Subcritical water treatment apparatus for organic treatment substances

Abstract

To provide a subcritical water treatment device of an organic treated product which is free from treatment unevenness and is capable of performing uniform treatment.SOLUTION: A disclosed device is assembled with a closed vessel 12 for accommodation of an organic treated product, stir means 30 for stirring a raw material, and high-temperature high-pressure steam ejection means 14 for conducting a subcritical water treatment. The closed vessel is a sphere formed from a rotor shape with a transverse direction rotation axis as a rotation center and having a diameter of both side end parts being made smaller than a diameter of a center part thereof. The stir means includes a rotation shaft 28 extending in a transverse direction and supported on both side end parts of a lateral-long drum body and a plurality of stir blades 48. The rotation shaft is formed from a hollow tube assembled with an internal space comprising a part of the steam ejection means. The steam ejection means is assembled with steam supply means for supplying steam into the internal space from one end or both ends of the hollow tube, and the hollow tube is provided with many ejection holes 44 for ejection of steam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a subcritical water treatment apparatus for treating organic-based processed materials (including medical processed materials, household processed materials, industrial processed materials, etc.) using high-temperature and high-pressure steam (subcritical water treatment).

Background Art

[0002] As a method for treating organic-based processed materials, for example, a method of treating a processed material in a sealed container with high-temperature and high-pressure steam in the steam is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the conventional method of treating a processed material with steam, it is said that there is almost no generation of harmful nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, etc. as in the case of incineration treatment, there is no problem of environmental pollution, and safe processing of the processed material can be expected.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when treating a processed material with steam as in Patent Document 1, the steam may not evenly hit the processed material accommodated in the container, and there may be unevenness in the treatment.

[0005] The present invention provides a subcritical water treatment apparatus for organic-based processed materials that can treat the processed material evenly without treatment unevenness.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The above problems are achieved by the subcritical water treatment apparatus and subcritical water treatment method for organic-based processed materials according to the present invention having the following configurations (1) to (20). (1) A sealed container having a closed space for accommodating an organic-based processed material therein, and Stirring means for stirring the raw materials in the sealed container, Steam ejection means for ejecting high-temperature and high-pressure steam for performing subcritical water treatment of the object to be treated into the sealed container, Comprising, The sealed container is a sphere formed in a rotating body shape with a lateral rotation axis whose diameters at both ends are smaller than the diameter at the central part as the rotation center. The stirring means extends horizontally coaxially with the lateral rotation axis inside the rotating body-shaped sealed container and has, at both ends, a rotating shaft pivotally supported by both ends of the sealed container and a plurality of stirring blades provided on this rotating shaft. The rotating shaft is formed of a hollow pipe having an internal space that forms part of the steam ejection means. The steam ejection means includes steam supply means for supplying steam into the internal space from one end or both ends of the hollow pipe. A large number of ejection holes for ejecting the steam supplied to the hollow pipe into the sealed container are formed in the hollow pipe. The total opening area of the ejection holes of the steam supply means is set according to the size of the diameter of the sealed container. The total opening area of the ejection holes provided in the rotating shaft is set to be larger as the diameter of the sphere increases. A subcritical water treatment apparatus characterized by the above. (2) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (1) above, in which the total opening area of the ejection holes per unit area is increased by increasing the diameter of each of the ejection holes. (3) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (1) above, in which the total opening area of the ejection holes per unit area is increased by increasing the number of the ejection holes per unit area. (4) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (3) above, in which the total opening area of the ejection holes per unit area is increased by reducing the arrangement pitch of the ejection holes. (5) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (1) above, which increases the total opening area of the ejection holes per unit area by increasing the number of the ejection holes per unit area and increasing the diameter of the ejection holes. (6) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein the sealed container is mounted on a gantry and includes an input section for the object to be treated and a discharge section for discharging the treated object after treatment, and the discharge section is provided on the lower surface side of the central portion of the horizontally long drum body of the sealed container. (7) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (6) above, wherein the discharge section includes a discharge port provided in the sealed container, a discharge cylinder connected to the discharge port and forming a discharge path, and an opening / closing mechanism provided in the middle of the discharge cylinder. (8) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (7) above, further comprising separation and recovery means for separating and recovering the treated object and the liquid, wherein the separation and recovery means has a closed space different from the closed space of the sealed container, a liquid recovery section communicating with the inside of the sealed container through a discharge port, and a natural flow-down recovery mechanism for recovering only the liquid in the sealed container to the recovery section by natural flow-down through the discharge port. (9) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (8) above, wherein the natural flow-down recovery mechanism includes a pressure equalization forming means for equalizing the pressure between the closed space of the sealed container and the closed space of the recovery section before the liquid recovery operation. (10) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (9) above, wherein the pressure equalization forming means has a pressure equalization communication pipe for communicating the closed space of the sealed container and the closed space of the recovery section through a path different from the liquid recovery path through the discharge port. (11) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (10) above, wherein the communication between the pressure equalization communication pipe having a different path and the sealed container is performed through a communication connection section set on the sealed container side. (12) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to any one of (8) to (11) above, wherein the natural flow-down recovery mechanism includes a liquid recovery flow path connecting the discharge port of the sealed container and the recovery section, and the liquid recovery flow path is provided horizontally or in a downwardly inclined manner from the side communicating with the discharge port toward the recovery section side. (13) The subcritical water treatment device according to claim 12, wherein a discharge tube forming a discharge path is provided at the discharge outlet, an opening / closing mechanism is provided midway along the discharge path, and a liquid inlet of a liquid recovery flow path is connected to the discharge path upstream of the opening / closing mechanism. (14) The subcritical water treatment device according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the liquid recovery passage is provided with an opening / closing mechanism that selectively switches a communication state between the passage and the other passage so as to block the passage during treatment of the material in the sealed container and to open the passage when only the liquid is recovered after treatment. (15) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to any one of (8) to (14), wherein a bottom surface of the closed space of the recovery section is located lower than a position of a discharge port of the sealed container. (16) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to any one of (8) to (15), wherein the recovery section is provided so that the liquid level of the liquid recovered in the closed space is always lower than the discharge outlet. (17) The subcritical water treatment device according to any one of (1) to (16), wherein the sealed container for treatment is provided with an input section for a material to be treated and an input / discharge section that also serves as a discharge section for discharging the material after treatment, and is configured to be rotatable 180 degrees around the horizontal rotation axis so that, when the material to be treated is being input and during treatment, the sealed container can take a material input / treatment position where the input / discharge section is located above, and a material discharge position where the input / discharge section is located above to discharge the treated material. (18) The subcritical water treatment apparatus according to (17), wherein the feeding section is provided with a crushing means for crushing the material to be treated before feeding the material into the sealed treatment vessel. (19) The subcritical water treatment device according to (7) above, wherein the opening and closing mechanism constitutes a part of a separation and recovery means for separating and recovering a treated material and a liquid. (20) A method for subcritical water treatment of an organic treatment material using any one of the subcritical water treatment apparatuses (1) to (19) according to the above, wherein when treating the organic treatment material while stirring, high-temperature and high-pressure steam for performing subcritical water treatment of the treatment material is supplied to the treatment material in a quantitatively uniform manner, and the treatment material is uniformly treated. A method for subcritical water treatment of an organic treatment material, characterized by this.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the subcritical water treatment apparatus for organic treatment materials of the present invention, since the steam from the steam ejection means adjusts the ejection of steam according to the distribution of the amount of the treatment material in the sealed container, the treatment of the treatment material can be performed evenly and sufficiently.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, the subcritical water treatment apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in Fig. 1, the subcritical water treatment apparatus 10 includes a sealed container 12 having a closed space S1 inside for accommodating an organic material to be treated as a raw material, a stirring means 30 for stirring the raw material in the sealed container, and a steam ejection means 14 for ejecting high-temperature and high-pressure steam for subcritical water treatment of the material to be treated. The sealed container 12 is formed in a form having a rotating body shape with a lateral rotation axis whose diameters at both ends are larger than the diameter at the central part as the rotation center. Specifically, it is preferably formed in the shape of a horizontally long drum body (rotating ellipsoid) or a sphere whose diameter gradually increases from both ends to the central part and is formed in a barrel shape. In short, any shape may be used as long as its lower surface is gradually inclined obliquely downward toward the center in the left-right direction, but the horizontally long drum body is most preferable. For this reason, in the following description, the sealed container will be described as a horizontally long drum body.

[0010] The stirring means 30 has a rotating shaft 28 that extends horizontally inside the horizontally long drum body and is pivotally supported at both ends by both end portions of the horizontally long drum body, and a plurality of stirring blades 48 provided on the rotating shaft. The length from the rotating shaft 28 of the stirring blade 48 to the tip of the blade is formed to be long at the central position in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 28 and gradually shorter toward both ends in correspondence with the barrel shape of the horizontally long drum body of the sealed container 12.

[0011] The rotating shaft 28 is formed of a hollow tube having an internal space that forms a part of the steam ejection means 14, and in that sense, it also acts as a steam ejection tube. Hereinafter, this steam ejection tube may also be denoted by the reference numeral 28.

[0012] The steam ejection means 14 includes a steam supply means for supplying steam into the internal space from one end or both ends of the steam ejection pipe 28. This steam supply means includes a steam generator 46 such as a boiler and a steam delivery pipe 47 for supplying steam from the steam generator 46 into the steam ejection pipe 28. A number of ejection holes 44 for ejecting the steam supplied to the steam ejection pipe into the sealed container are formed in the steam ejection pipe 28. As will be described later, as the diameter of the horizontally long drum body of the sealed container increases, the total opening area of the ejection holes per unit area is increased.

[0013] The sealed container 12 includes a discharge port 16 provided on the bottom side thereof and having an opening / closing mechanism 26, and a separation and recovery means 18 for separating and recovering the processed material and the liquid processed only by a direct discharge operation from the discharge port 16. Since the lower surface of the sealed container is inclined downward toward the discharge port, the solid content and the liquid of the processed material are discharged from the discharge port 16 provided on the lower surface side by using gravity.

[0014] Further, the separation and recovery means 18 may have another closed space S2 different from the closed space S1 of the sealed container 12, a liquid recovery section 50 communicating with the inside of the sealed container 12 through the discharge port 16, and a natural flow-down recovery mechanism 52 for recovering only the liquid in the sealed container 12 to the recovery section 50 by natural flow-down through the discharge port 16. The solid processed material processed near the discharge port 16 remains in the sealed container 12 as it is, and only the liquid flows down naturally to the recovery section 50 by using gravity, so that the processed material and the liquid can be separated and recovered. The configuration of the recovery section 50 may be any as long as it has a closed space S2 for recovering liquid, such as a metal tank, a three-dimensional polygonal box body, a tubular body, etc. A plurality of storage sections may be formed.

[0015] In this embodiment, the sealed container 12 is supported by support legs 13 so as to be disposed at a certain height from the ground. As described above, the sealed container 12 is formed in a horizontally inverted barrel shape in which its diameter gradually decreases from the central portion in the left-right direction toward the end walls 12a on both the left and right ends. The sealed container 12 is formed, for example, by processing a metal plate so as to have heat and pressure resistance, and is sized to accommodate the object to be processed in an amount of 0.5 to several meters 3 ³. The sealed container 12 is provided with an input section 20 above the central portion and a discharge section 22 on the bottom side of the central portion, and is provided to be opened and closed by opening and closing mechanisms 24 and 26, respectively.

[0016] The sealed container 12 is provided with a safety valve 32, for example, whose set pressure can be adjusted, which releases internal vapor when the internal pressure becomes higher than the set value. Further, a sound and odor elimination device 34 is provided in the middle of the exhaust pipe connected to the safety valve 32, and the vapor exhausted through the safety valve 32 is sound and odor eliminated and discharged to the outside air side.

[0017] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the discharge port 16 is opened on the bottom surface side of the left-right central portion of the sealed container 12, and is provided with the discharge direction of the object to be processed downward. In this embodiment, the diameter of the discharge port 16 is, for example, such that the volume of the closed space S1 is 2 m 3In this case, it is provided at about 300 mm. In the present embodiment, a discharge cylinder 36 protruding downward is connected to the discharge port 16 to form a discharge path R1 for the processed material, and an opening / closing mechanism 26 for opening and closing the discharge port 16 is provided in the middle of the discharge path R1. That is, in the present embodiment, the discharge unit 22 has a configuration including the discharge port 16, the discharge cylinder 36, and the opening / closing mechanism 26. The distance from the discharge port of the sealed container to the ball valve can be set in view of the size of the sealed container and the state (liquid state, solid state) of the discharged material after processing. This setting is preferably shortened as much as possible. When shortened, it is possible to prevent the processed material from accumulating in the space up to the valve of the discharge passage and remaining unprocessed during processing. Therefore, from the above viewpoints, it is desirable that the installation position of the opening / closing mechanism 26 in the discharge path R1 is as close as possible to the discharge port 16 of the sealed container 12. In the present embodiment, the opening / closing mechanism 26 is, for example, an on-off valve such as a ball valve that opens and closes the discharge path R1 by rotating a ball-shaped valve body provided with a through hole communicating with the discharge path R1 at the center around a rotation axis provided in a direction orthogonal to the discharge path. Due to the above shape of the sealed container 12, the processed material inside tends to gather toward the central portion where the discharge port 16 is provided by gravity, and the processed material can be easily discharged from the discharge port 16 simply by opening the opening / closing mechanism 26.

[0018] In the present embodiment, the charging unit 20 has a charging port 42 opened on the upper side of the sealed container 12. A charging cylinder 43 protruding upward is attached to the charging port 42, and an opening / closing mechanism 24 such as a ball valve is provided to open and close the inside of the charging cylinder 43. Through the opening / closing mechanism 24, the charging port can be opened to charge the processed material into the sealed container, and it is closed during processing to maintain the closed state of the closed space S1 inside the sealed container 12.

[0019] In this embodiment, the steam ejection means 14 ejects high-temperature and high-pressure steam into the sealed container 12, makes the inside of the sealed container 12 in a high-temperature and high-pressure state, and treats the object to be treated by the direct and indirect action of the steam. That is, at this time, the steam is set to a high temperature and high pressure capable of subjecting the object to be treated (mainly solid components) to subcritical water treatment. For example, the steam ejected from the steam ejection pipe 28 is set to a temperature of 180 to 250 °C and a pressure of about 15 to 35 atm. And the inside of the sealed container 12 is set to a temperature of 180 to 250 °C and a pressure of about 15 to 35 atm. The steam ejection pipe 28 (that is, the rotating shaft 28) is arranged horizontally and long at a substantially central position in the vertical direction of the sealed container 12, and is rotatably supported via bearings 45 provided on both end walls 12a of the sealed container. That is, the steam ejection pipe 28 rotates around the horizontal axis and ejects steam radially while directly applying the steam to the object to be treated. Incidentally, the steam ejection pipe 28 is configured to obtain a rotational driving force from a rotational driving device 51 such as a motor via a chain or the like and rotate.

[0020] The stirring means 30 is for stirring the material to be processed within the sealed container, so as to process the material evenly and quickly. As described above, it includes a rotating shaft 28 and stirring blades 48 attached to the rotating shaft 28 and having portions extending in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft. The stirring blades 48 are formed by a right-handed spiral blade 48a and a left-handed spiral blade 48b which are provided in opposite winding directions at a substantially central position in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 49. The stirring blades 48 are provided such that the length from the rotating shaft to the blade tip gradually decreases from the left and right central portions toward both end sides. Thereby, corresponding to the horizontally laid barrel shape of the sealed container 12, the material to be processed can be surely stirred. Further, it is provided so as to form a certain gap H between the blade tip and the inner wall of the sealed container 12. The spiral blades 48a, 48b stir the material to be processed while conveying the material to be processed from the central portion toward both end wall sides and crushing the solid material to be processed. In this embodiment, by the stirring means, the material to be processed is finally provided to be crushed to about 0.3 to 0.8 mm, for example. The material to be processed conveyed to both end wall 12a sides by the stirring blades 48 is pushed by the material to be processed conveyed later on the end wall 12a side, and is conveyed along the inner wall of the sealed container 12 and then back to the center through the gap H. Note that the stirring means 30 is not limited to that of this embodiment, and may be, for example, a configuration in which a plurality of plate-like or wing-like stirring blade bodies or rod bodies attached to the rotating shaft are used for stirring, a configuration in which a pressure fluid such as steam is used for stirring, or any other arbitrary configuration. Also, the size of the material to be processed after crushing may be set arbitrarily.

[0021] In this embodiment, as described above, while stirring under high temperature and high pressure in the sealed container, the material to be processed is processed for a required time, for example, about 30 to 60 minutes. In the above-described processing, for example, decomposition of PCB contained in the material to be processed can also be expected. For example, when processing a material to be processed mixed with transformer oil, it has been confirmed that the PCB concentration decreased from 80 ppm before processing to about 0.005 ppm after processing. Inside the sealed container 12, a part of the steam is liquefied, or liquid accumulates due to moisture or the like contained in the material to be processed, and a state is formed in which the processed and carbonized material to be processed and the liquid are mixed.

[0022] The liquid recovery unit 50 is communicatively connected to the discharge port 16 of the sealed container 12 via a liquid recovery flow path 54. An opening / closing mechanism 60 is provided in this liquid recovery flow path 54. This opening / closing mechanism 60 is switched so as to block the flow path during the processing of the object to be processed in the sealed container and to communicate the flow path when only the liquid is separated and recovered after the processing. As a result, moisture and vapor contained in the object to be processed simultaneously with the object to be processed and liquefied, and the liquid in a state containing bacteria, malodorous components, etc. in the object to be processed can be processed with high-temperature and high-pressure steam. Then, the liquid separated and recovered after the processing can be recovered in a state where it has been sterilized and the malodorous and harmful components have been decomposed, etc., eliminating the need for secondary treatment of the separated and recovered liquid, saving labor, and shortening the time.

[0023] The liquid recovery flow path 54 is communicatively connected at a position where the liquid inlet 58 is upstream of the discharge side from the opening / closing mechanism 26. Therefore, with the opening / closing mechanism 26 of the discharge port 16 closed, by opening the opening / closing mechanism 60 of the liquid recovery flow path 54 to put the flow path in a communicating state, the liquid is separated and recovered from the discharge port. In the present embodiment, the liquid recovery flow path 54 is connected in a direction orthogonal to the discharge cylinder 36, and the liquid recovery path R2 of the liquid is provided in a direction orthogonal to the discharge path R1 of the processed material. That is, in the closed state of the opening / closing mechanism 26, the liquid flows in a direction intersecting the direction in which the deposition pressure of the processed material in the sealed container is applied. Thereby, with a simple structure, it becomes a structure in which the processed material hardly enters the liquid inlet 58, and only the liquid can flow down naturally into the liquid recovery path 54, and the liquid can be separated and recovered well. If the tendency of the liquid in the sealed container 12 to flow toward the liquid inlet 56 is too strong, there is a possibility that the processed material may flow together due to the force of the liquid flow. Therefore, preferably, the connection configuration of the liquid recovery path, the liquid inlet, etc. is set so as to have a gentle flow that does not carry the processed processed material. In the present embodiment, the liquid recovery path 54 is provided horizontally from the liquid inlet 58 and is set so that the flow velocity of the natural downward flow to the liquid inlet is relatively low. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the liquid recovery flow path 54 is provided horizontally as a whole from the communication side (liquid inlet side) with the discharge port 16 toward the recovery part side. Thereby, the flow of the liquid in the liquid recovery flow path is performed smoothly, and the liquid flows down naturally from the discharge port to the recovery part. A filter or the like may be provided at the liquid inlet 58 as necessary.

[0024] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the gravity flow mechanism 52 includes a pressure equalization means 62 that equalizes the pressure between the closed space S1 of the sealed container 12 and the closed space S2 of the recovery unit 50 before the liquid recovery operation. Since the inside of the sealed container 12 after the treatment is at a high pressure, in the liquid recovery flow path, a pumping force due to the pressure difference acts toward the closed space S2 of the recovery unit, which is at a lower pressure than inside the sealed container. When such a pumping force acts, both the liquid and the treated material flow into the liquid recovery flow path 54, making it difficult to separate and recover the liquid and the treated material, and there is a high risk that the treated material will clog the liquid recovery flow path. As in the present embodiment, by using the pressure equalization means 62 to equalize the pressure of the two closed spaces S1 and S2 of the sealed container 12 and the recovery unit 50 before the liquid recovery operation, it is possible to prevent the treated material generated by the pressure difference between the atmospheric pressures of the two closed spaces S1 and S2 from being pumped, and by utilizing the gravity flow action of the liquid, it can be satisfactorily recovered into the recovery unit while being separated from the treated material. In addition, since the separation and recovery operation can be performed even in the high-pressure state inside the sealed container after the treatment, the working time can be shortened.

[0025] In this embodiment, the equal-pressure forming means 62 includes an equal-pressure communication pipe 64 that connects the closed space S1 of the sealed container 12 and the closed space S2 of the recovery unit 50 through a path R3 different from the liquid recovery path R2 (the liquid recovery channel 54 in this embodiment) via the discharge port 16. The equal-pressure communication pipe 64 is made of, for example, a metal pipe, has a simple structure, and can efficiently equalize the pressures in the two closed spaces S1 and S2. In FIG. 1, one end of the equal-pressure communication pipe 64 is communicatively connected to the upper end side of the left and right central portions of the sealed container 12, and the other end is communicatively connected to the upper end side of the recovery unit 50. In this embodiment, the communication between the equal-pressure communication pipe 64 forming the other path R3 and the sealed container 12 is performed through a communication connection portion 68 set on the upper end side of the sealed container 12. In this embodiment, the connection port of the communication connection portion 68 with the sealed container is set downward. Thereby, it is difficult for the processed material deposited in the sealed container 12 to enter the equal-pressure communication pipe 64, preventing the pipe from being clogged, maintaining the communication state of the equal-pressure communication pipe, and enabling the sealed container 12 and the recovery unit 50 to be surely at the same pressure. In this embodiment, the equal-pressure communication pipe 64 is always in a communication state. When the opening and closing mechanism 60 of the liquid recovery channel 54 is closed, the pressure states in the sealed container 12, the recovery unit 50, and the liquid recovery channel 54 become the same. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the pressure feeding of the processed material due to the pressure difference on the liquid inlet 58 side of the discharge port 16 even immediately after the opening and closing mechanism 60 of the liquid recovery channel 54 is opened. Further, even when the liquid is recovered by opening the opening and closing mechanism 60, the same-pressure state is always maintained between the inside of the sealed container 12 and the inside of the recovery unit 50. Therefore, the same-pressure state is maintained from before the recovery to after the recovery is completed, and only the liquid can flow down naturally from the discharge port 16 and be separated and recovered satisfactorily. Note that the equal-pressure forming means 62 is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment and may have any configuration. For example, the equal-pressure forming means 62 may be provided with another high-pressure forming device that increases the pressure inside the recovery unit, and while monitoring the pressure inside the sealed container with a sensor, adjust the pressure inside the recovery unit to be the same as the pressure inside the sealed container. Also, the pressure inside the sealed container may be reduced.

[0026] In the present invention, the total opening area per unit area of the steam ejection holes 44 provided in a large number in the steam ejection pipe 28 is set to increase as the diameter of the horizontally long drum body increases. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, although the opening diameters of the respective steam ejection holes 44 are the same, the arrangement pitch of the steam ejection holes 44 is set to be narrower from both sides of the steam ejection pipe toward the center. As shown in FIG. 3, the opening diameter of the steam ejection holes 44 is made larger from both sides of the steam ejection pipe toward the center. As shown in FIG. 4, Although the opening diameters of the respective steam ejection holes 44 are the same, examples include those in which the number of arrangements per unit area of the steam ejection holes 44 is increased from both sides of the steam ejection pipe toward the center. In short, the amount of steam ejected should increase toward the central portion where the diameter of the sealed container is large. That is, an amount of steam corresponding to the distribution of the amount of the object to be processed in the sealed container may be ejected and supplied.

[0027] Next, the operation and actuation of the processing apparatus for the organic-based object to be processed according to the present embodiment will be briefly described. First, with the opening / closing mechanism 26 of the discharge port 16 and the opening / closing mechanism 60 of the liquid recovery flow path 54 closed, the opening / closing mechanism 24 of the charging port of the sealed container 12 is opened, and for example, 2 m 3Charge the processed material of a certain degree. With the opening / closing mechanism 24 of the charging port closed and the sealed container 12 closed, from the steam ejection pipe 28 of the steam ejection means 14 into the sealed container, for example, steam at a high temperature and high pressure set to about 250°C and 25 atm is ejected in a larger amount toward the center of the sealed container 12. Due to the ejected steam, the inside of the sealed container 12 becomes a high temperature and high pressure state of about 250°C and 25 atm, for example, uniformly. At the same time, the closed space S2 of the recovery section 50 becomes the same pressure state as inside the sealed container via the same-pressure communication pipe 64, and becomes a high temperature and high pressure state of about 250°C and 25 atm, for example. Under the conditions of high temperature and high pressure inside the sealed container, the processed material is processed while being stirred and crushed by the rotating stirring blades 48. Pathogens, etc. contained in (or attached to) the processed material are sufficiently sterilized and processed while decomposing malodorous components, etc. Also, during the processing, since the flow path is blocked by the opening / closing mechanism 60 of the liquid recovery flow path, the moisture contained in the processed material is also processed with high temperature and high pressure steam at the same time as the processed material. When such processing is performed for a required time, for example, about 40 minutes, the processed material is processed into a granular charcoal state crushed to about 0.3 to 0.8 mm, for example.

[0028] After treating the object to be treated as described above, since the treated object and the liquid are mixed in the sealed container 12, only the liquid is first separated and recovered through the separation and recovery means. When the opening and closing mechanism 60 of the liquid recovery flow path 54 is opened, the liquid naturally flows down from the discharge port into the liquid recovery flow path and is recovered by the recovery section. That is, in the liquid recovery method of the present embodiment, the sealed container for treating the object to be treated as described above is used as the first closed container, and is connected in communication through the discharge port of the sealed container, and at the same time, through a same-pressure communication pipe different from the discharge port, the recovery section 50 having the same pressure as the sealed container 12 is used as the second closed container. With the sealed container and the recovery section at the same pressure, by allowing the liquid to flow down naturally through the discharge port, only the liquid is separated and recovered by the recovery section. Since the pressure inside the sealed container 12 and the pressure inside the recovery section 50 are the same, the liquid and the treated object are not pumped together, and only the liquid flows from the liquid introduction port 50 into the liquid recovery flow path 54 due to the natural flow down of the liquid accumulated in the sealed container 12 by gravity. Further, in the present embodiment, since the sealed container and the recovery section are always in the same-pressure state through the same-pressure communication pipe, the separation and recovery of the liquid can be performed immediately after treating the object to be treated, and the working time can be shortened. For example, after leaving it for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow the liquid to flow down naturally for separation and recovery, the opening and closing mechanism 26 of the discharge port 16 of the sealed container 12 is opened to discharge the treated object to be treated. The treated object to be treated is, for example, in a state where it is almost separated from the liquid with a water content of about 30%, and can be recovered in a state that is easy to handle during transportation, management, etc. Thereby, with only one device, the treatment of the object to be treated and the separation and recovery of the object to be treated and the liquid can be achieved. Further, it is not necessary to take out the object to be treated, which is difficult to handle in a state mixed with the liquid, to the outside, and it can be directly separated and recovered from the sealed container by a simple operation continuously with the treatment. In addition, the configuration of the separation and recovery is also simple and can be manufactured at low cost. Each opening and closing mechanism may be configured to be opened and closed manually, or may be configured to be opened and closed by a mechanical operation using electricity or the like.

[0029] According to the above subcritical water treatment apparatus for organic-based objects to be treated, since the steam from the steam ejection means adjusts the ejection of the steam according to the distribution of the amount of the object to be treated in the sealed container, the treatment of the object to be treated can be performed evenly and sufficiently.

[0030] Among the wastes to be treated by the present subcritical water treatment apparatus, some are large in size, such as cattle bones generated in slaughterhouses, and cannot fit into the inlet 20. To cope with such a case, a crusher 80 as shown in Fig. 5 may be provided at the inlet so that the waste can be reduced in size to a predetermined size before being fed. As the crusher 80, a rotary crusher as shown in Fig. 5 is preferable. Furthermore, the provision of this pulverizer reduces the size of the waste, which has the effect of accelerating the subcritical water reaction and shortening the treatment time.

[0031] Next, a subcritical water treatment device according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. In this description, the same members and parts as those in the subcritical water treatment device of the embodiment described with reference to Figure 1 etc. will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted. In the subcritical water treatment apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, the sealed treatment container 12 is provided with an input section for organic waste, which is the material to be treated, and an input / discharge section 100 which also serves as a discharge section for discharging the material (liquid, solid) after treatment, and is configured to be rotatable 180 degrees around the horizontal rotation axis (coaxial with the rotation axis 28) so that, when the material to be treated is being input and during treatment, it can take a material input / treatment position where the input / discharge section is located above, and a material discharge position where the input / discharge section is located above for discharging the treated material.

[0032] For this reason, in this embodiment, the sealed container 12 has substantially cylindrical support hubs 12a, 12b fixed to both ends thereof and extending outward from the ends, and the support hubs 13a, 13b are rotatably supported by bearing devices 112a, 112b provided on the support bases 110a, 110b, respectively. With this structure, the sealed container 12 is rotatably disposed at a predetermined height above the ground surface.

[0033] The support base 110a is provided with a rotation drive device 120 for rotating the sealed container 12 by 180 degrees. The rotation drive device 120 includes a motor 122 and a gear train mechanism 124 for transmitting the rotational driving force of the motor to the support hub 12a of the sealed container 12.

[0034] With the above-described configuration, in this embodiment, after the processing of the raw waste material in the sealed container 12 is completed, the rotation drive device 120 is driven to rotate the sealed container 180 degrees and position it at the processed material discharge position shown in FIG. 7. In this position, as can be seen from the figure, the loading / unloading section 100 also rotates 180 degrees in conjunction with the rotation of the sealed container, and is positioned directly below the sealed container 12, thereby functioning as a discharge section. As a result, the inlet / outlet section 100 functions both as an inlet section and an outlet section, and as a result, the opening for the raw material and the discharged material of the sealed container can be used in combination, so that only one valve needs to be installed. In addition, if the rotary drive device 120 is operated to rotate the sealed container 12 while the raw waste material is being processed in the sealed container 12, the waste material inside will be turned over, resulting in better mixing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10. Organic waste treatment equipment 12. Airtight containers 13a, 13b Support hub 14 Steam ejection means 16 Outlet 18 Separation and Recovery Methods 26 Opening and closing mechanism 30 Stirring means 50 Collection Department 52 Gravity recovery mechanism 54 Liquid recovery flow path 58 Liquid inlet 60 Opening and closing mechanism 62 Isobaric forming means 64 Isopressure communication pipe 80 Crusher 100 Input and discharge section Supports 110a and 110b Bearing devices 112a and 112b Rotary drive device 120 Motor 122 Gear train device 124

Claims

1. a sealed container having a closed space therein for accommodating an organic material to be treated; A stirring means for stirring the raw material in the sealed container; a steam ejection means for ejecting high-temperature and high-pressure steam into the sealed container for performing subcritical water treatment on the material to be treated; Equipped with The sealed container is a sphere formed in a rotating body shape with a horizontal rotation axis as a center, the diameter of each of the both ends being smaller than the diameter of the central portion, and the stirring means extends laterally within the sealed container in the rotating body shape coaxially with the horizontal rotation axis, and has a rotating shaft supported at both ends of the sealed container and a plurality of stirring blades provided on the rotating shaft, The rotating shaft is formed of a hollow tube having an internal space that forms a part of the steam ejection means, the steam ejection means includes steam supply means for supplying steam into the internal space from one end or both ends of the hollow tube; the hollow tube is formed with a number of ejection holes for ejecting the steam supplied to the hollow tube into the sealed container, The total opening area per unit area of ​​the ejection holes provided in the rotating shaft is set to increase as the diameter of the sealed container increases from the diameter at each side end toward the diameter at the center along the rotating shaft. A subcritical water treatment apparatus comprising:

2. 2. A method for subcritical water treatment of an organic material using the subcritical water treatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the organic material is treated with stirring, a uniform amount of high-temperature, high-pressure steam for performing subcritical water treatment on the material is supplied to the material, thereby uniformly treating the material.

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