JP6262678B2 - Concentration apparatus and concentration method for oral liquid - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an oral liquid concentrating device and a concentrating method thereof. Here, the oral liquid means the whole thing that a person or an animal eats. Typical examples thereof include beverages such as concentrated juices and soft drinks, and liquids such as noodle soup, various soups, seasonings and soups. Examples include (juice-like) foods, liquid health supplements, and oral medicines.

Oral liquid consumer or patient is not limited to a final use, and also include those made to the raw material.

  In the field of beverages and foods, for example, concentrated products are widely used in fruit juice juice, soup, noodle soup, soup stock, etc., in order to save space and cost required for distribution and storage. These concentrated beverages and foods are concentrated after the raw materials are manufactured, and as a concentration method, an evaporation method is generally adopted in which the water is removed by boiling, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Has been. However, in the evaporation method, there is a concern that the quality may change due to heat or the solid components may collapse.

  On the other hand, as means for extracting water from a solution, there is a membrane that allows water to permeate at a molecular level, and reverse osmosis membranes have been widely used for seawater desalination. Therefore, it is estimated that the concentration of beverages and foods can be achieved by using a reverse osmosis membrane without causing a change in tissue or a decrease in flavor.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-115899

  Reverse osmosis membranes have been put to practical use for seawater desalination, but since they need to be pressurized, clogging is likely to occur when used in beverages and foods that contain a large amount of solids, which is considered inappropriate for practical use. The In addition, since beverages and liquid foods are higher in concentration than seawater, it is necessary to increase the pressure for concentration, and there is a problem that the reverse osmosis membrane is easily broken. It can be said that reverse osmosis membranes have problems in practical use for concentration of beverages and liquid foods.

  On the other hand, there is a forward osmosis membrane that diffuses water from a low-concentration solution to a high-concentration solution as a membrane that permeates water using the difference in osmotic pressure, and this forward osmosis membrane does not require pressurization. Even a raw material liquid with a large amount of solids such as beverages and foods is expected to be able to achieve a concentration action (moisture diffusion) over a long period of time.

However, in the concentration method using the forward osmosis membrane, the water absorption liquid is diluted by the permeation / diffusion of moisture, and thus there is a restriction that the water absorption liquid must be maintained at a high concentration on one side of the forward osmosis membrane. There are also demands for improving efficiency and reducing costs.
Now, it is sufficient that the water absorption liquid has a higher osmotic pressure than the raw material liquid. Therefore, it is possible to use a safe solution such as saturated saline. However, it cannot be said that the molecules contained in the water absorption liquid will not leak into the raw material liquid passage chamber due to a slight defect in the forward osmosis membrane, and if sodium chloride is mixed into the raw material liquid, It cannot be said that there is no possibility of adversely affecting the flavor.

The present invention has been made in view of such a current situation, and intends to provide an improved apparatus and method for concentrating oral liquids such as beverages and foods using a forward osmosis membrane.

The present invention includes a concentrating device and a concentrating method, and the concentrating device is specified in claims 1 and 2 . Of these, the invention of claim 1
"A device for concentrating raw material liquids used by people orally,
A raw material liquid concentration part that absorbs moisture from the raw material liquid into the water absorption liquid, and a water absorption liquid concentration part that recovers the concentration of the water absorption liquid diluted in the raw material liquid concentration part,
The raw material liquid concentrating part has a structure in which a raw material liquid passage chamber and a water absorption liquid passage chamber are separated by a forward osmosis membrane, and the water absorption liquid uses an osmotic pressure higher than the osmotic pressure of the raw material liquid. In the configuration in which a part of the water of the raw material liquid is transmitted to the water absorption liquid passage chamber through the forward osmosis membrane,
As the water-absorbing liquid, a concentrated raw material liquid in which the raw material liquid itself is concentrated to make the osmotic pressure higher than that of the raw material liquid is used.
That's it.

