Organic matter treatment equipment

Abstract

Provided is an organic matter treatment device capable of decomposing organic matter using subcritical water while suppressing the occurrence of heat loss. [Solution] The organic matter treatment device 10 is an apparatus that decomposes organic matter using subcritical water, and is equipped with a pressure vessel 30 that includes an agitation unit 20 for agitating the subcritical water and organic matter, a drive unit 60 for driving the agitation unit 20, and an induction heating unit 40 for heating the agitation unit 20 by electromagnetic induction. The pressure vessel 30 is configured to heat the water via the agitation unit 20 to bring it to a subcritical state, while the drive unit 60 rotates and drives the rotation axis AX to agitate the subcritical water and organic matter.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an organic matter treatment device, and more particularly to an organic matter treatment device that decomposes organic matter using water in a subcritical state. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, discarded organic matter, such as food, wood, and electrical wire covering materials, has been disposed of by landfill or incineration, but in recent years, recycling has been recommended from the viewpoint of recycling. Furthermore, some of the above organic matter is a hazardous substance and therefore needs to be detoxified before disposal.

[0003] Among the devices for treating such organic matter, there are organic matter treatment devices that have the function of decomposing organic matter by mixing the organic matter with subcritical water (hereinafter referred to as "subcritical water") in a pressure vessel.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an organic matter treatment device in which an electromagnetic induction coil is provided to surround the outer periphery of a cylindrical case located at the bottom of a pressure vessel containing water and organic matter, and the electromagnetic induction coil is heated using a resonant circuit including the coil, thereby bringing the water in the vessel into a subcritical state and performing a decomposition process on the organic matter. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-119314 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the organic matter treatment device described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that, because it is configured to heat an electromagnetic induction coil placed outside a pressure vessel containing subcritical water and organic matter, the amount of heat transferred from the coil and the surface of the pressure vessel to the outside air tends to be large, resulting in large heat loss.

[0007] The present invention provides an organic matter treatment apparatus capable of decomposing organic matter using subcritical water while suppressing the occurrence of heat loss. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The organic matter treatment device of the present invention is a treatment device that decomposes organic matter using subcritical water, and is equipped with a pressure vessel that includes an agitation unit for agitating the subcritical water and organic matter, a drive unit for driving the agitation unit, and an induction heating unit for heating the agitation unit by electromagnetic induction.The pressure vessel is configured to heat the water via the agitation unit to bring it to a subcritical state, while the drive unit drives the agitation unit to agitate the subcritical water and organic matter.

[0009] In the organic matter treatment device of the present invention, the stirring unit may include a blade unit for stirring and a rotating shaft to which the blade unit is attached, and the drive unit may include a rotor attached to the rotating shaft and an electromagnetic unit that generates a rotating magnetic field to rotate the rotating shaft via the rotor.

[0010] In the organic matter treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the induction heating unit may include a high-frequency power source.

[0011] In the organic matter treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the induction heating unit may include a power transmission coil provided on the inner wall of the pressure vessel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the organic matter treatment device of the present invention, the agitation unit that agitates subcritical water and organic matter can be heated by electromagnetic induction. Therefore, water can be heated via the agitation unit located inside the pressure vessel. As a result, organic matter can be decomposed using subcritical water while suppressing heat loss compared to when a heat source is located outside the pressure vessel. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of an organic matter treatment apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the configuration of a first modified example of the agitation section in the organic matter treatment device of this embodiment, where Figure 2(a) shows the configuration of the agitation section for the first modified example as viewed from the front, Figure 2(b) shows the configuration of the agitation section for the first modified example as viewed from the side, and Figure 2(c) shows the configuration around the paddle blades when cut along line AA included in Figure 2(a). [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a second modified example of the agitation section in the organic matter treatment device of this embodiment, where Figure 3(a) shows the configuration of the agitation section for the second modified example from a side view, and Figure 3(b) shows the cross-sectional configuration when cut along line BB shown in Figure 3(a). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] An organic matter treatment apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the organic matter treatment apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the organic matter treatment apparatus 10 includes a pressure vessel 30 incorporating an agitation unit 20 that agitates organic matter, such as food, wood, or electrical wire coating material, with subcritical water (hereinafter referred to as "subcritical water"). A drive unit 60 rotates and drives the agitation unit 20, and an induction heating unit 40 heats the agitation unit 20. The pressure vessel 30 has an inlet (not shown) for introducing organic matter and a supply port (not shown) for supplying water. The pressure vessel 30 is configured to heat the water to bring it to a subcritical state, and to agitate and mix the organic matter and subcritical water to hydrolyze the organic matter, which is then discharged to the outside through an outlet (not shown).

[0015] The subcritical region is a region where the temperature is slightly lower than the critical point of water (22 MPa, 374°C), that is, the temperature is between 100°C and 374°C, and the pressure is between 0.1 MPa and 22.1 MPa. Water in the subcritical region is called subcritical water, as mentioned above. This subcritical water is less corrosive than supercritical water, but has the property of efficiently dissolving organic matter.

[0016] The pressure vessel 30 described above has a generally cylindrical or barrel-shaped outer shape and is provided with an agitation unit 20 that agitates and mixes organic matter and subcritical water. The agitation unit 20 includes a rotating shaft AX and agitation blade groups 22A, 22B, 22C, etc. (hereinafter, referred to as "agitation blade groups 22" wherever appropriate, unless a distinction is required) attached to the rotating shaft AX at predetermined intervals. The rotating shaft AX is provided in the center of the pressure vessel 30 along the longitudinal direction and is rotatably supported at both ends of the pressure vessel 30. Here, since all agitation blade groups 22 have the same configuration, the following explanation will be given using agitation blade group 22A as an example where appropriate.

[0017] The mixing blade group 22A is composed of paddle blades (blade portions) 24A, 24B arranged so that the angle they form with each other in the circumferential direction of the rotation axis AX is, for example, 180°. The paddle blades 24A, 24B are preferably made of conductive metal members such as iron. In addition, although the paddle blades 24A, 24B are used in this embodiment, other blade-shaped members such as propeller blades or turbine blades may be used instead of the paddle blades, or other cylindrical members may be used as mixing blades.

[0018] In addition, in this embodiment, the paddle blades 24A and 24B are arranged so that the angle they form with each other in the circumferential direction of the rotation axis AX is 180°, but the paddle blades may also be arranged so that the angle they form with each other is 120° or 90°, for example.

[0019] When the stirring blade group 22 is made of a conductive metal as in this embodiment, the stirring blade group 22 is heated by electromagnetic induction, so it is not necessary to provide a power receiving coil in the stirring unit 20, but efficient heating can be achieved by further providing a power receiving coil in the stirring unit 20. Furthermore, when the power receiving coil is provided in the stirring unit 20, it is preferable to provide the power receiving coil so that the direction of the magnetic field generated by the power receiving coil is as nearly parallel as possible to the direction of the magnetic field generated by the power transmitting coil 42, which will be described later. This allows current to be generated efficiently in the power receiving coil by electromagnetic induction.

[0020] The induction heating section 40 includes a power transmission coil 42 wound around the inner wall of the pressure vessel 30 in the circumferential direction so as to surround the stirring section 20, and a heating control unit 50 that heats the stirring section 20 via the power transmission coil 42.

[0021] The power transmission side coil 42 is covered with an insulating material and is attached to the inner wall (in other words, the inside wall surface) of the pressure vessel 30 while being electrically insulated from the water and organic matter inside the pressure vessel 30. When power is supplied from a high-frequency power supply 54 (described later), the power transmission side coil 42 generates a magnetic field that is approximately parallel to the rotation axis AX. This makes it possible to heat the mixing blade group 22 by electromagnetic induction. Furthermore, when the mixing blade group 22 is heated by electromagnetic induction, the power transmission side coil 42 also generates heat. This makes it possible to heat water from the rotation axis AX side, which is the center side inside the pressure vessel 30, and from the inner wall side.

[0022] Furthermore, by disposing the power transmission coil 42 on the inner wall of the pressure vessel 30, there is also the advantage that heat loss can be reduced compared to when the power transmission coil 42 is provided outside the pressure vessel 30.

[0023] The heating control unit 50 has the role of heating the stirring blade group 22 by electromagnetic induction via the power transmission side coil 42 described above, and includes a high-frequency power supply 54 that supplies high-frequency AC power to the power transmission side coil 42. The heating control unit 50 also has a storage device such as a ROM or RAM in which a control program is stored, and functions as a monitoring unit 52 that monitors the pressure and temperature inside the pressure vessel 30 by having a CPU read out the program from the storage device and perform arithmetic processing, and as a phase control unit 56 that detects signals flowing through the transmission line and performs phase control of the high-frequency power supply based on the detection results.

[0024] The monitoring unit 52 has the role of monitoring the pressure and temperature inside the pressure vessel 30 via a pressure sensor 58A and a temperature sensor 58B attached to the pressure vessel 30.

[0025] The phase control unit 56 includes a directional coupler and detects the forward and reflected waves flowing on the transmission line via the directional coupler. The phase control unit 56 has the function of calculating the amplitude ratio between the detected forward and reflected waves and also calculating the phase difference between the forward and reflected waves.

[0026] Here, a more detailed description will be given of the heating control method in the heating control unit 50. In a first step, the heating control unit 50 applies (supplies) to the power transmitting coil 42 via the high frequency power supply 54, for example, approximately 1 / 10 of the maximum (rated) output.

[0027] Then, as a second step, the heating control unit 50 performs phase control via the phase control unit 56 described above so that the reflected wave is eliminated, in other words, so that the phase difference between the forward wave and the reflected wave becomes zero.

[0028] Then, in the third step, the heating control unit 50 adjusts the output of the high-frequency power supply 54 via the monitoring unit 52 so that the temperature and pressure inside the pressure vessel 30 reach predetermined target temperature and pressure values. This makes it possible to heat the stirring blade group 22 by electromagnetic induction and maintain the water in a subcritical state.

[0029] Here, the target temperature value may be set in the range of 100° C. or more and less than 374° C., and the target pressure value may be set in the range of 0.1 MPa or more and less than 22 MPa.

[0030] In addition, when a high frequency AC power source is used as in this embodiment, there is also the advantage that the heating temperature can be adjusted with high precision.

[0031] The drive unit 60 includes a rotor 62 attached to one end of the rotation axis AX, a drive coil group 64 disposed adjacent to and facing the rotor 62, and a drive control unit 66 that rotates the rotor 62 via the drive coil group 64. The rotor 62 is, for example, a plate-like member that is approximately disk-shaped when viewed from the front. The drive coil group 64 is composed of a plurality of drive coils (electromagnetic units) 65A, 65B, ... (hereinafter, referred to as "drive coils 65" as appropriate unless there is a need to distinguish between them) disposed on the inner wall of the pressure vessel at equal angular intervals, for example, on the same circumference around the rotation axis. When an AC voltage is supplied via the drive control unit 66, a rotating magnetic field that rotates the rotor 62 is generated.

[0032] With the above configuration, the rotation axis AX is rotationally driven as the rotor 62 rotates via the rotating magnetic field. As a result, the subcritical water and the organic matter can be stirred and mixed via the stirring unit 20 described above.

[0033] Furthermore, the drive coil 65 is installed in an insulated state so as not to come into contact with the water inside the pressure vessel 30. This has the advantage that, for example, it is not necessary to have the rotation axis AX penetrate the side wall of the pressure vessel 30 and rotate it using a drive mechanism located outside the pressure vessel, making it easier to maintain the inside of the pressure vessel 30 in a sealed state.

[0034] According to the organic matter treatment device 10 of this embodiment, the agitation unit 20 built into the pressure vessel 30 can be heated by electromagnetic induction, so that water can be heated using the agitation unit 20 that functions as a heat source installed inside the pressure vessel 30. As a result, it is possible to decompose organic matter using subcritical water while suppressing heat loss.

[0035] Next, a first and a second modified example of the organic matter treatment device 10 according to the above embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. In the following description, the same components as those in the above embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals as appropriate, and a description thereof will be omitted, with the focus being mainly on the different components.

[0036] Figure 2 shows the configuration of the agitator 70, which is a first modified example of the agitator blade group 22 in the organic matter treatment device 10 of the above embodiment, where Figure 2(a) shows the configuration of the agitator 70 when viewed from the front, Figure 2(b) shows the configuration of the agitator 70 when viewed from the side, and Figure 2(c) shows the configuration around the paddle blade 72B when cut along line AA included in Figure 2(a).

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c), the agitator 70 includes four paddle blades (blade portions) 72A, 72B, 72C, and 72D (hereinafter, referred to as "paddle blades 72" when no distinction is necessary) arranged in a generally cross shape and having substantially identical configurations, and a generally cylindrical ring 74 connected and fixed to the rotation axis AX via the paddle blades 72. The paddle blades 72 are attached at positions rotated 90 degrees around the rotation axis. As shown in FIG. 2(c), the paddle blades 72 are inclined such that the angle α they form with respect to the axial direction of the rotation axis AX is approximately 30 degrees. As shown in FIG. 2(b), a power-receiving coil 76 is wound around the outer periphery of the ring 74, and is configured to be heated by electromagnetic induction via the power-transmitting coil 42 described above.

[0038] As described above, the organic matter treatment apparatus 10 may be provided with the agitator 70 according to the first modification in place of the agitator blade group 22. The agitator 70 may also be provided at multiple locations along the axial direction of the rotation axis AX, similar to the agitator blade group 22 in the above embodiment. In these cases, the same effects as those of the organic matter treatment apparatus 10 provided with the agitator blade group 22 according to the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0039] 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the configuration of an agitator 80, which is a second modified example of the agitator blade group 22 in the organic matter treatment apparatus 10 of the above embodiment, with Fig. 3(a) showing the configuration of the agitator 80 as viewed from the side, and Fig. 3(b) showing the cross-sectional configuration when cut along line BB shown in Fig. 3(a). Note that in Fig. 3(b), the power-receiving side coil 89, which will be described later, is omitted to avoid complication. Fig. 3A shows the configuration of the agitator 80 as viewed from the front, and Fig. 3B shows the configuration of the agitator 80 as viewed from the side.

[0040] 3(a) and 3(b), the agitator 80 has a generally annular cage shape when viewed from the front around the rotation axis AX. The agitator 80 includes annular plates 82 and 84 arranged on both ends in the axial direction, and eight cylindrical portions 86A, 86B, 86C, ... (hereinafter referred to as "cylindrical portions 86" when no distinction is required) arranged between the annular plates 82 and 84.

[0041] Because annular plates 82 and 84 have the same configuration, the following description will mainly focus on annular plate 82, and will omit a description of annular plate 84 where appropriate. Annular plate 82 is fixedly connected to rotation axis AX via paddle blades (blade portions) 88A, 88B, 88C, and 88D arranged in a generally cross shape. Power receiving side coils 89A, 89B, 89C, and so on (hereinafter referred to as "power receiving side coils 89" when no distinction is required) are wound around the aforementioned cylindrical portion 86, and are configured to be heated by electromagnetic induction via the aforementioned power transmitting side coil 42.

[0042] As described above, the organic matter treatment device 10 may be provided with the agitator 80 according to the second modified example instead of the agitator blade group 22. The agitator 80 may also be provided at multiple locations along the axial direction of the rotation axis AX, similar to the agitator blade group 22 in the above embodiment. In these cases, the same effects as those of the organic matter treatment device 10 provided with the agitator blade group 22 according to the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0043] The present invention can be implemented in various modes that incorporate various improvements, modifications, or variations based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the present invention can be implemented in a form in which any of the features of the invention are substituted with other technologies within the scope of producing the same functions or effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 10 Organic matter treatment equipment 20 Stirring section 22, 22A, 22B, 22C Mixing blade group 24A, 24B, 72, 72A-72D, 88A-88D Paddle wing (wing section) 30 Pressure Vessels 40 Induction heating section 42 Transmission coil 50 Heating Control Unit 52 Monitoring Department 54 High frequency power supply 56 Phase control section 58A Pressure Sensor 58B Temperature Sensor 60 Drive unit 62 Rotor 64 Drive coils 65, 65A, 65B Drive coil (electromagnetic unit) 66 Drive control unit 70,80 Stirring body 76, 89, 89A~89D Receiving coil AX Rotation Axis α angle

Claims

1. A treatment device for decomposing organic matter using subcritical water, a pressure vessel including a stirring unit for stirring subcritical water and organic matter, a drive unit for driving the stirring unit, and an induction heating unit for heating the stirring unit by electromagnetic induction, wherein the pressure vessel is configured to heat water via the stirring unit to bring the water into a subcritical state, and to stir the subcritical water and organic matter by driving the stirring unit with the drive unit; Organic matter treatment equipment.

2. The stirring unit includes a blade unit for stirring and a rotating shaft to which the blade unit is attached, The driving unit includes a rotor attached to the rotating shaft, and an electromagnetic unit that generates a rotating magnetic field for rotating the rotating shaft via the rotor. Including, The organic matter treatment device according to claim 1 .

3. The induction heating unit includes a high-frequency power source. The organic matter treatment device according to claim 1 .

4. The induction heating unit includes a power transmission coil provided on the inner wall of the pressure vessel. The organic matter treatment device according to claim 1 .

Images