JPH06225707A - Device for continuously treating liquid under high pressure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable stable pressure reduction and discharge of a highpressure fluid by a compact and inexpensive device for continuously treating a liquid under high pressure by adopting a pressure reducing device of simple structure. CONSTITUTION:A device for continuously treating a liquid such as drink under high pressure consists of a pressure pump 25 connected to an inlet side of a pressure chamber 23 in a high-pressure container barrel 20 and an orifice nozzle linked to an outlet side of the pressure chamber. The pressure chamber 23 is pressurized by supply of a liquid by the pressure pump 25 and the liquid is treated under pressure for a given time. When a high-pressure sluice valve 3 is opened, the pressurized liquid is properly decompressed by the orifice nozzle 1 and discharged. The amount of the pressure pump 25 delivered is increased and reduced in order to maintain pressure moderately by detecting pressure in the pressure chamber 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high-pressure liquid continuous treatment apparatus for sterilizing or changing the physical properties of a liquid food such as natural fruit juice or milk or a liquid such as a liquid medicine under high pressure.

[0002]

Background Art Conventionally, beverages such as natural fruit juice have been sterilized by heat treatment, but there are many unfavorable aspects such as deterioration of flavor due to heating, loss of nutrients or generation of heating odor,
Development of new sterilization technology was desired. On the other hand, in recent years, by high-pressure treatment of food under a high hydrostatic pressure of several thousand atmospheric pressure, it was found that sterilization or useful physical property changes occur,
Practical research is being actively conducted as a food processing method instead of heating.

FIG. 4 shows an outline of a conventional high-pressure processing apparatus for liquid foods (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-11697). In FIG. 4, the pressurizing chamber 23 in the high-pressure container barrel 20 is a lower lid 2
1. The upper lid 22 and the yoke frame 24 that supports the axial force at the time of pressurization. A pressure pump 25 that continuously pressurizes and injects the liquid processing object and a decompression pump 26 that depressurizes and discharges the high pressure processing object are provided outside the high pressure container. Also, hydraulic units 27 and 28 attached to each pump
Slides the pistons 29 and 30 left and right in the hydraulic cylinders 31 and 32 by an attached switching valve operation control. On each side of each pump, hydraulic cylinders 31, 3
Cylinders 33a, 33b, 34a, 34 separated from 2
pistons 35a, 35b, 36a, 36b which have b and are coaxially connected to the hydraulic pistons 29, 30 are provided. In addition, valve mechanisms 37a, 3 that control the inflow and outflow of the processing liquid at both ends of each pump.
7b, 38a, 38b are provided. Valve mechanism 37a, 37
The groups b, 38a, 38b are composed of check valves 37a, 37b and automatic valves (automatic opening / closing valves) 38a, 38b, and operate according to the setting of the control device 50. The control device 50 has a built-in detection and control mechanism such as a pressure sensor 51 for detecting the internal pressure of the high-pressure container, an object flow rate sensor 52, and hydraulic switching valve operation units 53, 54 for controlling the operation of the hydraulic pistons 29, 30. The internal pressure of the high-pressure container is maintained, and a constant flow rate injection and pressurization operation of the object to be processed are controlled. Further, a raw material supply pump 60, a supply tank 61 and the like are provided as auxiliary machines.

The continuous processing steps in this conventional high-pressure processing apparatus will be described below. When the raw material supply pump 60 and the hydraulic unit 27 for the pressurizing pump 25 are operated, the piston 29 reciprocates left and right, and for example, when the piston 29 slides to the right side, the raw material is placed in the left side raw material cylinder 33a and the raw material is checked in the check valve 3a.
It is sucked through 7a. At the same time, the raw material of the cylinder 33b is supplied into the high pressure vessel pressurizing chamber 23 through the check valve 37b and in the flow direction of the arrow through the connecting pipe 41. When the inside of the pressurizing chamber 23 is filled, pressurization starts next. Next, when the pressure chamber 23 reaches the high pressure value set in the control device 50,
The decompression pump 26 operates. Further, when the high-pressure treatment liquid flows into the cylinder portion 34a through the automatic valve 38b, for example,
High pressure is applied to the piston 36a, and the piston 36a is rapidly moved to the right side, so that the inside of the high-pressure container chamber 23 is rapidly depressurized. Therefore, in order to prevent this, when a back pressure is hydraulically applied to the right cylinder of the piston 30, the piston 30 gradually slides to the right so as to suppress the fluctuation of the pressure in the high-pressure container.

