JPH0349680B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for adding water, additives, etc. to a food material filled in a food extruder.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in the continuous extrusion process of food materials in a food extruder, the technology for adding water to the food material in the cylinder is to provide a hole in a part of the inner wall of the cylinder and use this hole to add water to the food material in the cylinder. A method of supplying a predetermined amount of moisture to a food material in a cylinder is known.

[Problems to be Solved] However, according to this technique, the holes mechanically formed in the inner wall of the cylinder are considerably large compared to the molecular level of the food material, so the food that is moved under pressure by the rotation of the screw Partial unevenness tends to occur in the amount of water added to the material. For this reason, it has not been possible to uniformly supply moisture to the food material under appropriate temperature conditions, pressurization conditions, etc. The process of kneading and extruding food materials while moving them under pressure involves physical mechanical treatment, thermal treatment such as melting and heating, and chemical treatment to gelatinize starch and organize proteins. Although necessary, these treatments are realized by uniformly adding an appropriate amount of water etc. under appropriate temperature conditions, pressurization conditions, etc. Therefore, conventional methods of adding water cannot provide a satisfactory chemical treatment, making it difficult to improve the quality of extruded foods.

In addition, in the conventional method where a hole is provided in a part of the inner wall of the cylinder and water is added through the hole, the amount of water added needs to be controlled according to the pressure near the hole.
A pressure sensing means including a pressure gauge must be provided;
However, the problem was that the configuration was complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of uniformly adding water under arbitrary conditions (temperature, pressure, etc.) to food materials that are continuously moved by a screw. A method for adding water in a food extruder with a simplified configuration, which enables chemical treatment of substances to improve the quality of extruded foods, and which does not require a special detection means for adjusting the amount of water added. The purpose is to provide such equipment.

[Means for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above object, the method of adding water in the food extruder of the present invention includes, in the step of kneading and extruding the food material filled in the cylinder while moving it by the rotation of the screw, Moisture, additives, etc. are circulated between the storage part and the cylinder, and the moisture, additives, etc. are distributed under arbitrary conditions to part or all of the moving food material through the porous metal part of the cylinder. There is a method of uniformly adding a predetermined amount of water from the outer peripheral surface.

Further, the water adding device in the food extruder of the present invention includes a cylinder filled with a food material, a screw that rotates within the cylinder and kneads and extrudes the food material while moving it under pressure, and An inner wall made of a porous metal material formed on the inner peripheral surface of a partial range or the entire range in the direction, a jacket formed on the outer periphery of this inner wall, and an outflow pipe and a return water pipe for adding water connected to the jacket, respectively;
A valve is provided on at least one of these pipes.

Note that porous metal is used in the cylinder of slurry dehydration equipment used in the ceramics industry (Special Public Interest Publication 1973-
No. 2444), or an expeller for squeezing liquid (Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-24077), which has a cylinder with many small holes, but both of these are for removing liquid, and are the subject of the present invention. There is no disclosure of an invention in which a predetermined amount of water is added to food materials under arbitrary conditions.

[Example] Next, an example of the device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a food extruder to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. In Figure 1,
Reference numeral 1 denotes a screw, which is fitted into a through hole 2a of a cylinder portion 2 divided into a plurality of parts, and is rotated by a drive motor (not shown). This Screw 1
The food material fed in the direction of the arrow through a hopper (not shown) is pressurized by the fins 1a and fed in the direction of the arrow.

The cylinder section 2 has a unit construction consisting of insulation walls or seal plates 3, 3, a cylindrical inner wall 4, a bush 5 holding the inner wall 4, and a jacket 6 fitted around the outer periphery of the bush 5. The length of the cylinder section 2 of this one unit structure corresponds to only a part of the longitudinal direction of the screw 1, and by connecting a plurality of cylinder sections 2, the cylinder of the entire extruder is formed.

The jacket 6 of the cylinder section 2 has a cavity 6a, and an outflow pipe 6b and a return water pipe 6c communicate with this cavity 6a, and a temperature adjustment device ( A water storage tank 7, a pump 8, and a regulating valve 9 are arranged.
A large number of holes 6d are formed in the inner circumferential wall of the jacket 6 and communicate with the cavity 6a. pump 8
It is also possible to use one thing in common for each cylinder part 2. In this case, each cylinder part 2
The water pressure is adjusted by a pressure regulating valve 9 provided in each return pipe 6c. Normally, in a food extruder, food materials are ^kneaded (kneaded, mixed, dispersed, kneaded, compressed, crushed,
Kneading, etc. includes shearing, etc. ), and at the same time, thermal treatments such as melting, sterilization, and heating, and chemical treatments such as starch gelatinization, protein organization, and sterilization are carried out continuously and in combination. Let's do it.

