TREATMENT DEVICE FOR THE DISINFECTION OF HARVESTED PRODUCTS

Abstract

A treatment device (2) for disinfecting harvested products, such as fruits or the like, characterized in that it comprises a dosing pump (2.1) for at least one disinfectant additive and an electric agitator with blades (2.2).

Description

TREATMENT DEVICE FOR THE DISINFECTION OF PRODUCTS HARVESTED TECHNICAL SECTOR The present invention corresponds to the technical field of devices for treating harvested products, such as fruits and the like, which are carried out in particular in treatment devices such as drenchers, rafts or the like. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Currently, agricultural products such as fruits and similar items, upon arrival from the field, must undergo a disinfectant bath to protect them from pathogens like fungi before entering the storage chamber. There are several methods for applying fungicides to agricultural products, such as immersion in tanks containing a fungicide cocktail, drenching, and other similar devices. Drenching is a treatment device in which stacked crates containing agricultural products circulate on a conveyor belt while receiving a fungicide cocktail bath. The present invention improves existing technology by enhancing the efficiency of devices for processing harvested agricultural products. EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION The present invention introduces, in a first aspect, a treatment device, such as a drencher, tank or similar, for the disinfection of harvested products, such as fruits or similar, comprising a dosing pump of at least one disinfectant additive and an electric agitator with blades. In a preferred embodiment, the dosage of the disinfectant additive is carried out by control through a redox potential program. And in a more preferred embodiment, the disinfectant additive is 50% hydrogen peroxide. One advantage of the treatment device of the invention is that it allows the broth to last for longer periods of time while maintaining its quality. In another preferred embodiment, the electric blade agitator can be in constant motion during use. This will allow for proper and optimized homogenization of the disinfectant additive. A second aspect of the present invention relates to an assembly for recycling treatment broths from harvested products, such as fruits and the like, comprising a recycling circuit comprising at least: a. a treatment device as described in the first aspect of the present invention, b. an additional circuit, and c. a filter press that has plates and filter cloths on each side of them. In a preferred embodiment, the additional circuit is connected to the recycling circuit at a first point located upstream of the filter press inlet and at a second point located downstream of the filter press outlet. Furthermore, it has a device for controlling the operation of the additional circuit comprising a first and a second opening and closing valve for controlling the circulation through the filter press in the recycling circuit, located in said recycling circuit, in the section before the first connection point and the section after the second connection point of the additional circuit respectively, and a third and a fourth opening and closing valve for controlling the circulation through the filter press in the additional circuit, located in said additional circuit in the section before its first connection point and in the section after its second connection point respectively, wherein the opening or closing position of the first and second valve is always coincident with each other and opposite to the opening or closing position of at least the fourth valve.The position of this fourth valve being open during the formation of the pre-coat and closed during the circulation of the broth. Preferably, the means of forming the protective pre-layer also allow an injection of compressed air through the filter press. In a preferred embodiment, the injection of compressed air is carried out by means of a solenoid valve arranged in the additional circuit, between the third valve and the first connection point of the latter with the recycling circuit, where during the injection of compressed air said third valve has a closed position and the fourth valve an open position. In another preferred embodiment, the additional circuit comprises a containment tank for the filter product suspension in water. In another preferred embodiment, the cleaning means of the at least one treatment device comprise a clarification tank for the recycled broth located downstream of the filter press in the recycling circuit, a pump, and a first and a second connection to each at least one treatment device, wherein the cleaning connection comprises a cleaning valve that allows the recycled broth from a previous cycle to pass into a treatment device for cleaning, and the loading connection comprises a loading valve that subsequently allows the recycled broth to pass for loading the treatment device. And in a final preferred embodiment, the filter material used to make the suspension in water is selected from either perlite or diatomaceous earth. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To complement the description being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is included as an integral part of said description, in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented: Figure 1.- Shows a schematic of the recycling assembly in the pre-layer formation phase, for a preferred embodiment of the invention. Figure 2.- Shows a schematic of the recycling assembly during the pre-air injection after the formation of the pre-layer, for a preferred embodiment of the invention. Figure 3.- Shows a schematic of the recycling assembly in the recycling phase of the treatment broth, for a preferred embodiment of the invention. Figure 4.- Shows a separate diagram of the circuits that are part of the recycling assembly for a preferred embodiment of the invention. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION A detailed explanation of a preferred embodiment of a set for recycling broths from the treatment of harvested products, comprising the treatment device for disinfecting harvested products of the invention, is provided below with the help of the figures referred to above. A set 1 for recycling treatment broths from harvested products, such as fruits and the like, used in treatment devices 2 such as a drencher, tank or the like, proposed herein, comprises a recycling circuit 3 to which the broths C resulting from a working cycle of a treatment device 2, which in this proposed embodiment is a drencher, are pumped, conveying said broths C through a filter press 4 having plates and filter cloths on each side thereof, which retain the solids from the broth C to return the recycled broth CR back to said drencher 2. This treatment broth recycling assembly also comprises means for forming a protective pre-layer for the filter fabrics of the filter press 4 and means for cleaning the drencher 2 that act simultaneously with the circulation through the recycling circuit 3 of the broth C from the last working cycle of the drencher 2 and that use recycled broth CR from a previous working cycle for cleaning the same. As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the pre-layer formation means are formed by an additional circuit 5 for circulating a suspension S in water of a filter material through the filter press 4 and by a device for controlling the operation of this additional circuit 5 such that the operation of the additional circuit 5 is carried out prior to the start of the circulation of the broth C through the recycling circuit 3. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the additional circuit 5 for the formation of the pre-layer is connected to the recycling circuit 3 as shown in Figure 1 at a first point 6.1 located upstream of the inlet of the filter press 4 and at a second point 6.2 located downstream of the outlet of the filter press 4. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the suspension S in water of a filter material uses perlite as said filter material, which is a highly porous volcanic material that is deposited on the filter cloth, thus preventing the deposition of clays and silts that reduce its filtering capacity. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, in this preferred embodiment of the invention, the control device for the operation of the additional circuit 5 comprises a first and a second opening and closing valve 7.1, 7.2 for controlling the circulation through the filter press 4 in the recycling circuit 3 and a third and a fourth valve 7.3, 7.4 for controlling the circulation through the filter press 4 in the additional circuit 5. As can be seen in Figures 1 to 3, the first and second valves 7.1, 7.2 are located in the recycling circuit 3, the first valve 7.1 in the section prior to the first connection point 6.1 of the additional circuit 5 and the second valve 7.2 in the section after the second connection point 6.2 of the additional circuit 5. For their part, the third and fourth valves 7.3, 7.4, are located in the additional circuit 5, specifically in the sections of it that are prior to its first connection point 6.1 and after its second connection point 6.2, respectively. These opening and closing valves 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 ensure that the opening or closing position of the first and second valves 7.1, 7.2 is always coincident with each other and at the same time opposite to the opening or closing position, at least of the fourth valve 7.4, the position of this fourth valve 7.4 being open during the formation of the pre-coat and closed during the circulation of broth C. As shown in Figure 4, according to this preferred embodiment of the invention, the additional circuit 5 comprises a containment tank 8 for the perlite suspension S. Likewise, according to this preferred embodiment, the means for forming the protective pre-layer comprise an injection of compressed air A through the filter press 4, which in this case is carried out by means of a solenoid valve 9 located in the additional circuit 5, between the third valve 7.3 and the first connection point 6.1 of this circuit with the recycling circuit 3. During the injection of compressed air A, the third valve 7.3 has a closed position opposite to the open position of the fourth valve 7.4. This injection of compressed air A is carried out once the precoat has been applied, and in the same direction as the flow of the perlite suspension S. This removes any remaining water W from the suspension in the filter press, directing it back to the perlite suspension containment tank 8. Thus, as can be seen in Figure 1, initially during the formation of the pre-coat, the third and fourth valves 7.3, 7.4 are in the open position to allow the perlite suspension S to circulate through the filter press 4, while the first and second valves 7.1, 7.2 are in the closed position to prevent the treatment broth C from circulating through the recycling circuit 3 at the same time. The water W from the suspension exiting the filter press returns to the containment tank 8. In this containment tank 8, the necessary perlite additions are made to maintain the desired concentration of perlite in the S suspension. In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the recycling assembly comprises a homogenization tank 14 for the broth C that is pumped from the drencher 2. As can be seen in Figure 1, in this preferred embodiment of the invention, the formation of the pre-layer is carried out prior to the start of pumping the broth C from the drencher 2 to the recycling assembly 1, although in other embodiments the pumping of the broth C to the homogenization tank 14 can be carried out simultaneously with the formation of the pre-layer. Once the pre-coat has formed, compressed air A is injected to remove any remaining water in the filter press 4. As shown in Figure 2, while the compressed air A is being injected, the first and second valves 7.1, 7.2 remain in the closed position, and although the third valve 7.3 is already in a closed position to prevent the perlite suspension S from continuing to pass through the filter press 4, the fourth valve 7.4 remains open to allow the remaining water carried by the compressed air A to escape into the perlite suspension S containment tank 8. When the injection of compressed air A ends, as can be seen in Figure 3, the fourth valve 7.4 also closes, thus isolating the additional circuit 5, while the first and second valves 7.1, 7.2 open to start the recycling process, allowing the treatment broth C to pass through the filter press 4. Furthermore, in this preferred embodiment of the invention, the cleaning means of the drencher 2 comprise a clarification tank 10 for the recycled broth CR, located in the recycling circuit 3 following the filter press 4, and a pump 11 for pumping the broth CR to the drencher 2. It further comprises a first and a second connection thereto, where the first connection has a cleaning valve 12 that allows the passage of the recycled broth CR from a previous cycle to the drencher 2 to clean it while the broth C from the last cycle of said drencher 2 is being recycled. The second connection features a loading valve 13 which subsequently allows the passage of the recycled CR broth for loading the drencher 2 once it has been cleaned. Both the cleaning and loading valves in this preferred embodiment of the invention are pneumatic. As shown in Figure 3, in this preferred embodiment of the invention, while the broth is being recycled, the cleaning valve 12 is open to allow recycled broth CR from a previous cycle to flow through a hose or flexible conduit to the drencher 2, thus cleaning it with this recycled broth CR. Therefore, in this preferred embodiment, the recycling of broth C is carried out simultaneously with the cleaning of the drencher, although in other embodiments, both actions may not be performed at the same time. The homogenization tank 14 in this preferred embodiment of the invention has a first level detector 15.1, which activates an agitator for the broth C to be treated contained therein, and a second level detector 15.2, higher than the first, which activates a pneumatic pump 16 that sends the broth C to be treated to the filter press 4. The treatment device, in the case of this preferred embodiment a drencher 2, comprises a dosing pump 2.1 of a disinfectant additive of 50% hydrogen peroxide in water, and an electric agitator with blades 2.2. These (2.1 and 2.2) are attached to the treatment device by means of stainless steel screws. The recycling assembly in this preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an addition of disinfectant 17, said broth homogenization tank 14, as well as in the clarification tank 10 for the recycled broth CR. Likewise, this recycling assembly comprises a module for recovering drip losses from the filter press 4. This recovery module consists of a tray 18 connected to an accumulation tank 19 which has a level control that activates a pneumatic recovery pump 20 to return the accumulated losses to the homogenization tank 14. The valves used in the recycling assembly of this preferred embodiment of the invention are pneumatic valves, but in other embodiments any other type of valve may be used. The recycling system for the treatment broths of harvested products presented here achieves significant improvements compared to the state of the art, both in terms of productivity and the improvement of the efficiency of the recycling system. Thus, the time between cleanings of the filter press filter cloths is significantly extended, thanks to the formation of the protective pre-layer of the cloths prior to the circulation of broths through it. By extending the intervals between cleanings, the downtime of the filter press for maintenance is reduced, thereby increasing its productivity. Furthermore, the filtering capacity of these fabrics is improved from the start of the recycling process, eliminating the need for recirculation of the filter media to create a layer that prevents solids leakage. Likewise, thanks to the cleaning means of the treatment device, which act simultaneously with the recycling of the broth, the downtime of the recycling unit is reduced and therefore its productivity is increased. It is therefore a very advantageous recycling system thanks to its simplicity, and its greater effectiveness and productivity.

Claims

1. A treatment device (2) for disinfecting harvested products, such as fruits or the like, characterized in that it comprises a dosing pump (2.1) for at least one disinfectant additive and an electric agitator with blades (2.2).

2. An assembly (1) for recycling treatment solutions from harvested products, such as fruits and the like, comprising a recycling circuit (3) comprising at least: a. a treatment device (2), b. an additional circuit (5), and c. a filter press (4) having plates and filter cloths on each side thereof.