Briquette production device and briquette production method, and briquette production system
The rotary kiln system with air injection and stirring plates addresses inefficiencies and environmental issues in charcoal production by enabling smokeless, high-temperature combustion and automated charcoal handling, resulting in cost-effective and uniform charcoal production.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024026593
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-02-26
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-05
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-02-26
AI Technical Summary
Conventional charcoal production methods, particularly from rice husks, face issues such as high labor costs due to distant locations of storage and production facilities, inefficient production due to low material density, environmental pollution from soot and toxic gases, and increased costs from fuel and complex apparatuses.
A rotary kiln system with air injection, axial partition plates, and stirring plates is used to create a controlled low-oxygen environment for charcoal production, allowing for high-temperature smokeless combustion and reducing the need for separate heating and cooling processes.
The system achieves uniform charcoal quality, reduces soot and toxic gas emissions, lowers manufacturing costs by eliminating the need for heating devices and separate cooling processes, and enhances production efficiency by automating charcoal discharge and cooling.
Smart Images
Figure 2025129740000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, method and system for producing smoked charcoal by burning a smoked charcoal material such as rice husks to produce smoked charcoal. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus, method and system for producing smoked charcoal that eliminates the conventionally required process of restricting the air to create a low-oxygen state inside the kiln and steaming the smoked charcoal material, thereby improving the efficiency of smoked charcoal production, reducing the cost of producing smoked charcoal, enabling the production of smoked charcoal of uniform quality, and significantly reducing the generation of soot and toxic gases, making the production of smoked charcoal environmentally friendly. [Background technology]
[0002] Currently, rice husks are considered an important resource in Japan, but the current situation is that there are problems with disposing of the 2 million tons of rice husks that are produced each year. Therefore, the heat generated by burning rice husks is used to heat agricultural greenhouses, and devices that produce rice husk charcoal by steaming rice husks are in practical use (Patent Document 1). Rice husk charcoal has the benefits of improving soil drainage, neutralizing soil, and repelling pests, and is therefore being used as a soil conditioner necessary for agriculture. Recently, the silica, silicon, copper, manganese, iron, potassium and other mineral components contained in rice husks have been found to be easily eluted by carbonization, leading to their effective use and development in various fields.
[0003] In the production of charcoal, the location of the rice husk storage, the location of the charcoal production equipment, and the location of the charcoal storage facility are important. When they are far apart, labor costs increase in production activities, and therefore cost-effectiveness becomes an important condition. Furthermore, the specific gravity of rice husks is low at approximately 0.1, so even if a 10-ton truck is fully loaded, it can only transport about 1 ton. Therefore, from a cost-effectiveness perspective, it is clear that rice husks are not suitable for transportation. Therefore, in the charcoal manufacturing business, it is important to produce charcoal in the area where rice husks are generated.
[0004] Meanwhile, Japan has had a long-standing technique for producing charcoal. This involves first packing the logs into a kiln, then gradually igniting the charcoal while restricting the air flow to carbonize it. Then, unlike normal combustion, the supply of oxygen is kept to a minimum, and the kiln is heated to a high temperature to produce the charcoal.
[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Application No. 2021-72970 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0006] By the way, both the production of smoked charcoal from rice husks and the production of charcoal in a kiln have one thing in common: they both involve a process of restricting the air supply and steaming the material in a low-oxygen environment. This is because if rice husks or logs were completely burned under normal oxygen conditions, only ash would remain, which would drastically reduce the production efficiency of charcoal or smoked charcoal.
[0007] However, when logs and rice husks are steamed in low-oxygen conditions, a large amount of soot is released, posing a problem of environmental pollution. In particular, when rice husks are steamed, not only do they emit soot but also toxic exhaust gases, which cause unpleasant odors.
[0008] Furthermore, the conventional charcoal production apparatus described in Patent Document 1 requires a screw conveyor that sends the charcoal material fed from an inlet to an outlet, and a heating device that burns the charcoal material, resulting in a large number of parts and an increase in the manufacturing cost of the charcoal production apparatus itself. Furthermore, when the charcoal material is burned in a heating device, an additional cost for heating fuel is required, which increases the cost of producing the charcoal.
