Air energy material drying and moisture increasing equipment

Abstract

This utility model discloses an air-source heat pump material drying, rehydration, and aroma enhancement device, belonging to the field of drying technology. It includes a dryer and a spraying device. The dryer comprises an air-source heat pump main unit and a drying oven. The air-source heat pump main unit includes a finned evaporator, an electric heater, etc. The spraying device main unit is mounted on a frame, and the spray nozzles are located in the air duct between the electric heater and the material plate in the drying oven. A liquid collection tank is provided below the finned evaporator, and the liquid collection tank is connected to a condensate tank via a drain pipe. The condensate tank is connected to the water storage tank of the spraying device. This utility model achieves heat recovery and condensate recovery through the finned evaporator, and rehydrates the material through the spraying device, achieving energy saving and aroma enhancement.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of air source heat pump drying technology, and more specifically, to an air source heat pump material drying and rehumidification and aroma enhancement device. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, leafy agricultural products (including bamboo leaves), flowers, tobacco leaves, and traditional Chinese medicinal materials such as ginseng and wolfberry generally have very low moisture content after drying, making them extremely fragile and severely reducing product quality. Therefore, leafy agricultural products and traditional Chinese medicinal materials must undergo rehydration treatment in the later stages of drying to soften the leaves slightly, thereby ensuring the quality of the leafy agricultural products and the uniformity of internal moisture in the traditional Chinese medicinal materials, and preventing them from becoming brittle due to excessive dryness.

[0003] The current method of rehumidification after drying is natural rehumidification, which involves opening the drying chamber after the product has been dried to allow the product to absorb moisture from the outside air, thus achieving the purpose of rehumidification. This method is not limited by the location and is convenient and labor-saving. However, this method is severely limited by local climate conditions, cannot be automatically controlled, and cannot achieve a rapid and uniform rehumidification effect, thereby reducing the quality of the product.

[0004] In the prior art, such as patent ZL201620477518.9, an automatic humidification and rehumidification system for drying mentions adding a spray device and a heating device in the drying chamber to improve the drying quality of tobacco leaves, save drying time, and reduce drying costs.

[0005] However, the above-mentioned patent has obvious shortcomings. Although using tap water and heating devices to provide hot water can quickly rehydrate, it has problems such as high heating energy consumption, reduced or diluted taste of materials and loss of the quality of the rehydrated water source. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of this utility model is to solve the problem of waste heat and waste gas in the drying room and to make comprehensive use of it, so as to provide an energy-saving, clean and aroma-enhancing material drying and rehumidification equipment.

[0007] To solve the above problems, this utility model adopts the following technical solution: an air-source heat pump material drying and rehumidification aroma enhancement device, including a dryer and a spraying device. The dryer includes an air-source heat pump main unit and a drying oven detachably installed on one or both sides of the air-source heat pump main unit. The air-source heat pump main unit includes a frame and a heat exchanger, a induced draft fan, a heat pump, a liquid storage tank, an expansion valve, a drying filter, a finned evaporator, and an electric heater, all mounted on the frame. The finned evaporator is located on a partition between the air-source heat pump main unit and the drying oven. The heat exchanger is located above the electric heater. The induced draft fan is installed on the lower surface of the heat exchanger with the airflow direction from top to bottom. The heat exchanger, the induced draft fan, and the electric heater form a heating chamber through the frame and the partition. The main unit of the spraying device is mounted on the frame. The nozzle of the spraying device is located in the air duct between the electric heater and the material plate of the drying oven. A liquid collection tank is provided below the finned evaporator. The liquid collection tank is connected to a condensate tank through a drain pipe. The condensate tank is connected to the water storage tank of the spraying device.

[0008] Furthermore, the condensate tank and the water storage tank of the spray device are directly connected to a liquid concentration device.

[0009] Furthermore, the bottom of the air-source heat pump unit below the electric heater is provided with a guide plate, and baffles are evenly arranged on the guide plate in the same direction as the airflow.

[0010] Furthermore, an exhaust fan is provided on the top of the oven.

[0011] Furthermore, the condensate tank is equipped with a stirrer.

[0012] Furthermore, the spray device has multiple micron-sized nozzles arranged in a matrix and extended through pipes at the bottom of the oven.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, this utility model has the following advantages:

[0014] (1) During the material drying process, the low-temperature finned evaporator of the air energy absorbs heat from the high-temperature and high-humidity exhaust gas discharged from the heat exchange core, and the heat recovered by this part is transferred to the heat exchanger through the air energy system to preheat the air entering the heating chamber. The air energy finned evaporator realizes heat recovery, and the low-temperature finned radiator will condense a large amount of condensate. This part of the condensate is collected in the condensate tank for later use.

