KR101799302B1 - Degassing apparatus by using an ultrasonic vibrator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a bubble removing device using an ultrasonic vibrator, capable of increasing the velocity of concentrating a natural extract by removing bubbles, generated during the concentration of the natural extract, by using ultrasonic waves. The device includes: a chamber (100) having a concentration environment condition for a natural extract, and concentrating the natural extract; an ultrasonic vibrator (200) installed in a random position of the floor of the chamber (100), and generating ultrasonic waves in response to an ultrasonic wave generation control signal applied from the outside; and a controller (300) outputting the ultrasonic wave generation control signal to the ultrasonic vibrator (100) through physical power applied from the outside. As such, the present invention is capable of increasing the velocity of concentration by removing bubbles without a loss of pressure and a temperature from the chamber.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a degassing apparatus using an ultrasonic vibrator,

The present invention relates to a bubble removing apparatus using an ultrasonic vibrator, and more particularly, to a bubble removing apparatus using an ultrasonic vibrator capable of increasing the concentration rate of a natural extract by removing bubbles generated when a natural extract is concentrated using ultrasonic waves .

Human beings have entered the age of life extension due to the development of medicine and biotechnology. However, as westernization and modernization of society progresses, Obesity and other diseases are increasing, the importance of prevention and treatment is becoming more and more. In addition, with the improvement of living standards and the increased interest in health and longevity, studies focusing on the development of health functional foods or the health functional enhancement of existing foods are underway.

With the modernization of society, the importance of prevention of adult diseases is getting more and more important. The primary way to do this is balanced nutrition through balanced consumption of food. In addition to the energy and nutrient sources needed for daily life, various foods contain essential ingredients that prevent disease and promote health. It is well known that even food intake is sufficient to prevent adult diseases. However, there is a limit to the amount of preventive ingredients for adult diseases that are ingested through food, which makes it difficult to obtain an adequate amount of food for a long period of time in a balanced manner.

Secondary methods for maintaining the health of adults include various health supplements made by extracting specific components of physiologically active substances present in small amounts in plants. However, existing adult health supplement foods contain only a certain amount of physiologically active substances in a single ingredient, and thus, an adult having already undergoing aging has disadvantages in that it may impair nutritional imbalance and liver function during long-term administration . In addition, in the case of an adult who is rapidly progressing aging, maintenance of an integrated body function is important because the onset of any adult disease immediately induces another adult disease.

Therefore, in order to maintain health and prevent adult diseases, it is necessary to simultaneously supply various active ingredients having an effect of supplementing homeostasis in the body of an aging adult.

Functional foods having such an active ingredient are various, and natural products such as extract are extracted and then introduced into a commercialized product in various ways. These natural extracts are completed through a concentration process that proceeds in a vacuum.

However, the natural extract has a lot of bubbles during concentration, and these bubbles slow down the concentration rate.

Accordingly, conventionally, various methods such as injecting air or spraying water to concentrate the natural extract to remove bubbles are used, but there is a problem that the concentration time is delayed.

Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2009-0109793

The present invention provides a bubble removing apparatus using an ultrasonic vibrator capable of increasing the concentration rate of a natural extract by removing bubbles generated upon concentration of a natural extract using an ultrasonic wave, There is a purpose.

In addition, the present invention provides a bubble removing device using an ultrasonic vibrator in which a perforated plate is provided in a concentrator, ultrasound waves are delivered to a natural extract in a concentration process through a perforated plate, and the bubble removal efficiency generated during concentration is increased. There is a purpose.

A bubble removing apparatus using an ultrasonic vibrator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a chamber 100 having an environmental condition for concentration of a natural extract and concentrating a natural extract; An ultrasonic vibrator 200 installed at an arbitrary position on the bottom surface of the chamber 100 and generating ultrasonic waves in response to an ultrasonic generation control signal applied from the outside; And a controller 300 for outputting an ultrasonic wave generation control signal to the ultrasonic vibrator 100 by a physical force externally applied.

As an embodiment related to the present invention, a plurality of perforated plates 400; And a plurality of grooves (500) formed in a state where the plurality of grooves (510) are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. The perforated plate (400) can be inserted into the grooves (510) have.

As an embodiment related to the present invention, the plurality of grooves 410 formed in the perforated plate 400 may have a polygonal shape.

As an embodiment related to the present invention, the perforated plates 400 may further include a fixing member 520 for fixing the supporters 500 inserted into upper and lower ends of the supporter 500 to which the perforated plates 400 are coupled.

When the perforated plate 400 is fitted into the groove 510 by a physical force applied from the outside, the upper and lower surfaces of the perforated plate 400 are positioned on the inner side surface of the groove 510 It can be inserted while being closely attached.

The present invention can increase the concentration of the natural extract by removing the bubbles generated when the natural extract is concentrated by using the ultrasonic wave to remove the bubbles without loss of the temperature and pressure of the chamber containing the natural extract, It is possible to make it possible to make it possible.

In addition, the present invention can maximize bubble removal efficiency by providing a perforated plate inside the concentrator and removing the bubbles by reaching the position where the bubbles are present through the perforated plate by the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic vibrator installed on the bottom surface of the chamber .

1 is a view for explaining a configuration of a bubble removing apparatus using an ultrasonic vibrator according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a perforated plate applied to FIG. 1. FIG.
Fig. 3 is a view for explaining another embodiment of Fig. 1. Fig.
4 (a) and 4 (b) are views for explaining a device simulating an actual process for testing the performance of the bubble removing device using the ultrasonic vibrator according to the present invention.
5 is a graph for explaining bubble removal amount according to presence / absence of a perforated plate.
6 is a graph showing the height of bubbles with time.
7 is a graph for explaining comparison data with the initial value of the base height.
8 is an image analysis photograph of bubbles.
9 is a graph for explaining quantification of bubbles through image analysis.
10 is a graph for explaining the amount of bubbles calculated as a ratio.
11 is a graph showing a simulation concentration speed comparison graph.

It is noted that the technical terms used in the present invention are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical terms used in the present invention should be construed in a sense generally understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined in the present invention, Should not be construed to mean, or be interpreted in an excessively reduced sense. In addition, when a technical term used in the present invention is an erroneous technical term that does not accurately express the concept of the present invention, it should be understood that technical terms can be understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, the general terms used in the present invention should be interpreted according to a predefined or prior context, and should not be construed as being excessively reduced.

Furthermore, the singular expressions used in the present invention include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present invention, terms such as "comprising" or "comprising" and the like should not be construed as encompassing various elements or various steps of the invention, Or may further include additional components or steps.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout the several views, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

( Example  One)

1 is a view for explaining a configuration of a bubble removing apparatus using an ultrasonic vibrator according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a perforated plate applied to FIG. 1. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus for removing bubbles using an ultrasonic vibrator according to the present invention includes a chamber 100 for concentrating a natural extract, an environmental condition for concentration of a natural extract, An ultrasonic vibrator 200 for generating an ultrasonic wave in response to an ultrasonic generation control signal applied from the outside and a controller for outputting an ultrasonic wave generation control signal to the ultrasonic vibrator 100 by a physical force externally applied, A plurality of perforated plates 400 and a plurality of supports 500 formed in a state where the plurality of grooves 510 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

A plurality of grooves 410 formed in the perforated plate 400 are formed in a polygonal shape. At this time, it is preferable that at least four supports 500 are provided.

And a fixing member 520 fixed to the upper and lower ends of the supporter 500 to which the perforated plates 400 are coupled to fix the supporters 500.

The upper and lower surfaces of the perforated plate 400 are inserted into the grooves 510 while being closely attached to the grooves 510 when the perforated plate 400 is inserted into the grooves 510 by a physical force externally applied thereto.

The operation and effect of the bubble removing device using the ultrasonic vibrator constructed as above will be described as follows.

First, after the perforated plate 400 is inserted into the groove 510 of the support members 500, the fixing member 520 is coupled to the upper and lower ends of the support member 500, So that it is not separated from the stencil plate 400.

After the perforated plate 400 is assembled, the assembled perforated plate 400 is placed in the center of the chamber 100 containing the natural extract, and is then covered with a lid (not shown) to concentrate the natural extract. At this time, when the ultrasonic vibrator 200 is operated, ultrasonic waves are generated by the ultrasonic vibrator 200, and the ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the respective positions in the chamber 100 through the perforated plate 400, and the bubbles are destroyed.

( Example  2)

Fig. 3 is a view for explaining another embodiment of Fig. 1. Fig.

3, the second embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that a photographing means 600 such as a CCD camera is provided above the chamber 100, and the photographing means 600 photographs the natural extract During the concentration process, the inside of the chamber 100 is photographed and an image capable of recognizing the bubble state is output to the controller 300.

Then, the controller 300 analyzes the bubble state image, accurately recognizes the current state of the bubble, and controls the operation state of the ultrasonic vibrator 300, if necessary, so that the bubble can be quickly removed.

At this time, the controller 300 is provided with an input device 700 in a wired or wireless form, and the input device 700 can be formed of a touch pad. The input device 700 can be operated by an operator, Allows you to set or reset operating conditions.

( Experimental Example )

1. Experimental material

According to the standard used in the actual production process, the extract was extracted with 8.9% moisture dry bellflower and 13% of Brix extract was used.

2. Experimental methods and results

[Experimental equipment and experimental conditions]

In order to test the performance of the bubbling apparatus using ultrasonic waves according to the present invention, as shown in Figs. 4 (a) and 4 (b), in order to simulate conditions in an actual process in a concentrator Pressure and temperature were controlled.

In order to control the pressure, a pipe was connected to the top of the device and the pump and valve were used to adjust the pressure. The temperature was maintained at a constant level by turning on / off the heater located at the lower part of the device using a PID thermostat. Concentration of the extracts proceeded batchwise.

In addition, a perforated plate was installed inside the concentrator for ultrasonic wave transmission and bubble destruction. Through the perforated plate installed in the concentrator, the ultrasonic waves can be transmitted to each position in the concentrator (chamber), and the bubbles can be destroyed through the holes of the perforated plate.

Ultrasonic waves were radiated by ultrasonic waves having a frequency of 28 kHz through three vibrators located on the bottom surface. Ultrasonic processing was applied at the lower part of the equipment, and the ultrasonic wave of high intensity (200W) was applied and then ultrasonic wave of low intensity (10W) was applied. After a high intensity (200W) ultrasonic 5 second treatment, a low intensity ultrasonic (10W) was added for 10 seconds. The amount of bubbles was checked every 20 seconds and the effect of ultrasonic treatment on bubble removal effect was confirmed.

In order to confirm the effect of the perforated plate, the bubble removing ability generated in the perforated plate was measured (see FIG. 5). Experiments were conducted after the installation of the perforated plate and before the installation. Ultrasonic waves were applied at the point of maximum bubble generation at a temperature of 80 ℃ and 0.55 atm, and the effect of the perforated plate was confirmed through the amount of bubble removal after 2 minutes of ultrasonic treatment. That is, as can be seen from Fig. 5

The installation of the perforated plate seems to affect the removal rate. The ultrasonic waves are transmitted through the iron perforated plate to reach the position where the bubbles exist and remove the bubbles (see FIG. 6).

[Confirm bubble removing ability]

The temperature was maintained at 80 ° C and the pressure was maintained at 0.55 atm.

<Height of bubble>

The length from the surface of the extract to the maximum height of the bubbles was measured and quantified at each hour.

The height of the bubbles increased with time in the ultrasound - free group. The height of the bubbles with time was reduced to a maximum of 18 cm in the ultrasonicated graph (see FIG. 7).

In the ultrasonic non - treated group, the increase amount was positive value, and the increase of the bubble height with time was confirmed.

In Fig. 7, the increase amount is a factor for calculating the difference compared with the initial value, and it can be confirmed that the height of the bubble decreases significantly in the ultrasonic processing according to the time.

Since bubbles are difficult to quantify, they were quantified using image analysis as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the image converted into the binary image, the portion processed in white is determined as bubbles and quantified through image analysis. After acquiring the image every hour, the bubble was quantified by calculating the area of the white part of the image.

Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, it can be seen that bubbles are decreased in the experiment in which the ultrasonic treatment is performed, and it can be confirmed that there is no change in the ultrasonic treatment group. As shown in FIG. 10, which is calculated in proportion to the initial value, it is confirmed that the maximum reduction effect is about 30%.

[Simulation Production Experiment]

Concentration experiments were carried out on Lab scale to verify productivity improvement in actual process.

Through the experiment of actual production rate of ultrasonic treatment group and no treatment group, improvement of production rate by bubble removal was confirmed.

8L extract (Brix 13%) was used, and the time required for concentration to 60 Brix was evaluated.

The temperature was 80 ° C and the pressure used was the lowest pressure that the bubbles could maintain without flowing out through the pressure control tube.

In the untreated group, it took 360 hours to achieve 60Brix, but 310 hours in the ultrasound group, which reduced the process time by about 50 hours.

The pressure of the untreated group was 0.45 ~ 0.46 atmospheres, which is higher than the pressure of 0.42 ~ 0.43 atmospheres. It seems that the limit of the sustainable pressure is lowered due to the bubble removing ability of the ultrasonic treatment group and thus the concentration speed is increased.

[conclusion]

It was verified that the bubbles were destroyed by ultrasonic treatment, and the amount of bubbles showed a large difference depending on the presence or absence of ultrasonic waves at a certain pressure and temperature under reduced pressure concentration condition.

In the experiment without ultrasonic treatment, the height of air bubbles rose and the amount of air bubbles was maintained. However, it was confirmed that the bubble height and bubble amount decreased in the ultrasonic treatment.

Treatment of ultrasonic waves can destroy bubbles. It was confirmed that the ultrasonic treatment in the vacuum concentration process can break the bubbles and significantly increase the speed of the process.

As a result of the simulated process experiment, the production rate of about 14% was confirmed by ultrasonic treatment.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

100: chamber (thickener) 200: ultrasonic vibrator
300: controller
400: Perforated plate 410: Hole
500: support base 510: groove
520: fixing member 600: photographing means

Claims (5)

A chamber 100 having an environmental condition for concentrating the natural extract and concentrating the natural extract;
An ultrasonic vibrator 200 installed at an arbitrary position on the bottom surface of the chamber 100 and generating ultrasonic waves in response to an ultrasonic generation control signal applied from the outside;
A controller (300) for outputting an ultrasonic wave generation control signal to the ultrasonic vibrator (200) by a physical force externally applied;
A support table 500 in which a plurality of grooves 510 are spaced apart at regular intervals and a plurality of grooves 510 are installed in the chamber 100;
A plurality of perforated plates 400 that are inserted into the grooves 510 spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance;
A fixing member 520 fixed to the upper and lower ends of the supporter 500 coupled with the perforated plates 400 to fix the supporters 500;
/ RTI &gt;
After the perforated plate 400 is assembled with the grooves 510 of the supports 500, the fixing members 520 are coupled to the upper and lower ends of the supporter 500, (Not shown)
When the assembled perforated plate 400 is positioned at the center of the chamber 100 containing the natural extract and then concentrated while the ultrasonic vibrator 200 is operated, the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic vibrator 200 are transmitted to the perforated plate 400 Wherein the air bubbles are transmitted to respective positions inside the chamber (100) through the air bubbles, and the air bubbles are destroyed.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of grooves (410) formed in the perforated plate (400) are polygonal in shape.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The upper and lower surfaces of the perforated plate 400 are inserted into the grooves 510 while being closely attached to the grooves 510 when the perforated plate 400 is inserted into the grooves 510 by a physical force externally applied thereto Bubble removal device using ultrasonic vibrator.

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