Transport device

Abstract

To provide a transport device capable of measurement of physical properties of a transportation object even on transportation using a screw conveyor.SOLUTION: A transport device 200 for transportation of a transportation object involving a carbide or a dry sludge is assembled with a screw conveyor 2 having a screw blade 21 and a casing 20C and a measuring apparatus 25 for measuring at least one of water content, organic components, temperature, or an interface level of the transportation object, wherein the casing 20C has a retention part 20A for retention of a transportation object and the measuring apparatus 25 measures a transportation object retained in the retention part 20A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device. [Background technology]

[0002] The carbonized material produced in the carbonization furnace and the dried sludge dried in the drying furnace are at high temperatures, so they need to be cooled to an appropriate temperature before being transported to the next process. A screw conveyor is used as a means for transporting the carbonized material or dried sludge while cooling it (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a conveying device that conveys objects including carbonized materials and dried sludge using a screw conveyor. The conveying device is equipped with a nozzle that supplies cooling water into the device. The objects are cooled by adding cooling water to the objects. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-12061 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In order to properly cool the transported object, it is necessary to measure the physical properties of the transported object, such as its temperature and moisture content. However, if a measuring device is installed on a transport device with a screw conveyor, the screw blades may enter the measurement field of view of the measuring device, which may reduce the measurement accuracy. Furthermore, if the blade spacing (pitch) is increased to prevent the screw blades from entering the measurement field of view, there is a risk of reducing the transport efficiency.

[0006] Therefore, there is a demand for a conveying device that can measure the physical properties of an object being conveyed, even when the object is being conveyed by a screw conveyor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The characteristic configuration of the conveying device of the present invention is a conveying device that conveys objects to be conveyed, including carbonized materials or dried sludge, and is equipped with a screw conveyor having screw blades and a casing, and a measuring device that measures at least one of the moisture, organic content, temperature, or interface level of the objects to be conveyed, wherein the casing has a retention section for retaining the objects to be conveyed, and the measuring device measures the objects to be conveyed that have retained in the retention section.

[0008] According to this configuration, the measuring device measures at least one of the water, organic content, temperature, or interface level of the transported object, which is made of carbonized material or dried sludge, in the retention section where the transported object remains. This prevents the screw blades from entering the measurement field of the measuring device, thereby improving measurement accuracy. Furthermore, when performing measurements on a screw conveyor, it is necessary to widen the spacing between the screw blades to prevent the screw blades from entering the measurement field of view. However, with this configuration, this is not necessary, and the physical properties of the transported object can be measured while efficiently transporting the transported object.

[0009] Another characteristic configuration is that the casing has an inlet for feeding the material to be transported and an outlet for discharging the material, and the retention area is located in an area surrounded by the end of the screw blade and the outlet.

[0010] According to this configuration, since the retention area is located in the area surrounded by the end of the screw blade and the discharge port, the objects conveyed by the screw conveyor will be retained in the retention area and will be discharged to the outside of the casing through the discharge port when they exceed a certain angle of repose. Therefore, the objects piled up in the retention area can be measured, and measurement accuracy can be improved compared to measuring objects falling from the discharge port.

[0011] Another characteristic feature is that the measuring device has a sensor that emits infrared rays or ultrasonic waves.

[0012] According to this configuration, the measuring device has a sensor that emits infrared or ultrasonic waves, so the physical properties of the transported object can be measured from outside the casing. Furthermore, since the measurement can be performed without contact, there is no risk of the transported object adhering to the measuring device, making the measurement impossible or causing measurement errors. In this way, the transport device can properly measure even if the measurement object is carbonized material or dried sludge.

[0013] Another characteristic feature is that the measuring device irradiates the infrared rays or the ultrasonic waves onto a central region of the casing.

[0014] According to this configuration, the measuring device irradiates the central region of the casing with infrared or ultrasonic waves, so that it is possible to measure a predetermined amount or more of the transported objects. As a result, of the transported objects retained in the retention section, those located near the center of the casing are measured, which reduces the possibility of picking up noise and improves measurement accuracy compared to when those located near the inner wall of the casing are measured.

[0015] Another characteristic feature is that the casing has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object to be transported.

[0016] According to this configuration, the casing has a cooling mechanism for cooling the material to be transported, so the carbonized material or dried sludge can be transported to the next process while being cooled. In particular, since the carbonized material to be transported is introduced into the transport device at a temperature of approximately 400°C, cooling the carbonized material in the transport device makes it possible to efficiently reduce the temperature of the carbonized material.

[0017] Another characteristic feature is that the cooling mechanism is a jacket provided on the casing.

[0018] According to this configuration, the casing is provided with a jacket, and by flowing a coolant such as air or water through the jacket, heat exchange occurs between the object to be transported and the coolant, thereby cooling the object. Furthermore, by keeping the casing at a low temperature, it is possible to reduce local heat generation in the casing and suppress fatigue damage to the casing.

[0019] Another characteristic feature is that the cooling mechanism is a water adding section that is provided in the casing and adds water to the object to be transported.

[0020] According to this configuration, the casing is provided with a water adding section that adds water to the object to be transported, so that the heat of vaporization can be removed by adding water to the object to be transported, thereby reducing the temperature of the object to be transported.

[0021] Another characteristic feature is that the apparatus further includes a control unit that controls the cooling mechanism, and the control unit controls the cooling mechanism based on the value measured by the measurement device.

[0022] According to this configuration, the control unit further includes a controller that controls the cooling mechanism based on the value measured by the measuring device, so that, for example, if the moisture content measured by the measuring device is low, the amount of water added by the water adding unit can be increased. Also, if the temperature of the material being conveyed is high, the control unit can lower the temperature of the water added by the water adding unit or reduce the rotation speed of the screw blades to lengthen the conveying time.

[0023] Another characteristic feature is that the screw conveyor and the casing are inclined so as to rise in the conveying direction of the object to be conveyed.

[0024] With this configuration, the screw and casing are inclined so that they rise in the direction of conveyance of the conveyed object, so that, for example, when multiple conveyance devices are installed in series, the supply port of one conveyance device can be placed below the discharge port of another conveyance device. This allows the loading surfaces of multiple conveyance devices to be at the same level, thereby reducing the construction costs of multiple conveyance devices. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an organic sludge recycling system. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the vicinity of a retention portion of the conveying device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the transport device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0027] The conveying device 200 according to the present invention conveys organic sludge such as dried sludge, thickened sludge, dewatered sludge, and carbonized materials as conveying objects. The conveying device 200 is used in an organic sludge recycling system 300 that uses organic sludge such as sewage sludge as recycled fuel F. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which dried sludge L, which is organic sludge that has been dried and granulated into pellets in advance, is supplied to the organic sludge recycling system 300. The organic sludge recycling system 300 obtains recycled fuel F by carbonizing the dried sludge L, for example.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 1, the organic sludge recycling system 300 mainly includes a carbonization furnace 10, a stock tank 207, and a carbonized material treatment device 100, in addition to a conveying device 200. The carbonized material treatment device 100 receives carbonized material M obtained from dried sludge L and performs a carbonized material treatment (so-called aging treatment (low-temperature oxidation treatment)) to reduce the self-heating property of the carbonized material M.

[0029] The dried sludge L is granulated into cylindrical pellets, for example, by extrusion granulation. This is to homogenize the particle shape, bulk density, and other particle properties of the dried sludge L or the charcoal M and recycled fuel F obtained from the dried sludge L, thereby improving the handleability of the charcoal M and the uniformity of the charcoal treatment in the organic sludge recycling system 300. The dried sludge L may be granulated into other shapes, such as spherical, or may not be granulated.

