Volume reduction apparatus for food manufacturing loss

Abstract

To provide a volume reduction apparatus for volume reduction of food manufacturing loss.SOLUTION: A volume reduction apparatus for food manufacturing loss is assembled with a tank 21 for storing food manufacturing loss and a membrane treatment apparatus having a membrane for filtration of food manufacturing loss, wherein membrane concentrated water from the membrane treatment apparatus is circulated to the tank 21. The membrane treatment apparatus includes an ultrafiltration membrane separation apparatus 24. The membrane treatment apparatus may further include a reverse osmosis membrane separation apparatus 27 for treating treatment water obtained by the ultrafiltration membrane separation apparatus 24. Food manufacturing loss comprises a distillation waste liquid of whiskey, adzuki bean broth, rice washing water, a liquid-like food (e.g., soybean milk), etc.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for reducing food production losses.

Background Art

[0002] Food production losses occur in the food manufacturing process. Examples of food production losses include liquid foods (such as soy milk, vegetable juice, yogurt, etc.) that are discarded together with containers due to reasons such as poor filling into containers and unclear labels, whiskey distillation waste liquid, adzuki bean boiling juice, rice washing water, or CIP drainage (Clean in Place fixed cleaning drainage) generated when changing product items (e.g., changing from coffee flavor to banana flavor in soy milk).

[0003] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of food production loss treatment equipment. Food production losses are introduced into the reaction tank 2 through the raw water tank 1, the pH adjuster is added from the pH adjuster adding device 3, the pH is adjusted to near neutral, the inorganic flocculant is added from the inorganic flocculant adding device 4, and it is stirred by a stirrer. The stirred liquid is transferred to the flocculation tank 6, the polymer flocculant is added from the polymer flocculant adding device 7, and it is stirred by a stirrer to generate flocculation flocs. The flocculated liquid containing these flocculation flocs is introduced into the pressurized flotation tank 8 and separated into floating sludge composed of the floating flocculation flocs and separated water.

[0004] The floating sludge passes through the sludge storage tank 9, the inorganic flocculant and the polymer flocculant are added from the respective adding devices 10 and 11, and it is dewatered by the belt press dehydrator 12 to become dewatered sludge.

[0005] The separated water from the pressurized flotation tank 8 is introduced into the adjustment tank 13. Low-concentration drainage from other processes is also introduced into the adjustment tank 13.

[0006] The water in the adjustment tank 13 is subjected to aerobic biological treatment in the aerobic reaction tank 14 (in this conventional example, a biofilm type aeration tank equipped with a biofilm 14a and an air diffuser 14b), and then the treated water is sent to the discharge process.

[0007] Patent Document 1 describes a method of producing and recovering methane by anaerobic digestion of waste containing organic solids such as food manufacturing waste.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] Food manufacturing losses such as soy milk, distillation waste liquid of whiskey, azuki bean boiling juice, and rice washing water have high BOD and CODCr concentrations. When treated as shown in FIG. 4, the power cost and chemical cost for treatment are high. In addition, malodor is generated and a large amount of sludge is produced. Although the treatment of food manufacturing losses may be entrusted to a waste treatment company, since it contains a large amount of liquid and has a large volume, a great deal of transportation cost and treatment cost have been incurred.

[0010] Therefore, it has been considered to sell food manufacturing losses to an external contractor for resource recovery as raw materials for methanation or animal feed, and to obtain sales profits through upcycling.

[0011] By resource-recovering food manufacturing losses at an external contractor, while the treatment cost in a treatment facility as shown in FIG. 4 can be reduced, new equipment investments such as tanks, pumps, and modifier addition devices for storing food manufacturing losses are required.

[0012] Conventionally, it has not been clear to what extent the cost reduction effect obtained by resource recovery of food manufacturing losses and the required equipment investment amount are, and it has been difficult to determine the introduction of an upcycling system. In addition, reduction of the transportation cost of food manufacturing losses to an external contractor has been demanded.

[0013] An object of the present invention is to provide a volume reduction device that reduces the volume of food production losses. Another object of the present invention is to provide an introduction support method and program that can calculate and present changes in processing costs and the like of food production losses by introducing an upcycle system including the volume reduction device for food production losses, and support the introduction of the system.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0014] The volume reduction device for food production losses of the present invention includes a tank for storing food production losses and a membrane treatment device having a membrane for filtering the food production losses, and the membrane concentrate water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank.

