JPH0716379B2 - Soy sauce fermentation equipment - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a soy sauce production apparatus, and more particularly to a fermentation apparatus using immobilized bacterial cells.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, soy sauce is manufactured by absorbing defatted soybeans, steaming them under pressure, mixing them with roasted and crushed wheat, sprinkling seed koji and cultivating the koji mold into salt water, and adding them to various flavors. And fermented and aged for about 6 months, then press-filtered,
Although this juice is separated into a product that is fired and pulled, it takes a long period of time to obtain a product, and it has been desired to develop a method and an apparatus that can be manufactured in a short period of time.

In recent years, a method of producing soy sauce in a short period of time by a fermentation apparatus using immobilized cells in which soy sauce yeast is immobilized on a carrier has been proposed,
Research is progressing toward practical application, and the applicant of the present invention has responded to this request and previously developed a device for producing soy sauce in a short period of time (Japanese Patent Application No. 61-235157).

This device uses immobilized cells in which a juice (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) obtained by enzymatically hydrolyzing a raw material for producing soy sauce, lactic acid fermentation, pressing, and filtering (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) is immobilized on a carrier for yeast for alcohol fermentation. A fermentor and a fermentor using immobilized cells in which a yeast for post-ripening fermentation for producing a soy sauce aroma component is immobilized on a carrier are used to successively and sequentially ferment.

The above-mentioned fermentation apparatus is usually one as shown in FIG. 5, in which the draft tube 2 is arranged in the fermenter 1 and a small amount of air is supplied from the vent 3 at the bottom of the fermenter 1 to remove the immobilized bacterial cells 4. The air is lifted from the inside of the draft tube 2 by the airlift effect, and this is circulated so as to flow from the lower end of the draft tube 3 as well so that it is sufficiently contacted with the substrate 5 to ferment it. In addition, 6 is a supply port of the substrate 5 provided in the lid 7, and 8 is an outlet for the fermentation liquid.

As a carrier for immobilized cells used in such a device, a carrier having a specific gravity similar to that of the substrate so as to be appropriately dispersed in the substrate and capable of easily immobilizing the cells is required. Various substances such as natural products such as alginic acid and kappa carrageenan, synthetic polymers such as photocurable resins, and activated carbon have been investigated.

Further, the immobilization of the cells on the carrier has been carried out outside the fermenter by the inclusion method or the like.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, since the carrier flows in the fermenter during fermentation, it may be worn or damaged due to contact or collision between the carriers or the side wall of the fermentor during the flow, which has a drawback that the life of the carrier is short.

In addition, in the method of immobilizing bacterial cells on a carrier by the inclusion method,
It is difficult to completely prevent invasion of miscellaneous bacteria because the immobilization work is complicated and is performed outside the fermenter.

Therefore, the present invention is a fermentation of soy sauce that can easily immobilize the bacterial cells on the carrier without invading miscellaneous bacteria, and does not cause wear or damage of the immobilized bacterial cells, and can perform stable fermentation efficiently for a long period of time. The purpose is to provide a device.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in a fermenter provided with an outlet at the top for taking out the fermented liquid after the fermentation treatment, the soy sauce yeast is immobilized on a carrier of highly porous granular glass, which is fixed. 0.01 to 0.04 vvm (vvm is the volume of the fermenter per minute, because the soy sauce fermentation stock solution is supplied to the bottom of the fermenter and the generated gas generated during fermentation is exhausted while filling the microbial cells. It is characterized in that an air supply port is provided through which the air of the amount () for () is communicated.

[Work]

Therefore, the soy sauce fermentation stock solution supplied from the bottom of the fermentor is
Without flowing the immobilized cells that have been filled, gradually contact the immobilized cells to increase the fermentation concentration and gradually flow to the upper outlet, and after a certain period of time, a fermentation solution of the desired concentration flows. Since it is taken out from the outlet, it is possible to reduce the abrasion or damage of the immobilized cells.

Furthermore, by sending a small amount of air to the fermentation tank from the air supply port, the product gas generated during fermentation can be discharged to the outside of the tank, and the activity of soy sauce yeast can be maintained.

〔Example〕

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

At the bottom of the fermenter 11, a substrate pipe 13 for supplying a substrate 12 that is a soy sauce fermentation stock solution, and a supply port 16 in which a steam pipe 14 for supplying steam is piped through a three-way valve 15, and an air pipe 17. And an air supply port 18 for communicating air into the fermenter 11.

Further, an outlet 19 for taking out the fermented liquid after fermentation is provided at the upper part of the side wall of the fermenter 11, and an exhaust port is provided at a lid 20 on the upper part of the fermenter 11.
21 are provided.

The fermenter 11 is filled with immobilized bacterial cells 22 in which bacterial cells are immobilized on a carrier made of highly porous granular foam glass.

The highly porous granular foam glass used as the carrier is granular and has a diameter of 2 to 5 mm, and has the same diameter. For example, the chemical composition is silicon oxide (SiO ₂ ) as a main component (69.0%). Contains aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), sodium oxide (Na ₂ O), and other trace components, and its physical properties have an apparent specific gravity of 0.3 to 0.7. The pore volume is 1.0 to 3.5 ml / g, the median pore diameter (V) is 5.0 to 25.0 μm, and the water absorption is 75 to 80%.

In addition, in a filling tank, generally, a carrier with a diameter as small as possible (1.0 mm or less) is used in order to increase the surface area on which cells grow. It is not preferable because it easily covers the surface and causes a so-called channeling phenomenon. The size of the soy sauce must be determined depending on the type of soy sauce raw material, the size of the fermentation tank, etc., but according to the results of many experiments, it is preferable that the diameter is 2 to 5 mm as described above. .

Bacteria are Zygo Saccharo myx
ces rouxii) and so on, and in the case of a post-ripening fermenter that produces soy sauce aroma components, yeasts such as Candida versatilus are commonly used. Things can be used.

Next, a method of using the device configured as described above will be described.

First, the fermenter 11 is filled with the carrier made of the highly porous granular foam glass. Next, the three-way valve 15 is operated to introduce steam from the steam pipe 14 into the fermentation tank 11 to sterilize the inside of the fermentation tank 11 and the carrier. Then, the separately cultivated soy sauce yeast is supplied from the supply port 16 into the fermenter 11 using the substrate tube 13. The supplied soy sauce yeast enters the highly porous granular foam glass of the carrier and is immobilized, and becomes immobilized cells 22.

After the above work, a predetermined amount of the substrate 12 is continuously supplied from the substrate tube 13. The substrate 12 is supplied from the supply port 16 into the fermenter 11 and sequentially fermented by contacting the immobilized bacterial cells 22, gradually moving upward while increasing the fermentation concentration, and flowing as a fermentation liquid of a predetermined concentration. It overflows from the outlet 19 and is stored in a fermented liquid tank or the like (not shown).

The soy sauce yeast in the carrier is always present in a predetermined amount and ingests nutrients from the substrate 12 to reproduce, ferment and proliferate.
A part of it separates from the carrier and also floats in the substrate, promotes fermentation and proliferates, mixes with the fermentation liquor and flows out.

On the other hand, as the fermentation progresses, the produced gas such as carbon dioxide accumulates in the fermenter 11, so that the substrate 12 becomes foamy and the contact between the substrate 12 and the immobilized microbial cells 22 is inhibited. To prevent this,
0.01 to 0.04 vvm (vvm
Sends a small amount of air (about the amount of air () to the fermenter volume () per minute) into the fermenter 11. This air serves to guide the generated gas upward to be discharged from the exhaust port 21 and to increase the activity of the soy sauce yeast, and when the amount of air is too small, the generated gas can be efficiently removed. No, and too much inhibits the fermentation of soy sauce yeast. According to the experiment, a favorable result was obtained at about 0.02 vvm.

In addition, if the equipment is operated for a long period of time,
Ori and dead bacteria occur in 11 and adhere between immobilized cells,
In some cases, bacteria may be propagated and fermentation may be inhibited. In such a case, after the substrate 12 is allowed to flow backward from the supply port 16 and taken out of the tank, the fermentation tank is passed through the steam pipe 14.
Introduce steam into 11 to sterilize and remove dirt.

The exhaust port 21 may be provided in the upper part of the fermentation liquid tank for storing the fermentation liquid without providing it in the fermentation tank 11, and from the fermentation liquid tank after the generated gas is caused to flow out together with the fermentation liquid from the outlet 19. It may be discharged. Further, the air supply port 22 can be shared with the supply port 16.

Further, the substrate was used as the soy sauce fermentation stock solution, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the lactic acid fermentation is performed by using immobilized cells in which lactic acid bacteria are immobilized by enzymatically or chemically hydrolyzing the raw material for producing soy sauce. You may use the processed soy sauce fermentation stock solution.

The present inventors have confirmed the effectiveness of the device of the present invention through a large amount of experiments, some of which are shown below.

