Tea saponin foam separating device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a tea saponin foam separating device which comprises a foaming tower (1), a bubbler (2) is arranged at the bottom of the foaming tower (1), the top of the foaming tower (1) is connected with a foam collector (4), the other end of the foam collector (4) is connected to a centrifugal machine (5), and a filter (3) is arranged between the foaming tower (1) and the foam collector (4). The device is operated at normal temperature, the process is green and environment-friendly, impurities are not introduced, and the tea saponin structure is not damaged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a tea saponin separation device, specifically a foam separation device for separating tea saponins. Background Technology

[0002] Tea saponin is an important natural surfactant found in tea seeds, possessing various biological activities and holding significant applications in daily chemical, pesticide, and pharmaceutical fields. Traditional tea saponin preparation processes include hot water extraction, organic solvent extraction, and supercritical CO2 extraction. These methods are mainly characterized by the use of organic solvents and cumbersome operations. Specifically, the process typically involves crushing tea seeds, using a specific solid-liquid ratio (generally 1:20-100), and employing heating or ultrasonic treatment to dissolve the tea saponin in an aqueous solution. Separation: After extraction, the remaining tea seed solids are initially separated and removed. Filtration: Fine filtration methods, such as membrane filtration, are used to remove solid particles from the extract.

[0003] Foam separation is a newly developed separation technology. Although it has been applied to the separation of tea saponins in existing technologies, some problems still exist.

[0004] Patent CN102942604 A (A method for separating and purifying tea saponins from foam) involves a series of operations such as organic solvent extraction, microwave radiation treatment, filtration, centrifugation, and concentration. In other words, the pretreatment before foam separation is complex, and the organic solvent introduces impurities.

[0005] Patent CN 114539344 A (A concentration method to shorten the preparation time of tea saponin): First, tea saponin extract is obtained, then concentrated using a foam separation tower. Then, defoaming agent emulsified silicone oil is added to the tea saponin concentrate, which introduces impurities. At the same time, it is also necessary to concentrate by vacuum constant temperature evaporation, which increases the concentration steps. Utility Model Content

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide a tea saponin foam separation device that avoids the use of organic solvents and integrates extraction, separation and filtration.

[0007] To solve the above technical problems, this utility model discloses a tea saponin foam separation device, including a foaming tower, a bubbler at the bottom of the foaming tower, a foam collector connected to the top, a centrifuge at the other end of the foam collector, and a filter between the foaming tower and the foam collector.

[0008] Furthermore, a conical gathering section is provided at the top of the foaming tower, which is located between the filter and the foam collector.

[0009] Furthermore, the filter comprises a stainless steel mesh and a nylon filter screen, with the stainless steel mesh located on the upper side of the nylon filter screen.

[0010] Furthermore, the stainless steel mesh is provided with sieve holes of 0.5-1cm in diameter, and the nylon filter screen uses a 100-300 mesh screen. The 100 mesh screen has a sieve hole diameter of 0.15mm, and the 300 mesh screen has a sieve hole diameter of 0.05mm. The stainless steel mesh provides support for the nylon filter screen without affecting the passage of foam filtered by the nylon screen.

[0011] Furthermore, the bubbler includes an air pump located outside the bubble tower and a gas disperser located at the bottom inside the bubble tower.

[0012] Furthermore, the diameter of the foaming tower is at least 10cm, and the height-to-diameter ratio of the foaming tower is 5-10:1, to ensure that the bubbles have sufficient space to disperse and rise, and sufficient extraction time, thereby ensuring the extraction effect.

[0013] Furthermore, the liquid level of the liquid to be treated inside the foaming tower does not exceed half the height of the foaming tower, so that the foam has sufficient space to rise.

[0014] This invention allows direct placement of tea seed powder and water into a foaming tower. The bubbler agitates and bubbles the liquid, promoting the transfer of tea saponins from the tea seed particles to the water. Simultaneously, the rising foam continuously carries away tea saponins from the water, creating a concentration gradient between the water and the tea seed particles. This accelerates the dissolution of tea saponins from the tea seed particles into the water, thereby increasing the extraction rate. The foaming tower's optimized diameter and height-to-diameter ratio further ensure this effect. This invention avoids the use of organic solvents and energy-intensive auxiliary extraction equipment. The rising foam carries away tea saponins from the liquid surface, while the tea seed particles remain in the liquid. The foam is further filtered, achieving separation. The foam is then gathered in a cohesive section, collected by a foam collector, centrifuged to remove foam, and finally dried.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, this utility model has the following advantages:

[0016] 1) The traditional three separate operations of saponin extraction, separation and filtration are integrated into one operation unit, which simplifies and makes the tea seed saponin separation process continuous.

[0017] 2) The use of organic solvents is avoided. This device not only avoids the use of organic solvents for extraction, but also avoids the use of defoamers, making the process more low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and safe.

[0018] 3) The equipment is highly adaptable and can meet the needs of different experiments and applications.

[0019] 4) Easy to scale up. This device can be used not only for small-scale laboratory experiments, but also for large-scale production.

[0020] This invention operates at room temperature, is environmentally friendly, does not introduce impurities, and does not damage the structure of tea saponins. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this utility model;

[0022] Figure 2 This study investigates the changes in the concentration of tea saponin in foam during the foam separation process of different amounts of raw materials using the device of this invention.