[0015] The method for supporting the introduction of the upcycle system for food production losses of the present invention includes a data acquisition process in which a computer acquires the component analysis data and discharge amount data of the food production losses, a processing cost calculation process for calculating the current processing cost of the food production losses, and using the component analysis data and the discharge amount data, having a tank for storing the food production losses and a membrane treatment device including a membrane for filtering the food production losses, and a cost for introducing a volume reduction device in which the membrane concentrate water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank, and the amount received for the food production losses to be recycled after volume reduction. A resource conversion cost calculation process for calculating the resource conversion cost when the upcycle system is introduced to recycle the food production losses, and a comparison process for comparing the processing cost and the resource conversion cost and outputting the comparison result.

[0016] The program for assisting the introduction of the upcycling system for food manufacturing losses of the present invention is a program for assisting the introduction of the upcycling system for food manufacturing losses, and includes steps of acquiring component analysis data and discharge amount data of the food manufacturing losses, calculating the current processing cost of the food manufacturing losses, using the component analysis data and the discharge amount data, having a membrane treatment device including a tank for storing the food manufacturing losses and a membrane for filtering the food manufacturing losses, and calculating the cost of introducing a volume reduction device in which the membrane concentrate water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank, and the amount received for the food manufacturing losses to be recycled after volume reduction, calculating the recycling cost when introducing the upcycling system to recycle the food manufacturing losses, comparing the processing cost and the recycling cost, and outputting the comparison result, and causing a computer to execute these steps.

Advantages of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, the volume of food manufacturing losses can be reduced, and the transportation cost to an external contractor can be cut. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to calculate and present changes in the processing cost of food manufacturing losses due to the introduction of an upcycling system including a volume reduction device, etc., and assist in the introduction of the system.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] In this embodiment, when selling to an external contractor for recycling food manufacturing losses, the volume of food manufacturing losses is reduced, the transportation cost to the external contractor is cut, and the efficiency of recycling is improved. Here, recycling refers to processes such as producing livestock feed using food manufacturing losses (feed conversion), producing fertilizer for crops (fertilizer conversion), using as raw materials for cosmetics, and producing methane gas through fermentation. Examples of food manufacturing losses include whiskey distillation waste liquid, azuki bean cooking juice, rice washing water, and liquid foods (such as soy milk and whey).

[0021] Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a volume reduction device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing losses. Food manufacturing losses from a food manufacturing plant are introduced into a tank 21 via a pipe 20. A modifier addition device 22 for adding a food manufacturing loss modifier is installed in the pipe 20. Formic acid is used as the modifier.

[0022] The food manufacturing losses in the tank 21 are supplied to an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane separation device 24 by a pump 23. The permeated water (treated water) of the UF membrane separation device 24 is introduced into a tank 25, and the concentrated water is returned to the tank 21. Note that it is also possible to use a nanofiltration (NF) membrane instead of the UF membrane in the UF membrane separation device 24.

[0023] The UF permeated water in the tank 25 is supplied to a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane separation device 27 by a pump 26. The permeated water of the RO membrane separation device 27 is introduced into a tank 28, and the concentrated water is returned to the tank 21. The RO permeated water in the tank 28 is discharged into the sewage after being treated by sewage treatment facilities if necessary. It is also possible to directly discharge the RO permeated water in the tank 28 into the sewage without treatment by sewage treatment facilities.

[0024] The food manufacturing losses in the tank 21 are reduced in volume by membrane treatment of the UF membrane separation device 25 and the RO membrane separation device 27. For example, by membrane treatment, whiskey distillation waste liquid can be reduced in volume to about 1 / 2.5, and rice washing water can be reduced in volume to about 1 / 5.

[0025] While evaporation and centrifugation are also applicable methods for reducing food production waste, evaporation causes significant deterioration of the raw liquid's properties due to heating, and centrifugation requires large-scale equipment.Membrane separation, on the other hand, can prevent deterioration of the raw liquid's properties and also reduces equipment size, energy costs, and carbon dioxide emissions.

[0026] The reduced volume of food production waste is transferred to shipping tank 29 and transported to an outsourced party by transportation means such as a tanker truck. By reducing the volume, the transportation costs of the modified food production waste can be reduced.

[0027] The tank 21 may be provided with a liquid quality sensor that detects the liquid quality (pH, oxidation-reduction potential, etc.) of the food production waste, a liquid volume sensor that detects the liquid volume, etc., and the sensor detection data may be transmitted to a management center, which then controls the modifier addition device 22 so that the amount of modifier to be added is calculated based on the detection data.

[0028] The RO membrane separation device 27 and the tank 28 may be omitted from the volume reduction device shown in FIG. 1, and the membrane separation treatment may be performed using only the UF membrane or NF membrane treatment.

[0029] If an upcycling system equipped with the above-mentioned volume reduction device is introduced into a food manufacturing factory that processes food production waste using treatment equipment such as that shown in Figure 4, it will be possible to reduce wastewater treatment costs at the treatment equipment, but it will require new investment in tanks, membrane separation equipment, etc. Also, if an upcycling system equipped with the above-mentioned volume reduction device is introduced into a food manufacturing factory that processes food production waste at an industrial waste treatment facility, it will be possible to reduce the cost of outsourcing to the industrial waste treatment facility, but it will require new investment in tanks, membrane separation equipment, etc.

[0030] Figure 2 is a diagram of an introduction support device 30 (an introduction support device for a food production waste upcycling system) that calculates and presents the cost changes resulting from the introduction of this new upcycling system in a food production factory and supports the introduction of the system.

[0031] The introduction support device 30 is a computer equipped with a CPU (processor, not shown), a storage unit M (memory), etc. By the CPU executing the introduction support program, the functions of the analysis data acquisition unit 31, the wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32, the industrial waste treatment commission cost calculation unit 33, the resource recovery cost calculation unit 34, and the comparison unit 35 are realized.

[0032] The storage unit M is an HDD, an SSD, etc., and stores feed data including component information necessary for feed, fertilizer data including component information necessary for fertilizer, and the above-mentioned introduction support program. Further, the storage unit M stores calculation formula data such as a calculation formula for calculating the cost of processing food manufacturing losses in the processing facility of FIG. 4, a calculation formula for calculating the cost when entrusting food manufacturing losses to industrial waste treatment, and a calculation formula for calculating the cost when resource-recovering food manufacturing losses. The data in the storage unit M may be stored on the cloud.

[0033] The analysis data acquisition unit 31 (data acquisition unit) acquires analysis data obtained by analyzing the food manufacturing losses of a factory at an external analysis center or the like. The analysis data includes data on the liquid quality (BOD, TOC, electrical conductivity, etc.) of wastewater derived from food manufacturing losses, and data on components (crude protein, crude fat, moisture, crude fiber, crude ash, etc.) of food manufacturing losses whose pH has been adjusted by adding a modifier such as formic acid. Further, the analysis data acquisition unit 31 acquires the discharge amount data of food manufacturing losses from the factory. The analysis data acquisition unit 31 may acquire data input by an input means such as a keyboard, or may acquire data from an external device using a communication unit (not shown).

[0034] The wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32 (treatment cost calculation unit) calculates the cost of processing food manufacturing losses in the processing facility of FIG. 4 using the calculation formula stored in the storage unit M, the analysis data and the discharge amount data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31. The cost to be calculated is the transportation cost for sludge transportation, the industrial waste treatment cost for treating sludge at an industrial waste treatment facility, the electricity cost for operating each device, various chemical agent costs, etc. The cost calculated here is the current cost without introducing an upcycle system.

[0035] The industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost calculation unit 33 calculates the cost of outsourcing all food production losses to an industrial waste treatment facility using a calculation formula stored in the memory unit M and the emission amount data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31. The costs to be calculated include the transportation costs for transporting the food production losses to the industrial waste treatment facility, the industrial waste treatment costs for treating the food production losses at the industrial waste treatment facility, etc.

[0036] The recycling cost calculation unit 34 calculates the cost of introducing an upcycle system to recycle food production waste, using a formula stored in the memory unit M and the analysis data and emission data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31. The calculated costs include the cost of introducing the volume reduction device of Figure 1, the cost of replacing the membrane in the membrane treatment device of the volume reduction device, the transportation cost of transporting the reduced food production waste to a facility that will recycle it, the cost of collecting the food production waste, and the cost of treating the treated water from the volume reduction device (e.g., the RO permeate in tank 28).

[0037] For example, the recycling cost calculation unit 34 uses the liquid quality and discharge amount of the food production loss to determine the membrane replacement frequency of the UF membrane separation unit 25 and the RO membrane separation unit 27, and calculates the membrane replacement cost. The recycling cost calculation unit 34 also uses the liquid quality and discharge amount to determine the volume of the food production loss after volume reduction, and calculates the transportation cost to the recycling facility.

[0038] The resource recycling cost calculation unit 34 may use the analysis data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31 and the feed data and fertilizer data stored in the memory unit M to determine whether the food production loss is suitable as a feed ingredient or as fertilizer data, and calculate the amount of the food production loss to be collected based on the determination result. If the food production loss is suitable as both a feed ingredient and a fertilizer ingredient, it is preferable to use the one with the higher amount of collection.

