WO2020176001A1

WO2020176001A1 - The sterilisation device for animal carcasses

Info

Publication number: WO2020176001A1
Application number: PCT/PL2019/000028
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stanisław Skrzypek; Jerzy GĄSIEWSKI; Marcin GOŁEBIEWSKI; Tomasz Nowakowski; Tomasz Przysucha
Original assignee: Agraimpex Sp. Z O.O.
Priority date: 2019-02-26
Filing date: 2019-04-08
Publication date: 2020-09-03
Also published as: PL429069A1

Abstract

The sterilisation device for animal carcasses hung on the hook and put on the guideway with the steam nozzles for sterilisation by means of the superheated steam characterised in that on its frame subassemblies (1) and (1") of the fixed frame (1) and the door frames (3) are placed the slide steam subassemblies put into motion by means of the travel mechanisms (14) powered by the engines (16), wherein the subassemblies comprise the connected with the rollers (12) by means of the vertical beams (13) and (13'), engine set (17) controlling a travel of the steam lances (18) with the slotted nozzles (21) for the steam ejection supplied from the steam generator (27) by the steam distribution lines (19).

Description

The sterilisation device for animal carcasses

The claimed subject matter is a sterilisation device for animal carcasses, in particular bovine carcasses with the use of the superheated steam in the meat production processes.

The sterilisation by means of the steam is used for eliminating both vegetative, and endospore forms of the microorganisms from the tools and devices, which are resistant to high temperature and humidity. Now, this method is used for cleaning an equipment from the fat residues and residues of the other stubborn substances from the machine and device surfaces, in particular in the pharmaceutical and medical industry, as well as in the agro-food and processing industries, where it is used for eliminating microorganisms in the devices, machines, tools and packages intended for the direct food contact.

The microorganisms within a course of the carcass slaughter and processing may be transferred to the carcass surface and therefore included into the food chain, constitute high risk for the consumers. Some pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus or Salmonella spp., are able to thrive for many hours, and even days from a moment of their transmission to the food.

The studies conducted by S. Lebrun, R. Chan and S. Carey - "Food Processing Surface Sanitation Using Chemical-Free Dry Steam", Food Safety Magazine (August 2015), evidenced that an eight second exposition of the tested material in terms of the sterilisation by means of the superheated steam resulted in a significant decrease in a quantity of the microorganisms below 1% of their baseline quantity.

The superheated steam, otherwise known as dry steam is the water vapour, which temperature is higher that its boiling point at the concerned pressure.

In the currently used sterilisation methods by means of the superheated steam acting directly on the carcass, a negative impact of the factors such as temperature and pressure is observed; these factors have an impact on the physicochemical properties of the meat. These parameters are difficult to maintain mainly due to the problems with remaining an appropriate and constant distance of the steam nozzle from the sterilised carcass, maintaining a controlled speed of the process and a size of the simultaneously sterilised surface of the carcass. The current difficulties related to the application of the method with the use of the dry steam caused a necessity to develop a device, which will eliminate these inconveniencies and will ensure the uniform and constant sterilisation conditions of the animal carcasses.

The object of the invention is to develop such a device that will allow for using the sterilisation of the animal carcasses by means of the superheated steam and will ensure: constant parameters of the sterilisation due to maintaining the invariable pressure and temperature parameters, the constant distance of the nozzles from the sterilised animal carcass and the constant process speed, which would enable to maintain for the simultaneous sterilisation as large as possible surface of the carcass and that additionally would allow for an efficient recuperation of the water vapour and sewage discharge and, which operating would be introduced into a work rate of the slaughter line.

An essence of the sterilisation device for animal carcasses hung on the hook and put on the guideway with the steam nozzles for sterilisation by means of the superheated steam characterised in that both frame subassemblies of the fixed frame and the door frames are put the slide steam subassemblies put into motion by means of the travel mechanisms powered by the engines, wherein the subassemblies comprise the connected with the rollers by means of the vertical beams, the engine set controlling a travel of the steam lances with the slotted nozzles for the steam ejection supplied from the steam generator by the steam distribution lines.

