JP5591648B2 - High pressure steam jet nozzle for processing fiber sheet and processing method of fiber sheet using the same nozzle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention injects a high-pressure steam flow into a fibrous sheet-like material comprising at least a web-like material, a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, etc., or a laminated sheet thereof, and penetrates the high-pressure steam into the fibrous sheet-like material. Fiber sheets including the production of nonwoven fabrics using high-pressure steam jet nozzles and non-woven fabrics that are used in various processing processes such as entanglement between fibers and drying, washing, decoloring, and chemical treatment of fiber sheet materials. The present invention relates to various processing methods for shaped objects.

  Conventionally, many techniques for producing an entangled nonwoven fabric by injecting a high-pressure fluid flow onto a fiber web to entangle the constituent fibers with each other are known. Among these techniques, a method for producing a nonwoven fabric using a high-pressure steam flow as a high-pressure fluid flow is disclosed in, for example, International Publication No. 95/06769 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent No. 4439854 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-238785). It is disclosed in the gazette, patent document 2). Further, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4256749 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-76162) discloses a technique for performing a treatment such as washing, decoloring, and drying by jetting a high-pressure steam flow onto a fiber sheet, a fiber knitted fabric, or a fiber sheet. And Patent Document 3).

  In addition to producing a non-woven fabric by injecting a high-pressure vapor flow onto a fiber web, it is common to use a high-pressure liquid as the high-pressure fluid as a technique for producing a non-woven fabric using a high-pressure fluid flow. Thus, when producing an entangled nonwoven fabric by jetting such a high-pressure liquid, it has many technical advantages, but on the other hand, the amount of liquid used is large and installation of liquid scattering prevention equipment is often required. In addition, a large amount of liquid cleaning equipment for production is required. Moreover, since the nonwoven fabric in which the high pressure liquid was injected contains a lot of water, it has many technical problems, such as requiring drying equipment for the obtained nonwoven fabric and enormous heat energy spent on it. In addition, there is also a problem that the working environment is remarkably deteriorated due to the intense noise associated with the liquid injection.

  In exchange for this, when using steam instead of high-pressure liquid in the production of fiber-entangled nonwoven fabric, the amount of water used can be greatly reduced, and at the same time, the discharge treatment facility can be downsized and the generation of noise is reduced. In addition to significantly improving the work environment, a drying device is not required, or the size can be reduced and energy can be saved, and the pattern of the entangled part that appears on the nonwoven fabric surface that is unique to fiber entangled nonwoven fabrics by liquid flow Can be reduced.

  In addition, when this high-pressure steam injection is used, the resulting nonwoven fabric has a different texture and function from the technology using high-pressure liquid, and various fiber sheet-like materials such as fiber woven fabrics, fiber knitted fabrics, and nonwoven fabrics. Vapor Patent Documents 2 and 3 propose that it can be widely applied to various types of processing such as washing, drying, and dehydration of water, and is an excellent technique that far surpasses the technique of high-pressure liquid injection. Proven by technology.

About the manufacturing / processing technology of the nonwoven fabric using such high-pressure steam, in the said patent documents 2 and 3, about some requirements regarding the equipment and apparatus which should be provided as an industrial apparatus which becomes indispensable in performing industrial production Specific proposals have been made. However, the content of the proposal is mainly related to the requirements for the industrial processing equipment of the schematic processing system of fiber sheets by jetting high-pressure steam, especially the steam jet nozzle applied to the system and its peripheral equipment. A specific configuration that must be provided as a steam spray nozzle applied to this kind of processing, or a suction device or work piece that is installed to face the steam spray nozzle via a fiber sheet Although some of the web carrying and transporting means are described, the content of the proposal is conceptual, and it fully proposes the requirements that should be comprehensively included in related equipment that is indispensable for industrial production. It is hard to say that it has been done.

  By the way, according to the method for producing a nonwoven fabric described in Patent Document 1, all or part of the constituent fibers of the fiber web are preliminarily applied to a fiber web in which fibers having a melting point lower than the temperature of water vapor or superheated steam are blended. Water is applied to create a non-woven fabric containing water by entanglement of the constituent fibers of the web, and then steam or superheated steam is spouted onto the nonwoven fabric surface, and the low-melting point of the constituent fibers of the web. The final product (nonwoven fabric) is manufactured by fusing the fibers while melting them. Further, the web entanglement method described in Patent Document 1 uses webs as a high-pressure fluid to entangle web fibers. On the other hand, according to the method for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric and the method for processing a fiber sheet disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, water vapor is directly sprayed on the fiber web instead of the conventional high-pressure jet water. Of course, even if it is superheated steam exceeding saturation temperature, the condensed water which generate | occur | produces based on the temperature fall by the heat radiation through a nozzle itself and the adiabatic expansion in a nozzle hole exit is contained.

International Publication No. 95/06769 Pamphlet JP 2004-238785 A JP 2005-76162 A

  However, the production of a high-temperature nonwoven fabric disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, by superheated steam flow, is not intended for fiber entanglement by the steam flow, and is a constituent fiber of a fiber web made of a heat-meltable material with so-called steam heat. The main purpose is to melt. Usually, in the entangled nonwoven fabric produced by jetting a high-pressure water stream, as described in, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3 described above, a hitting mark or an opening mark due to the jet fluid remains on the fiber web surface.

  Furthermore, in the manufacturing method of the nonwoven fabric of the said patent document 1, the fiber entanglement by the high-pressure jet water flow is performed as a pre-process which injects a vapor | steam with respect to a fiber web. Therefore, the fiber sheet-like material entangled with the jet water flow naturally has the above-mentioned hitting marks and hole marks, and the high-temperature steam injected there over the entire surface of the fiber sheet-like material in the thickness direction. It is considered that it passes mainly through the hitting marks and hole marks. Of course, at this time, the low melting point fibers existing on the other web surfaces where the hitting marks and the opening marks are not formed are melted at the same time. This can be seen from FIGS. 4 to 5 of the document 1 because there is a portion where the fibers are fused even in a region where the hitting marks and the opening marks are not formed. . As a result, the non-woven fabric shown in the figure has no difference in flexibility from the conventional non-woven fabric by point bonding, and in particular, the surface has hardened portions of many welding materials.

  On the other hand, looking at the contents of Patent Documents 2 and 3, as described in Patent Document 1, there is a point that high-temperature and high-pressure steam is used, but the generation of moisture contained in the steam at the time of injection is described. No special analysis or examination has been made on the specific influence of the mechanism and various processing on the fiber sheet-like material due to the water content.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and its purpose is simple in structure, and high-pressure steam can be ejected uniformly and continuously, and part of the constituent fibers of the fiber sheet-like material. Alternatively, a high-pressure steam jet nozzle capable of ensuring the required strength by tangling most of them and ensuring the flexibility of the surface of the obtained nonwoven fabric and improving the internal form thereof, and the nozzle Efficient nonwoven fabric manufacturing method that reliably entangles the constituent fibers of the fiber web by injecting high-pressure steam using it, and cleaning of fiber sheet materials such as nonwoven fabric and knitted fabric that have been subjected to finishing processing such as dyeing The present invention provides a continuous processing method for high-quality fiber sheets using high-pressure steam using the jet nozzle, which enables various processes such as drying to be efficiently performed with labor saving. .

Means and effects for solving the problems

  In order to achieve such an object, the present inventors have further studied based on the advantages of the processing / manufacturing apparatus and the processing / manufacturing method of the fiber sheet-like product disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 above. As a result, there are many requirements in addition to the various requirements described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 in order to maintain an industrially stable and good production state using the above-described apparatus. Knew to do. At the same time, among other requirements, it is important to know that the effects of heat dissipation and adiabatic expansion on the components that make up the injection nozzle for high-pressure steam are significant. A conclusion was reached.

  That is, in this type of steam ejection nozzle, the generation of steam containing condensed water (condensed steam) generated due to heat dissipation or adiabatic expansion at the high-pressure and high-temperature steam passage is prevented as much as possible. It has been found that it is extremely important to remove it quickly even if it occurs unavoidably. In the case where the condensed steam is locally generated and unevenly distributed in each component part of the jet steam itself or the jet nozzle, the passage property of the jet steam is hindered on the fiber sheet, and as a result, a further low temperature part is generated, Further, due to the difference in vapor permeability in the fiber sheet, spots are generated in the degree of processing such as the degree of entanglement. In addition, when a fiber material containing a polymer or the like that is particularly sensitive to water is used, an abnormal portion of the treatment occurs.

  Based on these studies, as a result of the recognition that this type of steam treatment has made it clearer that moisture significantly affects the uniformity of product quality, such as the appearance and physical properties of fiber sheet materials, The present invention has the following configuration.

The basic configuration of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention has a vapor inlet connected to the pressurized steam supply source to an end, the side facing the fibrous sheet to be processed which travels in one direction Nozzle member having a hollow cylindrical nozzle holder having an opening extending in the length direction on the surface thereof, and a high-pressure steam flow path at least partially detachable from the surface facing the opening and leading to a number of steam ejection nozzle holes a high-pressure steam jet nozzle with bets, has a recess closely region between the nozzle member comprising the opening Roh nozzle holder, the length of the nozzle holder in the width direction center of the recessed portion It disposed integrally along a through hole penetrating one or more of the hollow tubular portion rising toward the opening from the bottom surface of the concave portion, and communicates with the hollow portion of the hollow tubular portion of the bottom portion of the recessed portion, The through hole and the steam ejection nozzle And an airtight space that is formed between the through hole and the vapor jet nozzle hole, and is integrally formed along the length direction of the nozzle holder at the center in the width direction of the bottom of the airtight space. And one or more hollow cylinders that rise from the bottom surface toward the opening .

Here, the opening of the nozzle holder is generally slit-shaped, but there are other shapes such as a shape in which a large number of small holes are linearly arranged in one row or a staggered shape.
The present invention includes the condensate and vapor generated in the nozzle holder between the concave portion and the hollow cylindrical portion rising from the bottom surface of the concave portion, the vapor in the condensed vapor, the condensate, fine foreign matters, etc. The drain is separated, and only the vapor is guided to the hollow portion of the hollow cylindrical portion, and the drain is collected in a recessed portion formed near the bottom of the nozzle holder. Here, the concave portion serves as a liquid collection portion, and the drain collected therein flows to a drain discharge path outside the system connected to the nozzle. If a drain trap is arranged in this drain discharge passage, it can be discharged out of the system in a timely manner. Preferably, the liquid collection path is inclined downward toward the steam outlet side. By this inclination, the drain is naturally discharged into the drain discharge path without being actively discharged.

A second basic configuration of the present invention is a fiber sheet-like material processing method in which high-pressure steam is jetted toward the surface of the fiber sheet-like material using the high-pressure steam jet nozzle having the above-described configuration.
The fiber sheet processed by this processing method is a web-shaped product, a fiber woven or knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric or a laminate thereof, and the main types of processing include, for example, a method for manufacturing a nonwoven fabric. However, it includes various processing methods such as washing, drying, and dyeing of various fiber woven and knitted fabrics including non-woven fabrics that cannot be imagined conventionally. In addition, when the fiber sheet-like material includes a conjugate fiber having a difference in thermal shrinkage in particular, the conjugate fiber exposed to a high temperature shrinks in a spiral shape, and the same conjugate fibers and other surrounding fibers The product that has been entangled with the surrounding fibers without being actively entangled by bonding, fusing, or mechanical entanglement means, and the processed product is processed by other processing. Compared with the manufactured nonwoven fabric, the shape is stable, and at the same time, a nonwoven fabric with a large soft feeling can be obtained.

  In addition to the effects of cooling as described above, if the moving speed of the steam in the nozzle holder is above a certain level, it is affected by temperature drop and pressure drop inside the nozzle holder in relation to kinetic energy and friction loss. As a result, it became clear that the distribution of the steam temperature was not uniform and that steam containing condensate was generated. As a result of various studies, in order to avoid such a phenomenon, a conditional expression has been found to suppress the pressure drop with respect to the supply steam pressure within the allowable limit when the holder length is given to the steam flow rate moving in the holder. It was.

  Here, in this type of high-pressure steam jet nozzle, similarly to Patent Documents 2 and 3, a steam inlet can be provided at one end of the nozzle holder and a steam outlet can be provided at the other end. Steam cannot always be ejected from the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle. For example, the supply of steam must be stopped during periodic inspections or when the machine is stopped. Of course, at the time of this stop, the temperature in the nozzle also drops rapidly. In order to restart the steam ejection and start various processes of the fiber sheet material, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the interior of the steam ejection nozzle to a predetermined temperature. When the temperature is raised, when the configuration other than the steam inlet is sealed like the conventional ejection nozzle, the amount of steam introduced into the nozzle holder is limited to the amount ejected from the nozzle hole, and the amount of heat exchange is small. It takes a long time to raise the temperature of the nozzle itself.

  If a steam outlet is provided at the other end of the nozzle holder as described above, for example, an opening / closing valve is attached to the steam outlet connected to the steam outlet, as will be described later, so that the steam outlet can be opened and closed. . Now, before resuming the processing of the fiber sheet, high-temperature and high-pressure steam is introduced into the nozzle holder. At this time, the opening / closing valve is opened to open the steam discharge port so that the steam introduced from the steam introduction port can be continuously discharged to the outside through the steam discharge port. The temperature of the nozzle holder is measured, and when the temperature reaches a required high temperature, the steam outlet is closed. Simultaneously with this closing, the vapor pressure at the vapor inlet is measured, and when the vapor pressure reaches a predetermined pressure, the fiber sheet processing apparatus is started. The time required for starting at this time is greatly shortened compared to the case where the steam outlet does not exist as in the conventional case because the temperature of the nozzle holder is quickly raised by the new high-temperature steam passing through the nozzle holder. It becomes like this.

  Even in the present invention, the shape of the hollow cylindrical nozzle holder is preferably a cylindrical or rectangular nozzle holder, similar to the shape of the nozzle holder disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 above. A cylindrical nozzle holder is preferable from the viewpoints of easily obtaining a uniform flow of high-pressure steam and ease of manufacture. In actual work, a high-mesh cylindrical filter having a cross-section similar to that of the nozzle holder or a porous cylindrical body in which a large number of small holes are formed by punching is arranged on the same axis. It is desirable. However, it is not necessarily limited to these. The porous cylinder is made of the same metal material as the nozzle holder.

In this way, when a high mesh cylindrical filter is arranged on the same axis inside the nozzle holder, the high-temperature and high-pressure steam introduced from the steam inlet provided at one end of the nozzle holder flows into the cylindrical filter. The nozzle is introduced, passes through the filter, reaches the nozzle hole of the nozzle member arranged to face the opening of the nozzle holder, and is ejected from the nozzle hole to the outside. Here, when a metal porous cylindrical body is used instead of the cylindrical filter, the filter function cannot be expected, but the pressure distribution in the longitudinal direction on the inner wall surface of the nozzle holder is more uniform than that of the cylindrical filter. Is done. When a cylindrical filter is arranged, fine foreign matters contained during the introduction of steam are further removed from the steam, so that many nozzle holes of the nozzle member formed along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle holder are blocked. Therefore, high-pressure steam is stably ejected from the nozzle hole with a uniform ejection pressure.

  In addition, although the high pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention is arranged toward one surface of the fiber sheet-like material that is the workpiece, the nozzle hole is arranged at a position close to the upper side of the fiber sheet material, and the nozzle There is a case where the hole is arranged at a lower proximity position of the fiber sheet. In the former case, the opening of the nozzle holder is formed at the bottom, and in the latter case, the opening of the nozzle holder is formed on the ceiling side. Therefore, the condensates always flow downward. Therefore, in any case, the liquid collection path that forms a part of the gas-liquid separation mechanism is formed near the bottom of the nozzle holder.

  On the other hand, as described above, when pressure steam is supplied in a nozzle holder having a predetermined holder length so that a desired steam flow rate is obtained, the pressure drop in the nozzle holder with respect to the supplied steam pressure is suppressed within an allowable limit. Needs to have an appropriate value for the diameter D of the nozzle holder. Equation (1) for obtaining the diameter D can be obtained as follows.

That is,
dpx ＝ βwx ² dx / (vD) ・ ・ ・ (2) (Practical steam transport / Japan Thermal Energy Technology Association)
here,
dp: Pressure loss (MPa)
D: Holder diameter (m)
v: Specific volume of steam (m ³ / kg)
wx: Steam flow velocity at position x (m / s)
β = 1.07 × 10 ^-8
It is.

In the above equation (2), when the cross-sectional area of the holder is A (m ² ), the following equations (3) and (4) are established.
wx = vQx / (A) ... (3)
dpx = β (vQx / A) ² dx / vD = (βv / A ² D) Qx ² dx (4)
When this is integrated, the following equation (5) is obtained.
ΔP = (βv / A ² D) ∫Qt ² (1-x / L) ² dx = βvQt ² l / (DA ² ) ... (5)
Obtain the following expression (6) by substituting A = πD ^2/4 in Equation (4).
△ P = 16βvQt ² L / (π ² D ⁵ ) ... (6)
Where K = 16βv / π ²
△ P = KQt ² L / D ⁵ ... (7)
Equation (7) is obtained.

Here, when the pressure deviation rate allowable in processing of the fiber sheet is σ, and the supply steam pressure is P (MPa), the following equation (8) is established.
σ ≧ △ P / (P + 0.1) (8)
Substituting the above equation (7) into this, the following equation (1) is obtained.
σ ≧ KQt ² L / [D ⁵ (P + 0.1)] → D ≧ {KQt ² L / [σ (P + 0.1)]} ^0.2 ... (1)
From this equation (1), for example, if the amount of steam ejected from the entire holder is set to Qt (kg / s), the holder length is set to L (m), and the pressure deviation rate is set to σ, the minimum dimension of the holder diameter D is determined. Can be sought.

  Next, a typical aspect of the nozzle member, which is one of the constituent members of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention, will be described. The nozzle member includes a nozzle plate having a number of nozzle holes, a plate support member that supports the nozzle plate, and one of the first gas-liquid separation means interposed between the nozzle plate and the plate support member. It can comprise from the drain separate plate which makes a structural member. The nozzle holes formed in the nozzle plate may be formed in a single row in the longitudinal direction of the nozzle plate, but may be formed in a plurality of rows in the width direction of the nozzle plate, for example. In this case, it is preferable to arrange the nozzle holes in a plurality of rows in a zigzag pattern because the ejected steam acts uniformly in the width direction of the fiber sheet.

  The nozzle hole may be a simple circular hole having the same inner diameter in the vapor ejection direction, but the circular hole is formed at a required depth, and the inner diameter continuous with the lower end surface of the circular hole is downward. It is good to form the inverted truncated cone part which becomes narrow toward it. In addition, for example, various forms such as those disclosed in Patent Document 2 can be adopted, but when formed in an inverted truncated cone hole communicating with the lower end of each cylindrical hole, there is a steam flow ejected from the nozzle hole. For example, the jet power to the fiber web is increased, and the front and back of the web can be easily penetrated. The focusing point is determined by the diameter of the nozzle hole and the vapor pressure.

  The plate support member that supports the nozzle plate is configured by a prismatic block body that is attached to the nozzle holder so as to be detachable with a bolt or the like so as to close the opening formation region of the nozzle holder. The plate support member is formed with a communication passage that communicates the opening of the nozzle holder and the nozzle hole of the nozzle plate at the center in the width direction. This communication path corresponds to a part of the high-pressure steam ejection path in the present invention. The communication path preferably includes a plurality of circular holes extending in the lengthwise direction along the opening, and a slit that connects all the circular holes and continues from the hole to the nozzle plate side. Is included. The circular holes formed in the hole portion may be formed in a line along the length direction of the opening of the nozzle holder, or may be arranged in a staggered pattern along the length direction of the opening. Good.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, a drain separate plate may be interposed between the nozzle plate and the plate support member. The drain separate plate is composed of a plate material having the same width as the width of the nozzle plate and the plate support member. The drain plate is sandwiched between the nozzle plate and the plate support member, and both are connected via a seal member. It is fixed airtightly with bolts or the like. The drain separate plate is also formed with a high-pressure steam jet passage communicating with the slit portion of the plate support member and the numerous nozzle holes of the nozzle plate.

  The drain separate plate may include a disk plate in addition to the drain separate plate body. The disk plate is made of a plate material similar to the slit portion having a width slightly shorter than the width and length of the slit portion of the plate support member, and in the slit portion, the drain separate plate body will be described later. The hollow cylindrical body constituting the cylindrical through hole is disposed opposite to the hollow cylindrical body at a predetermined interval, and is fixedly supported by the drain separate plate body. In this way, the disk plate fixedly supported on the drain separate plate body receives and disperses the high-pressure steam sent from the nozzle holder, uniforms the pressure distribution of the steam, and separates the steam and the condensate. The high-pressure steam is fed into the drain separate plate body.

The drain separate plate main body disposed between the nozzle plate and the plate support member also has a number of hollow cylinders having hollow portions penetrating the plate main body. The hollow cylinders can be arranged in a single row along the longitudinal direction of the drain separate plate so as to face the slit portion of the plate support member. Specifically, in the center of the width of the flat plate drain separator plate body, it is slightly larger than the opening of the slit portion of the plate support member and half the thickness of the drain separate plate body. A plurality of hollow cylinders having a height that is half the height of the concave groove portion arranged in a single row in the length direction at the center of the bottom portion of the concave groove portion. The body protrudes integrally.

  Preferably, a protruding wall portion that continues along the opening periphery of the slit portion of the plate support member protrudes toward the concave groove portion of the drain separate plate. The protruding wall portion has a height that does not reach the groove bottom of the recessed portion, and the outer peripheral shape thereof matches the inner peripheral surface shape of the slit portion. Therefore, when assembling the drain separate plate to the plate support member, the protruding wall portion of the plate support member is closely fitted to the inner surface of the concave groove portion of the drain separate plate body. When the projecting wall portion is closely fitted, a space is formed between the projecting wall portion and the hollow cylindrical body of the drain separate plate body, and this space is filled with high-pressure steam (condensed steam) containing condensate. . The condensate in the condensed steam becomes drainage and accumulates in the concave groove around the hollow cylinder, while the vapor passes from the nozzle hole of the nozzle plate disposed below through the hollow part of the hollow cylinder. Spouts outside. The drain accumulated in the concave groove is discharged outside the system by opening an on-off valve provided at the drain outlet of the concave groove. The concave groove surrounding the many hollow cylinders constitutes a drain liquid collecting part, and the hollow cylinder serves as a weir part.

The high-pressure steam jet nozzle of the present invention having such a configuration is suitably applied to the following fiber sheet-like processing method of the present invention.
That is, the basic configuration of the invention relating to the processing method of the fiber sheet is a processing method of the fiber sheet, in which high-pressure steam is jetted toward the surface of the fiber sheet using the high-pressure steam jet nozzle. It is in.

  By the way, the fiber sheet-like material referred to in the present invention includes at least a web-like material, a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a non-woven fabric, or a laminated sheet thereof, and any material having a structure through which steam penetrates may be used. A laminate of a film and a fabric is also a fiber sheet. The fibers constituting the fiber sheet of the present invention are organic fibers (natural fibers such as wool, hemp and silk, synthetic fibers such as polyester fibers, acrylic fibers and polyamide fibers, and semi-synthetic fibers such as acetate fibers. , Recycled fibers such as rayon), inorganic fibers (glass fibers, mineral fibers, metal fibers, etc.) alone, organic fibers or inorganic fibers, or organic fibers and inorganic fibers in combination.

  According to the high-pressure steam ejection processing method according to the present invention, for example, a fiber sheet-like washing process, a decoloring process, a fiber sheet-like liquid removal process after liquid treatment, a fiber sheet-like texture improving process, a fiber sheet-like process It becomes possible to perform various chemical treatments on objects. Of these examples, there are cases where the heat treatment is performed on the texture improvement treatment of the fiber sheet material, or a normal heat set, etc., but for other treatments, fluid treatment is generally adopted, and the steam heat treatment is performed. However, the fiber sheet is placed in a high-temperature steam atmosphere or simply passed through the atmosphere.

  As described above, the method for treating a fiber sheet according to the present invention is as described above by ejecting pressurized steam from a pressurized steam jet nozzle toward the fiber sheet so as to penetrate the fiber sheet. It is intended to perform various processes. Therefore, the heated steam treatment method ejected from the pressurized steam ejection nozzle of the present invention is a treatment method essentially different from the conventional liquid treatment method, and also coincides with the conventional steaming heat treatment in that steam is used. However, not only the configuration but also the functions and effects are completely different.

The cleaning treatment of the fiber sheet according to the present invention can remove the excess dye and the like in the same manner as the conventional removal with a cleaning liquid or water, but further, a paste that adheres to the fiber sheet or its constituent fibers, It is possible to reliably remove deposits such as oil and various resins. This is when the pressurized steam penetrates the fiber sheet material without being affected by the material of the adhering material, such as glue, oil, various resins, etc., which adhere to the fibers and yarns constituting the fiber sheet material. By adhering these deposits instantaneously out of the fiber sheet with the same vapor. For example, woven fabrics or knitted fabrics made of metal fibers are used as fiber web transfer means in the production process of spunbond nonwoven fabrics and melt blown nonwoven fabrics. When the polymer formed into a shape is cooled, it can also be used for washing the adhering matter stuck to the fiber sheet.

  In this invention, since it is not a liquid process but a vapor | steam (gas) process, various processes can be performed, without making a water | moisture content adhere to the fiber and yarn which comprise a fiber sheet-like thing. Therefore, it is not necessary to pass the washed fiber sheet again through a heat drying step and a solvent removal step as will be described later. This leads to a significant reduction in equipment costs and energy costs. However, in the treatment method of the present invention, when the fiber sheet-like material includes a conjugate fiber having a difference in thermal shrinkage, for example, if a nonwoven fabric is produced, the degree of entanglement between fibers without impairing the soft texture Thus, a nonwoven fabric that is excellent in form stability and applicable to various fields is obtained.

  In addition, the above decolorization treatment is performed by, for example, easily decolorizing a part of the dyeing in the case of a raw material before it becomes a product easily by the steam treatment method of the present invention instead of decolorization using a conventional decolorizing agent. If the transfer speed of the fiber sheet and the vibration in the width direction between the fiber sheet and the transfer means are appropriately combined and controlled, a moire pattern can be created, and the original There will be no damage even to the opposite side.

  Furthermore, after the liquid treatment, for example, the liquid removal (drying) treatment for the fiber sheet after washing is impregnated or adhering with a large amount of the processing liquid in all steps as in the washing treatment. Yes. That is, since the liquid component can be efficiently removed from the fiber sheet like a normal drying step, the method of the present invention may be applied in place of all conventional drying steps. In this case, a large drying chamber, a large number of heating lamps, heating drums and heating rolls, electrical energy and fluid energy supply equipment connected to these heating lamps, heating drums or heating rolls, exhaust equipment, etc. are unnecessary and used. The amount of energy is also greatly reduced compared to the conventional case. In addition, the texture improvement treatment of the fiber sheet is less in the number of steps and has a clogged surface in a short time as compared with, for example, a washing method or a steaming method for conventional wool fabrics and knitted fabrics. A fiber sheet made of wool rich in soft feeling can be processed continuously and efficiently. Further, in the present invention, if the medicine injection path is further joined to the steam introduction path of the steam nozzle holder and the medicine is ejected together with the pressurized steam to the fiber sheet, the medicine treatment can be performed simultaneously with other processes. .

  These various processing methods suitably combine the processing conditions such as the transfer speed of the fiber sheet, the temperature and vapor pressure of the pressurized steam, and the gap between the fiber sheet and the ejection opening end of the nozzle. Can be implemented. Furthermore, the determination of these values is based on the type of fiber sheet (woven fabric, knitted fabric, nonwoven fabric, etc.) and structure (woven or knitted structure, woven or knitted density, fiber density of nonwoven fabric), the constituent fibers of the fiber sheet Since it is made based on various conditions such as the material of the yarn and the thickness of the fiber sheet, it cannot be determined uniformly.

The steam ejected from the nozzle hole contains almost no condensate for the following reason.
That is, high-pressure steam introduced into the nozzle holder after the opening / closing valve is closed inevitably radiates heat when passing through the inner surface of the nozzle holder. Along with the drain made of foreign matter, etc., it tries to pass through the slit of the nozzle holder toward the nozzle hole through the hollow part of the hollow cylinder having a gas-liquid separation function. It flows down to the bottom of the recess along the outer peripheral surface and the inner surface of the recess. While the condensate that has flowed down accumulates in the recessed portion, the high-pressure steam reaches the separator plate through the hollow portion and the through hole of the hollow cylinder having the same dam function. Even in this separator plate, vapor and drain are separated again by the concave portion and the hollow cylinder, the drain collects in the concave portion, and the vapor passes through the hollow portion and the through hole of the hollow cylindrical body to the nozzle hole formed in the nozzle member. Head.

  The drain collected in the recessed portion and the drain flow path is discharged out of the system from the nozzle holder and the nozzle member through a drain trap or the like. In this way, the drain generated inside the nozzle holder and the drain generated inside the nozzle member are separated from the steam through the respective gas-liquid separation mechanisms, so that the steam ejected from the nozzle hole Almost no condensed vapor is present. As a result, the passage of jet steam with respect to the fiber sheet is improved, the occurrence of local low temperature portions is eliminated, and the degree of processing such as the degree of confounding due to the difference in the passage of steam may occur. In particular, even when using fiber materials containing polymers that are sensitive to water, the uniformity of product quality such as the appearance and physical properties of the treated product is ensured, such as the occurrence of abnormal processing parts is eliminated. Become.

  The nozzle holder of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is usually encapsulated with a heat insulating material or the like to prevent the temperature of the high-pressure steam passing through the inside from being lowered. However, the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle is actively heated. You can also Specific methods include heating with a heat medium such as silicon oil, and heating with an electric heater such as induction heating. In addition, for example, the inside of a high-pressure steam ejection nozzle is opened in the box with the high-pressure steam ejection side open. And hot air heated to a high temperature is introduced into the box. In this way, if the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the saturated steam temperature of the steam to be used, for example, with hot air, the temperature drop of the internal high-pressure steam can be effectively prevented.

  By the way, it is usually arranged above the fiber web that runs through the high-pressure steam jet nozzle, and a high-pressure steam jet flow is applied toward the upper surface of the fiber web, but below the fiber web that runs through the high-pressure steam jet nozzle. It is also possible to provide a jet flow of high-pressure steam upward from the lower surface of the fiber web. When the high-pressure steam jet stream is jetted upward from the lower side of the fiber web in this way, it is difficult for the drain to collect in the nozzle hole arranged on the upper surface side of the nozzle holder, and the content of the drain is also contained in the jet steam. Stable processing can be realized in combination with uniform pressure distribution.

  Usually, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is fixed at a predetermined position and is in a stationary state, and the fiber web pressing and transferring means and the fiber web carrying and transferring means also move in one direction so as to transfer the fiber web in one direction. However, according to the present invention, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is reciprocated in a short stroke in the transverse direction of the transfer path of the fiber web, or the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is fixed and the fiber is fixed. It is preferable that the web pressing and transferring means and the fiber web carrying and transferring means are reciprocated in the transverse direction of the fiber web transfer path with the same short stroke. Thus, when reciprocating any one of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle or the fiber web pressing and transferring means and the fiber web carrying and transferring means, the high-pressure steam is uniformly jetted in the width direction of the fiber web and manufactured. A moire-like pattern due to the steam ejected from the nozzle holes is not formed on the surface of the non-woven fabric, and a non-woven fabric having a uniform surface form is obtained. The stroke width of this reciprocation may be slightly longer than the pitch between nozzles, specifically about ± 5 mm, and the reciprocating speed is 30 to 300 times / min.

Even in the fiber sheet processing method of the present invention, in order to facilitate the entanglement of the fibers in the web by the steam jet nozzle in the fiber web transfer direction and upstream of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle. It is desirable to arrange the pre-processing means. In this way, the pretreatment means that shortens the distance between the fibers constituting the fiber web in the previous stage where the fibers are entangled by the jet of steam, so that the fibers in the fiber web can be entangled even by high-pressure steam injection. It can be performed efficiently without spots. As the pretreatment means, there is water application to give moisture to the fiber web. Thus, before the treatment by the high-pressure steam jet nozzle is started, for example, if moisture is sprayed on the surface of the fiber web in advance, fluffing of the fiber web surface and scattering of fibers are prevented, and the shape stability of the fiber web is prevented. Will improve.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the typical structural example of the high pressure steam injection nozzle which concerns on this invention. It is a reverse view of the nozzle. It is arrow sectional drawing along the III-III line | wire in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the A section shown by the arrow in FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of A section. It is an enlarged view of the B section shown by the arrow in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drain separate plate main body in this invention. It is a top view of the same drain separate plate body. It is a cross-sectional view of the same drain separate plate body. It is an expanded sectional view of the C section shown by the arrow in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the disc plate in this invention. It is a top view of the same disk plate. It is pipe line explanatory drawing which shows roughly typical embodiment in the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like thing which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the steam line with respect to the high pressure steam injection nozzle in the same embodiment. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows schematically 2nd Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows schematically 3rd Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows schematically 4th Embodiment of the manufacturing process of the fiber sheet-like material by this invention.

