WO2004005798A1

WO2004005798A1 - Method and device for generating superheated steam and superheated steam processing device

Info

Publication number: WO2004005798A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/005536
Authority: WO
Inventors: Naoto Masuda
Original assignee: Thermo.Electron Co.,Ltd.
Priority date: 2002-07-09
Filing date: 2003-04-30
Publication date: 2004-01-15
Also published as: AU2003234776A1; JPWO2004005798A1; JP3980595B2

Abstract

A method and a device for generating superheated steam capable of stably supplying fine superheated steam without lowering a temperature and increasing the accuracy of temperature control, the method comprising the steps of feeding water to a heating tube (22) in a primary heating chamber (12), heating the water by a gas burner (24) in a boiler part (16) to generate steam, heating the steam by heaters (30) in a superheated steam generating part (18) to generate superheated steam, allowing only fine steam particles among the superheated steam to pass through a steam separating chamber (50), and re-heating the particles to a specified temperature in a secondary superheating chamber (70) and feeding to a processing chamber (90) to apply a necessary processing to a processed object (94), while either of compressed air, nitrogen gas, and carbon dioxide gas is fed, as necessary, from an air feeding device (120) or a gas feeding device (180) to the processing chamber (90), wherein the heaters (30) are controlled by a temperature control part (110) based on the detected results of temperature sensors (32) and (100) installed on the output side of the heating tube (22) and inside the processing chamber (90), whereby an accurate temperature control can be performed.

Description

Superheated steam generation method and device, superheated steam treatment device

"Technical field"

The present invention relates to a superheated steam generation method and apparatus for heating a saturated steam to obtain superheated steam, and a superheated steam processing apparatus for performing a necessary process on a processing object using the superheated steam. The present invention relates to a superheated steam generation method and apparatus suitable for generating and utilizing low-pressure superheated steam, and a superheated steam processing apparatus.

"Background technology"

Generally, water vapor with a limit of saturated vapor pressure can float in the air, but it is difficult to evaporate water vapor beyond that limit. This can be easily understood from the fact that laundry does not dry easily in rainy weather. On the other hand, when water is boiled to generate steam, and this steam is further heated to superheated steam, the evaporation rate increases linearly with the temperature. This is a phenomenon that is inconsistent with the washing phenomenon.

Normally, as the amount of water vapor in the air increases, the evaporation rate of water decreases and becomes saturated.However, when the temperature rises above a temperature called the reversal point exceeding 10 ο, the evaporation rate becomes linear. To fill the container without exhibiting the so-called saturation state. As a result, in the gas in the container, the properties of water vapor having a high heat capacity and thermal conductivity as a whole take on the properties of air having a low heat capacity and adiabatic properties.

Such superheated steam is preferable to the environment because it does not pollute the air, and has the characteristic of having an extremely large heat capacity because it has the effect of transmitting heat not only by convection but also by radiation. Attention has been drawn from various directions. A conventional superheated steam generator generates water vapor at 100 ° C (at 1 atm) by boiling water in advance, and then forcibly passes it between heat media such as electric heaters. A method of reheating by passing through is known. Then, the obtained super-steam is sprayed on the object to be treated and subjected to various treatments such as heating, drying, cooling, washing, thawing, dehumidifying, sterilizing and sterilizing. For example,

In Japanese Patent No. 3-262445, food is fried using superheated steam, and in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-138020, metal is dissolved.

However, in the above background art, the temperature fluctuates while steam is being sent from the poirer that boils water to the heating section, so that once the heating apparatus is separated from the heating environment, the temperature rapidly decreases. In superheated steam, the temperature cannot be controlled with high precision. In addition, heat loss occurs while steam is being sent, and the used steam is discharged as it is, which is wasteful.

The present invention focuses on the above points, and its purpose is to maintain the high temperature state of the generated superheated steam by heating the saturated steam. Another objective is to improve the accuracy of temperature control of superheated steam and to reduce waste and improve efficiency.

"Disclosure of invention",

In order to achieve the above object, a superheated steam generation method according to the present invention includes: a superheated steam generation step of generating superheated steam by heating water, hot water or steam by a heating unit; and a superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation unit. A steam / water separation step for passing only fine vapor particles, and a reheating step for heating the superheated steam passed through the steam / water separation means.

The superheated steam generator according to the present invention comprises: a superheated steam generation means for generating superheated steam by heating water, hot water or steam by a heating means; and only fine steam particles out of superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation means. Steam / water separating means for passing the gas; and reheating means for heating the superheated steam passed through the gas / water separating means.

The superheated steam processing device of the present invention includes the superheated steam generation device, and the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation device is used for a target to be processed. And at least one processing means for performing processing.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. "Brief description of the drawings"

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed configuration of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part related to the temperature control of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing Embodiment 2 and Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

5A and 5B are diagrams showing Embodiment 4 of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the entire configuration, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a temperature change of generated steam or superheated steam.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed configuration of the above embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing Embodiment 7 of the present invention, in which FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a state of water / water separation, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the relationship between the temperature of superheated steam generated by the present invention and the amount of heat. is there.

"Best mode for carrying out the invention"

While there may be many embodiments of the present invention, an appropriate number of embodiments will now be shown and described in detail.

(1) Overall Configuration An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. First, an outline of Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, a superheated steam processing apparatus of the present invention includes a superheated steam generator 10 for generating superheated steam, and performs a desired process on a processing target by using the superheated steam obtained thereby. Processing room

9 0, a cooling device for cooling the collected steam after processing the processing target in the processing chamber 90 130, an oil / water separation tank 160 for separating oil components from the recovered water cooled and liquefied by the cooling device 130. Further, an air supply device 120 for supplying oxygen as needed and a gas supply device 180 for supplying nitrogen or carbon dioxide gas are connected to the processing chamber 90.

The superheated steam generator 10 has a three-part configuration. A primary heating chamber 12 for generating superheated steam, and the superheated steam obtained in the primary heating chamber 12 is subjected to steam-water separation to be finely divided. A steam / water separation chamber 50 for obtaining only steam particles is provided, and a secondary heating chamber 70 for reheating the superheated steam, which has passed through the steam / water separation chamber 50 and has been lowered in temperature, to a desired temperature. Further, the primary heating chamber 12 is provided with a poirer section 16 for generating water vapor by heating water or hot water, and for generating superheated steam for further heating the steam obtained by the poirer section 16 to generate superheated steam. Part 18 is divided.

Further, the cooling device 130 is provided with a cooling chamber 132 for pre-cooling the high-temperature recovered steam, and a cooling device for further cooling the recovered steam pre-cooled in the cooling chamber 132 with cooling water to be liquefied.橹 It is composed of 150. Further, the air supply device 120 includes a compression device 122 for compressing air and a drying device 124 for drying air, and the gas supply device 180 includes a processing chamber 90. Includes a nitrogen gas cylinder 18 2 and a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 18 4 for sending gas to

(2) Detailed Configuration Next, a detailed configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part related to temperature control of the present embodiment.

First, the superheated steam generator 10 will be described. The superheated steam generator 10 includes a primary heating chamber 12 for generating superheated steam as described above, a steam-water separation chamber 50 for passing only fine superheated steam particles, and a secondary heating chamber for reheating superheated steam. 70. The primary heating chamber 12 is divided into a poiling section 16 and a superheated steam generating section 18 by a partition plate 14, and the entire outside is covered with a heat insulating material 36.

The poiler section 16 is provided with a tank 20 for storing water or hot water. The tank 20 has water (or hot water) and steam passages along its outer periphery. A heat-conductive heating tube 22 is wound, and a scale removing drip 26 is provided. One end of the spiral heating pipe 22 is connected to the lower part of the tank 20, and is connected to a water supply pipe 21 or a circulation pipe 60 provided at an upper part of the primary heating chamber 12 or a circulation pipe 60 to the tank 20. The stored water or hot water is supplied into the heating pipe 22. In addition, a water supply pipe for directly supplying water or hot water to the heating pipe 22 may be provided separately. Furthermore, a drain trap 28 for discharging the scale in the tube and preventing its deposition is provided in a part of the heating tube 22. A gas burner 24 is provided as a heat source at the bottom of such a poiler section 16, and heats a heating pipe 22 wound around the side of the tank 20 to supply water or water supplied to the inside. Heat the hot water to generate steam.

A superheated steam generator 18 is provided above the poirer section 16 with a partition plate 14 as a boundary for good temperature control of the superheated steam. The superheated steam generation section 18 is provided with a heater 30 for further heating the steam in the heating pipe 22 generated in the poiler section 16. Further, a temperature sensor 32 and a pressure sensor 34 for detecting the temperature and pressure of the generated superheated steam are provided at appropriate positions of the heating pipe 22 in the superheated steam generation section 18.

In the present embodiment, the inner diameter of the heating pipe 22 increases from the inflow side of water or hot water (the bottom side of the tank 20 in the illustrated example) to the outflow side of the superheated steam. Thus, by gradually increasing the pipe diameter, it is possible to suppress an increase in the pressure of water vapor due to volume expansion accompanying vaporization due to heating. By suppressing the pressure of the superheated steam, it is possible to prevent the disadvantage that the superheated steam is blown into the steam-water separation chamber 50 at once.

The expansion of the pipe diameter may be performed stepwise or continuously. In the illustrated example, the pipe diameter on the connection side with the tank 20 (that is, the water inflow side) is the smallest, and the pipe diameter increases toward the upper part of the tank 20 and the superheated steam generator 18. That is, at the outlet 38 of the primary heating chamber 12, the pipe diameter is the largest.

The heating tube 22 as described above is connected to a steam-water separation chamber 50 described later through an outlet 38. Sent. A branch pipe 42 is connected to the heating pipe 22 between the outlet 38 and the steam-water separation chamber 50, and the branch pipe 42 is provided with a check valve 1 46. A cooling device 130 described later is connected to the branch pipe 42.

Next, the steam separator 50 will be described. The steam-water separation chamber 50 separates only fine steam particles from the superheated steam generated in the primary heating chamber 12, and is a thin tube 5 4 serving as a passage for the superheated steam introduced from the inlet 52. The periphery of the thin tube 54 is filled with cooling water 56. The cooling water 56 is supplied from a water supply port 58 and discharged from a drain port 59.

The superheated steam at the time of being introduced from the inlet 52 includes coarse to fine steam particles, and is sent into the cooled narrow tube 54 so that only fine steam particles are sent. Pass through the narrow tube 54. This is because superheated steam has particularly good heat transfer, but also has a high degree of cooling, and when cooled in the capillary 54, large particles of the steam can be liquefied and removed. That is, gas-liquid separation can be performed by the fill effect of the thin tube 54.

On the other hand, the temperature of the cooling water 56 that has cooled the thin tubes 54 increases due to heat exchange with superheated steam passing through the inside of the thin tubes 54. Such hot water is sent to the tank 20 of the primary heating chamber 12 by a circulation pipe 60 connected to the drain port 59. As a result, the temperature of the water in the tank 20 increases, and the amount of heat can be effectively used. Further, the steam-water separation chamber 50 is provided with an outlet 62 for fine superheated steam that has passed through the thin tube 54, and a connection tube 64 is connected to the outlet 62. Further, a branch pipe 66 is connected to the connection pipe 64, and the branch pipe 66 is connected to a cooling device 130 described later.

The secondary heating chamber 70 is for reheating the superheated steam whose temperature has been lowered by passing through the above-mentioned steam-water separation chamber 50 to a desired temperature, and is an inlet 72 and an outlet for the superheated steam. In addition to 7.6, there is also a heating facility for reheating. Here, as in the case of the primary heating chamber 12, the entire outside of the secondary heating chamber 70 may be covered with a heat insulating material or the like.

The superheated steam inlet pipe 78 connected to the outlet 76 of the secondary heating chamber 70 is A pass valve 80 is provided. This bypass valve 80 is also connected to the bypass 82. When processing such as heating and drying is performed, superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator 10 is sent to a processing chamber 90 described later by a bypass valve 80. However, when the supply of the superheated steam to the processing chamber 90 is to be temporarily stopped, for example, when the processing object 94 is exchanged, the superheated steam is sent to the bypass 82 by the bypass valve 80. Such a bypass valve 80 may be automatically driven according to the open / closed state of a door (not shown) of the processing chamber 90.

Next, the processing chamber 90 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing chamber 90 is provided with a superheated steam introduction port 92 and an exhaust port 104, and the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation device 10 is supplied through the introduction pipe. It is connected to the injection pipe 96 through 78 and the inlet 92. The injection pipe 96 is provided with a plurality of injection ports 98, from which the superheated steam is injected toward the processing object 94. The entire processing chamber 90 is covered with a heat insulating material 102 as necessary.

By the way, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a first temperature sensor 32 is provided on the outlet side of the heating pipe 22 of the superheated steam generator 18, and the injection pipe 9 of the processing chamber 90 is provided. A second temperature sensor 100 is provided in the vicinity of the sixth injection port 98. These two temperature sensors 32, 100 are both connected to the temperature control unit 110. Further, the temperature control unit 110 is also connected to the heater 30 of the primary heating chamber 12. That is, the temperature control unit 110 controls the heater 30 based on the detected temperatures of the temperature sensors 32 and 100 to keep the temperature of the superheated steam emitted into the processing chamber 90 constant. It is configured to perform control. Further, the temperature control section 110 may be connected to the heater 74 of the secondary heating chamber 70 so that the heating control in the secondary heating chamber 70 is performed as necessary.

Further, an air supply device 120 for supplying air into the processing chamber 90 is connected to the processing chamber 90 via an air supply pipe 126. The air supply device 120 is composed of a compression device 122 and a drying device 124, and the dry air compressed by these components is supplied into the processing chamber 90 via an air supply pipe 126. It is. It is not necessary to provide such an air supply device 120, but depending on the processing object 94, the processing level can be adjusted. For example, in the case of baking bread in the processing room 90, by supplying an appropriate amount of oxygen contained in the air, it is possible to obtain bread with a suitable degree of brown and good baking. In addition, a gas supply device 180 for supplying nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas is connected to the processing chamber 90 via a pipe 186. The gas supply device 180 includes a nitrogen gas cylinder 182 and a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 184. Such a gas supply device 180 does not necessarily need to be provided like the air supply device 120 described above. However, when it is not necessary to brown the object to be treated 94 or when oxygen is not necessary (for example, in the case of the air-conditioning system). (鲭 treatment, safety explosion-proof treatment), etc., the desired treatment can be performed by supplying nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas.

The exhaust port 104 of the processing chamber 90 as described above is provided with an exhaust pipe 106 for collecting the superheated steam after the treatment, and the exhaust side of the exhaust pipe 106 is cooled. Connected to device '130. The cooling device 130 is composed of a cooling chamber 132 for pre-cooling the recovered steam and a cooling tank 150 for further cooling the pre-cooled recovered steam with water to liquefy it.

The cooling chamber 13 2 is provided with a pre-heating chamber 1 36 in addition to an inlet 1 34 and an outlet 1 40. The preheating chamber 1336 has a heater 1338 for reheating superheated steam supplied through a branch pipe 66 provided on the outlet 62 side of the steam separation chamber 50. Is provided. If the recovered steam is very hot (for example, 150 ° C or higher), it is effective to mix the superheated steam with a lower temperature for pre-cooling. The preheating chamber 1336 is for obtaining a relatively low-temperature superheated steam for the precooling, and sends the heated superheated steam to the cooling chamber 1332 to be mixed with the high-temperature recovered steam. For example, the superheated steam heated to about 120 ° C. in the preheating chamber 1336 is mixed with the high temperature recovered steam of about 150 to 250 in the cooling chamber 132.

The recovered steam pre-cooled in the cooling chamber 132 is sent to the cooling pipe 150 of the cooling tank 150 via the outlet 140 and the connecting pipe 142. Here, connecting pipe 1 4 2 Is connected to a branch pipe 42 provided with a check valve 1 46. The check valve 146 is provided so that the steam can be sent only from the connecting pipe 142 to the branch pipe 422 on the superheated steam generator 100 side, and the collected steam is supplied to the check valve 146. If the recycled steam can be used, the recovered steam is sent to the superheated steam generator 10 side.

The cooling tank 150 is provided with a cooling pipe 154 serving as a passage for the recovered steam precooled in the cooling chamber 132, and cooling water 155 for cooling the cooling pipe 154. Is filled with two. The cooling pipe 154 is formed by forming a heat conductive thin tube into a stub shape, and is formed by connecting, for example, a U-shaped tube. The recovered steam introduced from the connecting pipe 14 2 through the inlet 1 56 is supplied to the cooling pipe 1

While passing through 54, it is cooled and liquefied by the cooling water 152, and is sent to an oil-water separation tank 160 described later as recovered water. It should be noted that the cooling water 15 2, which has been heated and used for cooling, may be sent to the tank 20 of the primary heating chamber 12 by a circulation pipe (not shown) or the like to reuse the cooling water. Good.

Next, the oil-water separation tank 160 will be described. The oil / water separation layer 160 separates oil mixed in the recovered steam or recovered water after the processing of the object 94 in the processing room 90. The oil / water separation tank 160 includes a water storage chamber 164 and a separation chamber 166 separated by a partition wall 162. These reservoirs 1

64 and the separation chamber 166 communicate with each other at the bottom of the partition wall 162. The recovered water liquefied in the cooling tank 150 is first collected in the separation chamber 166 via the inlet 168. The separation chamber 166 separates the oil component by specific gravity, and the upper oil component is discharged to the outside from the discharge pipe 170. The oil-water separation tank 160 as described above is also provided with an exhaust blower 1702.

(3) Operation ... Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. Water (or hot water) is supplied to the water tank 20 from the water supply pipe 21 or the circulation pipe 60. From the descaling drip 26, a required amount of descaling agent is injected. As the descaling agent, for example, sodium carbonate is used, and the type and injection amount of the agent may be appropriately determined according to the water quality. In the poiling section 16 of the primary heating chamber 12, the heating pipe 22 is heated by the gas burner 24. As a result, the temperature of the water in the heating tube 22 rises, and eventually becomes water vapor. The mud in the heating pipe 22 is discharged from the drain trap 28. The steam rising in the heating pipe 22 is further heated by the heater 30 in the superheated steam generator 18 to be, for example, a high-temperature, low-pressure superheated steam of about 250. At this time, since the diameter of the heating pipe 22 was increased from the water supply side to the superheated steam discharge side, the pressure increase of steam based on the volume expansion due to vaporization due to heating was reduced. Can be suppressed. The temperature and pressure of the superheated steam are detected by a temperature sensor 32 and a pressure sensor 34. The superheated steam obtained in the primary heating chamber 12 passes through the thin tube 54 cooled in the steam-water separation chamber 50, so that only fine steam particles are sorted out. The cooling water 56 used at this time is sent to the tank 20 by the circulation pipe 60 and reused. Since the temperature of the fine superheated steam that has passed through the steam-water separation chamber 50 is reduced by the cooling water 56, the desired temperature, for example, 1 It is reheated to about 100 to 200 ° C.

The superheated steam obtained in the secondary heating chamber 70 is supplied to the processing chamber 90 via the bypass valve 80 during the processing. In the processing chamber 90, superheated steam is blown from the injection pipe 96 to the processing object 94, and a desired processing such as heating, drying, and sterilization is performed. In addition, depending on the processing object 94 and the content of the processing, compressed air is supplied from the air supply device 120 into the processing chamber 90 as necessary to adjust the processing level, and the gas supply device is used. It is also possible to supply nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas from 180.