It is preferred, where the vertical beams at the height of each lance have the laser sensors on the opposite side and where the engines powering the travel mechanism of the steam subassemblies, and the engines powering the travel of the steam lances are controlled by the control module. It is also preferred where both frame subassemblies of the fixed frame and the both door frames are obscured externally by the shields in the form of the thick cuboid boards. It is also preferred where in the lower part of the device is the drainboard made from the sheet metal in the form of the funnel with the drain hole in its central part connected with the discharge pipe and where in its upper part there are two extractor hoods connected with each other by the flexible shield put between them and connected with the ventilation duct equipped with the fan.

The device according to the invention due to its design allowed for maintaining the constant sterilisation parameters of the animal carcasses by using the laser sensors and guide rails that enable to keep a constant distance of the slotted nozzles from the carcass surface and surrounding it from each side, thanks to the aforementioned the constant temperature and pressure conditions on the carcass surface were acquired. The use of the extractor hood system and a recuperator allowed for a secondary use of the steam and a drainboard assembly for the effective sewage discharging and maintaining required hygiene. Furthermore, a possibility to control the sterilisation process by means of the controller and to determine the parameters due to it enabled to adapt a rate of this process to the work rate of the slaughter line.

The device according to the invention is presented on its embodiment in the drawing, on which fig. 1 - shows this device for the animal carcass sterilisation in the perspective view, fig.2 - the same device with the open front doors in the perspective view, fig.3 - the same device upon opening the front door in the front view, fig.4 - the same device with the open front and rear door in the top view, fig. 5 - the same device, but upon disassembling its side shields and door shields in the perspective view, fig. 6 - the same device upon disassembling the shields in the top view, fig. 7 - a fragment of the device with the shown one steam subassembly in the perspective view, and fig.8 - a zoomed detail of the steam head in the perspective view.

The sterilisation device for animal carcasses comprises the fixed frame 1, in the form of two frame subassemblies 1 and 1" on both sides of the device, wherein to one of the vertical beams of each subassembly are attached the hinges 2, to which are attached appropriately the frames 3 of the front and rear doors, connected additionally in their upper part with the fixed frame 1 by means of the pneumatic actuators that control operating of these doors. The frame structure is obscured at each side by the shields in the form of the thick cuboid boards, which constitute the side shields 5 assembled at both sides of the device to both frame subassemblies 1' and 1" of the fixed frame 1 and the door shields 6 assembled to the external surfaces of the door 3. Between all shields 5 and 6 in the lower part of the device is the drainboard 7 made from the sheet metal in the form of the funnel with the drain hole in its central part connected with the discharge pipe, and in the upper part the device has two extractor hoods 8 connected with each other by the flexible shield 9 put between them. In both two subassemblies 1' and 1" of the fixed frame 1, and two door frames 3 are fixed two traverse beams on each one: upper 10 and lower 11, on each two beams two rollers 12 run that are connected with each other and the vertical beams 13 and 13', by means of the T-bracket with the additional triangle supports, wherein a motion of the rollers 12 is carried out on the upper surface of the upper transverse beams 10 and the lower surface of the lower transverse beams 11. Moreover, both subassemblies and 1" of the fixed frame 1 and both door frames 3 approximately in their half of their height have a screw travel mechanism 14 of the stem subassemblies equipped with a fork carrier 15 and powered by the engine 16, wherein the steam subassembly comprises 12 steam engines 17 connected with the steam lances 18 with a square cross-section, rigidly attached and perpendicularly to the to the vertical beams 13' with the steam distribution lines 19, through which the steam generated by the steam generator 27 is supplied. The steam lances 18, move in reciprocating motion in the lance guide rails 20 caused by means of the steam engine 17. The lance guide rails 20 are attached by means of the support to the vertical beams 13, ensuring a permanent position of the slotted nozzles 21, assembled at the end of the lance 18, to which by the lines 19 is supplied to the generator 27 the steam with the set point parameters. On the opposite site of the beam 13 at the height of each steam lance 18, the laser sensors 22 are assembled that are connected by the lines 26 with the control module 2. The laser sensors 22 control an operation of the linear engines 17, that maintain the constant, programmed in the control module 23, distance of the slotted nozzle 21 from the animal carcass, which is put on the hook 24 assembled by means of the profile clamp to the guideway 25 in the shape of the I - beam put in the upper part of the device in half of its width over the door frames 3 and between both extractor hoods 8 connected with the ventilation duct 28 equipped with the fan 29.

The principle of operation of the device according to the invention consists in that on the hook 24 put on the guideway 25 the animal carcass is hung. By means of the pneumatic actuator 4 the door 6 are opened and by means of the rail 25 the carcass is introduced to the inner part of the device, while closing the doors. Upon an activation of the device, the sterilisation process is initiated. From the steam generator 27, by means of the steam distribution lines 19 the superheated steam with a temperature from 130^C up to 250^0 and an operating pressure from 1 up to 45 bar is supplied to slotted nozzles 21 the put along each wall, from which slotted nozzles the ejection of the steam stream takes place, and the distance of the slotted nozzles 21 from the carcass is adjusted by the control module 21 by means of the laser sensors 22 connected with the controller by means of the laser lines 26, wherein a scope of operating of the nozzles 21 from the carcass ranges between 4 and 20cm from the carcass. The pressure and temperature parameters, depending on the needs, are set and modified by the by the controller 23. The steam subassemblies that comprise the steam engines 17, the steam lances 18 with the slotted nozzles 21 together with the vertical beams 13 and 13', move by means of the track rollers 1 on the beams 10 and 11, wherein their sliding motion is generated by he connected with the beam 13' travel mechanism 14, controlled by the engine 16, controlled by the control module 23, the speed of the steam subassemblies travel ranges depending on the needs from 0.1 up to 1 m/s. An excess amount of the steam is removed by the extractor hoods 8 by means of the ventilation ducts 28 using the fan 29. A bottom of the steam chamber constitutes the drainboard 7, in which condensed steam is discharged. Upon completing a sterilisation cycle the chamber door open and the carcass is moved outside the chamber, and the next cycle is initiated.

It is obvious for a person skilled in the art comprehend a technical domain that a quantity of the steam engines 17 with the steam lances 18 may be greater or smaller depending on the production needs and a sterilisation degree.

Claims

1. The sterilisation device for animal carcasses hung on the hook and put on the guideway with the steam nozzles for sterilisation by means of the superheated steam characterised in that on its frame subassemblies ( and 1") of the fixed frame (1) and the door frames (3) are placed the slide steam subassemblies put into motion by means of the travel mechanisms (14) powered by the engines (16), wherein the subassemblies comprise the connected with the rollers (12) by means of the vertical beams (13 and 13'), engine set (17) controlling a travel of the steam lances (18) with the slotted nozzles (21) for the steam ejection supplied from the steam generator (27) by the steam distribution lines (19).

2. The sterilisation device for animal carcasses according to claim 1 characterised in that the beams (13) at the height of each steam lance (18), have the laser sensors (22).

3. The sterilisation device for animal carcasses according to claim 1 and 2 characterised in that the engines (16) powering the travel mechanism (14), and the engines (17) controlling the steam lance travel (18), are controlled by means of the control module (23).

4. The sterilisation device for animal carcasses according to claim 1 characterised in that both frame subassemblies (1' and 1") of the fixed frame (1) and both door frames (3) are obscured externally by the shields (5 and 6) in the form of the thick cuboid boards.

5. The sterilisation device for animal carcasses according to claim 1 characterised in that in the lower part of the device is the drainboard (7) made from the sheet metal in the form of the funnel with the drain hole in its central part connected with the discharge pipe.

6. The sterilisation device for animal carcasses according to claim 1 characterised in that in its upper part there are two extractor hoods (8) connected with each other by the flexible shield put between them (9) and connected with the ventilation duct (28) equipped with the fan (29).