KR950000076A - Tobacco Expansion Process and Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a tobacco expansion process and apparatus that can be used to inflate tobacco at high processing rates by introducing high pressure tobacco impregnation conditions. The process and apparatus of the present invention introduce cycle times of less than 20 to 30 seconds; Expansion agents such as preheated, pressurized propane are used; Preheat the batch at the beginning of the year; And / or a tobacco expansion process which compresses tobacco in the impregnation zone to greatly improve the use of the space available in the high pressure impregnation vessel.

Description

Tobacco Expansion Process and Equipment

Since this is an open matter, no full text was included.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view in which several different operating positions are shown in phantom in a preferred impregnation apparatus employed in the present invention, FIG. 1A is preferably used with the apparatus of FIG. 1 to quickly supply high temperature, high pressure impregnation agents. And a first zone and a second zone, respectively arranged to separately manage the two fluids under or near supercritical temperature and pressure conditions, respectively, to maintain a blocking fluid therebetween. A schematic cross-sectional view of an accumulator including a zone in fluid communication with one another, wherein FIG. 2 includes a pair of upright metering tubes arranged to supply a pair of horizontally oriented conduits disposed on top of the impregnation device of FIG. A cross-sectional view of the preferred tobacco feed and loading device, FIG. 2A is coupled with a horizontal conduit in the tobacco loading device of FIG. An enlarged cross-sectional view of one end of the reciprocating tobacco compressive member, FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of a steam injection device coupled with the steam tube of the device of FIG. 2 for introducing steam into the tobacco column, line 3-3 of FIG. 2. It is an enlarged cross section.

Claims (42)

Dispensing heated tobacco in the impregnation zone, the tobacco supply tube; A metering device coupled with the tobacco feed tube to measure the tobacco feed delivered to the impregnation zone; Steam injection means for injecting steam into the tobacco fill; And means arranged for supplying heated tobacco to the impregnation zone. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for supplying tobacco to the impregnation zone comprises a horizontal conduit having an opening in the top wall and arranged to deliver tobacco to the impregnation zone. The device of claim 2, wherein an opening in the horizontal conduit is provided in the pivoting cylinder member capable of compressing tobacco into the horizontal conduit. The device according to claim 1, wherein the steam injection means comprises means for passing steam through a plurality of gaps through at least one wall in contact with the tobacco fill. The device of claim 1, wherein the vapor injection means comprises means for injecting steam into the tobacco at a temperature sufficient to heat the tobacco to a temperature of at least 125 ° F. (52 ° C.). 6. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the steam injection means comprises means for injecting steam into the tobacco at a temperature sufficient to raise the temperature of the tobacco to a temperature higher than 150 ° F. (66 ° C.). 6. For compressing the tobacco to the impregnation zone, comprising: a pair of opposing conduits; Mounted to reciprocate between a first position located between the open ends of the pair of opposing conduits, and an impregnation position located in the cylindrical cylinder, the first and second cylindrical end members, and the first and second cylindrical ends Spool means comprising a connecting rod extending between the end members and the end member and the connecting rod forming an annular space around the connecting rod; An annular space of the spool, each having a semi-cylindrical end face, mounted to reciprocate in each conduit between the atrophy position and the extended position for moving the tobacco through the conduit and to compress the tobacco into the annular space of the spool means And a tobacco tobacco compression means sized and shaped for cooperatively forming a cylinder around. 8. The system of claim 7, further comprising: an opening in an upper wall of each conduit for introducing tobacco into each conduit between a position corresponding to atrophy and an extended position; And a pivoting cylinder member capable of closing the opening and compressing the tobacco into the conduit. 9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising steam injection means for injecting steam into the tobacco. 10. The seal according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising: sealing means adapted to seal between the cylindrical end member and the cylinder inner surface when the spool means is in the processing position such that the cylinder, the end member and the sealing means form a pressure chamber; Orifice means formed in a cylinder that introduces the processing fluid into the pressure chamber when the spool is in the processing position and includes a total cross-sectional area sufficient to introduce the processing fluid into the pressure chamber at a high delivery speed; And particle blocking means for minimizing the introduction of solid material into the aperture means. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the hole means comprises a plurality of holes circumferentially distributed around the tubular cylinder and the particle blocking means is provided for each of the plurality of holes less than a predetermined size to block the introduction of particles into the holes. A device comprising an opening. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an outer manifold surrounding the plurality of holes through a cylinder for simultaneously delivering the processing fluid through the holes. The method according to claim 10, wherein the hole means comprises at least one elongated blocking member comprising at least one hole of a diameter significantly larger than the cut tobacco filler and the particle blocking means comprises an outer surface of a width greater than the diameter of the hole one or more. A device wherein the blocking member is horizontally engaged between the end members of the spool. The device of claim 13, wherein the blocking member is radially oriented with the at least one large hole in diameter. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, comprising at least two holes having a large cross-sectional area through the cylinder and a manifold member surrounding the outside of the hole for simultaneously delivering processing fluid through the at least two holes. The method of claim 10, wherein the bushing means comprises: an elastomeric sealing ring that moves in an annular groove on the periphery of each cylindrical end member; Means for radially deforming the elastomeric sealing ring externally for circumferential contact with the inside of the cylinder when the bushing means is in the processing position such that the cylinder, end member and sealing means form in the pressure chamber when the chamber is pressurized ; And at least one annular member axially adjacent to at least one end face of the elastomeric sealing ring carried at the periphery of the cylindrical end member and having a greater circumference than the end member. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein each elastomeric sealing ring is attached axially adjacent to the annular member. 18. The device of claim 16 or 17, wherein each elastomeric sealing ring is attached to an annular groove formed around the spool end member. 19. An apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 18 comprising an annular member axially adjacent and adhered to each end face of the sealing ring. Tobacco charge having a pre-expanded moisture content of greater than about 13% by weight is placed in the impregnation chamber; Impregnating the tobacco of the impregnation chamber with an expanding agent; Removing the impregnated tobacco in the impregnation room and treating it under conditions sufficient to expand the impregnated tobacco to provide an expanded tobacco having a moisture content greater than 13% by weight; And drying the expanded tobacco with a post-expanded moisture content of less than about 13% by weight to substantially maintain the amount of expansion made by exposing the tobacco impregnated to the expansion conditions. The process of claim 20, wherein the drying step is performed at a time period of less than about 5 minutes after expansion. The process of claim 21, wherein the drying step is performed at a time period of less than about 1 minute after expansion. 23. The process of any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein the drying step is performed at a temperature of about 350 < RTI ID = 0.0 > 24. The process according to any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein the moisture content of tobacco is greater than about 6% by weight after carrying out the drying step. 25. The process according to any one of claims 20 to 24, wherein the moisture content of the tobacco in the impregnation chamber is greater than about 20% by weight. 25. The process of any one of claims 20 to 24, wherein the moisture content of the tobacco in the impregnation chamber is greater than about 24% by weight. 27. The process of any one of claims 20 to 26, wherein the tobacco temperature in the impregnation chamber is greater than about 150 < RTI ID = 0.0 > 28. The process according to any one of claims 20 to 27, wherein the drying step is carried out by treating expanded tobacco with a stream of heated gas. The process of claim 28, wherein the stream of heated gas is between about 200 ° F. (93 ° C.) and about 300 ° F. (149 ° C.). 30. The process of claim 28 or 29, wherein the tobacco is conveyed through the drying zone by a stream of heated gas for a time sufficient to reduce the moisture content by about 6 to about 12 weight percent. 31. The process of any one of claims 20-30, wherein the impregnation step comprises contacting propane with tobacco for up to about 15 seconds at a pressure greater than about 2,000 psig. 32. The process of any of claims 20-31, wherein propane is used to treat tobacco in the impregnation chamber preheated to a temperature greater than about 270 ° F (132 ° C). 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the amount of heat supplied from the heated propane and the preheated tobacco to the tobacco in the impregnation chamber provides impregnation conditions in the impregnation zone of about 240 ° F. (116 ° C.) to about 270 ° F. (132 ° C.). Enough process. 34. The process of any of claims 20-33, wherein the tobacco in the impregnation chamber is compressed to a compression ratio of at least about 1.5: 1. The process of claim 34, wherein the tobacco in the impregnation chamber is compressed to a compression ratio of about 2: 1. The process of claim 34, wherein the tobacco in the impregnation chamber is compressed to a compression ratio of at least about 3: 1. For rapidly supplying expansion fluid at or near the liquid density of a fluid, comprising a gaseous pressurized fluid and an expansion agent in a single, non-separated chamber, which independently maintains both fluids under pressure conditions and at or near the critical temperature of the expansion agent. An accumulator comprising a pressure vessel having first and second zones adapted to maintain fluid at higher temperatures. 38. The accumulator of claim 37, wherein the vessel further comprises a third zone in fluid communication with each of the first and second zones for maintaining a blocking fluid in contact with each fluid in the first and second zones. 38. The accumulator of claim 37, wherein the third zone comprises a mobile barrier fluid that separates the expanding agent and the pressurized fluid in the vessel. 40. The accumulator of claim 37-39 wherein the pressurized gas is nitrogen and the swelling agent is propane. 41. The accumulator according to claim 39 or 40, wherein the liquid forming the liquid blocker is water. 42. The accumulator of claim 38, wherein the vessel is maintained at a pressure greater than about 2,500 psig and at a temperature higher than about 200 ° F. (93 ° C.). ※ Note: The disclosure is based on the initial application.