Fiber extraction method and device therefor

Abstract

To provide a fiber extraction method and a device therefor, which are capable of completely removing foreign matters quickly at low cost and extracting only a fiber.SOLUTION: There is provided a fiber extraction method, comprising: placing pineapple leaves 9 having long fibers onto a linear or mesh-shaped conveying device 3 and conveying the pineapple leaves while pressing them by a linear or mesh-shaped pressing device 4; applying high-pressure jet water to the pineapple leaves 9 being conveyed while being pressed in this manner to remove foreign matters and extracting fibers; allowing moisture to be contained inside the pineapple leaves 9; making it easier for a foreign matter remover 82 such as hydrogen peroxide to penetrate thereto; and then soaking the resulting fibers in hydrogen peroxide to remove foreign matters such as lignin and pectin.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fiber extraction method and an apparatus therefor, which can completely remove foreign substances such as lignin and pectin from, for example, pineapple leaves having long fibers, or the pseudo-stems of banana plants such as banana and plantain, and extract only the fibers.

Background Art

[0002] When extracting leaf vein fibers (hereinafter referred to as "fibers") longer than 50 cm from pineapple leaves, or the pseudo-stems of banana plants such as banana and plantain, an apparatus has been proposed that applies high-pressure jet water to extract only the fibers (Patent Document 1).

[0003] This apparatus places pineapple leaves on a mesh-shaped conveyor roller, and while pressing the pineapple leaves with a mesh-shaped pressing device from above, applies high-pressure jet water to the pineapple leaves to blow foreign substances below the conveyor roller and extract only the fibers.

[0004] With this configuration, fibers can be extracted simply and quickly compared to the case of scraping off foreign substances using a scraper or the like.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, when extracting fibers using such an apparatus, although a large amount of foreign substances can be removed instantaneously, high-pressure jet water does not hit the leaves in the parts where the mesh-shaped pressing device and the conveying member are present. For this reason, inevitably, foreign substances other than the fibers remain, and the fibers become hard.

[0007] At this time, if the water pressure of the high-pressure jet water is increased, foreign matter can be removed to some extent by the splashing water from the mesh-like pressing device or the conveying device. However, if the water pressure is increased too much, the fibers will break. On the other hand, if the water pressure of the high-pressure jet water is decreased too much, although the breakage of the fibers can be prevented, conversely, the foreign matter cannot be completely removed. For this reason, when removing foreign matter using high-pressure jet water, there is a problem that it is difficult to completely remove foreign matter such as pectin and lignin.

[0008] On the other hand, it is also possible to dissolve foreign matter using caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide water, etc. and extract the fibers. However, in such a method, a large amount of high-concentration chemicals are required to dissolve the foreign matter, resulting in a problem of being less environmentally friendly. Also, when extracting fibers using such chemicals, it takes more than several tens of minutes to completely dissolve the foreign matter and extract only the fibers.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a fiber extraction method and an apparatus capable of quickly and completely removing foreign matter at low cost and extracting only the fibers.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] That is, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention applies high-pressure jet water to the leaves of plants having fibers to remove foreign matter, and then immerses the fibers from which the foreign matter has been removed in a foreign matter removing agent to remove the foreign matter.

[0011] By doing so, it is possible to prevent the fibers from breaking while reducing the water pressure, and after removing foreign matter to a certain extent, it becomes possible to completely remove the remaining foreign matter using a foreign matter remover. In addition, since water can be forcibly contained inside plant leaves, etc. by high-pressure jet water, it becomes easier to permeate the foreign matter remover, and even when the concentration of the foreign matter remover is lowered, the foreign matter can be cleanly removed in a short time.

[0012] Also, in such an invention, a step of placing plant leaves on a conveying device that rotates a concave member having a plurality of parallel groove portions so that the fibers are aligned along the groove portions, a step of applying high-pressure jet water to the plant leaves to remove foreign matter, a step of conveying the fibers from which the foreign matter has been removed while being accommodated in the groove portions, a step of taking out the fibers in a state where they are aligned from the groove portions, and a step of immersing the fibers taken out in the aligned state in a foreign matter remover with the fiber directions aligned to remove foreign matter are used to extract the fibers.

[0013] According to such a method, it is possible to prevent the fibers from getting entangled by high-pressure jet water, and if the fibers are immersed in the foreign matter remover with their directions aligned, it becomes easier for the foreign matter remover to penetrate into the gaps between the fibers, and the foreign matter can be removed uniformly.

[0014] Also, when using such a foreign matter remover, hydrogen peroxide water generated by a photocatalyst using water and oxygen as raw materials is used.

[0015] By using the foreign matter remover generated in this way, it becomes possible to remove foreign matter in an environmentally friendly way compared to the case of using caustic soda.

[0016] Furthermore, when removing foreign matter in this manner, a conveying device that rotates a concave member having a plurality of parallel grooves, and a high-pressure jet device that injects high-pressure jet water against a plant leaf placed so that fibers are aligned in a direction along the grooves to remove foreign matter. The device is provided on the downstream side along the conveying direction of the conveying device, and includes a separating means for separating the fibers from which foreign matter has been removed from the grooves in a state where the directions of the fibers are aligned, and a taking-out member for putting the fibers separated by the separating means into a container containing a foreign matter removing agent in a state where the directions of the fibers are aligned. The taking-out member is configured to include a locking portion that locks to the edge of the container containing the foreign matter removing agent.

[0017] With this configuration, the fibers taken out from the grooves by the separating means can be locked to the container of the foreign matter removing agent so that the directions of the fibers are aligned, and foreign matter can be removed. Therefore, it is not necessary to manually take out only the fibers and immerse them in the foreign matter removing agent, and it is also unnecessary to manually take out the fibers from the foreign matter removing agent.

[0018] Furthermore, when providing a container containing the foreign matter removing agent, it is attached to a frame to which vibration from the high-pressure jet device is transmitted.

[0019] With this configuration, the vibration from the high-pressure jet device can be transmitted to the container, and the vibration makes it easier to remove foreign matter attached to the fibers.

[0020] Also, a filtering device for filtering foreign matter from the foreign matter removing agent is provided, and a circulation device for mixing the foreign matter removing agent filtered by the filtering device into the high-pressure jet water and injecting it from the high-pressure jet device is provided.

[0021] With this configuration, the foreign matter removing agent can be effectively utilized, and it becomes easier to remove foreign matter with the high-pressure jet device, so that the foreign matter removal time can be shortened.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, high-pressure jet water is applied to the leaves of plants having fibers to remove foreign substances, and then the fibers from which the foreign substances have been removed are immersed in a foreign substance removing agent to remove the foreign substances. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fibers from being cut while keeping the water pressure low, and after removing a certain amount of foreign substances, it becomes possible to completely remove the remaining foreign substances using the foreign substance removing agent. In addition, since water can be forcibly contained inside the leaves of plants or the like by high-pressure jet water, it is possible to facilitate the penetration of the foreign substance removing agent, and even when the concentration of the foreign substance removing agent is lowered, it becomes possible to cleanly remove the foreign substances in a short time.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] The fiber extraction device 1 in this embodiment is configured to remove foreign substances such as lignin and pectin from the leaves of plants having fibers and extract only the fibers of the leaves. As shown in FIG. 1, it includes a conveying device 3 for conveying the leaves of plants, a pressing device 4 for pressing the leaves of plants conveyed by the conveying device 3 from above, a high-pressure jet device 5 for applying high-pressure jet water to the leaves of plants conveyed in a state pressed by the pressing device 4 to remove foreign substances, a separating means 6 for separating and extracting the fibers from which foreign substances have been removed by the high-pressure jet device 5 from the conveying device 3, a taking-out member 7 for taking out the fibers separated by the separating means 6, and a container 8 containing a foreign substance removing agent 82 for dissolving the fibers collected on the taking-out member 7. And in this way, in the first step, foreign substances such as lignin and pectin are physically removed, and the inside of the leaves is forced to contain a large amount of moisture. Also, in the second step, by making it easier to chemically remove foreign substances, the foreign substances can be completely removed in a state where the concentration and amount of the foreign substance removing agent 82 are reduced. Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0026] First, as the plant having fibers used in this embodiment, a plant covered with soft foreign substances containing a large amount of moisture between a plurality of fibers is used. For example, sisal hemp of the Agavaceae family, banana of the Musaceae family, Manila hemp of the Musaceae family, flax, ramie, etc. are mentioned. In this embodiment, the leaves 9 of pineapple will be described as an example.

[0027] As such pineapple leaves 9, after harvesting the fruits for consumption, the pineapple leaves 9 that are originally discarded are cut from near the leaf base and used. Generally, around May to July when it is the harvest time of pineapple fruits, the length of the pineapple leaves 9 becomes about 50 cm to 100 cm, and the thickness is also about 2 mm. Therefore, such long-grown pineapple leaves 9 are used. Here, as the pineapple leaves 9 to be used, fresh ones containing 50% or more of moisture after collection are used. When using such pineapple leaves 9 with a high moisture content, when the pineapple leaves 9 are bent, cracks are likely to occur on the front and back of foreign substances, and high-pressure jet water can be applied to the cracks to easily remove the foreign substances. On the other hand, when using pineapple leaves 9 stored for a long time, the pineapple leaves 9 are immersed in water for a certain period so that the moisture content rate becomes 50% or more. However, if the moisture content rate becomes too high, cracks cannot be generated in foreign substances by bending, so the moisture content rate is set to about 50% to 70%.

[0028] When extracting fibers from such pineapple leaves 9, first, the hard epidermis is scraped off by an epidermis cutting device 2 as shown in FIG. 2, and then foreign substances are removed by a fiber extraction device 1 so that only the fibers can be extracted.

[0029] This epidermis cutting device 2 includes a feeding section 21 that sandwiches the pineapple leaves 9 from above and below with rollers and feeds them out at a low speed, and a cutting section 22 provided on the downstream side of the feeding section 21 that causes cracks in the epidermis while alternately bending the pineapple leaves 9 and cuts the epidermis. This cutting section 22 is composed of a rotating member 22a having a plurality of blades 22b that rotate at a higher speed than the upper and lower rollers of the feeding section 21. In a state where the pineapple leaves 9 are sandwiched by the feeding section 21, the blades 22b that rotate at a high speed alternately bend the pineapple leaves 9, and the epidermis is cut by the friction at the tips of the blades 22b. Also, by alternately bending, the curled part near the root is configured to be made substantially flat.

[0030] This fiber extraction device 1 (Fig. 1) is for removing foreign substances other than fibers from the epidermis-cut pineapple leaves 9. It is configured such that, in a state where the pineapple leaves 9 are sandwiched between a conveying device 3 and a pressing device 4 and conveyed, high-pressure jet water can be applied to remove the foreign substances. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, the conveying device 3 is composed of a drum-shaped member that rotates a plurality of linear members 30, cutting members 31, and mesh members 32 along the rotation axis. Note that this ring-shaped cutting member 31 is provided with a plurality of groove portions 31a along the outer peripheral direction, and the fibers from which foreign substances have been removed can be arranged in the grooves and fixed by the linear members 41 that constitute the pressing member 4.

[0031] On the other hand, the pressing device 4 is configured to press the pineapple leaves 9 conveyed by the conveying device 3 against the cutting member 31. As shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of parallel linear members 41 are provided, and by sandwiching both the left and right sides of the cutting member 31 with these linear members 41, the pineapple leaves 9 are prevented from being agitated by the high-pressure jet water. This pressing device 4 is provided so as to extend from the lower end side to the front side of the drum-shaped conveying device 3 and is configured to rotate around the protruding portion.

[0032] Also, the high-pressure jet device 5 is configured to inject high-pressure jet water toward the pineapple leaves 9. By rotating while injecting linear high-pressure jet water in a circular motion, foreign substances located in the rotation region can be removed. And by reciprocating this high-pressure jet device 5 in the left-right direction along the frame 11, it can penetrate the pressing device 4, the pineapple leaves 9, and the conveying device 3, enabling the removal of foreign substances from the pineapple leaves. Here, linear high-pressure jet water is injected, but it may also be configured to inject high-pressure jet water in a triangular shape.

[0033] In this way, the fibers of the pineapple leaves 9 from which foreign matter has been removed by high-pressure jet water fall by their own weight onto the linear member 41 of the pressing device 4 at the lower position of the drum-shaped conveying device 3 (see Fig. 1), and are bundled by a stopper 42 provided near the turning-back portion of the pressing device 4 that rotates therearound. At this time, a structure in which the fibers are allowed to fall by their own weight from the groove portion 31a of the cutting member 31 of the conveying device 3 and are transferred to the pressing device 4 side constitutes the separating means 6 in the present invention. Also, at the lower position of the drum-shaped conveying device 3, the fibers are placed on and conveyed from the cutting member 31 to the pressing device 4 side, and from this position downstream, the pressing device 4 functions as a conveying means.

[0034] The take-out member 7 is configured to be able to recover the pineapple leaves 9 bundled by this stopper 42 from the pressing device 4. An L-shaped (or J-shaped) member that enters between the plurality of linear members 41 in the pressing device 4 is provided behind the stopper 42. By lifting the take-out member 7 from below, the pineapple leaves 9 can be hooked in the concave portion and taken out. Also, a locking portion 71 for locking to the edge of the container 8 containing the foreign matter removing agent 82 is provided at the upper edge portion of the take-out member 7. Thus, the take-out member 7 is directly locked to the wall portion 81 of the container 8 containing the foreign matter removing agent 82 so that the fibers can be immersed in the foreign matter removing agent 82.

[0035] The container 8 containing this foreign matter removing agent 82 is attached to the frame 11 to which the high-pressure jet device 5 is attached. A wall portion 81 for locking the hook-shaped locking portion 71 provided at the upper part of the take-out member 7 is provided. Thus, with the fibers accommodated in the take-out member 7 immersed in the foreign matter removing agent 82, the vibration transmitted from the high-pressure jet device 5 is transmitted to the container 8, enabling the foreign matter to be quickly removed.

[0036] As the foreign matter remover 82 contained in this container 8, caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide water, etc. can be used. Here, hydrogen peroxide water with less corrosion to metals, etc. and having a bleaching effect is used. Also, when using this hydrogen peroxide water, under sunlight irradiation, hydrogen peroxide water generated by the action of a resorcinol-formaldehyde photocatalyst resin with water and oxygen is used. By using such hydrogen peroxide water, it can be generated using water and oxygen existing in the natural environment, so hydrogen peroxide water can be generated in an environmentally friendly way. At this time, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide water in the foreign matter remover 82 is set to be from 5 weight percent to 15 weight percent.

[0037] Also, the foreign matter in the foreign matter remover 82 contained in such a container 8 may be filtered by the filtration unit 83, circulated by a circulation device, and used as high-pressure jet water sprayed from the high-pressure jet device 5. In this way, by including hydrogen peroxide water in the high-pressure jet water, it becomes easier to remove foreign matter, and since the hydrogen peroxide water can be decomposed into water using the metal (such as iron) of the conveying device 3 and the pressing device 4 as a catalyst, the foreign matter remover 82 can be discarded as water as it is. Also, the foreign matter remover 82 filtered by this filtration unit 83 may be circulated to the container 8 side again.

[0038] Next, a method for extracting fibers using the fiber extraction device 1 configured as described above will be explained.

[0039] First, the pineapple leaves 9 cut in the field are put into the epidermis cutting device 2 as shown in FIG. 2, and while bending the pineapple leaves 9, the epidermis is cut by the rotating member 22a rotating at high speed. As a result, the epidermis is cut, and the curled pineapple leaves 9 become flat, making it easier to put them into the conveying device 3.

[0040] Next, the pineapple leaves 9 with the epidermis cut in this way are taken into the conveying device 3. At this time, the pineapple leaves 9 are taken in so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the direction along the rotation axis of the drum-shaped conveying device 3.

[0041] Then, the pineapple leaves 9 are sandwiched between the shredding member 31 of the drum-shaped member and the pressing device 4, and the pineapple leaves 9 are conveyed along the short side direction.

[0042] And when it is conveyed to the position of the high-pressure jet device 5, foreign matters are physically removed by the high-pressure jet device 5. At this time, the water jetted from the high-pressure jet device 5 passes through between the linear members 41 of the pressing device 4 and hits the pineapple leaves 9. Then, due to the water pressure, the pineapple leaves 9 are removed, and the foreign matters are removed through the mesh-shaped conveying device 3. At this time, water is forcibly supplied into the interior of the pineapple leaves 9 by the high-pressure jet water, and water is also supplied to the foreign matters that have not been removed.

[0043] In this way, the fibers from which many foreign matters have been removed by the high-pressure jet water enter the groove portion 31a of the ring-shaped shredding member 31 as shown in FIG. 5, and are sandwiched and fixed from the left and right by the rubber-like linear members 41 of the pressing device 4. Thereby, even when the fibers are hit by the high-pressure jet water, the fibers do not flail, and the entanglement between the fibers is eliminated.

[0044] Then, when the fibers from which foreign matters have been removed in this way are rotated downward by the conveying device 3, they fall by their own weight to the side of the pressing device 4 away from the conveying device 3, and are conveyed to the front side in a state of being placed on the pressing device 4 constituting the conveying means.

[0045] And they are locked to the stopper 42 on the front side of the pressing device 4, and the fibers are collected in a bundled state.

[0046] Next, the fibers bundled in this way are taken out from the position of the stopper 42 by lifting the extraction member 7. At this time, the extraction member 7 is in a comb shape and is inserted between the linear members 41 of the pressing device 4, and passes through the stopper 42 and the linear members 41 and is lifted from below.

[0047] Next, the fibers taken out by this extraction member 7 are put into a container 8 containing a foreign matter removing agent 82. At this time, the locking portion 71 provided at the upper portion of the extraction member 7 is locked to the upper end portion of the wall portion 81 of the container 8, whereby the fibers can be immersed in the foreign matter removing agent 82 in a state where the directions of the fibers are aligned.

[0048] Then, due to the action of the foreign matter removing agent 82, foreign matters are removed. At this time, since moisture has been supplied between the fibers in advance by high-pressure jet water, the foreign matter removing agent 82 can easily penetrate, and vibration can be transmitted from the high-pressure jet device 5 to the container 8 via the frame 11, so that the foreign matters can be easily removed by the vibration.

[0049] And after several minutes, the extraction member 7 is taken out from the container 8 part, washed with water, and the fibers from which foreign matters have been completely removed are arranged and dried.

[0050] As described above, according to the above embodiment, high-pressure jet water is applied to the pineapple leaves 9 to remove foreign matters, and then the fibers from which the foreign matters have been removed are immersed in the foreign matter removing agent 82 to remove foreign matters such as lignin and pectin. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fibers from being cut in a state where the water pressure is lowered, and after removing foreign matters to a certain extent, the remaining foreign matters can be completely removed using hydrogen peroxide water. In addition, since water can be forcibly contained inside the pineapple leaves 9 by high-pressure jet water, it becomes easier to penetrate hydrogen peroxide water thereafter, and even when the concentration of hydrogen peroxide water is lowered, foreign matters can be removed cleanly in a short time.

[0051] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be implemented in various forms.

[0052] For example, in this embodiment, the pineapple leaves 9 are conveyed using the drum-shaped conveying device 3. However, the pineapple leaves 9 may be placed on a conveying device that circulates a linear member or a mesh member in the horizontal direction for conveyance.

[0053] Also, in the above-described embodiment, hydrogen peroxide water is put into the container 8 to dissolve foreign substances such as pectin and lignin. However, this hydrogen peroxide water may be made to flow from above the fibers and be absorbed by the circulation device from below. With this configuration, there will be no situation where the dissolved foreign substances stay, and the fibers with aligned directions will not get entangled with each other.

[0054] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the extraction member 7 is locked to the container 8, the extraction member 7 is lifted by hand and locked to the wall portion 81 of the container 8. However, an apparatus that automatically moves up and down may be used to immerse the extraction member 7 in the container 8.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0055] 1 ··· Fiber extraction device 11 ··· Frame 3 ··· Conveying device 31 ··· Cutting member 4 ··· Pressing device 5 ··· High-pressure jet device 6 ··· Separating means 7 ··· Extraction member 71 ··· Locking portion 8 ··· Container 81 ··· Wall portion 82 ··· Foreign substance remover 83 ··· Filtration portion 9 ··· Pineapple leaves

Claims

1. A first step of applying high-pressure jet water to the leaves of a plant having fibers to remove foreign matter; A second step of immersing the fibers from which foreign matter has been removed in the first step in a foreign matter removing agent to remove foreign matter; A fiber extraction method comprising the above.

2. A step of placing the leaves of a plant on a conveying device that rotates a concave member having a plurality of parallel grooves so that the fibers are aligned along the grooves; A step of applying high-pressure jet water to the leaves of the plant to remove foreign matter; A step of conveying the fibers from which the foreign matter has been removed while being housed in the grooves; A step of taking out the fibers in a state where the fibers are aligned from the grooves; A step of immersing the fibers taken out in the aligned state in a foreign matter removing agent with the fiber directions aligned to remove foreign matter; A fiber extraction method comprising the above.

3. The fiber extraction method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the foreign matter removing agent is hydrogen peroxide water produced by a photocatalyst using water and oxygen as raw materials.

4. A conveying device that rotates a circumferential member having a plurality of parallel grooves so that the groove direction of the grooves faces a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction; A high-pressure jet device that injects high-pressure jet water against the leaves of a plant placed so that the fibers are aligned in the direction along the grooves of the grooves to remove foreign matter; In a fiber extraction device comprising: A separation device provided on the downstream side of the conveying device for separating the fibers from which foreign matter has been removed from the grooves in a state where the fiber directions are aligned; A take-out member for putting the fibers separated by the separation device into a container containing a foreign matter removing agent in a state where the fiber directions are aligned, and The fiber extraction device is configured to include a locking portion for locking the take-out member to the edge of the container containing the foreign matter removing agent.

5. The fiber extraction device according to claim 4, wherein the container containing the foreign matter removing agent is attached to a frame to which vibration from the high-pressure jet device is transmitted.

Images