JPH04360801A - Preservation of natural ecology of petal and method for coloring petal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To permanently maintain their intrinsic color, gloss and elasticity of flower petals, prepare flower petals of desired colors and keeps these flower petals as they are in the nature. CONSTITUTION: Fresh flower petals are rapidly frozen down to about -20 deg.C. They are dehydrated by vacuum-distillation under a reduced pressure of about 0.1-0.15mmHg as the water content in these petals is kept at a proper level, preferably 6-10%. Then, the petals are allowed to stand upright in a penetration solution under a reduced pressure of about 1.5-2mmHg to penetrate the solution into the cells of the petals. Simultaneously the solvent in the penetration solution is evaporated off to fill the cells with the penetration solution to restore the petals to their intrinsic colors, shapes, elasticity. In the penetration solution, polyethylene glycol, glycerol, glycol are mainly used as a solute and ethanol or isopropyl alcohol are used as a solvent and the pH of the penetration solution is adjusted depending on the pH value of the petals themselves and the pH value is more firmly fixed by using a suitable buffer solution. The addition of a suitable colorant to the penetration solution affords enhancement of color duration and change of the color of the petals to a desired one.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for preserving flower petals in their natural state.

0002

[Background Art] Ever since the dawn of civilization, humankind has dreamed of preserving beautiful flowers and flowers in their true original state, and of obtaining something that will never wither. Of course, this dream cannot be realized overnight, and even after thousands of years of effort, it still remains unfulfilled.

[0003] Currently, dried flowers have been invented and efforts are being made to achieve the goal of ``truth'' and ``persistence,'' but since dried flowers are dehydrated, the petals themselves lose their color and luster. Instead, the petals shrink, become brittle, and easily fall off. At the same time, it also has drawbacks such as dryness and humidity.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of dried flowers, the inventor devised a method for producing "Eternal Leaf" and obtained the rights of Republic of China Patent No. 1973.

[0005] However, the method for producing "eternal leaves" of the present invention is effective only for the eternal life of the leaves, and is not effective for the eternal life of the petals. Therefore, through further research and development, the present inventor invented the natural ecological preservation of flower petals and the coloring method of the present invention. This allows the petals to maintain their original elasticity as well as their color and luster, making them "true" and not deformed even if they become too dry or too wet.
It provides a method for obtaining "permanent" petals.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The method of preserving the natural ecology of petals and coloring them according to the present invention is as follows: First, freshly collected petals are quickly frozen by placing them in a place at about -20°C, and the moisture in the petals is removed. penetrates into the cells and forms a film of ice on the petal surface. Furthermore, approximately 0.1 to 0.15 in a closed room
A vacuum of mmHg is applied to turn the surface of the petal into solid ice, and by sublimation, the solid ice is directly evaporated to the substrate, thereby maintaining an appropriate moisture content and dehydrating the water within the petal. After that, the pressure is further reduced to about 1.5 to 2 mmHg, and the penetration liquid is penetrated with oil and colored. The pH value is adjusted by the acidity and alkalinity (pH value) of the petal itself, and the dehydrated petal is placed upright in the penetrating oil.

[0007]

[Operation] By placing the dehydrated petals in the penetrating oil solution under a vacuum of 2 mmHg, the penetrating fats and oils rapidly penetrate upward into the petals. Because the solvent has a very low boiling point, it evaporates quickly, leaving the solute in place of the dehydrated water within the petal cells, allowing it to return to its original shape. Since this oil is difficult to volatilize and is highly flexible, it permanently maintains the properly colored petals with their original luster and elasticity.

[0008]

[Example] The basic principle of the natural ecological preservation of petals and the coloring method of the present invention is that the water that evaporates over time inside the petals, which causes petals to wither, is replaced with non-volatile oil and fat. The goal is to avoid faltering.

[0009] Since the water in the petals is not dehydrated, rapid freezing and dehydration must be applied. After quick freezing and dehydration,
The petals continue to maintain their original shape, simply because the enzymes are less likely to be destroyed. In other words, simply shrinking into water does not change its physical properties. This is done to avoid the petals from wilting and the enzymes being destroyed, which would occur if the flowers were dehydrated at room or high temperatures.

[0010] The natural ecological preservation of petals and the coloring method according to the embodiments of the present invention are as follows: A. Fresh petals −→ B. Rapid freezing (-20℃)
−→C. Dehydration (reduced pressure, 0.1-0.15 mmH
g) - -→D. Osmosis (vacuum, 1.5-2mmH
g) −→E. Solvent volatilization -→ F. This is done during the finished product process.

Step A: Fresh petals are most preferably processed within 5 minutes after collection. The shorter the time elapsed after collection, the better, as various enzymes in the petals, especially oxidative enzymes, are likely to be activated, which destabilizes the pigment and destroys the cell tissue, making it easier for the petals to fall off.

Step B: Rapid freezing at -20°C. Most of the normal reactions within all biological cells, such as redox decomposition and synthesis, are controlled by enzymes to maintain metabolism. This enzyme itself is a protein, and its physical and chemical properties are similar to those of proteins, and it is very sensitive to light, heat, acid, and alkali, and if it is slight, it will denature, and if it is severe, it will be destroyed. Since they are very sensitive to temperature, it is necessary to process them at low temperatures to prevent the enzymes from causing a series of actions before dehydrating the petals, and for that purpose, rapid freezing and dehydration are used. is necessary.

Step C: The pressure is reduced to 0.1 to 0.15 mmHg, and the water content in the petals is adjusted to 6 to 10%. Rapid freezing freezes the water in the petals. The ice crystals formed by placing these petals in a vacuum chamber are extracted using a vacuum extraction method (
0.1 to 0.15 mmHg) and is removed by direct sublimation into gas. At this time, if the water content of the petals is less than 6%, the cell tissue will shrink excessively and stick together, making subsequent penetration difficult. On the other hand, if the water content of the petals is more than 10%, the surface of the petals will decline. Therefore, dehydration means that the water content of the petals is 6 to 6.
It is necessary to adjust the amount using an infrared water meter or the like so that it is 10%.

Step D: Place the base of the petal that has been rapidly frozen and dehydrated in a previously prepared penetrating solution, and then
Vacuum the pressure to mmHg and allow the permeate to rapidly penetrate into the petal cells. The penetrating liquid uses a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol at a ratio of 1:4 as a solvent.
Polyethylene glycol, glycerin, glycol 3
: Add an appropriate amount of benzoic acid as a preservative to a 3-6% solution with a 1:1 ratio mixture as the solute, and add an appropriate amount of coloring agent such as basic dye, acid dye, oil dye, etc. The pH value is adjusted according to the acidity and alkalinity (pH value) of the petals themselves.

Step E: When the cell is filled with the permeate, the solvent is rapidly volatilized and removed due to the extremely low boiling point of the solvent and the reduced pressure, leaving only the solute in the cell. Thus, osmosis ends when the cell water is substantially filled with solute.

[0016] Here, it should be noted that the coloring agent not only enhances the durability of the pigment inherent in the petals, but also allows the color of the petals to be changed to a desired color by various color mixing.

[0017]

According to the present invention, by treating the petals as described above, not only can the original color, luster, and elasticity of the petals be permanently maintained, but also by appropriately mixing the coloring agent into the penetrating liquid. , it is possible to create petals of any desired color.

In addition, by performing rapid freezing and dehydration, permeation of the permeate under reduced pressure, and volatilization of the solvent, the petal can be processed without changing its physical and chemical properties, so the original color, luster, and elasticity of the petal can be preserved. It is something that can be maintained more reliably and permanently.

Claims (4)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Freshly collected petals are heated to below zero 2.
The petals are placed at a temperature of about 0°C and quickly frozen, and the water in the petals penetrates into the cells to form an ice film on the petal surface.The petals are then vacuum-depressurized to about 0.1 to 0.15 mmHg in a sealed room. , the surface of the petal is turned into solid ice, and the water inside the petal is dehydrated by maintaining an appropriate water content by directly volatilizing the solid ice to the substrate by sublimation, and then about 1.5
It consists of reducing the pressure to ~2 mmHg, penetrating oil and applying color, and the penetrating liquid mainly uses polyethylene glycol, glycerin, and glycol as solutes, and uses ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol as solvents to adjust the acidity and alkalinity of the petals themselves. A method for preserving the natural ecology of flower petals and coloring them, which is characterized by adjusting the pH value (pH value) and standing the dehydrated petals upright in permeated oil. [Claim 2] Claim 1, characterized in that an appropriate amount of a coloring agent is added to the oil substance to enhance the durability of the pigment, and the color of the petal after penetration is changed by using a colorant formulation of various colors. The natural ecological preservation of flower petals and their coloring methods. [Claim 3] Claim 1, characterized in that an appropriate amount of a moderating agent is added during oil and fat penetration to strengthen pH value fixation.
The natural ecological preservation of flower petals and their coloring methods. 4. The method for preserving the natural ecology of petals and coloring them according to claim 1, wherein the petals maintain a water content of 6 to 10% after dehydration.