JP5514267B2 - Carbonization equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a carbonization apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a carbonization apparatus for continuously firing and carbonizing a nonwoven fabric to produce a carbonized sheet.

  As the name suggests, non-woven fabric is a fabric that is manufactured by a method that does not use a textile process, and the fiber is bonded with a heat-sealing resin, chemically bonded with an adhesive, or fiber. There is a method of mechanically entangled and coupled. Nonwoven fabrics obtained by these manufacturing methods are all intertwined or padded, and the raw materials include natural materials such as cotton, hemp, wool, synthetic resin fibers, recycled fibers, or Pulp, which is a raw material for paper, is used.

  A nonwoven fabric using synthetic resin fibers has a relatively low softening point / melting point due to the characteristics of the resin, and the material is deformed or melts during the high-temperature firing process, so that it cannot be carbonized. In other words, the melting points of synthetic resin fibers, which are general-purpose raw materials for nonwoven fabrics, are 125 ° C. for polyethylene, 165 ° C. for polypropylene, 215 ° C. for nylon, and 255 ° C. for polyester, all of which are compared with conventional firing temperatures of 700 ° C. to 1000 ° C. And quite low. For this reason, the nonwoven fabric sheet softened and melted during the firing process, and the shape of the sheet collapsed, which was the reason that carbonization was not possible.

  On the other hand, there is also a method of carbonizing using a woven fabric made only of plant fibers or rayon synthesized from the same fiber (see Patent Documents 1 and 2), but all the sheets of this manufacturing method are sheets that have undergone a woven process. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is higher than that of the nonwoven fabric.

As described above, although the manufacturing cost is high, the carbonization technology that has existed so far is limited to those specialized in plant fibers, and there is no carbonization technology for nonwoven fabrics made from synthetic resin fibers. .
However, if this non-woven fabric can be carbonized, it is possible to enrich the carbonized material, and the use of carbides may be expanded.

JP 2011-245719 A JP 2010-216045 A

  An object of this invention is to provide the carbonization apparatus which does not require a textile process and can make the manufacturing cost of a carbonization sheet low in view of the said situation.

The carbonization apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention continuously fabricates a non-woven sheet by stacking heat-sealing resin fibers composed of a core wire made of a hardly fusible material and a covering material made of an easily meltable material covering the core wire. It is characterized by comprising a fiber stacker, a conveying means for conveying the nonwoven fabric sheet, and a carbonization furnace for continuously carbonizing the nonwoven fabric sheet conveyed by the conveying means into a carbonized sheet.
The carbonization apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the stacking machine mixes and heats the heat-sealing resin fibers with plant fibers and / or hardly fusible fibers.
The carbonization apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the carbonization furnace includes a firing unit that fires the nonwoven sheet to form the carbonized sheet, and a cooling unit that cools the carbonized sheet, The firing section and the cooling section are connected in the order along the feeding direction of the transport means.
The carbonization apparatus according to a fourth invention is characterized in that, in the third invention, a heater is provided in the firing section so as to sandwich the non-woven fabric sheet from both sides.
In the first, second, third, or fourth invention, the carbonization apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is configured such that the firing temperature and firing time of the carbonization furnace are: It is characterized by time.
A carbonization apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth invention, a roll press machine that compresses the carbonized sheet that has passed through the carbonization furnace is provided.
A carbonization apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth invention, a roll press machine for compressing the nonwoven fabric sheet conveyed to the carbonization furnace is provided. To do.

According to the first invention, since the textile process is unnecessary, the manufacturing cost of the carbonized sheet can be reduced. Moreover, since a nonwoven fabric sheet is continuously produced with a fiber pile and this nonwoven fabric sheet is continuously carbonized with a carbonization furnace, a carbonized sheet can be manufactured continuously and manufacturing time can be shortened.
According to the second invention, since the vegetable fiber and / or the hardly fusible fiber is mixed with the nonwoven fabric sheet, a carbonized sheet having rigidity and excellent shape retention can be obtained.
According to the third invention, since the firing part and the cooling part are continuously provided, the nonwoven fabric sheet can be continuously fired and cooled, and the manufacturing time can be shortened. Further, the entire apparatus can be saved.
According to the fourth invention, the heater can easily carbonize the surface layer while making the middle layer of the nonwoven fabric sheet uncarbonized.
According to the fifth invention, since the surface layer is carbonized and the middle layer is uncarbonized, a carbonized sheet having rigidity and excellent shape retention can be obtained. Further, since the firing time can be shortened and the firing temperature can be lowered, the production time can be shortened, resulting in energy saving.
According to the sixth invention, by compressing the carbonized sheet, the entanglement of the fibers after carbonization can be strengthened, and a high quality carbonized sheet can be obtained stably.
According to the seventh invention, by compressing the nonwoven fabric sheet, the entanglement of the stacked fibers becomes strong and the sheet shape can be maintained, so that a high quality carbonized sheet can be stably obtained.

It is a perspective view of the carbonization apparatus concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part sectional side view of the carbonization apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a nonwoven fabric sheet. It is explanatory drawing of a carbonization sheet. It is an enlarged photograph of a nonwoven fabric sheet (before carbonization). It is an enlarged photograph of a carbonization sheet (after carbonization). It is sectional drawing of a carbonization sheet. It is a principal part cross-sectional side view of the carbonization apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the carbonizing apparatus A according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a fiber stacker 10 that continuously creates a nonwoven fabric sheet N, a first conveyor 21 that transports the nonwoven fabric sheet N, and a first conveyor 21. 2 conveyor 22 and carbonization furnace 30 which carbonizes nonwoven fabric sheet N continuously and makes carbonized sheet C are provided.
The first conveyor 21 and the second conveyor 22 correspond to “conveying means” described in the claims.

The fiber stacking machine 10 includes a fiber dispersion box 11 and an air raid machine 12. When the heat fusion resin fiber a constituting the nonwoven fabric sheet N is placed in the fiber dispersion box 11 and the air raid machine 12 is driven, the heat fusion resin fiber a is stacked in a sheet form using an air flow. The nonwoven fabric sheet N is created.
In addition, as the fiber pile machine 10, various fiber spreaders, such as an air raid type fiber pile machine and a rotary drum type fiber pile machine, can be used, and it is not specifically limited.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the heat-sealing resin fiber a constituting the nonwoven fabric sheet N is composed of a core wire a1 and a covering material a2 covering the core wire a1, and basically composed of a synthetic resin fiber. The core wire a1 is made of a hardly fusible material having a melting point of 250 ° C. or higher, and the covering material a2 is made of an easily meltable material having a melting point of less than 200 ° C.

The hardly fusible material used for the core wire a1 is required to have a melting point of 250 ° C. or higher. Examples of such a hardly fusible material include the following.
Most preferred is a polyester fiber with a melting point of 255 ° C.
In addition, aramid fiber, glass fiber, cellulose fiber, nylon fiber (for example, nylon 66), rayon fiber, and the like can be used. Furthermore, although the raw material itself does not have heat resistance, it is possible to use vinylon fiber, polyolefin fiber, vegetable fiber (cellulose), rayon (synthetic fiber from cellulose), etc. by applying a flame retardant treatment.

The easily meltable material used for the covering material a2 is required to have a melting point of less than 200 ° C., and examples of such easily meltable materials include the following.
Most preferred is polyethylene with a melting point of 125 ° C. In addition, the following heat-sealing resins can be used.
Low density polyethylene resin, ethylene vinyl acetate resin, synthetic rubber, copolyamide resin, copolyester resin, etc.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fiber stacker 10 may be configured to stack only the heat-sealing resin fiber a, or may be configured to mix and plant the plant fiber b. May be. When the plant fibers b are mixed, the fiber dispersion box 11 may be mixed with plant fibers b such as bamboo fibers, wood fibers, kenaf, jute, hemp, bagasse and the like. The plant fiber b is mixed into the heat-sealing resin fiber a by the air raid machine 12 to form the nonwoven fabric sheet N together. In addition, you may throw into the fiber dispersion | distribution box 11 after mixing the heat-fusion resin fiber a and the vegetable fiber b with a mixer.

The nonwoven fabric sheet N formed by the fiber pile machine 10 is connected to the first conveyor 21 disposed from the air raid machine 12 toward the carbonization furnace 30 and the rear end of the first conveyor 21 and passes through the inside of the carbonization furnace 30. The second conveyor 22 is fed into the carbonization furnace 30.
A suction roll 23 is provided between the rear end of the first conveyor 21 and the front end of the second conveyor 22, and the nonwoven fabric sheet N conveyed by the first conveyor 21 is being sucked by the suction roll 23. It is delivered to the second conveyor 22. The nonwoven fabric sheet N is lightly compressed by being sucked by the suction roll 23, and the entanglement of the stacked fibers becomes strong.
Note that a net conveyor belt is used for the second conveyor 22 in order to transmit superheated steam and cooling gas described later. Further, it is formed of a heat resistant material such as a stainless alloy so that it can withstand the firing temperature of the carbonization furnace 30.

The nonwoven fabric sheet N conveyed by the second conveyor 22 is continuously carbonized by the carbonization furnace 30 to become a carbonized sheet C.
The carbonization furnace 30 includes a preheating unit 31, a firing unit 32, and a cooling unit 33, which are continuously arranged in that order along the feed direction of the second conveyor 22. The carbonization furnace 30 is formed in a tunnel shape, and the nonwoven fabric sheet N to be carbonized is fed into and out of the inside.

  A partition wall 34 is provided between the firing unit 32 and the cooling unit 33 to suppress the flow of superheated steam, which will be described later, from the firing unit 32 to the cooling unit 33, and cooling gas, which will be described later, flows from the cooling unit 33. The flow to the firing part 32 is suppressed. Further, the partition wall 34 insulates the firing unit 32 and the cooling unit 33 from each other. An opening is formed in the partition wall 34, and the conveyor belt and the nonwoven fabric sheet N of the second conveyor 22 are passed through the opening.

  The preheating part 31 is provided with a superheated steam supply port 31a at the upper part and a superheated steam exhaust port 31b at the lower part. Superheated steam is supplied into the preheating unit 31 from the superheated steam supply port 31a, and the superheated steam passes through the nonwoven fabric sheet N and is then discharged from the superheated steam exhaust port 31b. Thus, the nonwoven fabric sheet N can be heated by allowing the nonwoven fabric sheet N to permeate superheated steam.

  In the preheating part 31, it heats to temperature required for releasing water and volatile resin from the nonwoven fabric sheet N, for example, about 200 degreeC. Thus, by discharging water and volatile resin from the nonwoven fabric sheet N, it becomes easy to perform carbonization treatment by the firing unit 32 in the next step. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, by heating at the preheating portion 31, the covering material a <b> 2 is slightly melted and bonded to each other at the crossing point c of each heat-sealing resin fiber a, a, and the shape of the nonwoven fabric sheet N Will be held.

  The baking part 32 is provided with a superheated steam supply port 32a at the top thereof. Superheated steam is supplied from the superheated steam supply port 32 a into the firing unit 32, and the superheated steam passes through the nonwoven fabric sheet N and is then discharged from the superheated steam exhaust port 31 b of the preheating unit 31. The firing unit 32 is provided with a pair of plate heaters 32h and 32h so as to sandwich the nonwoven fabric sheet N from both sides.

The firing section 32 can adjust the firing temperature (furnace temperature) within a range of 250 ° C. or more and 600 ° C. or less by changing the set temperature of the superheated steam or the plate heaters 32h and 32h. The nonwoven fabric sheet N can be baked into the carbonized sheet C by heating the superheated steam and the plate heaters 32h and 32h.
Note that if the firing temperature is less than 250 ° C., the carbonization time becomes longer, the productivity is lowered, and the carbonization becomes insufficient. On the other hand, when the firing temperature exceeds 600 ° C., the core wire a1 made of a hardly fusible material is rapidly melted, and it becomes difficult to maintain the shape of the sheet.

The preheating part 31 and the baking part 32 are preferably in a low oxygen state. It is because it becomes easy to control the progress of carbonization of the nonwoven fabric sheet N, and the carbonization process becomes easy by setting it as a low oxygen state.
Since superheated steam is supplied to the preheating part 31 and the baking part 32, oxygen is discharged | emitted by this superheated steam and it is in a low oxygen state fundamentally. In order to further reduce the oxygen concentration, an inert gas may be supplied. Examples of the inert gas used include nitrogen gas and argon gas, but are not particularly limited.

  The cooling unit 33 is provided with a cooling gas supply port 33a at the upper part thereof and a cooling gas exhaust port 33b at the lower part thereof. A cooling gas is supplied from the cooling gas supply port 33a into the cooling unit 33, and the cooling gas passes through the carbonized sheet C and is then discharged from the cooling gas exhaust port 33b. By allowing the cooling gas to pass through the carbonized sheet C, the carbonized sheet C can be cooled. For example, nitrogen gas or cold air is used as the cooling gas, but it is not particularly limited.

On the exit side of the carbonization furnace 30, a roll press machine 40 and a winding unit 50 are provided.
The roll press machine 40 is composed of a pair of upper and lower press rollers and lightly compresses the carbonized sheet C that has passed through the carbonization furnace 30. Thus, by compressing the carbonized sheet C, the entanglement of the fibers after carbonization can be strengthened, and the carbonized sheet C with good quality can be obtained stably.

  The winding unit 50 is configured by a known winding machine, and winds the carbonized sheet C after completion of carbonization.

  As described above, since the preheating unit 31, the firing unit 32, and the cooling unit 33 are continuously provided in the carbonization furnace 30, the nonwoven fabric sheet N can be continuously fired and cooled, and the manufacturing time can be shortened. . Further, the entire apparatus can be saved.

Below, the manufacturing method of the carbonization sheet C using the said carbonization apparatus A is demonstrated.
First, the nonwoven fabric sheet N is created by the fiber stacker 10. The nonwoven fabric sheet N immediately after being stacked by the fiber stacker 10 is in a state in which the fibers are not joined together like a general nonwoven fabric, and the fibers are stacked while being entangled with each other.
The nonwoven fabric sheet N is carried into the carbonization furnace 30 and gradually heated by the superheated steam in the preheating unit 31 to release moisture and volatile resin components. In addition, the covering material a2 is slightly melted and bonded to each other at a point c where the heat-sealing resin fibers a and a intersect, and the fibers are bonded like a general nonwoven fabric.

  When the nonwoven fabric sheet N is heated at a temperature of 250 ° C. or higher and 600 ° C. or lower in the firing unit 32, first, the easily meltable material that is the covering material a2 of the heat-sealing resin fiber a constituting the nonwoven fabric sheet N starts to melt. , It melts and becomes a lump, and becomes entangled with the core wire a1. On the other hand, since the core wire a1 uses a hardly meltable material having a melting point of 250 ° C. or higher, the core wire a1 is not melted immediately and carbonization is started while maintaining the shape of the core wire a1. When the heating is stopped before the core wire a1 starts to melt, as shown in FIG. 4, the carbonized core wires a1 and a1 are entangled with the melted and carbonized massive fusible material a2 ′ and fixed. Therefore, the carbonized sheet C with the sheet shape maintained can be obtained.

  Thereafter, the carbonized sheet C is cooled by the cooling unit 33, and the carbonized sheet C is finished by passing through the roll press 40.

The nonwoven fabric sheet N (carbonized sheet C) before and after carbonization is shown in FIGS.
In the photograph before carbonization (FIG. 5), the outer periphery of the heat-sealable resin fiber a is covered with a readily meltable material, and a part of the coating material is melted at the contact portion between the heat-sealable resin fibers a and a. Are adhered to each other. Of course there is a core wire inside (not visible).
In the photograph after carbonization (FIG. 6), it can be seen that the covering material a2 ′ (polyethylene resin or the like) is melted to form a lump, and the covering material a2 ′ adheres the core wire a1 to each other. When the firing is continued, the lump of the covering material a2 ′ (polyethylene resin or the like) starts to be carbonized, and at the same time, the core wire a1 is also softened while being carbonized.

  In the nonwoven fabric in which plant fibers such as bamboo fibers s are mixed into the heat-sealing resin fibers a, the bamboo fibers s are carbonized in a state of being entangled inside. Since the bamboo fiber s is thicker than the non-woven heat-sealing resin fiber a and carbonizes while maintaining its shape, the carbonized sheet C has rigidity and excellent shape retention.

The degree and mode of carbonization of the carbonized sheet C are determined by the firing temperature and firing time of the carbonization furnace 30. The firing temperature of the carbonization furnace 30 can be adjusted by changing the set temperature of the superheated steam or the plate heaters 32h and 32h. Further, the firing time can be adjusted by changing the transport speed of the second conveyor 22 that travels in the carbonization furnace 30. At this time, it is suitable for continuous production to adjust the feed speed by setting the second conveyor 22 at a constant speed. The slower the feed rate, the longer the firing time, and the faster the feed rate, the shorter the firing time.
What is necessary is just to adjust the baking temperature and baking time of the carbonization furnace 30 so that the target carbonized sheet C may be obtained.

The firing temperature and firing time of the carbonization furnace 30 are preferably set to a temperature and a time for carbonizing the surface layer of the nonwoven fabric sheet N and making the middle layer uncarbonized. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the surface layer refers to a layer having a predetermined thickness from the front and back surfaces of the sheet, and the middle layer refers to a layer sandwiched between the front and back surface layers. Actually, the closer to the front and back surfaces, the easier the carbonization proceeds. Therefore, the degree of carbonization changes continuously in the thickness direction, and it is difficult to clearly separate the surface layer and the middle layer.
Thus, if the calcination temperature and calcination time of the carbonization furnace 30 are set, the carbonized sheet C is carbonized in the surface layer and the middle layer is not carbonized. The term “uncarbonized” includes not only the state in which the covering material a2 ′ and the core wire a1 are uncarbonized, but also the case in which the covering material a2 ′ is carbonized and the core wire a1 is uncarbonized.

By making the middle layer uncarbonized, a carbonized sheet C having rigidity and excellent shape retention can be obtained. In addition, since the firing time can be shortened and the firing temperature can be lowered as compared with the case where the entire carbon layer including the middle layer is carbonized, the production time can be shortened, resulting in energy saving.
Since the plate heaters 32h and 32h are provided so as to sandwich the nonwoven fabric sheet N from both surfaces, the nonwoven fabric sheet N can be baked and carbonized from the front and back surfaces in a short time by heating the plate heaters 32h and 32h. The surface layer can be easily carbonized while the middle layer of the nonwoven fabric sheet N is not carbonized.

  As described above, since the carbonizing apparatus A carbonizes the nonwoven fabric, the textile process that has been conventionally required is unnecessary, and therefore the manufacturing cost of the carbonized sheet C can be reduced. Moreover, since the nonwoven fabric sheet N is continuously created with the fiber stacker 10 and this nonwoven fabric sheet N is continuously carbonized in the carbonization furnace 30, the carbonized sheet C can be manufactured continuously and the manufacturing time can be shortened.

(Second Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 8, the carbonizing apparatus B according to the second embodiment of the present invention is provided with a roll press machine 60 between the fiber stacker 10 and the carbonizing furnace 30 in the carbonizing apparatus A according to the first embodiment. It is a thing. Since the other structure is the same as that of the carbonization apparatus A, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same member and description is abbreviate | omitted.
The nonwoven fabric sheet N conveyed to the carbonization furnace 30 is lightly compressed by the roll press machine 60. For this reason, the entanglement of the stacked fibers becomes strong and can be maintained in a sheet shape, so that a high quality carbonized sheet C can be stably obtained.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the fiber stacking machine 10 is configured to stack the heat-fusion resin fiber or a mixture of the plant fiber and the fiber. However, in addition to or instead of the plant fiber, the hard-melting fiber is stacked. You may comprise so that it may become fine. The hardly fusible fiber referred to in the present invention refers to a fiber that does not melt even at 250 ° C., and this includes glass fiber and flame-retardant treated fiber. These glass fibers and flame retardant treated fibers can be integrated into the nonwoven fabric by mixing or entanglement with the heat sealing resin fibers.
In the nonwoven fabric sheet mixed with the hardly meltable fiber, the carbonized sheet C having high strength is obtained because the center portion of the hardly meltable fiber is not carbonized even after carbonization.

