# US 5,704,276 A · System for processing liquid foodstuff or liquid medicine with a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide

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- Number: US 5,704,276 A
- Document ID: US5704276A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/639,437
- Filed: 1996-04-29
- Granted: 1998-01-06
- Earliest claimed: 1996-01-29
- Assignees: Shimadzu Corporation; Nippon Tansan Company, Limited
- Inventors: Yutaka Osajima; Mituya Shimoda; Tamotu Kawano; Kunihiko Okubo
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5704276A

## CPC

- C11B 9/025: {Recovery by solvent extraction}
- A23B 2/103: {using sub- or super-atmospheric pressures, or pressure variations transmitted by a liquid or gas}
- A23B 2/704: in the form of gases, e.g. fumigation; Compositions or apparatus therefor
- A23B 2/788: Inorganic compounds
- A23B 70/00: Preservation of non-alcoholic beverages (preservation of beverages from legumes A23B75/10; preservation of beverages containing tea, tea substitutes or herbal tea A23B85/10; preservation of beverages containing coffee or coffee substitutes A23B90/10)
- A23L 2/70: Clarifying or fining of non-alcoholic beverages; Removing unwanted matter
- A23L 27/11: {obtained by solvent extraction}
- C11B 9/022: {Refining}
- C12H 1/14: with non-precipitating compounds, e.g. sulfiting; Sequestration, e.g. with chelate-producing compounds
- Y10S 261/07: Carbonators
- C11B: PRODUCING, e.g. BY PRESSING RAW MATERIALS OR BY EXTRACTION FROM WASTE MATERIALS, REFINING OR PRESERVING FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES, e.g. LANOLIN, FATTY OILS OR WAXES; ESSENTIAL OILS; PERFUMES (drying-oils C09F)
- A23B: PRESERVATION OF FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES
- A23L: FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF (preservation thereof A23B)
- C12H: PASTEURISATION, STERILISATION, PRESERVATION, PURIFICATION, CLARIFICATION OR AGEING OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES; METHODS FOR ALTERING THE ALCOHOL CONTENT OF FERMENTED SOLUTIONS OR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES (simulation ageing by flavouring C12G3/06)
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

## Abstract

A system for continuously de-activating enzymes, sterilizing or deodorizing a liquid material such as liquid foodstuff or liquid medicine with a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide. The system includes the following 1) a liquid material is continuously supplied from an inlet at a bottom of a processing tank; 2) micro-particles of the supercritical fluid of the carbon dioxide are formed so that a density of the supercritical fluid is smaller than that of the liquid material; 3) the micro-particles of the supercritical fluid are injected continuously into the liquid material from another inlet at the bottom of the processing tank; and 4) the liquid material and the supercritical fluid are separated into different phases at the top of the processing tank and are taken out of the processing tank separately.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system for continuously processing a liquid material such as liquid foodstuff or liquid medicine with a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide, the system comprising:
a processing tank;
a liquid material inlet port provided at a bottom of the processing tank for continuously supplying the liquid material into the processing tank;
means for maintaining a surface level of the liquid material in the processing tank;
means for changing the carbon dioxide into the supercritical fluid so that a density of the supercritical fluid is smaller than that of the liquid material;
means for forming micro-particles of the supercritical fluid of the carbon dioxide;
means provided at the bottom of the processing tank for continuously injecting the micro-particles of the supercritical fluid into the liquid material in the processing tank;
a liquid material outlet port provided on a wall of the processing tank just below the surface level of the liquid material in the processing tank for continuously taking out the liquid material; and
a supercritical fluid drainage port provided to the processing tank with an end placed above the surface level of the liquid material for continuously draining the supercritical fluid.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A system according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a supercritical fluid retrieving passage connecting the supercritical fluid drainage port to the carbon dioxide changing means.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

A system according to claim 2, further comprising:
a separation tank provided in the supercritical fluid retrieving passage;
means for controlling a pressure and a temperature in the separation tank for extracting volatile component included in the supercritical fluid; and
an outlet provided to the separation tank for taking out the volatile component from the separation tank.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

A system according to claim 3, wherein the outlet is connected to a passage connected to the liquid material outlet port for returning the volatile component to the liquid material.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

A system according to claim 1, wherein the micro-particle forming means comprise a filter with a mesh size of 100 .mu.m or less.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A system according to claim 1, wherein the micro-particle forming means comprise a supersonic oscillator.