Volume reduction device for food manufacturing waste, introduction assistance method for system for upcycling food manufacturing waste, and program

Abstract

Provided is a volume reduction device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing waste. The volume reduction device for food manufacturing waste comprises: a tank 21 that stores food manufacturing waste; and a membrane treatment device that has a membrane for filtering the food manufacturing waste. Membrane-concentrated water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank 21. The membrane treatment device includes an ultrafiltration membrane separation device 24. The membrane treatment device may further include a reverse osmosis membrane separation device 27 for treating treated water acquired by the ultrafiltration membrane separation device 24. The food production waste is whisky distillery wastewater, adzuki bean broth, water in which rice has been washed, liquid food (e.g., soy milk), or the like.

Description

Food manufacturing waste volume reduction device, food manufacturing waste upcycling system introduction support method and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a food production waste volume reduction device, a method and program for supporting the introduction of a food production waste upcycling system.

[0002] Food production losses occur during food manufacturing processes, such as liquid foods (soy milk, vegetable juice, yogurt, etc.) that are discarded along with their containers due to improper filling or unclear labels, whiskey distillation wastewater, red bean broth, rice-washing water, and clean-in-place (CIP) wastewater generated when changing product types (e.g., changing soy milk from coffee flavor to banana flavor).

[0003] Figure 4 is a flow diagram showing an example of a food production waste treatment facility. Food production waste is introduced into a reaction tank 2 via a raw water tank 1, where a pH adjuster is added from a pH adjuster adding device 3 to adjust the pH to near neutral (pH meter 5), and an inorganic flocculant is added from an inorganic flocculant adding device 4, followed by stirring with an agitator. The stirred liquid is transferred to a coagulation tank 6, where a polymer flocculant is added from a polymer flocculant adding device 7 and stirred with the agitator to produce flocs. The flocculated liquid containing the flocs is introduced into a pressurized flotation tank 8, where it is separated into a floated sludge consisting of the floated flocs and separated water.

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

[0005] The separated water from the pressure flotation tank 8 is introduced into the 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 subjected to aerobic biological treatment 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.

[0008] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-289946

[0009] Food manufacturing waste such as soy milk and whiskey distillation waste, red bean broth, and rice washing water is a waste product of BOD and COD. Ｃｒ When the concentration is high and processing is performed as shown in Figure 4, the electricity and chemical costs for processing are high. In addition, a foul odor is generated and a large amount of sludge is generated. Processing of food manufacturing waste is sometimes outsourced to industrial waste processing companies, but because food manufacturing waste contains a lot of liquid and is large in volume, huge transportation and processing costs are incurred.

[0010] Therefore, one option is to sell food manufacturing waste to external contractors who process it as a resource for methanation or animal feed, thereby upcycling it and earning a profit from the sale.

[0011] By outsourcing the recycling of food manufacturing waste to an external party, it is possible to reduce the processing costs at processing facilities such as those shown in Figure 4, but it will require new capital investment in tanks, pumps, and modifier addition equipment to store the food manufacturing 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 manufacturing waste and how much capital investment would be required. In addition, there was a need to reduce the cost of transporting food manufacturing waste to external contractors.

[0013] The present invention aims to provide a volume reduction device that reduces the volume of food production waste. Another objective of the present invention is to provide an introduction support method and program that can calculate and present changes in food production waste processing costs and other costs resulting from the introduction of an upcycling system that includes a food production waste volume reduction device, thereby supporting the introduction of the system.

[0014] The food production waste volume reduction device of the present invention comprises a tank for storing food production waste and a membrane treatment device having a membrane for filtering the food production waste, and the membrane-concentrated water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank.

[0015] The method for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production waste of the present invention involves a computer executing a data acquisition process for acquiring component analysis data and emission data of the food production waste, a processing cost calculation process for calculating the current processing cost of the food production waste, a resource recycling cost calculation process for using the component analysis data and the emission data to calculate the resource recycling cost of introducing the upcycling system to recycle the food production waste, taking into account the cost of introducing a volume reduction device that has a tank for storing the food production waste and a membrane processing device including a membrane for filtering the food production waste, and in which membrane-concentrated water from the membrane processing device is circulated to the tank, and the take-back price of the food production waste that is recycle after volume reduction, and a comparison process for comparing the processing cost with the resource recycling cost and outputting the comparison result.

[0016] The program for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production waste of the present invention is a program for supporting the introduction of an upcycling system for food production waste, which causes a computer to execute the following steps: acquiring component analysis data and emission data of the food production waste; calculating the current processing cost of the food production waste; using the component analysis data and the emission data to calculate the resource recycling cost of introducing the upcycling system to recycle the food production waste, taking into account the cost of introducing a volume reduction device that has a tank for storing the food production waste and a membrane processing device including a membrane for filtering the food production waste, in which membrane-concentrated water from the membrane processing device is circulated to the tank, and the purchase price of the food production waste that is recycles after volume reduction; and comparing the processing cost with the resource recycling cost and outputting the comparison result.

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the volume of food production waste and cut the cost of transporting it to external contractors. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to calculate and present the change in the cost of processing food production waste resulting from the introduction of an upcycling system including a volume reduction device, thereby supporting the introduction of the system.

[0018] It is a block diagram of a food production waste volume reduction device relating to an embodiment. It is a block diagram of a food production waste upcycling system introduction support device relating to an embodiment. It is a diagram showing an example of a comparison result output by the introduction support device. It is a flow diagram of a food production waste treatment facility.

[0019] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] In this embodiment, when food manufacturing waste is sold to an outsourcer who recycles it, the volume of the food manufacturing waste is reduced, the transportation costs to the outsourcer are reduced, and the efficiency of recycle is improved. Here, recycle refers to the use of food manufacturing waste in the production of livestock feed, the production of agricultural fertilizer, the production of raw materials for cosmetics, and the production of methane gas through fermentation. Examples of food manufacturing waste include whiskey distillery waste, red bean broth, rice washing water, and liquid foods (such as soy milk and whey).

[0021] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a volume reduction device for reducing the volume of food production waste. Food production waste from a food production factory is introduced into a tank 21 via a pipe 20. A modifying agent adding device 22 is installed in the pipe 20 to add a food production waste modifying agent. For example, formic acid is used as the modifying agent.

[0022] The food production waste in tank 21 is supplied by pump 23 to an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane separation device 24. The permeate (treated water) from UF membrane separation device 24 is introduced into tank 25, and the concentrated water is returned to tank 21. Note that the UF membrane separation device 24 can also use a nanofiltration (NF) membrane instead of a UF membrane.

[0023] The UF permeate in tank 25 is supplied by pump 26 to a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane separation device 27. The permeate from RO membrane separation device 27 is introduced into tank 28, and the concentrated water is returned to tank 21. The RO permeate in tank 28 is treated in a wastewater treatment facility as necessary and then discharged into the sewer. It is also possible to directly discharge the RO permeate in tank 28 into the sewer without treating it in a wastewater treatment facility.

[0024] The volume of food production waste in the tank 21 is reduced by membrane treatment using the UF membrane separation device 24 and the RO membrane separation device 27. For example, the volume of whiskey distillery wastewater can be reduced to about 1 / 2.5 and that of rice-washing water to about 1 / 5 by membrane treatment.

[0025] While evaporation and centrifugation are also applicable methods for reducing food production waste, evaporation causes significant deterioration of the raw liquid's properties due to heating, and centrifugation requires large-scale equipment.Membrane separation, on the other hand, can prevent deterioration of the raw liquid's properties and also reduces equipment size, energy costs, and carbon dioxide emissions.

[0026] The reduced volume of food production waste is transferred to shipping tank 29 and then transported to an outsourced party by transportation means such as a tanker truck. By reducing the volume, the transportation costs of the modified food production waste can be reduced.

[0027] The tank 21 may be provided with a liquid quality sensor that detects the liquid quality (pH, oxidation-reduction potential, etc.) of the food production waste, a liquid volume sensor that detects the liquid volume, etc., and the sensor detection data may be transmitted to a management center, which then controls the modifier addition device 22 so that the amount of modifier to be added is calculated based on the detection data.

[0028] The RO membrane separation device 27 and the tank 28 may be omitted from the volume reduction apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and the membrane separation treatment may be performed only by UF membrane or NF membrane treatment.

[0029] If an upcycling system equipped with the above-mentioned volume reduction device is introduced into a food manufacturing factory that processes food production waste using treatment equipment such as that shown in Figure 4, it will be possible to reduce wastewater treatment costs at the treatment equipment, but it will require new investment in tanks, membrane separation equipment, etc. Also, if an upcycling system equipped with the above-mentioned volume reduction device is introduced into a food manufacturing factory that processes food production waste at an industrial waste treatment facility, it will be possible to reduce the cost of outsourcing to the industrial waste treatment facility, but it will require new investment in tanks, membrane separation equipment, etc.

[0030] Figure 2 is a diagram of an introduction support device 30 (an introduction support device for a food production waste upcycling system) that calculates and presents the cost changes resulting from the introduction of this new upcycling system in a food production factory and supports the introduction of the system.

[0031] The introduction support device 30 is a computer equipped with a CPU (processor, not shown), a memory unit M (memory), etc., and when the CPU executes the introduction support program, the functions of an analysis data acquisition unit 31, a wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32, an industrial waste treatment contract cost calculation unit 33, a resource recycling cost calculation unit 34, and a comparison unit 35 are realized.

[0032] The memory unit M is an HDD, SSD, or the like, and stores feed data including information on ingredients necessary for feed, fertilizer data including information on ingredients 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 treating food production loss using the treatment facility shown in Figure 4, a formula for calculating the cost of outsourcing food production loss to industrial waste treatment, and a formula for calculating the cost of recycling food production loss. The data in the memory unit M may be stored on a cloud.

[0033] The analytical data acquisition unit 31 (data acquisition unit) acquires analytical data obtained by analyzing food production losses at a factory at an external analytical center or the like. The analytical data includes data on the liquid quality (BOD, TOC, electrical conductivity, etc.) of wastewater derived from food production losses, and data on the components of food production losses (crude protein, crude fat, moisture, crude fiber, crude ash, etc.) after pH adjustment by adding a modifier such as formic acid. The analytical data acquisition unit 31 also acquires data on the amount of food production losses emitted from the factory. The analytical data acquisition unit 31 may acquire data entered using an input means such as a keyboard, or may acquire data from an external device using a communication unit (not shown).

[0034] The wastewater treatment cost calculation unit 32 (treatment cost calculation unit) calculates the cost of treating food production waste using the treatment facility shown in Figure 4 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 the sludge, industrial waste treatment costs for treating the sludge at the industrial waste treatment facility, electricity costs for operating each piece of equipment, costs for various chemicals, etc. The costs calculated here are the current costs before the upcycling system is introduced.

[0035] The industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost calculation unit 33 calculates the cost of outsourcing all food production losses to an industrial waste treatment facility using a calculation 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 costs for transporting the food production losses to the industrial waste treatment facility, the industrial waste treatment costs for treating the food production losses at the industrial waste treatment facility, etc.

[0036] The recycling cost calculation unit 34 calculates the cost of introducing an upcycle system to recycle food production waste, using the 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 volume reduction device of Figure 1, the cost of replacing the membrane in the membrane treatment device of the volume reduction device, the transportation cost of transporting the reduced food production waste to a facility that will recycle it, the cost of accepting the food production waste, and the cost of treating the treated water from the volume reduction device (e.g., the RO permeate in tank 28).

[0037] For example, the recycling cost calculation unit 34 uses the liquid quality and discharge amount of the food production loss to determine the membrane replacement frequency of the UF membrane separation device 24 and the RO membrane separation device 27, and calculates the membrane replacement cost. The recycling cost calculation unit 34 also uses the liquid quality and discharge amount to determine the volume of the food production loss after volume reduction, and calculates the transportation cost to the recycling facility.

[0038] 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 amount of return for 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.

[0039] 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 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 treating food production waste using the treatment facility of Figure 4, the cost of outsourcing all of the food production waste to industrial waste treatment (industrial waste treatment outsourcing cost), and the cost of introducing an upcycling system to reduce the volume of food production waste and recycle it (recycling cost). The comparison result may include not only costs (amounts) but also environmental impacts and effects such as odor intensity, amount of chemicals used, and amount of electricity used.

[0040] The comparison unit 35 may output the comparison results 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 results are displayed on the screen. If the output unit 40 is a printer, the comparison results are printed out. An example of the comparison results is shown in FIG. 3.

[0041] In the comparison results of Figure 3, "resource recycling support costs" correspond to the costs of introducing volume reduction equipment and replacing membranes, etc., and "paid amount" corresponds to the amount of food production loss collected.

[0042] Factory personnel will decide whether or not to introduce an upcycling system based on the comparison results shown in Figure 3. For example, the comparison results in Figure 3 show that introducing an upcycling system will reduce costs compared to the current situation, while also reducing odors, chemical usage, and electricity usage, and contributing to the local community through local production and consumption.

