TWI785375B - System for plant milk production - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a plant milk preparation system, which includes a grinding module, a blending module, a conveying module, and a monitoring module, wherein the grinding module is used to feed and grind a plant material; the blending The module is used for mixing and homogenizing the ground plant material and a food additive; the conveying module is used for transporting the ground plant material to the grinding module or the blending module; and the monitoring module is used for The grinding effect of the plant material is sensed and feed and/or grinding operating conditions are adjusted accordingly. Compared with the conventional vegetable milk preparation system, the preparation system of the present invention can greatly improve the grinding efficiency, save time and equipment costs for batch grinding, and improve the problem of uneven mixing of food additives and plant materials.

Description

Vegetable milk preparation system

The invention relates to a plant milk preparation system. In particular a system for grinding, mixing and homogenizing a vegetable material to prepare it into a vegetable milk.

Plant milk (also known as plant-based milk) is a non-dairy beverage made by grinding water with plant materials. In addition to being a vegan food, vegetable milk is similar in appearance and taste to milk, so it is often used to replace dairy products produced by mammals. From a nutritional point of view, plant milk is rich in cellulose, low in cholesterol and saturated fatty acids, and does not contain lactose and other dairy allergens (dairy allergens). Therefore, in addition to vegetarian consumers, it also attracts many people with lactose Consumers with intolerance, allergies to dairy products, or consumers who pay attention to healthy diet; on the other hand, in recent years, the rise of moral awareness such as animal welfare, ecological conservation, and environmental protection has also simultaneously promoted a considerable market for plant-based milk growth.

Among the common vegetable milks, apart from soy milk and rice milk, which first began to circulate and became popular in Asia, in recent years, European and American countries have also gradually There has been a craze for almond milk, peanut milk, coconut milk, oat milk, and cashew milk.

However, as far as the manufacture and processing of vegetable milk is concerned, the particle size of the slurry after the plant material is ground, as well as the degree of dispersion and suspension of the fat components in the plant material and other food additives, may affect the stability of the vegetable milk. A common situation is that plant milk is prone to protein denaturation due to high-temperature sterilization treatment or mixing with high-temperature beverages such as hot coffee, which in turn leads to phenomena such as stratification, flocculation, precipitation or curdling, and then Affect the shelf life of the product as well as the appearance and taste when drinking. In order to solve this problem, most of the current vegetable milk production processes must carry out pretreatments such as crushing and heating gelatinization on plant materials, and then connect multiple grinding equipment and homogenizers in series to perform multiple grinding and homogenization treatments. At the same time, product quality must be tested at various stages of production; on the other hand, the stability of vegetable milk must be increased by adding more emulsifiers or thickeners.

However, the repeated grinding and homogenization in these processes not only complicate the operation steps, but also consume a lot of time and equipment costs; on the other hand, additional emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, etc Additives may also reduce consumers' willingness to buy.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a vegetable milk preparation system capable of real-time monitoring and regulation of grinding performance, avoiding problems such as product stratification and uneven mixing, and further improving the stability of the obtained vegetable milk.

Therefore, the vegetable milk preparation system of the present invention includes a grinding module, a blending module, a conveying module, and a monitoring module.

The grinding module includes a feeding unit for feeding a plant material to be ground, and a grinding unit for grinding the plant material to be ground.

The blending module includes a mixing device for mixing the ground vegetable material with a food additive, and a homogenizing device for homogenizing the vegetable material mixed with the food additive to produce a homogeneous product.

The transport module is used to transport the ground plant material back to the grinding unit or to the mixing device.

The monitoring module includes a sensing element set arranged on the conveying module and used for sensing a physical and chemical parameter of the ground plant material, and a set of sensing elements simultaneously connected with the sensing element set, the grinding module, and the conveying A controller electrically connected to the module, the controller is used for: a) receiving the detection value of the physical and chemical parameters obtained by the sensing element group; b) comparing the detection value with a preset value; and c) according to comparing the results to control the conveying module and the grinding module, Wherein, when the detected value of the physical and chemical parameter meets the corresponding preset value, control the grinding unit of the grinding module to stop grinding, and control the delivery module to deliver the ground plant material to the blending module ; and when the detected value of the physicochemical parameter does not meet the corresponding preset value, perform at least one of the following operations: i) control the conveying module to convey the ground plant material back to the grinding unit for further processing further grinding; ii) calculate a feed setting value according to the comparison result, and feed back the feed setting value to the grinding module and control the feeding unit of the grinding module to perform further feeding based on the setting value and iii) calculating a grinding setting value according to the comparison result, feeding back the grinding setting value to the grinding module and controlling the grinding unit of the grinding module to perform grinding with the setting value.

The effect of the vegetable milk preparation system of the present invention is that through the electrical connection setting of the grinding module, the conveying module and the monitoring module, the grinding effect of the plant material can be sensed in real time and the grinding and/or processing can be adjusted accordingly. The operating conditions of the raw materials can be improved to improve the overall grinding performance, and at the same time reduce the time and equipment costs for batch grinding; in addition, the addition, mixing and homogenization of food additives can be carried out through this preparation module, which can avoid the problem of uneven mixing , especially as a result of stratification of food additives in the oil phase and ground vegetable material.

1: Grinding module

11: Feeding unit

111: Feed chute

112: Conveyor

12: Grinding unit

2: deployment module

21: Mixing device

211: mixing tank

212: First Blender

213: centrifugal pump

22: Homogenizing device

221: Stirring homogeneous unit

222: Stirring and homogenizing tank

223: second mixer

224: Homogenizer

225: High pressure homogenization unit

226: balance tank

227: heater

228: High pressure homogenizer

23: Constant temperature device

231: heater

232: Thermometer

3: Conveyor module

31: Delivery pump

32: Switching valve

4: Monitoring module

41: Sensing element group

411: sensing element

42: Controller

5: Sterilization module

6: Packaging Module

The above-mentioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after referring to the following detailed description and preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the present invention The electrical connection relationship between a feeding unit of a grinding module and a grinding unit, a conveying module, a sensing element group of a monitoring module and a controller in an embodiment of the vegetable milk preparation system; and Fig. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of this embodiment.

Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the plant milk preparation system of the present invention includes a grinding module 1, a blending module 2, a delivery module 3, a monitoring module 4, a sterilization module 5, and a packaging module 6.

The grinding module 1 includes a feeding unit 11 for feeding a plant material to be ground, and a grinding unit 12 for grinding the plant material to be ground. The feed unit 11 has a feed trough 111 for containing the plant material to be ground and communicated with the grinding unit 12 in a closeable manner, and a feed trough 111 for transporting the plant material to be ground to the feed trough 111 Conveyor (conveyer) 112.

The plant material suitable for the present invention can adopt the material that those skilled in the art are used to preparing plant milk, including, but not limited to: cereals (cereals) [comprising rice (rice) and oat (oat)], quasi-cereals (pseudocereals) )[including quinoa (quinoa)], legumes (including soybeans, peanuts, peas, and chickpea), nuts (including apricot kernels, almonds) , cashew, walnut, hazelnut, and coconut], seeds (including sesame and sunflower seeds), and combinations thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plant material is almond.

According to the present invention, food materials other than the plant materials can also be fed by the feeding unit 11 , eg, additionally loaded into the feeding tank 111 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the feed tank 111 is pre-filled with soft water.

The conveyors 112 suitable for the present invention include, but are not limited to: belt conveyors, chain conveyors, helical conveyors, and combinations thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the conveyor 112 is a screw conveyor.

According to the present invention, the grinding unit 12 has a mill selected from the group consisting of: ball mill, rod mill, colloidal mill, and their combinations. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the grinding unit 12 has a colloid grinder.

The compounding module 2 includes a mixing device 21 for mixing the ground plant material with an additional food additive, a homogenization of the plant material mixed with the food additive to produce a homogeneous product (homogenized product) homogenizing device 22, and a constant temperature device 23 for regulating the temperature of the plant material mixed with food additives at different stages. The constant temperature device 23 has a plurality of thermometers 232 and a plurality of heaters 231 respectively arranged on the conveying module 3, the mixing device 21 and the homogenizing device 22. Through the setting of the thermometers 232 and the heaters 231, it is possible to The temperature of the plant material mixed with the food additive is detected immediately and controlled and maintained at a desired temperature so that the food additive can be completely dissolved.

The conveying module 3 communicates with the grinding unit 12 of the grinding module 1 and the mixing device 21 of the blending module 2 , and is provided with a plurality of conveying pumps 31 and switching valves 32 . By driving and regulating the flow of the delivery pumps 31, and changing the delivery direction by the switching valves 32, the delivery module 3 can selectively deliver the ground plant material back to the grinding Unit 12, or sent to the mixing device 21.

According to the present invention, the delivery pumps 31 can be selected from the group consisting of screw pumps, rotary pumps, centrifugal pumps, and combinations thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the delivery pumps 31 are centrifugal pumps.

The monitoring module 4 includes a sensing element group 41 and a controller 42 .

The sensing element group 41 is arranged on the conveying module 3 and is used for sensing a physical and chemical parameter of the ground plant material, and returns the detected value of the physical and chemical parameter to the controller 42 . The sensing element group 41 may have a plurality of sensing elements 411 for sensing the same or different physical and chemical parameters.

The controller 42 is electrically connected to the sensing element group 41, the grinding module 1 and the conveying module 3 at the same time, and is used for: a) receiving the detection value of the physical and chemical parameters obtained by the sensing element group 41; b) compare the detected value with a preset value; and c) control the conveying module 3 and the grinding module 1 according to the comparison result, wherein, when the detected value of the physical and chemical parameter meets the corresponding predicted When setting the value, control the grinding unit 12 of the grinding module 1 to stop grinding, and control the delivery module 3 to deliver the ground plant material to the deployment module 2; and when the detected value of the physical and chemical parameter is not When the corresponding preset value is met, at least one of the following operations is performed: i) controlling the conveying module 3 to convey the ground plant material back to the grinding unit 12 for further grinding; ii) according to the comparison result To calculate a feed set value, and feed back the feed set value to the grinding module 1 and control the feeding unit 11 of the grinding module 1 to carry out further feeding according to the set value; and iii) according to the A grinding setting value is calculated by comparing the results, and the grinding setting value is fed back to the grinding module 1 and the grinding unit 12 of the grinding module 1 is controlled to perform grinding based on the setting value.

According to the present invention, the physical and chemical parameters are selected from the group consisting of temperature, flow rate, pressure, particle size, and combinations thereof.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the physical and chemical parameter is particle size, and a sensing element 411 of the sensing element set 41 is a particle size sensing element 411 . The controller 42 will compare the particle size detection value of the ground plant material sensed by the particle size sensing element 411 with a particle size preset value. When the diameter preset value, the controller 42 controls the conveying module 3 to convey the ground plant material back to the grinding unit 12; and calculates a better grinding setting value according to the comparison result, and sends the The grinding setting value is fed back to the grinding module 1 and the grinding unit 12 of the grinding module 1 is controlled to perform grinding according to the grinding setting value, so as to further reduce the particle size of the ground plant material. Until the particle size detection value meets the particle size preset value, the controller 42 controls the grinding unit 12 to stop grinding, and controls the delivery module 3 to deliver the ground plant material to the preparation module Group 2.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the physical and chemical parameter is flow, and a sensing element 411 of the sensing element set 41 is a flow sensing element 411 . The controller 42 will compare the flow detection value of the ground plant material sensed by the flow sensing element 411 with a flow preset value, and when the flow detection value does not meet the flow preset value , the controller 42 controls the delivery pumps 31 in the delivery module 3 to adjust the flow rate of the ground plant material; and calculates a better feed setting value based on the comparison result, and sends the The feeding setpoint is fed back to the grinding module 1 and controlled The conveyor 112 of the feeding unit 11 of the grinding module 1 carries out the conveyance of the plant material with this feed setting value, so that the ratio of the plant material and water in the grinding unit 12 is maintained at a constant value, and can The grinding performance of the grinding unit 12 is maintained.

The mixing device 21 has a mixing tank 211 , a first agitator 212 disposed in the mixing tank 211 , and a centrifugal pump 213 disposed between the mixing tank 211 and the homogenizing device 22 . The mixing tank 211 is used to accommodate the ground plant material and the additional food additive, and the first mixer 212 is used to stir and mix the above two. The centrifugal pump 213 is used to transport the plant material mixed with food additives to the homogenizing device 22, and at the same time, by regulating the speed of the centrifugal pump 213, the plant material mixed with food additives can generate a vortex (vortex) , to prevent the oil phase components in the food additive from floating up to cause stratification, thus ensuring that the degree of mixing will not be affected in the subsequent transportation process.

According to the present invention, the food additive may be selected from the group consisting of: antioxidants [for example, L-ascorbic acid (L-ascorbic acid), butylated hydroxymethoxybenzene (butylated hydroxyl-anisole, BHA)] , nutritional additives (eg, mineral salts and vitamins, such as calcium carbonate and vitamin A), flavoring agents (eg, citric acid and malic acid) ], thickeners (e.g., gellan gum, sodium alginate, and xanthan gum)], other food ingredients (e.g., sucrose, glucose )by and lecithin (lecithin), etc.], and combinations thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the food additive is a combination of lecithin, gellan gum, sucrose, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, and calcium carbonate.

The homogenizing device 22 has a stirring homogenizing unit 221 and a high-pressure homogenizing unit 225 connected in sequence.

The stirring and homogenizing unit 221 has a stirring and homogenizing tank 222 , a second stirring machine 223 , and a homogenizer (homogenizer) 224 . The mixing and homogenizing tank 222 is used to accommodate the plant material mixed with food additives. The second agitator 223 is disposed at the lower part of the mixing and homogenizing tank 222, and is used for continuously agitating and mixing the plant material mixed with food additives to avoid re-stratification. The homogenizer 224 is arranged at the upper part of the stirring and homogenizing tank 222, and is used for homogenizing the liquid surface of the plant material mixed with food additives, so as to further reduce oil droplets floating on the liquid surface.

According to the present invention, the first mixer 212 and the second mixer 223 can be selected from the group consisting of: paddle mixer, turbine mixer, magnetic mixer , and their combinations. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first mixer 212 is a turbine mixer, and the second mixer 223 is a paddle mixer.

According to the present invention, the homogenizer 224 can be selected from the group consisting of: high-shear homogenizer (high-shear homogenizer), online homogenizer (in-line homogenizer), and combinations thereof. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the homogenizer 224 is a high shear homogenizer.

The high-pressure homogenizer unit 225 has a balance tank 226 , a heater 227 and a high-pressure homogenizer 228 connected in sequence. The balance tank 226 is used to temporarily store the crude product obtained by the stirring and homogenizing unit 221 , so as to buffer and adjust the delivery flow between the stirring and homogenizing unit 221 and the high-pressure homogenizer 228 . The heater 227 is used to heat-treat the crude product to reduce its liquid viscosity, so as to enhance the homogenization effect of the subsequent high-pressure homogenizer 228, and the high-pressure homogenizer 228 is used to perform high-pressure homogenization (high pressure homogenization), so that The fat globules in the crude product are further miniaturized to achieve the effect of emulsification, whereby the homogenized product (homogenized product) has further improved stability, and at the same time reduces the need for subsequent high-temperature sterilization treatment or room temperature Stratification, flocculation, precipitation, curdling, demulsification and other phenomena that may be caused by static storage. Therefore, the amount of food additives such as thickeners and emulsifiers added in order to improve the stability of drinks can also be reduced.

The sterilizing module 5 communicates with the compounding module 2 for sterilizing the homogeneous product.

According to the present invention, the sterilizing treatment can be selected from the group consisting of: low-temperature sterilization (pasteurization), high-pressure steam sterilization (high-pressure steam sterilization), ultra-high temperature sterilization [ultra-high-temperature (UHT) sterilization], and their combinations. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sterilizing module 5 is a UHT sterilizer, which is used to perform UHT sterilizing treatment on the homogeneous product.

The packaging module 6 communicates with the sterilization module 5 and is used for filling and packaging the sterilized homogeneous product. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the packaging module 6 is an aseptic filling and packaging machine.

Alternatively, the packaging module 6 can be communicated with the preparation module 2 first for filling and packaging the homogeneous product, and the sterilization module 5 is then communicated with the packaging module 6 for further Sterilize. In a preferred example in this case, the packaging module 6 is a food can filling packaging machine, and the sterilization module 5 is a high-pressure steam sterilizer (not shown).

In summary, the plant milk preparation system of the present invention can sense the physical and chemical parameters of the ground plant material in real time through the settings of the grinding module 1, the delivery module 3 and the monitoring module 4, and according to the The detection value of physical and chemical parameters can be used to adjust and control parameters such as feed setting, grinding setting, grinding time, etc., without manual detection operation, which can not only effectively improve the grinding efficiency, but also save time, manpower and equipment costs for batch grinding In addition, the present invention also continuously adds food additives through the deployment module 2, and continuously stirs and homogenizes, avoiding food additives and ground plant materials Material produces the phenomenon of delamination, liquid surface oil slick or uneven mixing, so the purpose of the present invention can really be achieved.

But what is described above is only an embodiment of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the patent scope of the present invention and the content of the patent specification are still within the scope of the present invention. Within the scope covered by the patent of the present invention.

1: Grinding module

11: Feeding unit

12: Grinding unit

3: Conveyor module

4: Monitoring module

41: Sensing element group

42: Controller

Claims (7)

A plant milk preparation system, comprising: a grinding module, including a feeding unit for feeding a plant material to be ground, and a grinding unit for grinding the plant material to be ground; a blending module A set comprising a mixing device for mixing ground vegetable material with a food additive, and a homogenizing device for homogenizing the vegetable material mixed with the food additive to produce a homogeneous product; a conveying mold a set for conveying the ground plant material back to the grinding unit or to the mixing device; A sensing element group of physical and chemical parameters, and a controller electrically connected to the sensing element group, the grinding module and the conveying module at the same time, the controller is used for: a) receiving the physical and chemical parameters obtained by the sensing element group The detected value of the parameter; b) compare the detected value with a preset value; and c) control the conveying module and the grinding module according to the comparison result, wherein, when the detected value of the physical and chemical parameter meets When the corresponding preset value is reached, control the grinding unit of the grinding module to stop grinding, and control the delivery module to deliver the ground plant material to the blending module; and When the detected value of the physicochemical parameter does not meet the corresponding preset value, at least one of the following operations is performed: i) controlling the conveying module to convey the ground plant material back to the grinding unit for further grinding ; ii) calculating a feed setting value according to the comparison result, feeding back the feed setting value to the grinding module and controlling the feeding unit of the grinding module to perform further feeding with the setting value; and iii) Calculate a grinding setting value according to the comparison result, feed back the grinding setting value to the grinding module and control the grinding unit of the grinding module to perform further grinding based on the setting value. The preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the grinding unit has a colloid grinder. The preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the mixing device has a centrifugal pump, which is used to transport the plant material mixed with food additives to the homogenizing device, and can generate a vortex by adjusting its rotational speed to maintain the mixed food The mixed state of the plant material for the addition. The preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the homogenization device has a stirring homogenization unit and a high-pressure homogenization unit. The preparation system according to claim 1, wherein the physical and chemical parameters are selected from the group consisting of temperature, flow rate, pressure, particle size, and combinations thereof. The preparation system according to claim 1, further comprising a sterilizing module for sterilizing the homogeneous product. The preparation system according to claim 1, further comprising a packaging module for filling and packaging the homogeneous product.

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