請 Motomeko 2 of the invention resides in that in Claim 1, provided with a water circulation passage for returning the water solution concentration was recovered was diluted water solution is sent to the water absorbing liquid enriched portion in the raw material solution concentration unit, the water absorption A filter that collects solid matter is provided at least in a path through which the concentrated water-absorbing liquid flows in the liquid circulation path.

The invention of claim 3 is a method for concentrating a raw material liquid used orally by a person,
As the concentrating device, one having a raw material liquid concentrating part that absorbs moisture from the raw material liquid into the water absorbing liquid and a water absorbing liquid concentrating part that recovers the concentration of the water absorbing liquid diluted in the raw material liquid concentrating part is used. ,
The raw material liquid concentrating part has a structure in which a raw material liquid passage chamber and a water absorption liquid passage chamber are separated by a forward osmosis membrane, and the water absorption liquid uses an osmotic pressure higher than the osmotic pressure of the raw material liquid. In the configuration in which a part of the water of the raw material liquid is transmitted to the water absorption liquid passage chamber through the forward osmosis membrane,
As the water-absorbing liquid, a concentrated raw material liquid in which the raw material liquid itself is concentrated to have an osmotic pressure higher than that of the raw material liquid is used.

In each invention of the present application, even if the water absorbing liquid is diluted with water diffused from the raw material liquid ( oral liquid to be concentrated), the water absorbing liquid is sent to the water absorbing liquid concentrating portion and the concentration is recovered, and then the water absorbing liquid is passed into the water absorbing liquid passage chamber. Inflow (circulate). For this reason, a raw material liquid can be continuously concentrated by supplying a water absorption liquid continuously. Thereby, high working efficiency can be ensured.

There are many means for concentrating the water-absorbing liquid (concentration method). However, if a method of compressing with a heat pump under reduced pressure as in the embodiment is adopted, the energy used can be remarkably suppressed and the running cost can be reduced.

In the present invention, since the water-absorbing liquid is substantially the same component as the raw material liquid, even if a component contained in the water-absorbing liquid is mixed in the raw material liquid, it is possible to prevent adverse effects on the taste and flavor. .

When the raw material liquid discharged from the raw material liquid passage chamber is circulated again to the raw material liquid passage chamber as in the embodiment, the opportunity for the raw material liquid to contact the forward osmosis membrane is increased, and the raw material liquid is desired in one concentrating unit. There is an advantage that can be concentrated to a concentration of When a plurality of concentrating devices are arranged in series as in the sixth aspect, the raw material liquid can be efficiently concentrated to a high concentration.

In order to suppress clogging of the forward osmosis membrane, solid material should be avoided as much as possible in the water absorption liquid passage chamber. In this regard, if the configuration of claim 2 is adopted, solid matter can be collected in the filter through the water-absorbing liquid circulation path, so that the water-absorbing liquid is maintained in a smooth state to suppress clogging of the forward osmosis membrane. it can.

1A and 1B show a first embodiment, in which FIG. 4A is a block diagram (schematic diagram), and FIG. 4B and FIG. It is a block diagram of 2nd Embodiment which is a multistage concentration type. It is a block diagram of 3rd Embodiment which is another example of the flow of a water absorption liquid.

(1). Outline of First Embodiment and Raw Material Liquid Concentration Unit Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. First, the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The concentrating device includes a raw material liquid concentrating unit 1 that absorbs and concentrates water from a raw material liquid ( oral liquid to be concentrated), a water absorbing liquid concentrating unit 2 that maintains a water absorbing liquid used for concentration at a predetermined concentration, and a raw material liquid. First and second preheaters 3 and 4 are provided for raising the temperature of the water absorption liquid (hereinafter referred to as “diluted water absorption liquid”) returning from the concentration section 1 to the water absorption liquid concentration section 2.

  The water absorption liquid concentrating part 1 has a closed tank (or housing, casing) structure, and the inside is divided into a raw material liquid passage chamber 6 and a water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 by a forward osmosis membrane 5. Briefly, in the raw material liquid concentrating unit 1, due to the difference in osmotic pressure between the raw material liquid and the water absorption liquid, a part of the water in the raw material liquid permeates (diffuses) through the forward osmosis membrane 5 into the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7. Then, the concentration of the diluted water-absorbing liquid is recovered by the water-absorbing liquid concentrating unit 2 and is returned to the water-absorbing liquid passage chamber 7 as a water-absorbing liquid having a predetermined concentration. Moreover, the diluted water absorption liquid which goes to the water absorption liquid concentration part 2 from the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 is heated by the two preheaters 3 and 4.

  In this embodiment, the water-absorbing liquid concentrating unit 1 is of a vertically placed system, and the raw material liquid flows into the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 from the lower end and is discharged from the upper end. Accordingly, the raw material liquid supply pipe 8 is connected to the lower end portion of the raw material liquid passage chamber 6, and the raw material liquid discharge pipe 9 is connected to the upper end portion of the raw material liquid passage chamber 6.

  A raw material liquid feed pump 10 is interposed in an appropriate part of the raw material liquid supply pipe 8, and a part of the raw material liquid supply pipe 8 upstream of the raw material feed pump 10 and the raw material liquid discharge pipe 9 are connected to the raw material liquid circulation path 11. Connected by. A first valve 12 is provided in the raw material liquid supply pipe 8 on the upstream side of the connecting portion of the raw material liquid circulation path 11, and a second valve in the raw material liquid discharge pipe 9 is provided on the downstream side of the connecting portion of the raw material liquid circulation path 11. A valve 13 is provided, and a third valve 14 is provided in the raw material liquid circulation path 11. By adjusting the flow rate of these valves 12 to 14, a state in which the raw material liquid does not circulate at all in the raw material liquid passage chamber 6, a state in which a part of the raw material liquid circulates in the raw material liquid passage chamber 6, and the whole of the raw material liquid A state of circulating in the passage chamber 6 can be selected.

The water absorption liquid flows into the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 from the upper end portion and is discharged from the lower end portion. That is, the upper portion of the water liquid passage chamber 7 is formed by connecting the end of the water liquid inlet pipe 15 which constitutes the water circulation passage, the lower end of the water liquid passage chamber 7, also the water circulation passage water The start end of the liquid discharge pipe 16 is connected. Therefore, the flow direction of the raw material liquid and the flow direction of the water absorption liquid are reversed.

In addition, the raw material liquid concentration part 1 can also be arrange | positioned in the horizontal position in which a raw material liquid and a water absorption liquid flow in a substantially horizontal direction. Examples thereof are shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C. In (B), the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 is up and the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 is down. In (C), the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 is down and the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 is up. In any case, the flow directions of the raw material liquid and the water absorption liquid are opposite to each other.

  The cross-sectional shapes of the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 and the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 are not particularly limited. However, when the forward osmosis membrane 5 is a simple flat sheet, the contact efficiency with the forward osmosis membrane 5 is increased. Both are presumed to be flat. The raw material liquid concentrating unit 1 can be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane and the vertical plane.

(2). Water-absorbing liquid concentrating part of the first embodiment The water-absorbing liquid concentrating part 2 includes an evaporation can 19 and a condenser 20 as major elements, and the starting end of the water-absorbing liquid inflow pipe 15 is located at the bottom of the evaporation pipe 19. The end of the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16 is connected to the side of the evaporator 19.

  The condenser 20 includes a group of thin tubes having a horizontal posture or the like, and one end and the other end of the group of thin tubes open to the headers 21 and 22, respectively. A vapor inlet 23 is formed in the lower portion of one header 21, and a vacuum suction port 24 communicating with the inside of the evaporator 19 is formed in the upper portion of the other header 22.

  A vacuum pump 26 is connected to the vacuum suction port 24 via a vacuum line 25, the upper end of the evaporator 19 and the vapor inlet 23 are connected by a condensation line 27, and a heat pump 28 is connected to the condensation line 27. Is interposed. A condensed water discharge pipe 29 is connected to the lower end of the other header 22, and a drainage pump 30 is interposed in the condensed water discharge pipe 29. The vacuum pump 26 is an example of a vacuum source. As the vacuum source, for example, an ejector can be used.

  A circulation pump 31 is interposed in the middle of the water absorption liquid inflow pipe 15, and a filter 32 is provided upstream of the circulation pump 31. Further, the spray pipe 33 is branched from the upstream side of the first preheater 3 on the downstream side of the circulating pump 31 in the water absorption liquid inlet pipe 15, and the end of the spray pipe 33 is located at the upper end of the evaporator 19. This is connected to a sprayer (not shown). A drain pipe 34 is connected to the middle part of the water absorption liquid inlet pipe 15 downstream of the circulation pump 31 and upstream of the connecting part of the spray pipe 33, and the drain pipe 34 is provided with a fourth valve 35. The water absorption liquid inflow pipe 15 is provided with a fifth valve 36.

  The first preheater 3 and the second preheater 4 are heat exchangers, and for example, a method in which a large number of thin tubes or bent long thin tubes are incorporated in the case can be adopted (in the case of having a large number of thin tubes, the thin tubes Is connected to two headers). In this case, heat can be supplied to the case to transfer heat to the liquid in the narrow tube, or conversely, heat can be transferred to the liquid in the case by flowing the heat to the thin tube. Of course, a plate heat exchanger can also be used.

  Then, the heat dissipating part of the first preheater 3 is connected (inserted) to the midway part of the water absorption liquid supply pipe 15, and the heat dissipating part of the second preheater 4 is connected to the midway part of the condensed water discharge 29 (inserted). doing. The water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16 branches in the middle and then merges again. The first branch portion 16a is connected to the heat receiving portion of the first preheater 3, and the second branch portion 16b is connected to the second preheater 3. The heat receiving part is connected. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the first and second preheaters 3 and 4 are connected in parallel to the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16.

(3) Summary of First Embodiment A raw material liquid such as a beverage or liquid food is supplied from the raw material liquid supply pipe 8 through the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 by driving the raw material liquid feed pump 10. On the other hand, the same components as the raw material solution, the concentration (osmotic pressure) has high water absorption liquid than the raw material liquid is supplied to the water liquid passage chamber 7 of the raw material liquid enrichment section 1, the difference between the two liquid osmotic pressure, Part of the water contained in the raw material liquid passes through the forward osmosis membrane 5 and moves (diffuses) to the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7. Thereby, concentration of the raw material liquid is performed.

  The concentration ratio of the raw material liquid varies depending on the degree of difference in osmotic pressure between the two liquids, the degree of contact between the two liquids on the forward osmosis membrane 5, and the like. Naturally, the greater the difference in osmotic pressure, the higher the concentration rate. Further, the concentration rate is increased by increasing the contact amount of the raw material liquid with respect to the forward osmosis membrane 5. Therefore, the concentration rate increases as the flow rate of the raw material liquid decreases. The ratio between the amount of the raw material liquid flowing per unit time and the amount of the water absorption liquid can be individually set (adjusted / changed) according to the difference in osmotic pressure, the difference in the target concentration rate, and the like. Thus, controlling the flow rates of the raw material liquid and / or the water absorption liquid according to various conditions can be established as an invention independent of the concentration method and the presence or absence of preheating.

  Even if the osmotic pressures of the raw material liquid and the water absorption liquid are greatly different, only a part of the raw material liquid flowing through the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 may contact the forward osmosis membrane 5. This can be dealt with by slowing down the flow rate of the raw material liquid. However, if the flow rate is lowered, the concentrated raw material liquid stays near the forward osmosis membrane 5 and the concentration does not proceed easily. There is also a possibility.

  In this regard, when the first to third valves 12 to 14 are operated to circulate a part or all of the raw material liquid, the raw material liquid is stirred by the flow and the forward osmosis membrane is maintained while maintaining the concentration as uniform as possible. 5 is repeatedly contacted, it can be said that concentration (moisture diffusion) can be performed efficiently. Moreover, it can be said that it can prevent or remarkably suppress that a solid substance adheres to the forward osmosis membrane 5.

  Since the forward osmosis membrane 5 allows moisture to permeate due to the difference in osmotic pressure, it is basically unnecessary to pressurize the raw material liquid, but the raw material is obtained by concentrating the water absorption liquid under reduced pressure. When a pressure difference is generated between the liquid passage chamber 6 and the water absorption liquid passage chamber 8, the resulting state may be the same as when the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 is pressurized, but such a state is naturally allowed. The present invention does not exclude positively pressurizing the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 within a range in which the strength of the forward osmosis membrane 5 can be maintained.

  Since water is transferred from the raw material liquid to the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7, the water absorption liquid that has passed through the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 is a diluted treatment liquid having a reduced concentration (osmotic pressure). This diluted processing liquid is sent from the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16 to the evaporator 19 and mixed with the concentrated water absorption liquid accumulated in the evaporator 19. The concentrated water-absorbing liquid accumulated in the evaporation pipe 19 is excessively concentrated, and is set so that a water-absorbing liquid having a target concentration can be obtained by mixing this with the dilution treatment liquid.

  For example, by setting the amount of the overconcentrated water absorption liquid stored in the evaporator 19 to be considerably larger than the amount of the diluted processing liquid supplied from the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16, a stable concentration can be obtained. A water-absorbing liquid can be obtained.

  A part of the water absorption liquid taken out from the evaporator 19 to the water absorption liquid inflow pipe 15 is guided to the upper side of the condenser 20 by the spray pipe 33 and sprayed on the narrow pipe of the condenser 20 in a shower shape. At this time, since the inside of the evaporator 19 is heated and depressurized, the water contained in the water absorption liquid is efficiently evaporated at a temperature lower than 100 ° C.

  Then, the vapor is guided to the heat pump 28 from the upper part of the evaporator 19 and compressed and heated (heated up several degrees), and flows into the thin tube group of the condenser 20 from the vapor inlet 23. The steam flowing into the narrow tube group evaporates water droplets adhering to the surface of the thin tube group to generate steam introduced into the heat pump 28, and condenses into water droplets by the release of heat, resulting in a condensed water discharge pipe 29. Is discharged from the system.

  The diluted processing liquid discharged from the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 is returned to the evaporator 19. However, in order to promote evaporation inside the evaporator 19 and increase the concentration efficiency (suppress running cost), the evaporator 19 It is preferable that the temperature flowing into the chamber is as high as possible.

  In this case, since the temperature of the raw material liquid is generally about room temperature and lower than the temperature of the water absorption liquid, heat transfer to the raw material liquid through the forward osmosis membrane 5 is performed in the process of the water absorption liquid passing through the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7. The temperature of the diluted treatment liquid is lower than that of the concentrated water absorption liquid. Further, when the water absorption liquid supply pipe 15 and the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16 are exposed to the atmosphere, heat is also radiated through these pipe lines.

  Therefore, when the water absorption liquid circulates between the water absorption liquid passage chamber 7 and the evaporator 19, there is a heat dissipation phenomenon from the water absorption liquid, and a loss occurs in the heat energy used in the apparatus. 1 The preheater 3 can exchange heat from the concentrated water absorption liquid to the diluted processing liquid and heat (heat up) the diluted processing liquid refluxed to the evaporator 19, thereby suppressing energy loss.

