heat escapes.
Furthermore, since the heat-sterilized mushroom medium is cooled to an appropriate temperature for inoculation with the inoculum, it is cooled by, for example, a cooler device.
According to this, a large amount of heat (energy) is consumed, and the energy cost is high.

In order to improve the efficiency of heat sterilization, it has been proposed to use a high-pressure steam kettle. According to this, it is possible to raise the temperature in a pot to 100 degreeC or more, and can shorten sterilization time. Therefore, the mushroom medium can be sterilized more efficiently than in the past.
However, even with this, the steam is exhausted to the outside, and still consumes a large amount of heat, and the sterilization time is not sufficiently shortened.

  By the way, the method of artificially cultivating mushrooms using a cultivation bottle or the like is generally based on the following steps. First, the culture bottle is filled with a medium mainly composed of vegetative materials such as sawdust and pulverized corn cob. Then, the mycelium is spread in the culture medium by culturing in the culture room, and after the culture, the fruit body is grown in the generation room to harvest the fruit body of the mushroom grown outward from the bottle opening of the cultivation bottle. Moreover, in order to promote the growth of mushrooms, inoculation with inoculum can be performed using a liquid inoculum.

In addition, as a method of spraying hot air or steam in connection with the artificial cultivation of mushrooms, “a method for regenerating a waste culture medium for culturing mushroom beds” has been disclosed (see Patent Document 1). In this method, the raw material is dried and regenerated. When the dried regenerated raw material is used, it is considered that the sterilization is carried out by heating in a steam kettle after bottling as in the above mushroom cultivation process.
JP-A-6-7030 (Claims)

The problem to be solved with regard to the mushroom medium sterilizer and the mushroom medium production system is that it takes a long time to consume a large amount of energy for the sterilization of the mushroom medium and the regeneration of the mushroom waste medium. There is a bad point.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an efficient mushroom medium sterilization apparatus and mushroom medium production system that can shorten the processing time and greatly reduce energy consumption.

The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object.
According to one embodiment of the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to the present invention, a mushroom medium sterilization apparatus that heats and sterilizes medium raw materials for mushroom fungus bed cultivation with steam, steam generated and introduced by a steam generator or the like A superheated steam generator for generating superheated steam, and a sterilization chamber in which the medium raw material is accommodated and supplied so as to be sterilized by direct application of the superheated steam to the medium raw material.
Moreover, according to one aspect of the mushroom culture medium sterilization apparatus according to the present invention, the apparatus includes a circulation ventilation path that connects the steam to be circulated from the superheated steam generator through the sterilization chamber. Can do.

  Further, according to one embodiment of the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to the present invention, there is provided a mushroom medium sterilization apparatus for heat-sterilizing a medium raw material for mushroom fungus bed cultivation with steam, the circulation aeration path and the circulation aeration path A blower that circulates steam, a heat sterilization chamber that is provided in the circulation vent and is charged with the medium raw material to be heat sterilized by steam, and a steam that is provided in the circulation vent. A steam generator for generating and supplying steam and / or a steam boiler connected to the circulation vent and supplying steam, and superheated steam generation provided in the circulation vent and heating the steam to generate superheated steam It is characterized by comprising a vessel.

Further, according to one embodiment of the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to the present invention, a mixer is provided for mixing and stirring the medium raw material before putting it into the sterilization chamber or the heat sterilization chamber. be able to.
Moreover, according to one form of the sterilization apparatus of the mushroom culture medium concerning this invention, the washing | cleaning machine which cleans the circulating steam is provided in the downstream of the circulating steam flow of the said sterilization chamber or the said heating sterilization chamber. Can be a feature.
Further, according to one embodiment of the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to the present invention, the heat sterilization chamber is provided in a cylindrical shape, and an axis is provided in the heat sterilization chamber so as to continuously feed the raw material. It can be characterized by comprising a raw material feeding means provided by a central rotating shaft and a blade rotating at the center.

Moreover, according to the form of the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to the present invention, the superheated steam generator can be a high-frequency heater.
Further, according to one embodiment of the mushroom waste medium regenerating apparatus according to the present invention, the raw material put into the sterilization chamber or the heat sterilization chamber is substantially only the mushroom waste medium, and the mushroom medium The sterilizing apparatus is provided.

In addition, according to one embodiment of the mushroom medium production system according to the present invention, in the mushroom medium production system in which the mushroom medium is formed by bottling or bagging, a steam heating device that generates superheated steam and each material are blended. A sterilization chamber in which the raw material for the mushroom medium is charged and the raw material is heat sterilized by introducing the superheated steam, and the raw material heat sterilized in the sterilization chamber is charged to cool the raw material And a cooling / hydration chamber into which aseptic water is introduced so as to promote moisture adjustment and cooling for the mushroom medium.
Moreover, according to one form of the production system of the mushroom culture medium concerning this invention, while the raw material adjusted by the said cooling and hydration is thrown in, the inoculation is performed by throwing the mushroom inoculum and mixing It can be characterized by comprising a chamber.

  Further, according to one embodiment of the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus system according to the present invention, a mushroom medium sterilization system that heats and sterilizes medium raw material for mushroom fungus bed cultivation with steam, which is generated by a steam generator or the like. A superheated steam generator that heats the introduced steam to generate superheated steam; a sterilization chamber that contains the medium raw material and is supplied so as to be sterilized by being directly applied to the medium raw material; A plurality of mushroom medium sterilization devices, each having a connection air passage for connecting the steam discharged from the sterilization chamber to the superheated steam generator of the next adjacent mushroom medium sterilization device; .

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the mushroom medium sterilization method and the mushroom medium production system according to the present invention, the processing time can be shortened and the energy consumption can be greatly reduced.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The best mode of the mushroom medium sterilizing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings (FIG. 1).
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a mushroom medium sterilizer according to the present invention. According to this mushroom medium sterilization apparatus, a mushroom medium sterilization method can be performed in which a mushroom fungus bed cultivation medium is heated and sterilized with steam.
In this mushroom medium sterilizer, the superheated steam generator 12 heats the saturated steam generated and introduced by the steam generator 55 or the like to generate superheated steam, and the superheated steam enters the sterilization chamber in which the mushroom medium is stored. While supplying, it is equipped with the structure which circulates a vapor | steam by the circulation ventilation path 13 to which the sterilization chamber and the superheated steam generator 12 were connected. Note that the sterilization chamber includes an overheat sterilization pot and an overheat sterilization chamber (hereinafter also referred to as “sterilization chamber”).

Reference numeral 13 denotes a circulation ventilation path. As shown in FIG. 1, a closed ventilation circuit is connected to each component so that steam circulates as shown by arrows. The piping constituting the circulation air passage 13 is preferably wrapped with a heat insulating material because heat is easily released.
A blower 14 is connected to the circulation air passage 13 and is provided so as to send a saturated steam or a superheated steam for forced circulation. In this embodiment, the intake port is connected to the exhaust port side of the superheated sterilization chamber 21, which will be described later, via the circulation vent 13. The connection position of the blower 14 is not particularly limited, but the superheated steam can be efficiently supplied to the heat sterilization chamber 20 by being connected upstream of the superheated steam generator 12 described later.
In addition, it is also possible to circulate a vapor | steam by a convection phenomenon via the circulation ventilation path 13 without relying on the air blower 14. FIG.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a heat sterilization chamber which is connected to the circulation vent 13 and is a sterilization chamber into which a mushroom medium raw material (medium raw material) is charged for heat sterilization with steam.
Reference numeral 22 denotes a raw material inlet, which is an inlet into which the raw material for the mushroom medium is introduced. Reference numeral 24 denotes a raw material outlet, which is an outlet from which the sterilized mushroom medium raw material is discharged.

  In the present embodiment, the cylindrical outer peripheral body of the heat sterilization chamber 20 is fixed, and the cylindrical rotary shaft 28 is configured to be rotatable about the axis. Reference numeral 29 denotes a feeding blade, which is fixed to the outer periphery of the cylindrical rotary shaft 28. 16 is a motor, and 17 is a drive sprocket. Reference numeral 18 denotes a driven sprocket, which is fixed to one end of a cylindrical rotating shaft 28. Thus, a drive mechanism is configured, and the cylindrical rotating shaft 28 is rotated to automatically and continuously agitate the raw material from one end side (the raw material input port 22) of the heat sterilization chamber 20 to the other end side. It can be sent to (raw material outlet 24).

Moreover, the cylindrical rotating shaft 28 is connected to the circulation vent 13 at both ends in a sealed state, and is divided into three parts by two partitions 28b. A plurality of holes 28a for supplying superheated steam are provided on the side of the cylindrical rotating shaft 28 close to the superheated steam generator 12 (to be described later) (steam introduction side). A plurality of holes 28c for discharging superheated steam are provided on the steam discharge side of the cylindrical rotary shaft 28. According to this, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1, the steam is discharged from the inside of the cylindrical rotary shaft 28 through the superheated steam supply hole 28a and through the superheated steam discharge hole 28c. Is returned to the inside of the rotating shaft 28 and discharged to the circulation vent 13.
According to this heat sterilization chamber 20, sterilization is effectively performed by directly applying superheated steam to the raw material.

Further, 21a is a high-temperature side partition of the heat sterilization chamber 20, and 21b is a low-temperature side partition of the heat sterilization chamber 20. In this embodiment, the inside of the heat sterilization chamber 20 is divided into three parts by these partitions 21a and 21b.
Thus, since the inside of the heat sterilization chamber 20 is divided into three parts, a temperature gradient can be appropriately set. That is, the raw material outlet 24 side, which is the space where steam is introduced, is kept at a high temperature, and the raw material inlet 22 side, which is the space where steam is discharged, is at a lower temperature than the raw material outlet 24 side. Thereby, the charged raw material can be gradually heated toward the raw material outlet 24, and the raw material can be finally heated to a temperature necessary for sterilization. An appropriate preheating step is performed on the raw material inlet 22 side, and heat transfer is suitably performed, so that heating can be performed efficiently. Therefore, energy consumption can be reduced and operating costs can be reduced.
In addition, the lower side of each partition 21a, 21b is notched and opened, and it is provided so that materials can be sequentially fed through the opening.

A water vapor generator 55 is provided connected to the circulation vent 13 to generate and supply water vapor. With this steam generator 55, the amount of water retained by the steam can be adjusted appropriately.
Further, the steam generator 55 of the present embodiment is on the upstream side of the blower 14 and acts to heat the circulation ventilation path 13, so that dew condensation is generated in the circulation ventilation path 13, a cleaning device 53 described later, and the like. To prevent.
13b is a damper, which can adjust the flow of circulating steam by opening and closing the circulation ventilation path 13. When the damper 13b is squeezed, since the blower 14 is arranged downstream of the steam generator 55, the steam generator 55 has a negative pressure, and steam is easily generated.

A steam boiler 11 is connected to the circulation vent 13 and supplies saturated steam.
The steam boiler 11 according to the present embodiment is connected to a circulation air passage 13 corresponding to the upstream side of the superheated steam generator 12 described later on the downstream side of the steam flow of the blower 14. That is, it is connected to the circulation ventilation path 13 between the blower 14 and the superheated steam generator 12. According to this, superheated steam can be efficiently supplied to the heat sterilization chamber 20.
In addition, the connection position of the steam boiler 11 is not limited to this, Furthermore, if the steam generator 55 mentioned above can generate | occur | produce a vapor | steam enough, it does not need to dare install.

  Reference numeral 11a denotes an open / close adjusting valve, which is provided so that the supply amount of saturated steam generated in the steam boiler 11 can be adjusted. When the heat sterilization chamber 20 and the circulation vent 13 are sufficiently filled with water vapor, the supply of steam from the steam boiler 11 is shut off, and when the amount of water vapor is reduced, it is opened as appropriate.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a superheated steam generator which is connected to the circulation vent 13 and heats the saturated steam to generate superheated steam. The superheated steam generator 12 is directly connected to the heat sterilization chamber 20 and is arranged to send high temperature superheated steam. Further, the superheated steam generator 12 of this embodiment is located downstream of the blower 14. According to this, the heat sources of the superheated steam generator 12 and the steam generator 55 are arranged before and after the blower 14, and the occurrence of dew condensation in the circulation vent 13 is effectively prevented.
The superheated steam generator 12 may be a high frequency heater, for example. High-frequency induction heating is non-contact, but has an advantage that the temperature can be increased rapidly and efficiently, and control can be easily performed by an inverter.
Note that the heating method is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that a heating wire appropriately coated, a combustion apparatus such as a gas, or other existing technology can be used as appropriate.

According to the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus having the above configuration, the steam is circulated and used, so that energy efficiency can be improved.
Moreover, according to the superheated steam generator 12, the high temperature steam exceeding 100 degreeC can be obtained in a normal pressure state. Since the mushroom medium can be sterilized with high-temperature steam, the sterilization efficiency can be improved and the sterilization time can be shortened. This also increases energy efficiency, improves production efficiency, and reduces operating costs.

And since it can operate | move in a normal-pressure state, it is not necessary to provide the structure which can be equal to a high pressure, and can reduce cost also in terms of equipment.
Further, the superheated steam is less likely to cause condensation than the saturated steam, and the heat transfer efficiency is good. Furthermore, superheated steam retains a larger amount of heat than ordinary dry hot air and has high heat transfer properties, and can be heated in an oxygen-deficient state by filling with steam. Therefore, the mushroom medium can be sterilized efficiently without being oxidized. Furthermore, the occurrence of condensation is small, and the moisture adjustment of the mushroom medium is made stable and suitable.

