JP3519802B2 - Method and apparatus for drying attached water after heat treatment in retort sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for drying adhered water remaining on a package of an object to be treated after heat treatment in a retort sterilizer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a retort sterilizer for performing heat treatment with hot water, heat treatment with spray injection of hot water, or heat treatment with steam, the heat used for heating the surface of the package of the object to be treated after the heat treatment. Adhered water due to water or steam remains. In order to dry this remaining adhered water,
Conventionally, a sterilizer equipped with a hot-air drying system path in which a fan, a condenser, and a heater are connected in series, or a sterilizer equipped with a fan and a heater outside to sterilize hot air that has sucked in external air and has been heated. A means for sending the hot air to the apparatus, evaporating the attached water, and discharging the hot air out of the system was used.

[0003]

Among the above-mentioned conventional examples, the one provided with a hot air drying system passage sends hot air heated by a heater to a sterilizer to evaporate the adhering water as water vapor, and then the condenser. The cooled and discharged steam is heated again by the heater, the temperature is raised and the humidity is lowered, and the steam is sent to the sterilizer as hot air to evaporate the adhering water. However, in such a drying method, there is a problem that the hot air temperature is lowered during circulation, the amount of heat required for heating by the heater is large, and the heater must be large.

Further, even in the drying method of sucking the external air and evaporating the adhered water by the hot air whose temperature has risen, the external air must be heated until it becomes hot air, and the amount of heat given by the heater also becomes large and the heater equipment is enlarged. There was a need.
The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to condense and discharge the hot air containing steam in the vicinity of the bottom of the sterilizer in the hot air that is circulated and heated without increasing the amount of heat of the heater. The present invention aims to provide an efficient drying method and drying apparatus.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first invention, in a retort sterilizer for heat treatment with hot water, heat treatment with spray injection of hot water, or heat treatment with steam, after heat treatment, As a method for drying the adhered water remaining on the surface of the package of the object to be treated, the air in the sterilizer that has been opened to the atmosphere is circulated and heated by a fan and a heater to produce hot air of 70 to 100 ° C. Evaporation of adhering water, condensation of water vapor of adhering water near the bottom by a condenser provided at the bottom of the sterilizer, and hot air circulation to discharge from the bottom to dry the retort sterilizer after heat treatment The water was dried.

In the second invention, a hot air circulation path having a fan and a heater is provided outside the retort sterilizer through a switching valve, a condenser is provided at the bottom of the retort sterilizer, and a chiller and cold water connected to the condenser are provided. A cold water circulation path with a pump is provided, and after heat treatment with a retort sterilizer, the adhered water remaining on the surface of the package of the object to be treated is converted into steam by the hot air in the hot air circulation path and condensed by the condenser in the cold water circulation path. It was a drying device for adhering water after heat treatment in a retort sterilization device provided so as to be discharged as condensed water.

[0007]

In the first aspect of the invention, in the heat treatment with hot water, the heat treatment with spray injection of hot water, or the heat treatment with steam, the adhered water remains on the surface of the package of the object to be treated after the heat treatment. The adhering water is heated to 70 to 100 ° C. by circulating and heating the air into the sterilizer after opening it to the atmosphere.
It is dried using hot air. That is, the hot air causes the attached water to evaporate and circulate as water vapor, but the water vapor in the vicinity of the bottom of the sterilizer is condensed by the condenser and discharged as condensed water to the outside, which is dried. Since only the heat exchange at the bottom of the sterilizer is performed in this way, the temperature of the circulating hot air does not drop significantly or sharply, and it circulates again with a slight decrease in temperature and humidity, and the adhering water is dried. Therefore, the heat transfer capacity of the heater is utilized to the maximum, and the heat load due to drying is reduced.

In the second invention, a fan and a heater are provided outside the retort sterilizer as a hot air circulation path via a switching valve, a condenser is provided at the bottom of the sterilizer, and a chiller and a cold water pump are connected to the condenser. A cold water circuit was provided. Therefore, in the hot air circulation path, the air in the sterilizer is efficiently used as hot air to evaporate the adhering water. In addition, hot air containing steam is efficiently condensed near the bottom of the sterilizer and discharged as condensed water to the outside. Therefore, in the hot air circulating in the hot air, only a part of the lower part is condensed to reduce the humidity,
The hot air as a whole does not cause a large temperature drop.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments shown in the drawings will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a flow sheet diagram of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part of the device. Reference numeral 1 is a retort sterilizer, which performs heat treatment by immersion in hot water, and sprays hot water with a spray. In this case, air in the sterilizer after opening to the atmosphere should be removed in order to dry the adhered water remaining on the surface of the package of the object to be treated after the heat treatment. A hot air circulation path 2 for heating and circulating is provided.
This hot air circulation path 2 is composed of a switching valve 3, a fan 4, a heater 5, and a switching valve 6, and the heater 5 uses steam 7 as an indirect heating system. Reference numeral 8 indicates a hot air jet nozzle, and 9 indicates a tray on which the portion to be processed is placed. The hot air jet nozzle 8 jets from both side walls of the tray 9 toward the object to be processed. Tray 9
If the hot air jet nozzles 8 are arranged at intervals matching the pitch of 1, the drying efficiency is further improved.

A condenser 10 is a retort sterilizer 1.
A cold water circulation path 11 is provided at the bottom of the. The cold water circulation path 11 includes a condenser 10, a chiller 12, and a pump 1.
It consists of three. A condensed water discharge valve 14 discharges the water vapor condensed by the condenser 10. Since the condenser 10 is provided at the bottom of the retort sterilizer 1, the adhered water is vaporized by the hot air circulation path 2 to become steam, and while circulating, the steam near the bottom is condensed and discharged. Since the heat is exchanged only near the bottom, the temperature of the hot air in the retort sterilizer is slightly decreased, and the adhered water that has become steam easily accumulates near the bottom due to the difference in specific gravity, and an efficient drying operation is performed.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the air in the retort sterilizer after being opened to the atmosphere is circulated as hot air by the fan and the heater, and the hot water efficiently evaporates the adhered water. At the bottom of the retort sterilizer, the hot air containing steam is condensed by the condenser and discharged as condensed water, so that the adhered water can be dried effectively.

In the second aspect of the invention, since the hot air circulation passage and the cold water circulation passage connected to the retort sterilization device are provided, efficient vaporization of the adhering water by the hot air circulation passage is realized, and the hot water circulation passage near the bottom of the retort sterilization device is realized. Since the water vapor is surely condensed by the condenser, there is provided an apparatus capable of performing effective drying in a short time without requiring a large heater or equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flow sheet diagram of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part of the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Retort sterilizer 2 hot air circulation 3, 6 switching valve 4 fans 5 heater 10 capacitors 11 Cold water circulation 12 chillers 13 pumps 14 Condensed water discharge valve

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. In a retort sterilizer that performs heat treatment with hot water, heat treatment with spray injection of hot water, or heat treatment with steam, drying of adhered water remaining on the surface of the package of the object to be treated after the heat treatment. As a method, the air in the sterilizer that has been opened to the atmosphere is circulated and heated by a fan and a heater to generate hot air of 70 to 100 ° C., the attached water is evaporated by the hot air, and a condenser provided at the bottom of the sterilizer is used. A method of drying adhered water after heat treatment in a retort sterilization apparatus, characterized in that steam of adhered water near the bottom is condensed and hot air is circulated so as to be discharged from the bottom. 2. A hot air circulation path having a fan and a heater is provided outside the retort sterilizer through a switching valve, a condenser is provided at the bottom of the retort sterilizer, and chiller connected to the condenser and cold water by a cold water pump. A circulation path is provided, and after the heat treatment by the retort sterilizer, the adhered water remaining on the surface of the package of the object to be treated is converted to steam by the hot air in the hot air circulation path and condensed by the condenser in the cold water circulation path to form condensed water. Drying device for adhering water after heat treatment in a retort sterilizer installed to discharge.