Patent ID: 8757527

Claim:
A raw material supply apparatus, comprising: a hopper having a discharge spout protruding downward; a porous tubular member arranged at the discharge spout of the hopper, and having a water-passing property or a liquid permeability; a first quantitative discharge device disposed below the tubular member in a vertical posture for sending out a constant amount of a solid raw material and a liquid raw material, and having a discharge port; a grinding apparatus disposed below the first quantitative discharge device, and having a supply port connected to the discharge port of the first quantitative discharge device; an effluent pathway for discharging the liquid raw material from the hopper; a storage tank connected to the effluent pathway for storing the discharged liquid raw material; and a supply pathway connected to the storage tank for supplying the liquid raw material stored in the storage tank to the hopper; wherein the tubular member in the vertical posture is arranged to supply the solid raw material and the liquid raw material so that the solid raw material is gathered in a columnar shape, while the liquid raw material is discharged to the hopper to quantitatively discharge the solid raw material to the first quantitative discharge device.