US-20260126230-A1 - ICE SLURRY, ICE SLURRY PRODUCTION SYSTEM, ICE SLURRY PRODUCTION DEVICE, AND ICE SLURRY PRODUCTION METHOD

Abstract

An ice slurry production system with excellent refrigeration characteristics is provided. The ice slurry production system includes: an ice slurry storage tank 12 which stores saline solution that is isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated; a disc part 14 and a sweeping part 16 which produce flake ice of the frozen saline solution and mix the flake ice into the saline solution; a liquid nitrogen tank 18 which supplies liquid nitrogen to the disc part 14 ; and a nano-mixer 20 which uses the liquid nitrogen having passed through the disc part 14 to incorporate at least nitrogen nanobubbles, from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles, into the saline solution.

Inventors

• Yoshio HIROKANE

Assignees

• BLANCTEC INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20221026

Priority Date

20211026

Claims (7)

1. 1 . Ice slurry used for refrigerating an object to be refrigerated, comprising: a mixture of a saline solution containing at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles, and flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic with the object to be refrigerated, the ice slurry having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.
2. 2. The ice slurry according to claim 1 , wherein a temperature of the ice slurry is −1° C. or lower.
3. 3 . An ice slurry production system comprising: an ice slurry production tank storing a saline solution isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated; an ice production unit producing flake ice that is the saline solution having frozen, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution; a liquid nitrogen supply source supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen; and a nanobubble supply unit causing the saline solution to contain at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit.
4. 4 . An ice slurry production device comprising: an ice production unit producing flake ice by freezing a saline solution, which is isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated and contains at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution.
5. 5 . The ice slurry production device according to claim 4 , wherein the ice production unit cools the saline solution using cold energy of liquid nitrogen, the ice slurry production device comprising a nanobubble supply unit causing the saline solution to contain at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit.
6. 6 . An ice slurry production method comprising: a first step of supplying a saline solution with at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles, the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated; and a second step of mixing flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, into the saline solution to produce ice slurry having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.
7. 7 . An ice slurry production method comprising: a first step of supplying an ice production unit with liquid nitrogen to cool the ice production unit; a second step of producing flake ice by freezing a saline solution isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution, the second step being performed by the ice production unit; and a third step of supplying the saline solution with at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to, for example, ice slurry, which can be used for transportation and storage of refrigerated products, an ice slurry production system, an ice slurry production device, and an ice slurry production method. BACKGROUND ART For example, fresh foods such as fish, shellfish, and meat are refrigerated as refrigerated products, and these refrigerated products are stored (preserved) or transported in general. Ice slurry is sometimes used for refrigeration of the refrigerated products. In this case, the freshness of the refrigerated products is maintained by immersing thereof in the ice slurry and lowering the temperature. Patent Document 1 mentioned below discloses various technologies for effectively refrigerating and freezing fresh animals and plants, including fish and shellfish. Patent Document 1 also discloses devices for producing various types of ice and refrigerators using ice slurry. In addition, Patent documents 2 and 3 mentioned below disclose a stationary fluid stirring device that generates cavitation by complicated flow of fluid. CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2018-017490 Patent Document 2: Japanese U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,872 Patent Document 3: Japanese U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,873 SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem The technology for refrigerating fresh animals and plants, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, is expected to be able to refrigerate with higher freshness. For this reason, it is necessary to improve the refrigeration characteristics of ice slurry used for refrigeration as much as possible. The challenge of the present invention is to provide ice slurry with excellent refrigeration characteristics, an ice slurry production system, an ice slurry production device, and an ice slurry production method. Solution to Problem In order to solve the above problem, the present invention relates to ice slurry, an ice slurry production system, an ice slurry production device, and an ice slurry production method as follows. (1) Ice slurry used for refrigerating an object (fish or an organ) to be refrigerated, including: a mixture of a saline solution containing at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles, and flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic with the object to be refrigerated, the ice slurry having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.(2) An ice slurry production system including: an ice slurry production tank storing a saline solution isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated; an ice production unit (at least a disc part) producing flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution; a liquid nitrogen supply source supplying the ice production unit with liquid nitrogen; and a nanobubble supply unit (nano-mixer and the like) causing the saline solution to contain at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit.(3) An ice slurry production device including an ice production unit producing flake ice by freezing a saline solution, which is isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated and contains at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution.(4) An ice slurry production method including: a first step of supplying a saline solution with at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles, the saline solution being isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated; and a second step of mixing flake ice, which is the saline solution having frozen, into the saline solution to produce ice slurry having dissolved oxygen of 1.0 mg/L or less.(5) An ice slurry production method including: a first step of supplying an ice production unit with liquid nitrogen to cool the ice production unit; a second step of producing flake ice by freezing a saline solution isotonic or substantially isotonic with an object to be refrigerated, and mixing the flake ice into the saline solution, the second step being performed by the ice production unit; and a third step of supplying the saline solution with at least nitrogen nanobubbles from among nitrogen microbubbles and nitrogen nanobubbles using the liquid nitrogen having passed through the ice production unit. Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide ice slurry with excellent refrigeration characteristics, an ice slurry production system, an ice slurry production device, and an ice slurry production method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an illustration diagram schematically showing an ice slurry production system related