JP2017006864A - System and method for producing sterilizable cooling medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide means capable of continuously producing a large amount of cooling medium having a sterilization function.SOLUTION: An electrolytic hypochlorite water generator 20 electrolyzes salt water in electrolysis means 23 to produce electrolytic water containing hypochlorous acid and mixes the electrolytic water with intake dilution water to produce electrolytic hypochlorite water. A cooling medium generator 30 cools the electrolytic hypochlorite water to produce a cooling medium. Since the produced cooling medium contains hypochlorous acid, it exhibits an excellent sterilization function, so that it is effective on both keeping of freshness of fresh foods etc. and sanitary control. A large amount of cooling medium having a sterilization function can be continuously produced by using public water supply or the like as a supply source of the dilution water and using a high-concentration saline solution as a supply source of the salt water.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a system and method for producing a cooling medium having a sterilizing function.

  In order to maintain the freshness of fresh foods such as seafood, vegetables and fruits for a long period of time, it is known to cool and preserve fresh foods using slurry ice. Slurry ice is a sherbet-like mixture of fine ice particles and liquid, and has fluidity. When crushed ice is used for cold storage, the crushed ice is a hard lump, which may damage the surface of fresh food, while slurry ice has fine ice particles and fluidity. Not only is it not hurt, but it has the advantage of a high cooling rate because of its large contact area with fresh food.

A conventional slurry ice making apparatus is described in Patent Document 1, for example. The slurry ice manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a coolant channel between an inner pipe to which salt water or fresh water such as seawater is supplied and an outer peripheral surface of the inner pipe, and an outer peripheral surface of the inner pipe. An outer tube, a rotating member rotatably disposed inside the inner tube, a scraping portion having a scraper provided so as to protrude radially from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating member, and both ends of the inner tube being closed The cover member which comprises is comprised. One lid member is provided with a supply unit for supplying salt water or fresh water into the inner pipe, and the other lid member is provided with a discharge unit for discharging the generated slurry ice. The scraper is disposed so as to have a predetermined amount of gap between the tip and the inner surface of the inner tube. As a result, the scraper can scrape only the surface portion of the ice frozen on the inner surface of the inner tube by rotating inside the inner tube.

The slurry ice manufacturing apparatus configured as described above is configured to cool the inner pipe by circulating the refrigerant in an annular refrigerant space provided between the inner pipe and the outer pipe, and supply salt water or fresh water supplied to the inner pipe. Of these, the part in contact with the inner surface of the inner tube is frozen. At the same time, the scraped part of the scraping part that rotates inside the inner tube is used to scrape the surface part of the frozen ice crystal, and the scraped ice crystal is mixed and stirred with the unfrozen liquid part. As a result, slurry ice having a sherbet-like fluidity in which fine ice crystals are dispersed in salt water or fresh water can be produced.

Japanese Patent No. 4638393

  Although solutes such as NaCl contained in salt water are said to have a bactericidal function against many bacteria, there is a bactericidal correlation with the salt concentration, and the effect becomes smaller as the salt concentration becomes lower. In addition, effective bactericidal power cannot be exerted against some pathogens such as Norovirus and Staphylococcus aureus even at high salt concentrations. Therefore, it is conceivable to produce slurry ice using hypochlorous acid water having strong sterilizing power.

In this case, in order to produce a large amount of slurry ice, means for continuously supplying hypochlorous acid water to the slurry ice production apparatus is required. For example, a tank for storing hypochlorous acid water may be provided, and hypochlorous acid water may be supplied from this tank to the slurry ice production apparatus. However, since it is impossible to supply hypochlorous acid water beyond the capacity of the tank, it is difficult to produce a large amount of slurry ice using hypochlorous acid water with the conventional technology.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a system and a production method capable of continuously producing a large amount of a cooling medium such as slurry ice having a sterilizing function using hypochlorous acid water.

The features of the cooling medium production system according to claim 1 employed by the present invention to achieve the above-described object are as follows:
Salt water supply source for storing salt water, salt water obtaining means for taking salt water from the salt water supply source, dilution water obtaining means for taking dilution water from the dilution water supply source through the dilution water obtaining unit, hypochlorite by electrolyzing the taken salt water Electrolytic means for generating electrolyzed water containing an acid, a diluting part for mixing the generated electrolyzed water with the taken-in dilution water to generate electrolyzed hyposulfite, and electrolyzing to deliver the generated electrolyzed subaqueous water An electro-hypochlorous acid generation device having a nitrous acid delivery unit;
A cooling medium generation device that has an electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition unit that takes in the electrolytic hypo-sulfur, cools the taken-in electrolytic sub-sulfur, and generates a cooling medium;
A water supply means for supplying electrolytic hyponitrous water from the electrolytic hyponitrous delivery section to the electrolytic hyposulfite acquisition section;
It is provided with the control means which controls the operation | movement of an electrolytic hyponitrous water production | generation apparatus, the operation | movement of a cooling medium production | generation apparatus, and the operation | movement of a water supply means.

The feature of the cooling medium production system according to claim 2 is:
The electrolyzed hyposulfite generation device includes a dilution water flow rate adjusting unit that adjusts the flow rate of dilution water from the dilution water obtaining unit to the dilution unit, and an electrolyzed water flow rate adjustment that adjusts the flow rate of electrolytic water from the electrolysis unit to the dilution unit. And further comprising means,
The control means controls the electrolysis means to control the hypochlorous acid concentration of the electrolyzed water to a predetermined value, the diluting water flow rate adjusting means and the electrolyzed water flow rate adjusting means, thereby controlling the diluting unit. It is to have a hypochlorous acid concentration adjusting function for adjusting the hypochlorous acid concentration of the electrolytic hypochlorous acid by adjusting the mixing ratio of the dilution water and the electrolyzed water.