[0015] (2) After the drying process is completed, during the material re-moistening process, the mist droplets sprayed by the spraying device are condensate. The condensate contains a large amount of the fragrance components and essence of the material itself. This part of the fragrance and essence is absorbed by the dried material through the mist droplets to achieve the purpose of enhancing the fragrance.

[0016] (3) During the material drying process, condensate is continuously collected, and the condensate can be concentrated simultaneously. During the drying process of fresh materials, the high temperature and high humidity exhaust gas condenses when it passes through the finned evaporator. This achieves the recovery and reuse of more than 60% of the heat energy, and at the same time, the moisture can also be recovered by about 50% during the drying process. Through multiple experiments, the applicant found that the amount of condensate used during the rehydration process accounts for 40-50% of the total condensate. Therefore, by using a concentration device to evaporate or filter out excess moisture, the total amount of recovered condensate is concentrated to 50% before spray rehydration, which greatly improves the aroma enhancement effect.

[0017] (4) Traditional water sources (usually tap water) typically contain mineral salts such as calcium and magnesium (i.e., scale). After being sprayed onto the surface of leaves or Chinese medicinal materials with water mist, calcium salts evaporate and crystallize, which may affect the quality of the product. This utility model uses condensate instead of traditional water sources, which is clean and hygienic, and perfectly solves the above problems. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present utility model; Example

[0020] like Figure 1As shown, an air-source heat pump material drying and rehumidification aroma-enhancing device includes a dryer 1 and a spraying device 2. The dryer 1 includes an air-source heat pump main unit 11 and a drying oven 12 detachably mounted to one side of the air-source heat pump main unit (if drying ovens are installed on both sides, the air-source heat pump main unit and the spraying device main unit can be located directly in front of or behind the air-source heat pump main unit). The air-source heat pump main unit 11 includes a frame 111 and a heat exchanger 112, a duct fan 113, a heat pump 114, a liquid receiver 115, an expansion valve 116, a drying filter 118, a finned evaporator 119, and an electric heater 110 mounted on the frame. The finned evaporator 119 is located on the air-source heat pump main unit. On the partition between the machine 11 and the oven 12, the heat exchanger 112 is located above the electric heater 110. The induced draft fan 113 is installed on the lower surface of the heat exchanger 112 with the airflow direction from top to bottom. The heat exchanger 112, the induced draft fan 113, and the electric heater 110 form a heating chamber through the frame 111 and the partition. The main unit of the spray device 2 is installed on the frame 111. The nozzle 21 of the spray device 2 is set in the air duct between the electric heater 110 and the material plate 121 of the oven 12. A liquid collection tank 3 is provided below the finned evaporator 119. The liquid collection tank 3 is connected to the condensate tank 31 through a drain pipe. The condensate tank 31 is connected to the water storage tank of the spray device 2. The condensate tank 31 and the water storage tank of the spray device 2 are directly connected to a liquid concentration device 4. A guide plate 5 is provided at the bottom of the air-source heating main unit 11 below the electric heater 110. Baffles 51 aligned with the airflow direction are evenly arranged on the guide plate 5. An exhaust fan 122 is provided on the top of the oven 12. A stirrer 32 is provided inside the condensate tank 3. The nozzles 21 of the spray device 2 are multiple micron-sized nozzles arranged in a matrix and are arranged at the bottom of the oven 12 through pipes.

[0021] The air source heating system and other technologies in this equipment can refer to the relevant content of our company's utility model patent, "A Cascade Air Source Heating Main Unit and Drying Equipment and Its Application" (Patent No. ZL202211311546.X). Based on this utility model patent, the heat exchanger of this utility model can be a single heat exchanger or a combination of a main heat exchanger and an auxiliary heat exchanger. Copper pipes are used to sequentially connect the heat pump, heat exchanger (or main heat exchanger and auxiliary heat exchanger connected in sequence), dryer filter, liquid receiver, expansion valve, and finned evaporator, and then connect them back to the heat pump to form a loop. A spray device is added to the frame, and the nozzle of the spray device is extended through pipes and set at the bottom of the drying oven to spray upwards. If necessary, a liquid concentration device is set between the condensate tank and the spray device to concentrate the condensate, reducing the condensate volume to 50% of the total volume.

