KR20020059318A - A fluid sterillizer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A fluid sterilizing appliance is provided to be used to effectively sterilize specific products required to be sterilized at a low temperature, for example traditional liquor, beverage, fermentation fluid, liquid phase medicines, and the like. CONSTITUTION: The fluid sterilizing appliance is comprised of a pre-heater(2); a heat exchanger(3) containing a heat exchange tube(3a) into which fluid is input; and a microwave low temperature sterilizer(4) having a low temperature sterilizing tube(4a) into which the fluid passed through the heat exchange tube is input, a microwave generator(12), and a temperature adjustor for adjusting the amount of microwave.

Description

Fluid Sterilizer {A FLUID STERILLIZER}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid sterilizer by a low temperature non-contact heating method, and to use a water heating method by friction of water molecules of a fluid to be sterilized by microwaves. To this end, a pasteurization tube 4a is installed in the multi-stage chamber B, which consists of the chamber A continuously in multiple stages, and the heating temperature of the fluid to be sterilized by microwaves is raised to an appropriate temperature for pasteurization. Sterilization by holding in a holding tube 5 for a certain time to ensure sterilization uniformly. In addition, in order to efficiently use the heat energy required to sterilize the sterilization fluid sterilization using a two-stage double heat exchange method.

Various large-scale sterilizers used in the past are mainly sterilized at a low temperature for a long time by a heat conduction convection method through a high temperature thermal steam in a circular tank, a sterilized method at a high temperature for a short time, and a micro filter and a fine particle. The method of filtering bacteria etc. using a filter is generally used.

However, the conventional method of sterilizing at a low temperature by using the conventional heat conduction convection as described above is not only difficult to sterilize at low temperature because it is heated unevenly while the fluid to be sterilized is heated to the temperature required for sterilization, There is a problem that the inherent physical properties of the fluid to be sterilized is greatly changed. In addition, in the case of filtration using a micro filter, the CIP (sanitary and washing) process is very difficult, and the filter itself is expensive. However, since the color and the like are easily changed, it is difficult to maintain the original properties.

In particular, products that are distributed in large quantities, such as alcohol, functional drinks, etc., among the fluids used for food, should not change intrinsic taste, aroma, color, etc. due to sterilization. Therefore, a new sterilization method is required to maintain the intrinsic quality at low temperature, long-term storage and high value added.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid sterilizer which can sterilize completely and uniformly so as not to change the physical properties of the fluid to be sterilized in order to solve the above-mentioned problems and save energy consumed to sterilize. It is.

The present invention, in order to solve the problems described above, sterilization using a two-stage double heat exchange method for efficiently using the heat heating method by the water molecule friction of the fluid to be sterilized by the microwave and the heat energy required to sterilize the fluid. It is a problem to provide a method and an apparatus thereof.

1 is a view showing the overall structure of a fluid sterilizer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a microwave pasteurizer 4 in the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention, FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing its appearance, and FIG. 2B is a sectional view showing the inside thereof.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1: Input tank 1a: Input pipe

2: preheater 2a: circulation pump

3: heat exchanger 3a: heat exchanger tube

4: microwave pasteurizer

4a: pasteurization tube 5: holding tube

6: transfer pump 7: solenoid valve

11: integrated multistage chamber case

12 microwave generator 13 high pressure transformer

14 high pressure condenser 15 cooling fan

16: entrance 17: exit

18: blocking wall (遮斷 壁) 19: connection ring

A: chamber B: multistage chamber

In order to achieve the above object, the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention includes a preheater for heating a medium and a heat exchange tube for introducing a fluid therein. Microwave so that the microwaves can be generated only at a temperature where the physical properties of the heat exchanger, the pasteurization tube into which the fluid passing through the heat exchange tube flows, and the microwave generating device, and the properties of the fluid are not changed. A fluid sterilizer comprising a microwave pasteurizer having a temperature controller for adjusting the amount of heat exchanger, wherein the medium heated in the preheater circulates around the heat exchange tube to exchange heat with the fluid introduced into the heat exchange tube. Preheat the fluid to a temperature lower than the unchanged temperature, and In the micro wave generator to heat the fluid to the microwave irradiation (照射) into the tube up to the pasteurization temperature set in the temperature regulator.

In addition, the heat exchanger tube and the pasteurization tube of the fluid sterilizer of the present invention are made of Teflon, glass, or the like having a low dielectric constant.

In addition, the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention further comprises a pipe or a tank capable of introducing the fluid passing through the pasteurization tube and maintaining the heat for a predetermined time. In other words, the pasteurized fluid in the pasteurization tube of the microwave pasteurizer is transferred to the tube or tank through the outlet of the pasteurization tube to maintain the heat for a proper time, so that the pasteurized fluid stays for a while and is perfect and uniform. Pasteurize.

In addition, the microwave pasteurizer of the fluid sterilizer in the present invention includes a plurality of microwave generators disposed on one side of the microwave pasteurizer and a wall inside the microwave pasteurizer for each microwave generator. A plurality of blocking walls for preventing interference and collision between microwaves generated by adjacent microwave generators, a pasteurization tube installed in an S-shape through the blocking walls, and It is further provided with a connection ring installed on the barrier wall for connecting and supporting the pasteurization tube passing through the barrier wall.

In addition, the length of the connection ring is 1/4 of the microwave wavelength λ, that is, λ / 4 to prevent microwaves from penetrating into the other chamber through the connection ring.

In addition, when the temperature of the fluid from the microwave pasteurizer of the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention is measured by a built-in thermometer and does not reach the temperature adjusted by the temperature regulator, the feed-back is returned to the heat exchanger tube. And a solenoid valve operable to operate.

In addition, an input tank installed in front of the heat exchange tube is introduced into the heat exchanger through the input tube when the fluid flows into the input tube installed therein, and circulates the fluid from the microwave pasteurizer around the input tube. To exchange heat with the fluid introduced into the feed pipe.

In addition, the heat exchanger tube and the input tube are formed spirally. In other words, the input tube and the heat exchange tube are provided to allow sufficient heat exchange between the sterilizing fluid passing through the heat exchange tube and the input tube and the fluid circulating around the input tube and the heat exchange tube inside the input tank and the heat exchange tube. It is formed in a spiral shape and placed inside the input tube and the heat exchange tube.

(Example)

A fluid sterilizer according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

1 is a view showing the overall structure of a fluid sterilizer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a microwave pasteurizer 4 in the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention, FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing its appearance, and FIG. 2B is a front sectional view of its interior viewed from the front.

The fluid sterilizer according to the present invention preheats the medium to a temperature lower than the temperature at which the input tank 1 including the input pipe 1a for introducing the fluid and the temperature at which the physical properties of the fluid are changed. And a heat exchange tube 3a through which the fluid passing through the input tube 1a flows. The medium preheated in the preheater 2 circulates around the heat exchange tube 3a, The physical properties of the fluid are changed by microwaves generated by a plurality of microwave generators 12, including a heat exchanger 3 for exchanging heat with the fluid, and a pasteurization tube 4a through which the fluid passing through the heat exchange tube 3a flows. Microwave pasteurizer 4 for uniformly non-contact heating to a temperature that does not reach a temperature that does not change when the physical properties of the fluid do not change An electromagnetic valve 7 operative to feed back to the heat exchanger tube, and a holding tube 5, etc., capable of introducing the fluid passing through the pasteurization tube 4a and maintaining the heat for a proper time. do.

The configuration of the input tank 1 and the heat exchanger 3 will be described.

As shown in Fig. 1, since the configuration of the input tank 1 and the heat exchanger 3 has the same structure, only the structure of the input tank 1 will be described here. The input tank 1 is made in the shape of a cylinder, and the input pipe 1a into which the sterilization fluid flows is inserted into the input tank 1. Then, the side of the input tank 1 is formed with a fluid supply hole that can supply the fluid from the outside, and the fluid supplied from the outside through the fluid supply hole is configured to circulate around the input pipe 1a. In addition, the input tube 1a is formed in a spiral shape so that heat exchange can sufficiently occur between the sterilizing object passing through the input tube 1a and an externally supplied fluid circulating around the input tube 1a inside the input tank 1a. And place it inside the input tube 1.

Next, a process of preheating the sterilization target fluid to be sterilized is introduced into the input pipe 1a of the input tank 1.

The sterilization target fluid to be sterilized is introduced into an input tube 1a of a cylindrical input tank 1. Then, the power of the preheater 2 is turned on to raise the medium in the preheating tank (not shown) to a temperature lower than the temperature at which the physical properties of the sterilizing fluid do not change, for example, about 40 ° C. The sterilization target fluid introduced into the input tube 1a is introduced into the heat exchange tube 3a formed in a spiral shape of the heat exchanger 3 by the transfer pump 6. And the medium preheated by the preheater 2 circulates around the heat exchanger tube 3a of the heat exchanger 3 through the fluid supply hole formed in the side surface of the heat exchanger 3 by the circulation pump 2a. Therefore, the sterilization target fluid passing through the heat exchange tube 3a is preheated by the preheater 2 and preheated through heat exchange with the fluid circulating around the heat exchange tube 3a. At this time, in the preheater 2, the medium is continuously preheated to a constant temperature so that the medium circulating around the heat exchanger tube 3a does not lower due to heat exchange, thereby circulating the heat exchanger tube 3a of the heat exchanger 3.

Next, the configuration of the microwave pasteurizer 4 will be described.

The microwave pasteurizer 4 is composed of a multi-stage chamber B in which chamber A is combined in multiple stages as shown in FIG. Here, the chamber A includes a pasteurization tube 4a made of a material having a low dielectric constant, such as Teflon or glass, a microwave generator 12 which generates microwaves and irradiates the pasteurization tube 4a, and a microwave. A high pressure transformer 13 for supplying a high frequency high frequency to the generator 12, and a cooling fan 15 for lowering the temperature of the microwave generator 12 itself due to the continuous operation of the microwave generator 12.

In the multi-stage chamber B, an inlet 16 through which the sterilization fluid flows into the pasteurization tube 4a is formed in the lower right side of the microwave pasteurizer 4, and an outlet 17 through which the sterilization fluid exits the pasteurization tube 4a is formed in the upper left side. In order to avoid interference and collision with microwaves generated by microwave generators 12 in other chambers, microwaves generated by microwave generators 12 in chamber A penetrate into adjacent chambers between the chambers A which are connected in multiple stages. A blocking wall 18 is provided, and a connecting ring 19 is installed on the blocking wall 18 so that the pasteurization pipe 4a can be continued through the blocking wall 18. At this time, the length of the coupling ring 19 is 1/4 of the microwave wavelength λ, that is, λ / 4, to prevent microwaves from penetrating through the coupling ring 19 into another adjacent chamber.

Next, the operation principle of the microwave pasteurizer 4 will be described. The microwave pasteurizer 4 sterilizes the sterilizing fluid by using the principle that friction heat is generated between the water molecules of the sterilizing fluid when it is heated by a non-contact heating method by microwaves in a low temperature state in which the physical properties of the sterilizing fluid are not changed. That is, the temperature at which the physical properties of the sterilized fluid are not changed by using the characteristic that the temperature of the sterilized fluid in the pasteurized pipe 4a is uniformly increased by the non-contact heating method by microwaves to the pasteurized pipe 4a made of a material having a low dielectric constant, namely It is an apparatus which sterilizes by heating up to 68 degreeC.

Next, the process of pasteurization in the microwave pasteurizer 4 will be described.

When the sterilized fluid preheated in the heat exchanger tube 3a of the heat exchanger 3 is transferred to the pasteurization tube 4a formed in an S-shape in the multistage chamber through the inlet 16 of the microwave pasteurizer 4, the plurality of microwave generators 12 generate microwaves Direct irradiation with a sterilization tube 4a. Accordingly, the sterilization fluid in the pasteurization tube 4a is sterilized at a low temperature by various fungi contained in the sterilization fluid in the process of being internally heated by friction between the water molecules by microwaves directly irradiated to the pasteurization tube 4a. That is, the sterilization temperature regulator not shown in the figure attached to the microwave pasteurizer 4 is adjusted to 68 ° C., which is the temperature at which the physical properties of the sterilizing fluid do not change. Therefore, the sterilization target fluid transferred to the pasteurization tube 4a is sterilized by non-contact heating to 68 ° C. by, for example, 2.45 GHz microwaves generated by the microwave generator 12. The pasteurized fluid is then transferred to the holding tube 5 via the outlet 17 of the pasteurization tube 4a.

At this time, if the temperature of the fluid coming from the outlet 17 of the pasteurization tube 4a is not measured by the thermometer attached to the solenoid valve 7, the solenoid valve 7 is closed. Accordingly, the fluid which has not reached up to 68 ° C. is fed back to the heat exchanger tube 3a of the heat exchanger 3 via the transfer pump 6 to be preheated. The preheated fluid is again transferred to the pasteurization tube 4a of the microwave pasteurizer 4 to repeat the pasteurization process in the microwave pasteurizer 4 as described above.

Next, the process of sterilization in the holding tube 5 and the heat exchange process in the input tank 1 will be described.

The pasteurized fluid in the pasteurization tube 4a of the microwave pasteurizer 4 is passed through the outlet 17 of the pasteurization tube 4a to a holding tube 5 formed in an S shape capable of maintaining its heat for a suitable time. In the holding tube 5, the pasteurized fluid is temporarily retained for complete and uniform pasteurization. The pasteurized fluid in the holding tube 5 is stored in a storage tank not shown in the drawing via the input tank 1.

At this time, the pasteurized fluid in the holding tube 5 is lowered and stored in a storage tank. The pasteurized fluid is introduced into the fluid supply hole formed on the side of the injection tank 1 to circulate around the injection tube 1a of the injection tank 1. Therefore, heat is exchanged with the sterilization target fluid which is newly introduced into the input pipe 1a of the input tank 1. As a result, the sterilized fluid is changed to a temperature lowered state and transferred to the storage tank, and the newly sterilized fluid is introduced into the heat exchanger tube 3a of the heat exchanger 3 while the temperature is increased so that energy required for preheating in the preheater 2 is transferred. Can be saved.

As described above, the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention is sterilized by a microwave non-contact heating method, which is a complete and uniform pasteurization method, in particular when applied to sterilize a fluid state material by fermentation used for food. Therefore, it can be stored for a long period of time without changing its inherent taste, aroma, color, etc., so that the shelf life can be extended.

In addition, the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention can be sterilized by continuously installing an input tube, a heat exchanger tube, a pasteurization tube, a holding tube, etc., so that not only the opportunity for contact with the atmosphere can be blocked, but also a large amount of the fluid can be continuously sterilized. . And since the fluid sterilizer is small and modular, it can be easily used in large factories as well as small factories.

Next, the excellent effect when using the fluid sterilizer of the low temperature non-contact heating system which concerns on this invention compared with the conventional sterilizer is demonstrated.

First, by using a low temperature non-contact heating method by the microwave can be sterilized so that the inherent physical properties of the sterilization target fluid does not change. Therefore, the inherent physical properties of the sterilized fluid do not change, so there is no change in its own taste, aroma and color after sterilization. In addition, the nutritional value is preserved as it is to maintain the best quality as well as long-term storage. In addition, it can be used as a trace bioactive substance, which is suitable for the sterilization of functional beverages.

Second, uniform sterilization proceeds rapidly at low temperature. That is, since the sterilization effect is excellent by only heating the moisture in the sterilization target fluid in the low temperature sterilization tube, the sterilization effect is excellent. In addition, since there is no phenomenon of sticking to the inside of the high temperature sterilization tube generated by the conventional heat sterilization method, the sterilization effect is excellent and the inside of the sterilization tube can be hygienically cleaned.

Third, the energy saving effect is excellent because it uses two-stage double heat exchange. That is, the conventional method consumes a lot of energy to heat the fluid of low temperature to a temperature capable of sterilization. However, when using the energy recovery circulation method of the two-stage double heat exchange method used in the present invention, since only the moisture component is sterilized by heating to a temperature at which the physical properties of the sterilization target fluid do not change, the energy saving effect is more than 50% compared to the conventional method. .

Fourth, there is no pollution due to the exhaust gas, etc., and the configuration of the device is simple due to the modular design. That is, since it operates using electric energy, there is no pollution due to exhaust gas, etc., and the device is simpler than a conventional method, so it can be easily applied to a small factory. The modular design also makes it easy to increase or decrease the plant according to the amount of fluid to be sterilized.

Therefore, as described above, the ramifications and useful value of the fluid sterilizer according to the present invention can be applied to food, medicine, bio industry, and the like.

Claims (8)

A preheater for heating the medium, A heat exchanger into which a heat exchange tube for introducing a fluid is inserted; The amount of microwaves is generated so that the microwaves are generated only at a temperature at which the physical properties of the fluid and the microwave generator for generating the microwaves and the microwaves in which the fluid having flowed through the heat exchange tube flows. Microwave Pasteurizer with Temperature Controller Adjusting As a fluid sterilizer composed of The medium heated in the preheater circulates around the heat exchange tube to exchange heat with the fluid introduced into the heat exchange tube to preheat the fluid to a temperature lower than the temperature at which the physical properties of the fluid do not change. Irradiating microwaves from the microwave generator to the pasteurization tube and heating the fluid to a temperature set by the temperature controller. Fluid sterilizer characterized in that (流體 殺菌 器). The method of claim 1, And the heat exchange tube and the pasteurization tube are made of teflon, glass, or the like having a low dielectric constant. The method of claim 1, And a pipe or a tank capable of introducing the fluid that has passed through the pasteurization tube and maintaining the heat for a predetermined time. The method of claim 1, The microwave pasteurizer, A plurality of microwave generators disposed on one side of the microwave pasteurizer; A plurality of barrier walls for preventing interference and collision between microwaves generated by adjacent microwave generators by providing walls inside the microwave pasteurizer for each microwave generator; A pasteurization tube installed in an S shape through the blocking wall; And a connection ring installed at the barrier wall to connect and support the pasteurization tube passing through the barrier wall. The method of claim 4, wherein And the connecting ring is one quarter of the microwave wavelength. The method of claim 1, A solenoid valve operable to measure the temperature of the fluid exiting the microwave pasteurizer with a built-in thermometer and feed back to the heat exchanger tube when the temperature adjusted by the temperature regulator is not reached. A fluid sterilizer further comprising. The method of claim 1, The input tank (投入 tank) installed in front of the heat exchange tube is to be introduced into the heat exchanger through the input tube when the fluid flows into the input tube installed therein, And circulating the fluid from the microwave pasteurizer around the inlet tube to exchange heat with the fluid introduced into the inlet tube. The method according to claim 1 or 7, The heat exchanger tube and the input tube is a fluid sterilizer, characterized in that formed in a spiral.