When the piston moves to a position where a certain proportion of the cylinder volume required as an expansion allowance when the high-pressure liquid is depressurized to atmospheric pressure, the left-side automatic valve 38b closes, and at the same time the hydraulic pressure applying back pressure is released. As a result, the piston slides to the right end as it is, and the internal pressure of the cylinder is reduced to near atmospheric pressure. At this point, the right-side automatic valve 38b opens, and when the high-pressure processing liquid flows in, the hydraulic pressure is switched to the left cylinder section to apply back pressure, and at the same time, the left automatic valve 38a opens.
The high-pressure processing liquid is discharged as the piston 36a slides to the left, and this is repeated. Further, the raw material pump 60 is continuously driven, and the pressurizing pump hydraulic unit and the hydraulic pressure switching operation unit 53 are operated according to the set value of the flow rate sensor 52, so that a constant flow rate is continuously supplied into the high-pressure container. By the above operation, the liquid to be treated flows in the pressurizing chamber 23 from the bottom to the top in FIG. 4 under high pressure and is kept under high pressure for a certain period of time, during which sterilization or physical property change is performed. By controlling the injection amount of the pressurizing pump and the discharge amount of the depressurizing pump to be the same, the inside of the pressurizing chamber 23 is maintained at a constant pressure.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the conventional high-pressure processing apparatus as described above, a back pressure is applied to avoid a sudden pressure reduction, and a hydraulic pressure switching operation unit and a control mechanism for obtaining the pressure reduction, and further, an automatic pressure change operation unit. An on-off valve is required, and the decompression pump becomes larger and the proportion of the installation area of the equipment becomes larger. Therefore, the equipment price becomes high, the operation control of the decompression pump tends to be complicated, and it is difficult to secure the operation stability. The present invention is intended to solve the problem of the decompression pump in such a conventional high-pressure processing apparatus, and intends to provide a compact and inexpensive high-pressure liquid continuous processing apparatus by adopting a decompression apparatus having a simple structure. It is a thing.

[0007]

For this reason, the present invention provides a high-pressure processing apparatus for high-pressure processing of liquid foods such as beverages, in which the liquid to be processed flows from the supply port, flows through the inside under high pressure, and then separates. It consists of a high-pressure container discharged from the discharge port, a pressure pump connected to the inlet side of the container, and an orifice nozzle connected to the outlet side of the container. The liquid is pressurized and supplied into the high-pressure container, and the liquid to be treated is continuously depressurized and discharged from the high-pressure container through the orifice nozzle. This is a means for solving the problem. It is a thing. Further, the present invention is such that the supply amount from the pressurizing pump is increased or decreased according to the pressure in the high-pressure container, and further, a catcher for receiving the jet flow is provided at the outlet of the orifice nozzle, and the catcher and The exhaust pipe from the catcher is provided with a cooling device, which serves as a means for solving the problem.

