JPS6233869B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a rotary mash fermentation tank.

During moromi fermentation, the koji initially put into the tank does not have good water absorption, has a large difference in specific gravity from the liquid, and floats on the liquid surface, and the volume ratio of solid to liquid is high, making mixing and stirring difficult. It's not easy. Especially as the viscosity increases as the fermentation process progresses,
It becomes even less easy.

Conventionally, as a mixing and stirring means in the moromi fermentation process, an air blowing method that performs mixing and stirring and oxygen supply at the same time has been generally adopted. Not only is it difficult to mix and stir a high-quality mash, but also there is an equilibrium relationship between the amount of air blown (oxygen supply amount) and the mixing and stirring effect. It is not possible to create optimal conditions that match the fermentation situation, such as limiting the amount of oxygen supplied while maintaining a good mixing and stirring effect, and there is a drawback that certain parts of the optimal conditions must be sacrificed. Ta. In this case, it may be possible to mix and stir the mash using a stirring blade or the like in addition to blowing air, but if the stirring blade is rotated too quickly, the mash will become muddy and have a negative impact on fermentation. On the other hand, if it rotates at a low speed, the mixing and stirring effect cannot be expected, and the provision of stirring blades is not a preferable solution.

The present invention was developed as a result of intensive research aimed at eliminating such problems.When rotating a fermentation tank, which is a spherical sealed type and has a stirring member fixed to its inner surface, at low speed, the mash is turned into sludge. It was discovered that a good mixing and stirring effect can be obtained without any problems, and this led to the completion of the present invention.

That is, the present invention provides a tank body that is rotatably mounted on a hollow horizontal axis, a rotary drive device for rotating the main body at low speed, a device for heating and cooling the mash, and a tank body that is rotatably mounted on a hollow horizontal axis. The tank body is of a substantially spherical closed type,
Stirring members are provided at appropriate locations on the inner surface, and piping for the heating and cooling device and piping for the air blowing device are provided in the tank body through the hollow portion of the horizontal horizontal shaft. This invention relates to a rotary mash fermentation tank characterized by the following.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a spherical sealed tank body rotatably mounted on bearings 3, 3 on hollow horizontal horizontal shafts 2, 2 facing left and right across the center. The tank body 1 has a raw material input port 1a at the top and a product discharge port 1b at the bottom, which are sealed by lids 4a and 4b during normal operation. In addition to the spherical tank body 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the tank body 1 may have a substantially spherical shape with upper and lower sections shown in FIG. 4.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a stirring member for mixing and stirring the mash, which is fixedly installed on the inner surface of the tank body 1. Although a blade-type stirring member 5 is shown in the figure, other shapes such as a pin-type may be used as the stirring member 5. . Further, the fixed position and the number of fixed parts are also arbitrary, and may be appropriately selected experimentally. The figure shows a case where stirring members 5 are provided at four locations on the top, bottom, left and right of each hemisphere, a total of eight locations.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a rotary drive device for rotating the tank body 1 at a low speed, and various types of known types can be adopted as the device 6. The figure shows a sprocket 6a fixedly installed on the horizontal shaft 2, A chain 6 that transmits rotation from a motor (not shown) to a sprocket 6a.
A system consisting of b is shown.

7 is a supply of air and/or water (including salt water) piped into the tank body 1 through the hollow part of one horizontal shaft 2 (on the right side in FIG. 1) so as to constitute an air blowing device. The inner end of the supply pipe 7 extends from the center of the tank body 1 to the bottom, and air and/or water can be supplied from a side port 7b at the lower end of the extended part 7a. On the other hand, the outer end is branched into two directions outside the tank, with one branch 71 connected to a pressurized air supply (not shown), and the other branch 72 connected to a pressurized water supply (not shown). , have been contacted respectively.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an exhaust pipe that passes through the supply pipe 7 and reaches the gas phase in the tank body 1, and its inner end is opened to the gas phase, and the gas in the gas phase is blown into the gas phase through this opening 8a. As time passes, it will be discharged out of the tank.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a heating (or cooling) fluid circulation pipe with a double pipe structure that is piped into the tank through the hollow part of the other horizontal shaft 2 (on the left side in Fig. 1), and the fluid is passed through the circulation pipe 9.
It passes through the outgoing route (outer pipe part 91) to reach the center of the tank, from here it passes through the bypass 93 to reach the center of the bottom of the tank, rises, and is led out of the tank through the return route (inner pipe part 92), where it is heated (or cooled). ) and then returned to the outbound route. This circulation pipe 9 constitutes a heating and cooling device.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a liquid sealing mechanism which uses the inner circumferential surface of the hollow part of the horizontal shaft 2 as a rotating surface and the outer circumferential surfaces of the tubes 7 and 9 inserted therein as fixed surfaces, and seals liquid between the two. As 10, various types of known types can be adopted.

The fermentation tank of the present invention has the above-described structure, and the spherical tank body 1 is rotated by the rotation drive device 6 in the state shown in the figure.
By rotating at a low speed, even the stirring member 5 fixed to the inner surface of the main body 1 can mix and stir the mash. At this time, in the present invention, in particular, the tank body 1 is made spherical and the stirring member 5 is fixed on its inner surface, so that in addition to the entire tank exhibiting a stirring function, the mash in the tank is mixed from all around. As a result, even though the rotation speed is low, an extremely high mixing and stirring effect can be obtained, and even if it is a mash raw material that is difficult to mix and stir at the initial stage of addition, it can be mixed and stirred well. obtain. Furthermore, since this rotation is performed at a low speed, there is no risk of turning the mash into sludge and adversely affecting subsequent fermentation. By the way, the rotation speed of the tank depends on the size of the tank and the progress of fermentation of the mash, but it should normally be kept to an extremely low rotation speed of about 10 revolutions per minute or less. Among these, particularly good results can be obtained with low speed rotation of about 1 to 3 rotations. Mixing and stirring of the mash is not necessary throughout the entire fermentation process, and depending on the progress of fermentation, it may be preferable to temporarily stop the mixing, and in such cases, the rotation of the tank body 1 is stopped. Ru.

Furthermore, in order to maintain the mash at a predetermined amount of dissolved oxygen, the required amount of air is continuously or intermittently blown into the mash through a supply pipe 7 serving as an air blowing device, and at this time, air may be blown into the mash simultaneously or individually. In some cases, the required amount of water (including brine) is supplied into the mash. This blowing of air contributes to the mixing and stirring of the mash, but as mentioned earlier, the present invention adopts a configuration in which the mash can be mixed and stirred by the slow rotation of the tank. Air may be blown in such a way as to obtain the optimum amount of dissolved oxygen desired at various times during the fermentation process.

Furthermore, in order to maintain the mash at a predetermined temperature, a heating (or cooling) fluid is circulated through a circulation pipe 9 that serves as a heating and cooling device, and through this circulation, the mash is heated at different times during the fermentation process. The product is maintained at the optimum temperature.

In this way, in the present invention, the mixing and stirring of the mash, the maintenance of the product temperature, and the amount of dissolved oxygen can be performed independently and individually, so it is easy to create the optimal conditions according to the fermentation process of the mash. The mash can be fermented and matured under optimal conditions throughout the entire process, and if mixing and stirring of the mash is required, the mash can be mixed into a slurry by rotating at low speed in a spherical tank equipped with a stirring member. It has the characteristics that it can be mixed and stirred sufficiently well without the risk of oxidation, and the performance of this seed fermentation tank as a whole can be greatly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view in central longitudinal section showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view in longitudinal section thereof, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view. In the figure, 1 is the tank body, 2 is the horizontal axis, 3 is the bearing, 4a, 4b are the lids, 5 is the stirring member, 6 is the rotary drive device, 7 is the supply pipe, 8 is the exhaust pipe, 9 is the circulation The tube 10 is a liquid sealing mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tank body rotatably mounted on a hollow horizontal axis, a rotary drive device for rotating the main body at low speed, a heating and cooling device for the mash, and a blowing of air into the mash. The tank body is of a substantially spherical closed type, and stirring members are provided at appropriate locations on the inner surface, and the heating and cooling device is connected to the tank body through the hollow part of the horizontal horizontal axis. A rotary mash fermentation tank characterized in that it is equipped with piping as an air blowing device and piping as the air blowing device.