JP2022522735A - Methods for processing at least two starting materials - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for treating at least two starting materials to be processed into a product, wherein a predetermined moisture section is provided for each starting material. Each moisture section is subdivided into two or more moisture classes, b. The water content of each starting material was measured prior to treatment and c. Assign the measured starting material and its water content to one of the water classes, d. A method characterized in that the starting materials are treated by treatment with their moisture class. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a method for processing at least two starting materials into output materials. In this treatment method, a predetermined moisture section is maintained for each starting material. In this method, the starting material from which the moisture is derived from a predetermined moisture section is treated. In this case, the starting material can be not only a material made of different substances, but also a raw material made of the same substance which is different in terms of the water content of the starting material because it is derived from, for example, different veils or other preforms. This method can be a manufacturing method or a mixing method.

Treatments for processing at least two starting materials have been found in various technical fields, for example, the (primary) preparation of tobacco is such a treatment. Some starting materials with a given moisture content are also treated with each other when treating other natural substances such as cotton, cocoa, tea leaves and the like. In the primary treatment of tobacco, for example, the water content of different tobacco types is adapted together through a moisturizing treatment in an intermediate step. In the following, water, water content, and water value are used as synonyms, where these amounts always refer to the relative amount [%] of water in an individual or other medium. Moisture content refers to absolute weight only when explicitly mentioned.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,809 discloses a method for determining the water content of a tobacco material, which comprises irradiating the tobacco material with microwaves to determine the water content of the tobacco material. Has been done.

Methods and devices for adjusting the water content of tobacco materials are known in Chinese Patent No. 10566058. The method provides a step of measuring tobacco material using an online moisture measurement detector. The output material is processed towards a fixed standard moisture value, while the tobacco material that does not match the standard moisture value is dried or heated.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,809 Chinese Patent No. 10566058

It is an object of the present invention to improve the quality of the product when the starting material provided with the predetermined moisture section is processed and the treatment is completed.

The object is achieved by the method having the feature of claim 1 according to this invention. An advantageous embodiment is the subject of the dependent claim.

The method according to the invention is provided for processing at least two starting materials. At least two starting materials are processed in this way into a single product. In this method, the water content of each starting material is measured. Starting materials whose moisture content is within a predetermined moisture interval are acceptable for processing. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, it is provided to subdivide each moisture section into two or more moisture classes. Each of the moisture classes defines a range of values for the moisture content of the starting material within the moisture interval. Further, the solution according to the invention provides to measure the water content of each starting material prior to treatment. Corresponding to the measured moisture content, exactly one moisture class is assigned to each starting material for subsequent treatment. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, it is provided to treat starting materials corresponding to their moisture classes. This means that the treatment with method steps or parameters associated with the treatment is selected according to the moisture class.

The method according to the invention is based on the recognition that it may be difficult in some cases to provide starting materials with precisely specified standard moisture and treat them. Therefore, a moisture class is used to process the starting material and the starting material is processed corresponding to the moisture class. Moisture class-dependent treatments have a water content, as compared to using starting materials that have a water content somewhere within a predetermined water content range that is acceptable for the treatment and can be treated. The distribution of values results in a narrower range, which can achieve surprisingly disproportionately positive results for the underlying product. When processing different starting materials with respect to water content, one can expect to achieve positive results for the output material, in principle, given a properly selected average for the average water content of the starting material. .. The present invention confirms that a moisture class dependent treatment yields disproportionately positive results in terms of scrap reduction and spatially uniform moisture distribution in the treated product.

In a preferred evolutionary form, the water content can be adapted while being treated by drying and / or moisturizing as a method step performed according to the water class. In particular, this allows only drying or moisturization, depending on the moisture class, as long as necessary, thus accelerating the process and reducing the process time. Perhaps more importantly, it has the advantage of producing an output material with a significantly more uniform water distribution for subsequent processing. Since the treatment parameters are in harmony with the moisture class, the moisture of the material after drying or moisturizing is much more evenly distributed with respect to the target moisture, i.e. than when using the same treatment parameters for all moisture classes. Also has little variation. Moreover, it makes the process easier and less expensive.

In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the water content of the finally treated product is measured and the treatment is adjusted to provide a uniform water distribution to the treated product. In this case, it is of course important to keep in mind that the water content always has a constant spread around the average. By selecting the treatment control according to the moisture class and the moisture class, the spread around the average is reduced. Disproportionate result improvement is achieved, for example, by correcting the parameters for method management by adapting and appropriately re-examining the water content of the final processed product.

In one evolution of the method according to the invention, a moisture measurement of the final treated product can be provided by measuring the average moisture content and / or the spatial uniformity of the moisture content. Spatial uniformity of water content can be measured, for example, by obtaining and measuring different samples of the treated product at different locations within the sample. Permeation measurements where the final processed product is fully irradiated can also be used for the final processed product. The advantage of permeation measurement is that it provides more information about the spatial moisture distribution inside the final processed product.

Following the moisture measurement in the treated product, certain treatment parameters are adapted or corrected depending on the average moisture content and / or the uniformity of the moisture content. In this case, the treatment parameters are optimized, for example, to ensure uniformity, i.e., spatial uniformity of water content in the treated product. Additionally, in any case, depending on the moisture measurement of the finished product, it can also be provided to undertake individual processing steps, such as storage, or to eliminate individual processing steps.

In one preferred embodiment, the starting material is a different tobacco variety. During production, it is known to treat tobacco varieties such as Oriental, Virginia (and Burly, etc.). Starting materials are also processed, for example, from different tobacco veils or other preforms of the same variety. If the tobacco varieties are one and the same, for example Burly or Virginia, they can be different.

A preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention provides method steps for conditioning the starting material. Conditioning is generally done using a conditioning drum that brings the starting material to the target moisture content according to the moisture class of the starting material, with parameters such as duration, moisture content, and / or temperature. The conditioning step for the starting material is carried out corresponding to the identified moisture class. To achieve this, it can be provided, for example, to select a parameter set for the conditioning process, corresponding to the first identified moisture class for the starting material.

In a preferred evolution, the method step of conditioning with conditioning parameters is corrected corresponding to the moisture measurement of the finished product. The measurement of the finished product may be related to the spatial uniformity of the moisture content and / or the moisture content in the product. When correcting parameters for conditioning based on the finished product, for example, while the average moisture content remains unchanged, the moisture value at which the material is spatially and more uniformly distributed at the end of conditioning. Only the spatial uniformity of the water content can be improved, for example, by changing the parameters for the conditioning process, for example. In particular, the permeation method has proven to be particularly advantageous for measuring finished final products. The transmission method examines in detail how the product reacts when it is irradiated with microwaves. In this case, the microwave passes through the product and is affected by the water content and thus the dielectric properties of the water. In this case, by correspondingly back-calculating from the transmitted wave packet, it is possible to draw conclusions about the average water content and / or even the spatial distribution of water along the direction of movement of the product. Depending on the embodiment of the transmission method, the transmitted beam can be further reflected, whereby one or more wave packets pass through the product twice.

The present invention will be further described below with respect to exemplary embodiments.

The water content of pipe tobacco recorded over time and its uniformity, as well as the relative distribution of the water value of pipe tobacco are shown. An example of the treatment of Virginia / Original and Burley tobacco is shown in the flowchart.

FIG. 1 shows the progress of the water value [%] from the time immediately before 11:00 to the time after 12:00. Moisture values fluctuate around 11:00 in this case and otherwise have an average of approximately 17.5%. At the same time, FIG. 1 records how uniform the water content in the pipe tobacco. In this case, the dark zone 12 extending around the average specifies the range of 1σ in which 68% of the measured values are present. The thinner outer band 14 specifies a value of 2σ in which approximately 95% of the measured values are present. This distribution is evident in the relative moisture depiction at the bottom of FIG. Here, the frequency distribution of the water value is plotted for each relative water value. The frequency distribution is obtained for each relative moisture value by measuring with a sensor for a certain time length at the measurement point, for example, from 5 minutes to 10 minutes. For example, the moisture value 16 is clearly found to occur in measurements of basic products with measurements of approximately 15.5%, which are the measurements that occur at 11 o'clock. It is also clearly seen that a very large and wide distribution is due to these measurements, which represents the final product with a non-uniform water distribution. As a result, using the method according to the invention, not only is the average moisture present at the desired value, but the moisture is evenly distributed in the underlying product, for example 90% is given moisture. It exists inside the window 18.

FIG. 2 describes the treatment of two tobacco varieties in the so-called primary treatment. The starting point in this case is the Original and Virginia 10 tobacco varieties with moisture content (MC) of 9% to 11%, respectively, as well as the Burley 12 tobacco collection. For example, Oriental is added to the treatment at a mass flow rate of 1.5 t / h, and Virginia is added at a mass flow rate of 5 t / h. Burley 12 can be added at the same mass flow rate. Unveil the compacted tobacco, get the tobacco from the veil, and cut if applicable. In this case, a total volumetric flow rate of 6.5 t / h for Oriental / Virginia 10 is generated with an average moisture content of 10%. The temperature is 25 ° C.

In the next treatment steps 14 and 16, both tobacco streams are conditioned, for which 455 L of water is added per hour. The basic product has a larger mass due to the absorbed water of 7.31 t / h and the water content of 20% at the initial temperature of 65 ° C.

Subsequent mixing and storage In 18, 20, the tobacco stream is stored and prepared for subsequent processing.

For Burley 12 tobacco varieties, storage option 20 is followed by packaging step 22. In packaging, a liquid mixture of water, glycerin, and other substances is added to the tobacco to coat the individual tobacco fibers. In relation to packaging, the water content is increased from 20% to 36% by supplying the corresponding amount of water. In the next drying step 24, the water content is then reduced to 18% and then refitted to 20% water content in the next repackaging 26. Then for Burley 12, mixing and storage 28 follows. Similar to the Virginia / Original 10 tobacco varieties, the mixture and storages 18, 28 do not change the water content, but rather the water content remains unchanged at 20%. This is followed by a final mixing process 30 in which the water content also remains unchanged at 20%. The mixture made in this way is then fed to the final cutting and drying step 32. In doing so, the water content is reduced from 20% to 13%. The final processed product in terms of moisture is then fed to the flavoring step 34 for storage in a silo 36 having a constant moisture content. From the silo 36, the tobacco mixture is then fed to cigarette making 38 with a water content of 13%.

The method according to the invention provides a step of measuring the water content of tobaccos 10 and 12 as starting materials and a step of dividing the water content into, for example, two water classes A and B, for example A is 9. Corresponds to a moisture content of 0% to 9.9% and B corresponds to a moisture content of 10.0% to 11%. The Virgina tobacco 10 can have a significantly larger mass flow in the treatment, eg, in this case, preferably six moisture classes I-VI are formed. Class I corresponds to 9.0% to 9.5% moisture, Class II corresponds to 9.6% to 10.0% moisture, ..., Class VI corresponds to 10.5% to 11.0%. Corresponds to the moisture content of.

The method according to the invention carries out the division into different moisture classes, as described above. Moisture classes can be graded against each other with varying fineness. In one possible embodiment of the method, the division into moisture classes takes place just prior to the first conditioning steps 14 and 16. In this case, the parameters of the conditioning process can be selected according to the moisture class. For example, when supplying a moisture class V Virginia cigarette 10 to conditioning step 14, parameters in a conditioning cylinder that can be designed, for example, as a DCC (direct conditioning cylinder), are selected. be able to. In this case, these parameters differ from the parameters that control the conditioned cylinder when another moisture class is present. Controlling the conditioning steps 14 and 16 depending on the water class results in a water content of 20% with a significantly narrower distribution in the treatment steps 40 and 42. When assuming a normal distribution with respect to the distribution of water values, the width at half maximum of the water values can be determined. Conditioning steps 14 and 16 are performed according to the moisture class, so that the tobacco flow is more than half the width at half maximum when performing the tobacco flow without the moisture class and without parameter control depending on the moisture. Also occurs with a significantly narrower 20% moisture value.

For Burley 12 tobacco varieties, the division into the corresponding moisture classes can also be done in method steps 44 and 46. The 20% water content is increased to 36% in packaging method step 22. In this case, in method step 44, it is possible to measure the tobacco flow supplied to method step 22 and control method step 22 corresponding to the moisture class. In this case, the parameters that determine method step 22, such as the amount of water supplied (in liters), are also adjusted according to the measured moisture class. Accordingly, the Burley Tobacco 12 can also be divided into moisture classes for the dryer step 24, for example the drying time accordingly can be adapted in method step 24. In principle, it is also possible to control this method step corresponding to the water class measured in method step 48 in order to increase the water content from 18% to 20% in method step 26. Similarly, for the final mixing 30 in method step 50, the water content can be measured in the cutting and drying step 32, for example the duration of the drying process and the drying temperature can be controlled accordingly.

In addition to the constant division into moisture classes described above on the input side, and the corresponding moisture class-dependent control of subsequent method steps, the average moisture content of the final product after storage silo 36 in method step 52. And / or it is also possible to measure the uniformity of the water distribution. The individual parameters can then be corrected in the process based on the moisture measurement of the finished product in method step 52. However, if, for example, the measurement in method step 52 shows that the average moisture content is mottled at 13%, but there is a certain amount of spatial uniformity in the moisture distribution, then this can be used, for example, for individual individuals. Method Steps can be changed. For example, if the drying temperature is reduced and the drying time is lengthened accordingly in the drying steps 24 and 32, the uniformity of the water distribution can be improved. Also, when combining tobacco in method steps 14 and 16, it is possible to reduce the supply rate of the liquid and at the same time increase the treatment duration due to the conditioning steps 14 and 16. In this case, the parameter value related to the processing step was corrected based on the moisture measurement of the finished product 52, and in this case, the parameter depending on the moisture class measured on the input side of the processing step was always corrected.

10 Virginia Tobacco 12 Burley Tobacco Varieties 14 and 16 Conditioning Steps 14, 16 Processing Steps 18, 20, 28 Mixing and Storage 22 Packaging Method Step 24 Drying Step 26 Repackaging Method Step 30 Mixing Process 36 Silo 38 Cigarette Production 44 and 46 Methods Step 52 Product

Claims (10)

A method for treating at least two of the starting materials to be processed into a product, wherein a predetermined moisture section is provided for each starting material.
a. Each of the above moisture sections is subdivided into two or more moisture classes.
b. Before processing, the water content of each starting material was measured and
c. One of the moisture classes was assigned the measured starting material and its moisture content.
d. A method characterized in that the starting materials are treated by treatment according to their moisture class. The treatment of the starting material provides individually and separately a method step of moisturizing and / or drying to the target moisture, the provision of which is made corresponding to the moisture class. The method according to 1. Moisture measurement of the finally treated product is performed, and the method management according to the moisture class is applied corresponding to the measurement result of the finally treated product, and the finally treated product is applied. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the uniform water distribution of the above is achieved. The method of claim 3, wherein the moisture measurement of the finished product measures the average moisture content and / or the spatial uniformity of the moisture content. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the processing parameters for at least one processing step are corrected according to the moisture measurement of the finished product. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the at least one processing step is additionally provided or omitted depending on the moisture measurement of the finished product. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the starting material has different tobacco varieties or tobacco varieties obtained from different veils or other preforms. Conditioning is provided as a method step using parameters selected according to the moisture class with respect to duration, moisture, and / or temperature, and the starting material is brought to a predetermined target moisture. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the conditioned method step using the parameter of the method step is corrected corresponding to the moisture measurement of the finished product. .. The conditioning method step using the parameters of the method step is characterized in that it is corrected corresponding to the average water content and / or spatial water distribution measured for the finished product using the permeation method. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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