[0039] The comparison unit 35 compares the calculation results of the wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32, the industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost calculation unit 33, and the resource recovery cost calculation unit 34, and outputs the comparison result. That is, the comparison unit 35 outputs the comparison result of the current treatment cost of treating food manufacturing losses with the treatment equipment in FIG. 4, the cost when outsourcing the entire amount of food manufacturing losses for industrial waste treatment (industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost), and the cost when introducing an upcycle system to reduce and resource-recover food manufacturing losses (resource recovery cost). The comparison result may include not only the cost (amount of money), but also the impact and effects on the environmental aspects such as odor intensity, chemical usage, and electricity usage.

[0040] The comparison unit 35 may output the comparison result using the output unit 40. The output unit 40 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or a printer. When the output unit 40 is a liquid crystal display, the comparison result is displayed on the screen. When the output unit 40 is a printer, the comparison result is printed out. An example of the comparison result is shown in FIG. 3.

[0041] In the comparison result of FIG. 3, the "resource recovery support cost" corresponds to the cost of introducing the reduction device and membrane replacement, and the "compensation amount" corresponds to the amount received for food manufacturing losses.

[0042] Based on the comparison result as shown in FIG. 3, the factory staff determines whether to introduce an upcycle system. For example, from the comparison result in FIG. 3, it can be seen that by introducing the upcycle system, the cost can be reduced compared to the current situation, while suppressing odor, chemical usage, and electricity usage, and contributing to the regional contribution of local production for local consumption.

[0043] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to calculate and present changes in the treatment cost of food manufacturing losses due to the introduction of the upcycle system, and support the system introduction.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the feed data stored in the storage unit M may be feed data for each type of livestock (pigs, chickens, cows). Also, the fertilizer data may be fertilizer data for each type of crop. Thereby, the resource conversion cost calculation unit 34 can determine which livestock feed raw materials are suitable for food production losses and which crop fertilizer raw materials are suitable for food production losses.

[0045] The storage unit M may store information regarding the demand for feed and fertilizer. Thereby, the resource conversion cost calculation unit 34 can calculate the amount receivable when using food production losses as raw materials for feed or fertilizer with high demand.

[0046] As a result of intensive studies, the inventors of the present invention have found that a concentrated liquid obtained by reducing the volume of the distillation waste liquid of grain whiskey (grain concentrated liquid) is more suitable for use as feed than a concentrated liquid obtained by reducing the volume of the distillation waste liquid of malt whiskey (malt concentrated liquid), and by adjusting the operating conditions of the UF membrane separation device 25 and the RO membrane separation device 27 of the volume reduction device, it is possible to make the liquid quality of the malt concentrated liquid approach the liquid quality of the grain concentrated liquid. For example, when reducing the volume of the distillation waste liquid of malt whiskey, by adjusting the operating conditions (such as flow rate and pressure) of the membrane separation device so that the content of dry matter and crude protein approaches that of the grain concentrated liquid, the amount receivable for the malt concentrated liquid can increase.

[0047] At least a part of the introduction support device 30 described in the above-described embodiment may be configured by hardware or may be configured by software. When configured by software, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the introduction support device 30 may be stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, read into a computer, and executed. The recording medium is not limited to removable ones such as magnetic disks and optical disks, and may be a fixed-type recording medium such as a hard disk device or a memory.

[0048] Also, a program that realizes at least some functions of the introduction support device 30 may be distributed via a communication line such as the Internet (including wireless communication). Further, the program may be encrypted, modulated, compressed, and then distributed via a wired or wireless line such as the Internet, or stored in a recording medium and distributed.

[0049] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and at the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist thereof. Also, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Further, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0050] 21 Tank 22 Modifying Agent Adding Device 24 UF Membrane Separation Device 27 RO Membrane Separation Device 30 Introduction Support Device

Claims

1. A tank for storing food manufacturing losses, An ultrafiltration membrane separation device for filtering the food manufacturing losses supplied from the tank, A reverse osmosis membrane separation device for treating the treated water obtained by the ultrafiltration membrane separation device, Comprising, A device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing losses, wherein the membrane concentrate water from the ultrafiltration membrane separation device and the membrane concentrate water from the reverse osmosis membrane separation device are circulated to the tank.

2. The device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing losses according to claim 1, further comprising a modifier adding device for adding a modifier to the food manufacturing introduced into the tank.

3. The device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing losses according to claim 2, wherein the modifier is formic acid.

4. The device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing losses according to claim 1, further comprising a shipping tank to which the reduced-volume food manufacturing losses are transferred.

5. The device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing losses according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the food manufacturing losses are distillation waste liquid of whiskey.

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