Coconut coir processing technology

Abstract

The invention provides a coconut coir processing technology. The coconut coir processing technology comprises the following steps: S1, crushing coconut shells; s2, coconut shell fiber shredding; s3, mixing and water treatment; s4, draining and desalting; and S5, compacting and forming. According to the method disclosed by the invention, mechanical cold pressing is integrated with desalting, dehydrating and compressing steps, so that the desalting and dehydrating efficiency can be remarkably improved, thermal damage and oxidative deterioration of a traditional process are avoided, and the fiber performance is reserved, thereby better maintaining the water absorption and elasticity of a coconut coir product, reducing the volume loss rate during transportation and improving the quality of the coconut coir product. And the low salinity, low EC value, high water absorption and high elasticity are all beneficial to the development of the root system of the plant.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of soilless cultivation substrates, and particularly to a processing technology for coconut coir. Background Art

[0002] With the reduction of arable land area and the development of agricultural planting technologies, significant progress has been made in the greenhouse cultivation and soilless cultivation of fruits and vegetables. As an environmentally friendly soilless cultivation substrate, coconut coir is widely used in modern agriculture.

[0003] The traditional coconut coir processing technology has a complicated process. High-salt coconut coir is soaked in fresh water in a soaking pool for desalination and EC value reduction, and then occupies a large area for natural drying or artificial drying and dehydration. There are the following significant defects:

[0004] (1) Low desalination efficiency. The traditional process relies on long-term fresh water soaking to dilute salts, and then relies on natural drying or high-temperature drying to achieve dehydration. In order to facilitate compression during transportation, the water content of coconut coir products often needs to be reduced to less than 20%, resulting in extremely low overall efficiency;

[0005] (2) Poor desalination effect. Fresh water soaking can only dissolve some surface salts, and the salts inside the fibers are difficult to remove due to the slow diffusion rate, resulting in a small amount of desalination and a high final residual conductivity (EC value), which is likely to exceed the tolerance range of crops;

[0006] (3) Deterioration of fiber properties. Ultraviolet oxidation during sun drying will cause cross-linking of lignin and destruction of cellulose hydroxyl groups, resulting in a decrease in fiber elasticity; while high temperature during artificial drying will accelerate the condensation of lignin and dehydration saccharification of cellulose, and the deterioration rate is further increased compared to sun drying, with serious fiber embrittlement. Whether it is traditional sun drying or artificial drying, both will reduce the water absorption and elasticity of coconut coir products, and the decrease in elasticity will lead to a decrease in the rebound rate after compression, ultimately resulting in a high volume loss rate after transportation.

[0007] In the prior art, there is no process that can synchronously solve the contradictions among the above several defects. Therefore, we propose a new coconut coir processing technology to break through the complex bottleneck of desalination and dehydration in the traditional coconut coir processing link. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a coconut coir processing technology to solve some technical problems existing in the prior art.

[0009] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical scheme: A coconut coir processing technology, comprising the following steps:

[0010] S1. Coconut shell crushing: The coconut shell is crushed by a hammer crusher and then screened to obtain uniform fiber particles;

[0011] S2. Shredding of coconut coir fiber: Use a shredding machine to shred the coconut coir fiber;

[0012] S3. Mixing and water treatment: Thoroughly mix the fiber particles with the shredded coconut coir fiber, ensure the balanced distribution of both, and then pass water through until saturated to prepare for subsequent processes;

[0013] S4. Drainage and desalination: Inject the water-passed coconut coir raw material into an open mold with drainage holes, and extrude the raw material by mechanical cold pressing. Under the action of pressure, the water penetrates the fiber layer, dissolves and carries away the salt;

[0014] S5. Compaction and forming: Further apply pressure after desalination to compress the coconut coir raw material into a finished coconut coir with a certain water content.

[0015] Furthermore, the aperture of the sieve used in sieving in step S1 is 5 - 10 mm.

[0016] Furthermore, the ratio of fiber particles to coconut coir fiber in step S3 is 7:3.

[0017] Furthermore, the ratio of fiber particles to coconut coir fiber in step S3 is 6.5:3.5.

[0018] Furthermore, the ratio of fiber particles to coconut coir fiber in step S3 is 6:4.

[0019] After adopting the above technical solutions, compared with the existing technologies, the following beneficial effects are obtained:

[0020] 1. It can achieve the synchronous removal of high-pressure drainage and salt.

[0021] Apply high pressure to the water-absorbed and saturated coconut coir raw material through hydraulic equipment, forcing the water to penetrate the fiber layer, enabling the dissolved salt to be quickly discharged with the water flow. This means that there is no need to soak the coconut coir raw material, and only water absorption saturation is required for treatment. Finally, not only can the desalination amount be increased, the EC value be reduced to meet the needs of salt-sensitive crops, but also the desalination and dehydration time can be shortened to the minute level, greatly improving the desalination treatment efficiency;

[0022] 2. Avoid thermal chemical damage through normal temperature cold pressing and retain the fiber properties.

[0023] The whole process uses mechanical force for desalination and dehydration, without heat energy input. The fiber does not experience high temperature or oxidation environment, enabling the chemical structure to be completely retained. On the one hand, the water absorption and elasticity can be maintained, and on the other hand, the volume loss rate caused by actual transportation can be greatly reduced. That is, after compression transportation, when reabsorbing water and using, it can rebound by more than 99%.

[0024] In summary, the process of the present invention integrates desalination, dehydration and compression steps through mechanical cold pressing, which can significantly improve the desalination and dehydration efficiency, avoid thermal damage and oxidative degradation of traditional processes, retain fiber properties, thereby better maintaining the water absorption and elasticity of coconut bran products, and reducing the volume loss rate during transportation. In addition, low salt content, low EC value, high water absorption and high elasticity are all beneficial to the development of plant roots. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0026] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a coconut bran processing technology, which integrates desalination, dehydration and compression steps through mechanical cold pressing, can significantly improve the desalination and dehydration efficiency, and retain the natural properties of the fiber. The specific technical scheme is as follows:

[0027] A coconut bran processing technology comprises the following steps:

[0028] S1. Coconut shell crushing: crush the coconut shell by a hammer crusher and sieve it through a sieve with an aperture of 5-10 mm to obtain uniform fiber particles;

[0029] S2, coconut shell fiber (coconut shreds) shredding: using a shredder to shred the coconut shell fiber;

[0030] S3, Mixing and water treatment: Mix the fiber particles and the shredded coconut shell fiber thoroughly at a ratio of 7:3, 6.5:3.5 or 6:4 to ensure that the two are evenly distributed and then water them until saturated in preparation for subsequent processes;

[0031] S4, drainage and desalination: the coconut bran raw materials are injected into an open mold with drainage holes, and the raw materials are squeezed by mechanical cold pressing. Under the action of pressure, the water penetrates the fiber layer, dissolves and takes away the salt;

[0032] S5. Compacting and molding: After desalination, the coconut bran raw materials are further pressurized to compress them into finished coconut bran with a certain moisture content. The finished coconut bran is directly bagged and transported without sun drying or drying.

[0033] Furthermore, in step S3, the fiber mixing ratio is preferably 6:4, forming a multi-level pore structure to balance water permeability and water retention, which is beneficial to improving the development of the root system.

[0034] In order to verify the advantages of mechanical cold pressing over traditional processes (traditional sun drying, artificial drying) in processing coconut bran raw materials, several comparative tests were carried out, and the following experimental data were finally summarized.

[0035] Comparative experiment (processing capacity: 5 kg of coco coir raw materials):

[0036]

[0037] Table 1

[0038] By comparing the experimental data of mechanical cold pressing with traditional sun drying and artificial drying processes (as shown in Table 1 above), it is found that the process of the present invention has at least the following advantages over the traditional methods:

[0039] (1) It can achieve synchronous removal of high-pressure drainage and salts.

[0040] Applying high pressure to the water-saturated coco coir raw materials through hydraulic equipment forces the water to penetrate the fiber layer, enabling the dissolved salts to be quickly discharged with the water flow. This means that there is no need to soak the coco coir raw materials, and only water saturation is required for treatment. Ultimately, not only can the desalination amount be increased, the EC value be reduced to meet the needs of salt-sensitive crops, but also the desalination and dehydration time can be shortened to the minute level, greatly improving the desalination treatment efficiency;

[0041] (2) Avoid thermal chemical damage through normal-temperature cold pressing and retain fiber properties.

[0042] The whole process uses mechanical force for desalination and dehydration without heat energy input. The fibers do not experience high temperature or oxidation environment, enabling the chemical structure to be completely retained. On the one hand, the water absorption and elasticity can be maintained, and on the other hand, the volume loss rate caused by actual transportation can be greatly reduced. That is, after compression transportation, it can rebound by more than 99% when reabsorbing water for use.

[0043] All in all, the core principle of the coco coir processing technology proposed by the present invention lies in precisely controlling the migration of water and salts through mechanical force. The finished coco coir obtained can be directly bagged and transported without sun drying or drying, retaining the natural characteristics of the fibers. Experimental data show that the key indicators such as EC value control, fiber deterioration rate, and rebound rate of this process are significantly better than traditional methods, not only improving the performance of coco coir as a cultivation substrate, but also promoting the sustainability and efficiency of agricultural production.

[0044] The above description is only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention and not to limit it. Any other modifications or equivalent replacements made by those of ordinary skill in the art to the technical solution of the present invention should be covered within the scope of the claims of the present invention as long as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A coconut coir processing technology, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: S1. Coconut shell crushing: Crush the coconut shell through a hammer crusher and screen it to obtain uniform fiber particles; S2. Coconut shell fiber shredding: Shred the coconut shell fiber using a shredder; S3. Mixing and water treatment: Thoroughly mix the fiber particles and the shredded coconut shell fiber. After ensuring the balanced distribution of both, soak them in water until saturated to prepare for subsequent processes; S4. Drainage and desalination: Inject the water-soaked coir pith raw material into an open mold with drainage holes, and extrude the raw material by mechanical cold pressing. Under the action of pressure, the water penetrates the fiber layer, dissolving and carrying away the salt; S5. Compaction and forming: Further apply pressure after desalination to compress the coir pith raw material into a finished coir pith with a certain water content.

2. The coir pith processing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that, The aperture of the sieve used in sieving in step S1 is 5 - 10 mm.

3. The coir pith processing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, the ratio of fiber particles to coconut shell fiber is 7:

3.

4. The coir pith processing technology according to claim 1, wherein In step S3, the ratio of fiber particles to coconut shell fiber is 6.5:3.

5.

5. The coir pith processing technology according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, the ratio of fiber particles to coconut shell fiber is 6:4.

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