Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B30—PRESSES
  • B30B—PRESSES IN GENERAL
  • B30B9/00—Presses specially adapted for particular purposes
  • B30B9/02—Presses specially adapted for particular purposes for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material, e.g. juice from fruits, oil from oil-containing material
  • B30B9/12—Presses specially adapted for particular purposes for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material, e.g. juice from fruits, oil from oil-containing material using pressing worms or screws co-operating with a permeable casing
  • B30B9/16—Presses specially adapted for particular purposes for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material, e.g. juice from fruits, oil from oil-containing material using pressing worms or screws co-operating with a permeable casing operating with two or more screws or worms
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/20—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing natural organic material
  • A01G24/22—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing natural organic material containing plant material
  • A01G24/23—Wood, e.g. wood chips or sawdust
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/40—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure
  • A01G24/44—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure in block, mat or sheet form
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B30—PRESSES
  • B30B—PRESSES IN GENERAL
  • B30B9/00—Presses specially adapted for particular purposes
  • B30B9/02—Presses specially adapted for particular purposes for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material, e.g. juice from fruits, oil from oil-containing material
  • B30B9/12—Presses specially adapted for particular purposes for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material, e.g. juice from fruits, oil from oil-containing material using pressing worms or screws co-operating with a permeable casing
  • B30B9/121—Screw constructions
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
  • D21B—FIBROUS RAW MATERIALS OR THEIR MECHANICAL TREATMENT
  • D21B1/00—Fibrous raw materials or their mechanical treatment
  • D21B1/04—Fibrous raw materials or their mechanical treatment by dividing raw materials into small particles, e.g. fibres
  • D21B1/12—Fibrous raw materials or their mechanical treatment by dividing raw materials into small particles, e.g. fibres by wet methods, by the use of steam
  • D21B1/30—Defibrating by other means

Definitions

• the subject of the invention is a method and an installation for producing a product consisting of a mixture of entangled fibers, and capable in particular of constituting a support which can be used for above-ground cultivation.
• the invention also covers the culture support produced by the process.
• an above-ground growing medium must have a certain number of physical, chemical and biological properties. Indeed, the support must, on the one hand, maintain the roots and, on the other hand, allow the circulation of air, water and fertilizer. In addition, it should preferably be rot-proof, at least for a certain time, and, when it is composed from organic or other products, not present phytotoxicity and not favor the development of microorganisms harmful to them. plants. For various reasons, in particular a low cost, it is advantageous to produce such a product from wood waste or other lignocellulosic raw material.
• a mixture is thus obtained in which the proportion of water is very high and which must be pressed and dried when the place of use is far from the place of production, so that the transport is not too expensive.
• the use of machines already known for the manufacture of paper pulp is advantageous since such machines exist on the market and since we know the operation and the settings well.
• the properties required of a pulp of cellulosic fibers for the manufacture of paper pulp are not necessarily those which are expected from a product intended for the production of a culture support.
• the subject of the invention is a new process and an installation making it possible to defiberate wood chips under conditions specially adapted to obtaining a product having a set of qualities which are particularly advantageous for the production of '' an above-ground growing medium.
• the invention also relates to the new product thus produced.
• defibering of the wood chips is carried out by passing them through a machine comprising at least two screws driven in rotation inside a sheath which envelops them and provided with threads of varying pitch and all of the characteristics of which are adjusted so as to achieve a controlled degree of defibration making it possible to obtain, at the outlet of the machine, a mixture based on isolated fibers and agglomerated bundles of fibers, of various lengths and granulometries and , during defibration, an adhesive binder is introduced into the sheath with a flow rate adjusted according to the conditions of transport of the entrained material so that it is distributed in the fiber mixture in a discontinuous manner, the temperature of the entrained material being controlled so as to delay the hardening of the adhesive binder so that it does not occur inside the sheath.
• the defibration conditions are adjusted so as to obtain a mixture of fibers whose lengths can range from a few microns to about one centimeter.
• the particle size of the mixture is preferably such that at least sixty percent (60%) of the mixture is retained with a sieve of 14 and that the proportion of fines passing through a sieve of 200 is less than ten percent ( 10%).
• the invention is based on the idea that instead of carrying out defibration in the way commonly used for the manufacture of paper pulp, that is to say in disc shredders or refiners, it would be more advantageous, for obtaining the desired particular properties, using another less known process, proposed quite recently, and in which the defibration of the chips is carried out by passing through a screw machine of the same type as those which are used for making and extrusion of plastics.
• Such a machine described in particular in French patent 2,319,737 comprises at least two screws with parallel axes, driven in rotation inside a sheath and provided with helical threads meshing one in the other so as to drive the shavings between an upstream end and a downstream end of the sheath, where are provided, respectively, an opening for the introduction of the shavings and an orifice for discharging the defibrated material, the screws being made up of successive contiguous zones provided with threads not varied.
• the screws comprise, in the direction of advancement of the material, a first downstream drive zone with progressive compression and evacuation of at least part of the water contained in the chips through filtering parts formed in the sheath, a first braking zone comprising threads with inverted pitch provided with windows for downstream passage of a controlled quantity of material, a second drive zone and mixing of the material with the adhesive introduced by at least one orifice formed in the sheath, a second braking zone with reverse pitch with windows, and a third zone for driving the mixture towards the evacuation orifice of the sheath.
• the windows of the reverse pitch threads have a width of the order of 15 to 20 millimeters in the first braking zone and 12 to 15 millimeters in the second braking zone.
• the machine is advantageously provided with means for regulating the temperature of the entrained material which makes it possible to adjust the latter to a level higher than 100 ° C., preferably included between 120 and 140 °, in the first entrainment zone, the temperature of the material then being reduced to a level below 100 ° C before the introduction of the adhesive binder and maintained at this level until the outlet of machine, so as to avoid hardening of the binder which normally occurs by polymerization.
• the installation comprises, after leaving the defibration machine, means for distributing and shaping the mixture of fibers in the form of a rigid block of determined dimensions.
• means for rapid cooling and partial drying of the mixture are interposed between the defibration machine and the shaping means.
• These cooling and drying means can advantageously be constituted by a transport sheath traversed by a stream of gas, provided at its upstream end with an orifice for introducing the mixture leaving the defiberation machine and opening at its downstream end into a cyclone comprising a chimney for discharging the moisture-laden gas and a lower orifice for discharging the cooled and dried mixture.
• the means for distributing and shaping the mixture comprise a vibrating table fed continuously by the defibrated mixture for packing it, followed by a shaping table provided with means for profiling the mixture. in the form of a continuous bar of determined width and thickness.
• the shaping table is further followed by a zone for drying and polymerizing the adhesive by heating the bar to a temperature of the order of 130 ° C. Then, the continuous bar thus produced can be cut into sections of determined dimensions.
• a culture support is thus produced based on wood fibers consisting of a mixture of entangled fibers of extended particle size and connected together by glue dots distributed randomly and discontinuously, the whole forming after drying an aerated structure and relatively rigid. Furthermore, the mixture can be put into the form of solid profiled sections, of section and length determined according to use and marketing conditions. Each section is advantageously placed in a plastic film likely to retain liquids and allow air to pass through.
• Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the defibration machine.
• Figure 2 is a top view of the machine, with partial removal of the sleeve.
• Figure 3 is a general schematic view of the product manufacturing facility.
• Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the means of shaping the product.
• FIG. 5 shows schematically, on an enlarged scale, a mixture of entangled fibers.
• a screw defibering machine (1) suitable for implementing the method.
• the machine essentially comprises two screws (2) and (2 ') with parallel axes and provided with helical threads meshing with one another, the distance between the screws being less than the outside diameter of the threads.
• the two screws are placed inside a sheath (11) whose internal wall consists of two intersecting cylindrical faces, with the same spacing as the screws so as to envelop them.
• the two screws are rotated about their respective axes by a drive group (12). It results from this rotation and from the gear of the screws a driving effect (from left to right in the Figure) of the material introduced by a feed orifice (13) formed at an upstream end of the sheath.
• This orifice (13) centered in the median plane of symmetry of the machine, opens widely on the two screws and can advantageously have a diameter of the order of the center distance of the screws.
• each screw essentially comprises, from its upstream end to its downstream end in the direction of advancement of the material, a first downstream drive and progressive compression zone A, a first braking zone B, a second downstream driving zone C, a second braking zone D and a third downstream driving zone E, in which the product is evacuated.
• the first zone A which can extend over a significant part, of the order of half, of the sheath (11), can also be made up of adjoining sections with different steps and normally includes a first section with a not wide enough step which allows to train quickly downstream the raw material, introduced through the supply orifice (13).
• This raw material will normally consist of humidified or steamed wood chips, but other iignoceilulosic materials could possibly be used.
• the introduction rate can be adjusted, for example, by a screw feeder (30) spreading the shavings (3) in rain so that they are distributed well on the threads passing below the orifice (13) .
• the pitch of the threads (21) of zone A tightens so as to achieve progressive compression of the entrained material.
• This compression results essentially from the braking carried out in the first braking zone B which comprises threads (22) with inverted pitch, which means that, taking into account the direction of rotation of the screws, they should control the recoil of the material towards the orifice (13).
• These threads (22) are, moreover, provided with several windows (23) distributed regularly around the axes. One can, for example, meet four or five windows on a complete turn.
• This first braking zone B is followed by a second drive zone C with direct pitch.
• the sheath (11) is provided with one or more orifices (16) opening at the entrance to the zone C and connected to a circuit (17) for injecting an adhesive which can be hardened by polymerization.
• Zone C is followed by a second braking zone D constituted in a similar manner to the first zone B.
• each braking zone comprises three reverse-pitch threads provided with windows, but these are, however, a little narrower. in the second zone D than in the first zone B.
• the windows (23) will have a width of the order of 15 to 20 millimeters and preferably 18 millimeters, and in the second braking zone D, they will have a width of 12 to 15 millimeters, and preferably 14 millimeters. Generally, these dimensions will be chosen according to the degree of defibration sought.
• the screws have a third downstream driving zone E and are provided with threads (25) with relatively wide direct pitch, so as to achieve a certain relaxation of the material. driven out of the sheath falling through the orifice (14) which opens widely on the two screws.
• this type of screw machine it is possible to achieve fairly precise zone regulation of the temperature of the material by means of the sheath.
• the material driven downstream by the rotation of the screws is distributed in a relatively thin layer all around them, in contact with the internal face of the sleeve, in particular when the screws are driven in rotation in the same sense, and it is therefore possible by surrounding the casing (11) externally with heating (26) or cooling (27) jackets, to maintain the temperature more or less constantly at a level determined according to the zone and which can be controlled, for example, by probes.
• the defibration process used in this machine is similar to that which had already been observed in the screw machines used for the manufacture of paper pulp.
• the chips introduced by the orifice (13) spread into the threads and are driven downstream, this drive being carried out, in machines with several screws, even when the threads are not completely filled.
• the material compresses in the threads, in particular upstream of each engagement zone and the pressure increases to the necessary level to overtake the braking zone B with reverse pitch.
• the material completely fills the threads and therefore rises along them, turning around the axes of the two screws and passing from one screw to the other in the central meshing zone (20) .
• a certain flow of material passes directly downstream through the windows (23) each times that these coincide in the meshing zone where the pressure is the highest.
• defibration is therefore obtained by effects different from those which are used in other mechanical processes such as grinding wheels or disc shredders which rotate at high speed and this results in a difference in constitution and consistency of the material obtained.
• the material leaving each reverse-pitch zone is made up of a mixture of simply fractionated chips, agglomerated bundles and more or less isolated fibers whose dimensions and proportions depend on the different parameters governing the transport of the material, in particular the number and the width of the windows.
• the screw machines used for the manufacture of paper pulp normally comprise three successive braking zones with inverted pitch provided with windows whose widths decrease from one zone to the next.
• the object of the present invention is the preparation of a product having other properties than paper pulp and it has been found that it is particularly advantageous to take advantage of the method of fractionation and defibration of wood produced the screw machine to obtain the desired consistency and texture without seeking to completely defiberate the wood chips.
• an incompletely defibrated material can be obtained consisting of a mixture of fibers more or less isolated or agglomerated into bundles and , therefore, a fairly wide grain size and varied fiber lengths. It is such a mixture that, for simplicity, we 3ppeliara "fibers" thereafter.
• This characteristic is very important in the scope of the invention, that is to say for the production of a culture support, because it makes it possible to ensure the final product the qualities of aeration, porosity, water retention. and capillarity required.
• the characteristics of the machine must be defined according to the nature of the lignocellulosic material used.
• the dryness is greater than 0.6, it is preferable to moisten the wafers or to steam them lightly with steam.
• the screws will be driven at a speed of 250 to 350 revolutions / minute, which gives a passage time in the machine of only a few seconds.
• the passage of the chips in the screw machine does not only make it possible to defibrate them.
• the first defibration will be carried out on shavings whose temperature will have been raised to a level of the order of 120 ° C. by means of heating jackets (32) covering the downstream part of the first drive zone. A and possibly the start of the first braking zone B.
• This temperature level ensures sterilization of the material, which is particularly useful in the case of use in above-ground cultivation.
• the temperature should remain below 140 ° C to avoid the production of acetic acid.
• This temperature rise favors, on the other hand, the softening of the resin which is expelled from the wood due to the fractionation and compression of the chips and can be evacuated, with part of the water, by filtering zones (34 ) formed in the wall of the sheath (11), a little upstream of the braking zone B.
• the material expands in zone C with an enlarged direct pitch where it mixes with a binder introduced by the orifices (16) and preferably consisting of a polymerizable adhesive, for example a mixture of 'a urea-formaldehyde resin with an aqueous solution of urea and C1NH4 as a resin catalyst.
• a polymerizable adhesive for example a mixture of 'a urea-formaldehyde resin with an aqueous solution of urea and C1NH4 as a resin catalyst.
• the introduction of the adhesive through the orifices (16) is done by injection under pressure with a flow rate adjusted as a function of that of the material transported by the screws, the quantity of adhesive injected possibly being of the order of ten for hundred (10%) of the dry weight of processed chips.
• liquid or solid additives intended to spread in the mixture such as, for example, a wetting product making it possible to improve the immediate water retention and / or microorganisms capable of associating with the fibers and favorable to the grows plants.
• the mixing of the binder with the fibers is completed at the exit from the second braking zone D and the last entrainment zone E makes it possible to expel through the outlet orifice (14) a product having a degree of dryness of between 0 , 45 and 0.55 and a dry density of 40 to 45 kg per
• the curing of the adhesive is delayed until it leaves the machine thanks to the cooling jackets (33) which make it possible to lower and maintain the temperature of the material from the injection area C to a level below about 85 ° C., the mixture leaving the machine at a temperature of the order of 75 to 80 ° C.
• the product expelled through the outlet orifice (14) falls into a hopper (41) opening into a sheath (42) traversed by a stream of gas generated by a fan (43).
• the sheath (42) which conveys the mixture of gas and defibrated product, opens tangentially into a cyclone (4) provided with a discharge chimney (44) and a lower outlet orifice (45).
• FIG 4 there is shown, by way of example, such an installation (5) comprising a vibrating table (51) which converges the mixture (32) leaving the cyclone (4) towards a shaping table (52) provided with longitudinal walls between which a profiled bar having the desired width is formed.
• the table (52) is advantageously associated with a compression device (53) which makes it possible to give the profile (33) the desired density and thickness.
• This temperature rise is achieved by passing the profile (33) through a drying oven (54) operating, for example, by circulation of hot pulsed air and / or by microwave, and in which the temperature is high. at a level of the order of 120 to 130 ° C to ensure the polymerization of the binder. It also results in certain elimination of water and a product (6) containing from five to ten percent (5 to 10%) of residual moisture and having an apparent density of 80 kg per m3 is obtained at the outlet of the oven + 20%.
• a drying oven operating, for example, by circulation of hot pulsed air and / or by microwave, and in which the temperature is high. at a level of the order of 120 to 130 ° C to ensure the polymerization of the binder. It also results in certain elimination of water and a product (6) containing from five to ten percent (5 to 10%) of residual moisture and having an apparent density of 80 kg per m3 is obtained at the outlet of the oven + 20%.
• the profiled product (6) cools at the outlet from the oven (54) and is finally divided by a cutting device (55) into blocks or "breads" (7) of determined length.
• loaves (7) which are relatively rigid can then be packaged and packaged as required.
• the loaves (7) which may for example have a length of 1 meter, a width of 20 centimeters and a thickness of 8 centimeters, are placed in an envelope made of a sheet of plastic material. of the type used for cultivation and retaining liquids.
• Such an envelope must preferably be opaque, insensitive to ultraviolet light and of food grade.
• the plastic envelope making it possible to contain a nutritive liquid in the bread of tangled fibers serving as support for the roots.
• known culture supports were mainly produced in bulk and intended essentially to be mixed with natural soil
• the invention makes it possible to put on the market rigid products of determined dimensions and already wrapped in waterproof film.
• Such products have the advantage of great ease of handling and use. As they are light and easy to transport, they can be placed and stored in any location, leave holes for planting, for example, cuttings, then simply introduce the nutrient liquid into the envelope.
• the degree of rigidity obtained by spot bonding of the entangled fibers there is no risk of natural packing of the support which retains its porosity properties over time.
• Another important advantage of this new above-ground support is its organic and biodegradable character which allows the use without problems for several cultures.
• the screw defibration machine has been described in its simplest state for obtaining the desired result, but it would not be prohibited to use some of its possibilities to carry out, for example, other treatments on wood chips.
• the different means of drying, distributing and shaping the defibrated material could be replaced by equivalent devices.
• the drying of the material leaving the defibration machine could be carried out, for example, on a filtering table and the shaping of the product could be carried out in individual molds.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Ecology (AREA)
• Forests & Forestry (AREA)
• Dry Formation Of Fiberboard And The Like (AREA)
• Cultivation Of Plants (AREA)
• Paper (AREA)
• Hydroponics (AREA)

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Citations (4)

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• 1988
  • 1988-01-13 FR FR8800325A patent/FR2625645B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1989
  • 1989-01-11 ES ES198989400087T patent/ES2037969T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1989-01-11 WO PCT/FR1989/000004 patent/WO1989006488A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1989-01-11 EP EP89400087A patent/EP0324689B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1989-01-11 US US07/415,257 patent/US5087400A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1989-01-11 JP JP1501264A patent/JPH02502879A/ja active Pending
  • 1989-01-11 DE DE8989400087T patent/DE68903955T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1993
  • 1993-03-05 GR GR930400473T patent/GR3007252T3/el unknown

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