Therefore, in order to perform these chemical treatments in combination with thermal treatments and mechanical treatments, it is necessary to add an appropriate amount of water under appropriate temperature and pressure conditions. In this food extruder, these conditions can be adjusted by circulating the hydrating liquid through the outgoing water pipe 6b and the returning water pipe 6c and adjusting the opening degree of the pressure regulating valve 9.

The bush 5 has an outer circumferential groove 5a and an inner circumferential groove 5b, and the outer circumferential groove 5a and the inner circumferential groove 5b communicate with each other via a communication hole 5c located between them. Therefore, the communication hole 5c is connected to the outer circumferential groove 5a, the hole 6d, and the cavity 6 in this order.
It is connected to a. An inner wall 10 of a cylindrical cylinder portion 2 is fitted and fixed into an inner circumferential groove 5b of the bush 5. The inner wall 10 is made of a porous metal material (for example, foamed metal (aluminum metal, etc.), sintered metal) having open cells, and the communicating holes 5c are formed in a large number of the inner wall 10, which functions as fine conduits. Through-hole 2a of cylinder part 2 through open cells
is in communication with.

Next, a method of adding water using the apparatus of the first embodiment will be explained.

The food material supplied to the cylinder made up of a plurality of cylinder parts 2 through a hopper (not shown) is conveyed in the right direction of the arrow shown in the figure. Further, the food material is kneaded and melted by the rotation of the screw 1 while being pressurized between the fins 1a, 1a, and extruded through a die (not shown). On the other hand, a water storage tank 7 is connected to the outgoing water pipe 6b of the jacket 6 via a pump 8, whereby the cavity 6a is filled with pressurized water while being circulated, so that the outer peripheral surface of the inner wall 10 is Contact with pressure water. In this case, the pressure water is adjusted to an arbitrary temperature, pressure, etc. using the adjustment valve 9. Here, the temperature of the pressure water can be kept at any temperature by keeping the pressure water at the outgoing water pipe 6b and the return water pipe 6c.
6 in the jacket by circulating it through the
by constantly running fresh, temperature-controlled, pressurized water.

Therefore, pressurized water is supplied to the food material in the portion of the inner wall 10 that is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the inner wall 10 through the open cells (functioning as micropores) of the inner wall 10 .
In this way, by uniformly supplying pressure water adjusted to arbitrary temperature and pressure to the food material through the open air bubbles in each cylinder part 2,
Chemical processing of food materials is performed in combination with thermal processing and mechanical processing.

In addition, the water storage tank 7 can not only store water, but also store various liquid additives and gases depending on the material of the food material, and add these to the food material. Therefore, the term "pressure water" as used herein means not only water but also water containing various additives.

Furthermore, it is also possible to sequentially supply different types of additives and the like through the inner wall 4 of each cylinder portion 2 formed separately at arbitrary temperatures and pressures.

In the above apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, a food material having a length of approximately l is transported by a specific unit of the cylinder section 2, which is located at a distance of a length L from a hopper (not shown) and connected to a conduit. Water will be added within a range. Therefore, by connecting the units of the other cylinder sections 2 to the conduit, the position and range of water addition can be changed as appropriate, and the water addition and kneading of the food material can be delicately controlled. Furthermore, in addition to simply adding water (adding liquid), by changing the temperature of the liquid, it is possible to adjust the temperature of the food material at the same time as adding water. This makes it possible to perform sufficient chemical treatment in the longitudinal direction of the extruder by adding water at the temperature and pressure most suitable for the kneading and melting of food materials, thereby improving the quality of extruded products. be able to.

In addition to adjusting the adjustment valve 9 on the return water pipe 6c side, the liquid supply amount and
By changing the supply pressure, the actual amount of water added to the food material can be easily adjusted. Further, by adding water at the same temperature and pressure from each cylinder section 2, water can be added under the same conditions throughout the entire cylinder of the extruder.

FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a food extruder to which the second embodiment of the present invention is applied, and the same parts as those of the food extruder of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals. However, the explanation thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 11 denotes an inner wall disposed over the entire length of the cylinder 2, which is also integrally made of the aforementioned porous metal material having open cells. Correspondingly, a bush 12 and a jacket 13 for holding the inner wall 11 inside are also integrally constructed over the entire length of the cylinder 2.

According to the device having such a configuration, it is possible to uniformly add water at a predetermined temperature to the food material at a predetermined pressure, as well as to add moisture to the food material from the entire range of the cylinder 2, as in the device of the first embodiment. Water can be added evenly.

In each of the above devices, the inner walls 10 and 11 of the cylinder 2 are configured in a cylindrical shape so that water can be added uniformly from the entire circumferential surface to the inner side, but this is not limited to this. Only a specific part of the inner wall of the part may be made of a porous metal material having open cells.

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a food extruder in a third embodiment in which the divided cylinder section 2 is used for heating or cooling. In the figure, the same parts as those of the food extruder of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In the third embodiment, the food material is directly heated or cooled by adding a heating or cooling medium to the food material from the divided cylinder part 2, and 7 stores the heating or cooling medium. Water storage tank, 8 is a pump, 14 is a pressure adjustment valve, 15
is a flow meter, and the heating or cooling medium is passed through the incoming water pipe 6b.
is supplied to

Now, the pressure P 1 in the outer peripheral hole 10a of the inner wall 10 of the cylinder part 2 made of a porous metal material having open cells is greater than the pressure P ₂ in the screw groove part 1b defined by the screw 1 and the cylinder part ₂ . In some cases, a portion of the heating or cooling medium penetrates through the open-cell microtubules of the inner wall 10 and reaches the through-hole 2a of the cylinder part 2, and is then conveyed in the axial direction of the through-hole 2a. This allows direct contact with the food material and rapid heating or cooling.

On the other hand, the remainder of the heating or cooling medium that has been pressure-fed to the outgoing water pipe 6b almost extends from the outgoing water pipe 6b to the outer circumferential groove 10a.
Circulate 180° and remove the cylinder part 2 from the take-out pipe 6c on the back side.
is discharged to the outside and returns to the water storage tank 7. In such a state, there is always a heating or cooling medium circulating in the outer circumferential groove 0a, so that the heating or cooling medium permeates uniformly from the entire outer circumference to the radial direction of the cylindrical inner wall 0. happens. Therefore, by performing similar heating or cooling in each cylinder part, it is possible to directly and uniformly heat or cool the entire food material.

In addition, when the pressure P ₁ of the outer circumferential groove 10a is equal to the pressure P ₂ of the screw groove portion 1b, the outer circumferential groove 10a
The heating medium or the cooling medium does not penetrate into the through hole 2a. Therefore, the heating medium or cooling medium circulates through the outer circumferential groove 10a through 180 degrees and is discharged from the outlet pipe 6c on the back side, and the cylinder part 2
The food material is heated or cooled by heat conduction from the outer periphery. Note that the pressure P ₁ in the outer circumferential groove 10a is appropriately set by adjusting the pressure regulating valve 14.

In this case as well, it is possible to circulate the heating or cooling medium at any temperature and pressure for each divided cylinder section 2.

In addition, the food extruder in the present invention includes:
It does not matter whether it is a single-screw or multi-screw extruder.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the food extruder of the present invention, moisture, additives, etc. are uniformly added to the food material in the cylinder in a predetermined amount under appropriate temperature and pressure conditions. Water can be added and extruded foods of good quality can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of an extruder applied to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a screw extruder applied to a second example of the present invention,
FIG. 3 shows a partial vertical sectional view of a screw extruder applied to a third embodiment of the present invention. 1: Screw, 1a: Fin, 1b: Screw groove, 2: Cylinder, 2a: Through hole, 3:
Blocking wall, 4: Inner wall, 5: Bush, 5a: Outer groove, 5b: Inner groove, 5c: Communication hole, 6: Jacket, 6b: Outgoing water pipe, 6c: Return water pipe, 9, 14: Adjustment valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In the step of kneading and extruding food materials filled in a cylinder while moving them by the rotation of a screw, water, additives, etc. are circulated between the reservoir and the cylinder, and the movement A food product characterized in that a predetermined amount of water, additives, etc. is uniformly added to a part or all of the food material under arbitrary conditions from the outer circumferential surface via the porous metal part of the cylinder. How to add water in an extruder. 2. A cylinder filled with a food material, a screw that rotates within the cylinder and kneads and extrudes the food material while pressurizing it, and a screw that is applied to the inner circumferential surface of a partial or full range in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder. It consists of an inner wall made of a porous metal material, a jacket formed around the outer periphery of the inner wall, a water supply pipe and a return pipe connected to the jacket, and a valve provided on at least one of these pipes. A water adding device for a food extruder, characterized by: