Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
  • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
  • A24B3/08—Blending tobacco
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
  • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
  • A24B3/04—Humidifying or drying tobacco bunches or cut tobacco
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
  • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
  • A24B3/12—Steaming, curing, or flavouring tobacco

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for processing at least two input materials into one starting material.
• the processing method provides that a predetermined humidity interval is maintained for each of the input materials.
• the input materials are processed, the moisture of which comes from the predetermined moisture interval.
• Input materials can be materially different materials, but also materially identical materials that differ in their moisture content, for example because they come from different bales or other preforms.
• the method can be a manufacturing or a mixing method.
• Processes for processing at least two input materials occur in different technical areas, for example the processing of tobacco (primary) is one such process.
• tobacco primary
• other natural substances such as cotton, cocoa, tea and the like
• several input materials with predefined moisture content are processed together.
• Moisture, moisture content and moisture values are used synonymously in the following, these quantities always being based on a relative indication [%] of the moisture in a solid or in another medium. Only when expressly stated do data on humidity relate to absolute weight values.
• a method for determining the moisture content of tobacco material is known from US Pat. No. 6,107,809, in which a tobacco material is irradiated using microwaves and its moisture content is determined. From CN 10566058 a method and a device for regulating the moisture content of tobacco materials is known. The method provides that tobacco material is measured using an online moisture measurement detector. The raw material is processed for a specified standard moisture value; while the non-standard moisture tobacco material is either dried or heated.
• the invention is based on the object of improving the quality of the product at the end of the processing when processing input materials for which a predetermined humidity interval is provided.
• the method according to the invention is intended for processing at least two input materials.
• the at least two input materials are processed into a product in the process.
• a moisture content is measured for each of the input materials.
• the input materials whose moisture content lies within the predetermined moisture interval are admitted to the processing process.
• each humidity interval is divided into two or more humidity classes.
• Each of the moisture classes defines a range of values for the moisture content of the input material within the moisture interval.
• the solution according to the invention provides that a moisture content is measured for each input material before processing.
• each input material is assigned exactly one moisture class for the further process.
• it is provided for the input materials that they correspond to their moisture class are processed. This means that the process with its process steps or parameters within the process are selected according to the humidity class.
• the method according to the invention is based on the knowledge that it is sometimes difficult to store and process input materials with a precisely specified standard moisture content. Therefore, humidity classes are used to process the input materials and these are processed according to their humidity class. Compared to the use of input materials, the moisture content of which lies anywhere within the predetermined moisture interval that is permitted and possible for the processing process, the moisture class-dependent process results in a smaller breadth in the distribution of the values for the moisture content, which surprisingly achieves disproportionately good results for the output product can be. When processing various input materials with regard to the moisture content, it is to be expected that good results can be achieved for the input material with appropriately chosen mean values for an average humidity of the input materials. The invention has now established that processing depending on moisture classes delivers disproportionately good results in the sense of reduced rejects and a spatially homogeneous moisture distribution for the processed product.
• the moisture content can be adjusted by drying and / or moistening in the processing process.
• this can also accelerate the processing process and reduce the processing time, since depending on the moisture class, drying or moistening is only carried out for as long as necessary.
• the advantage that starting materials are created that are suitable for the further processing process have a significantly more even moisture distribution. Since the process parameters are matched to the moisture class, the moisture of the material after drying or moistening to a target moisture content is significantly more evenly distributed, ie provided with less variance than if the same process parameters are used for all moisture classes. This also simplifies the processing process and is less costly.
• the moisture content to be measured on the finished product and for the processing process to be set in such a way that a homogeneous moisture distribution is created in the processed product. It is important to remember that the moisture content naturally always has a certain spread around a mean value.
• the selection of humidity classes and the process control that is dependent on the humidity classes already reduce the spread around the mean value. A disproportionate improvement in the initial results is achieved here through a corresponding follow-up check of the moisture content on the finished product, combined with an adjustment, for example in the form of a correction of the parameters for process control.
• a moisture measurement can be provided for the finished product to the effect that the mean moisture content and / or a spatial homogeneity of the moisture content is measured.
• the spatial homogeneity of the moisture content can be measured, for example, by taking different samples from the processed product at different locations on the sample and measuring them.
• a transmission measurement can also be used for the finished product, in which the finished product is completely irradiated. The advantage of a Transmission measurement is based on the fact that more information is obtained about the spatial moisture distribution inside the finished product.
• the predetermined processing parameters are adapted or corrected as a function of the average moisture content and / or the homogeneity of the moisture content.
• the processing parameters are optimized, for example to improve the homogeneity, i. H. to ensure the spatial uniformity of the moisture content in the processed product. Provision can also be made for individual processing steps such as storage of the input materials to be carried out in addition or to be omitted, in each case depending on the moisture measurement in the finished product.
• the input materials are different types of tobacco.
• tobacco varieties such as Oriental, Virginia and Burley in the production process.
• One and the same type of tobacco, such as Burley or Virginia, for example, can also be different input materials if these are processed, for example, coming from different tobacco balls or other preforms of the same type.
• a method step for conditioning the input materials is provided.
• the conditioning is usually carried out using a conditioning drum in which the input material is brought to a target moisture content based on the parameters such as duration, moisture content and / or temperature, depending on its moisture class.
• the conditioning step for the input material is carried out according to the determined moisture class. For this purpose it can be provided, for example, that parameter sets for the conditioning process are selected according to the moisture class determined at the beginning for the input material.
• the conditioning process step is corrected with its parameters in accordance with the moisture measurement on the finished product.
• the measurement of the finished product that has taken place can relate to the mean moisture content and / or the spatial homogeneity of the moisture content in the product.
• the parameters for the conditioning process are corrected based on the finished product, only the spatial homogeneity of the moisture content can be improved, for example, by changing the parameters for the conditioning process in such a way that the material is spatially more homogeneous at the end of the conditioning process while the average moisture content remains the same has distributed moisture values.
• Transmission methods in particular have proven to be particularly advantageous for measurements on the finished end product. A transmission method examines how the product behaves when it is exposed to microwaves.
• the microwaves i run through the product and are influenced by the moisture content and here by the dielectric properties of the water.
• a corresponding back calculation from the transmitted wave packets then allows statements about the average moisture content and / or also about the spatial distribution of the moisture along the direction of movement of the product.
• the transmitted beam can also be reflected, as a result of which the wave packet or packets then traverse the product twice.
• FIG. 2 shows, by way of example, the processing of FIG
• FIG. 1 shows the development of the humidity value [%] for the period from shortly before 11 a.m. to a period shortly after 12 p.m.
• the humidity value fluctuates around 11:00 a.m. and otherwise has an average value of around 17.5%.
• the dark band 12 running around the mean value denotes an area in which 68% of the measured values 1 - s lie.
• the lighter band 14 lying further out denotes the values in which approximately 95% of the measured values lie with 2 - s.
• This distribution becomes clear in the representation of the relative frequency in the lower part of FIG. 1.
• a frequency distribution of the humidity values is plotted for each relative humidity value.
• the frequency distribution is obtained for each relative humidity value by measuring at a measuring point with the sensor for a certain period of time, for example 5 or 10 minutes. It can be clearly seen that, for example, in the measurement of the starting product, a humidity value of 16 occurred, the measured value of which was approximately 15.5%; these are the measured values that occurred at 11:00 a.m. It can also be clearly seen that a very large and broad distribution can be assigned to these measured values, which results in an end product with an inhomogeneous moisture distribution. With a method according to the invention, it is achieved that not only the mean value of the humidity is at the desired value, but that the humidity is also homogeneously distributed in the starting product and is, for example, 90% within the specified humidity window 18.
• Oriental is fed to the process with a mass flow of, for example, 1.5 t / h
• Virginia is fed with a mass flow of 5 t / h.
• Burley 12 can be supplied with a comparable mass flow.
• the bales of the packaged tobacco are opened and the tobacco is removed from the bales and cut if necessary.
• a total volume flow of 6.5 t / h occurs with an average humidity of 10%.
• the temperature is 25 ° C.
• both tobacco streams are conditioned, with 455 liters of water per hour being supplied for this.
• the starting product has a greater mass due to the absorbed water of 7.31 t / h and a moisture content of 20% at a
• the tobacco streams are stored and prepared for subsequent processing.
• a step of the casing 22 takes place.
• a liquid mixture of water, glycerine and other substances is added to the tobacco in order to coat the individual tobacco fibers.
• the moisture content is increased from 20% to 36% by adding the appropriate amount of moisture.
• the moisture content is then reduced to 18% in order to be adjusted again to 20% moisture content in a subsequent re-casing 26.
• a mixing and storage 28 for Burley 12.
• a mixing and storage 18, 28 the moisture content does not change, but remains unchanged at 20%. This is followed by a final mixing process 30 in which the moisture content also remains unchanged at 20%.
• the mixture thus produced is then fed to a final cutting and drying step 32.
• the moisture content is reduced from 20% to 13%.
• the mixture, which has been processed in this way in terms of moisture, is then fed to a flavoring step 34 in order to be stored in a silo 36 with the moisture remaining the same.
• the tobacco mixture is then fed from the silo 36 to the cigarette production 38 with a moisture content of 13%.
• the method according to the invention provides for the tobacco 10, 12 as input material to be measured in terms of its moisture content and to be divided into, for example, three moisture classes A and B, for example A having a moisture content of 9.0% to 9.9% and B a moisture content of 10, 0% to 11%.
• the Virginia tobacco 10 can, for example, have a significantly larger mass flow in the process, so that six moisture classes I to VI are preferably formed here. Class I corresponds to a humidity of 9.0% to 9.5%, II equals 9.6% to 10.0% ... VI equals 10.5% to 11.0%.
• the method according to the invention is divided into different moisture classes.
• the humidity classes can be finely graded against each other in different ways.
• the division into the humidity classes takes place directly before the first conditioning steps 14 and 16.
• the parameters for the conditioning process can be selected according to the humidity class. If, for example, a Virginia tobacco 10 of humidity class V is fed to a conditioning step 14, then the conditioning drum, which can also be designed as a DCC, direct conditioning cylinder, is selected accordingly. These parameters then differ from the parameters with which the The conditioning drum is activated when a different humidity class is present.
• the moisture class-dependent control of the conditioning steps 14 and 16 results in a moisture content of 20% in the process sections 40 and 42, which has a significantly narrower distribution.
• the width of the distribution of the humidity values can be determined as the half-width.
• the conditioning steps 14 and 16 are carried out as a function of the moisture class, the moisture distribution of the tobacco stream with a moisture value of 20% results, which is significantly narrower than the half-width if the tobacco stream is carried out without moisture classes and without moisture-dependent parameter control.
• a corresponding division into moisture classes can also take place in method steps 44 and 46.
• the moisture content is increased from 20% to 36%.
• the parameters determining process step 22 such as the amount of water supplied (in liters), for example, are set in accordance with the measured humidity class.
• the burley tobacco 12 can also be correspondingly divided into moisture classes and, for example, the drying time in method step 24 can be adjusted accordingly.
• the moisture content can be measured and the drying process can be controlled accordingly, for example in terms of its duration and its drying temperature.
• the drying process can be controlled accordingly, for example in terms of its duration and its drying temperature.
• the mean humidity of 13% is good in the measurement in method step 52, but there is still a certain spatial inhomogeneity in the humidity distribution, this can be used to change individual method steps, for example.
• the homogeneity of the moisture distribution can be improved if, in a drying step 24, 32, the drying temperature is reduced and the drying time is extended.
• the parameter values for the process steps are corrected here, with the parameters that are always being corrected which are dependent on the moisture classes measured on the input side of the process step.

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• 2019
  • 2019-03-04 DE DE102019105417.6A patent/DE102019105417A1/de active Pending
  • 2019-12-17 EP EP19832876.7A patent/EP3934453A1/de active Pending
  • 2019-12-17 CN CN201980093577.2A patent/CN113507846B/zh active Active
  • 2019-12-17 US US17/436,175 patent/US20220125095A1/en active Pending
  • 2019-12-17 KR KR1020217030594A patent/KR20210134683A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2019-12-17 WO PCT/EP2019/085637 patent/WO2020177915A1/de active Search and Examination
  • 2019-12-17 JP JP2021550699A patent/JP7487219B2/ja active Active

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