KR102269574B1 - Slurry production method and apparatus for homogenized tobacco material - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for producing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, selecting one or more types of tobacco, coarsely grinding the tobacco in a grinder in which the temperature of an interior space is maintained in a first temperature range by means of a cooling means supplied, and coarsely ground The tobacco is blended and the blended tobacco is finely ground in a fine grinding station where the temperature of the inner space is maintained in the second temperature range by the supplied cooling means.

Description

SLURRY PRODUCTION METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HOMOGENIZED TOBACCO MATERIAL

A method and apparatus for preparing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material.

In recent years, in the manufacture of tobacco products, in addition to tobacco leaves, homogenized tobacco material is used. This homogenized tobacco material is usually made from tobacco stems or parts of tobacco plants that are less suitable for the manufacture of cut fillers, such as tobacco powder. Typically, tobacco powder is produced as a by-product during the handling of tobacco leaves during manufacture.

Common forms of homogenised tobacco material are reconstituted tobacco sheet and cast leaf. The process of forming a sheet of homogenized tobacco material mixes tobacco powder and a binder to form a slurry, uses the slurry to form a tobacco web, and casts the viscous slurry onto a moving metal belt to produce a cast leaf. Alternatively, a low viscosity, high moisture slurry can be used to produce reconstituted tobacco in a process similar to the papermaking process. Homogenized tobacco webs can be cut in a manner similar to whole leaf tobacco to make tobacco cutting fillers suitable for cigarettes and other smoking articles. The function of homogenized tobacco for use in conventional cigarettes is substantially limited in the properties of the tobacco, such as filling power, draw resistance, firmness of tobacco rods and burning properties.

On the other hand, in order to use tobacco leaves for the regenerated tobacco sheet, it is preferable to make a particle size of a certain size through a grinding (or grinding) process, but if the temperature inside the grinder (or grinder) is not controlled, the grinder There is a problem that changes in tobacco leaf components may be caused by high internal temperature.

Various embodiments are directed to providing a method and apparatus for making a slurry for homogenized tobacco material. The technical problems to be achieved by the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems as described above, and other technical problems may be inferred from the following embodiments.

According to one aspect for solving the above-described technical problem, the method for preparing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material includes the steps of selecting one or more tobacco types of tobacco; rough grinding of cigarettes of the selected tobacco types in a grinder in which the temperature of the internal space is maintained in a first temperature range by the supplied cooling means; blending the coarsely ground tobacco; and finely grinding the blended tobacco in a fine grinding station in which the temperature of the inner space is maintained in the second temperature range by the supplied cooling means.

In addition, at least one of the first temperature range and the second temperature range is a temperature range of 100° C. or less.

In addition, the first temperature range and the second temperature range are the same or different from each other.

In addition, the cooling means includes at least one of nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, hydrogen gas, air, inert gas, natural gas, liquid nitrogen, liquid helium, liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and liquefied air.

In addition, monitoring the temperature of the grinder and the fine grinding station; and supplying the cooling means at a controlled supply amount according to the monitoring result to maintain the first temperature range and the second temperature range.

According to another aspect for solving the above technical problem, the apparatus for producing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material includes: a tobacco receiving station for receiving tobacco of one or more types of tobacco selected; a grinder for coarsely pulverizing tobacco of the selected tobacco types while maintaining the temperature of the inner space in a first temperature range by the supplied cooling means; a blender for blending the coarsely ground tobacco; and a fine grinding station for finely grinding the blended tobacco while the temperature of the inner space is maintained in the second temperature range by the supplied cooling means.

Further, at least one of the pulverizer and the pulverization station is supplied with the cooling means in a gap region between the inner space for pulverization and the outermost pulverizer jacket.

According to the above, the frictional heat generated in the crusher in the tobacco leaf crushing process for producing a homogenized tobacco material is controlled below a certain temperature by supplying nitrogen to the crusher jacket, thereby maintaining the contents of the initial tobacco leaf to the final stage. The leaf content and particle size can be obtained.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for preparing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a modified example of the method of FIG. 1 .
3 is a block diagram of a method for producing a homogenized tobacco material;
4 is an enlarged view of one of the steps of the method of FIG. 1 , 2 or 3 ;
5 is a view for explaining a slurry manufacturing apparatus for performing the method of FIGS. 1 and 2 according to an embodiment.
6 is a view for explaining the structure of a grinder according to an embodiment.
7 is an apparatus for performing the method of FIG. 3 .

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It goes without saying that the following description is only for specifying the embodiments and does not limit or limit the scope of the invention. What can be easily inferred by an expert in the art from the detailed description and examples is construed as belonging to the scope of the right.

As used herein, terms such as 'consisting' or 'comprising' should not be construed as necessarily including all of the various components or various steps described in the specification, and some components or some steps thereof. It should be construed that they may not be included, or may further include additional components or steps.

Various terms used herein have been selected as widely used general terms as possible while considering functions in the present invention, which may vary according to intentions or precedents of those of ordinary skill in the art, emergence of new technologies, and the like. In addition, in specific cases, there are also terms arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of the present invention, rather than the name of a simple term.

