Method and apparatus for efficiently recovering fiber from pineapple leaf and so forth

Abstract

Provided are a method and an apparatus for efficiently recovering fibers from leaves of plants of the Bromeliaceae family or pseudostems of plants of the Musaceae family. A method according to the present invention includes at least a leaf flesh removal step in which leaves of plants of the Bromeliaceae family or pseudostems of plants of the Musaceae family, which are objects to be processed and have a width in a left-right (Y-axis) direction, are placed on a mesh conveyor and, while being conveyed in a front-rear (X-axis) direction, water streams are sprayed downward onto the objects to be processed from a plurality of water stream-spraying units (nozzles) arranged on the mesh conveyor, thereby removing leaf flesh. Here, the method is characterized in that a nozzle A and a nozzle B are arranged such that a right end or a left end of an object to be processed enters within an effective spraying range of the nozzle A and the other end of the object enters within an effective spraying range of the nozzle B, and a nozzle C having an effective spraying range capable of completely covering a portion near the center of the object to be processed in which leaf flesh has not been removed is arranged such that, within the effective spraying range of the nozzle C, a point located most upstream in an X-axis direction is positioned within a predetermined range in relation to the nozzle A and the nozzle B.

Description

Method and apparatus for efficiently recovering fibers from pineapple leaves, etc.

[0001] This invention relates to a method and apparatus for efficiently recovering fibers from pineapple leaves or pseudostems of plants in the Musaceae family.

[0002] Conventionally, when extracting and recovering long leaf veins of 50 cm or more from pineapple leaves, a method has been known in which high-pressure water jets are applied to the material to be treated, which is placed on a flat plate, to remove the pulp. While this method can effectively remove the pulp, there are problems such as the long fibers being torn or entangled if the water pressure is too high, and depending on how the high-pressure water jets are applied, pulp may remain between the long fibers, making it impossible to obtain long fibers that are separated one by one.

[0003] To solve this problem, Patent Document 1 below proposes a method and apparatus for extracting long fibers from natural plants that can reliably remove the pulp when extracting long fibers from plants such as pineapple leaves 6 which have long fibers between the pulp. The method involves bending the pineapple leaves 6 with a rotating body 2 having a convex body 21 in a direction perpendicular to the long fibers of the pineapple leaves 6 to create cracks 61 in the pulp, then placing the pineapple leaves 6 with cracks 61 in the pulp on a mounting member 51, fixing the pineapple leaves 6 in place with a pressing member 52, and then spraying high-pressure water jets from above, passing the water through the pressing member 52 and the mounting member 51 to remove the pulp.

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, when extracting long fibers from pineapple leaves 6, a high-pressure jet device 53 that sprays high-pressure water is used, and the linearly sprayed high-pressure water is directed perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fibers, and the mounting member 51 on which the pineapple leaf 6 is placed is moved in a circular motion (moved in the longitudinal direction of the long fibers), so that the high-pressure water is applied to the entire leaf 6 and penetrates the pulp and other materials downwards. The purpose of creating cracks 61 is that although increasing the water pressure of the high-pressure water jet makes it easy to remove the pulp, there is a possibility that the long fibers will break due to the high water pressure, so this is avoided by making it easier for the high-pressure water jet to penetrate between the pulp and the long fibers.Therefore, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the irradiation range of the sprayed water stream is small relative to the size of the leaf, so it is not possible to extract fibers from the entire leaf, and a lot of foreign matter such as leaf pulp remains, so the quality of the recovered fibers cannot be said to be high. While it is conceivable to widen the irradiation range by increasing the distance between the high-pressure jet and the leaves, obtaining the water flow necessary to extract the fibers using this method would require extremely high set water pressure, which would result in excessively high equipment costs and also risk rupturing the fibers.

[0005] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-147138

[0006] In view of the aforementioned level of prior art, the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide a method and apparatus for efficiently recovering fibers from pineapple leaves or pseudostems of Musaceae plants, that is, to provide a method and apparatus that can recover high-quality fibers from pineapple leaves or pseudostems of Musaceae plants and that is highly productive.

[0007] In other words, the present invention is as follows: (Invention 1) [1] A method for recovering fibers from the leaves of a pineapple plant or the pseudostem of a muscaria plant, which include a fibrous layer containing fibers and mesophyll, comprising the following steps: a mesophyll removal step in which the leaves of a pineapple plant or the pseudostem of a muscaria plant, which are to be processed and have width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, are placed on a mesh conveyor and transported in the front-back (X-axis) direction, and a water stream is sprayed downward onto the to be processed from a plurality of water jet nozzles positioned above the mesh conveyor to remove the mesophyll; and a fiber recovery step in which fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor are recovered; wherein the planar arrangement of the plurality of nozzles as viewed from above has at least the following requirements: (i) The plurality of nozzles are arranged above the to be processed, each independently, so as to have a substantially circular effective spray range having a width in the Y-axis direction of 1 / 3 or more and less than 1 of the width of the to be processed; and (ii) The plurality of nozzles are nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C, respectively, wherein there may be multiple nozzles C; and (iii) Nozzles A and B are arranged such that the right or left end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle A, and the other end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle B, but the work to be processed will remain near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (iv) Nozzle C is arranged having an effective spray range that can completely cover the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed, so that as the mesh conveyor is transported in the X-axis direction, the leaf tissue is removed from the work to be processed that remains near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed;(v) The fiber recovery method is characterized in that, when the X-axis coordinates of the upstream point in the X-axis direction within the effective spray range of nozzles A, B, and C are Xa1, Xb1, and Xc1, respectively, and the X-axis coordinates of the downstream point are Xa2, Xb2, and Xc2, respectively, and the widths in the X-axis direction of the effective spray range of nozzles A, B, and C are Lxa, Lxb, and Lxc, respectively, and the downstream direction of transport is the positive direction of the X-axis, the following equations (1) to (4) are satisfied: Xb1 ≤ Xa2 ≤ Xb2 ...Equation (1) Xa2 - Lxa / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (2) Xb2 - Lxb / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (3) Xc1 ≤ Xb2 + (Lxc × 3 / 4) ...Equation (4) [2] The fiber recovery method according to claim 1, wherein the relational expression in requirement (v) is one of the following equations (5) to (7): Xa² - Lxa / 8 ≤ Xc1 ... equation (5) Xb² - Lxb / 8 ≤ Xc1 ... equation (6) Xc1 ≤ Xb² ... equation (7) [3] The fiber recovery method according to [1] or [2], wherein the material to be treated is the leaf of a pineapple plant. [4] The fiber recovery method according to [1] or [2], wherein the material to be treated is the pseudostem of a banana plant. [5] The fiber recovery method according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the substantially circular effective spray ranges of nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C have substantially the same width in the Y-axis direction, which is 1 / 3 or more of the width of the material to be treated. [6] The fiber recovery method according to [5], wherein the substantially same width in the Y-axis direction of the effective spray range is 25 mm or more and 50 mm or less. [7] The fiber recovery method according to [6], wherein the width of the effective spray range in substantially the same Y-axis direction is 35 mm or more and 45 mm or less. [8] The fiber recovery method according to any one of [1] to [7], wherein the pressure of the water stream sprayed from nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C is 0.1 MPa or more and 20 MPa or less, respectively. [9] The opening area of ​​one mesh of the mesh belt of the mesh conveyor is 4 mm; ２ 50mm or more ２The fiber recovery method according to any one of [1] to [8] above, which is as follows:

[10] The fiber recovery method according to any one of [1] to [9] above, wherein the opening ratio of the mesh belt of the mesh conveyor is 30% or more and 70% or less.

[11] The fiber recovery method according to any one of [1] to

[10] above, wherein the thickness of the mesh belt of the mesh conveyor is 4 mm or more and 8 mm or less, and the wire diameter Φ is 0.5 mm or more and 1.8 mm or less.

[12] The fiber recovery method according to any one of [1] to

[11] above, wherein the thickness of the mesh belt of the mesh conveyor is 3.5 times or more and 8 times the wire diameter Φ.

[13] The fiber recovery method according to any one of [1] to

[12] above, which includes a rough removal step of roughly scraping off the leaf tissue from the leaves of the pineapple plant or the pseudostem of the banana plant before the leaf tissue removal step.

[14] The fiber recovery method according to

[13] , wherein the rough removal step is a step of bringing the leaves of the pineapple plant or the pseudostem of the banana plant into contact with a rotating blade roll to scrape off the leaf tissue.