The characteristics of the cooling medium production system according to claim 3 are:
The electrolytic hyponitrous generation device includes a food additive aqueous solution source that stores a food additive aqueous solution having a predetermined salt concentration, and a food additive aqueous solution acquisition unit that takes in the food additive aqueous solution from the food additive aqueous solution source; , The food additive aqueous solution mixing part that mixes the taken food additive aqueous solution with the diluted solution, electrolyzed water or electrolytic hyponitrogen, and the flow rate of the food additive aqueous solution from the food additive aqueous solution source to the food additive aqueous solution mixing part And a food additive aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means for adjusting
The control means adjusts the amount of the food additive aqueous solution in the food additive aqueous solution mixing section by controlling the food additive aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means, thereby adjusting the food additive concentration of the electrolytic hyposulfite. It has an additive concentration adjustment function.

The feature of the cooling medium production system according to claim 4 is:
The electrolytic hyponitrous generator includes an acid solution supply source in which an acid solution having a predetermined pH is stored, an acid solution acquisition unit that takes in the acid solution from the acid solution supply source, diluted acid, electrolyzed water Or an acid solution mixing part for mixing with electrolytic hyponitrous acid, and an acid solution flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of the acid solution from the acid solution supply source to the acid solution mixing part,
The control means has a pH adjusting function of adjusting the pH of the electrolytic hyposulfite by controlling the acid solution flow rate adjusting means to control the amount of acid solution mixed in the acid solution mixing section.

The feature of the cooling medium production system according to claim 5 is:
The water supply means includes a water storage tank that stores electrolytic hyponitrous water, a first electrolytic subsulfur water supply path that communicates the electrolytic subsulfur delivery section and the water storage tank, a water storage tank, and electrolytic subsulfur acquisition section. A second electrolytic sub-nitrous feed path that communicates with each other, and an electrolytic sub-sulfur feed pump that is provided in the second electrolytic sub-sulfur feed path and that feeds the electrolytic sub-sulfur to the electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition unit, A water storage sensor for detecting the amount of water stored in the water storage tank,
The control means has a function of stopping the operation of the electrolytic sub-sulfur generating device, the cooling medium generating device, or the electrolytic sub-aqueous feed pump when the amount of water stored in the water storage tank detected by the water storage amount sensor reaches a predetermined value. It is to have.

The feature of the cooling medium production system according to claim 6 is:
The water supply means is provided in a third electrolytic sub-nitrous feed path and a third electrolytic sub-sulfur feed path that communicates the electrolytic sub-sulfur delivery section and the electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition section. And an electro-hypochlorous feed pump for feeding the electro-hypochlorite acquisition section to
The control means controls the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump, and adjusts the flow rate of the electrolytic hyponitrous water fed from the electrolytic hyposulfite delivery section to the electrolytic hyposulfite acquisition section to a predetermined value. It has a function.

The feature of the cooling medium production system according to claim 7 is that the water supply means further includes a water temperature adjusting unit that adjusts the water temperature of the electrolyzed sub-sulfur water supplied to the electrolyzed sub-sulfur obtaining unit to a predetermined temperature. is there.

A feature of the cooling medium production system according to claim 8 is that the water temperature adjusting unit is provided in a water storage tank.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the electrolyzed hyposulfite produced by the electrolyzed sub-sulfur generating device is supplied to the cooling medium producing device by the water supply means, and the electrolyzed hyposulfite is cooled by the cooling medium producing device. To produce a cooling medium. The electro-hypochlorous acid generation device generates electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid by electrolyzing salt water supplied from a salt water supply source by electrolysis means, and takes in the generated electrolyzed water and dilution water acquisition means. Electrolyte hyposulfite is produced by mixing with diluted water. A cooling medium production | generation apparatus cools electrolytic hyponitrous acid, and produces | generates a cooling medium.

  Since the cooling medium produced by the cooling medium production system according to the present invention contains hypochlorous acid, it exhibits an excellent sterilizing function. Hypochlorous acid is particularly effective against norovirus, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, etc. that are resistant to salt water. Therefore, this cooling medium is effective in terms of both freshness maintenance and hygiene management when used for cold storage of foods such as fresh food.

If, for example, a water supply is used as a supply source of the dilution water, the supply amount of the dilution water can be secured. At the same time, if, for example, high-concentration saline is used as a salt water supply source, the amount of salt water used for producing hypochlorous acid having a predetermined concentration can be suppressed. Therefore, a large amount of electrolytic hyponitrous acid can be continuously generated, and it is possible to produce a large amount of a cooling medium having a sterilizing function by using the continuously generated electrolytic hyponitrous acid.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the concentration of hypochlorous acid in the electrolyzed water generated by the electrolyzing means is adjusted to a predetermined value, and the diluting water flow rate adjusting means and the electrolyzed water flow rate adjusting means are controlled by the control means. Thus, it is possible to adjust the hypochlorous acid concentration of the electrolytic hypochlorous acid by adjusting the mixing ratio of the dilution water and the electrolytic water. Therefore, it is easy to adjust the hypochlorous acid concentration to an appropriate value according to the type and application of the cooling medium.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a food additive aqueous solution having a predetermined concentration is mixed with a diluent, electrolyzed water or electrolytic hyponitrous acid, and the amount of the food additive aqueous solution mixed is It can be adjusted by controlling the aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means. Therefore, it is easy to adjust the food additive concentration of hypochlorous acid to an appropriate value according to the type and use of the cooling medium.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, an acid solution having a predetermined pH is mixed with diluting water, electrolyzed water, or electrolytic hyponitrous acid, and the amount of the acid solution mixed is the acid solution flow rate adjusting means. It can be adjusted by controlling. Therefore, it is easy to adjust the pH of electrolytic hyponitrous acid to an appropriate value so that hypochlorous acid is stably present.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the water supply means stores a storage tank that stores the electrolytic hyponitrous water generated by the electrolytic hypochlorite generation device, and electrolysis that supplies the electrolytic hyposulfite to the cooling medium generator. A sublimation water supply pump and a water storage sensor for detecting the amount of water stored in the water storage tank, and based on the amount of water stored in the water storage tank detected by the water storage amount sensor, an electrolytic sub-sulfur generation device and a cooling medium generation device Or, the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump is stopped. Therefore, for example, when the amount of water stored in the water storage tank exceeds a predetermined upper limit value, the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous generation device can be stopped to prevent the water storage tank from overflowing. On the other hand, when the amount of water stored in the water storage tank reaches a predetermined lower limit value, it is possible to stop the cooling medium generating device and the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump to avoid unnecessary operation. .

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the electrolytic sub-sulfur sending section and the electrolytic sub-sulfur obtaining section are directly connected by the third electrolytic sub-sulfite feeding path, the configuration of the cooling medium production system is simplified. In addition, it is possible to reduce the size of the system by integrating the electrolytic hyponitrous generator and the cooling medium generator.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a water temperature adjusting unit that adjusts the water temperature of the electrolyzed hypochlorite fed to the cooling medium generator to a predetermined temperature. It is possible to improve the generation efficiency of the cooling medium by adjusting the water temperature optimal for the generation of the medium.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the water temperature adjusting unit is provided in the water storage tank, and the water temperature of the electrolytic hyponitrogen stored in the water storage tank is adjusted. By setting the water temperature, it is possible to stabilize the water temperature of the electrolytic hyponitrous acid fed to the cooling medium generator.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cooling medium production system according to the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a cooling medium production system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the conventional slurry ice manufacturing apparatus described in patent document 1. FIG.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cooling medium production system (hereinafter referred to as “the present system”) R according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the present system R includes an electrolytic hyponitrous generator 20, a cooling medium generator 30, and water supply means 40.

  The electrolytic hypoxia production device 20 includes a salt water supply source 21 in which salt water is stored, a salt water acquisition unit 22 that takes salt water from the salt water supply source 21, and a dilution water acquisition that takes dilution water from the dilution water supply source through the dilution water acquisition unit 28a. Means 28, electrolysis means 23 for electrolyzing the taken-in salt water to produce electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid (HClO), a dilution section M1 for mixing electrolyzed water and dilution water to produce electrolyzed hyposulfite, And it has the electrolysis sub-sulfur delivery part 29 which sends out the produced | generated electrolysis sub-sulfur. The salt water acquisition means 22 is comprised by the pipe line 22a and the pump 22b, for example.

  As the salt water supply source 21, for example, a high-concentration saline tank in which high-concentration saline is stored can be used. For example, water supply can be used as the dilution water supply source. In this case, the dilution water acquisition means 28 is comprised by the pipe line which connected the pipe end part used as the dilution water acquisition part 28a to the water tap of the water pipe.

Further, the electrolytic hyponitrous generator 20 includes a diluting water flow rate adjusting means (not shown) for adjusting the flow rate of the diluting water from the diluting water obtaining means 28 to the diluting part M1, and the electrolysis from the electrolyzing means 23 to the diluting part M1. Electrolyzed water flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of water. The dilution water flow rate adjusting means is realized by, for example, a flow rate adjusting valve.

  Furthermore, the electrolytic hyponitrous generator 20 obtains a food additive aqueous solution supply source 24 in which a food additive aqueous solution having a predetermined concentration is stored, and obtains a food additive aqueous solution that takes in the food additive aqueous solution from the food additive aqueous solution supply source 24. The means 25, the food additive aqueous solution mixing part M2 for mixing the taken food additive aqueous solution into the diluting solution, electrolytic water or electrolytic hyponitrous, and the food additive aqueous solution supply source 24 toward the food additive aqueous solution mixing part M2. Food additive aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of the food additive aqueous solution. In addition, the position which provides the food additive aqueous solution mixing part M2 can be changed.

The food additive aqueous solution acquisition means 25 is composed of, for example, a pipe line 25a and a pump 25b. The food additive aqueous solution obtaining means 25 can also serve as the food additive aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means. As the food additive aqueous solution, calcium chloride or the like can be used. If a calcium chloride aqueous solution is used as the food additive aqueous solution, the salt concentration of electrolytic hyponitrous acid can be reduced.

  Furthermore, the electrolytic hyponitrous generator 20 includes an acid solution supply source 26 in which an acid solution having a predetermined pH is stored, an acid solution acquisition unit 27 that takes in the acid solution from the acid solution supply source 26, and the taken-in acid solution. An acid solution mixing unit M3 that mixes with dilution water, electrolytic water, or electrolytic hyponitrous acid, and an acid solution flow rate adjusting unit that adjusts the flow rate of the acid solution from the acid solution supply source 26 toward the acid solution mixing unit M3. The position where the acid solution mixing unit M3 is provided can be changed.

  Hydrochloric acid is used as the acid solution. The acid solution acquisition unit 27 includes, for example, a pipe line 27a and a pump 27b. The acid solution acquisition unit 27 can also serve as the acid solution flow rate adjustment unit.

The cooling medium generation device 30 is an apparatus that has an electrolytic subsulfur acquisition unit 30a that takes in electrolytic hyposulfite and cools the electrolytic subsulfur that has been taken in to generate a cooling medium. A slurry ice making apparatus can be used.