[0009] Furthermore, in conventional methods for producing smoked charcoal, if freshly fired, high-temperature smoked charcoal is left in an atmosphere with a normal oxygen concentration, it will either burn out or the amount of smoked charcoal produced will be significantly reduced, so a process was required in which the charcoal was cooled by spraying water or left to cool in a low-oxygen environment. In the former case, a separate process of drying the wetted charcoal is required, and in the latter case, it takes a considerable amount of time to cool the charcoal, and both methods have the problem of low efficiency in producing charcoal.
[0010] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a charcoal production device, a charcoal production method and a charcoal production system which do not emit soot, toxic gases or foul odors during the process of producing charcoal from charcoal materials and which reduce the cost of producing charcoal. [Means for solving the problem]
[0011] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the smoked charcoal producing apparatus of the present invention, as set forth in claim 1, comprises a rotary kiln for burning smoked charcoal by burning smoked charcoal, a smoked charcoal material feeding means for feeding the smoked charcoal material into the rotary kiln, an air feeding means for feeding air into the rotary kiln, an external combustion chamber with an exhaust function installed on the side of the rotary kiln where the smoked charcoal material is fed, one or more rotary supports for rotatably supporting the rotary kiln, and a rotary drive device for rotating the rotary kiln, wherein the rotary kiln is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane from the side where the smoked charcoal material is fed to the side where the smoked charcoal is discharged, and one or more axial partition plates for separating the smoked charcoal material in the central axial direction of the rotary kiln are attached to the inner peripheral surface of the rotary kiln, and one or more stirring plates for stirring the smoked charcoal material in the rotational direction of the rotary kiln are attached to the inner peripheral surface of the rotary kiln.
[0012] The method for producing smoked charcoal according to claim 2 is the smoked charcoal production apparatus according to claim 1, in which a chimney is provided at the top of the external combustion chamber for exhaust function, the smoked charcoal feeding means is a smoked charcoal feeding tube fixed to the external combustion chamber, the air feeding means is an air feeding tube with many air holes, the hollow disc-shaped axial partition plate and the stirring plate are attached to the inner circumferential surface of the rotary kiln, and the rotary kiln is movable above a plurality of rollers serving as the rotary support, the smoked charcoal production apparatus having a structure in which the smoked charcoal feeding means is provided at the top of the external combustion chamber for exhaust function, the hollow disc-shaped axial partition plate and the stirring plate are attached to the inner circumferential surface of the rotary kiln, and the rotary kiln is movable above a plurality of rollers serving as the rotary support, the method comprising the steps of: previously charging the smoked charcoal material into the rotary kiln and burning the smoked charcoal material to create a high temperature inside the rotary kiln; mixing the air and the smoked charcoal material using the smoked charcoal feeding tube in the internal combustion chamber of the rotary kiln and feeding the mixture into the heated rotary kiln; and diffusing the air and the smoked charcoal material in a dispersed state in the internal combustion chamber of the rotary kiln, causing combustion. and a step of burning the smoky material in a mixed state including the smoky material that was previously being burned. The step of accumulating the smoky material that has been burned in the rotary kiln at the bottom of the rotary kiln. At the same time, the rotary kiln is rotated, and the action of the stirring plate attached inside the rotary kiln and the circular action inside the rotary kiln cause the burning smoky material to rise to the top and drop to the bottom from a certain position. The smoky material that has been burned moves up and down to finish burning. The smoky material moves up and down while simultaneously cutting off the supply of oxygen, and other smoky material falls from above the burning smoky material, cutting off oxygen, and these actions are performed continuously to produce smoky charcoal. At the same time, the step of lowering the temperature of the smoky charcoal that has just been produced by using the air flow generated by the chimney and a step of discharging the low-temperature smoky charcoal.
[0013] The smoked charcoal production system according to claim 3 comprises a smoked charcoal material transfer device that transfers the smoked charcoal material from a smoked charcoal material storage area, an automatic smoked charcoal material feeder that receives the smoked charcoal material transferred from the smoked charcoal material transfer device and mixes the introduced smoked charcoal material with air using an air blower before sending it into the smoked charcoal production device, the smoked charcoal production device according to claim 1, an air diffusion pipe that uses an air blower to widely distribute air into the rotary kiln as well, a smoked charcoal storage container disposed on the charcoal discharge side of the smoked charcoal production device, and The system comprises a charcoal suction device for sucking the charcoal in a storage container, a charcoal transfer pipe for transferring the charcoal from the charcoal suction device, a cyclone separator for separating the charcoal in a mixed state from the air transferred from the charcoal transfer pipe and the air in this mixed state, and a charcoal intake container for taking in the charcoal in the cyclone separator, and in the process of storing the charcoal from the charcoal storage container in the charcoal intake container, the temperature of the charcoal is lowered by utilizing the action of low-temperature air while it is moving through the charcoal transfer pipe. [Effects of the Invention]
[0014] The charcoal producing apparatus of the present invention is configured as set forth in claim 1 and therefore has the following excellent effects. (1) Because a rotary kiln is used to fire the charcoal, a considerable amount of charcoal material is added and piled up. The upper layer of the charcoal material blocks air, creating a low-oxygen state in the lower layer, creating ideal firing conditions for steaming. (2) In addition, in the conventional charcoal production process, it was necessary to create a low-oxygen state throughout the kiln, which resulted in the generation of large amounts of soot and toxic gases. However, in the charcoal production apparatus of the present invention, it is not necessary to create a low-oxygen state throughout the rotary kiln. The upper layer of the stacked charcoal material burns in a high-temperature, smokeless state with sufficient oxygen concentration, and the soot generated during the steaming of the lower layer is also burned, significantly reducing the emission of soot and toxic gases. (3) Furthermore, in the upper layer of the stacked charcoal material, high-temperature smokeless combustion occurs under sufficient oxygen concentration, which serves as a heat source, eliminating the need for a heating device that was necessary in conventional charcoal production equipment, and reducing the manufacturing cost of the charcoal production equipment itself. At the same time, fuel costs for heating are not required, and the cost of producing charcoal can be reduced. (4) In addition, by rotating the rotary kiln, the charcoal material is lifted along the inner surface of the rotary kiln, and the upper and lower layers of the charcoal material are interchanged, eliminating charcoal spots. By repeating this process, the quality of the charcoal becomes uniform.
[0015] (5) By providing an air injection means, air with a sufficient oxygen concentration is constantly sent into the rotary kiln, as opposed to conventional devices which restrict the air for steaming. This increases the temperature of the smokeless combustion of the stacked charcoal material, and burns the soot and toxic gases from the lower layers, further suppressing the release of soot and toxic gases. This also serves as a heat source, raising the firing temperature of the charcoal, further improving the efficiency of charcoal production. (6) In addition, the exhaust function of the external combustion chamber creates a flow that draws in air from inside the rotary kiln, creating a reduced pressure inside the rotary kiln and allowing air to be drawn in from the outside. This creates an air flow that runs from the charcoal discharge side of the cylindrical kiln, passes through the inside of the rotary kiln, and passes through the exhaust function of the external combustion chamber. This air cools the burned charcoal, eliminating the need for a process to cool the finished charcoal, and greatly improving production efficiency.
[0016] (7) The rotary kiln is inclined at a predetermined angle from the side where the charcoal material is fed to the side where the charcoal is discharged, so that the charcoal material is automatically pushed out to the discharge side of the rotary kiln while being fired. This eliminates the need for a charcoal transport function, which was necessary in conventional charcoal production devices, and reduces the manufacturing costs of the charcoal production device itself. (8) In addition, by attaching an axial partition plate to the inner surface of the rotary kiln, which separates the charcoal material in the direction of the central axis of the rotary kiln, the thickness of the layer of charcoal material can be maintained, the upper layer is blocked from air, and the stability of the steaming state in the lower layer can be maintained. Furthermore, by dividing the kiln in the axial direction, the firing chamber can be divided into sections, which improves production efficiency and makes it easier to adjust the firing time of the charcoal material. (9) By attaching a stirring plate to the inner surface of the rotary kiln, which stirs the charcoal material in the direction of rotation of the rotary kiln, the upper layer of the charcoal material, which is burning smokelessly at high temperature, can be easily and reliably replaced with the lower layer of the charcoal material in a steamed state, which eliminates uneven charcoal burning and makes it easier to standardize quality.
[0017] The method for producing smoked charcoal of the present invention is configured as described in claim 2, and therefore has the following excellent effects. (1) First, the process involves burning the charcoal material in the rotary kiln to raise the temperature inside the rotary kiln. The charcoal material burns one after another to become a heat source, eliminating the need for a separate heating device. This reduces the manufacturing cost of the device itself, and also reduces manufacturing costs because there is no need for additional fuel costs for heating. (2) Next, the process includes a step of feeding the material into a rotary kiln and a step of burning the charcoal material fed into the rotary kiln to produce charcoal. This allows the upper layer of the charcoal material to undergo high-temperature, smokeless combustion while the lower layer is steamed, significantly reducing the generation of soot and toxic gases. (3) In addition, the rotary kiln is rotated to mix and stir the charged charcoal material with the burned charcoal material. This alternates between the upper layer of smokeless combustion and the lower layer of steamed charcoal. By repeating this process multiple times, charcoal can be produced in a uniformly burned state. (4) Furthermore, since the rotary kiln is equipped with a process for cooling the fired smoked charcoal on the charcoal discharge side, there is no need for a process for cooling the produced smoked charcoal with water or a process for waiting for the temperature to drop in a steamed state, which improves the efficiency of producing smoked charcoal.
[0018] The charcoal production system of the present invention is configured as set forth in claim 3, and therefore has the following excellent effects. (1) First, conventional systems generally have the problem that the motor blades break down the charcoal and turn it into powder. However, in the charcoal production system of the present invention, the produced charcoal is stored in the charcoal intake container in its original form, so there is no risk of the charcoal being broken down and turned into powder. (2) In addition, in conventional systems, the temperature of the smoked charcoal could rise when it was piled up in a smoked charcoal storage container such as a smoked charcoal tank. However, in the system of the present invention, in the process of storing the smoked charcoal from the smoked charcoal storage container into a smoked charcoal intake container, the temperature of the smoked charcoal is automatically lowered by cooling with low-temperature air inside the smoked charcoal transfer pipe, so there is no need for a separate process of lowering the temperature of the smoked charcoal, which was previously required. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0019] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the basic configuration and basic operation of an embodiment of a smoked charcoal manufacturing apparatus and a smoked charcoal manufacturing method of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a partially cutaway side view, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line AA. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a charcoal production system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] One embodiment of the charcoal manufacturing apparatus and charcoal manufacturing method of the present invention: The basic configuration and basic operation of an embodiment of the smoked charcoal producing apparatus and method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the basic configuration and basic operation of an embodiment of a charcoal manufacturing apparatus and a charcoal manufacturing method, in which FIG. 1(a) is a partially cutaway side view and FIG. 1(b) is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line AA. In the following, the case where rice husks are used as the charcoal material will be specifically described.
[0021] As shown in Figure 1(a), the main components of the smoked charcoal manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment are a rotary kiln 11 that burns rice husks 1 to produce smoked rice husk charcoal (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "smoked charcoal") 2, a rice husk insertion tube 12 as a means for feeding the rice husks 1 into the rotary kiln 11, one or more (only one is shown) rotary supports 13 that rotatably support the rotary kiln 11, and a rotary drive device (not shown) that rotates the rotary kiln 11. The rotary support 13 is composed of a rotary kiln moving roller (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "roller") 13a, a stand 13b, and a roller mounting bracket 13c. In the past, rotary kilns 11 were generally used as kilns for firing cement, insulators, ceramics, etc., but the feature of the charcoal manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present invention is that this rotary kiln 11 is used to fire rice husk charcoal 2.
[0022] In addition, in the charcoal manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment, an air injection pipe 14 with many air holes 14a is provided as an air injection means for injecting air into the rotary kiln 11, and an external combustion chamber 15 with a chimney 15a for exhaust function is attached to the side of the rotary kiln 11 where the rice husks 1 are fed.
[0023] Next, details of each component will be described with reference to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). First, as shown in FIG. 1(a), a rotary kiln 11 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane from the side where rice husks 1 are charged to the side where charcoal rice husks 2 are discharged. As shown in Figures 1(a) and (b), the inner surface of the rotary kiln 11 is configured to be fitted with one or more (2 in the illustrated example) hollow circular axial partition plates 16a, 16b that separate the rice husks 1 in the direction of the central axis 11d of the rotary kiln 11, and one or more (8 in the illustrated example) straight-shaped stirring plates 17 that stir the rice husks 1 and rice husk charcoal 2 in the rotational direction of the rotary kiln 11. By attaching the axial partition plates 16a and 16b, the inside of the rotary kiln 11 on the rice husk 1 charging side is divided into a first internal combustion chamber 11C and a second internal combustion chamber 11D.
[0024] Next, as described above, the external combustion chamber 15 has a chimney 15a, and the casing 15b is fixed to the rice husk 1 charging side of the rotary kiln 11 using a fixing plate 15c. An air injection tube 14 having many air holes 14 a is fixed to the external combustion chamber 15 . Furthermore, an air hole 18 is formed between the rotary kiln 11 and the external combustion chamber 15 to improve ventilation.
[0025] With the above configuration, the basic operation of the smoked charcoal producing apparatus 10 of this embodiment and the smoked charcoal producing method will be described with reference to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b). In the charcoal manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment, first, the rice husks 1 inside the rotary kiln 11 are ignited and burned using kerosene or the like, thereby raising the temperature inside the rotary kiln 11 to a high temperature.
[0026] Next, the rice husks 1 are mixed with air using a rice husk insertion tube 12 for feeding the rice husks, and then discharged from the first discharge hole 12a and the second discharge hole 12b of the rice husk insertion tube 12 using an air blower (not shown) into the first internal combustion chamber 11C and the second internal combustion chamber 11D inside the heated rotary kiln 11.
[0027] Next, the rice husks 1 placed in the rotary kiln 11 are burned to produce charcoal 2. At this time, rice husks 1 are sequentially discharged from the first discharge hole 12a and the second discharge hole 12b of the rice husk insertion pipe 12 into the first internal combustion chamber 11C and the second internal combustion chamber 11D in the rotary kiln 11, and are accumulated on top of the already accumulated rice husk charcoal 2. Due to the air-blocking effect of the rice husks 1 in the upper layer, the rice husks 1 in the lower layer are heated in a low-oxygen state and are steamed. As the rice husks 1 are inserted one after another, a mixture 3 of rice husks and charcoal rice husks is piled up in each of the internal combustion chambers 11C and 11D. On the other hand, the rice husks 1 in the upper layer are constantly fed with air from the air injection pipe 14 with many air holes 14a, so they are burned at a high temperature, and the soot from the lower layer is also burned, resulting in smokeless combustion, which means that the generation of soot and toxic gases can be greatly reduced, unlike conventional charcoal manufacturing devices.
[0028] Incidentally, the upper layer of rice husks 1 accumulated in each internal combustion chamber 11C, 11D in the rotary kiln 11 burns at high temperatures in an oxygen-rich environment, while the lower layer is steamed and baked. If this state continues, the upper and lower layers may be burned in different states, resulting in burnt spots. In contrast, in the smoked charcoal manufacturing apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the rotary kiln 11 is rotated by the rotary support 13 and a rotary drive device (not shown), so that the rice husks 1 are lifted along the inner surface of the rotary kiln 11, and the upper and lower layers of the mixture 3 of rice husks and smoked rice husk charcoal are swapped, and the rice husk charcoal 2 in the lower layer, which is not sufficiently burned, now moves to the upper layer, which has a sufficient oxygen concentration, and undergoes high-temperature, smokeless combustion, eliminating any unburned portions. In particular, in this embodiment, by attaching the stirring plate 17, the mixture 3 of rice husks and charcoal rice husks rises sufficiently to the top of the rotary kiln 11 and falls to the bottom from a certain height. These fallen rice husk charcoal 2 and the new rice husks 1 that are added one after another again block oxygen, creating a steaming state for the rice husks 1 in the lower layer. These up and down movements are carried out continuously, and the mixture 3 of rice husks and charcoalized rice husks is thoroughly agitated, so that the quality of the charcoalized rice husks 2 becomes more uniform.
[0029] In this way, with the smoked charcoal manufacturing apparatus 10 and the smoked charcoal manufacturing method of this embodiment, smokeless combustion at high temperatures with sufficient oxygen concentration can be achieved in the upper layer of the rice husks 1, so the heating device that was previously required is no longer necessary, which reduces the manufacturing cost of the device itself and also eliminates the need for fuel costs for heating, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the rice husk charcoal 2. In addition, by installing axial partition plates 16a and 16b that separate the rice husks 1 in the direction of the central axis 11d inside the rotary kiln 11, the layer in which the rice husks 1 are deposited becomes thicker, increasing the lower layer of rice husks 1 that can be steamed and roasting.In addition, since it becomes easier to control the roasting time, the quality of the rice husk charcoal 2 is also improved. Furthermore, the rotary kiln 11 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane from the side where the rice husks 1 are fed to the side where the smoked charcoal 2 is discharged, and the smoked charcoal 2 automatically moves to the discharge side of the rotary kiln 11, so there is no need to add a separate function for transporting the smoked charcoal 2, and the manufacturing cost of the smoked charcoal manufacturing apparatus 10 itself can be reduced.
[0030] Furthermore, since the rice husks 1 are sequentially discharged from the first discharge hole 12a and the second discharge hole 12b of the rice husk insertion pipe 12 and are dumped onto the already accumulated rice husk charcoal 2, the newly dumped rice husks 1 have an air blocking effect and also have the effect of cooling the burned rice husk charcoal 2. In the smoked charcoal production apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the smoked charcoal 2 moves toward the charcoal discharge side of the rotary kiln 11 while being cooled. During the process of cooling the burned smoked charcoal 2 at the discharge side of the rotary kiln 11, an external combustion chamber 15 equipped with a chimney 15a for exhaust function is attached to the side of the rotary kiln 11 where the rice husks 1 are introduced. The chimney 15a in the external combustion chamber 15 generates an ascending air current, reducing the pressure inside the rotary kiln 11. As shown in FIG. 1( a), an air flow (arrows E, F, and G) occurs from the discharge side of the rotary kiln 11 to the external combustion chamber 15. This cool air draws in air from the outside, and the burned smoked charcoal 2 can be cooled. Unlike conventional apparatuses, this eliminates the need for a separate cooling process for the finished smoked charcoal 2, significantly improving production efficiency.
[0031] One embodiment of the charcoal production system of the present invention: The basic configuration and basic operation of one embodiment of the smoked charcoal producing system 20 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a charcoal producing system 20 of the present invention. First, the basic configuration of the smoked charcoal production system 20 of this embodiment is a spring-type moving device (commonly known as a spring cone) 22 that moves the rice husks 1 from the rice husk storage area 21, a rice husk automatic feeder 23 that automatically feeds the rice husks 1 moved from the spring-type moving device 22 into the smoked charcoal production device 10, the smoked charcoal production device 10 that burns the rice husks 1 to produce the smoked rice husk charcoal 2 as described above, and a the rice husk charcoal tank 25 as a charcoal storage container; a suction device 26 for sucking in the charcoal 2 from the rice husk charcoal tank 25; a charcoal transfer pipe 27 as a charcoal transfer device for transferring the rice husk charcoal 2 from the suction device 26; a cyclone separator 28 for separating the rice husk charcoal 2 from the charcoal transfer pipe 27 and the air; and a flexible container 29 as a charcoal intake container for taking in the rice husk charcoal 2 in the cyclone separator 28.
[0032] Next, the basic operation of the charcoal production system 20 of this embodiment is as follows: first, the rice husks 1 in the rice husk storage area 21 are inserted into the automatic rice husk feeder 23 by the spring conduit 22; then, the rice husks 1 inserted into the automatic rice husk feeder 23 are sent, mixed with air, through the rice husk transport pipe 24 by the air blower 23a of the automatic rice husk feeder 23 into the external combustion chamber 15 of the charcoal production apparatus 10. At the same time, air is sent widely into the rotary kiln 11 using an air blower 19 and an air diffusion pipe (air injection pipe) 14, and the briquettes 2 are produced by the charcoal production apparatus 10 as described above.
[0033] Next, the produced rice husk charcoal 2 is pushed out from the discharge port 11 a of the rotary kiln 11 and stored in the rice husk charcoal tank 25 . In addition, the charcoal 2 in the rice husk charcoal tank 25 is sucked in by a rice husk charcoal suction device 26 and sent via a charcoal transfer pipe 27 to a relatively large cyclone separator 28 in a mixed state with air. In the cyclone separator 28, the cyclone effect causes air to be discharged from the air outlet at the top, and the rice husk charcoal 2 is taken into the flexible container 29 from the charcoal intake port at the bottom. As described above, the smoked charcoal production system 20 of the present invention has a feature in that the produced rice husk smoked charcoal 2 is stored in the flexible container 29 in its original form.
[0034] In conventional systems, there was generally a problem that the rice husk charcoal was broken down into powder by the motor blades, but in the charcoal production system 20 of the present invention, the produced rice husk charcoal 2 is stored in its original form in the flexible container 29, so there is no risk of the rice husk charcoal 2 being broken down into powder. Furthermore, in conventional systems, the temperature of the smoked charcoal could rise when it was piled up in a container such as a flexi-bag, but in the system 20 of the present invention, the temperature of the rice husk charcoal 2 discharged from the rotary kiln 11 is around 35°C, and furthermore, in the process of storing the rice husk charcoal 2 from the rice husk charcoal tank 25 into a flexi-bag 29, the effect of lowering the temperature of the rice husk charcoal 2 by cooling it with low-temperature air inside the charcoal transfer pipe 27 is utilized, so the separate process of lowering the temperature of the charcoal 2 that was previously required is no longer necessary, and the production efficiency of the rice husk charcoal 2 is improved.
[0035] The smoked charcoal producing apparatus, the smoked charcoal producing method, and the smoked charcoal producing system of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments. In the above embodiment, an example was described in which rice husks were used as the charcoal material, but the scope of the present invention also includes applications where this is applied to granular charcoal materials such as buckwheat husks or finely chopped wood chips that are fed into a rotary kiln to form an accumulated layer and the lower layer is steamed. Regarding the homogeneity of the smoked charcoal, it is desirable that the charcoal be granular and uniform in size, and the production of smoked charcoal by forming the smoked charcoal material into such a shape is within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, although the example in which a chimney is attached as an exhaust function attached to the external combustion chamber has been described, another exhaust function such as a fan may be used instead. Although an example has been described in which a flexible container is used as the charcoal intake container, it is within the scope of the present invention even if this is replaced with another intake container. The inclination angle and length of the rotary kiln can be appropriately changed in design depending on the amount of charcoal produced and the temperature at the time of discharge. [Industrial Applicability]
[0036] This invention is a groundbreaking invention that overturns the conventional wisdom in the technical field that rice husk charcoal can only be produced by steaming, or that rice husks do not burn violently and must be heated separately in a heating device to produce rice husk charcoal. Furthermore, since cooled charcoal can be produced continuously from rice husks in a series of processes, this invention has the advantage of being able to charcoalize rice husks at low cost, and has great potential for industrial application. [Explanation of symbols]