[15] An apparatus for recovering fibers from the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostem of banana plants, which contain a fibrous layer including fibers and leaf tissue, comprising: an optional roughing means capable of roughly scraping off the leaf tissue from the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostem of banana plants; a mesh conveyor that carries the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostem of banana plants, which are objects to be processed having width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, on the mesh conveyor in the front-back (X-axis) direction; a plurality of water jet nozzles (nozzles) positioned above the mesh conveyor that spray a water flow downward onto the objects to be processed; wherein the planar arrangement of the plurality of nozzles as viewed from above has at least the following requirements: (i) the plurality of nozzles are positioned above the objects to be processed, each independently, so as to have a substantially circular effective spray range having a width in the Y-axis direction of 1 / 3 or more and less than 1 of the width of the objects to be processed; and (ii) The plurality of nozzles are nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C, respectively, wherein there may be multiple nozzles C;(iii) Nozzles A and B are positioned such that the right or left end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle A, and the other end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle B, but the work to be processed will remain near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (iv) Nozzle C is positioned having an effective spray range that can completely cover the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed, so that as the mesh conveyor is transported in the X-axis direction, the leaf tissue is removed from the work to be processed that remains near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (v) The fiber recovery device is characterized in that, when the X-axis coordinates of the upstream point in the X-axis direction within the effective spray range of nozzles A, B, and C are Xa1, Xb1, and Xc1, respectively, and the X-axis coordinates of the downstream point are Xa2, Xb2, and Xc2, respectively, and the widths in the X-axis direction of the effective spray range of nozzles A, B, and C are Lxa, Lxb, and Lxc, respectively, and the downstream direction of transport is the positive direction of the X-axis, the following equations (1) to (4) are satisfied: Xb1 ≤ Xa2 ≤ Xb2 …Equation (1) Xa2 - Lxa / 2 ≤ Xc1 …Equation (2) Xb2 - Lxb / 2 ≤ Xc1 …Equation (3) Xc1 ≤ Xb2 + (Lxc × 3 / 4) …Equation (4);

[0008] (Invention 2)

[16] A method for recovering fibers from a pineapple leaf, which consists of a wax layer on the front side and a fiber layer on the back side including fibers and leaf tissue, comprising the following steps: a peeling step of peeling the wax layer from the other parts; a preliminary leaf tissue removal step of removing the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fibrous layer by placing the peeled wax layer and the other parts on a mesh conveyor and transporting them while spraying a water flow of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downwards from one or a plurality of water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the transport direction; a centering step of narrowing the pineapple leaf, from which the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fibrous layer have been removed, in the width direction by a guide while transporting it on the mesh conveyor; A method for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves, comprising: a subsequent leaf tissue removal step of spraying a water stream at a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downward from above from one or a plurality of water stream sprayers arranged substantially linearly in the conveying direction onto pineapple leaves that have been moved to the center and from which a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer has been removed, thereby removing the remaining leaf tissue; and a fiber recovery step of recovering the fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor.

[17] The method according to

[16] , wherein the peeling step is a step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction.

[18] The method according to

[17] , wherein the clearance between the pair of rollers is 5 mm or less.

[19] The method according to

[17] or

[18] , wherein the vertical load applied by the pair of rollers is 30 kgf to 150 kgf per leaf.

[20] The method according to any one of

[17] to

[19] , wherein the pair of rollers are flat rollers.

[21] The method according to any one of

[17] to

[20] , wherein the pair of rollers are uneven rollers having irregularities on their surface with a height of 4 mm or less.

[22] The method according to any one of

[16] to

[21] , wherein the guide has an entrance width greater than the width of the pineapple leaf and an exit width of 15 mm to 60 mm.

[23] The method according to any one of

[16] to

[22] , wherein the water pressure used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step is higher than the water pressure used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step.

[24] The method according to

[23] , wherein the water pressure used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step is 5 MPa to 20 MPa, and the water pressure used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step is 4 MPa to 15 MPa.

[25] The method according to any one of [16 to

[224] , wherein, in the water jet spray unit used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step and the water jet spray unit used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, 1 to 5 water jet spray units are arranged, and they are arranged at a predetermined distance apart in the mesh conveyor transport direction so that the effective jet ranges between them do not overlap.

[26] The method according to

[25] , wherein the predetermined distance is 40 mm or more.

[27] The method according to any one of

[16] to

[26] , wherein the distance in the height direction between the water jet spray unit used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step and the water jet spray unit used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step and the mesh and conveyor is 50 mm to 200 mm.

[28] The method according to any one of

[16] to

[27] , wherein the peeling step is a step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction, and the step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction, and the preceding leaf tissue removal step, the centering step, the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, and the fiber recovery step are carried out in parallel in multiple series.

[29] The method according to

[28] , wherein the multiple series are 2 to 20 series.

[30] An apparatus for recovering fibers from a pineapple leaf, which consists of a wax layer on the front side and a fiber layer on the back side including fibers and leaf tissue, comprising: a peeling means for peeling the wax layer from other parts; a mesh conveyor for transporting the peeled wax layer and other parts; a preceding leaf tissue removal means comprising one or a plurality of water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the transport direction for spraying a water stream with a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downwards from above onto the peeled wax layer and other parts placed on the mesh conveyor to remove a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer; a centering means for narrowing the widthwise pineapple leaf, from which the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fiber layer have been removed, which is being transported on the mesh conveyor, by means of a guide; Apparatus for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves, comprising: a subsequent leaf tissue removal means comprising one or a plurality of water jet sprayers arranged substantially linearly in the conveying direction, which sprays a water stream at a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downward from above onto pineapple leaves from which the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fiber layer have been removed; and a fiber recovery means for recovering fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor.

[31] The apparatus according to

[30] , wherein the peeling means is a pair of rollers that pass the pineapple leaves between them in the longitudinal direction.

[0009] Using the method and apparatus of the present invention, high-quality fibers with minimal residue can be efficiently recovered from pineapple leaves or pseudostems of plants in the Musaceae family.

[0010] (Invention 1) This is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for efficiently recovering fibers from the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostem of banana plants containing a fibrous layer including fibers and mesophyll, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 includes an optional rough removal step in which the mesophyll is roughly scraped off from the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostem of banana plants before the mesophyll removal step. This is an explanatory diagram of the planar arrangement of nozzles A, B, and C in the mesophyll removal step of one embodiment of the present invention. This is an explanatory diagram of the effective spray range of each nozzle in the mesophyll removal step of one embodiment of the present invention. This is an explanatory diagram of the distance in the X-axis direction of nozzles A, B, and C in the mesophyll removal step of one embodiment of the present invention. The distance between nozzles A and B in the Y-axis direction is shown as "A-B: Y-axis". The separation distance in the Y-axis direction of the effective spray ranges of nozzles A and B is shown as "ΔLyab". The distance in the Y-axis direction between the midpoint of nozzles A and B and nozzle C is shown as "AB-C: Y-axis". This is a plan view of a plain weave mesh. This is a plan view of a spiral mesh (with rods). This is a plan view of a spiral mesh (without rods). This is a photograph showing an example of the state after the rough removal process, where the leaf tissue has been roughly removed. This is a schematic diagram of the rough removal process. This is a photograph of the recovered fibers.

[0011] (Invention 2) This is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for efficiently recovering fibers from pineapple leaves according to an embodiment of the present invention. It shows the growth stage of the pineapple, an overview of the current semi-manual work using a decorticator, and the resulting fiber bundle. This is a photograph of a cross-section of a pineapple leaf, a state in which the wax layer (A) has been partially peeled off, and photographs and schematic diagrams of the cross-section of the pineapple leaf and the fiber cross-section. This is a photograph showing the state in which the wax layer has been peeled off after the peeling step in the fiber recovery method of this embodiment. This is a photograph showing the state in which leaf tissue remains on both sides of the leaf after the leaf tissue removal step and before the centering step in which the leaf is narrowed in the width direction by a guide. This is a schematic diagram to explain the function of the guide, which is a centering means for narrowing the leaf in the width direction. This is a schematic diagram of the water jet injection section arranged in a staggered pattern in Comparative Example 3. The pineapple leaf is arranged in two series of strips, and the effective spray range of the water jet is indicated by a circle overlapping the strips.

[0012] (Invention 1) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. One embodiment of the present invention is a method for recovering fibers from the leaves of a pineapple plant or the pseudostem of a muscaria plant, which include a fiber layer containing fibers and leaf tissue, and comprises the following steps: a leaf tissue removal step in which the leaves of a pineapple plant or the pseudostem of a muscaria plant, which are to be processed and have width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, are placed on a mesh conveyor and transported in the front-back (X-axis) direction, and water is sprayed downwards onto the to be processed from a plurality of water jet nozzles positioned above the mesh conveyor to remove the leaf tissue; and a fiber recovery step in which fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor are recovered; and the planar arrangement of the plurality of nozzles as viewed from above has at least the following requirements: (i) the plurality of nozzles are arranged above the to be processed, each independently, so as to have a substantially circular effective spray range having a width in the Y-axis direction of 1 / 3 or more and less than 1 of the width of the to be processed; and (ii) The plurality of nozzles are nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C, respectively, wherein there may be multiple nozzles C; and (iii) Nozzles A and B are arranged such that the right or left end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle A, and the other end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle B, but the work to be processed will remain near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (iv) Nozzle C is arranged having an effective spray range that can completely cover the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed, so that as the mesh conveyor is transported in the X-axis direction, the leaf tissue is removed from the work to be processed that remains near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed;(v) The fiber recovery method is characterized in that, when the X-axis coordinates of the upstream point in the X-axis direction within the effective spray range of nozzles A, B, and C are Xa1, Xb1, and Xc1, respectively, and the X-axis coordinates of the downstream point are Xa2, Xb2, and Xc2, respectively, and the widths in the X-axis direction of the effective spray range of nozzles A, B, and C are Lxa, Lxb, and Lxc, respectively, and the downstream direction of transport is the positive direction of the X-axis, the following equations (1) to (4) are satisfied: Xb1 ≤ Xa2 ≤ Xb2 ...Equation (1) Xa2 - Lxa / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (2) Xb2 - Lxb / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (3) Xc1 ≤ Xb2 + (Lxc × 3 / 4) ...Equation (4).

[0013] This embodiment describes a method for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves or pseudostems of plants in the Musaceae family, but it can also be applied to plants that have long fibers in part that are about 8 cm to 15 cm wide, about 50 cm or more in length, and about 1 mm or more in thickness, such as bananas of the Musaceae family.

[0014] This embodiment will be described below with reference to Figure 1. For example, the pineapple leaves (untreated 01) can be pineapple leaves that would normally be discarded after harvesting the fruit for consumption, and which are cut from near the base of the leaf. Generally, at the time of pineapple fruit harvesting, the leaves are about 50 cm to 100 cm long and about 2 mm thick. Therefore, these long leaves that have grown to such a large size are used as the pineapple leaves (untreated 01). The leaves are placed on the mesh cover 10, and as a rough removal process (optional process) to roughly remove the leaf tissue, the pineapple leaves are conveyed while being fixed with a pair of grip rolls and passed between another pair of blade rolls 20, so that the leaf tissue can be roughly removed from the pineapple leaves as shown in Figure 9.

[0015] Pineapple leaves have a structure from the top (upper) side to the bottom (underside) consisting of the epidermis, a waxy layer (A), and a fibrous layer containing fibers and leaf tissue. In the method of this embodiment, the key is how efficiently the fibers can be recovered from the fibrous layer, which includes vascular bundles. The steps of the fiber recovery method of this embodiment will be described in order below.

[0016] (Leaf Meat Removal Process) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the leaf meat removal process involves placing leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostems of banana plants, which are materials to be processed and have width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, onto a mesh conveyor and transporting them in the front-back (X-axis) direction. At the same time, water is sprayed downwards onto the materials from a plurality of water jet nozzles positioned above the mesh conveyor to remove the leaf meat. In this leaf meat removal process, the planar arrangement of the effective spray ranges of the plurality of nozzles above the mesh conveyor is important, and it is necessary to satisfy the following requirements (i) to (v). (i) As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the plurality of nozzles are arranged above the materials to be processed, each independently, so as to have a substantially circular effective spray range with a width in the Y-axis direction of 1 / 3 or more and less than 1 of the width of the materials to be processed. (ii) The plurality of nozzles are nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C, respectively, however there may be multiple nozzle Cs. (iii) Nozzle A and nozzle B are positioned such that the right or left end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle A, and the other end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle B, but the work to be processed remains near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed (see Figure 2). (iv) Nozzle C is positioned, having an effective spray range that can completely cover the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed, and as the mesh conveyor is transported in the X-axis direction, the leaf tissue is removed from the work to be processed that remains near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed (see Figures 2 and 3). (v) Let the X-axis coordinates of the upstream points in the effective injection range of nozzles A, B, and C be Xa1, Xb1, and Xc1, respectively, and the X-axis coordinates of the downstream points be Xa2, Xb2, and Xc2, respectively, and let the widths in the X-axis direction of the effective injection range of nozzles A, B, and C be Lxa, Lxb, and Lxc, respectively, then with the downstream direction of transport being the positive direction of the X-axis, the following relationships are satisfied by equations (1) to (4): Xb1 ≤ Xa2 ≤ Xb2 ...Equation (1) Xa2 - Lxa / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (2) Xb2 - Lxb / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (3) Xc1 ≤ Xb2 + (Lxc × 3 / 4) ...Equation (4) (See Figure 4).

[0017] Requirements (i) and (ii) were derived from the viewpoints of energy efficiency, cost, and efficient fiber recovery, regarding the number of nozzles to be used, water pressure, and the effective spray range described below. For example, the effective spray range of the nozzle is preferably 25 mm to 50 mm, more preferably 35 mm to 45 mm, and efficient leaf tissue removal is possible if the width of the material to be treated (leaves) is about 8 cm to 15 cm. In addition, there may be multiple nozzles C, in which case the relationship between the effective spray ranges of nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C in requirement (v) is similarly applied to the relationship between nozzle B and at least one of the multiple nozzles C.

[0018] Requirements (iii) and (iv) were derived from the perspectives of energy efficiency, cost, and efficient fiber recovery, regarding the number of nozzles used, water pressure, and the effective spray range described below. For example, if the effective spray range of nozzle A is outside the edge of the leaf, the leaf being processed will spread out and become more mobile, resulting in a deterioration of the quality of the recovered fibers. Specifically, first, nozzles A and B remove the leaf tissue from both ends of the leaf, and at the same time, the remaining fibers are entangled and fixed in the mesh conveyor to suppress the movement of the leaf due to the water flow. Immediately afterward, nozzle C, which has an effective spray range that can completely cover the processed material between nozzles A and B where the leaf tissue has not been removed, can be positioned so that the leaf tissue remaining near the center of the processed material can be efficiently removed as the mesh conveyor is transported in the X-axis direction. For example, the Y-axis distance "A-B:Y-axis" between nozzle A and nozzle B can be set considering three points: that the width of the treated material, such as the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostems of banana plants, is often about 8 cm to 15 cm; that after the optional roughing process, the treated material becomes about 5 cm to 11 cm; and that a width of 1.3 times the actual width of the treated material should be assumed, taking into account the Y-axis deviation of the position when the treated material is actually placed on the mesh conveyor. Specifically, it can be 30 mm to 150 mm. More preferably, it is 40 mm to 80 mm. In addition, the Y-axis separation distance "ΔLyab" of the effective spray ranges of nozzle A and nozzle B can be -10 mm to 110 mm. ΔLyab = -10 mm means that the effective spray ranges of nozzle A and nozzle B overlap by 10 mm in the Y-axis direction. If the separation distance is -10 mm or more (overlap of 10 mm or less, or no overlap), the overlap of the effective spray ranges of nozzle A and nozzle B is sufficiently small, and the energy loss of the water flow (droplets) is sufficiently suppressed. More preferably, it is 10 mm or more and 40 mm or less. In addition, the distance in the Y-axis direction between the midpoint of nozzle A and nozzle B and nozzle C, "AB-C:Y-axis", can be within "A-B:Y-axis" / 4.Specifically, the distance can be between 0 mm and 37.5 mm, more preferably 20 mm or less, and even more preferably 10 mm or less. There may be multiple nozzles C, in which case the Y-axis distance between the midpoint of nozzle A and nozzle B and at least one of the multiple nozzles C can have a similar relationship. The numerical ranges of "A-B: Y-axis", "ΔLyab", and "AB-C: Y-axis" are set to realize a preferred effective spray range, assuming that the direction of the water flow ejected from nozzles A, B, and C is perpendicular to the plane formed by the X and Y axes. Therefore, if the direction of the ejected water flow is not perpendicular, the positional relationship between the nozzles can be adjusted according to the angle.

[0019] Requirement (v) was derived from the viewpoints of energy efficiency, cost, and efficient fiber recovery, regarding the number of nozzles to be used, water pressure, and the effective spray range described below. Equation (1) Xb1 ≤ Xa2 ≤ Xb2 means that in the X-axis direction, the effective spray ranges of nozzles A and B overlap, and the downstream point of the effective spray range of nozzle B is located downstream of the downstream point of the effective spray range of nozzle A. In the X-axis direction, the overlap in the effective spray ranges of nozzles A and B results in water being sprayed on both ends of the leaf at the beginning of the process, which fixes the leaf to be processed to the mesh conveyor, allowing for efficient removal of the leaf tissue by nozzle C thereafter. It is preferable that Xa1 and Xb1, and Xa2 and Xb2 are the same on the X axis. Equation (2) Xa2 - Lxa / 2 ≤ Xc1 means that in the X-axis direction, the upstream point of the effective spray range of nozzle C is located downstream of the center of the spray range of nozzle A. Equation (3), Xb² - Lxb / 2 ≤ Xc1, means that on the X-axis, the uppermost point of the effective spray range of nozzle C is downstream of the center of the spray range of nozzle B. Equation (4), Xc1 ≤ Xb² + (Lxc × 3 / 4), means that on the X-axis, the upper limit of the separation distance between the effective spray areas of nozzles B and C is (Lxc × 3 / 4). For example, if the positions of nozzle B and nozzle C are too close, the overlap of their respective effective spray ranges becomes too large, resulting in a large energy loss of the water flow (droplets). On the other hand, if the positions of nozzle B and nozzle C are too far apart, leaves that should be processed by nozzle C, where the remaining tissue near the center of the material has not been removed, become more prone to movement, thus degrading the quality of the recovered fibers. Furthermore, it is preferable that the relational expression in requirement (v) is one of the following equations (5) to (7): Xa² - Lxa / 8 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (5) Xb² - Lxb / 8 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (6) Xc1 ≤ Xb² ...Equation (7).

[0020] This embodiment describes a leaf tissue removal process in which a leaf of a pineapple plant or a pseudostem of a banana plant, which is a workpiece having width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, is placed on a mesh conveyor and transported in the front-back (X-axis) direction, while a stream of water is sprayed downwards onto the workpiece from a plurality of water jet nozzles positioned on the mesh conveyor to remove the leaf tissue. The leaf tissue to be removed must be removed downwards from the opening of the mesh conveyor along with droplets from the water stream. From the viewpoint of recovery, it is preferable that the leaf tissue to be removed passes below the mesh conveyor, but it may scatter in the width direction, etc., and remain on the mesh conveyor. Cyclone nozzles that easily generate droplet streams are preferred for use in the water jet nozzles, and in order to generate sufficient energy to remove wax and leaf tissue with this droplet stream, a water pressure of 0.1 MPa to 20 MPa is preferred, more preferably 4 MPa to 9 MPa, and even more preferably 6 MPa to 9 MPa. In this case, the effective spray range, which will be described later, can be adjusted to 25 mm to 50 mm, for example, 40 mm. As described later, the effective spray range is defined as the distance along the Y-axis of the outer diameter of the holes in the cardboard when Iris Ohyama Co., Ltd.'s M-DB-100S cardboard (thickness: 5 mm, C5 / A flute) is placed on a stationary mesh conveyor and water is sprayed for 10 seconds at a predetermined nozzle position and water pressure (see Figure 3). In other words, the effective spray range is the area within the region where the sprayed water hits the leaves, and where sufficient impact can be applied by the water flow to remove leaf tissue, etc. The water temperature is not particularly limited, but 20°C to 40°C is preferred.

[0021] This embodiment describes a leaf tissue removal process in which leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostems of banana plants, which are materials to be processed and have width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, are placed on a mesh conveyor and transported in the front-back (X-axis) direction, while water is sprayed downwards onto the materials from multiple water jet nozzles (nozzles) positioned on the mesh conveyor to remove the leaf tissue. The leaf tissue to be removed must be removed downwards from the openings of the mesh conveyor along with droplets from the water flow. For example, if a flat belt that is not mesh (without openings) is used, the leaves or fibers to be processed will move easily, and sufficient separation of the leaf tissue and fibers will not be possible, resulting in a deterioration of the quality of the recovered fibers. There are no particular restrictions on the type of mesh belt of the mesh conveyor, but examples are shown in Figures 5 to 7. The opening area of ​​one mesh of the mesh belt is 4 mm. ２ 50mm or more ２ The following is preferable: An opening area of ​​4 mm² ２ If the above is true, the removed leaf tissue is easily discharged downwards along with droplets from the water flow, 50 mm ２The following conditions make it easier to maintain high quality in the recovered fibers, as the extracted fibers do not sag significantly and the leaf tissue is easily removed. Furthermore, it is preferable that the opening ratio of the mesh belt be between 30% and 70%. If the opening ratio is 30% or more, the sprayed water is easily discharged downwards without accumulating on the mesh conveyor, making it easier to maintain high quality in the recovered fibers. On the other hand, if it is 70% or less, the fibers do not fall from the mesh belt, making it easier to operate stably. Furthermore, it is preferable that the thickness of the mesh belt be between 4 mm and 8 mm, and the wire diameter Φ be between 0.5 mm and 1.8 mm. If the thickness is 4 mm or more and the wire diameter is 0.5 mm or more, the mesh conveyor can easily operate stably at a high rotational speed even under water jet spray. If the thickness is 8 mm or less and the wire diameter Φ is 1.8 mm or less, the rigidity of the mesh belt does not become too high, making it easier to operate the mesh conveyor stably. Furthermore, it is preferable that the thickness of the mesh belt be between 3.5 and 8 times the wire diameter Φ. If the thickness is 3.5 times or more the wire diameter Φ, the fibers will undulate up and down on the mesh belt, making them more taut when the sprayed droplets collide with them, and thus easier to remove the leaf tissue. This makes it easier to maintain high quality fibers even under high line speed conditions. On the other hand, if the thickness is 8 times or less, the mesh conveyor can operate stably at high line speeds even under water jet spraying.

[0022] (Fiber Recovery Process) The fiber recovery process is the process of recovering the fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor. In this embodiment, since the width of the processed fibers is approximately the same as the width of the leaves that were processed, the fiber bundles remaining on the mesh conveyor, which are about 50 cm long, converge to a width of about 8 cm to 15 cm, making them easy to recover whether by hand or by machine (see Figure 10).

[0023] In this embodiment, a rough removal step may be included before the leaf tissue removal step, in which the leaf tissue is roughly scraped off from the leaves of the pineapple plant or the pseudostem of the muscaceae plant. This rough removal step may be a step in which the leaf tissue is scraped off by bringing the leaves of the pineapple plant or the pseudostem of the muscaceae plant into contact with a rotating blade roll (see Figure 1). (Implementation of multiple series) In order to increase productivity, the fiber recovery method of this embodiment may be implemented in multiple series, including the rough removal step. Preferably, there may be 2 to 20 such series.

[0024] (Invention 2) Other embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Another embodiment of the present invention is a method for recovering fibers from a pineapple leaf, which consists of a wax layer on the front side and a fiber layer on the back side including fibers and leaf tissue, comprising the following steps: a peeling step of peeling the wax layer from the other parts; a leaf tissue removal step in which the peeled wax layer and the other parts are placed on a mesh conveyor and transported while a water flow at a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa is sprayed downwards from above from one or a plurality of water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the transport direction to remove the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fiber layer; a centering step in which the pineapple leaf from which the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fiber layer have been removed is transported on the mesh conveyor and narrowed in the width direction by a guide; The method for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves includes: a subsequent leaf tissue removal step in which a water flow at a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa is sprayed downward from above from one or a plurality of water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the conveying direction onto pineapple leaves that have been gathered in the center and from which a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer has been removed, thereby removing the remaining leaf tissue; and a fiber recovery step in which the fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor are recovered.

[0025] This embodiment describes a method for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves, but it can also be applied to plants with long fibers of about 50 cm or more in length, such as bananas of the banana family.

[0026] This embodiment will be described below with reference to Figure 11. Such pineapple leaves (untreated 01) can be obtained by cutting off the leaves near the base of the leaf, which would normally be discarded after harvesting the fruit intended for consumption. Generally, at the time of pineapple fruit harvesting, the leaves are about 50 cm to 100 cm long and about 2 mm thick. Therefore, these long, fully grown leaves are used as pineapple leaves (untreated 01). By passing these leaves through a peeling means such as a pair of rolls, the wax layer can be peeled off, as shown in Figures 13 and 14.

[0027] As shown in Figure 13, a pineapple leaf has an epidermis, a wax layer (A), and a fibrous layer containing fibers and leaf tissue, arranged from the upper (top) side to the lower (bottom) side. In the method according to the present invention, the key is how efficiently the fibers can be recovered from the fibrous layer containing vascular bundles. The steps of the method for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves according to the present invention will be described in order below.

[0028] (Peeling Process) The peeling process is a process of separating the wax layer of the pineapple leaf from the rest of the leaf. By applying stress, the bond between the wax layer and the fiber layer is broken, and the wax layer can be peeled off. The peeling process can be a process of passing the pineapple leaf between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction. Depending on the thickness of the pineapple leaf to be processed, the clearance between the pair of rollers can be 5 mm or less. It is advantageous to apply as high a stress as possible for peeling, for example, the vertical load applied by the pair of rollers can be 30 kgf to 150 kgf per leaf. The inventors of this invention have found that rollers with uneven surfaces can firmly grip the leaf, but the degree of peeling is reduced. Therefore, in the peeling process, it is preferable that the pair of rollers be flat rollers from the viewpoint of the quality of the recovered fibers. However, if the surface is smooth, when processing curved leaves, the contact area becomes small, resulting in poor gripping. As a result, the leaves may not be inserted between the pair of rollers, remain in front of the rollers, and slide along the conveyor. Therefore, in some cases, it is preferable that the pair of rollers be textured rollers with surface irregularities of 4 mm or less in height. As for peeling methods, methods such as dissolving or scraping the wax layer with solvents or heat are also possible. However, dissolving the wax layer on pineapple leaves requires various chemicals and heat, and scraping may damage the fibers. Therefore, compression that applies stress is preferred as a peeling method.

[0029] (Previous leaf tissue removal process) The previous leaf tissue removal process involves placing the peeled wax layer and other parts on a mesh conveyor and, while transporting them, spraying a water flow with a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downwards from one or more water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the transport direction to remove the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue that constitutes the fiber layer. From the viewpoint of recovery, it is preferable that the removed wax layer and leaf tissue pass under the mesh conveyor, but they may scatter in the width direction or other directions and remain on the mesh conveyor. Cyclone nozzles that easily generate droplet flow are preferred for use in the water jet nozzles, and a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa is preferred in order to generate sufficient energy to remove the wax and leaf tissue with this droplet flow. In this case, a water flow with an effective jet range of approximately φ40 to 60 mm can be obtained. Here, the effective range refers to the range within the area where the sprayed water hits the leaf in order to provide sufficient impact to remove the wax and leaf tissue with the water flow. It is preferable to arrange such multiple water jet nozzles substantially linearly in the direction of leaf transport. In the water jet injection unit used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step and the water jet injection unit used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step described later, it is preferable that 1 to 5 water jet injection units are arranged in the conveying direction, and that they are arranged at a predetermined distance apart in the mesh conveyor conveying direction so that the effective jet ranges between them do not overlap. If the effective ranges of the jets overlap, energy cancellation occurs in that area, resulting in wasted energy consumption, which is undesirable. The water temperature is not particularly limited, but 20°C to 40°C is preferred.

[0030] The water pressure used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step is preferably higher than the water pressure used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, which will be described later. For example, the water pressure used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step can be 5 MPa to 20 MPa, and the water pressure used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step can be 4 MPa to 15 MPa. It is important to ensure sufficient energy to remove the leaf tissue from the pineapple leaves after the wax layer has been removed, and to secure a distance that allows for the widest possible effective jet range. It is also preferable that the predetermined distance between the two water jet nozzles is 40 mm or more. Furthermore, it is preferable that the height distance between the water jet nozzle used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step, the water jet nozzle used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, and the mesh and conveyor is 50 mm to 200 mm. If the effective irradiation area becomes too narrow, it may not be possible to remove the wax layer and leaf tissue from the entire pineapple leaf even after going through the preceding leaf tissue removal step, the centering step, and the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, and there is also a risk of breaking the fibers.

[0031] (Centering Process) The centering process is a process in which the pineapple leaves, from which the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fiber layer have been removed, are transported on the mesh conveyor and narrowed in the width direction by a guide. Figure 11 shows an example of a guide 40 used in the centering process. Such a guide 40 has a structure in which a flat plate is made into a V shape and placed on the mesh conveyor, but there are no particular restrictions on its structure as long as it has the function of narrowing in the width direction. As illustrated in Figure 11-02, Figure 15, and Figure 16, without a guide, if the width of the pineapple leaf is larger than the diameter of the area in which the leaf tissue can be removed by the jet, the wax layer and leaf tissue at both ends cannot be removed. To avoid this, there is a method of arranging nozzles in a staggered pattern as shown in Figure 17, but in order to ensure an effective jet range at all positions within the range of the leaf without going through the centering process, many jets (water jet nozzles) must be lined up, which increases equipment costs. Furthermore, even if many jets are lined up, there will be jets through which leaves do not pass for long periods, resulting in high costs and inefficiencies during operation. Also, in the preceding leaf tissue removal process, the leaves move, and in the subsequent leaf tissue removal process, there is a risk that the remaining leaf tissue will not pass through the effective jet range. Alternatively, it is possible to ensure the effective jet range by increasing the water pressure and raising the nozzle height with only one jet at positions within the range of the leaves, but this is undesirable because it would result in excessively high equipment costs and large variations in the water flow energy within the effective jet range if the set water pressure is made extremely high. The guide preferably has an inlet width larger than the width of the pineapple leaf and an outlet width of 15 mm to 60 mm. It is preferable that the guide and the mesh conveyor are in contact. The guide can be composed of, for example, a metal frame and a rubber plate that can contact a metal mesh conveyor.

[0032] (Subsequent leaf tissue removal process) The subsequent leaf tissue removal process involves removing the remaining leaf tissue from the pineapple leaves, which have been moved to the center and from which the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fiber layer have been removed, by spraying a water stream with a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downwards from one or more water stream sprayers arranged substantially in a straight line in the direction of transport. As mentioned above, it is preferable that the water stream is stronger in the first stage and weaker in the second stage. This is because the processing area (center) in the first stage is thicker, and the second stage also serves as a washing step. For example, if the first stage is weaker and the second stage is stronger, the removal of the wax layer and leaf tissue in the first stage will be insufficient, and the water pressure in the second stage will be too high, resulting in wasted water. In the subsequent leaf tissue removal process, if there are multiple water jet injection units, it is preferable that they be arranged at a predetermined distance apart in the mesh conveyor direction so that the effective jet ranges between them do not overlap, similar to the preceding leaf tissue removal process. Overlapping effective jet ranges result in energy cancellation in that area, leading to wasted energy consumption, which is undesirable.

[0033] (Fiber Recovery Process) The fiber recovery process is the process of recovering the fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor. In this embodiment, because the width of the processed leaves is narrowed by the guide, the fiber bundles remaining on the mesh conveyor, which are about 50 cm long, converge to a width of about 15 mm to 60 mm, making them easy to recover whether by hand or by machine.

[0034] (Implementation in Multiple Series) The fiber recovery method of this embodiment can be implemented in multiple series in order to increase productivity. That is, the peeling step is defined as a step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction, and the step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction, as well as the preceding leaf tissue removal step, the centering step, the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, and the fiber recovery step, can be implemented in multiple series in parallel. Preferably, the number of such multiple series can be 2 to 20 series.

[0035] (Device) Another embodiment of the present invention is a device for recovering fibers from the leaves of a fiber layer pineapple that includes a wax layer on the front side and a fiber layer including fibers and mesophyll on the back side, the device comprising the following: peeling means for peeling the wax layer from other parts; a mesh conveyor for conveying the peeled wax layer and other parts; one or a plurality of water flow injection parts arranged substantially linearly in the conveying direction, which spray a water flow with a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downward from above onto the peeled wax layer and other parts placed on the mesh conveyor to remove a part of the mesophyll constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer; centering means for narrowing, by a guide, the leaves of the pineapple from which a part of the mesophyll constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer has been removed while being conveyed on the mesh conveyor in the width direction; a subsequent mesophyll removal means including one or a plurality of water flow injection parts arranged substantially linearly in the conveying direction, which spray a water flow with a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downward from above onto the leaves of the pineapple from which a part of the mesophyll constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer has been removed and centered to remove the remaining mesophyll; and fiber recovery means for recovering the fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor. The device for recovering fibers from the leaves of a pineapple can be fully understood from the description of the extraction method. Note that FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a single series.

[0036] (Invention 1) Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited only to the examples. (1) Opening ratio R (%) of the mesh conveyor If the mesh of the mesh conveyor is a plain weave mesh (see FIG. 5), the opening ratio R [%] is calculated by the following calculation formula A; if it is a spiral mesh with rods (△ holes) (see FIG. 6), the opening ratio R [%] is calculated by the following calculation formula B; if it is a spiral mesh without rods (diamond-shaped holes) (FIG. 7), the opening ratio R [%] is calculated by the following calculation formula C. If it is other than the above, the opening ratio R [%] is measured by the following measurement method α using a copying machine.

[0037] [Calculation formula A] When the weft pitch is x [mm], the warp pitch is y [mm], the weft yarn diameter is dx [mm], and the warp yarn diameter is dy [mm], the opening ratio R (%) is given by the following formula (3): R = (x - dx) * (y - dy) / (x * y) * 100 Here, the weft pitch x [mm] is obtained by counting the number of weft yarns Nx per 1 m in the warp direction, and x = 1000 / Nx. For example, when Figure 5 is 1 m * 1 m, Nx = 6, so x = 1000 / 6 ≈ 166.67. The warp pitch y [mm] is obtained by counting the number of warp yarns Ny per 1 m in the weft direction, and y = 1000 / Ny. For example, when Figure 5 is 1 m * 1 m, Ny = 6, so y = 1000 / 6 ≈ 166.67.

[0038] [Calculation formula B] When the weft pitch is x [mm], the warp pitch is y [mm], the rod wire diameter is dr [mm], and the spiral wire diameter is ds [mm], the opening ratio R (%) is given by the following formula (4): Here, the weft pitch x [mm] is obtained by counting the number of spiral wires Nx that span between rods per 1 m on a straight line in the weft direction that does not overlap with the rod, and x = 1000 / Nx. For example, when Figure 6 is 1 m * 1 m, Nx = 6, so x = 1000 / 6 ≈ 166.67. The warp pitch y [mm] is obtained by counting the number of rods Ny per 1 m in the warp direction, and y = 1000 / Ny. For example, when Figure 6 is 1 m * 1 m, Ny = 5, so y = 1000 / 5 ≈ 200.

[0039] [Calculation formula C] When the weft pitch is x [mm], the warp pitch is y [mm], and the spiral wire diameter is ds [mm], the following formula (5): Here, the weft pitch x [mm] is obtained by counting the number of spiral wires Nx per 1 m on a straight line in the weft direction that does not overlap with the intersection points of the spiral wires, and x = 1000 / Nx. For example, when Figure 7 is 1 m * 1 m, Nx = 8, so x = 1000 / 8 ≈ 125. The warp pitch y [mm] is obtained by counting the number of spiral wires Ny per 1 m on a straight line in the warp direction that does not overlap with the intersection points of the spiral wires, and y = 1000 / Ny. For example, when Figure 7 is 1 m * 1 m, Ny = 7, so y = 1000 / 7 ≈ 142.86.

[0040] [Measurement method α] Use a copier to print the mesh belt at a scale of 1:1 on A4-sized paper. Confirm that the difference between the wire diameter of the printed mesh belt and the actual wire diameter of the mesh is within 0.02 times the actual mesh diameter. If the difference is large, adjust the copier settings and perform the 1:1 printing after adjusting to within 0.02 times the actual mesh diameter. Cut out a 100 mm x 100 mm area from the center of the printed paper. Measure the weight of the 100 mm x 100 mm area [W1]. Cut out all the parts corresponding to the apertures from the 100 mm x 100 mm area and measure the weight of the cut-out copy paper [W2]. Calculate the aperture ratio R (%) using the following formula (6): R = [(W1 - W2) / W1] × 100. For the target mesh belt, select any 5 non-overlapping locations and measure, and find the average value.

[0041] (2) The opening area S (mm ２ ) of the mesh conveyor If the mesh of the mesh conveyor is a plain weave mesh (see Fig. 5), use calculation formula A; if it is a spiral mesh with rods (△ holes) (see Fig. 6), use calculation formula B; if it is a spiral mesh without rods (diamond holes) (see Fig. 7), use calculation formula C to calculate the opening area S [mm ２ . If it is other than the above, measure the opening area S [mm ２ using the above-mentioned measurement method α with the copier. Note that each numerical value was obtained by the method described for the aperture ratio of the mesh conveyor. [Calculation formula A] Let the weft pitch be x [mm], the warp pitch be y [mm], the weft wire diameter be dx [mm], and the warp wire diameter be dy [mm]. The opening area S [mm ２ is calculated by the following formula (7): S = (x - dx) * (y - dy). [Calculation formula B] Let the weft pitch be x [mm], the warp pitch be y [mm], the rod wire diameter be dr [mm], and the spiral wire diameter be ds [mm]. Calculate using the following formula (8): [Calculation formula C] When the weft pitch is x [mm], the warp pitch is y [mm], and the spiral wire diameter is ds [mm], use the following formula (9): The calculation is performed as follows: [Measurement Method α] Print the mesh belt at 1:1 scale on A4 size paper using a copier. Confirm that the difference between the wire diameter of the printed mesh belt and the wire diameter of the actual mesh is within the actual mesh diameter * 0.02. If the difference is large, adjust the copier settings to ensure that it is within the actual mesh diameter * 0.02, and then print at 1:1 scale. Cut out a 100mm * 100mm section from the center of the printed paper. Measure the weight of the 100mm * 100mm section [W1]. Cut out all the parts corresponding to the openings that are printed completely without any cut-off from the 100mm * 100mm section, count the number of cut-out openings [N], and measure the total weight of the cut-out paper [W2]. The opening area S [mm²] is calculated using the following formula (10): Opening area S [mm²] = W² × (100 * 100) / W1 / N ２ Calculate the value of [the value]. Take this value at five arbitrary locations on the target mesh belt, ensuring no overlap, and measure the value. Then, calculate the average value.

[0042] (3) Effective spray range A corrugated cardboard box M-DB-100S (thickness: 5 mm, C5・A flute) from Iris Ohyama Co., Ltd. is placed on a stationary mesh conveyor, and water is sprayed for 10 seconds at a predetermined nozzle position and water pressure. At that time, the size of the effective spray range is represented by the distance in the Y-axis direction of the outer diameter of the hole made in the cardboard (see Figure 3). Note that when the nozzle sprays water straight down, the effective spray range is usually approximately circular, so the obtained distance in the Y-axis direction usually corresponds to the diameter of the circle. If the effective spray ranges of multiple jets obtained from multiple nozzles do not overlap, jets may be sprayed from all nozzles simultaneously, and the effective spray range may be measured at the same time. However, if the effective spray ranges overlap, the above test should be performed for each individual nozzle, and the effective spray range of each should be measured.

[0043] (4) Fiber Quality The obtained fibers were left in a hot air dryer at 105°C for at least 6 hours to dry them. After drying, they were left at 20°C and 65% RH for at least 12 hours. Then, fibers totaling 5g were taken out, and the number of residues longer than 5mm was counted. The residues referred to here are pineapple leaf pulp and wax components that remained on the fibers and were not removed by the fiber recovery method described above. The number of residues was graded according to the following evaluation criteria to evaluate the fiber quality. However, if there was one or more residues longer than 50mm, it was marked as "×" regardless of the number of residues. (Evaluation Criteria) ◎: 0-25 pieces / 5g 〇: 26-50 pieces / 5g △: 51-75 pieces / 5g ×: 76 or more pieces / 5g

[0044] (5) Processability The apparatus was operated for 8 hours using a device configured to feed 10 pineapple leaves in parallel (i.e., in 10 series) perpendicular to the direction of travel of the conveyor to collect the fibers. The number of times the process stopped due to process defects was counted, and the processability was evaluated by grading according to the following evaluation criteria. (Evaluation criteria) ◎: 0 to 5 times / 8 hours ○: 6 to 10 times / 8 hours △: 11 to 15 times / 8 hours ×: 16 or more times / 8 hours The causes of the process stopping were as follows: - The mesh conveyor did not move smoothly.

[0045] [Example 1-1] A fiber recovery device was constructed using the following roughing and leaf tissue removal means. Pineapple leaves (untreated 01) with a length of approximately 60 cm to 100 cm, a width of approximately 80 mm to 100 mm, and a thickness of approximately 1 mm to 3 mm were placed on a mesh conveyor 10 and transported at a line speed of 8 m / min, passing through the roughing process and the leaf tissue removal process. The roughing process consists of a pair of grip rolls and a pair of blade rolls. The grip rolls were flat rolls with no irregularities on the surface. The rotation speed of each pair of grip rolls was 60 RPM. The blade rolls had 12 blades spaced equally around the circumference of the roll. Pineapple leaves were inserted between the pair of blade rolls, and the leaf tissue was roughly removed from the leaves by striking with the blades. The blades on one blade roll were set with a half-period phase shift so as not to interfere with the blades on the other blade roll. The rotation speed of each blade roll was set to 1114 RPM, and the peripheral speed of the outermost diameter of the blade roll was set to 17 times the peripheral speed of the grip roll. The leaf tissue removal process consisted of multiple water jet nozzles and a mesh conveyor. The water jet nozzles were arranged so that three water jets were sprayed for each leaf. The three nozzles consisted of nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C. When the X-axis coordinate of the point furthest upstream in the X-axis direction within the effective spray range of nozzle A was set to Xa1 = 0 mm, nozzle A was positioned so that its effective spray range was Xa2 = 40 mm, Lxa = 40 mm, and its effective spray range overlapped with the left edge of the pineapple leaf. Nozzle B was positioned so that its effective spray range was Xb1 = 0 mm, Xb2 = 40 mm, Lxb = 40 mm, and its effective spray range overlapped with the right edge of the pineapple leaf. Nozzle C was positioned such that its effective spray range was Xc1 = 36 mm, Xc2 = 76 mm, Lxc = 40 mm, and its effective spray range covered the remaining mesophyll area between A and B. The Y-axis distance between nozzles A and B ("A-B:Y axis") was 60 mm, the Y-axis separation distance ("ΔLyab") between the effective spray ranges of nozzles A and B was 20 mm, and the Y-axis distance between nozzles A and C ("AB-C:Y axis") was 0 mm (see Figure 4).The water pressure conditions for nozzles A, B, and C were 8 MPa. The mesh belt of the mesh conveyor had a mesh opening ratio of 42% and an opening area of ​​6.7 mm per mesh. ２ A spiral mesh with rods (triangular holes) having a thickness of 4.8 mm and a wire diameter of 1.2 mm was used. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the fiber recovery device described above. Figure 8 is a photograph showing an example of the state after the leaf tissue has been roughly removed following the rough removal process. Using the above fiber recovery device, in one system, bundles of pineapple fibers (wet state) with a length of approximately 50 cm to 100 cm and a weight of approximately 1 g to 10 g per leaf were recovered from the pineapple leaves (untreated 01).

[0046] [Example 1-2] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the line speed was changed to 38 m / min.

[0047] [Example 1-3] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the line speed was changed to 60 m / min, and one water jet nozzle (nozzle) having the same effective spray range as nozzle A was placed 676 mm downstream of nozzle A in the X-axis direction (zero displacement in the Y-axis direction), one water jet nozzle (nozzle) having the same effective spray range as nozzle B was placed 676 mm downstream of nozzle B in the X-axis direction (zero displacement in the Y-axis direction), and one water jet nozzle (nozzle) having the same effective spray range as nozzle C was placed 500 mm downstream of nozzle C in the X-axis direction (zero displacement in the Y-axis direction), so that there were a total of four nozzles C.

[0048] [Example 1-4] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that Xb1 = 35 mm, Xb2 = 75 mm, Xc1 = 71 mm, and Xc2 = 111 mm were changed.

[0049] [Example 1-5] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that Xc1 = 42 mm and Xc2 = 82 mm were changed.

[0050] [Example 1-6] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the water pressure of nozzle A was changed to 2.4 MPa, and Xa2 = 35 mm and Lxa = 35 mm. ΔLyab was 22.5 mm.

[0051] [Example 1-7] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the water pressure of nozzle C was changed to 2.4 MPa, and Xc2 was changed to 71 mm and Lxc to 35 mm.

[0052] [Example 1-8] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the water pressure of nozzle C was changed to 0.2 MPa, and Xc2 was changed to 64 mm and Lxc to 28 mm.

[0053] [Example 1-9] A-B: The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the Y-axis distance was changed to 75 mm. ΔLyab was 35 mm.

[0054] [Example 1-10] The conveyor belt had a mesh opening ratio of 56% and an opening area of ​​17.1 mm per mesh. ２ The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the spiral mesh was changed to one with a thickness of 6 mm.

[0055] [Example 1-11] The conveyor belt had a mesh opening ratio of 47% and an opening area of ​​6.8 mm per mesh. ２ The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the mesh was changed to a plain weave mesh with a thickness of 2.3 mm and a wire diameter of 1.2 mm.

[0056] [Example 1-12] The conveyor belt has a mesh opening ratio of 44% and an opening area of ​​25 mm per mesh. ２ The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the mesh was changed to a plain weave mesh with a thickness of 4.8 mm and a wire diameter of 2.5 mm.

[0057] [Example 1-13] The conveyor belt has a mesh opening ratio of 27% and an opening area of ​​7.5 mm per mesh. ２ The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the mesh was changed to a plain weave mesh with a thickness of 4.9 mm and a wire diameter of 2.5 mm.

[0058] [Example 1-14] The conveyor belt had a mesh opening ratio of 73% and an opening area of ​​7.3 mm per mesh. ２ The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the spiral mesh had a thickness of 3.7 mm and a wire diameter of 0.4 mm.

[0059] [Example 1-15] The conveyor belt has a mesh opening ratio of 37.8% and an opening area of ​​4.8 mm per mesh. ２ The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the spiral mesh had a thickness of 4.8 mm and a wire diameter of 1.2 mm.

[0060] [Example 1-16] The conveyor belt had a mesh opening ratio of 63.3% and an opening area of ​​40.6 mm per mesh. ２ The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the spiral mesh had a thickness of 6.7 mm and a wire diameter of 1.4 mm.

[0061] [Example 1-17] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the conveyor belt was changed to a spiral mesh with a thickness of 4.7 mm and a wire diameter of 0.7 mm.

[0062] [Example 1-18] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the rough removal step was not performed.

[0063] [Comparative Example 1-1] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that a flat belt without holes was used instead of a mesh belt for the conveyor belt.

[0064] [Comparative Example 1-2] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the Y-axis distance was changed to 160 mm for A-B and 50 mm for AB-C, and the effective spray range of nozzle A was changed so that it did not overlap with one end of the leaf. The ΔLyab was 120 mm.

[0065] [Comparative Example 1-3] AB-C: The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that the Y-axis distance was changed to 24 mm so that the effective spray range of nozzle C did not completely cover the remaining mesophyll area that was outside the effective spray ranges of nozzles A and B.

[0066] [Comparative Example 1-4] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that Xb1 = 50 mm, Xb2 = 90 mm, Xc1 = 86 mm, and Xc2 = 126 mm were changed.

[0067] [Comparative Example 1-5] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that Xc1 = 15 mm and Xc2 = 55 mm were changed.

[0068] [Comparative Example 1-6] The procedure was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1-1, except that Xc1 = 74 mm and Xc2 = 114 mm were changed.

[0069] The process and equipment conditions and evaluation results for Examples 1-1 to 1-18 and Comparative Examples 1-1 to 1-6 are shown in Tables 1 to 3 below.

[0070]

[0071]

[0072]

[0073] (Invention 2) The following describes other embodiments of the present invention (Invention 2) in detail with reference to examples and comparative examples, but this embodiment is not limited to the following Examples 2-1 to 2-12. The various evaluation methods used in the following Examples 2-1 to 2-12 and Comparative Examples 1-1 to 1-3 were as follows: (1) Fiber Quality The obtained fibers were left in a hot air dryer at 105°C for 6 hours or more to dry the fibers. After drying, they were left at 20°C and 65% RH for 12 hours or more. Then, fibers totaling 5 g were taken out, and the number of residues larger than 5 mm in length was counted. The residues referred to here are pineapple leaf pulp and wax components that remained on the fibers and were not removed by the fiber recovery method described above. The number of residues was graded according to the following evaluation criteria to evaluate the fiber quality. (Evaluation Criteria) ◎: 0 to 25 pieces / 5 g 〇: 26 to 50 pieces / 5 g △: 51 to 75 pieces / 5 g ×: 76 pieces or more / 5 g

[0074] (2) A device configured to feed six pineapple leaves in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the conveyor (width direction) (i.e., in six series) and recover the fibers was operated for 8 hours, and the number of times the process stopped due to process defects was counted, and the process efficiency was evaluated by grading according to the following evaluation criteria. (Evaluation criteria) ◎: 0 to 5 times / 8 hours ○: 6 to 10 times / 8 hours △: 11 to 15 times / 8 hours ×: 16 or more times / 8 hours The causes of the process stopping were as follows: - Leaves did not enter between the rollers and got stuck before the rollers. - After passing the rollers, the leaves stuck to the rollers and could not be peeled off, so the leaves did not load properly onto the conveyor in the direction of transport. - Leaves got caught in the guides and could not be properly gathered in the middle.

[0075] [Example 2-1] A fiber recovery device was constructed using the peeling means and leaf tissue removal means described below. Pineapple leaves (untreated 01) with a length of approximately 60 cm to 100 cm, a width of approximately 80 mm to 100 mm, and a thickness of approximately 1 mm to 3 mm were placed on a mesh conveyor 10 and transported at a line speed of 15 m / min, passing through the peeling process and the leaf tissue removal process. The peeling means consisted of a pair of rolls 20, which were positioned vertically with respect to the transport direction. The pressing force of the rolls 20 was 80 kgf per leaf (i.e., approximately 480 kgf for 6 leaves), and was applied perpendicular to the transport direction of the leaves. The rolls 20 were flat rolls with no uneven surface. The leaf tissue removal means consisted of a water jet injection unit and a central gathering means including a guide. The water jet injection section is divided into a front stage 35 and a rear stage 36, both equipped with injection nozzles 30. Between them, a guide 40 is provided, which is a means of narrowing the leaves to be processed in the width direction. The water jet injection section is arranged so that a total of eight water jets are injected per leaf, four from the front stage 35 and four from the rear stage 36. Here, the injection nozzles in the front stage 35 and rear stage 36 are arranged at a 100 mm pitch in the direction of the mesh conveyor transport and are positioned above the conveyor so that they are 65 mm above the leaves. The water pressure conditions for the injection nozzles 30 were 15 MPa for the front stage 35 and 8 MPa for the rear stage 36. The inlet width of the guide was 80 mm and the outlet width was 20 mm. Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the fiber recovery device described above. Figure 14 is a photograph showing an example of the state after the wax layer has been peeled off after the peeling process. Figure 15 is a photograph showing the state of the pineapple leaf (just before entering the guide 40) 02 after undergoing the leaf tissue removal means described above. Figure 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating the function of the guide, which is a means for narrowing the leaf in the width direction. Using the fiber recovery device described above, in one system, bundles of pineapple fibers (in a wet state) with a length of approximately 50 cm to 100 cm and a weight of approximately 1 g to 10 g per leaf were recovered from the pineapple leaf (untreated 01).

[0076] [Example 2-2] Fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that a pair of rolls with an uneven surface were used in the peeling process, in which the height of the protrusions was processed to be 3 mm higher than the bottom surface of the recesses.

[0077] [Example 2-3] Fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that the line speed was set to 18 m / min, and a pair of rolls with an uneven surface shape, where the height of the protrusions was processed to be 3 mm higher than the bottom surface of the recesses, were used in the peeling process.

[0078] [Example 2-4] Fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that the pressing force of the roll 20 was set to 20 kgf per leaf during the peeling process.

[0079] [Example 2-5] Fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that two rolls were used in the peeling process, each roll having an uneven surface, with the height of the protrusions being 6 mm higher than the bottom surface of the recesses.

[0080] [Example 2-6] In the leaf tissue removal process, the fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that the exit width of the guide installed in the guide section was set to 8 mm.

[0081] [Example 2-7] In the leaf tissue removal process, the water pressure conditions of the spray nozzle 30 were set to 4 MPa in the preceding stage 35 and 3 MPa in the subsequent stage 36, but the fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1.

[0082] [Example 2-8] In the leaf tissue removal process, the water pressure conditions of the spray nozzle 30 were set to 7 MPa in the preceding stage 35 and 5 MPa in the subsequent stage 36, except that the fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1.

[0083] [Example 2-9] In the leaf tissue removal process, the spray nozzles 30 were arranged at 30 mm intervals in the direction of the mesh conveyor, except that the fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1.

[0084] [Example 2-10] In the leaf tissue removal process, the spray nozzle 30 was positioned above the mesh conveyor at a height of 35 mm from the leaf, except that the fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1.

[0085] [Example 2-11] In the leaf tissue removal process, the spray nozzle 30 was positioned above the mesh conveyor at a height of 215 mm from the leaf, except that the fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1.

[0086] [Example 2-12] In the leaf tissue removal process, the spray nozzles were arranged so that a total of two water streams were sprayed per leaf, one in the preceding stage 35 and one in the succeeding stage 36. Otherwise, the fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1.

[0087] [Comparative Example 2-1] Fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that the peeling process was omitted and only the mesophyll removal process was performed.

[0088] [Comparative Example 2-2] Fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that no guides were placed and the leaves were not gathered together during the leaf tissue removal process.

[0089] [Comparative Example 2-3] Fibers were recovered in the same manner as in Example 2-1, except that no guides were placed and the leaves were not gathered together during the leaf tissue removal process, and the spray nozzles 30 were arranged in a staggered pattern. Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of the staggered arrangement. The pineapple leaves are shown in two series of strips, and the effective spray range of the water jet is shown by circles overlapping these strips.

[0090] The process and equipment conditions and evaluation results for Examples 2-1 to 2-12 and Comparative Examples 2-1 to 2-3 are shown in Table 4 below.

[0091]

[0092] By using the method and apparatus of the present invention, fibers can be efficiently recovered from pineapple leaves or pseudostems of plants in the Musaceae family, thereby contributing to the realization of a decarbonized society that does not rely on fossil fuels.

[0093] (Invention 1, Figures 1-4) 01 Pineapple leaf (object to be processed) 10 Mesh conveyor 20 Pair of rolls (optional) 31 (Injection) nozzle A 32 (Injection) nozzle B 33 (Injection) nozzle C (Figure 5) y Warp pitch x Weft pitch dx Weft diameter dy Warp diameter (Figure 6) x Weft pitch y Warp pitch dr Rod diameter ds Spiral diameter (Figure 7) x Weft pitch y Warp pitch ds Spiral diameter (Invention 2, Figures 11-17) 01 Pineapple leaf (unprocessed) 02 Pineapple leaf (just before entering guide 40) 10 Mesh conveyor 20 Pair of rolls 30 Injection nozzle 35 Pre-stage equipped with one or more injection nozzles 30 36 A downstream guide 40 equipped with one or more spray nozzles 30.

Claims

1. A method for recovering fibers from the leaves of a pineapple plant or the pseudostem of a muscaria plant, which contain a fibrous layer including fibers and mesophyll, comprising the following steps: a mesophyll removal step in which the leaves of a pineapple plant or the pseudostem of a muscaria plant, which are to be processed and have width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, are placed on a mesh conveyor and transported in the front-back (X-axis) direction, while a water stream is sprayed downward onto the to be processed from a plurality of water jet nozzles positioned above the mesh conveyor to remove the mesophyll; and a fiber recovery step in which the fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor are recovered; wherein the planar arrangement of the plurality of nozzles as viewed from above has at least the following requirements: (i) the plurality of nozzles are positioned above the to be processed, each independently, so as to have a substantially circular effective spray range having a width in the Y-axis direction of 1 / 3 or more and less than 1 of the width of the to be processed; and (ii) the plurality of nozzles are each nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C, however there may be a plurality of nozzle Cs; and (iii) Nozzles A and B are positioned such that the right or left end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle A, and the other end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle B, but the work to be processed will remain near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (iv) Nozzle C is positioned having an effective spray range that can completely cover the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed, so that as the mesh conveyor is transported in the X-axis direction, the leaf tissue is removed from the work to be processed that remains near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (v) Let the X-axis coordinates of the upstream points in the effective injection range of nozzles A, B, and C be Xa1, Xb1, and Xc1, respectively, and the X-axis coordinates of the downstream points be Xa2, Xb2, and Xc2, respectively, and let the widths in the X-axis direction of the effective injection range of nozzles A, B, and C be Lxa, Lxb, and Lxc, respectively, then with the downstream direction of transport being the positive direction of the X-axis, the following equations (1) to (4) are satisfied: Xb1 ≤ Xa2 ≤ Xb2 ...Equation (1) Xa2 - Lxa / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (2) Xb2 - Lxb / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (3) Xc1 ≤ Xb2 + (Lxc × 3 / 4) ...Equation (4)The fiber recovery method characterized by satisfying the following conditions; 2. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1, wherein the relational expression in requirement (v) is one of the following equations (5) to (7): Xa² - Lxa / 8 ≤ Xc1 ... equation (5) Xb² - Lxb / 8 ≤ Xc1 ... equation (6) Xc1 ≤ Xb² ... equation (7).

3. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the material to be treated is the leaf of a pineapple plant.

4. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the material to be treated is a pseudostem of a plant of the Musaceae family.

5. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the substantially circular effective spray ranges of nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C have substantially the same width in the Y-axis direction, which is 1 / 3 or more of the width of the workpiece to be processed.

6. The fiber recovery method according to claim 5, wherein the width of the substantially same Y-axis direction of the effective spray range is 25 mm or more and 50 mm or less.

7. The fiber recovery method according to claim 6, wherein the width of the effective spray range in substantially the same Y-axis direction is 35 mm or more and 45 mm or less.

8. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure of the water stream ejected from nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C is 0.1 MPa or more and 20 MPa or less, respectively.

9. The opening area of ​​one mesh in the mesh belt of the mesh conveyor is 4 mm ２ 50mm or more ２ The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, which is as follows:

10. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the opening ratio of the mesh belt of the mesh conveyor is 30% or more and 70% or less.

11. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thickness of the mesh belt of the mesh conveyor is 4 mm or more and 8 mm or less, and the wire diameter Φ is 0.5 mm or more and 1.8 mm or less.

12. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thickness of the mesh conveyor is 3.5 times or more and 8 times or less the wire diameter Φ.

13. The fiber recovery method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a rough removal step of roughly scraping off the leaf tissue from the leaves of the pineapple plant or the pseudostem of the banana plant before the leaf tissue removal step.

14. The fiber recovery method according to claim 13, wherein the rough removal step is a step of bringing the leaves of the pineapple plant or the pseudostem of the banana plant into contact with a rotating blade roll to scrape off the leaf tissue.

15. An apparatus for recovering fibers from the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostems of muscaceae plants, which contain a fibrous layer including fibers and leaf tissue, comprising: an optional roughing means capable of roughly scraping off the leaf tissue from the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostems of muscaceae plants; a mesh conveyor that carries the leaves of pineapple plants or pseudostems of muscaceae plants, which are objects to be processed having width in the left-right (Y-axis) direction, in the front-back (X-axis) direction; a plurality of water jet nozzles (nozzles) positioned above the mesh conveyor that spray water downwards onto the objects to be processed; wherein the planar arrangement of the plurality of nozzles as viewed from above has at least the following requirements: (i) the plurality of nozzles are positioned above the objects to be processed, each independently, so as to have a substantially circular effective spray range having a width in the Y-axis direction of 1 / 3 or more and less than 1 of the width of the objects to be processed; and (ii) The plurality of nozzles are nozzle A, nozzle B, and nozzle C, respectively, except that there may be multiple nozzles C; and (iii) Nozzles A and B are arranged such that the right or left end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle A, and the other end of the work to be processed is within the effective spray range of nozzle B, but the work to be processed will remain near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (iv) Nozzle C is arranged having an effective spray range that can completely cover the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed, so that as the mesh conveyor is transported in the X-axis direction, the leaf tissue is removed from the work to be processed that remains near the center of the work to be processed without the leaf tissue being removed; and (v) Let the X-axis coordinates of the upstream points in the effective injection range of nozzles A, B, and C be Xa1, Xb1, and Xc1, respectively, and the X-axis coordinates of the downstream points be Xa2, Xb2, and Xc2, respectively, and let the widths in the X-axis direction of the effective injection range of nozzles A, B, and C be Lxa, Lxb, and Lxc, respectively, then with the downstream direction of transport being the positive direction of the X-axis, the following equations (1) to (4) are satisfied: Xb1 ≤ Xa2 ≤ Xb2 ...Equation (1) Xa2 - Lxa / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (2) Xb2 - Lxb / 2 ≤ Xc1 ...Equation (3) Xc1 ≤ Xb2 + (Lxc × 3 / 4) ...Equation (4)The fiber recovery device characterized by satisfying the following conditions; 16. A method for recovering fibers from a pineapple leaf, which consists of a wax layer on the front side and a fibrous layer on the back side including fibers and leaf tissue, comprising the following steps: a peeling step of separating the wax layer from the other parts; a preliminary leaf tissue removal step of removing the separated wax layer and part of the leaf tissue constituting the fibrous layer by placing the peeled wax layer and other parts on a mesh conveyor and transporting them while spraying a water flow of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downwards from one or a plurality of water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the transport direction; a centering step of narrowing the pineapple leaf, from which the peeled wax layer and part of the leaf tissue constituting the fibrous layer have been removed, in the width direction by a guide while transporting it on the mesh conveyor; A method for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves, comprising: a subsequent leaf tissue removal step in which a water flow at a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa is sprayed downward from above from one or a plurality of water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the conveying direction onto pineapple leaves that have been moved to the center and from which a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer has been removed, thereby removing the remaining leaf tissue; and a fiber recovery step in which fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor are recovered.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the peeling step is the step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the clearance between the pair of rollers is 5 mm or less.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the vertical load applied by the pair of rollers is 30 kgf to 150 kgf per leaf.

20. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the pair of rollers are flat rollers.

21. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the pair of rollers are uneven rollers having irregularities on their surface with a height of 4 mm or less.

22. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the guide has an entrance width greater than the width of the pineapple leaf and an exit width of 15 mm to 60 mm.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the water pressure used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step is higher than the water pressure used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein the water pressure used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step is 5 MPa to 20 MPa, and the water pressure used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step is 4 MPa to 15 MPa.

25. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein, in the water jet spray unit used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step and the water jet spray unit used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, one to five water jet spray units are arranged, and they are arranged at a predetermined distance apart in the mesh conveyor transport direction such that the effective jet ranges between them do not overlap.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the predetermined distance is 40 mm or more.

27. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the distance in the height direction between the water jet spray unit used in the preceding leaf tissue removal step and the water jet spray unit used in the subsequent leaf tissue removal step and the mesh and the conveyor is 50 mm to 200 mm.

28. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the peeling step is a step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction, and the step of passing the pineapple leaves between a pair of rollers in the longitudinal direction, and the preceding leaf tissue removal step, the centering step, the subsequent leaf tissue removal step, and the fiber recovery step are carried out in parallel in multiple series.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the plurality of series is 2 to 20 series.

30. An apparatus for recovering fibers from a pineapple leaf, which consists of a wax layer on the front side and a fiber layer on the back side including fibers and leaf tissue, comprising: a peeling means for peeling the wax layer from other parts; a mesh conveyor for transporting the peeled wax layer and other parts; a preceding leaf tissue removal means comprising one or a plurality of water jet nozzles arranged substantially linearly in the transport direction for spraying a water flow of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downwards from above onto the transported peeled wax layer and other parts on the mesh conveyor to remove a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer; a centering means for narrowing the widthwise pineapple leaf, from which the peeled wax layer and a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the fiber layer have been removed, by means of a guide, while being transported on the mesh conveyor; An apparatus for recovering fibers from pineapple leaves, comprising: a subsequent leaf tissue removal means comprising one or a plurality of water jet spraying units arranged substantially linearly in the conveying direction, which sprays a water stream at a water pressure of 4 MPa to 20 MPa downwards from above onto pineapple leaves that have been gathered and from which a portion of the leaf tissue constituting the peeled wax layer and the fiber layer has been removed, thereby removing the remaining leaf tissue; and a fiber recovery means for recovering the fibers remaining on the mesh conveyor.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the peeling means is a pair of rollers that pass the pineapple leaves between them in the longitudinal direction.

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