WO2011045997A1

WO2011045997A1 - Method of tree sap extraction by squeezing, trunk shredder, and tree sap extraction system

Info

Publication number: WO2011045997A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/065621
Authority: WO
Inventors: ▲隆▼ 森; 善則村田; 昭彦小杉; 隆益荒井; 賢治山下; 辰平荒木
Original assignee: 独立行政法人国際農林水産業研究センター; 株式会社マツオ
Priority date: 2009-10-15
Filing date: 2010-09-10
Publication date: 2011-04-21
Also published as: MY162077A; JP2011083974A; JP4665257B1

Abstract

Provided is a trunk shredder which comprises a feeder assembly (13) for feeding a tree trunk (T) in the longitudinal direction from the front end face thereof, and a cutter assembly (15) for producing small cut pieces of a tree trunk (T) transferred by the feeder assembly (13). In the cutter assembly (15), a cutter blade placed in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction of the tree trunk is moved relative to the front end face of the trunk (T), and cuts the front face into small cut pieces. Then a sap-extracting machine squeezes the small cut pieces to obtain tree sap efficiently.

Description

Juice method, trunk shredder and juicing system

The present invention relates to a squeezing method for squeezing sap from a trunk of a tree, a trunk shredder that can be suitably used for the squeezing method, and a squeezing system using the trunk shredder.

Recently, a technology for producing ethanol, lactic acid, etc. from sugar contained in sap using sap contained in a trunk of a tree such as oil palm has been developed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses a method of producing ethanol or lactic acid by fermenting a composition other than oil palm-derived bark with microorganisms. Here, for example, the trunk of oil palm from which the bark has been removed by cutting is finely pulverized using a pulverizer, the sap is collected by pressing the obtained pulverized material, and the resulting juice is fermented. By making it, ethanol and lactic acid are produced.

With such technology, it is desired to efficiently obtain as much sap as possible from the trunk after peeling off the katsura.

JP 2008-178355 A

However, conventionally, the trunk of a felled tree has been processed into a predetermined shape so as to be suitable for various uses and used as a woodworking material or the like, or a chip with a side of about 5 mm to several centimeters is used as a papermaking material. Just squeezing the sap from the trunk of the felled tree was not very common. Therefore, there is no known technique for efficiently collecting more sap from the trunk of the tree.

The first object of the present invention is to provide a squeezing method capable of efficiently squeezing a large amount of sap from a trunk of a felled tree, and for a trunk capable of efficiently producing a piece from which the sap is easily squeezed from the trunk. A second object is to provide a shredder, and a third object is to provide a squeeze system that can efficiently squeeze a large amount of sap from the trunk of a felled tree.

The juice squeezing method of the present invention that achieves the first object is characterized in that the end face of the trunk is moved while the trunk and the tear blade are rotated relative to each other by the tear blade that is arranged so as to intersect with the trunk axis in the inclined direction. A thin piece is produced by cutting, and the sap is squeezed by squeezing the thin piece with a squeezing device.

According to the squeezing method of the present invention, since the slit pieces are produced directly from the trunk by the slitting blade, it is not necessary to divide one trunk into a large number of parts, and the slit pieces are produced efficiently with a small number of steps. . In the present invention, since the trunk is not divided into a large number of parts before the tearing, the end portion or the pressure-deformed portion where it is difficult to form a uniform strip is suppressed. In addition, since the trunk is cut by the slitting blade, the slit is produced. Therefore, when the slit is formed, the trunk is crushed and the sap is prevented from flowing out. Since the end face of the trunk is cut, even a hard fiber extending in the axial direction of the trunk is cut short, and a small-sized piece having a small size that is easy to squeeze sap is produced. In particular, the end face of the trunk is cut into the shape of a rotating body because the end face of the trunk is cut with the tearing blade by relatively rotating the tearing blade and the trunk in a state where the shredding blade is disposed in an inclined direction with respect to the axis of the trunk. Become. For this reason, the slit blades sequentially contact and cut in a narrow region on the inclined surface corresponding to the radius of the rotating body shape, so that the contact angle of the slit blades does not change greatly over the entire end surface. Therefore, the conditions at the time of cutting with a thin cleaving blade can be stabilized, and a large amount of thin pieces that can be easily squeezed can be produced uniformly. By squeezing such shards and squeezing the sap, the squeezing rate can be improved and a large amount of sap can be obtained.

The trunk shredder of the present invention that achieves the second object comprises a feeding part that feeds the trunk from the front end surface along the longitudinal direction, and a shredded piece that is squeezable by a squeezing device from the trunk fed from the feeding part. The slit portion includes a slit blade that is arranged so as to intersect with the trunk axis in an inclined direction, and the front end surface of the trunk while relatively rotating the slit blade and the trunk. It is comprised so that a thin piece may be produced by cutting.

According to the trunk shredder of the present invention, the front end surface of the trunk is cut by the slit portion while the trunk is being sent out from the front end portion along the longitudinal direction by the feed portion, so that the sap is squeezed. Easily split pieces are produced efficiently and uniformly. In the slit part, the end face of the trunk is cut with the split blade by rotating the split blade and the trunk relative to each other in a state where the slit blade is arranged in an inclined direction with respect to the axis of the trunk. Can be produced stably.

In the trunk shredder, preferably, the slit roller has a slit blade on the side peripheral surface and is driven to rotate, and a receiving roller that rotates while the front end surface of the trunk is in contact with the side peripheral surface. And cutting with the slitting blade of the cutter roller while abutting the front end side of the trunk against the side peripheral surface of the roller.

When the front end face of the trunk is cut with the thin cutter blade of the rotated cutter roller, a force is applied to the trunk in the direction in which the trunk roller is pulled into the cutter roller side. However, with this configuration, the trunk can be reliably prevented from being pulled toward the cutter roller by the front end surface of the trunk being in contact with the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller. As a result, fluctuations in the trunk feed amount can be suppressed, and the size of the shredded pieces can be stabilized.

In the trunk shredder of the present invention, the rotating shaft of the cutter roller and the rotating shaft of the receiving roller are arranged so as to be substantially parallel to each other and inclined so that the front of each rotating shaft in the trunk feeding direction is higher than the rear. It is preferable to include an inclination adjusting unit that adjusts the inclination angles of the rotating shaft of the cutter roller and the rotating shaft of the receiving roller.

In this manner, the substantially conical cut surface formed by the cutter roller is easily brought into contact with the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller, and fluctuations in the trunk feed amount are reliably suppressed. Moreover, in addition to adjusting the angle of the slit blade with respect to the front end surface of the trunk to form a desired slit piece, even if the cutting angle is adjusted, the cutting surface by the cutter roller comes into contact with the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller. The cutting angle is easily adjusted.

In the trunk shredder according to the present invention, preferably, the slit portion is provided with a guide roller having a rotation shaft inclined in a reverse gradient with respect to the rotation shafts of both rollers, at a position facing the side peripheral surfaces of the cutter roller and the receiving roller. This guide roller has a tapered side peripheral surface that becomes thinner toward the front end side of the trunk, and it is preferable if this side peripheral surface can contact the front end surface of the trunk.

With this configuration, the front end surface of the trunk is reliably supported by the receiving roller and the guide roller and is pressed against the cutter roller, so that a thin piece is stably produced.

In the trunk shredder of the present invention, at least one side peripheral surface of the receiving roller and the guide roller preferably includes a spiral protrusion. The spiral protrusion is preferably formed in an upward gradient with respect to the rotation direction of each roller.

With this configuration, the front end surface of the trunk is brought into contact with the spiral protrusion, so that the front end surface of the trunk is supported with sufficient force and is prevented from being excessively fed by the pulling force of the cutter roller. In addition, since the trunk is fed while the spiral protrusion rotates, the trunk can be fed to the cutter roller with an appropriate feed amount.

The feeding portion according to the trunk shredder of the present invention is rotatable about an axis along the longitudinal direction of the trunk, and is provided with a plurality of support rollers for supporting the side peripheral surface of the trunk, and along the direction intersecting the trunk feeding direction. It is preferable to include a pressure roller that is rotationally driven around an axis and has a spiral protrusion on the surface and presses the side peripheral surface of the trunk by the spiral protrusion.

With this configuration, the trunk is supported by pressing between the pressure roller and the plurality of support rollers, so that it can be stably supported in the radial direction. In addition, a spiral protrusion is provided on the pressure roller, and the pressure roller is driven to rotate around an axis along the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the trunk while pressing the trunk with the spiral protrusion. It can be rotated by a pressure roller. Therefore, with a simple configuration, the trunk can be stably rotated and fed out while being supported with a sufficient force, and the slit pieces are made homogeneously.

The squeeze system of the present invention that achieves the third object includes the trunk shredder described above and a squeezing device that presses and squeezes the shredded pieces produced by the trunk shredder.

According to this squeezing system, the shredder for trunks can efficiently and uniformly produce shredded pieces that easily squeeze sap from the trunk, so that the squeezing rate can be improved and a large amount of sap can be obtained.

According to the squeezing method and squeezing system of the present invention, the end face of the trunk is cut while the trunk and the tearing blade are rotated relative to each other by the tearing blade arranged so as to intersect with the trunk axis in the inclined direction. The squeezed pieces are squeezed by squeezing the sap with a squeezing device, so that the sap that is easy to squeeze the sap can be produced efficiently and homogeneously, and a large amount from the trunk of the felled tree Can be efficiently squeezed.

According to the trunk shredder of the present invention, the front end surface of the trunk is cut while the relative rotation of the slit blade and the trunk is performed by the slit blade disposed so as to intersect with the trunk axis in the inclined direction. Since the thin pieces are produced, it is possible to efficiently and uniformly produce the fine pieces from which the sap is easily squeezed from the trunk.

In embodiment of this invention, it is a block diagram explaining the outline of the process of manufacturing ethanol from the sap of an oil palm trunk. It is a front view of the shredder for trunks concerning the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing a feeding portion of a trunk shredder. It is an enlarged view which shows the feed part and thin part of a shredder for trunks. FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line BB in FIG. 1 showing a slit portion of the trunk shredder. It is the schematic which shows arrangement | positioning of each roller in the shredding part of the shredder for trunks. It is a schematic front view which shows a pressing machine.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a squeezing method, a trunk shredder, and a squeezing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The squeezing system of the present invention is a system for squeezing sap from a tree trunk. This embodiment demonstrates using the example of the squeeze system used in order to manufacture ethanol from the sap of an oil palm trunk.
Here, the trunk is a trunk of a felled tree. In this embodiment, in order to facilitate processing in the trunk shredder described later, a trunk having no or few branch parts such as branches is preferable, and the axis is linear. What exhibits the extended substantially cylindrical shape is especially preferable. The trunk axis is a line connecting the centers of the sections of the trunk, and is continuous in the longitudinal direction of the trunk. Since the axis line of the oil palm trunk is substantially straight, the trunk axis is shown as a straight line in this embodiment.

A method for producing ethanol from the oil palm trunk can be selected as appropriate, but in the present embodiment, for example, the process is performed as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 1, for example, a pretreatment step S101 for performing a predetermined period of aging or stripping a bark to remove a bark on a cut oil palm trunk, and a slit for producing a large number of pieces from the trunk from which the bark has been removed. Bioethanol is produced by the step S102, the pressing step S103 for squeezing the obtained strip and obtaining the sap, and the fermentation step S104 for fermenting the obtained sap.

The squeeze system of the present embodiment includes an apparatus used in the oil palm trunk slicing step S102 and a device used in the squeezing step S103 to obtain sap by squeezing the chopped pieces obtained in this step. This squeezing system includes a trunk shredder 10 as shown in FIG. 2 and a pressing device 80 as shown in FIG.

First, a trunk shredder disposed on the upstream side will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the trunk shredder 10 includes a material receiving portion 11 that supports the trunk T so as to be movable in the axial direction and rotatable around the axis, and a trunk T supported by the material receiving portion 11. By moving the trunk T in the longitudinal direction while rotating around an axis along the longitudinal direction, a feed portion 13 for feeding the trunk T forward from the front end face Ta side, and a thin piece from the trunk T moved by the feed portion 13 are produced. The slit part 15 and the chute | shoot part 17 for discharging | emitting the slit piece produced by the slit part 15 are provided.

The raw material receiving portion 11 includes a pair of long raw material receiving rollers 21 arranged in parallel to each other, and supports the trunk T by placing the trunk T on the pair of raw material receiving rollers 21. It has a length that can support the entire length of T.
Each raw material receiving roller 21 has a spiral protrusion on its peripheral surface, and is rotatably mounted on the frame 19. When a force is applied to the trunk T in a state where the trunk T is placed on the raw material receiving roller 21, the trunk T freely rotates or moves along the axis while rotating the trunk T.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the feeding unit 13 is provided in the vicinity of the vertical column 19 a of the frame 19, and can apply a driving force to the trunk T and a plurality of conveying rollers 23 that support the side peripheral surface of the trunk T. And a trunk drive unit 27 having a feed roller 25.

The plurality of transport rollers 23 have rotating shafts parallel to each other along the longitudinal direction of the trunk T, and are attached to a bracket 29 fixed to the frame 19 so as to be independently rotatable. A spiral protrusion is provided around the axis on the peripheral surface of each transport roller 23. Here, the gradients and pitches of the spiral protrusions are the same in all the transport rollers 23, and are formed in an upward gradient with respect to the rotational direction driven by the trunk T. That is, the spiral protrusion is formed in the direction in which the trunk T advances by the rotation of the transport roller 23. When a force around the axis is applied to the trunk T and a force in the axial direction is applied to the transport roller 23, the transport roller 23 moves along the axis while freely rotating.
It is preferable that three or more transport rollers 23 are provided. The transport roller 23 on the most upstream side or the most downstream side in the rotation direction of the trunk T is provided at a sufficiently high position so that the transport roller 23 is provided to the trunk T. The lateral displacement of the trunk T due to the rotational force is prevented.

The trunk drive unit 27 is rotatably supported by a rail 31 that is fixed to the vertical column 19 a and extends in the vertical direction, a base plate 33 that can move up and down along the rail 31, and a bearing 35 that is fixed to the base plate 33. The feed roller 25, a weight 37 for applying a predetermined load to the base plate 33, a hydraulic cylinder 39 fixed to the vertical support 19a above the base plate 33 via a bracket 29, a rod 39a of the hydraulic cylinder 39, and the base plate 33 And a link mechanism 41 that connects the upper part.

The base plate 33 is loaded with a weight from the weight 37. Further, the hydraulic pressure adjusted from the hydraulic power source 43 shown in FIG. 2 is supplied to the hydraulic cylinder 39, whereby pressure and tensile force are applied to the base plate 33 from the rod 39 a of the hydraulic cylinder 39 via the link mechanism 41.

The feed roller 25 is disposed substantially horizontally at a position above the transport roller 23 while being rotatably supported by a bearing 35 fixed to the base plate 33. The rotation axis of the feed roller 25 is a direction that intersects the longitudinal direction of the trunk T, preferably an orthogonal direction. A spiral protrusion is provided around the rotation axis on the peripheral surface of the feed roller 25, and is driven to rotate around the rotation axis by a motor (not shown).

According to the feed unit 13 having the above-described configuration, the side peripheral surface on the front end side of the trunk T supported by the raw material receiving unit 11 is supported by the spiral protrusions of the plurality of transport rollers 23 and the feed roller 25 Pressurized in the radial direction by the spiral protrusion. As a result, the trunk T is sandwiched and supported between the transport roller 23 and the feed roller 25 in a state where an appropriate pressure is applied.

Further, when the feed roller 25 is driven to rotate around the axis in this state, the spiral protrusion of the feed roller 25 rotates while pressurizing the trunk T. As a result, a force in the rotational direction and a force along the axis act on the trunk T from the feed roller 25.

Since the trunk T is supported by the spiral protrusion of the rotatable transport roller 23, the trunk T rotates when the circumferential component acts on the trunk T. Furthermore, the trunk T moves gradually in the axial direction by the axial component acting while the trunk T rotates. The rotational speed around the axis of the trunk T and the moving speed along the axis correspond to the rotational speed of the feed roller 25, the gradient and pitch of the spiral protrusion, and the like.
Accordingly, in the feeding portion 13, the trunk T can be supported in a pressurized state, and the trunk T can be rotated around the axis and moved in the axial direction. Here, the closer the axis of the trunk T is to a straight line, the easier it is to smoothly rotate and move the trunk T in the feeding portion 13 and feed it to the slit 15, but feeding is possible even if the trunk T is not straight.
In addition, in this feed part 13, while not supporting the trunk T, it can maintain in the state which raised the baseplate 33 with the hydraulic cylinder 39. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 to 6, the slit portion 15 is disposed on the roller support base 47 mounted on the frame 19 via the inclination adjusting portion 45, and is disposed on the roller support base 47 and driven to rotate. The cutter roller 49, the receiving roller 51 that is supported by the roller support base 47 so as to be provided with the cutter roller 49, and rotationally driven, and the mounting base 53 that is fixed to the frame 19 so as to be above the roller support base 47. And a guide roller 55 that is disposed on the mounting base 53 so as to face the side peripheral surfaces of the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 and is driven to rotate.

The roller support base 47 is formed of a frame body in which a pair of long side portions 47a and a pair of short side portions 47b have sufficient rigidity and are joined in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view.
In the inclination adjusting portion 45, a roller support base 47 is pivotally supported by a bearing 57 provided on the frame 19 so as to be swingable at an intermediate position between the pair of long side portions 47a. As shown in FIG. 2, an inclination adjustment hole 59 a is provided in the support plate 59 erected on the frame 19 adjacent to the roller support base 47. By using the inclination adjusting hole 59a, the inclination of the roller support base 47 is appropriately adjusted.
In this embodiment, by adjusting the inclination of the roller support base 47, the rotation shafts of the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 can be inclined along the axis of the trunk T so as to increase toward the front side of the trunk.

The rotation axes of the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 are parallel to each other. The cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 are rotatably supported by bearings 61 provided on the roller support base 47, and the rotation axes of the

rollers

49 and 51 are parallel to each other. In addition to being completely parallel, the parallel includes a state of approximating parallel in a range where the functions of the

rollers

49 and 51 can be obtained.
The cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 are configured to be rotationally driven by

separate motors

62 and 63, and the

rollers

49 and 51 are independently adjusted to different rotational speeds. In this embodiment, the rotation axes of the

rollers

49 and 51 intersect the axis of the trunk T in a front view as shown in FIG. 2, and the axis of the trunk T in a plan view as shown in FIG. It is parallel to it.

The cutter roller 49 has a structure in which a plurality of slit rings 67 are fixed side by side along the rotation axis, and a plurality of slit blades 65 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of each slit ring 67. It is fixed with.
Here, the slitting blade 65 is a blade capable of cutting the fibers of the trunk T by bringing the trunk T into contact with the trunk T instead of crushing the trunk T with an impact force. As shown in FIG. 6, the cutting edge angle θ1 of the slitting blade 65 is preferably an acute angle, and preferably has a positive rake angle. This is in order to form thin pieces without crushing each tissue of the trunk T.

Each slitting blade 65 according to this embodiment is composed of one side of a substantially rectangular plate. The slitting blades 65 are fixed to the slitting rings 67 so as to be arranged in parallel with the rotation axis of the cutter roller 49. In a state of being fixed to the slit ring 67, each slit blade 65 is in a state of slightly protruding from the outer surface of the slit ring 67.

In a state in which each cleaving ring 67 is attached immovably around the rotation axis and the cutter roller 49 is configured, the cleaving blade 65 is continuously arranged in parallel to the rotation axis, and a plurality of cleaves are formed in the circumferential direction. The rows of blades 65 are arranged at an equal pitch, that is, at the same interval. Since the rotation axis of the cutter roller 49 is inclined so as to intersect with the axis of the trunk T, each slitting blade 65 is disposed in a direction intersecting with the axis of the trunk T.

When the slitting blade 65 in contact with the trunk T is a straight line or a curved shape, the slitting blade 65 may be arranged so as not to have a portion parallel to the axis of the trunk T. As long as the trunk T can be cut, the direction of the slitting blade 65 intersecting with the axis of the trunk T may be inclined more than 0 degree and less than 90 degrees, more preferably 15 degrees. More than 35 degrees.

In such a cutter roller 49, the front end surface Ta of the trunk T that is driven to rotate while being rotated by the feeding unit 13 is in contact with the cutter roller 49 while being rotated. Due to the rotation of the cutter roller 49 and the relative rotation of the cutter roller 49 and the trunk T, the slitting blade 65 moves relative to the trunk T in a state of being arranged to intersect the axis of the trunk T. The front end face Ta can be cut.
The front end face Ta of the trunk T is an end face on the front side in the moving direction of the trunk T among end faces formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the trunk T, and may be any of a flat surface, an inclined surface, and a curved surface. The front end surface Ta of the trunk T has a shape according to various conditions such as the shape and inclination of the side peripheral surface of the cutter roller 49 and the arrangement and shape of the slitting blade 65.
Here, since the substantially cylindrical cutter roller 49 is inclined with a gradient in which the front side is at a high position along the axial direction of the trunk T, the slitting blade 65 is inclined so as to intersect the axial direction of the trunk T. The front end face Ta is cut in contact with the trunk T in the state. Therefore, the front end face Ta of the trunk T is formed in a rotating body shape whose center protrudes, for example, a substantially conical shape with a slight concave curved surface. During the slitting, the slitting blade cuts a narrow area on the inclined surface corresponding to the radius of the rotating body in order to produce a slit.

The size of the shredded piece obtained by being shredded by the cutter roller 49 may be any size that can be squeezed by the pressing device 80. The squeezing efficiency in the squeezing device 80 to be described later can be improved as the sliver is made finer in a range where the sap is not separated. In order to make the slit pieces fine, there are various methods such as a method of adjusting the shape and arrangement of the slit blades 65 in the cutter roller 49, a method of increasing the relative rotational speed of the cutter roller 49 with respect to the trunk T, and a method of reducing the feeding speed. It can be adjusted by the method. In addition, productivity will fall when an excessively small piece is made small. For this reason, in the present embodiment, for example, the thickness of the obtained thin fissure is in the range of 0.1 mm to 10 mm, preferably 0.1 mm to 5 mm, more preferably 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm.

On the other hand, the receiving roller 51 supported by the roller support base 47 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a constant diameter, and a spiral protrusion is provided on the side peripheral surface, and the spiral protrusion is inclined upward with respect to the rotation direction of the receiving roller 51. Is formed. That is, the spiral protrusion is formed in the direction in which the trunk T moves forward by the rotation of the receiving roller 51. The shape and height of the spiral protrusion can be appropriately selected.

The receiving roller 51 prevents the forward movement of the trunk T when the front end surface of the trunk T torn by the cutter roller 49 comes into contact with the side circumferential surface. That is, when the front end face Ta of the trunk T is cut by rotating the cutter roller 49 having the slitting blade 65 on the side peripheral surface, the force in the direction of being pulled by the slitting blade 65 acts on the trunk T. This force increases as the inclination of the cutter roller 49 increases, and decreases as the inclination decreases. Therefore, if the trunk T is cut without sufficiently preventing the position shift of the trunk T in the front-rear direction, the feeding amount of the trunk T with respect to the cutter roller 49 is likely to fluctuate due to the pulling force, and the size of the shredded piece Are likely to vary.

However, if the front end surface Ta of the trunk T is brought into contact with the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller 51 and is cut by the slitting blade 65 of the cutter roller 49, even if the retracting force of the trunk T acts by the cutter roller 49, the receiving is performed. The side circumferential surface of the roller 51 can reliably prevent the trunk T from moving in the forward direction with a sufficient force.

The diameter of the receiving roller 51 is substantially constant in the cross section along the rotation axis, and the diameter of the cutter roller 49, more specifically, the rotation diameter of the slitting blade 65 and the diameter of the receiving roller, more specifically, the top of the spiral protrusion. It is preferred that the diameters of these are the same or approximate. Accordingly, the shape of the front end surface Ta of the trunk T formed by cutting the front end surface Ta of the trunk T in a state where the cutter roller 49 is inclined coincides with or approximates to the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller 51. A wider range of the shape of the front end surface Ta of the trunk T formed by the above can be supported by being brought into contact with the roller 51.

It is preferable that the gap at the closest position between the receiving roller 51 and the guide roller 55 matches or approximates the axis of the trunk T in plan view. As a result, the center position of the front end surface Ta of the trunk T can be made coincident with the axis of the trunk T, and the front end surface Ta is stably cut and split.

The guide roller 55 supported by the mounting base is configured to be rotationally driven by a motor 69 separately from the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51, as shown in FIGS. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotating shaft is inclined so as to have a reverse gradient with respect to the rotating shafts of the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 in the front view, and as shown in FIG. It coincides with the axis of T.

The guide roller 55 has a tapered shape that becomes thinner toward the front end side of the trunk T. Due to the tapered shape and the gradient of the rotation shaft, a part of the side peripheral surface is disposed between the side peripheral surface of the cutter roller 49 and the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller 51 on the forefront side of the guide roller 55. . Furthermore, the side peripheral surface of the guide roller is set so as to have a gradient capable of contacting the conical shape of the front end surface of the trunk T formed by being cut by the cutter roller 49 in a wide range.

A spiral protrusion is also provided on the side peripheral surface of the guide roller 55. The shape of the spiral protrusion is arbitrary, but is formed in an upward gradient with respect to the rotation direction. That is, the spiral protrusion is formed in the direction in which the trunk T advances by the rotation of the guide roller 55.
In such a guide roller 55, the front end surface Ta of the trunk T is always brought into contact with the side peripheral surface, thereby preventing an excessive amount of the trunk T from being fed to the cutter roller 49 and also to the cutter roller 49. The conical tip surface of the trunk T is guided toward the head.

Next, the chute portion 17 of the trunk shredder 10 is formed in the slit portion 15 and is configured to discharge the slit pieces falling from between the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 from the bottom portion. The fallen fragments are sequentially transferred to the squeezing device 80 by a conveying means such as a conveyor (not shown).

Next, the pressing device 80 used for the squeeze system will be described.
As shown in FIG. 7, the squeezing device 80 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of

squeezers

81 and 82. Part 85, squeeze discharge part 87 which discharges squeezed juice, and fiber discharge part 95 which discharges the shredded pieces after pressing. The plurality of

squeezers

81 and 82 are connected in series so that the compressed strips discharged from the fiber discharge portion 95 of the upstream squeezer 81 are supplied to the supply portion 83 of the downstream squeezer 82. Has been.

The squeezing part 85 of each

pressing machine

81, 82 includes a plurality of

lower rolls

89a, 89b arranged substantially horizontally and in parallel with each other, and the

lower rolls

89a, 89b above the pair of adjacent

lower rolls

89a, 89b. 89b, and an upper roll 91 arranged substantially parallel to 89b. The lower rolls 89a and 89b are spaced apart from each other and arranged at predetermined positions, and the upper roll 91 is pressurized by the squeezing hydraulic power source 99 toward the pair of adjacent

lower rolls

89a and 89b. The

lower rolls

89a, 89b and the upper roll 91 are connected to each other through a gear (not shown), and all the

rolls

89a, 89b, 91 are driven to rotate by a motor.

The lower rolls 89a and 89b on the upstream side press machine 81 and the lower roll 89a arranged on the upstream side of the downstream side press machine 82 are provided with a number of grooves called chevrons extending in the axial direction on the circumferential surface. Therefore, it is easy to draw the thin pieces into the compressed portion 85. In addition, the peripheral surface is smoothly formed by the lower roll 89b provided in the downstream press 82 and the upper roll 91 of each

press

81, 82.

A support plate 93 called a turner plate is mounted between the

lower rolls

89a and 89b of each of the

pressing machines

81 and 82, so that the shredded pieces in the middle of pressing are from the lower roll 89a on the downstream side to the lower roll 89b on the downstream side. It is possible to transfer to.
A scraper 97 is provided in contact with the lower roll 89b and the upper roll 91 on the downstream side in the fiber discharge portion 95 of each of the

pressers

81 and 82, and the press attached to the surfaces of the lower roll 89b and the upper roll 91. The later thin pieces are peeled off and discharged from the fiber discharge portion 95.

In this squeezing device 80, a large number of strips produced by the trunk shredder 10 are conveyed by a conveyor (not shown) and supplied to the supply unit 83 of the squeezing machine 81 on the upstream side. In the supply unit 83, the thin pieces are introduced into the squeezed portion 85 by gravity or the pulling force by the squeezed portion 85. In the squeezing unit 85, the sap is separated by pressurizing the thin pieces between the lower roll 89a and the upper roll 91 on the upstream side. Subsequently, after this fine fissure is moved by the support plate 93, the sap is separated by being pressurized again between the lower roll 89b and the upper roll 91 on the downstream side. The separated sap flows down to the squeeze discharge unit 87, and the shredded pieces after squeezing are separated from the

rolls

89 b and 91 by the scraper 97 and discharged from the fiber discharge unit 95.

The thin pieces discharged from the fiber discharge portion 95 of the upstream press 81 are supplied to the supply portion 83 of the downstream press 82. This shredded piece is similarly squeezed in the squeezing portion 85 provided in the downstream squeezing machine 82. The separated sap flows down to the squeeze discharge part 87, while the shredded pieces after squeeze are discharged from the fiber discharge part 95.
In the upstream pressing machine 81 and the downstream pressing machine 82, the rotation speed of each

roll

89a, 89b, 91 of the pressing unit 85 and the pressure applied to the upper roll 91 can be set independently. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of each

roll

89a, 89b, 91 is set as late as possible within the range in which the supplied strips can be compressed, and the pressure of the upper roll 91 is increased by the downstream press 82. Is set.

The sap discharged from the squeeze discharge part 87 of each

press

81, 82 can produce bioethanol in the fermentation step S104 as described above. The sap may contain soft tissue. The shredded pieces after pressing discharged from the fiber discharge portion 95 can be collected and used for appropriate purposes, and may be used as a raw material for bioethanol. The sap contained in the shredded pieces is preferably discharged from the squeeze discharge portion 87 as much as possible, and hard fibers such as vascular tissue are preferably discharged from the fiber discharge portion 95 as much as possible.

Next, the squeezing method using the above squeezing system will be described.
In this squeeze system, an oil palm trunk T in a state in which pretreatment such as aging and katana peeling has been completed is supplied to the trunk shredder 10. In the trunk shredder 10, the front end side is disposed in the feeding portion 13 in a state where the trunk T is placed substantially horizontally on the raw material receiving portion 11. In the feed unit 13, the side peripheral surface of the trunk T is pressed and clamped with a pressure set between the transport roller 23 and the feed roller 25, and the feed roller 25 rotates, so that the trunk T rotates and the front end surface Sequentially supplied from Ta to the slit 15.

In the slit portion 15, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 are opposite to the trunk T while the trunk T is rotated in the rotation direction D1 by the feeding portion 13 at a constant rotational speed. It is rotating in the rotation directions D2 and D3. The guide roller 55 rotates in the same rotation direction D4 as the trunk T. The rotational speed of each of the

rollers

49, 51, and 55 can be set as appropriate. In this embodiment, the rotational speed of the cutter roller 49 is higher than that of the trunk T so that the cutter roller 49 can obtain a peripheral speed capable of cutting the front end surface Ta of the trunk T. Rotate. On the other hand, the receiving roller 51 and the guide roller 55 are rotated at a higher rotational speed than the trunk T within a range in which the trunk T can be prevented from being caught.
Since the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 are arranged so as to be inclined so that the front side becomes higher with respect to the axis of the trunk T, the end surface Ta of the trunk T fed in intersects the longitudinal direction of the trunk T. Cut in succession by the slitting blade 65 to produce strips.

The produced shredded pieces are conveyed to the squeezing device 80 and supplied to the supply unit 83 of the squeezing machine 81 on the upstream side. The shredded pieces are sequentially squeezed in the squeezing part 85 of the upstream squeezing machine 81 and the squeezing part 85 of the downstream squeezing machine 82. The sap is separated by the

presses

81 and 82 and discharged from the squeeze discharge unit 87 of the

presses

81 and 82. On the other hand, the sap discharged from the fiber discharge section 95 is used for the production of bioethanol in the fermentation process.

As described above, since a slit piece is produced directly from the end surface of the trunk T by the slit blade 65, the slit piece can be efficiently produced with fewer steps than when the trunk T is processed into a block and then produced. it can. In addition, since the number of steps is small, the end portion and the pressure-deformed portion are not excessively formed on the trunk T before splitting, and the slit pieces can be uniformly formed in a long range in the longitudinal direction of the trunk T.

Furthermore, since the front end face Ta of the trunk T is cut by the slitting blade 65 arranged so as to intersect with the longitudinal direction of the trunk T, a slit is formed as compared with the case where the trunk T is crushed by applying an impact force. This can prevent the sap from separating. Furthermore, since the front end face Ta of the trunk T is cut by the slitting blade 65, a thick and hard fiber extending in the longitudinal direction of the trunk such as a vascular tissue can be cut short to form a slit.
In particular, the slit blade 65 and the trunk T are rotated relative to each other in a state where the slit blade 65 is disposed in an inclined direction with respect to the axis of the trunk T, and the front end face Ta of the trunk T is cut by the slit blade 65. Therefore, the front end face Ta of the trunk T has a rotating body shape such as a conical shape with the center protruding. If the front end surface Ta having such a shape is cut by the slitting blade 65, the slitting blade 65 sequentially contacts and cuts a narrow region on the inclined surface corresponding to the radius of the rotating body shape. Therefore, the front end face Ta can be cut with the contact angle of the slitting blade 65 with respect to the front end face Ta of the trunk T being substantially constant over the entire end face. Therefore, a uniform thin fissure can be stably produced from the entire front end face Ta. If this shard is squeezed and sap is squeezed, the squeezing rate can be improved and a large amount of sap can be obtained.

In the trunk shredder 10, a cutter roller 49 having a slit blade 65 on its side peripheral surface and driven to rotate, and a receiving roller 51 rotated by bringing the front end surface Ta of the trunk T into contact with the side peripheral surface, And the front end surface Ta of the trunk T is cut by the slitting blade 65 of the cutter roller 49 while contacting the side peripheral surface of the roller 51, so that the trunk T can be easily drawn into the cutter roller 49 excessively. And the size of the slit is stabilized.

In the trunk shredder 10, the rotating shaft of the cutter roller 49 and the rotating shaft of the receiving roller 51 are disposed substantially parallel to each other, and are inclined so that the front becomes higher along the longitudinal direction of the trunk T. On the front side of T, the substantially conical cut surface formed by the cutter roller 49 is easily brought into contact with the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller 51.

If the trunk shredder 10 includes an inclination adjusting unit 45 that adjusts the inclination angle of the rotation shaft, the inclinations of the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 are collectively adjusted, and the cutting angle of the slitting blade 65 with respect to the trunk T is adjusted. Adjust to form the desired strip. Even if the cutting angle of the slitting blade 65 with respect to the trunk T is adjusted, the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51 maintain the same inclination, so that the cut surface by the cutter roller 49 is on the front side of the trunk T. The cutting angle is adjusted very easily by contacting the side peripheral surface of 51.

In the trunk shredder 10, the slit 15 is provided with a guide roller 55 having a rotating shaft inclined in a reverse gradient to the rotating shafts of both rollers at a position facing the side peripheral surfaces of the cutter roller 49 and the receiving roller 51, The guide roller 55 has a tapered shape that becomes thinner toward the front end side of the trunk T, and has a side peripheral surface that can come into contact with the front end surface Ta of the trunk T. Therefore, the front end face Ta of the trunk T is reliably supported by the receiving roller 51 and the guide roller 55 and is pressed against the cutter roller 49, so that a thin piece is stably produced.

Further, in the trunk shredder 10, the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller 51 includes a spiral protrusion, and the spiral protrusion is formed in an upward gradient with respect to the rotation direction of the receiving roller 51. Since the front end face Ta of the trunk T is brought into contact with the spiral protrusion, the front end face Ta of the trunk T is supported with a sufficient force, and it is reliably prevented that the trunk T is excessively fed by the pulling force of the cutter roller 49. Moreover, since the trunk T is fed while the spiral protrusion rotates, the trunk T can be fed to the cutter roller 49 with an appropriate feed amount.

The feeding portion 13 according to the trunk shredder 10 is rotatable around an axis along the longitudinal direction of the trunk T, and intersects the longitudinal direction of the trunk T with a plurality of conveying rollers 23 that support the side circumferential surface of the trunk T. And a feed roller 25 that is rotationally driven around an axis along the direction, has a spiral protrusion on the surface, and presses the side circumferential surface of the trunk T in the radial direction by the spiral protrusion. The trunk T is supported by applying pressure between the feed roller 25 and the plurality of transport rollers 23, so that the trunk T is supported stably in the radial direction. Further, a spiral protrusion is provided on the feed roller 25 that is driven to rotate around an axis along a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the trunk T, and the spiral protrusion of the feed roller 25 is driven to rotate while pressurizing the trunk T. The Therefore, since the trunk T can be rotated according to the rotation speed of the feed roller 25, the pitch of the spiral protrusions, etc., the trunk T rotates stably around the longitudinal axis at a predetermined rotation speed.

According to the squeezing system as described above, the trunk shredder 10 and the squeezing device 80 that pressurizes and squeezes the shredded pieces produced by the trunk shredder 10 are provided. Easily squeezed pieces are efficiently produced, the compression ratio is improved, and a lot of sap is obtained.

Such an embodiment can be appropriately changed within the scope of the present invention. For example, although the example which squeezed the trunk T of oil palm and squeezed sap was demonstrated above, even if it is the trunk T of another tree, it squeezes using the squeezing method and squeezing system of this invention similarly. Even the trunk T of such a tree can be similarly produced with the trunk shredder 10.

The method of pressing is not particularly limited as long as a large number of pieces can be compressed with sufficient pressure. In the above description, an example of a pressing machine in which three rolls are arranged in parallel with each other and pressed between the rolls has been described, but the number of pressing machines, the arrangement and number of each roll, etc. are appropriately selected. Good. Furthermore, you may squeeze by arrange | positioning and pressurizing between the planes which mutually oppose, for example.

In the above description, the example in which the slit blade 65 is disposed on the side peripheral surface of the cutter roller 49 has been described. However, as long as the slit blade 65 is movable relative to the front end surface Ta of the trunk T, a driving member other than the roller is provided. May be provided. The relative movement between the slitting blade 65 and the trunk T can be performed by moving one of them and fixing the other.

In the above description, the slit blade 65 has a linear shape. However, the slit blade 65 is not particularly limited, and the slit blade 65 is curved or bent as long as the front end surface Ta of the trunk T can be cut. It may be a shape. Furthermore, although the example in which the slitting blade 65 is formed in a plate shape has been described, for example, even if it has a three-dimensional shape, such as a processing chip, can be used.

In the above description, a cylindrical shape is used as the trunk T. However, a trunk formed by preprocessing the trunk may be used. In that case, the front end face Ta may be split at the slit 15 without rotating the trunk.

In the above description, the example using the receiving roller 51 and the guide roller 55 has been described. However, the slit pieces may be formed only by the cutter roller 49 without using these

rollers

51 and 55. Furthermore, the slitting blade capable of cutting the trunk T can be used as long as it is a slitting blade that cuts in contact with the front end surface of the trunk T so as to cross the axis of the trunk T. .

T Trunk Ta Front end face 10 Trunk shredder 11 Raw material receiving part 13 Feeding part 15 Slit part 17 Chute part 19 Frame 21 Raw material receiving roller 23 Conveying roller 25 Feeding roller 27 Trunk driving part 37 Weight 39 Hydraulic cylinder 45 Inclination adjusting part 47 Roller Support base 49 Cutter roller 51 Receiving roller 53 Mounting base 55 Guide roller 59 Support plate 59a Tilt adjusting hole 65 Slipping blade 67 Slipping ring 80 Squeezing

device

81, 82 Squeezing machine 83 Supplying section 85 Squeezing section 87 Squeezing

discharge section

89a, 89b Lower roll 91 Upper roll 95 Fiber discharge part

Claims

A size capable of being squeezed by a squeezing device by cutting the end face of the trunk while relatively rotating the trunk and the chopping blade by means of a chopping blade arranged so as to intersect with the trunk axis in an inclined direction. A squeezing method in which a sap is prepared by squeezing the sap by squeezing the chopped piece with the above-described squeezing device.
A feeding section that feeds the trunk from the front end surface along the longitudinal direction;
A slit portion for producing a strip of a size that can be squeezed by a pressing device from the trunk fed from the feed portion, and
The slit portion includes a slit blade disposed so as to intersect with the trunk axis in an inclined direction, and the front end surface of the trunk is cut while the slit blade and the trunk are relatively rotated. A trunk shredder from which the above-mentioned thin pieces are produced.
The slit portion includes a cutter roller that has the slit blade on a side peripheral surface thereof and is driven to rotate, and a receiving roller that rotates with a front end surface of the trunk being in contact with the side peripheral surface. The shredder for trunks according to claim 2, wherein the front end face is cut by the slitting blade of the cutter roller while being in contact with the side peripheral surface of the receiving roller.
The rotating shaft of the cutter roller and the rotating shaft of the receiving roller are arranged substantially parallel to each other and inclined so that the front in the trunk feeding direction is higher than the rear, and the rotating shaft of the cutter roller The trunk shredder according to claim 3, further comprising an inclination adjusting portion that adjusts an inclination angle of the rotation shaft of the receiving roller.
The slit portion includes a guide roller having a rotating shaft inclined at a reverse gradient to the rotating shaft of the cutter roller and the receiving roller at a position facing the side peripheral surfaces of the cutter roller and the receiving roller, 5. The trunk shredder according to claim 4, wherein the roller has a tapered shape that becomes narrower toward a front end side of the trunk, and has a side peripheral surface that can contact the front end surface of the trunk.
6. The trunk according to claim 4, wherein at least one side peripheral surface of the receiving roller and the guide roller includes a spiral protrusion, and the spiral protrusion is formed in an upward slope with respect to a rotation direction of each of the rollers. Shredder for.
The feed section is rotatable around an axis along the longitudinal direction of the trunk and is rotated around an axis along a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the trunk, and a plurality of support rollers supporting the side circumferential surface of the trunk. The trunk shredder according to claim 2, further comprising: a pressure roller that is driven and has a spiral protrusion on a surface thereof and pressurizes a side peripheral surface of the trunk by the spiral protrusion.
A squeezing system comprising: the trunk shredder according to any one of claims 2 to 7; and a squeezing device that pressurizes and squeezes the shredded piece produced by the trunk shredder.
The juicing system according to claim 8, wherein the trunk is oil palm.