[0023] Labels in the diagram: 1-Foaming tower; 2-Bubble blower; 2.1-Air pump; 2.2-Gas disperser; 3-Filter; 3.1-Nylon filter screen; 3.2-Stainless steel mesh; 4-Foam collector; 5-Centrifuge; H-Height of foaming tower. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The present invention will be further explained below with reference to the embodiments. The following embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention.

[0025] The tea saponin foam separation device of this utility model, such as Figure 1 As shown, the system includes a foaming tower 1, with a bubbler 2 at its bottom. The bubbler 2 includes an air pump 2.1 located outside the foaming tower 1 and a gas disperser 2.2 located at the bottom inside the foaming tower 1. A conical gathering section 1.1 is provided at the top of the foaming tower 1. The top of the gathering section 1.1 is connected to a foam collector 4, and the other end of the foam collector 4 is connected to a centrifuge 5. A filter 3 is provided between the foaming tower 1 and the gathering section 1.1. The filter 3 includes a stainless steel mesh 3.2 and a nylon filter 3.1. The stainless steel mesh 3.2 is located above the nylon filter 3.1 and provides support for the nylon filter 3.1.

[0026] The stainless steel mesh 3.2 has sieve holes with a diameter of 0.5-1cm, and the nylon filter mesh 3.1 uses a sieve with a mesh size of 100-300. The diameter of the foaming tower 1 is at least 10cm, and the ratio of the height H of the foaming tower 1 to its diameter is 5-10:1.

[0027] The parameters of embodiments 1-3 of this utility model are as follows:

[0028] The aperture of the sieve holes distributed on the stainless steel mesh 3.2 is 0.5cm;

[0029] The nylon filter 3.1 uses a 120-mesh sieve;

[0030] The diameter of the foaming tower 1 is 15cm and the height H is 100cm.

[0031] Example 1

[0032] 50g of crushed tea seed cake (11.3% tea saponin content) was dispersed in 2000mL of deionized water and transferred from the bottom side of foaming tower 1 into the tower. The air pump 2.1 of bubbler 2 and the gas disperser 2.2 were turned on to bubble the liquid. The generated bubbles rose (e.g., ...). Figure 1 (As indicated by the arrow) Stirring the suspension of tea seed cake powder particles and water, the concentration of tea saponin in the liquid gradually increases. The generated tea saponin foam rises and leaves the liquid surface, carrying the tea saponin. After passing through the nylon filter screen 3.1 and stainless steel mesh 3.2 of filter 3 in sequence, the tea seed cake powder particles remain in the liquid. The tea saponin foam is gathered by the gathering section 1.1 and further enters the foam collector 4. After defoaming in the centrifuge 5, it is dried to obtain a tea saponin sample of 4.73g, with a yield of 9.46% and a tea saponin extraction rate of 83.7%.

[0033] Example 2

[0034] Tea seed cake (tea saponin content 11.3%) was crushed, 100g was weighed, dispersed in 2000mL of deionized water, and transferred from the bottom side of foaming tower 1 into foaming tower 1. After foaming separation and collection, it was defoamed by centrifuge 5 and then dried to obtain 9.27g of tea saponin sample, with a yield of 9.27% ​​and a tea saponin extraction rate of 82.0%. The foaming separation and collection process was the same as in Example 1 and will not be repeated.

[0035] Example 3

[0036] Using tea seed cake (tea saponin content 11.3%) as raw material, 5g, 10g, and 15g were weighed and dispersed in the same volume of water (2000mL). Foaming, separation, and collection were performed in the foaming tower 1 of this invention. The concentration of tea saponin in the foam exiting the foam collector 4 was periodically measured. The results are as follows: Figure 2 As shown.

[0037] from Figure 2 It can be seen that the saponin concentration in the foam produced by different amounts of tea seed cake powder shows a consistent trend. As foam is produced, the saponin concentration in the collected foam gradually increases initially, and then begins to decrease after reaching a certain level. Furthermore, it can be observed that the foam concentration of the crude tea saponin solution in the 5g group reaches its maximum at approximately 25 minutes, as does the 10g group, while the 15g group reaches its maximum saponin concentration in the foam solution at approximately 30 minutes. After this point, the foam produced by the mother liquor of different concentrations all exhibits a sharp drop in saponin concentration, showing a significant decrease.

Claims

1. A tea saponin foam separation device, comprising a foaming tower (1), characterized in that: The foaming tower (1) is equipped with a bubbler (2) at the bottom and a foam collector (4) at the top. The other end of the foam collector (4) is connected to a centrifuge (5). A filter (3) is provided between the foaming tower (1) and the foam collector (4).

2. The tea saponin foam separation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper part of the foaming tower (1) is provided with a conical gathering section (1.1), which is located between the filter (3) and the foam collector (4).

3. The tea saponin foam separation device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The filter (3) includes a stainless steel mesh (3.2) and a nylon mesh (3.1), with the stainless steel mesh (3.2) located on top of the nylon mesh (3.1).

4. The tea saponin foam separation device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The stainless steel mesh (3.2) has sieve holes with a diameter of 0.5-1cm, and the nylon filter mesh (3.1) uses a sieve with a mesh size of 100-300.

5. The tea saponin foam separation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bubbler (2) includes an air pump (2.1) located outside the bubble tower (1) and a gas disperser (2.2) located at the bottom inside the bubble tower (1).

6. The tea saponin foam separation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the foaming tower (1) is at least 10 cm, and the ratio of the height (H) to the diameter of the foaming tower (1) is 5-10:

1.

7. The tea saponin foam separation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The liquid level in the foaming tower (1) does not exceed half the height (H) of the foaming tower (1).

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