Homogenized tobacco material is used to include any tobacco material formed by the agglomeration of particles of tobacco material. The sheet or web of homogenized tobacco material is formed by agglomeration of particulate tobacco obtained by grinding or otherwise grinding one or both of tobacco leaf lamina and tobacco leaf stem. In addition, the homogenized tobacco material may include traces of one or more of tobacco powder, tobacco fines, and other particulate tobacco by-products formed during the processing, handling and shipping of tobacco.

The homogenized tobacco material may include one or more endogenous binders, one or more exogenous binders, or a combination thereof to aid in agglomeration of the tobacco particles.

In addition, the homogenized tobacco material may include other additives including, but not limited to, tobacco and non-tobacco fibers, aerosol formers, wetting agents, plasticizers, flavoring agents, fillers, aqueous and non-aqueous solvents, and combinations thereof. .

If homogenised tobacco is to be used as the aerosol-forming substrate of a heated aerosol-generating article, it may be desirable for the homogenised tobacco to have an aerosol former content of greater than about 5% by dry weight. Preferably, homogenised tobacco for use in heated aerosol-generating articles may have an aerosol former content of between about 5% and about 30% by dry weight.

A slurry for forming a sheet of homogenised tobacco material is formed from the leaf blades and stems of different tobacco types suitably blended. Here, the cigarette type may mean one of various types of cigarettes. For example, tobacco types can be distinguished into three main groups: light tobacco, dark tobacco, and aromatic tobacco, and these three types of division are based on the curing process the tobacco undergoes before further processing in the tobacco product.

A light tobacco is usually a tobacco with large, brightly colored leaves. Light tobacco is used for flue cured tobacco. Examples of bright cigarettes are American Flue-Cured, such as Chinese Flue-Cured, Flue-Cured Brazilian, Virginia Cigarette, Indian Flue-Cured, Tanzanian Flue-Cured or other African Flue-Cured. Light cigarettes are characterized by a high sugar-to-nitrogen ratio. A light tobacco is a type of tobacco that is associated with a strong and energetic sensation after curing. A light tobacco is a tobacco having a reducing sugar content of from about 2.5% to about 20% by dry weight of the leaves and a total ammonia content of less than about 0.12% by dry weight of the leaves. Here, reducing sugars include, for example, glucose or fructose, and total ammonia includes, for example, ammonia and ammonia salts.

Dark tobacco is usually a tobacco with large, dark-colored leaves. Dark tobacco is used for air cured tobacco. Also, dark tobacco can be fermented. Tobacco used primarily for chewing, snuffing, cigar and pipe formulations also falls into this category. A dark cigarette is a type of cigarette that smokes heavily after curing and is associated with a dark cigar-type sensation. Dark tobacco is characterized by a low sugar to nitrogen ratio. Examples of dark tobacco are Burley Malawi or other African Burley, Dark Cured Brazil Galpao, Sun Cured or Air Cured Indonesia Kasturi. A dark tobacco is a tobacco having a reducing sugar content of less than about 5% by dry weight of the leaves and a total ammonia content of up to about 0.5% by dry weight of the leaves.

Aromatic tobacco is often a tobacco with small, brightly colored leaves. Aromatic tobacco is used in other tobaccos with a high aromatic content, for example, a high content of essential oils. From a sensory point of view, aromatic tobacco is a type of tobacco that is associated with a strong, aromatic sensation after curing. Examples of aromatic cigarettes are Greek Oriental, Oriental Turkey, Semi-oriental Tobacco, as well as Fire Cured, US Burley such as Perique, Rustica, US Burley or Meriland.

The formulation may comprise so-called filler tobacco. Filler tobacco is not a specific tobacco type, but includes tobacco types that are primarily used to complement other tobacco types used in formulations and do not induce a specific characteristic aroma aroma in the final product. The filler tobacco may be the stem, stem or petiole of another tobacco type, for example the year-hardened stem of the year-hardened Brazilian lower petiole.

Within each tobacco type, tobacco leaves are further graded with respect to, for example, origin, location in the plant, color, surface texture, size and shape. Other properties of tobacco leaves are used to form tobacco formulations. Tobacco blends are mixtures of cigarettes belonging to the same or different types such that the tobacco blend has certain agglomerated properties. This property may be, for example, an intrinsic taste or a specific aerosol composition when heated or burned. The formulation contains specific tobacco types and grades in the proportions given to each other.

Different grades within the same tobacco type may be cross-blended to reduce the variability of each formulation component. Different tobacco grades are selected to realize a desired formulation with certain predetermined properties. For example, the formulation may have a target of reducing sugars, total ammonia and total alkaloids per dry weight of homogenised tobacco material. Total alkaloids are, for example, nicotine and minor amounts of alkaloids including nornicotine, anatabine, anabacin and myosmin.

For example, light cigarettes may include grade A cigarettes, grade B cigarettes, and grade C cigarettes. Grade A light tobacco has slightly different chemical properties than grade B and grade C light tobacco. Fragrant tobacco may include Grade D tobacco and Grade E tobacco, wherein the Grade D flavored tobacco has slightly different chemical properties than Grade E flavored tobacco. For purposes of illustration, a possible target for a tobacco formulation may be, for example, a reducing sugar content of about 10% by dry weight of the total tobacco formulation. To achieve the selected target, a tobacco formulation can be formed by selecting 70% light tobacco and 30% flavored tobacco. The 70% light tobacco is selected from grade A tobacco, grade B tobacco and grade C tobacco, and the 30% flavored tobacco is selected from grade D tobacco and grade E tobacco. The amount of cigarettes of Grades A, B, C, D, and E included in the formulation will depend on the chemical composition of each cigarette of Grades A, B, C, D, E to meet the target of the tobacco formulation.