Hereinafter, typical embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 8 show the above-described embodiment of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 according to this embodiment includes a nozzle holder 11, first and second flanges 12 and 13 fixed to both ends of the nozzle holder 11 by welding, A cylindrical high mesh filter 14 that is inserted into the nozzle holder 11 and supported at both ends by first and second flanges 12 and 13 is fixed to the lower surface of the nozzle holder 11 by welding or bolts. And a nozzle member 15 having a number of nozzle holes. According to this embodiment, the nozzle member 15 is fixed on the lower surface of the nozzle holder 11, and the high-pressure steam travels below the nozzle hole of the nozzle member 15 to the upper surface of the fiber sheet-like material (not shown) from above. The structural example when ejecting toward is shown. In the present invention, the nozzle member 15 is fixed on the upper surface of the nozzle holder 11, and high-pressure steam travels above the nozzle holes of the nozzle member 15 from below to the lower surface of a fiber sheet-like material (not shown) from below to above. There is also a case where it erupts.

The nozzle member 15 in the present embodiment has a substantially similar shape, except that the shape of the nozzle member and the nozzle hole and the member height disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are increased in appearance. doing. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 of the present invention viewed in the direction of the arrow along the line III-III shown in FIG. As can be understood from this figure, the nozzle member 15 includes a nozzle plate 15a having a large number of nozzle holes 15a ″ and the nozzle plate 15a.
And a drain separation plate 15c constituting a constituent member of the first gas-liquid separation means interposed between the nozzle plate 15a and the plate support member 15b. it can. These members according to the present embodiment are fastened and fixed between the members by nine bolts 21 for fixing in the length direction and a total of 18 bolts 21 for each pair in the width direction.

  The first flange 12 fixed to the steam introduction side end of the nozzle holder 11 is formed with a through hole 12c having a large diameter portion 12a and a small diameter portion 12b along the center line, and a high pressure steam supply (not shown) is provided. A high-pressure steam supply pipe (not shown) connected to the source is connected via a plug 17. The second flange 13 fixed to the steam discharge side end of the nozzle holder 11 is also formed with a through hole 13c having a large diameter portion 13a and a small diameter portion 13b along the center line, and an exhaust gas not shown in the figure. It is connected to a steam exhaust pipe (not shown) connected to the fan. At both ends of the high mesh filter 14, O-rings 20 that are airtightly fixed to the large diameter portions 12 a and 13 a of the first and second flanges 12 and 13 are fixed.

  By the way, with respect to the steam supply pipe to the nozzle holder 11, the rising pipe is connected to the steam inlet of the nozzle holder 11 or a drain separator is installed immediately before the connecting portion in order to prevent the introduction of condensed steam. Design considerations are necessary. Of course, in order to prevent condensation vapor from being generated due to the heat radiation from the supply pipe, it is important to keep the pipes and valves sufficiently warm, forcibly heating the pipe from the outside as necessary. It is desirable to take measures such as Although it is important to take these measures, it is also necessary to actively heat the outside of the nozzle holder.

In addition to the influence of cooling, when the moving speed of the vapor in the nozzle holder 11 is a certain speed or more, it is affected by temperature drop or pressure drop inside the holder in relation to kinetic energy and friction loss. It was clarified that it causes the distribution of steam temperature and the generation of condensed steam. As a result of various studies, in order to avoid such a phenomenon, when the required holder length is given to the steam flow rate moving in the holder, the pressure drop with respect to the supply steam pressure is kept within the allowable limit. For this purpose, the inventors have found that it is necessary to satisfy the following conditional expression (1).
D ≧ {KQt ² L / [σ (P + 0.1)]} ^0.2・ ・ ・ (1)
Here, the vapor pressure (gauge pressure) introduced into the holder is P (MPa), the amount of vapor ejected from the nozzle is Qt (kg / s), the holder length is L (m), and the pressure deviation rate σ ( If-) is set, the minimum dimension of the holder diameter D can be obtained from the equation (1).

  The bottom surface of the nozzle holder 11 has a cut surface 11a formed by planarly cutting off both ends of the nozzle holder 11 and reaching the internal space. As a result, a longitudinal direction is formed at the center of the bottom surface of the nozzle holder 11. A slit-shaped opening 11b extending in the direction is formed. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the cut surface 11a is fixed in a state where a thick plate-like nozzle plate 15a, a prismatic plate support member 15b, and a thin plate-like drain separation plate 15c are stacked. Is done. In the lamination, the nozzle plate 15a is disposed at the lowest position, the plate support member 15b is disposed at the uppermost position, and the drain separation plate 15c is disposed in the middle. These three layers have the same length and width. A slit 15a 'that extends continuously in the longitudinal direction except for both ends in the longitudinal direction is formed at the center of the lower surface of the nozzle plate 15a. In addition, a large number of nozzle holes 15 a ″ communicating with the slits 15 a ′ are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction at the upper center.

On the other hand, in the upper half of the plate support member 15b, as shown in an enlarged view in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, a large number of staggered patterns facing the slit-shaped openings 11b of the nozzle holder 11 are provided. A steam passage 15b 'formed of a circular hole is formed. The lower half of the plate support member 15b has a width between the outer edges in the width direction of the steam passages 15b 'arranged in a staggered manner as shown in FIGS. A slit portion 15b ″ covering the formation cross section of the passage 15b ′ is formed in communication with the lower end of the steam passage 15b ′.

  Further, according to the illustrated example, as shown in an enlarged view in FIGS. 4 and 5, a hollow cylindrical portion 15b′-1 is formed in the upper half of each steam passage 15b ′ in the plate support member 15b. A boat-shaped recess 15b′-2 is formed in the formation region of the steam passage 15b ′ in the length direction including the periphery. The hollow cylindrical portion 15b′-1 and the boat-shaped concave portion 15b′-2 constitute a characteristic portion in the present invention, and the hollow cylindrical portion 15b′-1 exhibits a function as a weir, and the concave portion 15b. '-2 is the liquid collection part that collects drain.

  Thus, in the illustrated example, the hollow cylindrical portion 15b'-1 and the boat-shaped recessed portion 15b'-2 are provided on the close contact surface with the cut surface 11a of the nozzle holder 11 of the plate support member 15b. It can also be directly provided on the cut surface 11a of the holder 11. In this case, although it is difficult to process, the concave portion 15b′-2 is formed so as to surround the slit-shaped opening 11b of the cut surface 11a, and the above-mentioned bottom surface is formed at an equal pitch along the bottom surface of the concave portion 15b′-2. The hollow cylindrical portions 15b′-1 communicating with the through holes of the portions are arranged upright.

  Generally, the heat of the high-temperature and high-pressure steam introduced into the nozzle holder is radiated to the outside through the nozzle holder, and condensate is generated based on the temperature drop. This condensate tends to flow into the lower high-pressure steam jet passage along with the steam. At this time, even in the present invention, most of the condensate travels down the inner surface of the nozzle holder 11. Further, by the time the condensate contained in the steam reaches the second gas-liquid separation means, most of the condensate is separated into steam and condensate. Due to the internal pressure, the steam passes through the holes of the hollow cylindrical portion 15b'-1. However, one condensate is prevented from flowing into the hollow portion by the cylindrical wall portion of the hollow cylindrical portion 15b'-1, and is moved into the recessed portion 15b'-2. Collected and temporarily stored. The condensate collected in the recess 15b'-2 is discharged outside the system by opening an open / close valve (not shown) arranged at a drain discharge port leading to the recess 15b'-2 every predetermined time. Is done.

  As the name indicates, the drain separation plate 15c is a member for separating the vapor and the condensate, and may be constituted by the drain separation plate main body 15c ′ alone, but in this embodiment, FIG. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the drain separation plate body 15c ′ and the disk plate 15c ″ are composed of two members. Here, the disk plate 15c ″ is formed as shown in FIGS. The plate is thinner and narrower than the drain separate plate main body 15c ′, and is shorter than the drain separate plate main body 15c ′, and is disposed immediately upstream of the drain separate plate main body 15c ′ in the steam flow direction. The According to the illustrated example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the disk plate 15c ″ is disposed in the space of the slit portion 15b ″ formed in the plate support member 15b. Before the condensed vapor reaches the drain separate plate main body 15c ′, the condensed vapor is applied to the disk plate 15c ″ to separate the condensate in the vapor from the vapor and to disperse the vapor pressure toward the drain separate plate main body 15c ′. Thus, it has a function as a buffer for making the pressure distribution uniform.

On the other hand, in the upper half of the drain separate plate main body 15c ′ in the thickness direction, as shown in enlarged views in FIGS. 4 and 9, the slit portion 15b of the plate support member 15b is located at the center in the width direction. A concave groove portion 15c′-2 that is slightly larger than the opening of “” and has a depth half that of the drain separate plate body 15c ′ is formed along the slit portion 15b ”. A large number of through-holes 15c′-3 are formed at equal pitches along the length direction at the center in the bottom width direction of the concave groove portion 15c′-2. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 10, the bottom surface of the condensate discharge side end of the concave groove 15c′-2 extends to the end surface of the drain separation plate body 15c ′ and is connected to a trap pipe (C4) described later. A condensate discharge port 15c'-1 is formed. The trap pipe (C4) is also connected to the recess 15b′-2 formed in the vicinity of the lower end surface of the nozzle holder 11 via a drain discharge path.

  On the other hand, a hollow cylindrical body 15c'-4 communicating with the through hole 15c'-3 is integrated with the concave groove portion 15c'-2 and stands upright on the bottom surface of the concave groove portion 15c'-2. The cylindrical body 15c′-4 has the same inner diameter as each through-hole 15c′-3, has an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the through-hole 15c′-3, and has the same height as the through-hole 15c′-3. Have The cylindrical body 15c'-4 constitutes a weir structure, and the concave groove 15c'-2 constitutes a condensate reservoir.

  Even if the vapor dispersed on the disk plate 15c ″ is small, it is highly likely that condensate is still contained. The drain separate plate body 15c ′ removes the condensate remaining in the vapor. Collected in the concave groove portion 15c′-2, only the vapor is disposed in close contact with the lower surface of the drain separation plate body 15c ′ through the hollow portion of the hollow cylindrical body 15c′-4 and the through hole 15c′-3. Into the nozzle hole 15a "of the nozzle plate 15a. At this time, the cylindrical body 15c′-4 prevents the condensate from entering the hollow portion and feeds only the vapor into the hollow portion, and the condensate separated here becomes the concave groove portion 15c′-2. To be collected. The drain accumulated in the recessed groove portion 15c'-2 is discharged out of the system from the trap pipe (C4) through a drain discharge port that opens an open / close valve (not shown) and communicates with the recessed groove portion 15c'-2. In the present embodiment, the cylindrical body 15c'-4 is arranged in a single row at an equal pitch along the bottom surface of the concave groove portion 15c'-2, but is not limited thereto.

  The nozzle plate 15a has a large number of nozzle holes 15a "formed in a single row or multiple rows in the longitudinal direction with a predetermined pitch at the center in the width direction. According to the present embodiment, the nozzle plate 15a The holes 15a ″ are arranged in a line, and a simple circular hole 15a ″ -1 is formed at the upper 1/5 height portion, and is continuously smaller on the lower surface than the diameter of the circular hole 15a ″ -1. It has a diameter and is formed in the inverted frustoconical hole 15a "-2 from its upper end opening. It continuously extends in the length direction of the nozzle plate 15a to the lower end outlet of the inverted frustoconical hole 15a" -2. A slit 15a 'is formed. When such a hole shape is adopted, it is possible to ensure high-precision hole processing and good uniformity of the jet flow.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the plate support member 15 b is fixed and integrated by welding in a state where the upper surface of the plate support member 15 b is in close contact with the cut surface 11 a of the nozzle holder 11. The plate support member 15b is continuously formed with a projecting wall portion 15b "-1 projecting downward along the lower edge of the opening of the slit portion 15b". The protruding wall portion 15b ″ -1 of the plate support member 15b is fitted in a state of being closely fitted to the inner wall surface of the recessed groove portion 15c′-2 formed in the drain separate plate body 15c ′, and the plate support member 15b. And the nozzle plate body 15a.

  As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3, the fixing at this time is an O-ring between the plate support member 15b and the drain separate plate body 15c ′ and between the nozzle plate 15a and the drain separate plate body 15c ′. By firmly fixing with a common bolt 21 through 20, it is firmly supported. Accordingly, the nozzle plate 15a and the drain separation plate 15c can be easily detached from the plate support member 15b by removing the bolts 21, and thus can be easily cleaned and replaced. Further, between the inner surface of the projecting wall portion 15b ″ -1 of the plate support member 15b closely fitted in the concave groove portion 15c′-2 of the drain separate plate body 15c ′ and the cylindrical body 15c′-4. As described above, a space is formed, and this space becomes a condensate flow path constituting the gas-liquid separation mechanism.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a large number of nozzle holes 15a ″ formed in the nozzle plate 15a are arranged in a line is given. However, in the present invention, a large number of nozzle holes 15a ″ formed in the nozzle plate 16 are provided. Can be arranged in two or more rows. Thus, when the nozzle holes 15a ″ are arranged in two rows, for example, the nozzle holes 15a ″ arranged between the rows are preferably arranged in a staggered manner with a ½ pitch shift. When the nozzle holes 15a ″ are arranged in a staggered pattern, the pitch is substantially reduced as a whole even if the pitch between the nozzle holes 15a ″ on the same row is longer than that in the case of a single row. The high-pressure steam ejected from the ejection nozzle 10 is uniformly applied in the width direction of the fiber web to be transported, and the moire-like pattern is hardly attached.

  FIG.13 and FIG.14 has shown in outline the example of the manufacturing process of the nonwoven fabric as suitable embodiment of the processing process of the fiber sheet-like thing based on this invention to which the above-mentioned high-pressure-vapor-jet nozzle 10 was applied. A first endless belt 30 is disposed below the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 at a predetermined interval. The first endless belt 30 rotates in one direction so as to cross the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. Therefore, both end reversing portions of the first endless belt 30 are driven and supported by a driving roller 31 and a driven roller 32 which are driven by a driving motor (not shown), and are supported by a tension roller 33 on the lower side. Appropriate tension is applied to the belt 30. The first endless belt 30 is made of, for example, a stainless steel thin plate having a large number of small holes by punching, or a mesh-like woven fabric using heat-resistant synthetic resin or metal.

  The mesh degree can be set arbitrarily. The distance between the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the fiber sheet transferred by the first endless belt 30 is set to 0 to 30 mm or less depending on the fiber density of the fiber sheet and its thickness. At 0 mm, friction due to sliding contact occurs between the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the fiber web, and the nozzle hole 15 a ″ is likely to be blocked by deformation of the nozzle hole or foreign matter in the steam. The steam pressure introduced into the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is preferably 0.1 to 2 MPa based on the material and fiber density of the constituent fibers of the fiber web, and the high-pressure steam jet If the steam ejected from the nozzle is superheated steam, even if the superheated steam ejected from the nozzle hole 15a ″ is lowered in temperature due to adiabatic expansion, it does not become mist-like steam and does not mist. At this time, the steam supplied to the nozzle hole 15a ″ is preferably superheated steam having a wetness of 10% or less or a superheat of 10 ° C. or more.

  Suction means is disposed below the first endless belt 30 corresponding to the installation site of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. In the present embodiment, the suction means includes a suction box 40, a vacuum pump 42 connected to the suction box 40 via a separator tank 41 via a pipe, and a mist separator 43 connected to the discharge side of the vacuum pump 42. Consists of Here, the separator tank 41 is a gas-liquid separation tank for separating the vapor sucked by the suction box 40 into a gas-liquid, and the mist separator 43 is a foreign substance or harmful gas in the vapor discharged from the vacuum pump 42. Alternatively, the liquid or the like is removed from the vapor to release clean vapor (gas) to the outside, and also has a function as a silencer for reducing noise generated from the vacuum pump 42.

  An exhaust port of the top plate portion of the separator tank 41 is connected to a suction pipe (C5) connecting the separator tank 41 and the vacuum pump 42 via an opening / closing valve 47, and the bottom portion of the separator tank 41 is a fluid pump. It is connected to the water supply source W via 48. Further, a water level detector 49 is arranged between the upper limit water level portion and the lower limit water level portion of the separator tank 41, and when the water level of the separator tank 41 exceeds the upper limit or falls below the lower limit, a signal is sent to the not shown. The operation of the fluid pump 48 is stopped by a command from the control device.

  The high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10 has the nozzle structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 12 and is supplied from a high-pressure steam supply source S to the steam introduction side end as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. High-pressure steam is introduced through the steam introduction side main pipe (C1). In the steam introduction side main pipe (C1), the steam sent from the high-pressure steam supply source S is once guided to the drain storage pot 51, and condensate contained in the steam is stored at the bottom thereof, and this is stored in the first trap. It collects in a collection tank (not shown) via a pipe line 57. The steam introduced into the drain storage pot 51 is heated by the heater 54 through the pressure control valve 52 and the precision filter 53 to become superheated steam, and is sent to the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10.

  In the present embodiment, a temperature detector TI and a pressure detector PI are arranged between the heater 54 and the steam introduction side end of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. The steam introduction side main line (C1) has a steam replenishment line (C2) branched from the installation site of the heater 54, and this steam replenishment line (C2) is connected to the high-pressure steam supply source S. ing. A first open / close valve 55 that operates in response to a temperature detection signal from the heater 54 is interposed in the middle of the steam replenishment line (C2), and the steam temperature detected by the temperature detector TI is When the temperature falls below the lower limit, the on-off valve 55 is opened to supply new steam to the steam introduction side main pipe (C1) to raise the superheated steam temperature to a predetermined temperature range. When the steam temperature exceeds the upper limit temperature, the opening / closing valve 55 is closed to shut off the supplementary steam.

  The high-pressure steam ejection system employed in this embodiment complies with the above-mentioned Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-76162), and enables the steam temperature to be controlled within a predetermined temperature range by the temperature control system. ing. The pressure detector PI is connected to a pressure control valve 52 disposed on the upstream side of the precision filter 53, and adjusts the vapor pressure of the vapor introduction side main pipe (C1) to be kept constant.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, a temperature detector TI is arranged at the end of the high-pressure steam injection nozzle 10 as shown in FIG. 14, and the end of the steam discharge side is connected to the steam discharge pipe (C3). The steam discharge pipe (C3) is connected to the second temperature detector TI, and has a second opening / closing valve 56 that closes when the steam temperature detected by the temperature detector TI reaches a set temperature. It is intervened. Further, even when the second opening / closing valve 56 is closed and the steam discharge pipe (C3) is closed, the drain generated in the nozzle holder 11 of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 can always be discharged to a recovery tank (not shown). I am doing so.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in FIG. 14, a steam condensate discharge port 15 c ′-1 (see FIG. 9) is formed near the bottom surface of the nozzle member 15 at the end of the nozzle holder 11 on the high pressure steam discharge side. The discharge port 15c′-1 is connected to the trap pipe (C4) via the third opening / closing valve 62. At this time, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 tilts the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 by slightly lowering the end of the steam discharge pipe (C3) downward with the end portion on the high-pressure steam introduction side as a base end portion. Keep it. The high-pressure steam introduced into the nozzle holder 11 is inevitably condensed and liquefied during operation of the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10. As described above, the protruding wall portion 15b ″ -1 formed in the slit portion opening of the plate support member 15b is tightly connected to the inner wall surface of the concave groove portion 15c′-2 formed in the drain separate plate body 15c ′. At this time, a gap is formed between the inner surface of the protruding wall portion 15b ″ -1 and the cylindrical body 15c′-4 of the drain separate plate body 15c ′, and this gap is a gas-liquid separation mechanism. The drain flow path which becomes a part of the is constructed.

The end portion on the condensate discharge side of the drain separation plate main body 15c ′ in the present embodiment is enlarged in FIG. 10, and the condensate flow channel side of the concave groove portion 15c′-2 of the drain separation plate main body 15c ′ is shown. Following the end, a drain through-hole 15c′-3 is formed to allow communication between the concave groove 15c′-2 and the trap pipe (C4). The trap pipe (C4) is provided with the third on-off valve 62 as described above. This through-hole 15c′-3 is a 3 mm diameter and 30 mm long drill hole, and the upper half of the end on the side communicating with the concave groove 15c′-2 is the concave groove 15c′-2. It communicates directly with the bottom, and its lower half extends to the bottom surface of the bottom of the groove 15c'-2. Further, the condensate discharge port 15c′-1 at the end of the drain through hole 15c′-3 connected to the trap pipe (C4) is a screw hole having a diameter of 7.2 mm.

  On the other hand, the hollow cylinder part 15b′-1 and the recessed part 15b′-2 having a gas-liquid separation function formed at the boundary part between the nozzle holder 11 and the plate support part 15b in the present embodiment are shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5 and as described above, the upper half of the plate support member 15b is formed with a plurality of circular holes 15b ', and the lower half communicates with the lower end opening surface of the vapor path 15b'. Slit portion 15b ″ is formed. A boat-shaped concave portion 15b′-2 is formed in the center in the width direction of the upper end opening surface of the steam passage 15b ′ over the nozzle length direction. At the bottom of the recessed portion 15b′-2, a large number of hollow cylindrical portions 15b′-1 that respectively communicate with the numerous steam passages 15b ′ composed of the aforementioned circular holes stand up. Function as a weir And volatilizing, the recessed portion 15b '-2 is liquid collecting path for collecting the condensate (drainage containing).

  Here, when the third on-off valve 62 is opened, the condensate accumulated in the recessed portion 15b'-2 of the plate support member 15b is discharged out of the system. At this time, if the high-pressure steam discharge side end of the nozzle holder 11 is set to be slightly lower than the end of the steam discharge pipe (C3) as described above, the recess of the plate support member 15b is formed. The condensate accumulated in the part 15b′-2 automatically flows to the condensate discharge port at the end of the high-pressure steam discharge side and is discharged to the outside via the trap pipe (C4). Although not shown in the present embodiment, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and its steam introduction pipe and steam discharge pipe are naturally heat insulating materials such as glass fiber mats with aluminum foil except for the steam jet nozzle holes. It is covered with.

  According to the nonwoven fabric manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above, prior to operation, first, the second on-off valve 56 of the steam discharge pipe (C3) of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is opened to introduce steam. When high-pressure superheated steam is introduced from the side main pipe (C1), fresh superheated steam flows through the inside of the nozzle holder 11 of the high-pressure steam injection nozzle 10 from the introduction side opening to the discharge side opening, and the nozzle holder 11 is required. The temperature is quickly raised to the overheating temperature. At this time, the temperature is detected by the temperature detector TI installed at the vapor discharge side end of the nozzle holder 11, and when the detected temperature reaches a required temperature, the second opening / closing valve 56 is closed. Simultaneously with closing the opening / closing valve 56, the first endless belt 30 is driven to start its rotation.

  FIG. 15: has shown the outline | summary of 2nd Embodiment of the processing process of the fiber sheet-like material based on this invention. According to this embodiment, the upper and lower two first and second endless belts 30 and 34 sandwich the fiber sheet and transfer it in one direction, and face the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the nozzle 10. When the suction boxes 40 are arranged as a set, a plurality of sets (two sets in the illustrated example) are arranged in the transfer direction of the fiber sheet, and the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 in each set and The arrangement of the suction boxes 40 is turned upside down.

That is, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is arranged toward the upper surface of the second endless belt 34 that travels together while pressing the upper surface of the fiber sheet material through the nozzle hole 15a ″ of the first set of high-pressure steam jet nozzles 10. In addition, the suction box 40 is disposed toward the lower surface of the first endless belt 30 that supports the fiber sheet-like material from below and transports the fiber sheet-like material through the suction opening of the suction box 40. The second set of high-pressure steam jet nozzles 10 is arranged with its nozzle hole 15a ″ facing the lower surface of the first endless belt 30 carrying and transferring the fiber sheet from below, and the suction box 40 is The suction opening is disposed toward the upper surface of the second endless belt 34 that travels together by pressing the fiber sheet from above.

  Thus, when high-pressure steam is jetted alternately from the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 toward the upper surface and the lower surface of the fiber sheet-like material sandwiched and transferred by the first and second endless belts 30 and 34, the fiber High-pressure steam will act equally on the front and back surfaces of the sheet-like material, and the constituent fibers will be entangled evenly on the front and back surfaces of the manufactured nonwoven fabric, making it easier to ensure the form stability as the nonwoven fabric. There is no distinction between the front and back in terms of appearance, and the product value is improved.

  FIG. 16 schematically shows the main part of a third preferred embodiment in the process of processing a fiber sheet according to the present invention. A second endless belt 34, which is a fiber sheet pressing and transferring means, is arranged close to the lower surface of the nozzle plate 15a, and the fibers are carried and transferred by the first endless belt 30 which is a fiber sheet supporting and transferring means. The sheet W is transported in cooperation while being sandwiched by the second endless belt 34, and high-pressure superheated steam is passed through the nozzle holes 15a "of the nozzle plate 15a during the sandwiching and transporting. A suction box 40 as a suction means is disposed in the vicinity of the inner surface of the first endless belt 30.

  In this embodiment, the suction opening of the suction box 40 is arranged at a position facing the nozzle hole 15a ′ of the nozzle plate 15a, and the shape thereof is a slit shape so as to avoid suction of surrounding gas as much as possible. . The opening width of the slit opening is preferably about 10 mm, and the suction force of the ventilation fan used in a normal factory is sufficient, that is, about 300 Pa is sufficient. It is easy to give orientation to, and if it is smaller than that, the suction force will be insufficient. Of course, it is necessary to adjust this suction force within a required range depending on the thickness and density of the fiber sheet material and the vapor pressure when ejected from the nozzle member 15.

  In this embodiment, in order to maintain the gap between the nozzle member 15 and the second endless belt 34 and the gap between the first endless belt 30 and the suction box 40, the lower surface of the first endless belt 30 is supported and guided. A plurality of supporting rotating rolls 35a and a plurality of regulating guide rolls 35b for regulating and guiding the upper surface position of the second endless belt 34 are provided. By providing these support rotating rolls 35a and regulation guide rolls 35b, not only can the fiber sheet T be held and transferred with appropriate holding force by the first and second endless belts 30 and 34, It is possible to avoid the sliding contact between the first and second endless belts 30 and 34, the nozzle member 15 and the suction box 40, and at the same time maintain the facing gap minutely. In addition, these support rotation rolls 35a and regulation guide rolls 35b can be adjusted by using known vertical position adjusting means, respectively.

  In the above embodiment, the nozzle hole 15a '' of the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 having the above-described structure is disposed simply toward the fiber sheet-like material carrying and conveying means and / or the pressure conveying means. In the present invention, it is also possible to maintain the high temperature by actively heating the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10. Fig. 17 shows an example of the nozzle holder 11, the nozzle plate. A heating box 27 that accommodates the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 including the support member 15b and the nozzle plate 15a is used.The heating box 27 accommodates the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 and the high-pressure steam jet nozzle. It consists of an elongated rectangular parallelepiped with the entire surface to which the 10 nozzle holes 15a ″ are directed, and a hot air inlet 27a is formed at the center of the top plate.

The hot air introduction port 27a is connected to an external hot air introduction conduit 28. The high-temperature purified air introduced by the fan 28a through the filter 28b and heated by the heater 28c is sent to the heating box 27 through the hot air introduction pipe 28, and the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 The whole is positively heated with hot air.
In this way, by heating the entire high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10, the temperature drop of the high-pressure steam and superheated steam introduced into the nozzle holder 11 is effectively prevented, and the required temperature is maintained and the high-pressure steam jet is maintained. The nozzle 10 can be ejected toward the fiber sheet W. As a result, not only can the amount of steam used be reduced, but at the same time, efficient fiber entanglement can be realized, and the form of the nonwoven fabric produced can be stabilized and desired strength and texture can be obtained.

  Moreover, according to the example of illustration, it exists in the front-and-back wall parts 27b and 27c of the fiber sheet-like material transfer direction of the heating box 27, The peripheral surface of the seal rolls 29a and 29b is contact | abutted to the lower end part. These seal rolls 29a and 29b are stainless steel smooth rolls or rolls whose peripheral surfaces are coated with resin, and even if they are free rotating rolls, they are driven to rotate in synchronization with the transfer speed of the fiber sheet W. May be. By providing such seal rolls 29a and 29b, it is possible to prevent the escape of hot air from the heating box 27 and at the same time prevent the intrusion of the outside air, and the heating efficiency for the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is improved.

  Further, in this example, an outside air shielding plate 63 that opens a portion corresponding to the suction opening of the suction box 40 disposed to face the first endless belt 30 that is a carrier transport body of the fiber sheet W, The first endless belt 30 and the suction box 40 are interposed. The front and rear end portions of the outside air shielding plate 63 in the fiber sheet-like material transfer direction are respectively curved downward so that the passage of the fiber sheet-like material W is smoothly stabilized. As described above, the outside air shielding plate 63 is interposed between the first endless belt 30 and the suction box 40, so that the outside air enters the ejection region of the high-pressure steam or superheated steam ejected from the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10. The high-pressure steam or superheated steam that is ejected can be efficiently applied to the fiber sheet W passing between the high-pressure steam ejection nozzle 10 and the suction box 40 without being obstructed by outside air. can do. As a result, the surface form of the produced nonwoven fabric is further leveled and the fiber entanglement is densified.

  In the present invention, the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 is slightly reciprocated in the longitudinal direction, or the first and second endless belts 30 and 34 are moved together with the fiber sheet material through the fiber sheet material transfer path. It can be reciprocated minutely in the transverse direction. A driving mechanism for the reciprocating motion is not shown in the figure, but a conventionally known mechanism for applying lateral vibration to a net such as a long net paper machine can be employed. Further, the stroke of reciprocation (vibration) is preferably about 5 mm to the left and right from the center of reciprocation, and the number of reciprocations is arbitrarily adjusted in the range of 30 to 300 times / min. As described above, when the high-pressure steam jet nozzle 10 or the first and second endless belts 30 and 34 are reciprocated, the high-pressure steam or superheated steam ejected from a large number of nozzle holes arranged in a row is in the form of a fiber sheet. The surface of the object acts evenly in the width direction, and a more uniform fiber entanglement and surface morphology can be obtained without forming a moire pattern on the surface.

10 (High pressure) Steam ejection nozzle 11 Nozzle holder 11a Cut surface 11b Slit-like openings 12, 13 First and second flanges 12a, 13a Large diameter portions 12b, 13b Small diameter portions 12c, 13c Through holes 14 High mesh filter or porous member 15 Nozzle member 15a Nozzle plate 15a 'Slit 15a "Nozzle hole 15a" -1 Circular hole 15a "-2 Reverse frustoconical hole 15b (Nozzle) Plate support member 15b' Steam passage 15b'-1 Hollow cylinder (weir)
15b'-2 recessed part (collection part)
15b ″ Slit portion 15b ″ -1 Projection wall portion 15c Drain separation plate 15c ′ Drain separation plate body 15c′-1 Condensate discharge port 15c′-2 Concave groove portion (drain reservoir)
15c'-3 Through-hole 15c'-4 Cylindrical body (weir)
15c "disc plate (buffer member)
17 Plug 20, 20a O-ring 21 Bolt 27 Heating box 27a Hot air inlet 27b, 27c Front and rear wall 28 Hot air inlet 28a Fan 28b Filter 28c Heater 29a, 29b Seal rolls 30, 34 First and second endless belts 31 Drive Roller 32 driven roller 33 tension roller 35a support rotating roll 35b regulating guide roll 40 suction box 41 separator tank 42 vacuum pump 43 mist separator 47 open / close valve 49 water level detector 51 drain storage pot 52 pressure control valve 53 precision filter 54 heater 55 first 1 on-off valve 56 second on-off valve 57 first trap pipe 62 third on-off valve 63 outside air shielding plate

Claims (6)

A hollow cylinder having a steam inlet connected to a pressurized steam supply source at one end and having an opening extending in the length direction on the surface facing the fiber sheet-like object to be processed traveling in one direction A high-pressure steam jet nozzle comprising a nozzle holder and a nozzle member having a high-pressure steam flow path at least partially detachable on a surface facing the opening and leading to a number of steam jet nozzle holes,
Having a recess in a close contact area with the nozzle member including the opening of the nozzle holder;
The recessed portion is arranged integrally along the length of the nozzle holder center in the width direction of the one or more hollow tubular portion rising toward the opening from the bottom surface of the concave portion, the hollow portion of the hollow cylindrical portion a through hole penetrating the bottom of the recessed portion communicates with, and the through hole and is formed between the steam jetting nozzle holes, the airtight space communicating with both of said steam jetting nozzle hole and the through hole A fiber sheet comprising one or more hollow cylinders integrally disposed along the length direction of the nozzle holder at the center in the width direction of the bottom of the airtight space and rising from the bottom surface toward the opening High-pressure steam jet nozzle for processing solids. At least a bottom portion of the recessed portion is inclined downward toward a steam discharge port side, and the recessed portion and a drain discharge port formed on the steam discharge port side are communicated with each other through a drain discharge channel. Item 2. The high-pressure steam jet nozzle according to Item 1. A hollow cylindrical nozzle holder having a steam inlet connected to a pressurized steam supply source at one end and having an opening along the length direction on the surface facing the fiber sheet traveling in one direction; The high-pressure steam according to claim 1, further comprising: a nozzle member that has a plurality of nozzle holes that are detachable at least partially from the nozzle holder portion on the opening side and are formed to face the opening. A processing method for a fiber sheet material, wherein high pressure steam is jetted toward the surface of the fiber sheet material using an ejection nozzle. The processing method of the fiber sheet-like product according to claim 3 , wherein the fiber sheet-like product is a web-like product, a fiber woven or knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, or a laminate thereof.   The processing method of the fiber sheet-like article according to claim 3, wherein the processing method includes processing such as washing, drying, and dyeing of a nonwoven fabric manufacturing method or various fiber woven or knitted fabrics including the nonwoven fabric.   The method for processing a fiber sheet according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the fiber sheet includes a conjugate fiber having a difference in thermal shrinkage.

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