Experimental Example 1 Formed as described above, with a diameter / height ratio of 1/3 and a total volume of 5
As a carrier for immobilized cells, the apparent specific gravity of the fermentor was 0.
35, pore volume 2.2ml / g, central pore size (V) 15.0μm, water absorption
0.80, Compressive strength 2,68 kg / cm ² Highly porous granular foam glass with a diameter of 4 mm (main chemical composition is 69.0% silicon oxide,
Aluminum oxide, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, and other trace components) were apparently filled in this to 3 volumes, and Tigosaccharomyces ruxii cultivated as soy sauce yeast was supplied into the tank and immobilized.

The substrate is continuously supplied from the fermenter supply port and 0.02 vvm air is sent from the air supply port to change the substrate supply amount to change the residence time in the fermenter and the alcohol production amount. Also, the amount of cells leaked from the outlet was examined.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the amount of alcohol produced varied considerably depending on the residence time, but when the residence time was fixed to 14 hours from the 36th day, it was stabilized at 1.8 to 1.9 g / dl.

The number of cells leaking into the fermentation liquor is 1 × 10 ⁶ to 1 × 10 ⁸ cells / ml, and the number of cells leaking out tends to increase as the amount of alcohol produced increases.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the residence time and the amount of alcohol produced. At 20 hours or more, the amount of alcohol produced was almost constant, with a peak of 14 hours.

Experimental Example 2 The fermentation broth having a predetermined concentration obtained in Experimental Example 1 was heat-treated at 65 ° C. for 1 hour in a heat exchanger as a cross-contamination-preventing treatment, and then fed to a fermentation tank for post-ripening fermentation.

The fermenter used for this post-ripening fermentation and the carrier of the immobilized cells are:
The same one as that used in Experimental Example 1 was used.

Candida versatiles was used as the yeast for post-ripening fermentation. The retention time of the fermented liquor was 14 hours, and the amount of air supplied from the bottom of the tank was 0.02 VVM.

As shown in Fig. 4, 4EG (4-e, which is the aroma component of soy sauce)
thylguaiacol, CH ₃ OC ₆ H ₃ (C ₂ H ₅ ) OH) and 2PE (2-phen
ylethanol, C ₆ H ₅ CH ₂ CH ₂ OH) is the former 4 for 60 days.
〜6ppm, the latter was stably produced at 10〜17ppm, and the sensory test showed that the fragrance was mellow and the flavor was excellent.

Incidentally, the liquid to be supplied to the fermenter in both of the above-described experimental examples was used after being heat-sterilized before supply, and since steam sterilization was performed before immobilization of the bacterial cells in the fermenter as described above, contamination by miscellaneous bacteria was prevented. There was no.

When the air is not supplied from the bottom of the tank, the yeast activity gradually decreases from about the 20th day of the fermentation operation, but if the air is passed, the yeast activity is restored and the fermentation can be continued. As described above, the air may be intermittently sent to the fermenter, but if it is continuously sent, stable fermentation can be performed.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the immobilized bacterial cells having the highly porous granular foam glass as a carrier are filled in the fermenter, the immobilized bacterial cells do not cause contact or collision during fermentation and are worn away. Since it is not damaged, it can be used for a long period of time. Further, immobilization of soy sauce yeast or the like on a simple substance can be carried out easily and aseptically in the fermenter. Furthermore, since a small amount of air was sent from the bottom of the fermentation tank,
The generated gas during fermentation can be easily discharged out of the tank,
The activity of soy sauce yeast can be maintained, and extremely good and homogeneous fermentation can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4 to FIG. 4 are diagrams showing the results of experiments conducted by the device of the present invention, and FIG. 11 …… Fermenter, 12 …… Substrate, 13 …… Substrate tube, 14 …… Steam tube, 15 …… Three-way valve, 16 …… Supply port, 17 …… Air tube, 18…
… Air supply port, 19… Outflow port, 20… Lid, 21… Exhaust port, 22… Immobilized bacteria

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Wakazono 1-1 Sanbonmatsu-cho, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture Japan Vehicle Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 53 In Sanbishi Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadahiko Inukai 1-2-7 Nishiki, Naka-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (72) Hiroshi Itami 6-26-1, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A fermenter having an outlet for taking out a fermented liquid after the fermentation treatment is provided in an upper portion, and is filled with immobilized bacterial cells in which soy sauce yeast is immobilized on a carrier of highly porous granular foam glass,
To supply the soy sauce fermentation stock solution to the bottom of the fermenter and to exhaust the generated gas generated during fermentation, 0.01 to 0.04 vv
An apparatus for fermenting soy sauce, which is provided with an air supply port for transmitting m air. 2. The physical property of the porous granular foam glass has a particle size of 2
To 5 mm, apparent specific gravity 0.3 to 0.7, water supply rate 50% or more, pore volume 1.0 to 3.5 ml / g, central pore diameter (V) 5.0 to 25.0 μm
The soy sauce fermentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein