Rice husk fuel production method and rice husk fuel production device

Abstract

To provide a method and an apparatus for producing rice husk fuel having high combustibility.SOLUTION: The method for producing the rice hull fuel 1P comprises separating trichomes from a rice hull material containing a rice hull body on which trichomes are formed (S12) and selecting the separated trichomes from a mixture containing the separated trichomes and the rice hull body from which the trichomes are separated (S13). Detaching trichomes from rice hull material (S12) involves moving the rice hull material within a vessel in which a frictional mechanism is located.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for producing rice husk fuel. [Background technology]

[0002] For a long time, rice husks were burned in rice fields, and the cinders were used as materials and fertilizer. However, in recent years, due to the impact of the ban on open burning, it has become virtually impossible to incinerate rice husks in rice fields, and as it is difficult to use rice husks as a resource, there is no choice but to treat them as waste. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3230152 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-163309 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe techniques for burning rice husks.

[0005] In order to effectively utilize rice husk fuel, it is desirable to control the combustion behavior specific to rice husks and improve the combustibility of rice husk fuel.

[0006] In view of the above problems, one object of one embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a rice husk fuel production method and rice husk fuel production apparatus with high combustibility. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A method for producing rice husk fuel according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes removing trichomes from a rice husk raw material including rice husk bodies on which trichomes have been formed, and sorting the removed trichomes from a mixture including the removed trichomes and rice husk bodies from which the trichomes have been removed.

[0008] A rice husk fuel manufacturing apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises a detachment mechanism that detaches hairs from rice husk raw material including rice husk bodies on which hairs have been formed, and a sorting mechanism that sorts the detached hairs from a mixture including the detached hairs and rice husk bodies from which the hairs have been detached.

[0009] In addition, a rice husk fuel manufacturing apparatus according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a container for storing rice husk raw material including a rice husk body on which trichomes have been formed, a detachment mechanism for moving the rice husk raw material stored in the container within the container to detach the trichomes, and a sorting mechanism for sorting the detached trichomes within the container. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, a method and apparatus for producing rice husk fuel with high combustibility can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a rice husk fuel production apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a front view of one of the unhairing units included in the rice husk fuel production apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view of one of the unhairing units included in the rice husk fuel production apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view of a sorting unit included in the rice husk fuel production apparatus shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] 1 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for producing rice husk fuel according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for producing rice husk fuel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram regarding measurement of the hair level in the rice husk fuel production method shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for producing rice husk fuel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus used in one step of the rice husk fuel production method shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 shows the results of an experiment. [Figure 11] 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for producing rice husk fuel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a rice husk fuel production apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 13 is a cross-sectional view of one of the unhairing units included in the rice husk fuel production apparatus shown in FIG. 12. FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of a rice husk fuel production apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 15 is a partial cross-sectional view of a hair removal tube included in the rice husk fuel production apparatus shown in FIG. 14. [Figure 16] 15 is a partial cross-sectional view of a sorting tube included in the rice husk fuel production apparatus shown in FIG. 14. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a rice husk fuel production apparatus according to one modified example of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, etc. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the description of the embodiments exemplified below. To clarify the explanation, drawings may be referenced that schematically show the width, thickness, shape, etc. of each part compared to the actual form, but the drawings are merely examples and do not limit the interpretation of the present disclosure.

[0013] 1. About rice husks and hairs Rice has a three-layer structure consisting of, from the inside to the outside, the endosperm, the bran layer, and the husk. More specifically, the husk contains multiple hairs (trichomes) that protrude from the surface. In the course of diligent research, the inventors discovered that the hairs growing on the husk may reduce the combustibility of rice husk fuel, as described below.

[0014] Hair follicles contain a lot of silicon. During the process of burning rice husks, the silicon oxide (silica) that was once melted solidifies, causing the rice husks to aggregate and form clumps. When rice husks are heated for a long period of time, crystalline silica is likely to be produced. When the rice husks become clumped or crystalline silica is produced, the combustion of the rice husk fuel does not progress or progresses unevenly. The embodiments and examples described below explain methods and apparatus for producing rice husk fuel that reduce the proportion of hair follicles contained in the rice husk raw material.

[0015] 2.Definition (Rice husk raw material) The term "rice husk raw material" refers to rice husk before the dehairing and sorting processes described below are performed. The rice husk raw material includes the rice husk body on which the hairs have formed and impurities, which are foreign matter that adhere to the rice husk body during the threshing, drying, hulling, etc. of harvested rice.

[0016] (hair loss) "Dehairing" refers to the process of removing some or all of the hairs formed on the rice husk body contained in the rice husk raw material from the rice husk body. "Dehairing treatment" refers to the process carried out for dehairing. The mixture after the dehairing treatment contains the rice husk body with the hairs still attached, the rice husk body with no hairs attached at all, the hairs detached from the rice husk body, and impurities. Note that depending on the state of the rice husk raw material and the dehairing treatment, the mixture may not contain at least one of the rice husk body with the hairs still attached, the rice husk body with no hairs attached at all, the hairs detached from the rice husk body, and impurities.

[0017] (Sorting) "Sorting" refers to selecting and separating the hairs that have detached from the rice husk body from the rest. More specifically, it refers to selecting the hairs that have detached from the rice husk body from the rice husk body (including rice husk bodies with the hairs still attached, rice husk bodies from which the hairs have not detached at all, and rice husk bodies from which the hairs have detached but have reattached). "Sorting process" refers to the process carried out for sorting. The hairs after the sorting process may contain impurities. "Post-sorting process mixture" refers to a mixture containing the rice husk body (including unhaired hairs) after the sorting process has been carried out. "Piwig impurities" includes the hairs and impurities.

[0018] (rice husk fuel) "Rice husk fuel" refers to the product obtained by the sorting process, excluding trichomes and impurities, and mainly contains rice husks (which may have trichomes attached). The amount of trichomes contained in rice husk fuel is less than the amount of trichomes contained in the raw rice husk material, as it has gone through the dehairing and sorting processes.

[0019] The "combustibility" of rice husk fuel refers to the property of rice husk fuel being completely burned as it burns evenly without producing silica or agglomerating during the combustion process.

[0020] <Embodiment 1> The following describes a rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 that performs two processes, dehairing and sorting, on raw rice husks to produce highly combustible rice husk fuel.

[0021] 3. Rice husk fuel production equipment (Overview of rice husk fuel production equipment 1) An overview of the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the plan view of Figure 1. The rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 generally comprises two hair removal units 20 that perform hair removal processing, a sorting unit 30 that performs sorting processing, and a blower 40 that supplies air to the hair removal units 20. In the following description, the x direction in Figure 1 will be referred to as the front, the y direction as the right, and the z direction as the up.

[0022] The rice husk fuel manufacturing device 1 has a rice husk raw material inlet 11 through which the rice husk raw material is fed, a rice husk fuel outlet 12 which is the outlet through which the mixture after the sorting process is discharged, and a pubescence impurity outlet 13 which is the outlet through which the pubescence and impurities sorted by the sorting process are discharged. The rice husk raw material inlet 11 is located on the front left, the rice husk fuel outlet 12 on the back right, and the pubescence impurity outlet 13 on the back left.

[0023] (Overview of Hair Removal Section 20) The hair removal unit 20 is a device that performs the hair removal process, and the two hair removal units 20 provided in the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 have a common internal structure as described below. An inlet 21 through which rice husks are fed is opened at the front left of the hair removal unit 20. One of the two inlets 21 also serves as the rice husk raw material inlet 11 of the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1. Hereinafter, of the two hair removal units 20, the hair removal unit 20 with the inlet 21 that also serves as the rice husk raw material inlet 11 of the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 may be referred to as hair removal unit 20-1, and the other hair removal unit 20 as hair removal unit 20-2. The hair removal unit 20-1 is located at the front, and the hair removal unit 20-2 is located at the back.

[0024] At the upper left of each of the two hair removal units 20, there is a discharge outlet 22 through which the rice husk raw material that has been subjected to the hair removal process in each hair removal unit 20 is discharged. A connecting pipe 14 is connected to the discharge outlet 22 of the hair removal unit 20-1, which extends in the direction of the adjacent hair removal unit 20-2 (-x direction) and is connected to the input port 21 of the hair removal unit 20-2. Therefore, the internal spaces of the hair removal unit 20-1 and the hair removal unit 20-2, which will be described later, are in communication with each other via the connecting pipe 14.

[0025] (Overview of sorting unit 30) The sorting unit 30 is a device that performs sorting processing. The sorting unit 30 is provided with an inlet 31 through which the rice husk raw material that has undergone the dehairing processing is input, and two outlets 32A, 32B through which the hairs, impurities, rice husk bodies, etc. that have undergone the sorting processing are discharged. The inlet 31 of the sorting unit 30 and the outlet 22 of the dehairing unit 20-2 are connected by a connecting pipe 14. Therefore, the internal space of the dehairing unit 20-2, which will be described later, and the internal space of the sorting unit 30 are in communication.

[0026] The outlet 32A at the far right is connected to the rice husk fuel outlet 12 extending in the rear direction (-x direction). The outlet 32B at the far left is connected to the hair impurities outlet 13 extending in the rear direction (-x direction).

[0027] (Blower 40) The blower 40 has a fan (not shown) inside, and supplies air to the inside of the hair removal unit 20-1 through the ventilation pipe 41. The internal spaces of the hair removal units 20-1 and 20-2 and the sorting unit 30 are connected via the connecting pipe 14, so the air supplied to the inside of the hair removal unit 20-1 is also supplied to the inside of the hair removal unit 20-2 and the sorting unit 30. The blower 40 is an example of a moving unit in the claims.

[0028] (Inside of the hair removal unit 20) The internal structure of the hair removal unit 20 will be described below with reference to the plan view shown in FIG. 1, the front view of the hair removal unit 20 shown in FIG. 2, and the cross-sectional view of the hair removal unit 20 shown in FIG.

[0029] Fig. 2 is a front view of the hair removal unit 20 shown in Fig. 1. The hair removal unit 20 has a substantially circular outer shape in a plan view. An air vent 27 is provided in the center of the hair removal unit 20 to take in air supplied from the blower 40. An inlet 21 is provided in the upper left of the hair removal unit 20, through which rice husk raw material is introduced. A discharge outlet 22 is provided further above and to the left of the inlet 21.

[0030] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the hair removal unit 20 shown in FIG. 1 taken along line A-A'. The hair removal unit 20 includes a container 23 having an internal space S and a rubber lining material 25 attached to an inner wall 24 of the container 23. The inner wall 24 is circular when viewed in cross section from the -x direction. The lining material 25 is, for example, a coating film whose dynamic friction coefficient with the rice husk raw material is greater than the friction coefficient between the inner wall 24 and the rice husk raw material. The internal space S has a substantially circular cross-sectional shape. A partition wall 26 is disposed inside the container 23. The partition wall 26 is composed of an arc-shaped arc portion 26A and an extension portion 26B extending to the upper left. The air supplied from the ventilation opening 27 (see FIG. 2) collides with the partition wall 26, becoming air rotating counterclockwise (RW). The coating film of the lining material 25 is preferably made of polyurethane, natural rubber, or the like, which has excellent physical properties such as abrasion resistance and tear strength, but the material of the coating film is not limited to these.

[0031] The rice husks RH introduced through the inlet 21 move in the internal space S while rotating counterclockwise RW due to the force of the wind rotating counterclockwise RW. A centrifugal force CFF acts on the rice husks RH, and the rice husks are pressed in the direction of the centrifugal force CFF, i.e., perpendicular to the inner wall 24 of the container 23. A rubber lining material 25 with a high coefficient of friction is attached to the inner wall 24, and a relatively large frictional force FF acts on the surface of the rice husks RH. As a result, the rice husk hairs gradually detach from the rice husk body due to friction with the inner wall 24 or friction between the rice husks themselves. The lining material 25 is an example of a friction mechanism in the claims. The rice husk body and hairs move inside the container 23 in a mixed state and are discharged from the dehairing unit 20 through the outlet 22.

[0032] Furthermore, the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 has two consecutively arranged hair removal units 20 (hair removal units 20-1, 20-2). Therefore, the mixture of rice husks, hair follicles, and impurities discharged from the outlet 22 of the hair removal unit 20-1 is subsequently fed into the inlet 21 of the hair removal unit 20-2 and processed by the hair removal unit 20-2. In this way, the hair removal units 20-1 and 20-2 work together to perform the hair removal process of the rice husks. Because the process is performed consecutively, the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 can more efficiently remove the hair follicles than when there is only one hair removal unit 20.

[0033] The rice husks discharged through the unhairing section 20 are a mixture of rice husks, hairs, and other impurities. The mixture is discharged from the discharge port 22 of the unhairing section 20 along with air supplied from the blower 40 (see Figure 1).

[0034] (Inside of the sorting unit 30) Next, the internal structure of the sorting unit 30 will be described in detail with reference to the cross-sectional view (B-B' in FIG. 1) of the sorting unit 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The container 33 of the sorting unit 30 has an approximately cylindrical outer shape, similar to the container 23 of the depilating unit 20 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and has a portion that protrudes to the upper left. The portion that protrudes to the upper left extends to the back (see FIG. 1) and connects to the hair impurity discharge port 13. The inner wall 34 is circular when viewed in cross section from the -x direction.

[0035] A screen 35 is stretched inside the container 33 of the sorting unit 30, approximately 1 centimeter inside the inner wall 34 of the sorting unit 30. The screen 35 is installed so that it can vibrate relative to the inner wall 34. The screen 35 may be equipped with a mechanism that amplifies and utilizes vibrations transmitted from the housing of the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 (for example, a mechanism that allows the screen 35, connected to the inner wall 34 via a spring, to move relatively freely relative to the inner wall 34). The screen 35 may also be connected to a mechanism that vibrates itself (for example, one equipped with a motor). The screen 35 divides the internal space of the sorting unit 30 into an inner space T1 and an outer space T2. The screen 35 is a metal mesh with a mesh size finer than the rice husk itself but coarser than the trichomes, and functions as a sieve to separate the rice husks from the trichomes and impurities. The screen has a mesh size of, for example, 3.5 mesh or more and 100 mesh or less. The mesh size of the screen is more preferably 5 mesh or more and 50 mesh or less. Note that the mesh size of the screen is not limited to the above range and may be changed as appropriate depending on, for example, the material and mesh shape of the screen 35. The screen 35 is an example of a sorting mechanism in the claims.

[0036] Partition walls 36 and 37 are provided inside the sorting unit 30. Partition wall 36 includes an arc-shaped portion 36A and an extending portion 36B, and is formed in the same shape as partition wall 26 (see FIG. 3). Partition wall 37 is formed in a substantially L-shape and is disposed inside screen 35 so that one end thereof contacts screen 35.

[0037] The post-dehairing mixture of rice husks RH, introduced through the inlet 31 located at the position indicated by the dashed line, rotates counterclockwise RW in the internal space T1 due to the wind also supplied from the inlet 31. Centrifugal force CFF acts on the rice husks RH, and the rice husks RH are pressed in the direction of centrifugal force CFF, i.e., perpendicular to the inner wall 34 of the container 33. The mesh of the screen 35 is finer than the rice husks RH (the rice husks themselves) and coarser than the hairs TC, so only the hairs TC and impurities finer than the mesh of the screen 35 (hair impurities) pass through the screen 35.

[0038] The rice husk bodies rotate in the internal space T1, and part of them is captured by the partition wall 37. The partition wall is connected to the rice husk fuel discharge port 12 extending in the rear direction. Therefore, the rice husk bodies that do not pass through the openings of the screen 35 are sequentially discharged from the rice husk fuel discharge port 12.

[0039] In this way, in the sorting unit 30, the screen 35 acts as a sorting mechanism, so that the detached trichomes are sorted from the mixture containing the detached trichomes and the rice husk bodies from which the trichomes have been detached. Since the screen 35 is equipped with a vibrating mechanism, even if the screen 35 becomes clogged with trichomes or impurities, the clogging is easily eliminated, and the efficiency of sorting is not likely to decrease.

[0040] In addition, since a friction force FF also acts between the screen 35 and the rice husk raw material RH, the trichomes may also be detached in the sorting section 30.

[0041] The rice husk fuel outlet 12 communicates with the inner space T1 of the internal spaces T1 and T2, and the rice husk impurities outlet 13 communicates with the space T2.

[0042] The connection pipe 14 (see FIG. 3) of the unhairing unit 20-2 is connected to the input port 31. The rice husks discharged from the unhairing unit 20-2 are input into a container 33 through the input port 31.

[0043] The rice husks undergoing processing change shape by opening and bending due to the force of the wind supplied from the blower 40. The rice husks whose shape has changed tend to come into contact with the inner wall of the hair removal section 20, the inner wall of the sorting section 30, or other rice husks, as the recessed portions before the change become flattened. Therefore, compared to when wind is not supplied from the blower 40, the hairs are more efficiently detached from the rice husk body or sorted.

[0044] The air duct 41 of the blower 40 may be connected to all of the hair removal units 20-1 and 20-2 and the sorting unit 30 to supply air into the containers 23 and 33.

[0045] The rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 is equipped with two hair removal units 20 (hair removal units 20-1, 20-2) and one sorting unit 30, but the number and combination of the hair removal units 20 and sorting units 30 are not limited to those described above. For example, the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 may be equipped with only one hair removal unit 20, or three or more. The rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 may be equipped with two or more sorting units 30.

[0046] Furthermore, the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 may be equipped with the sorting unit 30 but not the dehairing unit 20. Even if the dehairing unit 20 is not provided, frictional force will act between the rice husk raw material and the screen 35. To perform sufficient dehairing, the processing time may need to be extended or the process may need to be repeated several times, but it is possible to produce rice husk fuel using a rice husk fuel production apparatus equipped with the dehairing unit 20.

[0047] In the above explanation, the rice husk fuel production device 1 is described as having a rice husk raw material inlet 11 and an air vent 27 that are provided separately (see FIG. 2), but the rice husk raw material and air supplied to the container 23 may be supplied from a single opening. For example, an agricultural blower (rice husk conveying machine) may be used as the blower 40 (see FIG. 1), and the rice husk raw material and air may be supplied into the container 23 (see FIG. 2) from an opening formed at the position of the rice husk raw material inlet 11.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above description, the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 is described as having two dehairing units 20-1, 20-2 and a sorting unit 30 (see FIG. 1), but the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 may have only one dehairing unit 20 and no sorting unit 30. For example, a sieve equivalent to the sorting unit 30 may be connected to the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 as an external device, or the sieve may be arranged separately from the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1.

[0049] Example 1 4. Rice husk fuel production method 1P A rice husk fuel production method 1P using the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0050] First, rice husk raw material is charged into the rice husk raw material charging port 11 of the rice husk fuel production device 1 (S11).

[0051] The unhairing process is carried out by the unhairing unit 20 of the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 (S12).

[0052] A sorting process (S13) is carried out by the sorting unit 30 of the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1. As mentioned above, the outlet 22 of the unhairing unit 20-2 and the inlet 31 of the sorting unit 30 are connected, so the post-unhairing process mixture that has undergone the unhairing process (S12) is subsequently subjected to the sorting process (S13).

[0053] After the sorting process, the mixture is taken out from the rice husk fuel outlet 12 (S14).

[0054] The above steps complete the rice husk fuel production method 1P using the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1. All or part of the post-sorting mixture obtained through the rice husk fuel production method 1P can be burned as rice husk fuel.

[0055] <Example 2> 5. Rice husk fuel production method 2P The rice husk fuel production method 1P according to Example 1 uses as rice husk fuel a mixture after sorting, in which the dehairing process and sorting process have each been performed once by the rice husk fuel production device 1. In order to improve the combustibility of rice husk fuel, it is preferable that the rice husk fuel contains as little hair as possible, so rice husks that have been processed once may be processed again.

[0056] In the rice husk fuel production method 2P according to Example 2 shown in Figure 6, the dehairing process and the sorting process are carried out again depending on the amount of hair remaining in the mixture after the sorting process. Below, the rice husk fuel production method 2P will be explained, focusing on the differences from the rice husk fuel production method 1P.

[0057] Steps S21 to S24 of the rice husk fuel production method 2P are the same as steps S11 to S14 (see FIG. 5) of the rice husk fuel production method 1P.

[0058] Following step S24, the amount of trichomes remaining in the rice husks contained in the removed post-sorting mixture is measured (S25). Because each rice husk has a different shape, degree of dryness, and trichome growth pattern, the amount of remaining trichomes is measured for multiple rice husks.

[0059] Specifically, first, about 25 rice husks with protrusions at the tip of the part called the glume are randomly selected from the post-sorting mixture extracted in step S24. Next, the surface of each selected rice husk is observed to determine the hair level. The hair level indicates whether or not there is enough hair remaining on the husk to reduce the combustibility of the rice husk fuel, and is classified as "hair level 1," "hair level 2," or "hair level 3."

[0060] Hair level 1 includes cases where no hairs remain on the surface of the rice husk (Figure 7 (A)) and cases where the remaining hairs are short and the density of the remaining hairs is relatively low (approximately 20% or less, Figure 7 (B)).

[0061] Hair level 2 is the level of hairiness when hairs remain on the surface of the rice husk overall, but none of the remaining hairs are long and the density of the remaining hairs is relatively low (Figure 7 (C)).

[0062] Trichome level 3 is a level where the remaining trichomes are long or the density of the remaining trichomes is relatively high (generally more than 80%, (D) in Figure 7).

[0063] Finally, for the entire rice husk whose hair level has been determined, the amount of hair is calculated using the following formula.

[0064] Amount of hairy mushrooms = (number of husks for level 1 hairy mushrooms) x 5 + (number of husks for level 2 hairy mushrooms) x 30 + (number of husks for level 3 hairy mushrooms) x 100

[0065] The above calculation formula is for the case where the total number of rice husks for which the hairiness level has been determined is 100. If the total number of rice husks for which the hairiness level has been determined is not 100, the calculation result may be multiplied by the ratio (N / 100) of the number of rice husks for which the hairiness level has actually been determined. Furthermore, the coefficients 5, 30, and 100 in the above calculation formula may be changed as appropriate.

[0066] Based on the measurement result of step S25, it is determined whether the amount of hair follicles is equal to or less than a threshold value (S26). Specifically, the amount of hair follicles measured in step S25 is compared with a predetermined threshold value (e.g., 3000), and it is determined whether the amount of hair follicles is equal to or less than the threshold value.

[0067] The method for measuring the amount of hairy mushrooms, the criteria for distinguishing between hairy mushroom levels 1 to 3, the number of divided levels, etc. are not limited to those described above. Depending on the method for measuring hairy mushroom levels, the purpose of distinguishing hairy mushroom levels, etc., the number of divided hairy mushroom levels may be 2 or 4 or more, or other aspects may be taken into account when classifying each hairy mushroom level.

[0068] If the amount of hair is equal to or less than the threshold (S26; Yes), the desired rice husk fuel has been produced, and the above process is terminated.

[0069] If the amount of hairs exceeds the threshold (S26; No), it is possible that the unhairing (S22) or sorting (S23) is insufficient, so the process returns to step S21 and repeats the above process. That is, the mixture after sorting is again fed into the rice husk raw material inlet 11 (see FIG. 1) as rice husk raw material, and the series of processes including unhairing (S22) and sorting (S23) are carried out again.

[0070] If the hair follicles have not been sufficiently removed or sorted from the rice husks, repeating the dehairing process (S22) and the sorting process (S23) will remove and sort more hair follicles from the rice husk body. Therefore, according to the rice husk fuel production method 2P, the combustibility is improved compared to rice husk fuel that has undergone the process only once (one pass).

[0071] Example 3 6. Rice husk fuel production method 3P The rice husk fuel production method 2P according to Example 2 determines the pubescence level and measures the amount of pubescence to determine whether the pubescence has been sufficiently detached and sorted (S25, see Figure 6).In contrast, the rice husk fuel production method 3P according to Example 3 measures the angle of repose, a physical property of the rice husk, instead of determining the pubescence level, thereby determining whether the amount of pubescence meets the standard in a simpler way.

[0072] Like the rice husk fuel production method 2P, the rice husk fuel production method 3P uses the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 (Figs. 1 to 4). Below, the rice husk fuel production method 3P will be explained, focusing on the differences from the rice husk fuel production method 2P, with reference to the flowcharts in Figs. 1 and 8.

[0073] First, the angle of repose of the rice husk fuel taken out from the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 is measured using a measuring device to be described later (S35).

[0074] 7.Angle of repose measuring device The angle of repose can be easily measured, for example, using a repose angle measuring device 80 shown in Figure 9. The repose angle measuring device 80 includes a transparent container 81 that contains granular material M, such as rice husk fuel, to be measured, and a goniometer 82 fixed to the transparent container 81.

[0075] The goniometer 82 is pre-calibrated so that it indicates 0° when the transparent container 81 is horizontal. The granules M are placed flat and level in the transparent container 81, and one side of the transparent container 81 is lifted and gradually tilted. The angle θ displayed on the goniometer 82 at the point when the surface layer of the granules M begins to crumble is the angle of repose.

[0076] 1 and 8, it is determined whether the angle of repose measured in step S35 is equal to or less than a threshold value (S36). If the angle of repose is equal to or less than the threshold value (S36; Yes), rice husk fuel with good combustibility has been obtained, and the process is terminated.

[0077] Generally, the more protrusions there are on an object's surface, the more likely it is to get caught on other objects, which increases the frictional force and the angle of repose. Therefore, the size of the angle of repose of rice husk fuel roughly reflects the frictional force on the rice husk surface depending on the amount of hair. This principle is used to determine the quality of rice husk fuel in advance by measuring the angle of repose (S34) and comparing it with a threshold value (S35).

[0078] If the angle of repose exceeds the threshold value (S36; No), the pubescence has not been sufficiently removed or sorted, so the process returns to step S31. That is, the processed rice husks discharged from the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 are put back into the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1, and the process from S31 onwards is carried out again.

[0079] The angle of repose may be affected by parameters other than the amount of hair, such as the type of rice husk, the dryness of the rice husk, etc. Therefore, in addition to step S36, a step of visually checking whether the rice husk has collapsed may be added to determine whether to terminate the rice husk fuel production method 3P.

[0080] In addition, it may be possible to determine whether the amount of remaining hair follicles is below a standard by determining whether the amount of selected hair follicles is above a threshold value.

[0081] According to the rice husk fuel production method 3P described above, rice husk fuel with high combustibility can be obtained by carrying out simpler steps than in the rice husk fuel production method 2P.

[0082] 8. Experiment An experiment was conducted to compare several different dehairing and sorting methods. The experimental results are summarized in the table in Figure 10. In Figure 10, the residual hair amount is marked with "O" if it fully meets the standard, "△" if it is close to the standard, and "X" if it is significantly below the standard. The threshold for the residual hair amount was set to 3000, and the threshold for the angle of repose was set to 50°.

[0083] The physical friction method (1) involves processing rice husk raw material by putting it into a home rice mill. Home rice mills confine the rice husk raw material in a small space and thresh it by rubbing the rice husk against a sieve made of metal mesh or similar. It is called a physical friction method because the rice husk comes into physical contact with the sieve, creating friction. This method differs from rice husk fuel production devices 1 and 2 in that the rice husk raw material is not moved by the wind force of a blower 40 (see Figure 1, etc.), and the sieve has a coarser mesh than rice husk fuel production devices 1 and 2, since it is only necessary to remove the bran layer.

[0084] The physical friction method applies physical friction force directly to the rice husks, so it can keep the amount of residual hairs sufficiently low. The angle of repose is the same as the standard. However, because it strongly deforms the rice husks, when observing the appearance of the mixture after the dehairing process, a relatively large amount of broken rice husks was observed.

[0085] (2) The gravity friction method involves putting rice husk raw material into a small concrete mixer and rotating the rice husk along with the mixer container.

[0086] With the gravity friction method, the frictional force acting on the rice husks is mainly due to contact between the husks, and it was found that if the processing time is short (about 15 minutes), the standard is not met. By extending the processing time, the amount of residual hair can be improved to near the standard value. Furthermore, with the gravity friction method, abrasive media can be added to the rice husk raw material before processing. By adding abrasive media, the amount of residual hair can be improved to near the standard value in a shorter time than if abrasive media were not added.

[0087] The centrifugal friction polishing method (3) corresponds to the embodiments and examples of the present disclosure. Experiments were conducted using a centrifugal force dispersion sieve instead of the rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1 and 2 of embodiments 1 and 2. The centrifugal force dispersion sieve has an impeller inside a cylindrical container, and the rice husk raw material comes into contact with the screen as the impeller rotates. Therefore, with the centrifugal force dispersion sieve, similar to the rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1 and 2, centrifugal force acts on the rice husk raw material, causing the hair removal process by friction, and selectively separating the hairs from the rice husks through the sieve. The screen of the centrifugal force dispersion sieve is for general industrial use, and therefore differs from the rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1 and 2 in that it has relatively coarse mesh and is made of resin for sieving purposes rather than polishing.

[0088] First, regarding the amount of residual hair, (1) the physical friction method, (2) the gravity friction method, and (4) the centrifugal friction polishing method can all reduce the amount of hair compared to (3) the untreated case. Next, regarding the angle of repose, (1) the physical friction method and (4) the centrifugal friction polishing method can improve the angle of repose compared to (3) the untreated case. However, in the case of (1) the physical friction method, the rice husk breaks down, causing the angle of repose to increase. In the case of (2) the gravity friction method, the rice husk is lightweight, so the dehairing efficiency is low and the processing takes a very long time. On the other hand, the surface is polished by friction, resulting in a decrease in the angle of repose. For these reasons, it is not advisable to use the angle of repose as a criterion for determining the amount of residual hair.

[0089] (4) The centrifugal friction polishing method provides improved results compared to other methods in terms of both the amount of residual hair and the angle of repose.

[0090] Example 4 9. Rice Husk Fuel Production Method 4P The rice husk fuel produced by the rice husk fuel production methods 1P to 3P may be burned as fuel and the ash from the burnt residue may be used as silica fertilizer for paddy rice, as described above, or may be carbonized as described below. The rice husk fuel production method 4P according to Example 4 is a rice husk fuel production method that includes a carbonization step in addition to the steps of the rice husk fuel production method.

[0091] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of a rice husk fuel production method 4P using the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 (see FIGS. 1 to 4).

[0092] The rice husk fuel production method 4P is roughly divided into two steps: hair processing (S10) and carbonization (S20). Hair processing (S10) is a step in which hairs are removed from the surface of rice husks, which are the raw material for rice husk fuel, and then sorted using the rice husk fuel production device 1, and corresponds to the rice husk fuel production method 1P or the rice husk fuel production method 2P.

[0093] In the carbonization step (S20), the rice husks from which the hairs have been removed and sorted in step S10 are heated and carbonized while rotating in a heating furnace maintained at a low oxygen concentration. The smoker, charcoal kiln, charcoal manufacturing device, etc. used in the carbonization step may be any known device.

[0094] By carrying out the hair treatment (S10) before the carbonization (S20), the amount of silica, which is mainly composed of silicon, is reduced, and it is possible to prevent clumping, aggregation, adhesion, clinker formation, etc., which cause a decrease in the combustibility of the charcoal fuel. In addition, by burning the sieved hair, i.e., the hair extracted in step S14 (see Figure 5), silicon can be efficiently recovered.

[0095] Therefore, the rice husk fuel production method 4P can produce rice husk fuel with high combustibility. Furthermore, the rice husk fuel produced by the rice husk fuel production method 4P, i.e., charcoal, may be used as a soil conditioner instead of as a fuel.

[0096] <Embodiment 2> 10. Rice husk fuel production equipment 2 The rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 has a hair removal section 20 and a sorting section 30 to which air is supplied from a blower 40 located outside the apparatus 1 (see Figure 1, etc.), and the rice husk raw material moves inside the hair removal section 20 and the sorting section 30 by the supplied air. However, the method of moving the rice husks inside the hair removal section 20 and the sorting section 30 or the method of supplying air is not limited to those shown in the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1. The rice husk fuel production apparatus 2 of embodiment 2 includes blowers incorporated in the hair removal section and the sorting section. Below, the differences from the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1 will be mainly explained.

[0097] The rice husk fuel production apparatus 2 shown in Figure 12 includes blowers 240 built into the hair removal sections 220 (220-1, 220-2) and the sorting section 230. Connecting pipes 214 are arranged between the hair removal sections 220-1 and 220-2, and between the hair removal section 220-2 and the sorting section 230, connecting the internal spaces while avoiding the blowers 240.

[0098] As shown in Fig. 13, the impeller 242 of the blower 240 is arranged concentrically with the container 223 of the hair removal unit 220-1. When the impeller 242 rotates, wind is generated in the same direction inside the container 223 of the hair removal unit 220-1. A blower 240 is similarly arranged in the hair removal unit 220-2 and the sorting unit 230 (see Fig. 12). The blower 240 or the impeller 242 is an example of a moving unit in the claims.

[0099] According to the rice husk fuel production device 2, an impeller 242 is arranged inside the container 223, so the rice husk raw material can be rotated inside the container 223 more efficiently than when air is blown in from the outside using a blower 40 (see Figure 1, etc.).

[0100] <Embodiment 3> 11. Rice husk fuel production equipment 3 The rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1 and 2 are equipped with a dehairing section or a sorting section that includes a container with a substantially circular cross section (see Figures 1 and 12). However, the shape of the container of the dehairing section or sorting section is not limited to those described above. The rice husk fuel production apparatus 3 of embodiment 3 combines the dehairing section 20 and the sorting section 30 into a single tube. Below, we will mainly explain the differences from the rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1 and 2.

[0101] The rice husk fuel production apparatus 3 shown in Figure 14 is equipped with a dehairing and sorting tube 50. The dehairing and sorting tube 50 is formed in a spiral shape centered on an axis along the x direction. One end of the dehairing and sorting tube 50 is a rice husk raw material inlet 311, which is an opening through which the rice husk raw material is introduced and a connection port to which the ventilation pipe 41 of the blower 40 is connected. The other end of the dehairing and sorting tube 50 is a hair impurity outlet 313. In addition, a rice husk fuel outlet 312 is provided midway at the terminal end (rear) of the dehairing and sorting tube 50, which communicates with an internal space U2 (see Figure 16) described below.

[0102] Of the unhairing and sorting tube 50, the side closer to the rice husk raw material inlet 311 is the unhairing tube 320, and the side closer to the rice husk fuel outlet 312 is the sorting tube 330. The unhairing tube 320 and the sorting tube 330 respectively function as the unhairing section 20 and the sorting section 30 (see Figure 1) of the rice husk fuel production apparatus 1.

[0103] 15 shows a D-D' cross section of the hair removal selection tube 50, particularly a cross section of the hair removal tube 320 in the +z direction of the plane passing through D-D'. As shown in FIG. 15, the cross section of the hair removal tube 320 is substantially D-shaped, and a rubber lining material 325 is arranged on a substantially flat inner wall 324 formed along the outer periphery of the spiral hair removal selection tube 50.

[0104] FIG. 16 shows the E-E' cross section of the depilating and sorting tube 50, particularly a cross section of the sorting tube 330 appearing in the +z direction in the plane passing through E-E'. As shown in FIG. 16, the cross section of the sorting tube 330 is generally D-shaped, similar to the depilating tube 320 (see FIG. 15). A screen 335 is stretched approximately 1 centimeter away from the generally flat inner wall 324 formed along the spiral outer periphery of the depilating and sorting tube 50. The screen 335 divides the interior space of the sorting tube 330 into an interior space U2 containing impurities that have passed through the screen 335 and an interior space U1 containing mainly rice husks. The screen 335 may also be vibrated by a vibrating mechanism, similar to the screen 35 (see FIG. 4). The screen 335 is an example of a sorting mechanism in the claims.

[0105] According to the rice husk fuel production device 3, the cross-sectional shape of the unhairing and sorting tube 50 through which the rice husks pass is constant (see Figures 15 and 16), which reduces the possibility of the rice husks clogging inside the device and improves processing efficiency.

[0106] The cross-sectional shape, length, arrangement, etc. of the hair removal and sorting tube 50 are not limited to those described above. For example, the cross section of the hair removal tube 320 or sorting tube 330 may be circular, oval, square, rectangular, etc. The pitch and radius of the spiral of the hair removal and sorting tube 50 may be constant or may vary.

[0107] <Variation 1> 12. Rice husk fuel production equipment 4 The rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1 and 2 are equipped with three interconnected cylindrical containers (see Figures 1 and 12), while the rice husk fuel production apparatus 3 is equipped with one tubular container (see Figure 14). In contrast, the rice husk fuel production apparatus 4 according to the modified example is a turbine type. The following will mainly explain the differences from the rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1, 2 and 3.

[0108] The rice husk fuel production apparatus 4, the cross section of which is shown in Figure 17, is provided with a turbine inside a vessel. The rice husk fuel production apparatus 4 is provided with turbine blades 63 supported by a shaft 62 inside a vessel 61. The shaft 62 is rotated by a rotating device, which is not shown in the figure.

[0109] The rice husk fuel production device 4 is equipped with three turbine blades 63, and of the internal spaces V1, V2, and V3 in which each turbine is installed, the front internal spaces V1 and V2 have a rubber lining 65 attached to their inner walls 64. Inside the back internal space V3, a screen 66 is stretched around 1 centimeter inside from the inner wall 64, dividing the space V3 into an inner space V31 and an outer space V32. The inner internal space V1 communicates with a rice husk fuel outlet 412, and the outer internal space V2 communicates with a rice husk impurities outlet 413.

[0110] The rice husk raw material fed from the rice husk raw material inlet 411 moves in the -x direction while rotating around the rotation axis of the shaft 62 due to the wind generated by the turbine blades 63 which rotate in conjunction with the rotation of the shaft 62. While passing through the internal spaces V1 and V2, the rice husk raw material is subjected to a dehairing process, and while passing through the internal space V3, the rice husk raw material is subjected to a sorting process.

[0111] The rice husk fuel production device 4 can perform the dehairing and sorting processes more efficiently by using the powerful wind generated by the turbine mechanism.

[0112] <Variation 2> 13. Rice husk fuel production equipment 5 In the rice husk fuel production devices 1 to 4 described above, the rice husk raw material is moved by the supplied wind, but the method of moving the rice husk raw material is not limited to the above. The rice husk fuel production device 5 of variant 2 rotates the container itself that holds the rice husk raw material, and performs the dehairing and sorting processes using the rice husk's own weight.

[0113] The rice husk fuel production device 5 comprises a rotating container and a screen installed inside the rotating container. The rice husk raw material placed inside the container moves inside the container as the container rotates. As the rice husk raw material moves inside the container, the rice husks come into contact with each other, creating friction between them and causing the hairs to fall off. In addition, the rice husk raw material that comes into contact with the screen is subjected to friction by the screen, making it easy for the hairs to fall off. Furthermore, as the rice husk raw material moves inside the rotating container and comes into contact with the screen, hairs that are finer than the mesh of the screen pass through the screen.

[0114] According to the rice husk fuel production apparatus 5, the desorption process and the sorting process can be carried out in parallel in one vessel.

[0115] The rice husk fuel production apparatuses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 and rice husk fuel production methods 1P, 2P, 3P, and 4P described above are intended for rice husks, but the subject matter of this disclosure is not limited to rice husks. The apparatus and method of this disclosure may also be applied to other plants that have trichomes rich in silica. [Explanation of symbols]

[0116] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... rice husk fuel manufacturing apparatus, 1P, 2P, 3P, 4P... rice husk fuel manufacturing method, 11, 311, 411... rice husk raw material inlet, 12, 312, 412... rice husk fuel outlet, 13, 313, 413... hair impurity outlet, 14, 214... connecting pipe, 20, 20-1, 20-2, 220-1, 220-2... hair removal section, 21... inlet, 22... outlet, 23, 223... container, 24, 324... inner wall, 25, 325... lining material, 26... partition wall, 26A... arc section, 26B... extension section, 27... vent, 30, 230... selection Separate part, 31...inlet, 32A, 32B...outlet, 33...container, 34...inner wall, 35, 335...screen, 36, 37...partition, 36A...arc portion, 36B...extension portion, 40, 240...blower, 41, 241...ventilation pipe, 50...hair removal sorting tube, 61...container, 62...shaft, 63...turbine blade, 64...inner wall, 65...lining material, 66...screen, 80...angle of repose measuring device, 81...transparent container, 82...angle meter, 242...impeller, 320...hair removal tube, 330...sorting tube, CFF...centrifugal force, FF...frictional force

Claims

1. Detaching the hairs from the rice husk raw material including the rice husk body on which the hairs are formed; and selecting the detached hairs from a mixture containing the detached hairs and the rice husk body from which the hairs have been detached. Rice husk fuel production method.

2. The detachment of the hair from the rice husk raw material includes moving the rice husk raw material inside a container in which a friction mechanism is arranged, The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 1.

3. Moving the rice husk material inside the container includes rotating the rice husk material around a predetermined axis. The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 2.

4. The selection of the hairy mushrooms includes: Passing through a sieve having a mesh size of 3.5 mesh or more and 100 mesh or less; The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 1.

5. After selecting the hairy mushrooms, Determining whether the amount of residual hairs, including hairs that have not been detached and hairs that have been detached and adhered to the rice husk raw material, is below a threshold value; When the amount of the residual hair exceeds a threshold value, the mixture containing the rice husk body obtained by sorting the hair is used as the rice husk raw material, and the rice husk raw material is separated. And the hair is sorted. The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 1.

6. Determining whether the amount of residual hair is equal to or less than a threshold value For each of the plurality of rice husk bodies contained in the mixture, determining whether the amount of the residual hairs meets a standard based on the image of the rice husk body; The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 5.

7. Determining whether the amount of residual hair is equal to or less than a threshold value measuring the angle of repose of the mixture; determining whether the measured angle of repose is equal to or less than a threshold value; The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 6.

8. Determining whether the amount of residual hair is equal to or less than a threshold value Determining whether the amount of the selected hair follicles is equal to or greater than a threshold value; The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 6.

9. The coefficient of friction between the friction mechanism and the rice husk raw material is greater than the coefficient of friction between the inner wall of the container and the rice husk raw material. The method for producing rice husk fuel according to claim 2.

10. A detachment mechanism for detaching the hairs from the rice husk raw material including the rice husk body on which the hairs are formed; A sorting mechanism for sorting the detached hairs from a mixture containing the detached hairs and the rice husk body from which the hairs have been detached; A rice husk fuel production device comprising:

11. A first container for containing the rice husk raw material; a second container for containing the mixture; the detachment mechanism is disposed within the first container; The sorting mechanism is disposed within the second container. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 10.

12. The sorting mechanism includes a sieve having a mesh size of 3.5 mesh or more and 100 mesh or less. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 10.

13. The first container or the second container has an inner wall that is circular when viewed in cross section from a predetermined direction. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 11.

14. a friction mechanism disposed inside the first container; The coefficient of friction between the friction mechanism and the rice husk raw material is greater than the coefficient of friction between the inner wall of the first container and the rice husk raw material. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 11.

15. The first container or the second container is formed in a spiral tube shape centered on a predetermined axis. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 11.

16. A moving unit is provided which supplies air to the inside of the first container to move the rice husk raw material inside the first container, The first container is in communication with the second container. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 11.

17. A container for storing rice husk raw materials including rice husk bodies on which hairs are formed; A detachment mechanism that moves the rice husk raw material contained in the container within the container to detach the hairs; A sorting mechanism for sorting detached hairs in the container; A rice husk fuel production device comprising:

18. The sorting mechanism includes a sieve having a mesh size of 3.5 mesh or more and 100 mesh or less. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 17.

19. The container has an inner wall that is circular when viewed in cross section from a predetermined direction. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 17.

20. a friction mechanism disposed inside the container; The coefficient of friction between the friction mechanism and the rice husk raw material is greater than the coefficient of friction between the inner wall of the container and the rice husk raw material. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 17.

21. The container is formed in a spiral tube shape centered on a predetermined axis. The rice husk fuel production apparatus according to claim 17.

Images