Apparatus for and method of steam treating of plant fibres
AssigneeHaygain Ltd
InventorsBecky WINDELL, James MILES, Edzo WISMAN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for steam treating plant fibres is provided, the apparatus comprising: a steam manifold that is adapted to receive steam from a steam source and to distribute steam to a plurality of lances, the lances being configured to deliver steam into the interior volume of a batch of plant fibres; a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the batch of plant fibres, and a controller. The controller is configured to receive a signal from the temperature sensor, and to control the supply of steam to the lances to raise the temperature of the plant fibres to a target temperature. A method of steaming plant fibres is also provided.
Claims38
An apparatus for steam treating plant fibres, the apparatus comprising:
- a steam manifold that is adapted to receive steam from a steam source and to distribute steam to a plurality of lances, the lances being configured to deliver steam into the interior volume of a batch of plant fibres;
- a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the batch of plant fibres;
- and
- a controller configured to receive a signal from the temperature sensor, and to control the supply of steam to the lances to raise the temperature of the plant fibres to a target temperature.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the apparatus comprises a container configured to contain the plurality of lances and, in use, the batch of plant fibres.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the apparatus comprises a humidity sensor configured to sense a humidity inside the container, and in which the controller is configured to receive signals from the humidity sensor.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the apparatus comprises a steam generator configured to deliver steam to the manifold.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the controller is programmed to operate in a defrost mode for defrosting and re-hydrating frozen plant fibres, in which controller delivers steam to raise the temperature of a frozen batch of plant fibres to a target temperature range of between 3° C. and 8° C., preferably between 4° C. and 6° C., or 4° C. and 5° C.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the controller is programmed to operate in a steam cleaning mode for killing bacteria on plant fibres, in which controller delivers steam to raise the temperature of a batch of plant fibres to a target temperature range of between 90° C. and 104° C.
An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which at least two of the lances have different lengths.
A method of steaming plant fibres, comprising the steps of:
- inserting a plurality of lances into a batch of plant fibres;
- delivering steam from a steam source, through a manifold, and out of the lances into the batch of plant fibres;
- sensing a temperature of the batch of plant fibres;
- and
- controlling the supply of steam to the lances in response to the sensed temperature, to raise the temperature of the plant fibres to a target temperature.
An apparatus or method according to any preceding claim, in which the plant fibres are animal fodder, such as hay or haylage, or in which the plant fibres are industrial hemp fibres.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.