[0030] The dried sludge L is supplied to the carbonization furnace 10 and carbonized. This produces cylindrical pellet-shaped carbonized material M. The carbonized material M discharged from the carbonization furnace 10 is transported to the next process by the transport device 200, where it is humidified and cooled. It is then stored in the carbonized material processing device 100 for a predetermined time. The carbonized material processing device 100 performs carbonization treatment by passing a treatment gas G containing oxygen (an example of an oxygen-containing gas) through the stored carbonized material M for a predetermined time. The carbonized material M that has undergone the carbonization treatment becomes recycled fuel F that can be safely stored in a tank or the like, and is discharged from the carbonized material processing device 100. The recycled fuel F discharged from the carbonized material processing device 100 is stored in a stock tank 207 in preparation for shipment to the market. Hereinafter, the downstream side of the transport path of the carbonized material M or recycled fuel F from the carbonization furnace 10 to the stock tank 207 will be simply referred to as the downstream side, and the opposite side will be referred to as the upstream side.

[0031] The carbonization furnace 10 is a device that heats dried sludge L in a low-oxygen atmosphere (hereinafter, this may be referred to as "carbonization treatment") to obtain a carbonized material M. The carbonization furnace 10 is composed of a rotary kiln. The carbonization furnace 10 may be of a rotary kiln type, a fluidized bed type, a screw type, or the like. The carbonization furnace 10 carbonizes the dried sludge L at a temperature of approximately 250°C to 600°C.

[0032] In the present embodiment, combustible gas is generated from the dried sludge L during carbonization in the carbonization furnace 10. The combustible gas is supplied to, for example, a secondary combustion furnace 12 and burned, and then passes through exhaust gas treatment equipment 13, such as an exhaust heat recovery machine or a scrubber, before being discharged to the outside as combustion exhaust Ef. After being discharged from the carbonization furnace 10, the carbonized material M is introduced into the conveying device 200 via a chute 11 or the like. The conveying device 200 cools the carbonized material M (an example of an object to be conveyed) while conveying it to the next process. Details of the conveying device 200 will be described later.

[0033] The carbide M discharged from the conveying device 200 is transported to the cushion tank 203 by the flight conveyor 202 via the rotary valve 201, and is supplied from the cushion tank 203 to the carbide processing device 100. A double damper may be used instead of the rotary valve 201. In this embodiment, the carbide M transported to the cushion tank 203 is supplied to the carbide processing device 100 via, for example, a rotary valve (not shown), a double damper, or piping. Instead of using the flight conveyor 202, the carbide M discharged from the conveying device 200 may be supplied to the carbide processing device 100 via a chute or the like. Furthermore, instead of transporting by the flight conveyor 202, transport may be performed using pneumatic transport, a belt conveyor, a bucket conveyor, or the like.

[0034] The carbide processing device 100 processes carbide M to obtain recycled fuel F. The recycled fuel F obtained in the carbide processing device 100 is transported from a flight conveyor 205 to a cushion tank 206. At this time, an air cooling device 205a, such as a heat exchanger supplied with a refrigerant from a chiller, is disposed upstream of the flight conveyor 205, and the recycled fuel F may be cooled using air A cooled by the air cooling device 205a. The recycled fuel F is transferred from the cushion tank 206 to a stock tank 207 and stored until shipment. Note that the cushion tank 206 may be omitted and the recycled fuel F may be directly transferred to the stock tank 207 via a chute or the like, or it may be transported using a pneumatic transport, a belt conveyor, a bucket conveyor, or the like instead of transporting by the flight conveyor 205. Furthermore, the cushion tank 206 and the stock tank 207 may be omitted, and the transported recycled fuel F may be directly supplied to a user facility.

