Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Process disinfecting – preserving – deodorizing – or sterilizing – Using disinfecting or sterilizing substance
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-10
2004-11-23
McKane, Elizabeth (Department: 1744)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Process disinfecting, preserving, deodorizing, or sterilizing
Using disinfecting or sterilizing substance
C422S031000, C422S032000, C422S033000, C422S260000, C261SDIG007, C099S323200, C210S764000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06821481
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The invention relates to a continuous processing method and a continuous processing apparatus for continuously carrying out deactivation and sterilization processes of enzymes and spores of liquid-form foods and liquid-form medical supplies, or deodorization process of the liquid-form foods or the like, by using a supercritical or subcritical fluid, and a liquid substance, such as liquid-form food or drink and liquid-form medical supply, obtained by the above method and apparatus.
There are various kinds of liquid-form foods containing enzymes, typically such as refined sake, beer and fruit juice. A manufacturing process of the refined sake includes a first step wherein young sake is obtained by carrying out compression and filtration after completion of a fermentation; a second step wherein the obtained young sake is heated and sterilized, and then stored; a third step wherein the obtained original sake is mixed to determine its quality, and at the same time, to allow its alcoholic content to match the standard; and a fourth step wherein the adjusted sake is again heated to sterilize and filled in a bottle or a paper pack. As described above, in the refined sake which has been subjected to two times of heating processes, the enzymes are deactivated and sterilized, so that the quality of the refined sake during its distribution can be prevented from being deteriorated. However, such a heating process extremely reduces a fresh flavor and taste of the young sake. Therefore, in order to enjoy such fresh flavor and taste, there has been produced a green or fresh sake wherein the heating process is not carried out. The fresh sake is distributed at a cold temperature in order to protect its quality. However, such a fresh sake which has not been subjected to the heating process is liable to deteriorate in its quality due to actions of enzymes, such as an &agr;-amylase, protease or the like. Further, there is a problem that its cost is raised because of the cold temperature distribution.
Also, in order to keep a stability of a turbid juice, such as orange juice, inactivation of pectinesterase is required. Since the pectinesterase is a stable enzyme against heat, in order to carry out inactivation of the pectinesterase by heating, a heat process under the condition of a high temperature in the order of 88 to 99° C. or 120° C., is required. However, when the heat process under such a high temperature is carried out, the flavor of the juice may be deteriorated.
In view of the problems as described above, the present inventors have already proposed a novel technique wherein an enzyme contained in a liquid-form food is subjected to contact with a supercritical state carbon dioxide to thereby deactivate the enzymes (Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) 7-170965). According to the technique, an enzyme contained in the liquid-form food is stored in a process tank and sealed; an interior of the sealed tank is held under the condition of a predetermined temperature and pressure; and a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide is supplied into the process tank through a filter to form a fine size, i.e. average diameter less than several hundreds &mgr;m, so that the supercritical fluid can be easily dissolved in the liquid-form food. According to the method, enzyme can be effectively deactivated, and at the same time, since only carbon dioxide contacts the food, there is an advantage that a high safety can be obtained. Also, according to the method, microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast and mold, can be sterilized at the same time.
Further, the present inventors have proposed a continuous processing apparatus for carrying out the deactivation and sterilization process effectively without deterioration of quality of products (Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) 9-206044, U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,276). In the continuous processing apparatus, a liquid-form food is continuously supplied to a bottom portion of the process tank held at a predetermined pressure and temperature; at the same time, supercritical state carbon dioxide is continuously supplied to the bottom portion of the process tank through a mesh-type filter disposed thereat; and a liquid outlet is provided at an upper portion of the process tank in the vicinity under a liquid-surface to thereby collect a product. The liquid-form food and the fine bubble-form supercritical fluid contact each other while making a parallel flow in an elevating direction in the process tank to thereby effectively deactivate enzymes. Also, a supercritical fluid discharge port is disposed at an upper portion of the process tank, through which the supercritical fluid is taken out and returned to a carbon dioxide supply source to reuse. According to the apparatus, since the liquid-form food can be continuously processed, the apparatus is suitable for a factory which processes a large amount of drinks or foods.
According to the above explained continuous processing apparatus, the deactivation and sterilization process of enzymes can be continuously carried out highly efficiently. However, in case the continuous processing apparatus is to be used practically, there is a problem, especially, in its cost. More specifically, in the above continuous processing apparatus, it is required that the process tank is held at a temperature higher than 31.1° C. in order to hold carbon dioxide in a supercritical state. However, a solubility of carbon dioxide into the liquid-form food becomes lower as the temperature becomes higher. Thus, in view of dissolution, its efficiency is poor. Therefore, in order to obtain sufficient deactivation and sterilization effects, it is required that the liquid-form food and the supercritical fluid are subjected to a parallel flow for a predetermined time in the order of several to several tens of minutes. Therefore, it is necessary to shorten time by making the process tank in a large capacity. Also, in order to hold the process tank at the above-stated temperature, it is required to provide a heater. Further, since a reaction in the process tank becomes slow when a temperature of the liquid-form food supplied to the process tank is low, a heater for properly heating the liquid-form food is required before the food is supplied to the process tank. As described above, the continuous process apparatus requires an equipment on a large scale, which results in a large occupancy area as well as a high cost.
Also, the temperature in the process tank is considerably lower than that for deactivating enzymes by heating, but higher than the room temperature. Thus, in case the liquid-form food is left as it is under such a temperature condition for the predetermined time, the quality of the liquid-form food may be deteriorated. More specifically, for example, a citrus juice right after squeezed contains high active enzymes, so that the enzymes may act on the juice in the process tank before the enzymes are deactivated to deteriorate a quality of the juice.
To solve these problems, the present invention has been made, and an object of the invention is to provide a continuous processing method, a continuous processing apparatus and a liquid-form substance processed thereby, wherein a process tank can be miniaturized and the number of heaters to be disposed can be minimized.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the continuous processing apparatus disclosed in the previous application, a step for dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid-form food and a step for allowing carbon dioxide to be a supercritical state and holding in its state, are carried out in a process tank simultaneously. On the contrary, in a continuous processing method and a continuous processing apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above problems, two processes disclosed in the previous application are carried out separately timewise and spacewise.
More specifically, in the continuous processing method according to the pr
Miyake Masaki
Osajima Yutaka
Shimoda Mitsuya
McKane Elizabeth
Shimadzu Corporation
LandOfFree
Continuous processing method and continuous processing... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Continuous processing method and continuous processing..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Continuous processing method and continuous processing... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3347007