In this case, the temperature of the superheated steam in the superheated steam generator 18 of the primary heating chamber 12 is detected by the temperature sensor 32. Further, the temperature of the superheated steam near the injection port 98 of the processing chamber 90 is detected by the temperature sensor 100. The temperature control unit 110 controls the temperature of the superheated steam with reference to the detection results of the temperature sensors 32 and 100. More specifically, when the temperature of the superheated steam in the processing chamber 90 is determined, the temperature of the superheated steam at the output of the superheated steam generator 18 is also determined. Accordingly, the temperature of the superheated steam at the output section of the superheated steam generation section 18 is measured by the temperature sensor 32, and the amount of heating by the heater 30 is controlled based on the measurement result. For example, when an electric heater is used, the amount of current is controlled. Specifically, when the temperature of the temperature sensor 32 is lower than the desired value, the amount of energization is increased to increase the temperature of the superheated steam, and conversely, when the temperature of the temperature sensor 32 is higher than the desired value, the amount of energization is decreased to reduce the superheated steam. Lower the temperature of However, what finally requires a predetermined temperature is the superheated steam in the processing chamber 90. Therefore, in this example, temperature control by another temperature sensor 100 is performed. That is, correction of the temperature control based on the detection result of the other temperature sensor 32 is performed based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 100. The temperature of superheated steam drops rapidly when it leaves the heating environment. In particular, in the case of the present embodiment, the temperature is significantly reduced because the superheated steam generated in the primary heating chamber 12 is cooled in the steam-water separation chamber 50 to pass only fine steam particles. Therefore, when the temperature control of the superheated steam is performed only by referring to the detection result of the temperature sensor 32, it is not possible to properly follow the temperature fluctuation.

Therefore, the temperature of the superheated steam in the superheated steam generator 18 is detected by the temperature sensor 32, and the heater 30 is controlled. Then, a temperature sensor 100 is installed in the processing chamber 90, the temperature of the superheated steam in the processing chamber 90 is detected, and the heater 30 is controlled so that the temperature also becomes a target value. To correct the temperature. As described above, by performing the automatic secondary control with the temperature sensors 32, 100 provided side by side, it is possible to supply the superheated steam having a stable temperature in accordance with the temperature fluctuation of the superheated steam. . The treated steam is sent to the cooling device 130 via the exhaust port 104 and the exhaust pipe 106. The recovered steam is first pre-cooled in a cooling chamber 132, and then sent to a cooling tank 150 where it is cooled and liquefied, for example, into 8 Ot or less of recovered water. At this time, if the recovered steam is extremely high temperature, the relatively low-temperature (for example, about 120 ° C) superheated steam for cooling generated by the preheating chamber 1336 is used for the cooling chamber 1332 Where it is mixed with the recovered steam, for example, at 150 ° C or less. Pre-cooling is performed as follows.

The recovered water liquefied by the cooling device 130 is sent to the separation chamber 166 of the oil-water separation tank 160. In the separation chamber 166, the upper oil component is discharged from the discharge pipe 170. Then, the water from which the oil component has been removed is sent from the water storage chamber 164 to a tank 20 of the primary heating chamber 12 via a pipe (not shown) or the like, and is circulated for use. Degradation is reduced. Of course, the water remaining in the water storage chambers 16 4 may be discharged as it is.

On the other hand, when the processing object 94 is exchanged, the superheated steam is sent to the bypass 82 by the bypass valve 80. A part of the bypassed steam is sent to the cooling device 130, where it is cooled and liquefied.

(4) Effect As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The superheated steam generator 10 is used to re-heat the superheated steam that has passed through the primary heating chamber 12 that generates the superheated steam, the steam-water separation chamber 50 that allows only the fine superheated steam to pass, and the steam-water separation chamber 50. Since the secondary heating chamber 70 to be heated is used, fine and high-temperature superheated steam can be stably supplied.

(2) By using superheated steam, the desired treatment can be performed on the object to be treated 94 in a short time. For example, by using the superheated steam processing apparatus of the present embodiment for cooking, functions such as an oven, a range, and rice cooking can be provided. As a result, for example, bread can be manufactured in 10 minutes and amppan in 3 minutes, which conventionally required 65 minutes, and cooking time can be greatly reduced.

③ Since the diameter of the heating pipe 22 wound around the outer periphery of the tank 20 is increased from the water or hot water inflow side to the superheated steam outflow side, volume expansion accompanying vaporization due to heating The increase in the pressure of water vapor based on the pressure can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that occurs when the superheated steam blows out into the steam-water separation chamber 50 at a stretch.

に Temperature sensors 32, Since 100 is provided and the heater 30 is controlled by the temperature control unit 110 based on these detection results, highly accurate temperature control can be performed.

(4) Since air is supplied into the processing chamber 90 by the air supply device 120, the processing rate can be adjusted by the supply amount of air. For example, if the object to be processed 94 is bread, cookies, castella, gratin, grilled fish, grilled meat, etc., the degree of burning and scorching is required. The degree of treatment can be adjusted by the way air is introduced. In addition, since nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide gas is supplied to the processing chamber 90 by the gas supply device 180, when the processing object 94 is food, oxidation prevention by nitrogen gas, semi-living food by carbon dioxide gas, etc. Bacteria can be controlled.

冷却 By sending the cooling water 56 used in the air / water separation chamber 50 to the tank 20, both water and heat are reused. Further, by reusing the water from which the oil component has been removed in the oil / water separation tank 160, deterioration of water quality due to reuse of the water is reduced. <Embodiment 2>

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the above-described embodiment, the superheated steam processing apparatus has one processing chamber 90, but the present embodiment is an example including a plurality of processing chambers. In the drawing, the same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as or correspond to the above-described embodiments (the same applies to the following embodiments).

In the present embodiment, a plurality of processing chambers are provided for performing a desired process on a processing target with the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator 10. In the illustrated example, the first processing chamber 200A, the second processing chamber 200B, and the third processing chamber 200C are configured. These processing chambers 200 A to 200 C are provided with preheating chambers 202 A to 202 C for further heating the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator 10. The preheating chambers 202A to 202C are provided with heaters 204A to 204C, respectively. These preheating chambers 202A to 202C are particularly effective when the distance from the superheated steam generator 10 to the processing chamber is long, and the temperature decreases when passing through pipes and the like. Excessive The hot steam can be heated again to the desired temperature.

Each of the preheating chambers 202A to 202C is also provided with a temperature sensor connected to the temperature control unit 110 as in the above-described embodiment. The temperature of the superheated steam heated at 2 C may be controlled. By doing so, it becomes possible to set the processing temperatures in the processing chambers 200 A to 200 C to different temperatures. For example, 120 ° C in the first processing chamber 200 A, 200 ° C in the second processing chamber 200 B, and 300 ° C in the third processing chamber 200 C. . As described above, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of processing chambers are provided, and a preliminary heating chamber for reheating the superheated steam supplied to each of the processing chambers is provided. Temperature control becomes possible. In addition, by setting the temperature of the processing chamber to be higher as it goes from the first processing chamber 200A to the third processing chamber 200, the energy of the superheated steam can be used efficiently.

The processing target may be configured to pass through the first processing chambers 200 A to 200 C in order and be processed, or to be processed in any one of the processing chambers. It may be. The superheated steam after subjecting the object to be treated in each of the treatment chambers 200 A to 200 C to a desired treatment is discharged to the cooling device 130, the oil-water separation tank via the exhaust pipe in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. Sent to 160. Also, in the present embodiment, an air supply device 120 and a gas supply device 180 are provided as necessary, and each of the first to third processing chambers 200 A to 200 C is provided. Alternatively, a desired gas may be supplied to the air conditioner.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment shows another example of the processing chamber. In the first embodiment described above, the processing is performed by directly blowing superheated steam on the processing target 94 using the injection pipe 96 provided in the processing chamber 90. On the other hand, the processing chamber 210 of the present embodiment is provided with a frame 2 12 for preventing the superheated steam (or the wind of the superheated steam) injected from the injection pipe 96 from directly hitting the processing object 94. Is provided You.

The frame 212 surrounds the entire object 94 to be treated, and is made of a porous plate or the like in which many holes 214 are formed. Providing such a frame 2 12 is effective when it is necessary to prevent the superheated steam from directly hitting the object 94 to be treated. Also, for example, when the processing chamber 210 is a conveyor furnace that transports the processing object 94 by a conveyor, by providing such a frame 2 12, for example, at the processing object 94, for example, The wind speed can be about 0. S mZ sec.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 (A) is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 (B) is a diagram showing temperature changes of steam and superheated steam generated by the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the present embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the superheated steam generated in the primary heating chamber 12 is passed through the steam-water separation chamber 50 and the secondary heating chamber 70 in this order. It was done.

First, the outline will be described with reference to FIG. 5 (A). The superheated steam processing apparatus of the present embodiment is composed of a superheated steam generator 300, a processing chamber 350, and a recovery tank 370. ing. The superheated steam generator 300 includes a poirer chamber 302 that heats water or hot water to generate steam, a steam-water separation chamber that cools steam or superheated steam and allows only fine vapor particles to pass through and separates. 3 10, a superheated steam generation section 320 for generating superheated steam and adjusting the temperature thereof is provided, and the superheated steam generation section 320 is provided with a primary heating chamber 3 2 4 and a secondary heating chamber 3 3 4 Includes

The water vapor generated in the poirer chamber 302 is sent to the steam-water separation chamber 310, where only fine water vapor particles are sorted out and sent to the primary heating chamber 324 of the superheated steam generator 320. The steam is heated here to become superheated steam. The superheated steam generated in the primary heating chamber 3 2 4 is sent again to the steam-water separation chamber 3 10, where only fine particles are sorted out and sent to the secondary heating chamber 3 3 4. In the secondary heating chamber 3 3 4 Reheating of the superheated steam is performed to a temperature suitable for treatment at 350. The recovered steam after the processing target is processed in the processing chamber 350 is sent to the recovery tank 370, where it is cooled and liquefied, and is reused in the boiler chamber 302.

Next, a detailed configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the superheated steam generator 300 has a three-part configuration including a poirer chamber 302, a steam-water separation chamber 310, and a superheated steam generator 320. The poiler chamber 302 is provided with a heater 304 for heating water or hot water to generate steam, and is separated from the steam / water separation chamber 310 by a partition plate 36. In addition, the poirer chamber 302 has an outlet for generated steam 308 and is connected to the recovery tank 370 by connecting pipes 372 and 374.

The steam-water separation chamber 310 separates only fine steam particles from the superheated steam generated in the superheated steam generation section 320 in addition to the steam generated in the poiler chamber 302. The narrow tube 3 1 6 connecting the outlet 3 0 8 with the inlet 3 2 4 of the primary heating chamber 3 2 6, the outlet 3 3 2 of the primary heating chamber 3 2 4 and the inlet of the secondary heating chamber 3 3 4 A thin tube 3 18 connecting the 3 3 6 is provided. The steam-water separation chamber 310 is filled with the cooling water 312 as in the first embodiment described above, and cools the steam or superheated steam passing through the narrow tube 316 or 318. It plays the role of a filter that passes only fine vapor particles.

The primary heating chamber 3 2 4 and the secondary heating chamber 3 3 4 of the superheated steam generating section 3 0 2 are separated by a heat insulating partition plate 3 2 2. The primary heating chamber 3 2 4 is a chamber for heating the fine steam passing through the steam separation chamber 3 10 to generate superheated steam. A plurality of thermally conductive partitions 3330 are provided alternately at predetermined intervals, thereby forming a zigzag passageway 331. Further, a heater 3288 for heating the steam is provided so as to penetrate the partition wall 330 and cross the passage 331. The distance between the partition walls 330 is wider as going from the steam introduction side (inlet 3236 side) to the superheated steam discharge side (outlet 3332 side). It is possible to suppress an increase in pressure of steam or superheated steam due to volume expansion due to heating. Thus, in the present embodiment, A combination of the boiler room 302 and the primary heating room 3 2 4 corresponds to the primary heating room 12 of the first embodiment described above, and furthermore, a space between the boiler room 302 and the primary heating room 3 2 4 Has a configuration in which a steam-water separation chamber 310 is interposed.

The secondary heating chamber 3 3 4 generates superheated steam that has been generated in the primary heating chamber 3 2 4 and sent to the steam-water separation chamber 3 10, and the temperature of which has dropped sharply. For reheating to a suitable desired temperature. Its configuration is basically the same as that of the primary heating chamber 3 2 4, and includes a plurality of partition walls 3 4 0, a serpentine passage 3 4 1 formed thereby, and a heater 3 3 8 for heating. Have. In addition, an outlet 342 for sending superheated steam to the processing chamber 350 is provided. Actually, similarly to Embodiment 1 described above, a temperature sensor or the like is provided to control the temperature of the superheated steam.

Next, the processing chamber 350 performs a desired processing on the processing target 360 by using superheated steam introduced through the outlet 342 of the secondary heating chamber 334. However, if necessary, the whole is covered with thermal insulation material. The superheated steam supplied from the secondary heating chamber 334 is sent into the processing chamber 350 by the introduction pipe 352. The introduction pipe 352 includes a stagnant portion 354 having a large diameter for retaining the superheated steam, and a nozzle portion 356 provided continuously at one end of the stagnant portion 354. It is composed of The nozzle portion 356 has an abruptly smaller pipe diameter than the stagnant portion 354, and the injection ports 358 are formed at appropriate intervals. With such a structure, the superheated steam introduced from the secondary heating chamber 334 temporarily stays in the stagnant section 354, and then is directed from the nozzle section 356 having a small diameter to the processing object 360. It is spouted vigorously. That is, it can be considered that the provision of the staying portion 354 pressurizes the superheated steam.

The processing chamber 350 is provided with an exhaust port 364 for collecting the superheated steam after the processing, and the exhaust port 364 is provided with an exhaust pipe 3 connected to the recovery tank 370. 6 6 is connected. The recovered steam recovered through the exhaust pipe 366 is cooled while passing through the exhaust pipe 366 or in the recovery tank 370 to become hot water, and stored in the recovery tank 370. In this embodiment, the exhaust Although the exhaust port 364 of the processing chamber 350 is directly connected to the collection tank 370 by the pipe 366, if necessary, the cooling device 130 of Embodiment 1 described above and the oil water A device similar to the separation tank 160 may be provided to cool the recovered steam or the recovered water, separate the oil, and then send it to the recovery tank 370.

The recovery tank 370 is connected to the poiler chamber 302 by connecting pipes 372 and 374, and the water or hot water stored in both is communicated via the lower connecting pipe 372. are doing. As a result, the water or hot water in the poiler room 302 cools the recovery tank 370 and absorbs its heat to increase the temperature, so that the heat of the recovered steam or recovered water can be used effectively. .

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the boiler chamber 302, water or hot water is heated by the heater 304 to generate steam (corresponding to P0 to P1 in FIG. 5B). The generated water vapor is sent to the steam-water separation chamber 310 via the thin tube 316, where only fine vapor particles are sorted out. This state corresponds to P1 to P2 in FIG. 5 (B). In the case of steam, unlike superheated steam, the degree of cooling is not so large, so it is considered that the temperature hardly changes during a short passage.

The steam introduced into the primary heating chamber 3 24 after passing through the steam / water separation chamber 3 10 is heated by the heat exchanger 3 2 8 and rapidly rises in temperature, for example, to about 300 ° C. It becomes superheated steam (P2-P3). The generated superheated steam keeps a high temperature while passing through the primary superheater chamber 3 2 4 (P 3 to P 4), but the steam-water separation chamber 3 10 through the outlet 3 3 2 and the thin tube 3 18 The temperature drops sharply when sent to (P4 ~ P5). This is because superheated steam has particularly good heat transfer, but also has a high degree of cooling, whereby gas-liquid separation can be performed by the filter effect of the thin tubes 318.

The superheated steam (P5 to P6), which has passed through the capillary tube 318 and whose temperature has dropped, is sent to the secondary heating chamber 334, where it is used in the processing chamber 350 by the HI-HIGA 338. It is heated to a suitable temperature, for example, about 120 ° C (P6 to P7), and sent to the inlet pipe 352 of the processing chamber 350 while maintaining that temperature (P7 to P7). . Introductory pipe 3 5 2 The superheated steam sent to the storage portion 354 is temporarily stored in the storage portion 354, then sent to the nozzle portion 356, and injected from the injection port 358 toward the processing target 360. At this time, after being once stored in a wide place, it is sent to the nozzle portion 356 having a small pipe diameter, whereby the effect of pressurizing the superheated steam can be obtained.

As described above, in the processing chamber 350, the superheated steam is blown from the injection port 358 to the processing object 360, and desired processing such as heating, drying, and sterilization is performed. Also in this embodiment, depending on the processing object 360 and the content of the processing, an air supply device and a gas supply device are provided as necessary in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and adjustment of the processing is performed. You may do so.

The treated steam is sent to the recovery tank 370 through the exhaust port 364 and the exhaust pipe 366, and is cooled and liquefied in the recovery tank 370 or the exhaust pipe 366. , Is stored in the recovery tank 370 as warm water of less than 100 ° C. Here, since the collection tank 370 and the poirer chamber 302 communicate with each other, the collected steam (or collected water) is cooled by the water or hot water in the poirer chamber 302, and at that time, Due to the heat exchange, the temperature of the water or hot water in the boiler chamber 302 rises. That is, the calorie of the recovered steam can be effectively used. The effects of the present embodiment are basically the same as those of the above-described first embodiment. However, according to the present embodiment, before the steam is heated to generate the superheated steam, the steam-water separation chamber 3 10 Pass it through and send only water vapor with fine particles to the primary heating chamber 3 2 4. Further, since the superheated steam generated in the primary heating chamber 324 is separated into steam and water in the steam-water separation chamber 310, and reheated in the secondary heating chamber 334, the structure is further improved. Fine, high-temperature superheated steam can be supplied stably. In addition, since the steam recovery tank 170 and the poirer chamber 302 are connected, the calorie of the recovered steam can be reused. Furthermore, the spacing between the partition walls 330 and 340 of the primary heating chamber 3 2 4 and the secondary heating chamber 3 3 4 was increased from the inflow side to the outflow side of the steam, so the heating The increase in steam pressure can be suppressed. <Embodiment 5>

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 7 shows FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the present embodiment. This embodiment is a modification of the fourth embodiment, in which the superheated steam generator 300 and the processing chamber 350 are separated. Therefore, in order to prevent the temperature of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator 300 from suddenly decreasing before reaching the processing chamber 350 through a pipe (not shown) or the like, the processing chamber At 350, a tertiary heating chamber 400 is provided. The superheated steam sent from the superheated steam generator 300 is first reheated to a desired temperature in the tertiary heating chamber 400 and then sent to the processing chamber 350.

The treated steam is recovered in the recovery tank 370 in the same manner as in the above-mentioned Embodiment 4, but the longer the recovery pipe, the lower the temperature is. And then sent to the steam-water separation chamber 310. As the heating unit 402, a heating unit may be used in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment, or another heating unit such as a gas panner may be used. As described above, by providing the tertiary heating chamber 400 for reheating in the processing chamber 350, even when the superheated steam generator 300 and the processing chamber 350 are set apart from each other, high temperature can be obtained. It is possible to supply superheated steam stably.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the present embodiment. In Embodiments 4 and 5 described above, the steam generated in the boiler chamber 302 and the superheated steam generated in the primary heating chamber 324 are passed through one steam-water separation chamber 310. The present embodiment is an example in which a plurality of steam separation chambers are provided. As shown in the figure, the superheated steam generator 410 of the present embodiment is composed of a boiler room 4 11, three heating rooms 4 12, 4 16, 4 20 and two steam-water separation chambers 4 1 4 , 4 18. The steam generated in the poiling chamber 411 is first sent to the primary heating chamber 412 to be reheated, and becomes superheated steam. The superheated steam is sent to the first steam / water separation chamber 414, where only the fine steam particles are sorted out and sent to the secondary heating chamber 416. Here, the superheated steam whose temperature has been lowered by the gas / water separation is heated again, and further cooled in the second gas / water separation chamber 418 to sort fine particles. Fine superheated steam that has passed through the second steam-water separation chamber 4 18 Since the temperature of the particles has decreased, the particles are finally sent to the tertiary heating chamber 420 and reheated to a desired temperature required for processing in the processing chamber 422.

In the present embodiment, a heat exchanger 424 is further provided in order to reuse the calorific value of the steam after performing the desired processing on the object to be processed in the processing chamber 422. The heat exchanger 4 2 4 is filled with cooling water 4 2 6, and the recovered steam exhausted from the processing chamber 4 2 2 is supplied to the cooling pipe 4 2 8 in the cooling water 4 2 6. Thus, the cooling of the recovered steam and the generation of water vapor by heating the cooling water 426 can be simultaneously realized by heat exchange. Then, the recovered steam cooled and liquefied is discharged, and the generated steam is sent to the primary heating chamber 412 to be reused. At this time, if a valve 4330 is provided at a position closer to the poirer chamber 411 than the confluence of the water vapor generated from the poiler chamber 411 and the heat exchanger 4 2 4, the heat exchanger 4 2 When a sufficient amount of steam is supplied from 4, the supply of steam from the poiler chamber 4 11 can be cut off. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the two steam-water separation chambers 4 14 and 4 18 are provided to select the particle size of the superheated steam. Stable supply is possible. Furthermore, it is also possible to reuse the calorific value of the recovered steam after using it for processing.

Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is a modification of the steam separator. FIG. 2A shows the state of steam-water separation according to the present embodiment. The steam-water separation chamber 450 of the present embodiment includes a cooling chamber 452 for cooling the superheated steam, and a cooling tank 4554 for cooling the entire cooling chamber 452. The cooling tank 454 is filled with a cooling medium such as water. The superheated steam generator 460 is composed of a primary heating chamber 462 and a secondary heating chamber 470. The primary heating chamber 4 62 is provided with an inlet 4 6 4 for steam or superheated steam, an outlet 4 6 8, and a heating heater 4 6 6. Similarly, the secondary heating chamber 4 A superheated steam inlet 474, outlet 476, and heater 472 are provided. Further, the cooling chamber 4 5 2 is provided at an outlet 4 6 8 of the primary heating chamber 4 6 2. A nozzle 456 for injecting superheated steam vigorously is provided inside. The superheated steam injected into the cooling chamber 452 is cooled by the air in the room, and only fine steam particles are sorted out, and then, to the secondary heating chamber 470 through the large-diameter inlet 474. Sent. That is, in the present embodiment, the air itself in the cooling chamber 452 is used as a direct cooling medium. The effects and operations of the present embodiment are the same as those of the above-described embodiment.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9 (B), the calorific characteristics of the superheated steam generated in the present invention will be described. The figure shows the relationship between the temperature of steam and the amount of heat, with the horizontal axis representing temperature (° C) and the vertical axis representing energy (heat) (k ca l Z c c). In the figure, line A shows the characteristics of the saturated steam, line B shows the characteristics of the low-pressure superheated steam generated by the conventional method, and line C shows the characteristics of the superheated steam generated by the present invention. As can be seen from the figure, these three lines intersect at around 11 °, and the 蒸気 line of the saturated steam reaches a critical state at around 374 ° C, and at around 1 ° C until then. The rate of increase in the amount of energy is about 1 ca1 / ° C · cc. The energy increase rate of the low pressure superheated steam for the B line is about 7 ca 1 / ° C · cc, and the energy increase rate for the C line of the superheated steam of the present invention is about 12 ° C until it reaches 120 ° C. 1 3 3 ca 1 Z ° C · cc. As described above, the superheated steam of the present invention can obtain a remarkably large amount of energy and an evaporation rate even at a low temperature of about 120 ° C to 200 ° C, as compared with the saturated steam and the low-pressure superheated steam. . For example, the superheated steam according to the present invention has only 120 heats equivalent to the heat that normal low-pressure superheated steam can have near 300.

As described above, according to the present invention, as described in the above-described embodiment, since the special heating treatment for repeating the cooling and heating of the generated superheated steam is performed, the molecular structure of the steam changes (miniaturization). However, since the water content in the gas is reduced to about 0.1% or less, it is possible to realize a heat transfer power and an evaporation rate several times higher than that of saturated steam or ordinary low-pressure superheated steam. According to the superheated steam of the present invention, the same degree of heat transfer is possible in substantially the same time as when a sample is placed in a liquid at a certain temperature. <Other embodiments>

The present invention has many embodiments, and can be variously modified based on the above disclosure. For example, the following are included.

(1) The size and shape in the above-described embodiment are merely examples, and can be appropriately changed as needed.

(2) The primary heating chamber 12 in Embodiment 1 is an example, and may have any configuration as long as it can generate superheated steam. For example, in the embodiment 1, the heating pipe 22 is wound around the outer periphery of the tank 20, the gas parner 24 is provided below the tank 20, and the heater 30 is provided above the tank 20. For example, a plurality of heating means may be provided, such as providing gas burners at the top, bottom, left, and right. Also, various known heating means may be used. Alternatively, the tank may be formed in a cylindrical shape, and a spiral heating tube 22 may be provided inside the tank, or a structure in which the spiral heating tube is sandwiched between the inner and outer tanks may be employed.

(3) Steam-water separation by the steam-water separation chambers 50, 310, 414, 418 is also an example, and the design can be changed as appropriate to achieve the same effect. For example, in the above-described embodiment, steam-water separation is performed using cooling water.However, as in the steam-water separation chamber 450 of the seventh embodiment, air may be used as a cooling medium, Other gases may be used. Further, a trap or the like for discharging or reusing the drain water separated from water and water may be provided. In the fourth embodiment, the steam and the superheated steam are separated into steam and water once each. However, another heating chamber is provided, and the steam and the heated steam are reciprocated a plurality of times. Is also good. Of course, at this time, the gas may be passed through one gas / water separation chamber, or the same number of steam / water separation chambers as the heating chamber may be provided, and the gas may be passed in order. This makes it possible to supply stable superheated steam with small steam particles.

(4) The processing chambers 90, 210, 350, 422, and the like in the above embodiment are also examples, and may be appropriately changed as necessary. For example, processing inside 90 A conveyor or the like on which the object 94 is placed may be provided to perform various processes. In the second embodiment, three processing chambers are provided. However, the number of processing chambers can be increased or decreased according to the capacity of the superheated steam generator 10. In addition, although the plurality of processing chambers are arranged in series in the above embodiment, they may be arranged in parallel if necessary. Further, in the fourth embodiment, the staying portion 354 is formed in the superheated steam introduction pipe 352 so as to pressurize the superheated steam to be injected. Various pressurizing mechanisms may be used.

(5) In the first embodiment, the temperature control of the superheated steam is performed using the two temperature sensors 32 and 100. However, this does not prevent the use of more temperature sensors. The method is not limited to the above-described temperature control method as long as superheated steam at a desired temperature can be finally obtained in the processing chamber 90.

(6) In the above embodiment, the superheated steam after the treatment is recovered, but this recovery processing may be performed as needed. In the first embodiment, the oil / water separation chamber 160 for removing the oil component contained in the recovered steam is provided. However, when the steam is not likely to be contaminated, the separation chamber 1 is not necessarily provided. It is not necessary to provide 6 and only the water storage chambers 16 need to be provided.

(7) The objects to be treated 94 and 360 are, in addition to the food products such as bread mentioned above, for example, wastewater, industrial products, their parts, clothing, chemicals, various raw materials, waste, medical supplies and medical supplies. Various materials such as waste can be applied, and solids and liquids as well as powders may be used. In addition to the above-described heating, various forms of processing such as drying, cooling, washing, sintering, thawing, dehumidifying, steaming, cooking, sterilizing, and heating are possible.

(8) In the above embodiment, air is used at the time of the superheat treatment. However, other than air, for example, oxygen may be used. By using oxygen, it is possible to efficiently perform processes such as browning food, incinerating the object to be treated, and sterilizing the object to be treated. Further, the gas supplied by the gas supply device 180 is also an example, and a gas other than nitrogen or carbon dioxide may be supplied at the time of processing. (9) The above embodiments may be combined. For example, instead of generating steam in the boiler chamber 302 of the fourth embodiment, a superheated steam is generated using the same one as the primary heating chamber 12 of the first embodiment, so that the steam-water separation chamber 31 The steam-water separation of superheated steam by zero may be performed twice.

"Industrial applicability"

As described above, according to the present invention, superheated steam generated by heating water, hot water or steam is separated into steam and water, and only the fine steam particles obtained thereby are reheated. In addition, it is possible to stably supply fine superheated steam without lowering the temperature, and to use the superheated steam for processing in a short time and efficiently. In addition, since the temperature of the superheated steam is measured and controlled at a plurality of locations, the temperature of the superheated steam can be satisfactorily maintained at a desired value. Further, any one of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide gas is supplied at the time of processing as required, so that the processing rate can be adjusted by the supply amount of these gases.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. Superheated steam generating means for generating superheated steam by heating water, hot water or steam with a heating means,

Steam-water separation means for passing only fine steam particles out of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation means,

Reheating means for heating the superheated steam passed through the steam / water separation means,

A superheated steam generator comprising:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the reheating means are provided, and the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation means is alternately passed through the steam / water separation means and the plurality of reheating means. Superheated steam generator.

3. The reheating means comprises:

Multiple thermally conductive bulkheads,

3. A superheated steam passage formed in a zigzag shape by the plurality of partition walls, and an interval between the partition walls is increased from a steam introduction side to a steam introduction side. The superheated steam generator according to the above.

4. The superheated steam generation means,

Storage tank for storing water or hot water,

A heat conductive heating tube wound around the outer periphery of the storage tank and supplied with water or hot water;

The superheated steam generator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heating means heats the heating tube to generate superheated steam.

5. The superheated steam generator according to claim 4, wherein a diameter of the heating pipe is increased from a supply side of water or hot water to a discharge side of superheated steam.

6. The steam-water separation means,

A passage for the superheated steam supplied from the superheated steam generation means,

A cooling tank for cooling the periphery of the passage with a cooling medium, The superheated steam generator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

7. When the cooling medium is water, circulating means for supplying the cooling water discharged from the cooling tank to the storage tank or the heating pipe,

7. The superheated steam generator according to claim 6, comprising:

8. A processing means comprising the superheated steam generator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and performing a process necessary for a processing target by using the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator,

A superheated steam treatment device comprising at least one of the following.

9. Preheating means for reheating the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator and supplying the reheated steam to the processing means;

9. The superheated steam treatment device according to claim 8, comprising:

10. Gas supply means for supplying at least one of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide to the treatment means,

The superheated steam treatment device according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising:

1 1. With multiple temperature sensors,

Temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generator or the temperature of the superheated steam reheated by the preheating means based on the detection results by these temperature sensors;

Superheated steam treatment according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized by comprising:

1 2. The processing means:

A pressurizing means for pressurizing the superheated steam supplied from the superheated steam generator,

Superheated steam treatment according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized by comprising:

3. The processing means

Porous to prevent superheated steam from directly hitting the processing object Frame,

Superheated steam treatment according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized by comprising:

1 4. Cooling means for recovering and liquefying the steam after processing by the processing means,

The superheated steam treatment according to any one of claims 8 to 13, further comprising: oil / water separation means for separating oil and water in the recovered water liquefied by the cooling means.

15. Reuse means for reusing the calorific value of the steam after being processed by the processing means,

Superheated steam treatment according to any one of claims 8 to 14, characterized by comprising:

16. The processing means is characterized in that the processing target is subjected to any one of heating, drying, cooling, washing, incineration, thawing, dehumidification, steaming, rice cooking, sterilization, protection, and annealing. The superheated steam treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 15, wherein

17. Superheated steam generation process in which water, hot water or steam is heated by a heating means to generate superheated steam,

A steam-water separation step of passing only fine steam particles out of the superheated steam generated by the superheated steam generation means,

A reheating step of heating the superheated steam that has passed through the steam / water separation means,

A method for generating superheated steam, comprising: