Cooking and Drying Organic Material with Scrapers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking and drying technologies for organic materials, such as fish meal production, face issues with inefficient heat exchange, material sticking and burning, frequent cleaning needs, and gas collection problems, leading to suboptimal quality and continuous operation challenges.
Innovation Solution
A device with semi-cylindrical disc-shaped hollow compartments and adjustable scrapers that scrape both discs and the container's inner surface, allowing for efficient heat exchange and preventing material overheating, along with a design that prevents gas collection by allowing easy material flow and precise heating media circulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional steam cookers or Contherm heaters are used for cooking organic material, then heat exchange is achieved, but material sticks to heating surfaces causing frequent cleaning needs and interrupted operation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a rotating scraper mechanism that dynamically removes material from heating surfaces during operation. The scraper blades are positioned to contact the heating surfaces and rotate with the shaft, continuously preventing material adhesion and enabling uninterrupted cooking operations without frequent manual cleaning interruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The scraper system performs self-cleaning of the heating surfaces during the cooking process itself. As the scraper rotates, it automatically removes accumulated material from the heating surfaces, allowing the system to maintain its own cleanliness without external intervention or shutdown for maintenance.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If agitator blades are pressed against heating surfaces to prevent material buildup, then material adhesion is reduced, but the device becomes structurally heavy and expensive with high resistance to rotation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of pressing blades against the entire heating surface, the invention uses scrapers that contact only specific localized areas of the heating surfaces. The scrapers are positioned to scrape material from the critical zones where adhesion occurs, reducing the overall force and structural requirements compared to full-surface agitation.
Solution Approach 2:
The scraper system rotates on a lightweight shaft rather than using heavy stationary pressing mechanisms. The rotational motion allows thin scraper blades to effectively remove material without requiring the substantial structural support and driving force needed for conventional agitators that press against heating surfaces.
3Productivity
If direct rotary drying with flue gases is used, then drying efficiency is high, but product contamination occurs and gas collection in disc upper parts creates operational difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces heated air as an intermediary medium for drying, replacing direct contact with flue gases. The air is heated in a separate jacket and then circulated through the material, providing thermal energy for evaporation without the contaminants present in flue gases, thus maintaining drying efficiency while protecting product quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The drying system is divided into separate functional zones: a heating zone where air is heated in the jacket, and a drying zone where the heated air contacts the material. This segmentation allows the heating function to be separated from the drying function, enabling controlled thermal processing without direct exposure to contaminated flue gases.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If indirect steam drying with steam heated discs is used, then product contamination is avoided, but material builds up on heating surfaces causing burning and frequent cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The invention incorporates a rotating shaft with scrapers that dynamically remove material from the steam-heated discs during operation. This continuous scraping action prevents material buildup and burning on the heating surfaces, maintaining the cleanliness required for indirect steam drying while enabling uninterrupted continuous operation without frequent cleaning shutdowns.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating scraper mechanism performs automatic self-cleaning of the steam-heated disc surfaces during the drying process. As the scrapers rotate, they continuously remove accumulated material, allowing the indirect steam drying system to maintain its contamination-free operation while achieving continuous productivity without manual intervention.
5Loss of energy
If conventional tubular heaters are used for pre-cooking, then energy utilization is achieved, but material mixing is poor and heat exchange is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a rotating shaft with multiple scrapers that actively mix and move material through the heating zones during the pre-cooking process. This dynamic action enhances contact between material and heating surfaces, significantly improving heat exchange efficiency compared to static tubular heaters, while the scraping action also prevents material buildup that would otherwise insulate and reduce heat transfer.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables faster, higher-quality cooking and drying processes with improved heat exchange efficiency, reduced risk of material burning, and easier device maintenance, while allowing for continuous operation by preventing gas accumulation and optimizing heating media flow.
Implementation Method 1
a jacket arranged around the container for conducting heating media... The protrusions are positioned on each side in the upper part and in the lowest part of the semi-cylindrical disc-shaped hollow compartments... allowing for efficient heat exchange
Implementation Method 2
Production of high quality low-heat generated fish meal requires a process where the material is not overheated, especially when the oil phase has been removed and water is evaporating
Implementation Method 3
scrapers are attached to, and rotating on the centrally arranged axis, where the scrapers are shaped to scrape an outer surface of two parallel and interspace arranged disc-shaped hollow compartments and extending towards and to scrape the inner surface of the container
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
Device and method to assemble such a device for both cooking and drying organic material in the process of making meal. The device has a large area for heat exchange and scrapers which stir the material in the container rather than transferring it around in circles. The method of assembling the device allows an accurate and convenient assembly so that the scrapers thoroughly scrape all inner surfaces of the device.