Dehumidification system for food waste dryer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer, which improves drying efficiency and reduces odor generation by removing moisture and oil contained in the air generated in the dryer and recirculating and reusing it. The present invention for realizing this is characterized by comprising: a dryer body (10) into which food waste to be dried is fed; a heat exchanger (20) that condenses the air evaporated and discharged from the dryer body (10) in a first condensation; a condenser (30) that condenses the air passing through the heat exchanger (20) in a second condensation using cooling water; an oil separator (40) that separates the oil contained in the air passing through the condenser (30); a blower (50) for supplying low-temperature air passing through the oil separator (40) to perform heat exchange by passing through the heat exchanger (20); and a preheater (60) equipped with a heater (61) to heat the air that has undergone heat exchange in the heat exchanger (20) and supply it to the dryer body (10) for circulation.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a food waste dryer, and more specifically, to a vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer designed to improve drying efficiency by effectively removing moisture and oil generated during the drying process of food waste. Background Technology

[0003] Generally, food waste generated in households or restaurants consists of various mixtures and contains a large amount of moisture; therefore, when temperatures are high, it not only decomposes easily but also causes serious environmental pollution by generating leachate along with severe odors and gases if buried directly underground, thereby contaminating the soil and groundwater.

[0004] If such food waste is landfilled, it not only results in resource waste but also in disposal costs and environmental pollution. Specifically, leachate from food waste causes soil and water contamination, and the foul odors, gases, and pests resulting from food decay cause various skin diseases and infectious diseases, making it a major cause of environmental pollution.

[0005] Therefore, recently, local governments have been appropriately handling food waste by combining landfilling and ocean dumping, incinerating it for cogeneration purposes, or processing a portion into animal feed and fertilizer for resource recovery; however, to prevent soil contamination, measures have been taken to prohibit ocean dumping, incineration, and landfilling due to environmental pollution issues, as well as banning animal feed processing due to the risk of disease.

[0006] Meanwhile, since food waste has a moisture content of 80% or more, removing the moisture alone can reduce the amount of food waste by 80%, so food waste dryers are being used recently.

[0007] However, conventional food waste dryers used a method in which drying was performed by the rotational movement of stirring blades inside while simply supplying hot air or a heater, which resulted in increased drying time and energy consumption, as well as the problem of generating odors during the drying process. Prior art literature

[0009] Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 2004032 (Registered July 19, 2019) Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 2256704 (Registered May 20, 2021) The problem to be solved

[0010] The present invention is proposed to improve upon the problems of the aforementioned conventional technology and aims to improve the drying efficiency of food waste and prevent the generation of odors by providing a dryer dehumidification system capable of circulating and using dry air. means of solving the problem

[0012] The dehumidification system of the present invention for achieving the above purpose is characterized by comprising: a dryer body into which food waste to be dried is fed; a heat exchanger that condenses air evaporated and discharged from the dryer body in a primary condensation; a condenser that condenses air passing through the heat exchanger in a secondary condensation using cooling water; an oil separator that separates oil contained in the air passing through the condenser; a blower for supplying low-temperature air passing through the oil separator to perform heat exchange by passing through the heat exchanger; and a preheater equipped with a heater to heat the air that has undergone heat exchange in the heat exchanger and supply it to the dryer body for circulation.

[0013] In addition, the above condenser is characterized by the generation of condensate through heat exchange between the air passing through the interior and the cold water pipe through which cold water circulation takes place. Effects of the invention

[0015] The food waste dehumidification system of the present invention improves drying efficiency and reduces odor generation by removing moisture and oil contained in the air generated in the dryer and recirculating and reusing it.

[0016] In particular, by utilizing a heat exchanger to recycle consumed heat for the condensation process, it offers the advantage of reducing the processing costs for cooling water and preheaters required for condenser operation. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a food waste dryer dehumidification system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the oil separator in the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the food waste operation sequence to which the dehumidification system of the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of an oil separator according to another embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0019] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be examined in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0020] Embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. These embodiments are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those with average knowledge in the art.

[0021] Accordingly, the shapes of components depicted in the drawings may be exaggerated to emphasize clearer explanations. It should be noted that identical components in each drawing may be illustrated with the same reference numeral. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of functions and configurations of known technology that are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention may be omitted.

[0022] First, the configuration of the vacuum dehumidification system of a food waste dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention is as follows through FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2.

[0023] The food dryer dehumidification system in the present embodiment comprises: a dryer body (10) into which food waste is fed and in which a rotating shaft (11) and a stirring blade (12) are configured inside to perform a drying operation; a heat exchanger (20) that primarily condenses the air evaporated and discharged from the dryer body (10); a condenser (30) that secondarily condenses the air passing through the heat exchanger (20) using cooling water; an oil separator (40) that separates the oil contained in the air passing through the condenser (30); a blower (50) for supplying low-temperature air passing through the oil separator (40) to perform a heat exchange operation by passing through the heat exchanger (20); and a preheater (60) equipped with a heater (61) to heat the air that has undergone heat exchange in the heat exchanger (20) to a certain temperature (approx. 180°C) and circulate it to the dryer body (10). It works.

[0024] At this time, in the heat exchanger (20), heat exchange is performed by air cooling with low-temperature air recovered by passing through the oil separator (40) and high-temperature air discharged from the dryer body (10), and in the condenser (30), condensation is performed by water cooling with cooling water supplied through the cold water pipe (31).

[0025] Additionally, the oil separator (40) is provided with an air inlet (41) on the side and an air outlet (42) on the top, and inside, a metal baffle (43) is provided at a certain angle to reduce friction and noise of the air introduced through the air inlet (41), and at the bottom, an oil discharge section (46) is configured for discharging the separated oil.

[0026] Let us examine the effects of the operation of the food dryer dehumidification system of the present invention, which is configured as described above.

[0027] In the present invention, the dryer body (10) is used to dry food waste generated in a restaurant or home by heating and stirring, and the evaporated air generated at this time is dehumidified and circulated by the system of the present invention.

[0028] That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the high-temperature (about 140~150°C) moisture air evaporated from the dryer body (10) undergoes heat exchange with the recycled air (about 40~60°C) in the heat exchanger (20), thereby generating primary condensate. Subsequently, as it passes through the condenser (30), the water cooling heat exchange with the cooling water supplied through the cold water pipe (31) causes secondary condensate to be generated and condensate discharged.

[0029] Afterwards, the air from which the condensate has been discharged passes through an oil separator (40), and the oil contained in the air is separated and discharged.

[0030] At this time, since the air inlet (41) of the oil separator (40) is positioned lower than the air outlet (42), the separation and discharge of oil occurs during the rising process for the discharge of the incoming air.

[0031] In particular, since the inner wall surface of the oil separator (40) is equipped with baffles (43) at a certain angle and elasticity, the incoming air flows upward in a swirling form, making it easier to separate, discharge, and adsorb oil, and reducing noise generation, and the fallen oil is discharged through the oil discharge section (46) at the bottom.

[0032] The air in which the oil has been separated in this way is continuously recycled into the dryer body (10) by the forced airflow of the blower (50) in a low-temperature state. During this recycling process, it passes through the heat exchanger (20) to help discharge the condensate, and then passes through the preheater (60) to be heated by the heater (61) before being supplied back to the dryer body (10).

[0033] Meanwhile, as the moisture-laden air at room temperature (140 degrees or higher) of the dryer passes through the heat exchanger (20) and the condenser (30), the temperature drops to about 40 degrees, creating a vacuum. During this process, as the room temperature of the dryer drops and condensation in the air is discharged, the air pressure drops, and all lines from the dryer to the dehumidification system are maintained in a vacuum state.

[0034] Due to this negative pressure vacuum, odors leaking from the equipment lines of the dryer and dehumidification system during the operation of the food waste dryer are captured, preventing odor generation, which improves the operating environment and resolves complaints.

[0035] Therefore, since the food waste dehumidification system of the present invention forms a closed-loop circulation system, it removes moisture and oil contained in the air generated in the dryer and recirculates and reuses it, thereby improving drying efficiency and reducing the generation of odors.

[0036] In particular, it offers the advantage of reducing the processing costs of cooling water and preheaters for condenser operation by enabling the recycling of consumed heat using a heat exchanger.

[0038] Meanwhile, FIG. 4 shows a configuration according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein a downward inclined surface (44) is formed on the lower part of the oil separator (40), and an anti-adhesion layer (44a) is coated on the downward inclined surface (44) to prevent adhesion of oil.

[0039] At this time, the anti-adhesion layer (44a) preferably has a mixed composition in the ratio of 20-40% by weight of phthalic acid resin, 10-30% by weight of sodium silicon fluoride, 10-30% by weight of bone ash, 5-20% by weight of silicate glass powder, 10-20% by weight of diisobutylene, 1-10% by weight of nitrile triacetic acid, 1-10% by weight of octahydroindole, and 1-5% by weight of nitrobenzene.

[0040] In addition, it can be seen that a filter mesh (45) for removing foreign substances from the oil discharged through the oil discharge section (46) is provided at the bottom.

[0041] With this configuration, foreign substances such as dust contained in the air are filtered by the filter mesh (45), and the surface lubricity of the downward slope (44) can be improved due to the anti-adhesion layer (44a), allowing for smoother discharge of oil to the oil discharge section (46).

[0042] In particular, since the anti-adhesion layer (44a) contains a mixture of sodium fluoride silicon and silicate glass powder components, the frictional force of the coating surface is reduced, allowing oil to flow down more smoothly. Bone ash and diisobutylene prevent cracking by improving coating durability, and diisobutylene performs the function of preventing discoloration and deterioration of the phthalic acid resin. Additionally, the added nitrilosamic acid allows the coating surface to maintain a flat surface by controlling viscosity, and octahydroindole and nitrobenzene each exhibit advanced effects that improve the adhesion and transparency of the anti-adhesion layer (44a).

[0044] Furthermore, although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated above, it is obvious that the configuration of the dryer dehumidification system of the present invention can be implemented with various modifications by those skilled in the art.

[0045] For example, in the above embodiment, a form consisting of two condensers was described and illustrated, but in the case of a large-capacity food waste dryer, the number of installed condensers may be three or more, or the drying time may be significantly shortened by installing a crushing and sorting device to remove foreign substances such as plastic before the food waste is fed into the dryer, or by installing a dehydrator to dehydrate the food waste to reduce the moisture content to a certain extent before feeding it into the dryer.

[0046] Therefore, such modified embodiments should not be understood separately from the technical spirit or scope of the present invention, and such modified embodiments should be considered to be included within the appended claims of the present invention. Explanation of the symbols

[0048] 10: Dryer body 11: Rotating shaft 12: Stirring blade 20: Heat exchanger 30 : Condenser 31 Cold water pipe 40: Oil separator 41: Air inlet 42: Air outlet 43: Elastic baffle 44: Downward slope 46: Oil discharge section 50 : Blower 60 : Preheater 61 : Heater

Claims

Claim 1 A vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer, characterized by comprising: a dryer body (10) into which food waste to be dried is fed; a heat exchanger (20) that condenses the air evaporated and discharged from the dryer body (10) in a primary condensation; a condenser (30) that condenses the air passing through the heat exchanger (20) in a secondary condensation using cooling water; an oil separator (40) that separates the oil contained in the air passing through the condenser (30); a blower (50) for supplying low-temperature air passing through the oil separator (40) to perform heat exchange by passing through the heat exchanger (20); and a preheater (60) equipped with a heater (61) to heat the air that has undergone heat exchange in the heat exchanger (20) and supply it to the dryer body (10) for circulation. Claim 2 A vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer according to claim 1, wherein in the heat exchanger (20), high-temperature air discharged from the dryer body (10) is cooled by air with low-temperature air recovered through the oil separator (40), and in the condenser (30), condensation is performed by water cooling with cooling water supplied through the cold water pipe (31). Claim 3 A vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer according to claim 1, wherein the oil separator (40) is provided with an air inlet (41) on the side and an air outlet (42) on the top, and inside, a metal baffle (43) is provided at a certain angle to reduce friction and noise of the air introduced through the air inlet (41), and at the bottom, an oil discharge section (46) is configured for discharging the separated oil. Claim 4 A vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer according to claim 3, characterized in that a downward inclined surface (44) is formed at the bottom of the oil separator (40) to allow smooth oil discharge to the oil discharge section (46), and a filter mesh (45) is provided at the bottom for removing foreign substances from the oil discharged to the oil discharge section (46). Claim 5 A vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer according to claim 4, wherein an anti-adhesion layer (44a) for preventing the adhesion of oil is coated on the downward inclined surface (44), and the anti-adhesion layer (44a) is characterized by having a mixed composition of phthalic acid resin, silicon fluoride sodium, bone ash, silicate glass powder, diisobutylene, nitrilosamic acid, octahydroindole, and nitrobenzene. Claim 6 A vacuum dehumidification system for a food waste dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the vacuum state of the internal flow path is maintained due to a temperature drop caused by dehumidification during the process in which air evaporated and discharged from the dryer body (10) passes through the heat exchanger (20) and the condenser (30).

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