[0008]

The present invention utilizes the depressurizing action of the orifice. If the viscosity and pressure of the fluid are constant, the jet flow rate is determined depending on the hole diameter of the orifice. The diameter of the orifice nozzle is selected in accordance with the discharge amount), and the pressure in the high-pressure processing liquid passes through the orifice nozzle. Decompress and discharge. Further, when the viscosity of the fluid changes due to the temperature change and the ejection flow rate of the orifice changes, it is possible to maintain stable pressure by changing the discharge rate of the pressure pump according to the pressure change in the pressure chamber. . Further, by providing a cooling device on the outlet side of the orifice nozzle, the temperature rise of the liquid to be treated due to the collision of the high-speed jet after passing the orifice is suppressed, and the adverse effect on the quality is minimized. By combining the depressurizing action of the orifice and the control of the pressurizing pump in this manner, the liquid can be continuously processed at a high pressure while always maintaining the optimum flow rate and pressure.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments of the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the high-pressure liquid continuous processing apparatus of the present invention. The pressurizing chamber 23 in which the liquid to be treated flows and is maintained under high pressure for a predetermined time includes a high-pressure container barrel 20, a lower lid 21, and an upper lid 22.
Is formed by. The lower lid 21 and the upper lid 22 are supported by the yoke frame 24 and support the axial force generated by the internal pressure. A pressurizing pump 25 is provided in the upstream of the connecting pipe 41, which is a supply pipe connected to the lower lid 21, and the pressurizing pump 25 includes a hydraulic cylinder 31, high-pressure cylinders 33a and 33b.
The high pressure pistons 35a and 35b are coaxially connected to the hydraulic piston 29 in the hydraulic cylinder 31. The hydraulic piston 29 reciprocates left and right by the hydraulic oil of the hydraulic unit 27. The high-pressure check valves 37a and 37b are connected to the high-pressure cylinders 33a and 33b, and the liquid to be treated is supplied from the supply tank 61 to the pressurizing pump 25 through the supply pump 60 and the check valve 37a.

On the other hand, a pressure sensor 51 is connected to the connecting pipe 42 connected to the upper lid 22 of the high pressure container, and a high pressure sluice valve 3 and an orifice nozzle 1 are further connected to the downstream side.
A discharge pipe 4 is connected to the outlet of the orifice nozzle 1 via a catcher 2. The catcher 2 is, for example, a cylindrical pipe having one end sealed, and the discharge pipe 4 is connected to a side surface of the cylindrical pipe. It The operation of the device is controlled by the control device 50. FIG. 3 shows a detailed structure of the orifice nozzle 1. The orifice 14 fitted in the orifice holder 13 is made of a hard material such as diamond or sapphire, and has a central portion of 0.1-1.
A small hole of about 0 mm is processed. The orifice holder 13 is fixed to the body 11 by an orifice retainer 12, and an O-ring 15 is incorporated between the body 11 and the orifice 14 so that the fluid does not escape to the outside. On the body 11 side, the connecting pipe 42 has a collar 1
7, the gland nut 18 is connected, and the orifice presser 12 is connected to the catcher 2.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be explained.
It is supplied to the pressurizing pump 25 from 1 by the supply pump 60. Next, the hydraulic unit 27 is operated to operate the piston 29.
Reciprocate left and right, for example, to the right side of the high pressure piston 35a
When is moved, the liquid to be treated is sucked into the high-pressure cylinder 33a through the check valve 37a. Cylinder 33 at the same time
The liquid to be treated in b is supplied to the pressurizing chamber 23 through the check valve 37b and the connecting pipe 41. The high-pressure sluice valve 3 is initially closed, and the pressure in the pressurizing chamber 23 rises.
When the pressure reaches a predetermined value, the hydraulic unit 27 is temporarily stopped to stop the supply from the pressurizing pump 25, and the liquid to be treated in the pressurizing chamber 23 is kept under high pressure for a predetermined time. When the predetermined time has elapsed, the hydraulic unit 27 is activated again and the pressurizing pump 25
Is operated to pressurize and supply the liquid to be treated, and at the same time, the high-pressure sluice valve 3 is opened to discharge the liquid to be treated in the pressurizing chamber 23 through the orifice nozzle 1. The hole processed in the orifice 1 has a small diameter, and a large pressure loss occurs when the fluid passes through. Therefore, if the orifice hole diameter is selected so that the differential pressure for ejecting the same amount as the discharge amount of the pressurizing pump 25 becomes equal to the predetermined pressurizing and holding pressure, the pressure in the pressurizing chamber 23 is maintained. It becomes possible to continuously discharge the liquid to be treated.