By the way, the control of this embodiment can be performed by detecting the temperature of the superheated steam supplied to the heat sterilization chamber 20 and the temperature of the steam discharged from the heat sterilization chamber 20. For example, when the temperature of the heated steam to be supplied is set to 250 ° C. and the temperature of the discharged steam is set to 110 ° C., adjustment of the input amount of the raw material and the superheated steam generator 12 What is necessary is just to perform output adjustment, the output adjustment of the water vapor | steam generator 55, etc.
In addition, since heat easily escapes from the heat sterilization chamber 20, heat insulation may be appropriately wound and heat may be kept appropriately, or heat may be actively kept by heating appropriately.

A mixer 52 is connected to the raw material inlet 22 of the heat sterilization chamber 20. According to this, the raw material for mushroom culture media can be appropriately mixed and stirred, and the raw material can be loosened and supplied to the heat sterilization chamber 20.
Further, when the mushroom waste medium is mixed and used as the raw material for the mushroom medium, the mixer 52 can appropriately mix and agitate the mushroom waste medium and the new raw material. According to this, a homogeneous mushroom medium can be obtained. Further, the mixer 52 can pulverize the waste mushroom waste medium discharged from the mushroom cultivation bottle as a lump. Thereby, the waste culture medium of a mushroom can be appropriately utilized as a part of raw material for mushroom culture media.
The mushroom waste medium can be suitably used by mixing with a new raw material until it accounts for about 50% of the total raw material of the mushroom medium. If the ratio of the regeneration medium is too high, the yield of mushrooms will be affected.

Reference numeral 53 denotes a cleaning device, which is provided on the downstream side of the circulating steam flow in the heat sterilization chamber so as to clean the circulating steam. As the cleaning device 53, an existing technology such as a cyclone dust collector or an air purifier using a filter may be appropriately used.
According to the cleaning device 53, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the heat exchange section of the blower 14 and the superheated steam generator 12, and to prevent the performance from deteriorating.

When the raw material put into the heat sterilization chamber 20 is substantially only mushroom waste medium, the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus described above can be used as a mushroom waste medium regeneration apparatus.
For example, when half of the mushroom waste medium generated at the mushroom factory is reused by mixing it with a new substrate or the like in the above apparatus, the remaining half of the mushroom waste medium is processed by the above regenerator. Can be used at other mushroom factories. According to this, the above-mentioned mushroom medium sterilizer or regenerator can be efficiently operated and used. As a result, the amount of new base material used can be halved, and the production cost of mushroom cultivation can be reduced.

Next, the best embodiment of the method for producing a mushroom medium according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawing (FIG. 2). In the production method of this mushroom medium, the above-mentioned mushroom sterilization method and sterilization apparatus thereof can be suitably used.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a mushroom medium production apparatus system for carrying out the mushroom medium production method according to the present invention. This method for producing a mushroom medium is a method for forming a mushroom medium by bottling or bagging.
As shown in FIG. 2, the method for producing a mushroom medium of the present embodiment includes a sterilization process, a cooling / water addition process, an inoculation process, and a medium formation process described below.

In the sterilization step, the raw material for the mushroom medium containing each material is heat sterilized with superheated steam. The raw material for the powdered mushroom medium that has not been bottled or bagged is exposed to superheated steam and directly sterilized.
By using superheated steam, the superheated steam contains a large amount of energy in a temperature range lower than the temperature at which the organic substance is carbonized, so that it can be sterilized efficiently. Moreover, since superheated steam is not saturated steam unlike ordinary steam, it also acts to dry the raw material for the mushroom medium. For this reason, it can cool by supplying water appropriately in the next step.

In the cooling / hydration process, aseptic water is added to the raw material for the mushroom medium heat-sterilized in the sterilization process, thereby promoting cooling and adjusting the water content for the mushroom medium.
According to this, energy and time consumed for cooling can be saved, and productivity can be improved. Here, the sterile water is one in which germs are sterilized and sterilized to such an extent that the growth of the mushrooms is not inhibited in the fungus bed cultivation of mushrooms. As a method for sterilization and sterilization, a well-known and conventional technique such as sterilization by filtration through a filter and sterilization by ultraviolet rays, ozone, chemicals, or heating may be appropriately used.