  Furthermore, since condensed water is a droplet of steam that is maintained at a considerably high temperature, the diluted treatment liquid that is returned to the evaporator 19 can be added by transferring the heat of the condensed water to the water absorption liquid. Can warm. By these two heating actions, heat loss can be suppressed as a whole apparatus, and running cost can be suppressed. The water absorption liquid supply pipe 15, the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16, and the condensed water discharge pipe 29 are preferably provided with a heat insulating structure in order to suppress heat radiation.

  Moreover, since the concentrated water-absorbing liquid can be lowered to a temperature slightly higher than room temperature by heat exchange, for example, even if the raw material liquid is easily affected by heat, the raw material liquid absorbs water in the concentration unit 1. It is possible to prevent or remarkably prevent the quality from being changed by being heated by the liquid. Moreover, it becomes possible to contribute to speeding up the packaging process by eliminating the cooling process of the concentrated raw material liquid.

  In the embodiment, the two preheaters 3 and 4 are provided. However, by providing a plurality of heat dissipating units in one preheater, it is also possible to heat the dilution processing liquid with one preheater. In this case, of course, it is not necessary to branch the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16. Alternatively, the first preheater 3 and the second preheater 4 may be arranged in series so that the diluted processing liquid flows into the two preheaters 3 and 4 in order. In this case, it is preferable to arrange two preheaters 3 and 4 on the upstream side with a low heat radiation temperature.

  When the filter 32 is provided in the water absorption liquid supply pipe 15 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the solid matter from adhering to the forward osmosis membrane 5 and contribute to maintaining the concentration efficiency. Further, it can contribute to maintaining the cleanliness of the pipelines such as the evaporator 19 and the pipes (suppressing the scale). The filter 32 can be provided in the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 16 instead of or in addition to the water absorption liquid supply pipe 15.

  It can be said that the concentration of the raw material liquid in the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 is higher on the outlet side than on the inlet side because the water content decreases while flowing through the raw material liquid passage chamber 6. On the other hand, since the water absorption liquid is thinned by receiving moisture from the raw material liquid, the concentration is high on the inlet side and low on the outlet side. For this reason, if the flow directions of the raw material liquid and the water absorption liquid are the same, the moisture permeability (diffusion) decreases in the flow direction.

  In this regard, as in this embodiment, when the flow direction of the raw material liquid and the flow direction of the water absorption liquid are reversed, the concentration difference between the raw material liquid and the water absorption liquid can be made uniform in each part of the forward osmosis membrane 5. For this reason, it can be said that the entire forward osmosis membrane 5 can be fully utilized to improve the concentration efficiency, and the durability of the forward osmosis membrane 5 can also be improved.

(4). Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described. In the second embodiment, the same elements as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1, and the description thereof is omitted unless particularly necessary (the third embodiment is also the same). ).

  In this 2nd Embodiment, the 1st-3rd raw material liquid concentration part 1a, 1b, 1c is arrange | positioned in series, the exit of the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 and the 2nd raw material liquid in the 1st raw material liquid concentration part 1a The inlet of the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 in the concentration unit 1b is connected by the first intermediate supply pipe 44, and the outlet of the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 in the second raw material liquid concentration unit 1b and the raw material liquid in the third raw material liquid concentration unit 1c. The inlet of the passage chamber 6 is connected by a second intermediate supply pipe 45. Accordingly, the raw material liquid sequentially flows into the raw material liquid passage chamber 6 of the first to third raw material liquid concentrating portions 1a, 1b, and 1c.

  Since each raw material liquid concentrating part 1a, 1b, 1c is concentrated, the concentration of the water absorbing liquid by the water absorbing liquid concentrating part 2 is set to a high concentration corresponding to the third raw material liquid concentrating part 1c. Also in this embodiment, the first and second preheaters 3 and 4 are used. Only one water-absorbing liquid concentrating unit 2 is installed.

  Then, the water absorption liquid supply path 15, the first water absorption liquid branch supply path 46 for supplying the concentrated water absorption liquid to the water absorption liquid passage chamber 6 of the first raw material liquid concentration section 1 a, and the water absorption of the second raw material liquid concentration section 1 b. A second water absorption liquid branch supply passage 47 for supplying the concentrated water absorption liquid to the liquid passage chamber 6, and a third water absorption liquid branch for supplying the concentrated water absorption liquid to the water absorption liquid passage chamber 6 of the third raw material liquid concentration unit 1c. It branches off to the supply path 47. On the other hand, the water absorption liquid discharge pipe 15 also includes a first water absorption liquid discharge pipe 49 connected to the first raw material liquid concentration part 1a, a second water absorption liquid discharge pipe 50 connected to the second raw material liquid concentration part 1b, and a third raw material. It branches to the 3rd water absorption liquid discharge pipe 50 connected to the liquid concentrating part 1c, these are gathered together and reach the preheaters 3 and 4.

  The first stirring chamber 52 provided in the middle part of the first branch supply path 46 and the second water absorption liquid discharge pipe 50 are connected by the first auxiliary pipe 53, and the first stirring chamber 52 provided in the middle part of the second branch supply path 47. The second stirring chamber 54 and the third water absorption liquid discharge pipe 51 are connected by a second auxiliary pipe 55. Both auxiliary pipes 53 and 55 are provided with flow control valves 56 and 57.

  In this embodiment, the first water absorption liquid branch supply path 46 is supplied with the diluted processing liquid from the second water absorption liquid discharge pipe 50 to reduce the concentration of the water absorption liquid, and the second water absorption liquid branch supply path 47 has the third water absorption. The diluted treatment liquid is supplied from the liquid discharge pipe 51 to reduce the concentration of the water absorption liquid, but the concentration of the dilution treatment liquid in the third water absorption liquid discharge pipe 51 is higher than the concentration of the dilution treatment liquid in the second water absorption liquid discharge pipe 50. Therefore, the concentration (osmotic pressure) of the water-absorbing liquid flowing in the water-absorbing-liquid passage chamber 7 of each of the raw material liquid concentrating parts 1a to 1c is determined as follows: first raw material liquid concentrating part 1a The relationship is 1c. For this reason, a raw material liquid can be concentrated in steps.

  In the present embodiment, the raw material liquid concentrating units 1a to 1c are horizontally placed so that the raw material liquid concentrating unit 1 flows in a substantially horizontal direction. As a modified example (or similar example) of the present embodiment, the auxiliary pipes 53 and 55 are not used, and at least the first water absorption liquid branch supply path 46 and the second water absorption liquid branch supply path 46 are flow rate control valves. And by controlling these valves, the amount of the water-absorbing liquid flowing through each of the water-absorbing liquid branch supply paths 46, 47, 48 is set to the first water-absorbing liquid branch supply path 46 <the second water-absorbing liquid branch supply path 47 <. It is possible to set the relationship to the third water absorption liquid branch supply path 48.

  In this case, even if the concentration of the water absorption liquid flowing through each raw material liquid concentrating unit 1 is constant, the concentration of the raw material liquid can be increased stepwise due to the difference in the ratio of the flow rate to the raw material liquid.

  When the raw material liquid concentrating unit 1 is arranged in a plurality of stages, the number of stages is not limited to three, but may be two or four or more. Moreover, when the raw material liquid concentration part 1 is arrange | positioned in multiple stages, it is also possible to install two or more water absorption liquid concentration parts 2. FIG. In the case where a plurality of water-absorbing liquid concentrating units 2 are arranged, the same number of water-absorbing liquid concentrating units 2 as the number of stages of the raw material liquid concentrating units 1 are arranged, and the water absorbing liquid having a concentration corresponding to each raw material liquid concentrating unit 1 It may be manufactured by the concentration unit 2, or one water absorption liquid concentration unit 2 may correspond to a plurality of raw material liquid concentration units 1. The number of preheaters can also be set arbitrarily.

(5) Third Embodiment A third embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is a modification of the first embodiment. In the third embodiment, the entire amount of the water absorption liquid taken out from the evaporation pipe 19 is supplied to the raw material liquid concentrating unit 1, and the diluted processing liquid that has passed through the preheaters 3 and 4 is dispersed in the condenser 3. In this embodiment as well, the water-absorbing liquid is concentrated as in the first embodiment.

(6). Others The present invention can be embodied in various ways other than the above embodiment. For example, the forward osmosis membrane may be of various structures such as a flat membrane or a hollow fiber. In addition, it is not always necessary to use an evaporation / condensation method as a method for concentrating the water absorption liquid. For example, a reverse osmosis membrane can also be used .

  The forward osmosis membrane can also hold its posture by a support such as a wire mesh. It is also possible to form the raw material liquid passage chamber, the forward osmosis membrane, and the water absorption liquid passage chamber in a spiral shape when viewed from the liquid flow direction. In this case, the raw material liquid and the water absorption liquid are per unit volume. Since the amount of contact with the forward osmosis membrane can be increased, there is an advantage that the space can be effectively used.

  The present invention can be embodied in the concentration of beverages and liquid foods. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1a-1c Raw material liquid concentration part 2 Water absorption liquid concentration part 3 1st preheater 4 2nd preheater 5 Forward osmosis membrane 6 Raw material liquid passage chamber 7 Water absorption liquid passage chamber 8 Raw material liquid supply pipe 9 Raw material liquid discharge pipe 11 Raw material Liquid circulation path 15 Water absorption liquid inflow pipe constituting the water absorption liquid circulation path 16 Water absorption liquid discharge pipe constituting the water absorption liquid circulation path 19 Evaporator 20 Condenser 26 Vacuum pump 27 Condensation pipe 28 Heat pump 29 Condensate discharge pipe 31 Circulation pump 32 filter 33 spray tube

Claims (3)

A device for concentrating raw material liquids used by humans,
A raw material liquid concentration part that absorbs moisture from the raw material liquid into the water absorption liquid, and a water absorption liquid concentration part that recovers the concentration of the water absorption liquid diluted in the raw material liquid concentration part,
The raw material liquid concentrating part has a structure in which a raw material liquid passage chamber and a water absorption liquid passage chamber are separated by a forward osmosis membrane, and the water absorption liquid uses an osmotic pressure higher than the osmotic pressure of the raw material liquid. In the configuration in which a part of the water of the raw material liquid is transmitted to the water absorption liquid passage chamber through the forward osmosis membrane,
As the water-absorbing liquid, a concentrated raw material liquid in which the raw material liquid itself is concentrated to make the osmotic pressure higher than that of the raw material liquid is used.
Oral liquid concentrator. A path through which the diluted water-absorbing liquid is sent to the water-absorbing liquid concentrating section and the water-absorbing liquid whose concentration is restored is returned to the raw material liquid concentrating section, and at least the concentrated water-absorbing liquid flows through the water-absorbing liquid circulating path In addition, a filter that collects solid matter is provided,
The apparatus for concentrating an oral liquid according to claim 1. A method for concentrating a raw material liquid that is used orally by humans,
As the concentrating device, one having a raw material liquid concentrating part that absorbs moisture from the raw material liquid into the water absorbing liquid and a water absorbing liquid concentrating part that recovers the concentration of the water absorbing liquid diluted in the raw material liquid concentrating part is used. ,
The raw material liquid concentrating part has a structure in which a raw material liquid passage chamber and a water absorption liquid passage chamber are separated by a forward osmosis membrane, and the water absorption liquid uses an osmotic pressure higher than the osmotic pressure of the raw material liquid. In the configuration in which a part of the water of the raw material liquid is transmitted to the water absorption liquid passage chamber through the forward osmosis membrane,
As the water-absorbing liquid, a concentrated raw material liquid in which the raw material liquid itself is concentrated to make the osmotic pressure higher than that of the raw material liquid is used,
Method for concentrating oral liquid.

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