At this time, the liquid to be treated is kept under high pressure while flowing in the pressure chamber 23, and is sterilized and its physical properties are changed. Further, the fluid that has passed through the orifice 1 becomes a high-speed jet jet, so after catching the jet with the catcher 2 (for example, the jet collides with the sealing end), it is discharged from the discharge pipe 4 and then to the next step (buffer tank etc.). Liquid is sent. When the processing apparatus is stopped, the sluice valve 3 is closed and at the same time the supply by the pressurizing pump 25 is stopped, and all the liquid to be processed in the pressurizing chamber 23 is once kept under high pressure for a predetermined time. After that, the sluice valve 3 is opened to discharge under reduced pressure, and then, for example, aseptic water is supplied to the pressurizing chamber by the supply pump 60 to discharge the entire amount of the treated liquid in the pressurizing chamber.
When the temperature of the liquid to be treated changes, the viscosity may change and the ejection amount of the orifice may change, so the pressure sensor 5
The measured value of 1 is read by the control device 50, and when the pressure decreases, the discharge amount of the hydraulic unit 27 is increased to increase the supply amount by the pressurizing pump 25. Conversely, when the pressure rises, the same is applied. Control for reducing the supply amount by the pressure pump 25 is performed.

Next, a second embodiment of the high pressure liquid continuous processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The heat exchangers 5 and 6 are attached to the catcher 2 and the discharge pipe 4 at the outlet of the cooling pipe 7 to circulate the refrigerant from the cooling device 7, respectively.
I am trying to circulate through. Further, the temperature of the liquid to be treated rises when the high-speed jet flow passing through the orifice nozzle 1 is received by the catcher 2, but the cooling mechanism promptly cools it to minimize the influence on the quality of the liquid to be treated. You can Further, in the second embodiment, the pressurizing chamber 23 in which the liquid to be treated is kept at high pressure is composed of the high-pressure cylinder and the upper and lower lids, but this is even if the high-pressure pipe having a high pressure resistance is long. Good.

[0014]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, by using a simple orifice nozzle and a pressure pump in combination, it is possible to continuously depressurize and discharge the liquid food under high pressure and pressure. It is possible to provide a compact and inexpensive high-pressure liquid continuous treatment device. Further, by providing a cooling device in the catcher section and the discharge pipe that follow the orifice outlet, it is possible to effectively suppress the temperature rise of the liquid to be treated after passing through the orifice, and to minimize the adverse effect on the food quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a high pressure liquid continuous processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a high pressure liquid continuous processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an orifice nozzle showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a conventional high-pressure liquid continuous processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Orifice Nozzle 2 Catcher 3 High Pressure Gate Valve 4 Discharge Pipe 5, 6 Heat Exchanger 7 Cooling Device 20 High Pressure Vessel Body 21 Lower Lid 22 Upper Lid 23 Pressurizing Chamber 24 Yoke Frame 25 Pressurizing Pump 27 Hydraulic Unit 31 Hydraulic Cylinder 41, 42 Connecting pipe

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A high-pressure processing apparatus for high-pressure processing of liquid foods such as beverages, wherein a liquid to be processed flows in through a supply port, flows through the inside under high pressure, and is then discharged through another discharge port. , A pressure pump connected to the inlet side of the container,
It is composed of an orifice nozzle connected to the outlet side of the container, and continuously pressurizes and supplies the liquid to be processed into the high-pressure container with the same pressure pump. A high-pressure liquid continuous treatment device characterized by being continuously decompressed and discharged. 2. The high-pressure liquid continuous processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply amount from the pressurizing pump is increased or decreased in accordance with the pressure in the high-pressure container. 3. The high-pressure liquid continuous treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a catcher for receiving the jet flow is provided at the outlet of the orifice nozzle, and a cooling device is provided for the catcher and a discharge pipe from the catcher.