In the inoculation step, inoculation is performed by introducing and mixing mushroom inoculum into the raw material for the mushroom medium adjusted by the cooling / hydration step. In the medium forming step, the mushroom medium is formed by bottling or bagging the raw material for the mushroom medium inoculated in the inoculation step.
By inoculating the inoculum in this way to form a mushroom medium, mushroom fungi around the mushroom medium can be promoted and cultivation efficiency can be increased.

As a raw material for the mushroom medium according to the present invention, a mixed medium having a low water content in which a corn cob pulverized product, sawdust, etc. as a base material and a nutrient source material are mixed can be used. Moreover, it is not limited to such a virgin compounding medium, but a mushroom waste medium that is a residue after harvesting mushrooms can also be recycled.
When reusing a mushroom waste medium, add other new materials to the mushroom waste medium, such as crushed corn cob and sawdust, and mushroom nutrients, and mix and stir. It can be used as a raw material for a mushroom medium. At this time, the waste medium of mushrooms may be used as a part of the raw material as it is without being subjected to a treatment such as heat drying in a state before the rotting immediately after being discarded.

  In the sterilization step, the raw material for the mushroom medium may be sterilized by applying superheated steam to the raw material for the mushroom medium while stirring in the chamber. The raw material for the mushroom medium is heated efficiently with superheated steam, and the sterilization time can be shortened. Moreover, a continuous sterilization process can be performed and energy efficiency can be improved.

Moreover, the production efficiency can be improved by performing the sterilization process and the cooling / hydration process in each chamber, and continuously producing the mushroom medium raw materials while sequentially feeding them.
Furthermore, the inoculation step is performed in the chamber, and the production efficiency can be similarly improved by continuously producing the mushroom medium while sequentially feeding the raw materials for the mushroom medium.

Next, the best example of the production apparatus system which implements the production method of the mushroom culture medium concerning this invention is demonstrated in detail based on an accompanying drawing (FIG. 2).
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a mushroom medium production apparatus system according to the present invention.
This mushroom medium production apparatus system forms a mushroom medium by bottling or bagging.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a steam heating device, which generates superheated steam. The steam heating apparatus 10 of this embodiment generates normal pressure superheated steam, does not require the use of a pressure vessel, and has a configuration that is easy to manage at low cost.
The steam heating apparatus 10 includes a boiler 11 that generates saturated steam and an overheated steam generator 12. Thereby, normal-pressure superheated steam at 110 ° C. or higher can be generated. The higher the temperature of the atmospheric superheated steam, the higher the sterilizing effect. However, when the temperature is high, the raw material may be carbonized. Therefore, in principle, the raw material is heated at a temperature at which carbonization does not occur, but a small amount of carbonization may be intentionally performed at a high temperature. For example, when the temperature of the superheated steam is around 130 ° C., the exposure time is about 1 minute, and the raw material for the mushroom medium can be suitably heat sterilized.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a sterilization chamber, which is a container chamber in which raw materials for a mushroom medium containing each material are charged and the raw materials are heated and sterilized by introducing superheated steam.
As shown in the figure, the sterilization chamber 20 includes a cylindrical body 21, a raw material inlet 22 provided at an upper end on one end side of the cylindrical body 21, and the other end of the cylindrical body 21. And an outlet 24 provided at the lower side. A hopper 23 for guiding the raw material is connected to the raw material inlet 22. A first connection pipe 25 extending in the radial direction of the cylindrical body 21 is connected to the outlet 24.
And the heat insulating material 26 provided in the state wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 21 is provided.

  Further, inside the sterilization chamber 20, a raw material feeding means 27 is provided by a central rotating shaft 28 and a blade 29 that rotate about an axis. 16 is a motor, and 17 is a drive sprocket. Reference numeral 18 denotes a driven sprocket, which is fixed to one end of the central rotating shaft 28. Thereby, the drive mechanism is comprised, The center rotating shaft 28 is rotated, A raw material can be sent to the other end side from the one end side of the chamber 20 for sterilization, stirring automatically and continuously.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a cooling / hydration chamber. The raw material sterilized by heating in the sterilization chamber 20 is charged to cool the raw material, and aseptic water is added to promote moisture adjustment and cooling for the mushroom medium. It is a container room.
As shown in the figure, the cooling / hydration chamber 30 includes a cylindrical body 31, an inlet 32 connected to the first connection pipe 25 at the upper end of the cylindrical body 31, and a cylinder And an outlet 34 provided at the lower end of the other end of the body 31. A second connection pipe 35 extending in the radial direction of the cylindrical body 31 is connected to the outlet 34.

And it is provided in the state wound by the outer periphery of the cylindrical body 31, and the outer periphery cooling part 36a which cools the raw material heated by turning cooling water around the outer periphery of the cooling / hydration chamber 30 is provided. Furthermore, an internal cooling unit 36b is provided inside the central rotating shaft 38 and cools the raw material heated by turning cooling water from the inside.
The outer periphery cooling unit 36a and the internal cooling unit 36b, the cooling water supply unit 33a, the cooling water drain 33b, and the like constitute the chamber cooling means 33. This chamber cooling means 33 is can body cooling, and this cools the raw material used as a culture medium by condensing superheated steam.

Reference numeral 50 denotes a sterile water supply unit configured to supply a part of sterile water sterilized by filtering the water through, for example, the filter 51 into the cooling / hydration chamber 30 as cooling sterile water. Yes.
According to this, the raw material used as the mushroom culture medium is directly cooled by the aseptic cooling water, and moisture is given to the raw material. That is, moisture adjustment and cooling for the mushroom medium can be promoted.
The sterile water according to the present invention is water that has been sterilized or sterilized to the extent that it does not hinder the growth of mushrooms as described above.

  In addition, a raw material feeding means 37 is provided in the cooling / hydration chamber 30 by a central rotating shaft 38 and a blade 39 that rotate about an axis. 16 is a motor, and 17 is a drive sprocket. Reference numeral 18 denotes a driven sprocket, which is fixed to one end of the central rotating shaft 38. Thereby, the drive mechanism is comprised, The center rotating shaft 38 is rotated, A raw material can be sent to the other end side from the one end side of the chamber 30 for cooling and hydration, stirring automatically and continuously.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a chamber for inoculation, which is a container chamber in which raw materials adjusted by cooling and hydration are charged and inoculated by introducing and mixing mushroom inoculum.
As shown in the drawing, the inoculation chamber 40 includes a cylindrical body 41, an inlet 42 connected to the upper end of the cylindrical body 41 on the one end side, and a cylindrical body 41. And an outlet 44 provided at a lower portion on the other end side of the body 41. A tubular discharge port 45 extending in the radial direction of the tubular body 41 is connected to the outlet 44.

  Reference numeral 46 denotes an inoculum for inoculum. In addition, about the injection | throwing-in means of an inoculum, when the inoculum of a solid state is made into a target, the supply apparatus which can feed an appropriate amount of granular solid continuously can be used, and what is necessary is just to use a well-known usual technique. Furthermore, for the liquid inoculum, a supply device that can continuously feed an appropriate amount of liquid can be used, and a well-known and conventional technique may be used.

The aseptic water supply unit 50 is configured to be able to supply aseptic water for moisture adjustment, which is part of aseptic water sterilized by filtering the water through, for example, the filter 51, into the inoculation chamber 40. .
According to this, the moisture adjustment for the mushroom medium of the raw material used as a culture medium can be appropriately performed with the moisture adjustment sterile water.

  In addition, inside the inoculation chamber 40, a raw material feeding means 47 is provided by a central rotating shaft 48 and a blade 49 that rotate about an axis. 16 is a motor, and 17 is a drive sprocket. Reference numeral 18 denotes a driven sprocket, which is fixed to one end of the central rotating shaft 48. Thereby, the drive mechanism is comprised, The center rotating shaft 48 can be rotated, and it can send to the other end side from the one end side of the chamber 30 for cooling and adding, stirring a raw material automatically continuously.

An exhaust blower 60 is connected to the mushroom medium outlet 45 of the inoculation chamber 40 so that air flows along the moving direction of the raw material.
According to this, the backflow of air can be prevented and processes, such as heat sterilization, can be implemented efficiently.

The raw material for the adjusted mushroom medium adjusted as described above and discharged from the discharge port 45 is supplied to an apparatus for performing a bottling or bagging process.
And after the process of bottling and bagging is completed, in the case of bottling, a cap is applied and the process proceeds to the culture process.
Note that the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, liquid inoculum may not be inoculated in the chamber, but may be inoculated after the mushroom medium is bottled or bagged.

According to the method for producing a mushroom medium by the formation method as described above, when superheated steam is applied to a raw material to which no moisture is added, the amount of heat for increasing the temperature of much moisture is not required.
Moreover, since high-temperature superheated steam can be directly applied to the raw material, the temperature of the raw material can be effectively increased, and sterilization can be performed efficiently. This effect is also effectively produced when the waste mushroom waste medium is reused as part of the raw material of the mushroom medium.

Moreover, according to the aseptic water for cooling, since the heated raw material can be directly cooled, the raw material can be efficiently cooled.
Therefore, energy consumption can be greatly reduced, and production costs can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, since the inoculum is put into the inoculation chamber 40 and mixed and stirred with the adjusted raw material for the mushroom medium, the inoculum is more uniformly and appropriately dispersed. According to this, the cultivation of mushrooms is promoted, the time for rotating the fungi in the mushroom medium is greatly shortened, and the production efficiency can be greatly improved.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the chambers 20, 30, and 40 are connected in order and continuously fed by the raw material feeding means 27, 37, and 47, so that a mushroom medium can be formed and produced very efficiently. Since production time can be shortened, production efficiency can be improved and production cost of mushroom cultivation can be reduced.

Next, a continuous stirring / drying apparatus using superheated steam will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, about the structure equivalent to the structure of the chamber 20 for sterilization shown in FIG. 2, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the inlet 22 and the outlet 24 into which the raw materials are charged are closed using screw conveyors 71 and 72. For this reason, a hot air can be interrupted | blocked suitably, a thermal efficiency can be improved and a raw material can be dried more efficiently.
Moreover, if the sterilization chamber 20 of FIG. 3 and its apparatus are utilized, superheated steam can be efficiently applied to the raw material sent in one direction while stirring. Thus, the raw material thrown into the chamber 20 for sterilization is dried effectively by being exposed to superheated steam.
According to this, a water-containing organic substance, for example, a mushroom waste medium (waste fungus bed) can be efficiently dried. The waste mushroom bed of the dried mushroom can be used as a base material for a mushroom medium or a drying material such as biomass fuel.

  In the foregoing, the use of the apparatus, production system, etc. for circulating superheated steam according to the present invention has been described for sterilization and production of mushroom medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be suitably applied to other uses that require heating. For example, the present invention can be suitably applied to apparatuses and processing systems for processing and sterilizing foods such as roasting and roasting coffee, drying organic substances, etc., or apparatuses and systems that should maintain a heated state.

Next, based on FIG. 4, the form example of the sterilizer system of the mushroom culture medium which heat-sterilizes the medium raw material for mushroom fungus bed cultivation with steam is demonstrated. In addition, about the thing equivalent to the component of the invention demonstrated above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.
In this embodiment, the superheated steam generator 12 that generates the superheated steam by heating the steam generated / introduced by the steam generator 55 and the like, and the medium raw material are accommodated, and the superheated steam is directly applied to the medium raw material. A plurality of mushroom medium sterilization devices each including a sterilization chamber (heat sterilization chamber 20) supplied so as to be sterilized are continuously provided. In this embodiment, the apparatus system uses normal-pressure steam as normal-pressure superheated steam.

Reference numeral 80 denotes a connection air passage, which is connected to supply steam discharged from the heat sterilization chamber 20 to the superheated steam generator 12 of the next adjacent mushroom medium sterilizer.
Reference numeral 53a denotes a cyclone type cleaning device and an air retaining portion containing steam, which serves as a connection port through a pipe so that the air branches and flows to the superheated steam generator 12 side.
In this embodiment, a plurality of superheated steam generators 12 (two in the drawing) are arranged. Correspondingly, a plurality of blowers 14a are connected via piping. According to this, while being able to expand appropriately the capability to overheat and blow a vapor | steam, the capability of the overheating and ventilation can be adjusted suitably.
In addition, since the water | moisture content used as a vapor | steam is also supplied from a culture medium raw material, it is also possible to abbreviate | omit the water vapor generator 55 about the sterilization apparatus of the 2nd or subsequent mushroom culture medium.

In this way, by continuously connecting the mushroom medium sterilizers via the connection air passage 80, the steam discharged from the heat sterilization chamber 20 can be reused in the next mushroom medium sterilizer. it can. That is, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in which the steam is circulated, the energy remaining in the steam can be effectively utilized without releasing the steam into the atmosphere and discarding it. Moreover, since the piping of the connection ventilation path 80 is shorter and easier to set than the piping of the circulation ventilation path 13 as shown in FIG. 1, the amount of heat released by the piping can be reduced. Therefore, energy loss can be reduced and productivity can be improved.
The steam discharged at the end of the multiple mushroom medium sterilizers may be open to the atmosphere, but for example, when multiple mushroom medium sterilizers are installed in a loop, connect to the first apparatus. The steam may be closed circuit.

Next, the advantage of the effect according to the present invention will be described.
In the present invention, there is one common feature in that sterilization is efficiently performed by directly applying superheated steam to a raw material that becomes a mushroom culture medium. According to this, since continuous heat sterilization processing can be performed and heat can be transferred in sequence, energy consumption can be reduced. Therefore, productivity can be significantly improved.
On the other hand, the sterilization method according to the conventional mushroom medium is based on a batch type in which sterilization is performed by steam at normal pressure or pressurized state after bottling and bagging of the medium raw material subjected to moisture adjustment, The energy loss was great. That is, in the conventional mushroom production, there is no technical idea that forms the basis of the present invention in which the medium raw material is sterilized by heating and bottled or bagged in a state where there is no influence of germs.

  As described above, the present invention has been described in various ways with preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. That's it.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the form of the disinfection apparatus of the mushroom culture medium which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the form of the production system of the mushroom culture medium which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of a sterilizer of the mushroom culture medium which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the form of the sterilizer system of the mushroom culture medium which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Steam heating apparatus 11 Steam boiler 12 Superheated steam generator 13 Circulation ventilation path 14 Blower 20 Heating sterilization chamber 28 Center rotating shaft 29 Blade | wing 30 Cooling / hydration chamber 40 Inoculation chamber 50 Aseptic water supply part 53 Washer 55 Steam generator 80 connection air passage

Claims (11)

A mushroom medium sterilizer that heats and sterilizes medium raw material for mushroom fungus bed cultivation with steam,
A superheated steam generator that generates superheated steam by heating the steam generated and introduced by a steam generator, etc .;
A mushroom medium sterilization apparatus comprising: a sterilization chamber that contains the medium raw material and is supplied so as to be sterilized by direct application of the superheated steam to the medium raw material.   2. The mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a circulation ventilation path connected so that steam is circulated from the superheated steam generator through the sterilization chamber. A mushroom medium sterilizer that heats and sterilizes medium raw material for mushroom fungus bed cultivation with steam,
A circulation vent,
A blower provided in the circulation vent and circulating the steam;
A heat sterilization chamber provided in the circulation vent and into which the medium raw material is charged for heat sterilization by steam;
A steam generator that is provided in the circulation vent and generates and supplies steam and / or a steam boiler that is connected to the circulation vent and supplies steam;
An apparatus for sterilizing a mushroom medium, comprising a superheated steam generator that is provided in the circulation ventilation path and generates steam by heating steam.   The mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a mixer for mixing and stirring the medium raw material before being put into the sterilization chamber or the heat sterilization chamber.   The sterilizer for a mushroom medium according to claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein a cleaning device for cleaning the circulating steam is provided downstream of the circulating steam flow in the sterilization chamber or the heat sterilization chamber.   The heat sterilization chamber is provided in a cylindrical shape, and includes a raw material feeding means provided by a central rotating shaft and a blade rotating around an axis in the heat sterilization chamber so as to continuously feed the raw material. The mushroom medium sterilizer according to claim 3, 4 or 5.   The said superheated steam generator is a high frequency heater, The sterilizer of the mushroom culture medium of Claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The composition of the mushroom medium sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the raw material put into the sterilization chamber or the heat sterilization chamber is substantially only a mushroom waste medium. A mushroom waste culture medium regeneration apparatus comprising: In a mushroom medium production system for forming a mushroom medium by bottling or bagging,
A steam heating device for generating superheated steam;
A sterilization chamber in which raw materials for a mushroom medium containing each material are charged and the raw materials are heated and sterilized by introducing the superheated steam,
A raw material sterilized by heating in the sterilization chamber is charged to cool the raw material, and a cooling / hydration chamber into which aseptic water is charged to promote moisture adjustment and cooling for a mushroom medium is provided. A mushroom medium production system characterized by the above.   10. The production of a mushroom medium according to claim 9, further comprising an inoculation chamber in which the raw material adjusted by cooling and hydration is introduced and inoculated by introducing and mixing mushroom inoculum. system. A mushroom medium sterilizer system that heats and sterilizes medium raw material for mushroom fungus bed cultivation with steam,
A superheated steam generator for generating superheated steam by heating the steam generated / introduced by a steam generator or the like and the medium raw material are accommodated, and the superheated steam is directly applied to the medium raw material so as to be sterilized. A plurality of mushroom medium sterilization devices comprising a sterilization chamber supplied to the
A mushroom medium sterilizer system comprising a connection vent for connecting steam discharged from the sterilization chamber to a superheated steam generator of a next adjacent mushroom medium sterilizer.

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