[0043] In this way, according to this embodiment, the change in the cost of processing food production waste resulting from the introduction of an upcycling system can be calculated and presented, thereby supporting the introduction of the system.

[0044] In the above embodiment, the feed data stored in the memory unit M may be feed data for each livestock (pig, chicken, cow). The fertilizer data may be fertilizer data for each crop. This allows the resource recycling cost calculation unit 34 to determine which livestock feed or crop fertilizer the food production waste is suitable for.

[0045] The memory unit M may store information related to the demand for feed and fertilizer, which allows the resource recycling cost calculation unit 34 to calculate the purchase price of food production waste when it is used as raw material for feed or fertilizer, which are in high demand.

[0046] After extensive research, the inventors discovered that a concentrate (grain concentrate) obtained by reducing the volume of stillage from grain whiskey is more suitable for use as animal feed than a concentrate (malt concentrate) obtained by reducing the volume of stillage from malt whiskey, and that the quality of the malt concentrate can be made closer to that of the grain concentrate by adjusting the operating conditions of the volume reduction devices, UF membrane separation device 24 and RO membrane separation device 27. For example, when reducing the volume of stillage from malt whiskey, the amount of malt concentrate purchased can be increased by adjusting the operating conditions (e.g., flow rate and pressure) of the membrane separation device so that the dry matter and crude protein content approaches that of the grain concentrate.

[0047] At least a part of the introduction support device 30 described in the above embodiment may be configured as hardware or software. If configured as software, a program that realizes at least a part of the functions of the introduction support device 30 may be stored on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and read and executed by a computer. The recording medium is not limited to removable media such as magnetic disks and optical disks, but may also be fixed recording media such as hard disk drives and memories.

[0048] In addition, 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 on a recording medium.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the components can be modified and embodied in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

[0050] Although the present invention has been described in detail using specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-006914, filed on January 19, 2024, and is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0051] 21 Tank 22 Modifier adding device 24 UF membrane separation device 27 RO membrane separation device 30 Introduction support device

Claims

1. A device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing waste, comprising a tank for storing the food manufacturing waste and a membrane treatment device having a membrane for filtering the food manufacturing waste, wherein the membrane concentrated water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank.

2. The device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing waste according to claim 1, wherein the membrane treatment device includes an ultrafiltration membrane separation device.

3. The device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing waste according to claim 2, wherein the membrane treatment device further includes a reverse osmosis membrane separation device for treating the treated water obtained by the ultrafiltration membrane separation device.

4. The device for reducing the volume of food manufacturing waste according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the food manufacturing waste is distillation waste liquid of whiskey.

5. A method for assisting the introduction of an upcycle system for food manufacturing waste, comprising: a data acquisition process in which a computer acquires the component analysis data and discharge amount data of the food manufacturing waste; a processing cost calculation process in which the computer calculates the current processing cost of the food manufacturing waste; a resource cost calculation process in which, using the component analysis data and the discharge amount data, the computer calculates the resource cost when introducing the upcycle system to resource the food manufacturing waste, taking into account the cost of introducing a volume reduction device having a tank for storing the food manufacturing waste and a membrane treatment device having a membrane for filtering the food manufacturing waste, wherein the membrane concentrated water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank, and the amount received for the food manufacturing waste to be recycled after volume reduction; and a comparison process in which the computer compares the processing cost and the resource cost and outputs the comparison result.

6. The introduction assistance method according to claim 5, wherein the computer calculates, as the current processing cost, the processing cost of the food manufacturing waste in existing processing facilities or the cost of entrusting the processing of the food manufacturing waste to a waste disposal facility.

7. A program for supporting the introduction of an upcycle system for food manufacturing losses, the program causing a computer to execute steps of: obtaining component analysis data and discharge amount data of the food manufacturing losses; calculating a current processing cost of the food manufacturing losses; calculating a resource cost when introducing the upcycle system to resource the food manufacturing losses, taking into account the cost of introducing a volume reduction device having a tank for storing the food manufacturing losses and a membrane treatment device including a membrane for filtering the food manufacturing losses, wherein membrane concentrate water from the membrane treatment device is circulated to the tank, and the amount received for the food manufacturing losses to be recycled after volume reduction; comparing the processing cost and the resource cost, and outputting a comparison result.

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