A variety of tobacco types are generally available in leaf blades and stems. To prepare a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, the selected tobacco type must be ground to achieve an appropriate tobacco size, eg, a suitable tobacco size to form the slurry.

In order to minimize the energy used during the grinding process, the grinding process can be divided into two stages: a coarse grinding step and a fine grinding stage. The coarse grinding step involves grinding the tobacco strip to the smallest possible size while keeping the cell structure of the tobacco substantially intact. Accordingly, the coarsely ground tobacco particles remain substantially dry. This is advantageous because the dried tobacco particles can be easily handled, for example, for storage, compounding and other subsequent processing. Due to the inclusion of the coarse grinding step, the energy consumption in the fine grinding step can be advantageously reduced by about 30%. Thus, the reduction in energy consumption in the fine grinding step can be used to increase the throughput possible through the fine grinding step if the energy consumption is kept at the same level without coarse grinding. Advantageously, this also makes it possible to reduce production costs, since machines less sophisticated than those required for the production of finely ground tobacco powder will need to be used to produce the coarsely ground tobacco particles.

In the coarse grinding step, the tobacco is coarsely ground and reduced to a particle size such that the cells of the tobacco are generally not shattered or broken. Since the coarsely ground tobacco resulting from the coarse grinding step remains dry, stickiness or stickiness can be prevented.

In the fine grinding step further performed after the coarse grinding step, the tobacco is ground into a tobacco powder having an average particle size suitable for forming a slurry. In this fine grinding step, the cells of the tobacco are destroyed to some extent or completely.

By reducing the tobacco powder average size, less binder may be required to form the homogenized tobacco web. By fine grinding the tobacco to a finer powder size, substances within the tobacco cell can be easily released from the tobacco cell, such as, for example, pectin, nicotine, essential oil and other flavorings.

Coarse grinding of tobacco can be performed, for example, in parallel with processing lines for each type of tobacco used in the formulation. This case is preferred when different tobacco types require different treatments during coarse grinding. Or, alternatively, the coarse grinding of the tobacco and the processing line for each type of tobacco used in the compounding may be performed continuously.

The blending of the different tobacco types selected to obtain the desired blend can be carried out either before coarse grinding (ie at the level of leaf and stem) or after coarse grinding. Preferably, this compounding step is carried out after the coarse grinding step. At this stage, handling of the coarsely ground tobacco material is still easy. At the same time, this allows serial compounding in a single manufacturing facility. Also, intermediate boxing or storage of the compounded tobacco leaves or strips is not required. Preferably, the tobacco selected for the tobacco powder can be delivered in tobacco leaf standard shipping cartons to the facility where the coarsely ground tobacco particles are produced. At the exit of the facility where the coarsely ground tobacco particles are produced, the coarsely ground tobacco particles can be conveyed in series to the fine grinding and casting machine. Alternatively, coarsely ground tobacco particles may be packed and transported to a facility equipped with a fine grinding and casting machine. Preferably, the fine grinding and casting machine is co-located because of the physical properties of the tobacco powder after fine grinding (eg, due to the destruction of the protective cell structure of the tobacco causing release of the endogenous binder).

Alternatively, blending can be implemented after the fine grinding step, whereby tobacco powders made from different tobacco types or grades are blended.

Preferably, the step of finely grinding the selected tobacco comprises finely grinding the tobacco into a tobacco powder having an average size of about 0.03 mm to about 0.12 mm. An average size of about 0.03 mm to about 0.12 mm represents the size at which the tobacco cells are at least partially destroyed by grinding. In addition, the slurry obtained using this average size tobacco powder is smooth and uniform. The term tobacco powder may mean, but is not limited to, tobacco having an average size of about 0.03 mm to about 0.12 mm.

Preferably, the coarse grinding step has an average size of about 0.25 mm to about 2.0 mm, more preferably an average size of about 0.3 mm to about 1.0 mm and most preferably an average size of about 0.3 mm to about 0.6 mm. It involves coarsely grinding tobacco leaves to obtain tobacco particles. At a size of about 0.25 mm to about 2 mm, the cells of the tobacco remain substantially undamaged, thus making handling of coarsely ground tobacco relatively easy. In particular, at this size, the tobacco particles remain essentially dry and non-tacky. The amount of energy allocated to the fine grinding process is inversely proportional to the particle size. That is, the smaller the particle size in the coarse grinding step, the more energy can be allocated to the coarse grinding process. Accordingly, the amount of energy required for the subsequent fine grinding process can be advantageously reduced. Here, tobacco particles (tobacco particles) may mean a cigarette having an average size of about 0.25 mm to about 2.0 mm, but is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, prior to coarse grinding, the method may further include shredding the tobacco to obtain a tobacco strip having an average size of about 2 mm to about 100 mm.

Dividing the tobacco particle size reduction into a plurality of discrete steps further reduces the overall energy consumption during each discrete reduction step. Thus, preferably, grinding the tobacco to a particle size of from about 0.3 mm to about 2 mm from the leaf body and stem size is performed in two sub-steps, namely the first shredding step in which the tobacco is shredded to an average size of several centimeters and the and subsequent coarse grinding to the desired size of about 0.3 mm to about 2 mm. If the initial shredding process reduces the particle size to less than about 2 mm, a subsequent coarse grinding step will further reduce the particle size to a smaller extent.

The step of selecting tobacco of one or more tobacco types comprises selecting at least about 30% light tobacco by dry weight of the total amount of tobacco in the formulation and from about 0% to about 40% dark tobacco by dry weight of the total amount of tobacco in the formulation. and selecting from about 0% to about 40% of aromatic tobacco by dry weight of the total amount of tobacco in the formulation. When the produced homogenised tobacco material is used in an aerosol-forming article, the aroma, taste and chemical composition of the aerosol produced by the device is almost completely derived from the compounds present as a slurry that is then transformed into the homogenised tobacco material. A tobacco blend that is present as a slurry and thereafter as homogenized tobacco material will contain only minor amounts of residues of other tobacco manufacturing processes, such as less than about 5% by dry weight of the total amount of tobacco in the blend. Tobacco blends are blends of different tobacco types and grades obtained in a manner similar to that in the cigarette blending process. In particular, this means that different types of tobacco are selected in order to obtain the desired specific formulation which will have some specific predetermined properties. For example, the property selected may be one or more of reducing sugars, total ammonia and total alkaloids in the tobacco formulation.

The manufacturing process includes adding a binder to the blend of different tobacco types from about 1% to about 5% by dry weight of the homogenised tobacco material. In addition to controlling the size of the tobacco powder used in the manufacturing process, it is also advantageous to add a binder, such as any of gum gum or pectin, to ensure that the tobacco powder remains dispersed throughout the homogenised tobacco web. Do.

Although any binder can be used, preferred binders include natural pectins such as fruit, citrus or tobacco pectin; guar gum gins such as hydroxy ethyl guar and hydroxypropyl guar; locust soybean gums such as hydroxyethyl and hydroxypropyl locust soybean gums; alginate; starches such as modified or derived starch; celluloses such as methyl, ethyl, ethylhydroxymethyl and carboxymethyl cellulose; tamarind gum; dextran; fullon; konjac powder; Xanthan gum, etc. For example, a preferred binder may be guar.

Advantageously, the manufacturing process comprises adding an aerosol former to the blend of from about 5% to about 30% by dry weight of the slurry of different tobacco types.

Suitable aerosol formers for inclusion in slurries for webs of homogenised tobacco material are known in the art and include monohydric alcohols such as menthol, polyhydric alcohols such as triethylene glycol, 1,3-butanediol and glycerin; esters of polyhydric alcohols such as glycerol mono-, di- or triacetate; and aliphatic esters of mono-, di- or polycarboxylic acids, such as dimethyl dodecanedioate and dimethyl tetradecanedioate. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

When the homogenised tobacco material is intended for use as an aerosol-forming substrate in a heated aerosol-generating article, the web of homogenised tobacco material may have an aerosol former or wetting agent content of from about 5% to about 30% by weight on a dry weight basis. have. Homogenised tobacco material intended for use in electrically operated aerosol-generating systems having a heating element may preferably comprise greater than 5% and up to about 30% aerosol former. In the case of homogenised tobacco material intended for use in electrically operated aerosol-generating systems having a heating element, the aerosol former may preferably be glycerin.

The manufacturing process includes mixing the binder and the aerosol former prior to adding the binder and the aerosol former to the formulated tobacco powder. Premixing the binder and aerosol former before mixing the rest of the slurry is because otherwise the binder may gel when it comes into contact with water. Gelling may result in unintentional non-uniform mixing of the slurry used to make the homogenized tobacco material. In order to avoid or delay such gelation as far as possible, the binder and aerosol former are preferably mixed together prior to introducing any other compounds into the slurry so that they form a suspension.

The tobacco powder blend forms from about 20% to about 93% by dry weight of the homogenised tobacco material. More preferably, the tobacco powder blend forms from about 50% to about 90% by dry weight of the homogenized tobacco material. The desired amount of tobacco powder also depends on the tobacco web forming process.

The manufacturing process includes adding cellulosic pulp to the ground blend of tobacco powder in an amount from about 1% to about 3% by dry weight of the homogenized tobacco material.

Cellulose pulp contains water and cellulosic fibers. Cellulosic fibers included in slurries for homogenized tobacco material are known in the art and include, but are not limited to, softwood fibers, hardwood fibers, jute fibers, flax fibers, tobacco fibers, and combinations thereof. do. In addition to pulping, cellulosic fibers may be subjected to any suitable process such as refining, mechanical pulping, chemical pulping, bleaching, sulfate pulping, and combinations thereof.

The fibrous particles may comprise tobacco stem material, petiole or other tobacco plant material. Preferably, the cellulosic fibers, such as wood fibers, comprise a low lignin content. The fiber particles may be selected based on the intention to create sufficient tensile strength for the cast leaf. Alternatively, fibers such as plant fibers may be used in conjunction with or alternatively, including hemp and bamboo.

During processing from the slurry into the final homogenised tobacco material which is cut and introduced in an aerosol-generating device, the homogenised tobacco sheet often needs to withstand wetting, conveying, drying and cutting. The ability of a homogenized tobacco web to withstand harsh processing environments with minimal breakage and defect formation is a highly desirable property as it reduces loss of tobacco material. Incorporation of cellulosic fibers into the slurry increases the tensile strength to traction of the tobacco material web, which acts as a reinforcing agent. Thus, the addition of cellulosic fibers increases the resilience of the web of homogenised tobacco material, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing aerosol-generating devices and other smoking articles.

In particular, the density of the slurry prior to the step of casting the slurry to form the homogenized tobacco web is important in determining the final quality of the web itself. Proper slurry density and homogeneity minimize the number of defects and maximize the tensile strength of the web.

The manufacturing process includes forming a slurry comprising a blend of tobacco powder and casting the web of slurry into a continuous web of tobacco.

The homogenised tobacco material may be a cast leaf tobacco. The slurry used to form the cast leaf comprises tobacco powder and preferably at least one of fiber particles, an aerosol former, a flavoring agent and a binder. Tobacco powder may be in powder form having an average size of about 0.03 mm to about 0.12 mm depending on the desired web thickness and casting interval.

The web of homogenized tobacco material is preferably formed in a casting process of the type generally comprising the step of casting a slurry prepared comprising a blend of the aforementioned tobacco powder on a support surface. The molded web is then preferably dried to form a web of homogenised tobacco material, which is then removed from the bearing surface.

Preferably, the moisture of the as-cast tobacco material web at the time of casting is from about 60% to about 80% of the total weight of the tobacco material at the time of casting. Preferably, the method of making the homogenised tobacco material comprises drying the cast web and winding the cast web, wherein the moisture of the cast web upon winding is from about 7% to about 15% of the dry weight of the web of tobacco material. to be. Preferably, the moisture of the homogenised tobacco web upon winding is from about 8% to about 12% of the dry weight of the homogenised tobacco web.

The aerosol-generating article may comprise a portion of the manufactured homogenised tobacco material. An aerosol-generating article is an article comprising an aerosol-forming substrate capable of releasing a volatile compound capable of forming an aerosol, wherein the aerosol-generating article may be a non-combustible aerosol-generating article or may be a combustible aerosol-generating article. Non-combustible aerosol-generating articles release volatile compounds without burning the aerosol-forming substrate, eg, by heating the aerosol-forming substrate, or by a chemical reaction, or by mechanical stimulation of the aerosol-forming substrate. Combustible aerosol-generating articles release an aerosol by direct combustion of the aerosol-forming substrate, for example as in conventional cigarettes.

The aerosol-forming substrate is capable of forming an aerosol volatile compound and releasing a volatile compound that can be released by heating or burning the aerosol-forming substrate. In order for the homogenized tobacco material to be used in an aerosol formation generating article, it is preferred that the aerosol former is included in the slurry forming the cast leaf. The aerosol former may be selected based on one or more of the predetermined properties. Functionally, the aerosol former volatilizes when heated above a certain volatilization temperature of the aerosol former, providing a mechanism for delivery of nicotine and/or flavor to the aerosol.

Hereinafter, the manufacturing process will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a flowchart for explaining a method for preparing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a modification of the method of FIG. 1 .

Referring first to FIG. 1 , the first step in the method for preparing the slurry is the selection step 100 of the tobacco type and tobacco grade used in the tobacco formulation to produce the homogenized tobacco material. For example, the selection of tobacco type and tobacco grade can be, but is not limited to, light tobacco, dark tobacco, flavored tobacco, and filler tobacco.

Processing according to the following steps may be carried out using the selected tobacco type and tobacco grade intended to be used in the manufacture of homogenised tobacco material.

A cigarette placing step 101 is performed in which the selected cigarette is placed. Cigarette placement step 101 may include checking cigarette integrity, such as grade and quantity, which may be verified by, for example, a barcode reader for product traceability and traceability. After harvesting and maturation, the leaves of tobacco are graded indicating, for example, stalk position, quality and color.

The cigarette placing step 101 may also include de-boxing or case opening of the cigarette box when the cigarette is shipped to a manufacturing plant for the production of homogenized tobacco material. The deboxed tobacco is then preferably fed to a weighing station for weighing.

Tobacco placing step 101 may also include bale slicing, if desired, when tobacco leaves are usually compressed into shipping carton bales for shipment.

Meanwhile, the following steps are performed for each cigarette type. These steps may be performed later depending on the grade so that only one production line is required. Alternatively, the different tobacco types may be processed on separate lines. This may be advantageous if the processing steps for some tobacco types are different. For example, in conventional basic tobacco processing, light tobacco and dark tobacco have been processed, at least in part, in separate processes, as the dark tobacco often contains an additional casing. However, prior to forming the homogenized tobacco web, no casing may be added to the blended tobacco powder.

The method of making the slurry includes a step 102 of coarse grinding of tobacco leaves.

On the other hand, according to the modified example shown in Figure 2, between the tobacco laying step 101 and the tobacco coarse grinding step 102, additionally shredding (shredding) step 103 may be performed. In the shredding step 103, the tobacco is shredded into strips having an average size of about 2 mm to about 100 mm.

After the shredding step 103 , although not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a step of removing non-tobacco material from the strip may be performed.

The shredded tobacco is then returned towards the coarse grinding step 102 . The flow rate of the tobacco to a grinder (or mill, grinder) that roughly grinds strips of tobacco leaves is preferably controlled and measured.

In the coarse grinding step 102, the tobacco strip is reduced to an average particle size of about 0.25 mm to about 2 mm. At this stage, the tobacco particles are still cells substantially intact and the resulting particles do not suffer from associated transport problems.

On the other hand, according to the variant shown in FIG. 2 , it may include a packing/shipping step 104 for packing and shipping the coarsely ground tobacco. The packing/shipping step 104 corresponds to an optional step performed when the coarse grinding step 102 and subsequent steps are performed in different manufacturing facilities.

After the coarse grinding step 102 , the tobacco particles are transferred to a compounding step 105 , for example by pneumatic transfer. Alternatively, the blending step 105 may be performed prior to the coarse grinding step 102 or, if present, prior to the shredding step 103 , or alternatively between the shredding step 103 and the coarse grinding step 102 . can

In compounding step 105, all coarsely ground tobacco particles of the different tobacco types selected for tobacco compounding are compounded. Thus, the compounding step 105 is a single step for all selected tobacco types. This means that after the compounding step only a single processing line is required for all the different tobacco types.

In compounding step 105, particle mixing of various tobacco types is performed. Preferably, a step of measuring and controlling one or more of the properties of the tobacco formulation is performed. The flow of cigarettes may be controlled to obtain a desired formulation according to a preset target or preset targets.

4 is an enlarged view of one of the steps of the method of FIG. 1 , 2 or 3 , showing the introduction of various tobacco types during the compounding step 105 . For example, referring to Figure 4, the formulation comprises at least about 30% light tobacco (1) by dry weight of total cigarettes in the formulation, and dark tobacco (2) and flavored tobacco (3) are present in the formulation. from about 0% to about 40%, such as about 35%, by dry weight of total tobacco. More preferably, filler tobacco 4 is also incorporated in a percentage of from about 0% to about 20% by dry weight of the total tobacco in the formulation. Accordingly, the flow rates of the various tobacco types are controlled such that the ratios of these various tobacco types are obtained. Alternatively, if the coarse grinding step 102 is subsequently performed on different tobacco leaves used, the gravimetric step at the beginning of step 102 is used per tobacco type and grade instead of controlling the flow rate. Determine the amount of cigarettes consumed.

It should be understood that each tobacco type itself may be a sub-combination, ie a bright tobacco type may be, for example, a mixture of Virginia tobacco and Brazilian xanthine tobacco of different grades.

Referring again to FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 , after the compounding step 105 , a fine grinding step 106 is performed to an average size of tobacco powder of about 0.03 mm to about 0.12 mm. This fine grinding step 106 reduces the size of the tobacco to a powder size suitable for making a slurry. After this fine grinding step 106, the cells of the tobacco are at least partially destroyed so that the tobacco powder may become tacky.

The tobacco powder thus obtained can be immediately used to form a tobacco slurry. Alternatively, an additional step may be included (not shown), for example storing the tobacco powder in a suitable container.

3 is a block diagram of a method for producing a homogenized tobacco material;

Referring to Figure 3, a method of making a homogenized tobacco web is shown. Tobacco powder from the fine grinding step 106 is used in a subsequent slurry preparation step 107 . Prior to or during the slurry making step 107, two additional steps: a pulping step 108 and suspension in which the cellulosic fibers 5 and water 6 are pulped to uniformly disperse and refine the fibers in the water; manufacturing step 109, wherein the aerosol former 7 and the binder 8 are pre-mixed. Preferably, the aerosol former 7 comprises glycerol and the binder 8 comprises guar. Advantageously, the suspension preparation step 109 comprises premixing the guar with glycerol without the introduction of water.

The slurry preparation step 107 preferably includes transferring the pre-mixed solution of the aerosol former and binder to the slurry mixing tank, and also transferring the pulp to the slurry mixing tank. The slurry preparation step also includes dosing the tobacco powder blend into a slurry mixing tank with pulp and guar (glycerol suspension). More preferably, this step also includes processing the slurry with a high shear mixer to ensure uniformity and homogeneity of the slurry.

Preferably, the slurry preparation step 107 also includes adding water, wherein water is added to the slurry to obtain the desired viscosity and moisture.

To form the homogenized tobacco web, the slurry formed according to the slurry preparation step 107 is cast in a casting step 110 , preferably. Preferably, this casting step 110 includes conveying the slurry to a casting station, and also casting the slurry onto a support into a web having a homogeneous and uniform film thickness. Preferably, this casting step 110 includes conveying the slurry to a casting station, and also casting the slurry onto a support into a web having a homogeneous and uniform film thickness.

The homogenized cast web is dried in a web drying step 111 which includes for example uniform and gentle drying of the cast web in an endless stainless steel belt dryer. The endless stainless steel belt dryer may contain individually controllable zones. Preferably the drying step comprises monitoring the cast leaf temperature in each drying zone to ensure a mild drying profile in each drying zone, and also heating the support on which the homogenized cast web is formed. Preferably, the drying profile is a so-called TLC drying profile.

At the end of the web drying step 111, a monitoring step (not shown) is performed to measure the moisture content and the number of defects present in the dried web.

The homogenised tobacco web dried to a target moisture content is wound in a winding step 112 to form, for example, a single master bobbin. Then, this master bobbin can be used to carry out the manufacture of smaller bobbins by slit forming and small bobbin forming processes. The smaller bobbins can then be used in the manufacture of aerosol-generating articles (not shown).

5 is a view for explaining an apparatus for preparing a slurry for performing the method of FIGS. 1 and 2 according to an embodiment. The method for preparing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material according to FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 is carried out using the apparatus 200 for preparing a slurry shown in FIG. 5 .

The device 200 comprises a cigarette receiving station 201 where the accumulation, de-stacking, weighing and inspection of different types of cigarettes takes place. Optionally, if the cigarettes are transported in a carton, removal of the carton containing the cigarettes is performed at the receiving station 201 . Tobacco receiving station 201 optionally also includes a tobacco bale splitting unit.

On the other hand, although only a production line for one type of tobacco is shown in FIG. 5, the same equipment may be provided for each type of tobacco used in the homogenised tobacco material web depending on when the compounding step is performed.

Tobacco is introduced into a shredder 202 for a shredding step 103 . The shredder 202 may be, for example, a pin shredder. Shredder 202 is preferably configured to handle bales of all sizes, unwinding tobacco strips and shredding the strips into smaller pieces. Tobacco pieces in each production line are transferred to a grinder (or mill) 204 for a coarse grinding step 102 , for example by pneumatic transport 203 . Preferably, the control is made during transport to remove foreign matter in the tobacco pieces. For example, according to pneumatic conveying of shredded tobacco, a string removal conveyor system, a heavy particle separator and a metal detector may be provided, all of which are indicated by reference numeral 205 in FIG. 5 .

Grinder (or mill) 204 is configured to coarsely grind tobacco strips to a size of about 0.25 mm to about 2 mm. The rotor speed of the grinder (or mill) 204 may be controlled and varied based on the tobacco shredder flow rate.

Preferably, a buffer silo 206 for uniform mass flow control is located after the mill (or mill) 204 for coarse grinding. Also preferably the grinder (or mill) 204 is provided with a spark detector and a safety shut-off system 207 for safety reasons.

From the grinder (or mill) 204 , the tobacco particles are transported to the compounder 210 , for example by pneumatic transport 208 . The compounder 210 preferably comprises a silo in which a suitable valve control system resides. In the compounder, all different types of tobacco particles selected for the predetermined compounding are introduced. In compounder 210, the tobacco particles are mixed into a uniform formulation. From the blender 210 , the blend of tobacco particles is conveyed to a fine grinding station 211 .

The fine grinding station 211 is, for example, an impact fractionation grinder (or mill) with design aids suitable for producing fine tobacco powder of suitable fines, ie, from about 0.03 mm to about 0.12 mm of tobacco powder. After the fine grinding station 211 , a pneumatic transfer line 212 is configured to convey fine tobacco powder to a buffer powder silo 213 for continuous supply to a downstream slurry batch mixing tank where the slurry manufacturing process takes place.

On the other hand, in the grinder (or mill) 204 for the coarse grinding step 102 and the fine grinding station 211 for the fine grinding step 106, the temperature may rise due to frictional heat between the contents generated during grinding. have.

In the grinder (or mill) 204 or the fine grinding station 211, the temperature of the internal space of the grinder may have a great influence on the change of the tobacco leaf component to be grinded and the particle size size. That is, when the temperature of the inner space of the grinder is too high, an unexpected change in the components of the crushed tobacco leaves may be caused, or the particle size of the crushed tobacco leaves may become non-uniform. For example, when the temperature of the inner space of the grinder increases by 100° C. or more, the water-soluble nicotine component may volatilize with moisture, making it difficult to match the desired content of the nicotine component to be included in the slurry. In other words, the temperature rise of the grinder may eventually affect the quality of the slurry, which is the final product of the manufacturing process. Accordingly, the desired slurry quality can be maintained through temperature control for the grinder (or mill) 204 and fine grinding station 211 in the coarse grinding step 102 and the fine grinding step 106 .

According to one embodiment, temperature control by cooling means is performed while the grinder (or mill) 204 is running for the coarse grinding step 102 . Also, likewise, temperature control by cooling means is performed while the fine grinding station 211 is driven for the fine grinding step 106 .

At this time, the temperature range inside the grinder controlled by the cooling means may be 100° C. or less to prevent moisture evaporation inside the grinder. That is, the temperature range inside the grinder may correspond to any temperature range preferably selected between 0° C. and 100° C. to prevent moisture evaporation. The temperature range inside the grinder may be variously changed according to the working environment of the grinder (or mill) 204 or the fine grinding station 211 , and the temperature range controlled for the grinder (or mill) 204 (the first temperature range) and the temperature range (second temperature range) controlled for the fine grinding station 211 may be the same or different. For example, the grinder (or mill) 204 may have a temperature controlled by supplying cooling means so that the internal temperature is maintained in a temperature range (first temperature range) of about 15° C. to 25° C. at room temperature, and a fine grinding station The temperature of 211 may be controlled through supply of cooling means such that the internal temperature is maintained in a higher (or lower) temperature range (second temperature range).

6 is a view for explaining the structure of a grinder according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the structure of the crusher 600 is schematically illustrated as a structure applied to the crusher (or mill) 204 or the fine crushing station 211 described in the drawings above.

The crusher structure 600 has a shape in which the crusher jacket 610 is wrapped on the outermost side, and a cooling means 620 is filled in a gap region between the crusher jacket 610 and the crusher internal space 605 .

The cooling means 620 is a means for lowering the temperature of the grinder raised due to frictional heat, for example, a gas type such as nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, hydrogen gas, air, inert gas, natural gas, or liquid nitrogen, liquid helium , liquid types such as liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, liquefied air, etc. are used. Or it may be a combination of the illustrated ones, but is not limited thereto, and other various means may be used.

The cooling means supply unit 633 supplies the cooling means 620 to the crusher structure 600 . As previously exemplified, the cooling means 620 may be a gas type or a liquid type, and the cooling means supply unit 633 fills the cooling means in the gap region provided in the crusher structure 600 .

The temperature control unit 631 monitors the temperature of the crusher structure 600 (or the temperature of the internal space 605 of the crusher structure 600 ). The temperature control unit 631 controls the temperature of the crusher structure 600 (or the crusher structure 600) into a desired cooling temperature range (eg, the first temperature range and the second temperature range described in FIG. 5 ) according to the monitoring result. The amount of supply of the cooling means by the cooling means supply unit 633 is controlled so that the temperature of the internal space 605 of the ) is maintained.

As in the example described above, the temperature control unit 631 controls the temperature of the crusher structure 600 (or the internal space 605 of the crusher structure 600 ) while the coarse crushing step 102 or the fine crushing step 106 is performed. ) is 100° C. or less, and the temperature of the crusher structure 600 (or the internal space 605 of the crusher structure 600) by adjusting the supply amount of the cooling means of the cooling means supply unit 633 according to the monitoring result ) to control the temperature).

Accordingly, by managing the frictional heat generated in the grinder in the tobacco leaf crushing process within a certain temperature range, the contents of the initial tobacco leaf are maintained until the final stage, thereby obtaining the desired tobacco leaf contents and particle size.

The slurry prepared using the tobacco powder described above in steps 106 , 107 and 108 previously described in FIGS. 1 to 3 is also cast, preferably in a casting station 300 as shown in FIG. 7 .

7 is an apparatus for performing the method of FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 7 , the slurry from a buffer tank (not shown) is transferred to the casting station 300 by an appropriate pump with precise flow rate control measurements. Casting station 300 preferably includes the following sections. A precision slurry casting box and blade assembly 301 receives the slurry from the pump, in which the slurry is cast onto a support 303, such as a stainless steel belt, having the required uniformity and thickness for proper web formation. A main dryer 302 having a drying zone or section is provided for drying the cast tobacco web. Preferably, the individual drying zones have steam heating on the bottom of the support, with heated air on the support and adjustable exhaust air control. In the main dryer 302 , the homogenised tobacco web is dried to a desired final moisture on a support 303 .

Those of ordinary skill in the art related to the present embodiment will understand that it can be implemented in a modified form within a range that does not deviate from the essential characteristics of the above description. Therefore, the disclosed methods are to be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present invention is indicated in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the present invention.

Claims (7)

A method for preparing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, the method comprising:
selecting one or more tobacco types of cigarettes;
coarse grinding of cigarettes of the selected tobacco types in a grinder in which the temperature of the internal space is maintained in a first temperature range by the supplied cooling means;
blending the coarsely ground tobacco; and
In a fine grinding station in which the temperature of the inner space is maintained in a second temperature range by the supplied cooling means, the step of fine grinding the blended tobacco,
wherein each of the first temperature range and the second temperature range is maintained by supplying the cooling means at a controlled feed amount in accordance with a monitoring result of the temperature for each of the mill and the fine grinding station. The method of claim 1,
wherein at least one of the first temperature range and the second temperature range is a temperature range of 100° C. or less. The method of claim 1,
wherein the first temperature range and the second temperature range are the same or different temperature ranges. The method of claim 1,
the cooling means
A method comprising at least one of nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, hydrogen gas, air, inert gas, natural gas, liquid nitrogen, liquid helium, liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, liquefied air. delete An apparatus for preparing a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, the apparatus comprising:
a cigarette receiving station for receiving cigarettes of selected one or more types of cigarettes;
a grinder for coarsely grinding tobacco of the selected tobacco types while the temperature of the inner space is maintained in a first temperature range by the supplied cooling means;
a blender for blending the coarsely ground tobacco; and
and a fine grinding station for finely grinding the blended tobacco while the temperature of the inner space is maintained in a second temperature range by the supplied cooling means,
and each of the first temperature range and the second temperature range is maintained by supplying the cooling means at a controlled supply amount in accordance with a monitoring result of the temperature for each of the mill and the fine grinding station. 7. The method of claim 6,
at least one of the grinder and the fine grinding station
and the cooling means is supplied to a gap region between the inner space for grinding and the outermost grinder jacket.

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