[0037] 1: Rice husks (charcoal material) 2: Smoked rice husk charcoal (smoked charcoal) 10: Smoldering charcoal manufacturing equipment 11: Rotating kiln 12: Rice husk insertion tube (means for inserting charcoal material) 13: Rotating roller (rotating support) 14: Air injection tube (air injection means, air diffusion pipe) 15: External combustion chamber 15a: Chimney (exhaust function) 16a, 16b: Axial partition plate 17: Stirring plate 20: Charcoal production system 21: Rice husk storage area 22: Spring control (charcoal material moving device) 23: Automatic rice husk feeder (automatic charcoal feeder) 25: Rice husk charcoal tank (charcoal storage container) 26: Rice husk charcoal suction device 27: Rice husk charcoal transfer pipe 28: Cyclone separator 29: Flexible container (charcoal container)
Claims
1. a rotary kiln that burns the charcoal material to produce charcoal; A means for introducing the charcoal material into the rotary kiln; an air injection means for injecting air into the rotary kiln; An external combustion chamber with an exhaust function, which is installed on the side of the rotary kiln where the charcoal material is introduced; One or more rotary supports that rotatably support the rotary kiln; A rotary drive device that rotates the rotary kiln, The rotary kiln is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a horizontal plane from the side where the charcoal material is fed toward the side where the charcoal is discharged, and one or more axial partition plates are attached to the inner peripheral surface of the rotary kiln to partition the charcoal material in the central axial direction of the rotary kiln, and one or more stirring plates are attached to the inner peripheral surface of the rotary kiln to stir the charcoal material in the rotation direction of the rotary kiln.
2. The charcoal producing apparatus according to claim 1, A chimney is provided at the top of the external combustion chamber as an exhaust function, The smoking material supplying means is a smoking material insertion tube fixed to the external combustion chamber, the air injection means is an air injection tube provided with many air holes, The hollow disk-shaped axial partition plate and the stirring plate are attached to the inner peripheral surface of the rotary kiln, In the charcoal manufacturing apparatus, the rotary kiln is installed above a plurality of rollers that are the rotary support, A step of previously putting the charcoal material into the rotary kiln and burning the charcoal material to create a high temperature inside the rotary kiln; In the internal combustion chamber of the rotary kiln, the air and the charcoal material are mixed using the charcoal material injection pipe, and then the charcoal material is injected into the heated rotary kiln; In the internal combustion chamber of the rotary kiln, the air and the charcoal material are dispersed and diffused to cause combustion, and the charcoal material is also mixed and burned in a previously burned state; Accumulating the smoky material burned in the rotary kiln at the bottom of the rotary kiln; At the same time, the rotary kiln is rotated, and the burning charcoal material rises to the top due to the action of the stirring plate installed inside the rotary kiln and the circular action inside the rotary kiln, and then falls to the bottom from a certain position; Furthermore, the burning charcoal material is caused to move up and down while the burning is completed; The charcoal material moves up and down while simultaneously blocking the supply of oxygen, and other charcoal materials fall from above the burning charcoal material, blocking oxygen. These actions are carried out continuously to produce charcoal. At the same time, using the air flow generated by the chimney to lower the temperature of the just-produced smoked charcoal; Discharging the low-temperature charcoal; A method for producing smoked charcoal, comprising:
3. a smoky material moving device for moving the smoky material from the smoky material storage area; an automatic charcoal material feeder into which the charcoal material transferred from the charcoal material transfer device is inserted, and which feeds the inserted charcoal material into the charcoal production device in a state where the charcoal material is mixed with air using an air blower; The charcoal producing apparatus according to claim 1; An air diffusion pipe that uses an air blower to widely distribute air within the rotary kiln; a charcoal storage container disposed on the charcoal discharge side of the charcoal production device; a charcoal suction device that sucks the charcoal in the charcoal storage container; a charcoal transfer pipe for transferring the charcoal from the charcoal suction device; a cyclone separator for separating the air and the charcoal from the charcoal transfer pipe in a mixed state; a charcoal intake container that takes in the charcoal in the cyclone separator; A smoked charcoal production system characterized in that, in the process of storing the smoked charcoal from the smoked charcoal storage container into the smoked charcoal intake container, the temperature of the smoked charcoal is lowered by utilizing the action of low-temperature air while it is moving through the smoked charcoal transfer pipe.