The water feeding means 40 has a function of feeding the electrolytic sub-nitrous water from the electrolytic sub-sulfur sending section 29 to the electrolytic sub-sulfur obtaining section 30a. The water supply means 40 of this example shown in FIG. 1 includes a water storage tank 41 that stores electrolytic hyponitrous water, a first electrolytic subaqueous water supply path 42 that communicates the electrolytic subsulfur delivery section 29 and the water storage tank 42. , A second electrolytic sub-nitrous feed path 43 that communicates between the water storage tank 41 and the electrolytic hypo-sulfur acquisition unit 30a, and a second electrolytic sub-sulfur feed path 43, and It has an electrolysis sub-aqueous feed pump 44 for feeding to the water acquisition unit 30a and a water storage sensor (not shown) for detecting the water storage amount of the water storage tank 41.

If necessary, the water supply means 40 may be provided with a water temperature adjusting unit (not shown) that adjusts the water temperature of the electrolytic hyponitrous water supplied to the electrolytic hyponitrous acquisition unit 30a to a predetermined temperature. The water temperature adjusting unit may be provided in the water storage tank 41, or may be provided in either the first electrolytic sub-nitrous water supply path 42 or the second electrolytic sub-nitrous water supply path 43. The water temperature adjusting unit is for preliminarily cooling the electrolytic hyponitrous acid to increase the generation efficiency of the cooling medium in the cooling medium generation device 30. The cooling temperature is in the range of about 0-5 ° C. If the water storage tank 43 is provided with a water temperature adjusting unit, and the entire electrolytic hyponitrous acid stored in the water storage tank 41 is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the water temperature of the electrolytic hyponitrous water fed to the cooling medium generating device 30 Therefore, stable generation of the cooling medium can be achieved.

Although illustration is omitted, there is provided a control means for controlling the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous generation device 20, the operation of the cooling medium generation device 30, and the operation of the water supply means 40. The control means has a function as described below in order to make the characteristic value of the generated electrolytic hyponitrous water an appropriate value.

1) A function of adjusting the hypochlorous acid concentration of the electrolyzed water to a predetermined value by controlling the electrolyzing means 23 2) By controlling the diluting water flow rate adjusting means and the electrolyzed water flow rate adjusting means, in the diluting part M1 Hypochlorous acid concentration adjustment function that adjusts the hypochlorous acid concentration of the electrolytic hypochlorous acid by adjusting the mixing ratio of the diluted water and the electrolyzed water 3) By controlling the food additive aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means, the food By adjusting the mixing amount of the food additive aqueous solution in the additive aqueous solution mixing part M2 and adjusting the food additive concentration of the electrolytic hyposulfite 4) By controlling the acid solution flow rate adjusting means, A pH adjusting function for adjusting the pH of electrolytic hyponitrous acid by controlling the amount of acid solution mixed in the acid solution mixing unit M3

The control means has the following functions.
5) When the water storage amount of the water storage tank 41 detected by the water storage amount sensor reaches a predetermined value, the operation of the electrolytic sub-sulfur generation device 20, the cooling medium generation device 30, or the electrolytic sub-sulfur feed pump 44 is stopped. function

The present system R configured as described above performs the following steps to produce a cooling medium.
a) A salt water acquisition step for taking salt water from a salt water supply source 21 in which salt water having a predetermined salt concentration is stored b) Electrolyzed water that electrolyzes the taken salt water to generate electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid having a predetermined concentration Generation step c) Dilution water acquisition step for taking dilution water from the dilution water supply source d) Dilution water flow rate adjustment step for adjusting the flow rate of the taken dilution water to a predetermined value e) Dilution water adjusted in the dilution water flow rate adjustment step The dilute water and the electrolyzed water are mixed according to a mixing ratio determined based on the flow rate of the electrolyzed water and the electrolyzed water hypochlorous acid concentration generated in the electrolyzed water generating step, and a predetermined hypochlorous acid concentration is obtained. Dilution step for generating electrolytic hypoxia having f) Food additive aqueous solution acquisition step for taking in food additive aqueous solution from food additive aqueous solution supply source 24 in which a predetermined concentration of food additive aqueous solution is stored g) Food taken in A food additive concentration adjusting step for adjusting the salt concentration of the electrolytic hyposulfite to a predetermined value by mixing the aqueous additive solution with a diluting solution, electrolytic water or electrolytic hypochlorite h) An acid solution having a predetermined pH is stored. The acid solution acquisition step of taking in the acid solution from the acid solution supply source 26 i) Mixing the taken-in acid solution into the diluting solution, electrolyzed water or electrolyzed hypochlorite to adjust the pH of the electrolyzed subaqueous Step j) Cooling step of supplying electrolytic hypochlorous acid whose hypochlorous acid concentration, food additive concentration and pH are adjusted to the cooling medium generating device 30 and cooling it to generate a cooling medium

  In the present system R, the control means exerts the functions 1 to 4 by controlling the operation of the electrolyzed hypochlorous acid generation device 20, for example, hypochlorous acid concentration 10 to 80 ppm, salt concentration 1 to 3 It produces electrolytic hyponitrous acid adjusted to 5% and pH 6.5 or lower. By setting the hypochlorous acid concentration to 10 to 80 ppm, the bactericidal effect is reliably exhibited, and the adverse effects on the human body can be reduced. Further, by setting the pH to 6.5 or less, hypochlorous acid can be stably present in the electrolytic hyponitrous water.

The reason why the salt concentration of electrolyzed hypochlorite is preferably in the range of 1 to 3.5% is as follows. By setting the salt concentration to 1% or more, the temperature of the generated cooling medium can be made 0 ° C. or less. In order to maintain the freshness of fresh food, especially fish, it is desirable to store the fish body at 0 ° C. or lower, but if the salt concentration is less than 1%, the temperature of the cooling medium will not drop to around 0 ° C. It becomes difficult to maintain the temperature of the fish body around 0 ° C. Further, when the salt concentration is less than 1%, the ice crystals become hard when producing slurry ice as a cooling medium, and there is a problem that it is difficult to make ice particles fine. Therefore, it is preferable to set the salt concentration of the electrolytic hyponitrous acid to 1% or more.
If the salt concentration of electrolyzed hyposulfur exceeds 3.5%, which is the salt concentration of seawater, fish may be damaged by being placed in an environment having a higher salt concentration than seawater. Therefore, the salt concentration is preferably 3.5% or less.
It should be noted that if the fish cells are kept at a temperature that does not freeze, the fish can be stored in a fresh state for a long period of time, and the optimum temperature condition of the cooling medium for this purpose is 0 to -1.5 ° C. In order to set the cooling medium to such a temperature condition, the salt concentration of the electrolytic hyponitrous acid should be in the range of 1 to 2%. That is, if the salt concentration of electrolytic hyponitrous acid is 1 to 2%, a cooling medium with little damage to fish can be provided.

  In addition, if the salt water used by this System R is made into salt solution, the produced | generated electrolytic hyposalt is electrolyzed water produced | generated by electrolyzing salt solution, Comprising: As a food additive on the Food Sanitation Law This is considered to be equivalent to the diluted diluted sodium hypochlorite. Another additive is an aqueous food additive solution. Therefore, the electrolytic hyponitrous acid generated by the present system R can be used as a food additive in the Food Sanitation Law.

  The electrolytic hyponitrous acid having the above-described characteristics generated by the electrolytic hyponitrous generator 20 is once stored in the water storage tank 41, and when a water temperature adjusting unit is provided, the electrolytic water is adjusted after appropriate water temperature adjustment. It is fed to the cooling medium generating device 30 by the hyponitrous feed pump 44. The cooling medium production | generation apparatus 30 cools electrolytic hyponitrous acid, and produces | generates cooling media, such as slurry ice and crushed ice.

  The feeding amount of the electrolyzed hyponitrous acid from the water storage tank 41 to the cooling medium generating device 30 can be adjusted to a constant value by the electrolyzed hyponitrous feed pump 44. In this case, when the amount of electrolytic sub-sulfur generated in the electrolytic sub-sulfur generation device 20 and the amount of electrolytic sub-sulfur feed from the water storage tank 41 to the cooling medium generation device 30 do not match, the water stored in the water storage tank 41 is stored. The amount varies. Therefore, a water storage amount sensor such as a float sensor is provided to detect the amount of water stored in the water storage tank 41. Based on the water storage amount detected by the water storage amount sensor, the control means generates the electrolytic sub-sulfur generation device 20, the cooling medium generation. It is desirable to perform control to stop the operation of the device 30 or the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump 44. Specifically, when the amount of water stored in the water storage tank 41 exceeds a predetermined upper limit value, the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous generation device 20 is stopped, and the inflow of electrolytic hyponitrous water to the water storage tank 41 is stopped, Prevent overflow. On the other hand, when the amount of water stored in the water storage tank reaches a predetermined lower limit value, that is, when it approaches a drought state, the cooling medium generating device 30 and the electrolytic sub-aqueous feed pump 44 are stopped, and these are operated unnecessarily. Avoid continuing. At the same time, it is possible to continue the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous generation device and wait for the amount of water stored in the water storage tank 41 to recover.

  When slurry ice is produced as a cooling medium, the ice filling rate is preferably in the range of 10 to 30%. Moreover, it is preferable that the particle size of the ice particle which comprises slurry ice is about 0.05-0.5 mm. Since the slurry ice having such properties is excellent in fluidity and has a large contact area with the surface of an object to be cooled such as fresh food, the cooling rate is high. In addition, there is an advantage that there is no possibility of damaging the surface of the object to be cooled. Conventionally, when crushed ice is used for cold storage of fresh foods such as fish and vegetables, the crushed ice is a hard lump, which may damage the surface of the object to be cooled such as fresh food. Moreover, since the particle size of the crushed ice is large, there is a problem that the contact area with the object to be cooled is small and the cooling rate is low. By using slurry ice as the cooling medium, the above-mentioned conventional problems are solved.

[Example]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a system R1 for producing sterilizable slurry ice (hereinafter referred to as “slurry ice production system R1”) using tap water. The slurry ice production system R <b> 1 shown in FIG. 2 includes an electrolytic hyponitrous generator 20, a cooling medium generator 30, and water supply means 40. Furthermore, the 1st control means 200 which controls operation | movement of the electrolytic hyponitrous water generation apparatus 20 and the 2nd control means 300 which controls operation | movement of the cooling medium production | generation apparatus 30 are provided. The first control means 200 and the second control means 300 constitute a control means. In this example, the dilution water supply source is the water supply. Therefore, the dilution water is tap water. The cooling medium to be produced is slurry ice. Therefore, the cooling medium generator 30 is a slurry ice generator.

  The electrolyzed hypochlorite generation apparatus 20 includes a salt water supply source 21, a salt water acquisition unit 22, an electrolysis unit 23, a food additive aqueous solution supply source 24, a food additive aqueous solution acquisition unit 25, an acid solution supply source 26, and an acid solution acquisition unit 27. , Dilution water obtaining means 28, electrolytic hyponitrous delivery section 29, dilution section M1, food additive aqueous solution mixing section M2, acid solution mixing section M3, electrolytic water flow rate adjusting means, dilution water flow rate adjusting means, food additive aqueous solution flow rate An adjustment unit, an acid solution flow rate adjustment unit, and a first control unit 200 are provided.

  The dilution water acquisition means 28 consists of the pipe line 28p connected to a water supply, The pipe end part is connected to a water pipe as the dilution water acquisition part 28a. The pipe 28p of the dilution water obtaining means 28 is provided with a pressure reducing valve 28b, a water supply valve 28c such as an electromagnetic valve, a flow rate adjusting valve 28d whose opening degree can be adjusted by a motor, and a flow rate sensor 28e. The pipe 28p includes a diluting section M1 for mixing electrolyzed water and diluting water, which will be described later, a food additive aqueous solution mixing section M2 for mixing a food additive aqueous solution, and an acid solution mixing section M3 for mixing an acid solution. Provided.

The operations of the water supply valve 28c and the flow rate adjustment valve 28d are controlled by the first control unit 200 so that the dilution water flow rate becomes a predetermined value based on the flow rate of the dilution water detected by the flow rate sensor 28e. Therefore, in this example, the dilution water acquisition means 28 also serves as the dilution water flow rate adjustment means.

  The salt water supply source 21 is a salt water tank for storing high-concentration saline. The tap water is supplied to the salt water tank through a pipe 21a branched from the dilution water acquisition means 28, and tap water. Salt supply means (not shown) for mixing salt is provided. The water level of the salt water tank is kept constant by the function of the ball tap 21b. The salt supply means supplies salt to a saturated concentration. If necessary, a salt concentration sensor may be provided in the salt water tank, and the salt concentration value detected by the salt concentration sensor may be output to the first control means 200.

  The salt water obtaining unit 22 includes a pipe line 22a that connects the salt water supply source 21 and the electrolysis unit 23, and a pump 22b. The operation of the pump 22b is controlled by the first control means 200 so that the salt water flow rate becomes a predetermined value. Therefore, in this example, the salt water acquisition means 22 also serves as the salt water flow rate adjustment means.

  As for the electrolysis means 23, the inflow part 23a is connected to the pipe line 22a, and the outflow part 23b is connected to the dilution part M1 by the pipe line 23c. Moreover, the voltage part 23d by which the voltage control is carried out by the 1st control means 200 is provided. The electrolyzing means 23 electrolyzes the high-concentration salt water supplied from the salt water supply source 21 by the salt water acquiring means 22 in a flowing state to generate electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid (HClO), and diluting part M1 To send. The flow rate of the electrolyzed water delivered from the electrolyzing means 23 follows the flow rate of the pump 22 b of the salt water obtaining means 22. Therefore, in this example, the salt water acquisition means 22 also serves as the electrolyzed water flow rate adjustment means.

If the salt water flow rate and the salt concentration are constant, it is possible to keep the concentration of hypochlorous acid generated by the electrolyzing means 23 constant by controlling the electrolysis voltage to be constant. When the flow rate or salt concentration of salt water changes, a predetermined hypochlorous acid concentration can be obtained by controlling the voltage accordingly.

  The food additive aqueous solution supply source 24 is a solution tank for storing the food additive aqueous solution, and a ball tap 24b for allowing tap water to flow into the solution tank through a pipe line 24a branched from the dilution water obtaining means 28; Food additive supply means (not shown) for mixing the food additive with tap water is provided. In this example, calcium chloride is used as a food additive, but is not limited thereto. The water level of the solution tank is maintained constant by the function of the ball tap 21b. The food additive supply means supplies the food additive to a saturated concentration. If necessary, a food additive concentration sensor may be provided in the solution tank, and the food additive concentration value detected by the food additive concentration sensor may be output to the first control means 200.

  The food additive aqueous solution acquisition means 25 supplies the food additive aqueous solution from the food additive aqueous solution supply source 24 to the food additive aqueous solution mixing unit M2, and includes a pipe 25a and a pump 25b. . The operation of the pump 25b is controlled by the first control means 200 so that the food additive aqueous solution flow rate becomes a predetermined value. Therefore, in this example, the food additive aqueous solution obtaining unit 25 also serves as the food additive aqueous solution flow rate adjusting unit.

  The acid solution supply source 26 is an acid solution tank that stores the acid solution. In this example, hydrochloric acid is used as the acid solution, but the acid solution supply source 26 is not limited thereto. If necessary, a pH sensor may be provided in the acid solution tank, and the pH value detected by the pH sensor may be output to the first control means 200.

  The acid solution acquisition unit 27 supplies the acid solution from the acid solution supply source 26 to the acid solution mixing unit M3, and includes a pipe line 27a and a pump 27b. The operation of the pump 27b is controlled by the first control means 200 so that the acid solution flow rate becomes a predetermined value. Therefore, in this example, the acid solution acquisition unit 27 also serves as the acid solution flow rate adjustment unit.

The water supply means 40 includes a storage tank 41 that stores the electrolytic sub-sulfur sent from the electrolytic sub-sulfur delivery section 29, and a first electrolytic sub-sulfur feed that communicates the electrolytic sub-sulfur delivery section 29 and the storage tank 41. Provided in a second electrolytic sub-nitrous feed path 43 and a second electrolytic sub-sulfur feed path 43 that connect the feed path 42, the water storage tank 41 and the electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition unit 30a, Is supplied to the electrolytic hyponitrous acquisition unit 30a, and a water storage amount sensor 45 such as a float sensor for detecting the amount of water stored in the water storage tank 41 is provided. Further, the water storage tank 41 is provided with a water temperature adjusting unit (not shown) that cools the stored electrolytic sub-sulfur and keeps the water temperature at 0 to 5 ° C.

  The operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump 44 is controlled by the second control means 300 and feeds the electrolytic hyposulfite to the cooling medium generator 30 at a constant flow rate. The pump flow rate is determined based on the production capacity of the cooling medium (slurry ice in this example) in the cooling medium generator 30.

  The stored water amount information detected by the stored water amount sensor 45 is output to the first control means 200. The first control means 200 stops the operation of the electrolytic hypoxia generation device 20 when the stored water amount detected by the stored water sensor 45 reaches a predetermined upper limit value, so that overflow occurs in the water storage tank 41. Can be prevented. In addition, when the lower limit value of the water storage amount is determined in advance and the water storage amount reaches the predetermined lower limit value, the second control means 300 causes the operation of the electrolytic sub-aqueous feed pump 44 and the cooling medium generation device 30 to be performed. Control to be stopped may be performed.

In this example, the slurry ice production apparatus S described in Patent Document 1 is used as the cooling medium generation apparatus 30. The configuration of the slurry ice manufacturing apparatus S will be described below with reference to FIG. An outer tube 2 that has a space serving as a refrigerant flow path 3 between the inner tube 1 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube 1 and covers the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube 1, and is rotatably disposed inside the inner tube 1. The rotary member 4 is composed of a scraping portion 5 projecting radially from the outer peripheral surface of the rotary member 4, and a lid member 6 that closes both ends of the inner tube 1.

This slurry ice manufacturing apparatus S is supported by the installation member 7 fixed to the end surface of one lid member 6 with a fixing member 71 such as a bolt with the axis thereof being vertically oriented (vertical direction). The inner tube 1 is a cylindrical body, and a supply part 1a for supplying electrolytic hyponitrous acid to the inside is provided in the lid member 6 on the lower end side, and the generated slurry is formed on the lid member 6 on the upper end side. A discharge part 1b for discharging ice is provided.

The rotating member 4 is a rotating shaft disposed substantially coaxially with the central axis of the inner tube, and is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the scraping portion 5 so as to protrude in the radial direction. The rotating member 4 is supported by a bearing inside the lid member 6 and has an upper end connected to an electric motor 8 such as a motor via a coupling 81 to enable a smooth rotating operation.

The slurry ice manufacturing apparatus S circulates a refrigerant in an annular space provided between an inner pipe and an outer pipe having a double structure, cools electrolytic hyponitrous acid supplied inside the inner pipe, and cools the inner pipe. 1 Freeze on the inner surface to produce ice. Then, the scraper of the scraping unit 5 rotating inside the inner tube 1 scrapes the ice, and at the same time, the scraped ice is dispersed in the solution, so that sorbet-like slurry ice having fluidity can be generated. .

The refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant inlet 31 passes through the refrigerant flow path 3 and is discharged from the refrigerant outlet 32. The refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant outlet 32 expands and gasifies in the refrigerant flow path 3, is discharged from the refrigerant outlet 32, is sent to the compressor 13 through the evaporation pressure adjustment valve 12, and is supplied to the compressor 13. And then re-liquefied in the condenser 14 and further reduced in pressure through the expansion valve 15 and then supplied again to the refrigerant flow path 3 (see FIG. 2).

The scraper of the scraping part 5 is a rectangular plate-like body, and the edge part (scraper tip) on the ice scraping side is arranged to have a gap of about 0.1 to 3 mm with respect to the inner surface of the inner tube 1. Is done. Note that the angle of inclination of the scraper tip with respect to the inner surface of the inner tube 1 and the amount of gap with the inner surface of the inner tube 1 can be adjusted. The scraper does not scrape all the ice film generated on the inner surface of the inner tube 1, but scrapes only the surface part of the ice film, so that the scraper 5 has little load and is efficiently scraped. Can do. Further, since the scraper contacts only with ice, there is an advantage that there is little wear of parts and excellent maintainability.

The slurry ice production system R1 described above takes salt water from the salt water supply source 21, electrolyzes the salt water taken in by the electrolysis means 23, and generates electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid having a predetermined concentration. This electrolyzed water and dilution water taken from the water supply are mixed at a predetermined ratio to produce electrolyzed hypochlorous acid having a hypochlorous acid concentration of 10 to 80 ppm. In addition, this electrolytic hyposulfite is mixed with a calcium chloride aqueous solution as a food additive to adjust the salt concentration of the electrolytic hyposulfite to 1 to 3.5%, and an acid solution (hydrochloric acid) is mixed. Adjust the pH of the electrolytic hyponitrogen to 6.5 or lower.

Next, the electrolytic hyponitrous acid is temporarily stored in the water storage tank 41, cooled to about 0 to 5 ° C. by the water temperature adjusting unit, and then fed to the slurry ice production apparatus S by the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump 43. And the slurry ice production apparatus S produces | generates the slurry ice whose ice filling rate is 10-30%.

  The slurry ice obtained in this way uses electrolytic hypochlorous acid adjusted to a hypochlorous acid concentration of 10 to 80 ppm, a salt concentration of 1 to 3.5%, and a pH of 6.5 or less. It becomes a cooling medium that simultaneously exhibits the holding power and the excellent sterilizing power of hypochlorous acid. In addition, since it is a slurry ice having an ice filling rate of 10 to 30%, it has excellent fluidity and a large contact area with the surface of the object to be cooled such as fresh food, so that the cooling rate is high, and It is possible to provide a cooling medium that does not cause damage to the surface.

  In addition, the slurry ice production system R1 of the present embodiment controls the hypochlorous acid concentration of electrolytic hypochlorous water to be generated by controlling the flow rates of salt water, dilution water, calcium chloride aqueous solution and acid solution as food additives, Since the salt concentration and pH can be adjusted to appropriate values, sensors for detecting these characteristics can be eliminated or reduced, and the system configuration can be simplified.

[Other Examples]
The water supply means 40 is provided in a third electrolytic sub-nitrous water supply path that communicates the electrolytic sub-sulfur discharge section 29 and the electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition section 30a, and this third electrolytic sub-sulfur supply path, It may be configured with an electro-hypochlorous water feed pump that feeds hypo-nitrous water to the electro-hypochlorite acquisition unit 30a. In this case, the electro-hypochlorite generation device 20 and the cooling medium generation device 30 are directly connected. Therefore, it is desirable to adjust the flow rate of the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump to a value corresponding to the production capacity of the cooling medium generator 30.

  The present invention can be applied to the production of crushed ice in addition to the production of slurry ice. Moreover, it is also possible to produce electrolytic hyponitrous acid having a high salt concentration and use it as a liquid cooling solvent without freezing it. Moreover, if seawater is used as a salt water supply source, a larger amount of cooling medium can be continuously produced.

R This system (cooling medium production system)
R1 Slurry ice production system 20 Electrolyte hypochlorite generation device 21 Salt water supply source 22 Salt water acquisition means 23 Electrolysis means 24 Food additive aqueous solution supply source 25 Food additive aqueous solution acquisition means 26 Acid solution supply source 27 Acid solution acquisition means 28 Dilution water Acquiring means 29 Electrolyte sub-sulfur delivery unit 30 Cooling medium generator 40 Water supply means 41 Water storage tank 44 Electrolyte sub-sulfur feed pump 200 First control means 300 Second control means

Claims (8)

Salt water supply source for storing salt water, salt water obtaining means for taking salt water from the salt water supply source, dilution water obtaining means for taking dilution water from the dilution water supply source through the dilution water obtaining unit, hypochlorite by electrolyzing the taken salt water Electrolytic means for generating electrolyzed water containing an acid, a diluting part for mixing the generated electrolyzed water with the taken-in dilution water to generate electrolyzed hyposulfite, and electrolyzing to deliver the generated electrolyzed subaqueous water An electro-hypochlorous acid generation device having a nitrous acid delivery unit;
A cooling medium generation device that has an electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition unit that takes in the electrolytic hypo-sulfur, cools the taken-in electrolytic sub-sulfur, and generates a cooling medium;
A water supply means for supplying electrolytic hyponitrous water from the electrolytic hyponitrous delivery section to the electrolytic hyposulfite acquisition section;
A cooling medium production system comprising control means for controlling the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous generation device, the operation of the cooling medium generation device, and the operation of the water supply means. The electrolyzed hyposulfite generation device includes a dilution water flow rate adjusting unit that adjusts the flow rate of dilution water from the dilution water obtaining unit to the dilution unit, and an electrolyzed water flow rate adjustment that adjusts the flow rate of electrolytic water from the electrolysis unit to the dilution unit. And further comprising means,
The control means controls the electrolysis means to control the hypochlorous acid concentration of the electrolyzed water to a predetermined value, the diluting water flow rate adjusting means and the electrolyzed water flow rate adjusting means, thereby controlling the diluting unit. 2. The cooling medium production according to claim 1, further comprising a hypochlorous acid concentration adjusting function for adjusting a hypochlorous acid concentration by adjusting a mixing ratio of the dilution water and the electrolyzed water. system. The electrolytic hyponitrous generation device includes a food additive aqueous solution supply source in which the food additive aqueous solution is stored, a food additive aqueous solution acquisition means for taking in the food additive aqueous solution from the food additive aqueous solution supply source, and the incorporated food additive A food additive aqueous solution mixing unit that mixes an aqueous solution with dilute solution, electrolyzed water, or electrolytic hyponitrous, and a food additive that adjusts the flow rate of the food additive aqueous solution from the food additive aqueous solution source to the food additive aqueous solution mixing unit An aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means,
The control means adjusts the amount of the food additive aqueous solution in the food additive aqueous solution mixing section by controlling the food additive aqueous solution flow rate adjusting means, thereby adjusting the food additive concentration of the electrolytic hyposulfite. The cooling medium production system according to claim 1, further comprising an additive concentration adjustment function. The electrolytic hyponitrous generator includes an acid solution supply source in which an acid solution having a predetermined pH is stored, an acid solution acquisition unit that takes in the acid solution from the acid solution supply source, diluted acid, electrolyzed water Or an acid solution mixing part for mixing with electrolytic hyponitrous acid, and an acid solution flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of the acid solution from the acid solution supply source to the acid solution mixing part,
The control means has a pH adjustment function of controlling the acid solution flow rate adjusting means to control the amount of the acid solution in the acid solution mixing section to adjust the pH of the electrolytic hyposulfite. The cooling medium production system of any one of Claims 1-3. The water supply means includes a water storage tank that stores electrolytic hyponitrous water, a first electrolytic subsulfur water supply path that communicates the electrolytic subsulfur delivery section and the water storage tank, a water storage tank, and electrolytic subsulfur acquisition section. A second electrolytic sub-nitrous feed path that communicates with each other, and an electrolytic sub-sulfur feed pump that is provided in the second electrolytic sub-sulfur feed path and that feeds the electrolytic sub-sulfur to the electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition unit, A water storage sensor for detecting the amount of water stored in the water storage tank,
The control means has a function of stopping the operation of the electrolytic sub-sulfur generating device, the cooling medium generating device, or the electrolytic sub-aqueous feed pump when the amount of water stored in the water storage tank detected by the water storage amount sensor reaches a predetermined value. The cooling medium production system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The water supply means is provided in a third electrolytic sub-nitrous feed path and a third electrolytic sub-sulfur feed path that communicates the electrolytic sub-sulfur delivery section and the electrolytic sub-sulfur acquisition section. And an electro-hypochlorous feed pump for feeding the electro-hypochlorite acquisition section to
The control means controls the operation of the electrolytic hyponitrous feed pump, and adjusts the flow rate of the electrolytic hyponitrous water fed from the electrolytic hyposulfite delivery section to the electrolytic hyposulfite acquisition section to a predetermined value. It has a function, The cooling medium production system of any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said water supply means is further equipped with the water temperature adjustment part which adjusts the water temperature of the electrolysis sub-sulfur water supplied to an electrolysis sub-sulfur acquisition part to predetermined temperature, The any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The cooling medium production system described in 1. The cooling medium production system according to claim 5, wherein the water temperature adjustment unit is provided in a water storage tank.

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