Presses – Methods – With separation from material of liquid expressed
Patent
1997-09-30
2000-07-18
Gerrity, Stephen F.
Presses
Methods
With separation from material of liquid expressed
99495, 100 39, 100 41, 100 70R, 100106, 100126, 100906, 20415742, 204553, 265443, 4251742, 426478, 426489, B30B 906, B30B 1126
Patent
active
060891475
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for pressing materials.
The invention relates in particular, but without restricting the scope of the inventive concept, to the pressing of materials of vegetable or animal origin in order to extract the juices and to the pressing of materials subject to plastic deformation such as materials extruded to form pellets for zootechnical applications.
2. Background Art
According to known technology, processes for the extraction of substances such as oils or pharmaceutical active ingredients in liquid form or in solvent solutions from the solid materials of vegetable origin containing them include a mechanical pressing stage effected in mechanical or hydraulic presses.
In some cases, the material to be processed, in addition to being mechanically pressed, is also heated by steam and, in other cases still, heating may be substituted by, or combined with, the use of solvents.
Obviously, the characteristic pressure parameters of these processes differ from one material to another. However, one disadvantage of all the processes known to prior art of the type described above is that they require high-intensity compressive forces, applied for considerable lengths of time and resulting in high energy consumption.
Accordingly, the apparatus used to apply the compressive forces with sufficiently high intensity must be very large, having structures that are complex and expensive to make.
Moreover, the use of process fluids such as steam and solvents further increases the complexity of the apparatus because the latter must be equipped with systems to supply the fluids during the process and then to remove them when their action has been completed.
A further disadvantage is that, in some cases, the temperature of the steam and/or of the solvents may adversely affect the properties of the material being processed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a process for pressing materials which overcomes the drawbacks mentioned above. Another aim of the invention is to provide a process that can be advantageously used for materials that are to be subjected to plastic deformation, as in extrusion, for example.
The invention achieves these and other aims by providing a pressing process in which the material is subjected to a mechanical pressing stage combined with an ultrasonic vibration stage. These two stages are carried out at the same time by a sonotrode pressure element that vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency.
The ultrasonic energy which goes through the material during the mechanical pressing stage produces the surprising effect of modifying the internal state of the material so as to considerably reduce the resistance offered by the material to the pressure exerted on it. The mechanical compression of the material therefore requires less force.
Compared to conventional processes, the pressing process achieved by the present invention is much more efficient because it requires much less power. In fact, all other conditions being equal, the process disclosed by the present invention, compared to a pressing process using a conventional press, reduces by two orders of magnitude the compressive force required and the length of time for which the force must be applied.
Another advantage of the invention is that it is effective at ambient temperature and therefore there is practically no deterioration of the material as a result of temperature.
Since the compressive forces are considerably reduced, the apparatus required is much simpler, more economical and longer lasting.
Moreover, no process fluids are required, with obvious advantages in terms of simplicity of construction and operation of the apparatus required to implement the process.
Yet another advantage of the invention is that, if applied to materials subject to plastic deformation, it produces the same degree of deformation at low temperature that conventional processes, under equal conditions of compression, can only achieve at much higher tem
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Cavallari Cristina
Cini Maurizio
Motta Giuseppe
Rodriguez Lorenzo
Gerrity Stephen F.
Saitec S.R.L.
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