Weathered reef-building coral material

Details Weathered reef-building coral material Weathered reef-building coral material

1998-06-12

2000-03-07

Dudash, Diana

Coating processes

Foraminous product produced

Filter, sponge, or foam

424439, 424489, 424520, 424549, 426 74, 427215, 427309, 427337, 427353, 427354, 427369, 4274301, 4274431, 2105001, 210501, 210506, B05D 136, B05D 302, B05D 310, B05D 312

Patent

active

060337303

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a process for manufacturing a weathered reef-building coral material suitable for food materials, filter mediums and so forth, by removing organic substances originating from marine algae, microorganism and so forth held in porous tissue of weathered reef-building coral, and also relates to a weathered reef-building coral material obtained by this process and an immersion treating apparatus suitable for carrying out this process.


BACKGROUND ART

Coral insects inhabiting sea areas in the temperate zone, the subtropical zone and the tropical zone form coral reefs. The coral reefs weather and one after another turn into spalls or particles with lapse of thousands to tens of thousands of years after the death of coral insects living in the coral reefs. Such spalls or particles are carried by ocean currents, and they settle on the sea bed according to particle size by the action of the levigation in ocean currents and accumulate there. The weathered reef-building coral is an accumulation of such spalls or particles.
The weathered reef-building coral have a very porous fine structure. This porous fine structure is a dwelling site of the inhabitation of coral insects, and organic substances originating from various marine algae and microorganisms (e.g., Vibrio bacteria) inhabiting the ocean are held therein while the weathered reef-building coral exists at the sea bed for many years.
The weathered reef-building coral is utilized as food materials for supplementing calcium, or as filter mediums for water purifiers, agricultural soil conditioners and so forth. When it is used in food materials and filter mediums for water purifiers, it is required to remove the above organic substances from the viewpoint of safety, and is also required to take measures for disinfection or sterilization so that microbiological safety can be ensured.
As a conventional process by which weathered reef-building coral materials used as food materials are manufactured from the weathered reef-building coral, the following steps are taken, as schematically shown in FIG. 4.
That is, first, the weathered reef-building coral is collected from the sea bed by a pumping boat, and is classified according to manufacture purposes into portions with predetermined particle or grain size [e.g., passing a 10-mesh sieve (particle diameters of 2.0 mm or smaller) and leaving on a 80-mesh sieve (particle diameters of 0.18 mm or larger)]. The weathered reef-building coral thus classified is landed and thereafter stored in a stockyard, and the greater part of sea water salt is removed therefrom by spraying city water over the whole, followed by air-drying. This is then brought into a factory, and is sieved in the factory yard by a vibrating sifter according to the predetermined particle or grain size, which is again washed with water using a washing machine, followed by dehydration and drying and further followed by dry heat disinfection or dry sterilization usually at 100 to 200.degree. C. The resultant material is pulverized and sifted to adjust their particle or grain size to a predetermined particle or grain size, and then packaged for commercialization. Alternatively, the material brought into a factory, sieved, and washed with water followed by dehydration and drying is then roasted at a temperature within the rage where calcium carbonate, the main component of the weathered reef-building coral, is not decomposed (250 to 600.degree. C.), and this is pulverized and sifted to adjust their particle or grain size to a predetermined particle or grain size and then packaged for commercialization. The weathered reef-building coral material for food thus obtained is made to have particle diameters small enough to pass a 300-mesh sieve, i.e. particle diameters of 45 .mu.m or smaller.
As a conventional process for manufacturing filter mediums for water purifiers, like the above process for manufacturing weathered reef-building coral materials for food, the weathered reef-building coral is collected, sieved in the facto

REFERENCES:
patent: 3622379 (1971-11-01), Fehmerling
patent: 3690333 (1972-09-01), Kierner
patent: 3890107 (1975-06-01), White et al.
patent: 3929971 (1975-12-01), Roy
patent: 3955018 (1976-05-01), Liberto
patent: 4314380 (1982-02-01), Miyata et al.
patent: 4540584 (1985-09-01), Someya
patent: 4770860 (1988-09-01), Ewers et al.
patent: 5169682 (1992-12-01), Asai
patent: 5355901 (1994-10-01), Mielnik et al.

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