[0035] The conveying device 200 will be described in detail below. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the conveying device 200 includes a screw conveyor 2 and a measuring device 25. The screw conveyor 2 has a screw 20 and a casing 20C, and the screw 20 is housed inside the casing 20C.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 3, the casing 20C is composed of a lower casing 20C1 having a semi-cylindrical U-shaped cross section and an upper casing 20C2 having a flat plate shape and disposed on the upper surface of the lower casing 20C1. The vertical positional relationship will be described below in accordance with the orientation of the conveying device 200 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The lower casing 20C1 has a semi-cylindrical main body extending along the conveying direction of the carbide M so as to have an opening at the top, and side walls 20Ca covering both ends of the main body. The upper casing 20C2 is disposed and connected to cover the opening of the lower casing 20C1, thereby forming an enclosed space inside the casing 20C. The casing 20C may be formed of a steel material such as carbon steel or stainless steel.

[0037] An inlet 23 through which the carbide M is fed is provided on the upstream side of the screw conveyor 2, and an outlet 24 through which the carbide M is discharged is provided on the downstream side of the screw conveyor 2. More specifically, the inlet 23 is provided in the upper casing 20C2, and the outlet 24 is provided below the lower casing 20C1.

[0038] The screw 20 is disposed at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the inner peripheral surface of the casing 20C so as not to come into contact with the inner peripheral surface. The screw 20 has spiral screw blades 21 provided on the outer surface of a hollow tubular screw shaft 22. The screw blades 21 are preferably provided at a predetermined interval (pitch).

[0039] Both ends of the screw shaft 22 are supported by a screw shaft drive mechanism (not shown). The screw shaft 22 is driven by the screw shaft drive mechanism to rotate about its axis X. This rotation causes the screw blades 21 to rotate, and the carbide M introduced from the inlet 23 is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side of the screw conveyor 2. The carbide M transported by the screw conveyor 2 moves from the end 21a of the screw blade 21 toward the discharge outlet 24 and is discharged from the discharge outlet 24.

[0040] The end 21a of the screw blade 21 is located a predetermined distance away from the downstream side wall 20Ca of the casing lower part 20C1. The end 21a of the screw blade 21 refers to the screw blade 21 that has rotated one rotation from the downstream end of the screw blade 21 toward the upstream side. No screw blade 21 is formed on the screw shaft 22 downstream of the end 21a of the screw blade 21. As a result, a retention section 20A is formed downstream of the screw conveyor 2, which is a space surrounded by the end 21a of the screw blade 21 and the discharge port 24. The carbide M transported by the screw blade 21 retains in the retention section 20A (see FIG. 4). The carbide M retained in the retention section 20A accumulates at the end 21a of the screw blade 21 above the horizontal cross section of the screw shaft 22 including the axis X of the screw shaft 22, and accumulates along the angle of repose from the end of the screw blade 21 to the discharge outlet 24. The carbide M retained in the retention section 20A in this way moves toward the discharge outlet 24, as if pushed out by the carbide M that sequentially flows into the retention section 20A, and is discharged.

[0041] The axis X of the screw shaft 22 is preferably inclined, for example, by 5° to 15° from the upstream side to the downstream side with respect to the placement surface (horizontal plane) of the conveying device 200. In other words, the screw 20 and the casing 20C are preferably inclined so as to rise in the conveying direction of the carbide M. This allows, for example, when a plurality of conveying devices 200 are installed in succession, the supply port of another conveying device 200 to be located below the discharge port 24 of another conveying device 200. This allows the placement surfaces of the conveying devices 200 to be at the same level, thereby reducing the construction costs of the organic sludge recycling system 300.

[0042] As described above, the conveying device 200 is a device that conveys the carbide M and also cools and humidifies the carbide M. Therefore, the conveying device 200 may have a cooling mechanism that cools the carbide M. The cooling mechanism is, for example, a jacket 28 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body of the casing lower part 20C1. The jacket 28 is a semi-cylindrical structure provided along the outer surface of the casing lower part 20C1 and has a hollow space inside. A coolant such as air or water introduced from outside the conveying device 200 flows through the internal space of the jacket 28. In other words, the jacket 28 functions as an air-cooled jacket or a water-cooled jacket. This indirectly cools the carbide M inside the casing 20C.

[0043] The screw conveyor 2 may also have a water addition section 27 that adds cooling water CW to the carbonized material M as a cooling mechanism and humidifying mechanism for cooling the carbonized material M. The water addition section 27 is provided in the casing 20C and has a nozzle that supplies the cooling water CW. The water addition section 27 sprays and supplies the cooling water CW to the carbonized material M being transported.

[0044] The carbide M inside the screw conveyor 2 is cooled by the latent heat of evaporation of the cooling water CW. In this embodiment, the carbide M is rapidly cooled to below 60°C, and the carbide M is cooled and humidified by the spray supply of the cooling water CW.

[0045] Furthermore, the screw conveyor 2 may have a gas flow section 26, which serves as a cooling mechanism for cooling the carbide M, through which a cooling gas CG, which is an inert gas such as nitrogen, flows in a direction opposite to the flow of the carbide M. In the screw conveyor 2, in addition to the cooling gas CG and the water vapor of the cooling water CW, flammable gases such as carbon monoxide gas and odorous gases are generated. For this reason, the exhaust gas from the screw conveyor 2 is introduced into the secondary combustion furnace 12 via an exhaust pipe 14 (see FIG. 1). Note that the exhaust gas from the screw conveyor 2 does not have to be introduced into the secondary combustion furnace 12 and may be treated separately.

[0046] Next, the measuring device 25 will be described. The measuring device 25 is provided downstream of the screw conveyor 2. The measuring device 25 measures at least one of the moisture, organic content, temperature, or interface level of the carbonized material M. The measuring device 25 may be a device that performs measurement by directly contacting the carbonized material M, such as a thermocouple, but it is preferable that the measuring device 25 does not contact the carbonized material M, and it is preferable that the measuring device 25 has a sensor that emits infrared rays or ultrasonic waves. By performing non-contact measurement, adhesion of the carbonized material M to the measuring device 25 can be prevented.

[0047] The measuring device 25 in this embodiment includes a device main body 25a having a sensor that emits infrared rays for measuring the temperature and moisture of the carbide M, a storage section 25b that houses the device main body 25a, and a window 25c provided in the storage section 25b. The storage section 25b is a housing that hermetically houses the device main body 25a in its internal space, and as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, is disposed downstream of the screw conveyor 2. More specifically, the measuring device 25 is disposed near the retention section 20A of the screw conveyor 2 so that the device main body 25a emits infrared rays toward the retention section 20A. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the device main body 25a is disposed so that the measurement target area is between the screw shaft 22 and the outer peripheral wall of the casing lower section 20C1 so that the screw shaft 22 does not fall within its measurement field of view. This allows the measuring device 25 to irradiate infrared rays onto the carbide M retained in the retention section 20A. The lower part of the accommodation part 25b is located in the internal space of the casing 20C. That is, the accommodation part 25b is disposed so as to penetrate the casing upper part 20C2.

[0048] Window 25c is made of glass or the like arranged in an opening formed in the bottom wall of storage section 25b, and is transparent to infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, etc. Storage section 25b has window 25c, which prevents carbide M from adhering to device body 25a. Window 25c may be circular or rectangular in shape, and its size can be determined arbitrarily.

[0049] The device body 25a may irradiate infrared rays toward the central region 22A of the retention section 20A. The central region 22A refers to the vicinity of a horizontal cross section including the axis X of the screw shaft 22 among the carbide M retained in the retention section 20A, as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4. By providing the retention section 20A in the screw conveyor 2, some of the carbide M not only accumulates along the angle of repose but also accumulates beyond the horizontal cross section including the axis X (see FIG. 4). That is, some of the carbide M in the retention section 20A accumulates in the central region 22A. Therefore, by irradiating infrared rays toward such carbide M retained in the central region 22A, the amount of carbide M to be measured can be increased, thereby improving measurement accuracy. Furthermore, when measuring carbide M near the discharge port 24, noise from the inner wall of the casing 20C and the like may be picked up, but this noise can be reduced.

[0050] The device body 25a may be tilted with respect to the vertical direction in order to irradiate the central region 22A with infrared rays. The irradiation distance of the device body 25a to the target may be set according to the size of the screw conveyor 2, and may be, for example, 200 mm to 400 mm.

[0051] The measurement values ​​obtained by the measuring device 25 may be acquired by a control unit (not shown) that controls the cooling mechanism, such as the jacket 28, the water addition unit 27, or the gas flow unit 26. The control unit has a processor and controls the operation of the cooling mechanism. Based on the acquired measurement values, the control unit controls the water addition unit 27 by, for example, increasing the amount of cooling water CW added by the water addition unit 27 when the moisture content is lower than a predetermined amount. The control unit may also control the flow rate of the refrigerant circulating through the jacket 28 and the flow rate of the gas flowing through the gas flow unit 26, so that the carbonized material M reaches a predetermined temperature. Furthermore, the control unit may control the rotation speed of the screw conveyor 2 so that the carbonized material M reaches a predetermined temperature. The control unit includes hardware centered around a CPU and RAM, and software operated by a program.

[0052] Other Embodiments (a) In the above embodiment, the conveying device 200 is positioned downstream of the carbonization furnace 10 in the organic sludge recycling system 300 and conveys the carbonized material M, but this is not limited to this and the device may also be used as a conveying device that conveys dried sludge L and supplies it to the carbonization furnace 10, or as a conveying device that conveys organic sludge and supplies it to a drying device.

[0053] (b) When the transfer device 200 measures the interface level of the carbide M, the amount of the carbide M supplied to the transfer device 200 may be adjusted according to the measured interface level.

[0054] (c) In the above embodiment, accommodating portion 25b is disposed so as to penetrate upper casing portion 20C2, but accommodating portion 25b may be disposed on the upper surface of upper casing portion 20C2. Also, accommodating portion 25b may be disposed above the upper surface of upper casing portion 20C2, in which case a connecting portion may be provided between upper casing portion 20C2 and accommodating portion 25b to connect them. [Industrial Applicability]

[0055] The present invention can be used in a conveying device that conveys objects including carbonized material or dried sludge. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 2: Screw conveyor 20: Screw 20A: Retention part 20C: Casing 21: Screw blade 21a :Terminal 22: Screw shaft 22A: Central area 24: Outlet 25: Measuring equipment 27: Water addition section 28: Jacket 200: Transport device M: Carbide (transported object) X: Axial center

Claims

1. A conveying device for conveying an object to be conveyed, including a carbonized material or dried sludge, the conveying device comprising: a screw conveyor having a screw blade and a casing; a measuring device that measures at least one of the moisture content, organic content, temperature, and interface level of the object to be transported, the casing has a retention section for retaining the object to be conveyed, The measuring device is a conveying device that measures the object being conveyed that has accumulated in the accumulation section.

2. the casing has a discharge port for discharging the object to be transported, 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the retention portion is located in an area surrounded by the end of the screw blade and the discharge port.

3. 2. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device has a sensor that emits infrared rays or ultrasonic waves.

4. The conveying device according to claim 3 , wherein the measuring device irradiates the infrared ray or the ultrasonic wave onto a central region of the casing.

5. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the casing has a cooling mechanism for cooling the object to be conveyed.

6. 6. The conveying device according to claim 5, wherein the cooling mechanism is a jacket provided on the casing.

7. The conveying device according to claim 5 , wherein the cooling mechanism is a water adding unit provided in the casing and configured to add water to the object to be conveyed.

8. a control unit that controls the cooling mechanism, 8. The transport device according to claim 5, wherein the control unit controls the cooling mechanism based on a value measured by the measurement device.

9. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the screw conveyor and the casing are inclined so as to rise in a direction in which the object is conveyed.

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