[0022] Through numerous experiments, the drying equipment of this application demonstrates that when drying fresh leaves (fresh materials), the condensate collected by the finned evaporator achieves a moisture recovery rate of over 50%. Under high-temperature drying conditions of 90℃-100℃, the heat recovery rate is high, reaching over 60%. Approximately 50% of the recovered condensate is used in the subsequent rehydration process. Therefore, concentrating the collected condensate to increase the concentration of aroma compounds before rehydrating it back into the leaves helps to significantly enhance the aroma. For example, with bamboo leaves (with a dry-to-wet ratio of approximately 4:10 – 10 kg of fresh leaves yielding 4 kg of dried leaves), most of the aroma of the bamboo leaves, except for some that dissipates, remains in the condensate during the drying process. Concentrating and rehydrating this condensate back into the bamboo leaves enhances their aroma and quality, which in turn enhances the aroma of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and improves the product's market competitiveness. In the experiment, drying 100kg of bamboo leaves yielded approximately 30kg of condensate (60kg of moisture evaporated during drying, resulting in a recovery rate of about 50%). The amount of condensate used for spraying during the rehydration process is typically 10-14kg. Using a liquid concentration device to concentrate the 30kg of condensate to 14-15kg before spraying significantly enhances the fragrance effect. The concentration device can be either pressure filtration or heating concentration. This invention utilizes a smaller heating concentration method and device because the equipment operates under power. During concentration, moisture evaporates while retaining the aromatic and essential substances in the water.

[0023] The bottom of the heating unit below the electric heater is equipped with a guide plate. The guide plate can straighten the airflow and reduce the turbulence caused by hot air impacting the bottom plate of the heating chamber. Furthermore, baffles can be evenly arranged on the guide plate. After the airflow passes through the baffles and is straightened, it changes direction and enters the oven evenly.

[0024] An exhaust fan is installed on the top of the oven. The exhaust fan is used to direct the airflow, ensuring that the upper right corner of the oven, which is far from the heating unit, receives proper drying and rehumidification.

[0025] The condensate tank is equipped with a stirring device. This device continuously stirs the liquid, ensuring that the fragrance substances or essences in the condensate are fully dissolved in the water. This prevents the essences from separating out and floating on the surface, thus preventing them from entering the liquid concentration device and ensuring that the recovered essences are fully utilized subsequently.

[0026] The spray device consists of multiple micron-sized nozzles arranged in a matrix, which are extended through pipes and positioned at the bottom of the drying oven. With the micron-sized nozzles arranged in a matrix at the bottom of the oven, the micron-sized droplets are carried upwards by the airflow over the material, effectively re-moistening it.

[0027] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model; however, the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this utility model, based on the technical solution and its improved concept, should be included within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. An air-source heat pump material drying, rehumidification, and aroma enhancement device, characterized in that: The device includes a dryer and a spraying device. The dryer includes an air-source heat pump main unit and a drying oven that is detachably installed on one or both sides of the air-source heat pump main unit. The air-source heat pump main unit includes a frame and a heat exchanger, a duct fan, a heat pump, a liquid receiver, an expansion valve, a drying filter, a finned evaporator, and an electric heater mounted on the frame. The finned evaporator is located on a partition between the air-source heat pump main unit and the drying oven. The heat exchanger is located above the electric heater. The duct fan is installed on the lower surface of the heat exchanger with the airflow direction from top to bottom. The heat exchanger, the duct fan, and the electric heater form a heating chamber through the frame and the partition. The spraying device main unit is mounted on the frame. The spraying device nozzle is located in the air duct between the electric heater and the material plate of the drying oven. A liquid collection tank is provided below the finned evaporator. The liquid collection tank is connected to a condensate tank through a drain pipe. The condensate tank is connected to the water storage tank of the spraying device.

2. The air-source heat pump material drying, rehumidification, and aroma enhancement equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The condensate tank and the water storage tank of the spray device are directly connected to a liquid concentration device.

3. The air-source heat pump material drying, rehumidification, and aroma enhancement equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom of the air source heat pump unit below the electric heater is equipped with a guide plate, and baffles are evenly arranged on the guide plate in the same direction as the airflow.

4. The air-source heat pump material drying, rehumidification, and aroma enhancement equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The oven is equipped with an exhaust fan on top.

5. The air-source heat pump material drying, rehumidification, and aroma enhancement equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The condensate tank is equipped with a stirrer.

6. The air-source heat pump material drying, rehumidification, and aroma enhancement equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The spray device consists of multiple micron-sized nozzles arranged in a matrix, which are extended through pipes and positioned at the bottom of the oven.

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