Further, in the above embodiment, the superheated steam supply port 31a is provided at the upper part of the preheating unit 31, and the superheated steam exhaust port 31b is provided at the lower part, but the superheated steam supply port 31a is provided at the lower part of the preheating unit 31, You may provide the superheated steam exhaust port 31b in the upper part. The superheated steam supply port 31a and the superheated steam exhaust port 31b may be provided not only on the top surface and the bottom surface but also on the side surfaces. In short, the location of the superheated steam supply port 31a and the superheated steam exhaust port 31b is not particularly limited as long as the superheated steam can be transmitted through the nonwoven fabric sheet N.
Similarly, the location of the superheated steam supply port 32a of the firing unit 32 is not particularly limited as long as the superheated steam can be transmitted through the nonwoven fabric sheet N. The locations of the cooling gas supply port 33a and the cooling gas exhaust port 33b of the cooling unit 33 are not particularly limited as long as the cooling gas can permeate the carbonized sheet C.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the preheating part 31, the baking part 32, and the cooling part 33 in the carbonization furnace 30 are couple | bonded so that it may continue, this may be provided separately and it mutually separated.
The preheating unit 31 and the baking unit 32 may be configured to supply only superheated steam, may be configured to include only an electric heater such as a plate heater, or may be configured to include both.
The cooling unit 33 only needs to be able to release the heat of the carbonized sheet C. In addition to the direct cooling by the cooling gas as in the above-described embodiment, the cooling unit 33 may be indirect cooling, such as a configuration in which a water cooling pipe is disposed on the outer periphery of the cooling housing. .

A, B Carbonization device N Non-woven fabric sheet C Carbonized sheet a Heat-bonded resin fiber a1 Core wire a2 Coating material 10 Fiber stacker 11 Fiber dispersion box 12 Air raid machine 21 First conveyor 22 Second conveyor 23 Suction roll 30 Carbonization furnace 31 Preheating part 32 Firing unit 32h Plate heater 33 Cooling unit 40 Roll press machine 50 Winding unit 60 Roll press machine

Claims (7)

A fiber stacking machine that continuously fabricates a non-woven sheet by stacking heat-fusible resin fibers composed of a core wire composed of a hardly fusible material and a covering material composed of an easily meltable material covering the core wire;
Conveying means for conveying the nonwoven fabric sheet;
A carbonization furnace comprising: a carbonization furnace that continuously carbonizes the nonwoven fabric sheet conveyed by the conveyance means to obtain a carbonized sheet. The carbonization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fiber stacker is a device in which plant fibers and / or hardly fusible fibers are mixed with the heat-sealing resin fibers to stack the fibers. The carbonization furnace is
A firing part that fires the nonwoven fabric sheet to form the carbonized sheet;
A cooling unit for cooling the carbonized sheet,
The carbonization apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the firing section and the cooling section are connected in the order along the feeding direction of the conveying means. The carbonization apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a heater is provided in the firing portion so as to sandwich the nonwoven fabric sheet from both sides. 5. The carbonization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the firing temperature and firing time of the carbonization furnace are a temperature and a time for carbonizing a surface layer of the nonwoven fabric sheet and making the middle layer uncarbonized. The carbonization apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a roll press machine that compresses the carbonized sheet that has passed through the carbonization furnace. The carbonization apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a roll press machine that compresses the nonwoven fabric sheet conveyed to the carbonization furnace.