Methods and programs to support the introduction of an upcycling system for food manufacturing waste

Abstract

We will calculate and present changes in the costs of processing food production waste due to the introduction of an upcycling system, and support the introduction of the system. [Solution] A method of supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production loss involves a computer executing a data acquisition process that acquires ingredient analysis data and emission data of the food production loss, a processing cost calculation process that calculates the processing cost of the food production loss in existing processing equipment, a resource recycling cost calculation process that uses the ingredient analysis data and the emission data to calculate the resource recycling cost when the upcycling system is introduced to recycle the food production loss, taking into account the cost of introducing storage equipment including a tank for storing the food production loss and the collection amount of the food production loss to be recycle, and a comparison process that compares the processing cost with the resource recycling cost and outputs the comparison result.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and program for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production waste. [Background technology]

[0002] Food manufacturing losses occur during the food manufacturing process. Examples of food manufacturing losses include liquid foods (soy milk, vegetable juice, yogurt, etc.) that are discarded along with their containers due to poor filling or unclear labels, whiskey distillery wastewater, red bean broth, rice washing water, and CIP (Clean in Place) wastewater generated when changing product types (e.g. changing soy milk from coffee flavor to banana flavor).

[0003] Fig. 3 is a flow diagram showing an example of a treatment facility for food production loss. Food production loss is introduced into a reaction tank 2 via a raw water tank 1, a pH adjuster is added from a pH adjuster adding device 3, the pH is adjusted so that the detected pH by a pH meter 5 is 4.2 or less, an inorganic flocculant is added from an inorganic flocculant adding device 4, and the mixture is stirred by an agitator. The stirred liquid is transferred to a coagulation tank 6, a polymer flocculant is added from a polymer flocculant adding device 7, and the mixture is stirred by an agitator to generate coagulated flocs. The coagulated liquid containing the coagulated flocs is introduced into a pressurized flotation tank 8, and separated into a floating sludge consisting of the floated coagulated flocs and separated water.

[0004] The floated sludge passes through a sludge storage tank 9, where an inorganic flocculant and a polymer flocculant are added from respective addition devices 10, 11, and the sludge is dewatered in a belt press dewatering machine 12 to become dewatered sludge.

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

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

[0007] Patent Document 1 describes a method for producing and recovering methane by subjecting waste containing organic solids, such as food manufacturing waste, to methane fermentation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-289946 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Food manufacturing waste such as soy milk and whiskey distillery wastewater, red bean broth, and rice washing water has high BOD and CODCr concentrations, and when treated as shown in Figure 3, the electricity and chemical costs for treatment are high. In addition, it produces a foul odor and generates a large amount of sludge.

[0010] Therefore, there is a possibility of upcycling food manufacturing waste by selling it to external contractors who process it into resources such as methanation or as a raw material for animal feed, thereby earning a sales profit.

[0011] By outsourcing food production waste to an external company, it is possible to reduce the processing costs at processing facilities such as those shown in Figure 3. However, it is necessary to invest in new equipment such as tanks, pumps, and modifier addition devices to store the food production waste.

[0012] In the past, it was difficult to decide whether to introduce an upcycling system because it was unclear how much cost savings could be achieved by recycling food production waste or how much capital investment would be required.

[0013] The present invention aims to provide an introduction support method and program that can calculate and present changes in the processing costs of food production waste due to the introduction of an upcycling system, and support the introduction of the system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] The method for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production loss of the present invention involves a computer executing a data acquisition process for acquiring ingredient analysis data and emission data of the food production loss, a processing cost calculation process for calculating the processing costs of the food production loss in existing processing equipment, a resource recycling cost calculation process for calculating the resource recycling costs when the upcycling system is introduced to recycle the food production loss, taking into account the costs of introducing storage equipment including a tank for storing the food production loss and the collection amount of the food production loss to be recycle, using the ingredient analysis data and the emission data, and a comparison process for comparing the processing cost with the resource recycling cost and outputting the comparison result.

[0015] The program for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production loss of the present invention is a program for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production loss, which causes a computer to execute the following steps: acquiring ingredient analysis data and emission data of the food production loss; calculating the processing costs of the food production loss in existing processing equipment; using the ingredient analysis data and the emission data to calculate the resource recycling costs when the upcycling system is introduced to recycle the food production loss, taking into account the costs of installing storage equipment including a tank for storing the food production loss and the collection amount of the food production loss to be recycle; and comparing the processing costs with the resource recycling costs and outputting the comparison results. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to calculate and present changes in the cost of processing food production waste resulting from the introduction of an upcycling system, thereby supporting the introduction of the system. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an introduction support device for a food production waste upcycling system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a food production loss storage facility. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a food production waste treatment facility. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a comparison result output by the introduction support device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a storage facility that stores food manufacturing losses until they are sold to external contractors who recycle them. Here, recycle refers to the use of food manufacturing losses to produce livestock feed, produce fertilizer for agricultural crops, etc.

[0020] Food production waste from a food manufacturing factory is introduced into a tank 21 via a pipe 20. A modifying agent adding device 22 for adding a food production waste modifying agent is installed in the pipe 20. Formic acid is used as the modifying agent.

[0021] Tank 21 is provided with a liquid quality sensor 23 for detecting the liquid quality of food production waste, and a liquid volume sensor 24 for detecting the liquid volume within tank 21. As liquid quality sensor 23, one or more sensors for measuring pH, ORP (oxidation-reduction potential), odor intensity, etc. can be used.

[0022] The food production waste in tank 21 can be transported via piping 25 and pump 26 to a means of transportation such as a tank truck.

[0023] The detection data from the sensors 23, 24 is transmitted to a management center via a transceiver 27 and a communication line such as the Internet. The management center calculates the amount of modifier to be added according to the liquid quality and liquid amount in the tank.

[0024] The control center transmits the calculated amount of modifier to be added and the feed value to the transceiver 27. In addition, when the amount of liquid in the tank 21 reaches or exceeds a specified amount, the control center transmits a signal to command a tank truck or the like to be dispatched to the dispatch center.

[0025] In response to the signal from the transceiver 27, the modifier adding device 22 operates to add the modifier.

[0026] An existing management center is used as the management center. An example of such an existing management center and its system is S.Sensing (registered trademark).

[0027] When an upcycling system equipped with the above-mentioned storage facility is introduced into a food manufacturing factory where food production waste is treated with a treatment facility as shown in Figure 3, the wastewater treatment costs at the treatment facility can be reduced, but new investments will be required for pipes 20, 25, tank 21, modifier addition device 22, sensors 23, 24, pump 26, transceiver 27, etc.

[0028] Figure 1 is a diagram of an introduction support device (an introduction support device for a food production waste upcycling system) that calculates and displays the cost changes resulting from the introduction of this new upcycling system in a food production factory and supports the introduction of the system.

[0029] The introduction support device 30 is a computer equipped with a CPU (processor, not shown), a memory unit M (memory), etc., and the functions of an analysis data acquisition unit 31, a wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32, an industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost calculation unit 33, a resource recycling cost calculation unit 34, and a comparison unit 35 are realized by the CPU executing the introduction support program.

[0030] The memory unit M is an HDD, SSD, or the like, and stores feed data including component information necessary for feed, fertilizer data including component information necessary for fertilizer, and the introduction support program described above. The memory unit M also stores formula data such as a formula for calculating the cost of processing food production loss using the processing equipment in FIG. 3, a formula for calculating the cost of outsourcing food production loss to industrial waste processing, and a formula for calculating the cost of recycling food production loss. The data in the memory unit M may be stored on the cloud.

[0031] The analysis data acquisition unit 31 (data acquisition unit) acquires analysis data obtained by analyzing food production losses in a factory at an external analysis center or the like. The analysis data includes data on the quality (BOD, TOC, electrical conductivity, etc.) of wastewater derived from food production losses, and data on the components (crude protein, crude fat, moisture, crude fiber, crude ash, etc.) of food production losses whose pH has been adjusted by adding a modifier such as formic acid. The analysis data acquisition unit 31 also acquires data on the amount of food production losses discharged from the factory. The analysis data acquisition unit 31 may acquire data inputted by an input means such as a keyboard, or may acquire data from an external device using a communication unit (not shown).

[0032] The wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32 (treatment cost calculation unit) calculates the cost of treating food production waste with the treatment facility in Figure 3 using a calculation formula stored in the memory unit M and the analysis data and discharge data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31. The costs to be calculated include transportation costs for transporting sludge, industrial waste treatment costs for treating the sludge at the industrial waste treatment facility, electricity costs for operating each device, various chemical costs, etc. The costs calculated here are the current costs before the upcycling system is introduced.

[0033] The industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost calculation unit 33 calculates the cost of outsourcing the entire amount of food production losses to an industrial waste treatment facility using a formula stored in the memory unit M and the emission amount data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31. The costs to be calculated include the transportation cost for transporting the food production losses to the industrial waste treatment facility, the industrial waste treatment cost for treating the food production losses at the industrial waste treatment facility, etc.

[0034] The resource recycling cost calculation unit 34 calculates the cost of introducing an upcycle system to recycle food production losses, using a formula stored in the memory unit M and the analysis data and emission data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31. The calculated costs include the cost of introducing the storage equipment in Fig. 2, the transportation cost for transporting the food production losses to the facility that recycles the food production losses, and the cost of collecting the food production losses.

[0035] The resource recycling cost calculation unit 34 may use the analysis data acquired by the analysis data acquisition unit 31 and the feed data and fertilizer data stored in the memory unit M to determine whether the food production loss is suitable as a raw material for feed or as fertilizer data, and calculate the return amount of the food production loss based on the determination result. If the food production loss is suitable as a raw material for both feed and fertilizer, it is preferable to use the one with the higher return amount.

[0036] The comparison unit 35 compares the calculation results of the wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32, the industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost calculation unit 33, and the resource recycling cost calculation unit 34, and outputs the comparison result. That is, the comparison unit 35 outputs a comparison result between the current processing cost of processing food production losses using the processing equipment in Fig. 3, the cost when all of the food production losses are outsourced to industrial waste treatment (industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost), and the cost when an upcycle system is introduced to recycle food production losses (resource recycling cost). The comparison result may include not only the cost (amount) but also the impact and effect on the environment, such as odor intensity, amount of chemicals used, amount of electricity used, etc.

[0037] The comparison unit 35 may output the comparison result using the output unit 40. The output unit 40 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or a printer. If the output unit 40 is a liquid crystal display, the comparison result is displayed on the screen. If the output unit 40 is a printer, the comparison result is printed out. An example of the comparison result is shown in FIG. 4.

[0038] In the comparison results in Figure 4, the "resource recycling support costs" corresponds to the cost of introducing storage facilities, and the "chargeable amount" corresponds to the amount of food production waste collected.

[0039] Factory personnel will decide whether or not to introduce an upcycling system based on the comparison results shown in Figure 4. For example, the comparison results in Figure 4 show that introducing an upcycling system can reduce costs compared to the current situation, while also reducing odors, chemical usage, and electricity usage, and contribute to the local community through local production and consumption.

[0040] In this way, according to this embodiment, the change in the cost of processing food production waste due to the introduction of an upcycling system can be calculated and displayed, thereby supporting the introduction of the system.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the feed data stored in the memory unit M may be feed data for each livestock (pig, chicken). The fertilizer data may be fertilizer data for each crop. This allows the resource utilization cost calculation unit 34 to determine which livestock the food production loss is suitable for as a feed ingredient, and which crop the food production loss is suitable for as a fertilizer ingredient.

[0042] The memory unit M may store information about the demand for feed and fertilizer, which allows the resource recycling cost calculation unit 34 to calculate the purchase price when food production losses are used as raw materials for feed or fertilizer, which are in high demand.

[0043] At least a part of the introduction support device 30 described in the above embodiment may be configured with hardware or software. When configured with software, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the introduction support device 30 may be stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and read and executed by a computer. The recording medium is not limited to a removable one such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk, but may be a fixed recording medium such as a hard disk device or a memory.

[0044] Also, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the introduction support device 30 may be distributed via a communication line (including wireless communication) such as the Internet. Furthermore, the program may be encrypted, modulated, or compressed and distributed via a wired line or wireless line such as the Internet, or stored in a recording medium.

[0045] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the components can be modified and embodied in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 21 Tank 22 Modifier Addition Device 23 Liquid quality sensor 24 Liquid level sensor 26 Pump 30 Introduction support equipment

Claims

1. A method for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production waste, comprising: The computer A data acquisition process for acquiring component analysis data and emission data of the food production loss; A processing cost calculation process for calculating the processing cost of the food production loss in an existing processing facility; a resource recycling cost calculation process that uses the component analysis data and the emission data to calculate a resource recycling cost when the upcycle system is introduced to recycle the food production loss, taking into consideration the cost of introducing storage facilities including a tank for storing the food production loss and the amount of the food production loss to be recycled; a comparison process for comparing the processing cost with the resource utilization cost and outputting a comparison result; This is a method to support the introduction of an upcycling system for food production waste.

2. The computer further executes an industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost calculation process for calculating an industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost in the case where the treatment of the food production loss is outsourced to an industrial waste treatment facility, The introduction support method according to claim 1 , wherein the comparison process is a process of outputting a comparison result between the processing cost, the resource recycling cost, and the industrial waste processing outsourcing cost.

3. The introduction support method according to claim 1, wherein the comparison results include a comparison of odor intensity, amount of chemicals used, and amount of electricity used when food production waste is treated using the treatment facility and when the upcycling system is introduced.

4. A program to support the introduction of an upcycling system for food production waste, A step of acquiring component analysis data and emission data of the food production loss; Calculating the cost of processing the food production loss in an existing processing facility; A step of calculating a recycling cost when the food production loss is recycled by introducing the upcycle system, taking into consideration the cost of introducing storage facilities including a tank for storing the food production loss and the amount of the food production loss to be recycled, using the component analysis data and the emission data; comparing the processing cost with the resource utilization cost and outputting a comparison result; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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