METHOD TO PRODUCE A SHEET OF MATERIAL CONTAINING ALKALOIDS

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for the production of a sheet of a material containing alkaloids, the method comprising the steps of: ∘providing a slurry including a material containing alkaloids, an aerosol former and water; ∘extruding the slurry; ∘collecting the extruded slurry in a tank having a plurality of outlets; ∘providing more than one substrate sheet including fibres; ∘supplying slurry from the plurality of outlets so as to form a plurality of strips of slurry on the more than one substrate sheet including fibres, to form more than one sheet of material containing alkaloids.

Claims

1. A method for the production of a sheet of a material containing alkaloids, the method comprising the steps of: providing a slurry including a material containing alkaloids, an aerosol former and water; extruding the slurry; collecting the extruded slurry in a tank having a plurality of outlets; providing more than one substrate sheet including fibres; supplying slurry from the plurality of outlets so as to form a plurality of strips of slurry on the more than one substrate sheet including fibres, to form more than one sheet of material containing alkaloids.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of supplying slurry from the plurality of outlets comprises: spraying the slurry onto at least one substrate sheet, or depositing the slurry on at least one substrate sheet.

3. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of: regulating the pressure or the flow rate of the slurry supplied from at least one outlet of the plurality.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of regulating the pressure or the flow rate of the slurry supplied from the at lest one outlets of the plurality includes regulating the pressure or the flow rate of the slurry supplied from at least one outlet of the plurality of outlets independently from at least one of the other outlets of the plurality of outlets.

5. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of: reducing the amount of water in the slurry while extruding.

6. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of: orienting a flow of slurry supplied from at least one outlet of the plurality with a component along a direction of movement of the substrate sheet.

7. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of: evaluating the thickness of at least one of the more than one sheet of material containing alkaloids; and changing the thickness of at least one of the more than one the sheet of material containing alkaloids by compressing the at least one of the more than one sheet of material containing alkaloids in case the evaluated thickness is outside a given range of values.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing a slurry including a material containing alkaloids, an aerosol former and water comprises at least one of: providing the material containing alkaloids to the slurry in an amount comprised between about 40 percent and about 70 percent of the total weight of the slurry; providing the water to the slurry in an amount comprised between about 30 percent and about 55 percent of the total weight of the slurry; providing a binder to the slurry in an amount comprised between about 0 percent and about 1 percent of the total weight of the slurry; or providing the aerosol former to the slurry in an amount comprised between 1 percent and about 5 percent of the total weight of the slurry.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing a slurry including a material containing alkaloids, an aerosol former and water comprises the step of: grinding a material containing alkaloids to a powder having a size comprised between about 8 microns and 200 microns.

10. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of providing at least one of the more than one substrate sheet including fibres having a mean fibre length comprised between about 0.7 millimetres and about 2.5 millimetres.

11. The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of: homogenizing the extruded slurry collected in the tank.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein supplying the slurry from the plurality of outlets so as to form a plurality of parallel strips of slurry includes: providing a moving drum located below the plurality of outlets, the moving drum rotating around an axis; providing more than one bobbin of substrate sheet; unwinding the more than one bobbin so as to obtain more than one substrate sheet including fibres; placing the more than one substrate sheet including fibres in contact with the moving drum so as to move the more than one substrate sheet along a direction of movement due to the moving drum's rotation; supplying slurry from the plurality of outlets on the more than one substrate sheet including fibres while the more than one substrate sheet including fibres are moved along the direction of movement by the moving drum.

13. A system for the production of more than one sheet of material containing alkaloids, the system comprising: more than one bobbin of a substrate sheet including fibres; an apparatus for supplying slurry to the more than one substrate sheet including fibres, the apparatus comprising: i. an extruder adapted to extrude a slurry; ii. a tank having a plurality of outlets adapted to contain the slurry; and iii. a moving element adapted to move the more than one substrate sheet including fibres unwound from the more than one bobbin along a transport direction and under the outlet, so that slurry is applied to the more than one substrate sheet.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the extruder is a screw extruder.

Description

[0095] Specific embodiments will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0096] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an apparatus for production of a sheet of a material containing alkaloids according to the invention;

[0097] FIG. 2 shows a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

[0098] FIG. 3 shows a lateral view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2; and

[0099] FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of a detail of the apparatuses of FIGS. 1-3.

[0100] With initial reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, an apparatus for the production of a sheet of a material containing alkaloids 200 according to the present invention is represented and indicated with reference number 100.

[0101] Preferably, the apparatus 100 is adapted for the production of a plurality of sheets of material containing alkaloids 200. In this embodiment, the plurality of sheets are sheets of homogenized tobacco material.

[0102] The apparatus 100 for the production of a sheet of homogenized tobacco material includes an extruder 2, a tank 3 positioned at an outlet 20 of the extruder 2 and a moving drum 4 located below the tank 3.

[0103] The extruder 2 comprises an inlet 21 where slurry 22 (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1) to form the sheet of homogenized tobacco material is introduced, a screw 23 to extrude the slurry, and the outlet 20. The slurry 22 is pushed by the screw 23 from the inlet to the outlet 20 (see again arrows 22). The screw 23 pushing the slurry 22 may be rotated by a motor 24 (see for example FIG. 2).

[0104] Slurry 22 reaches the extruder 2 from a different storing tank or silo, not shown in the appended drawings. Slurry 22 comprises tobacco powder, water, a binder and an aerosol former. Preferably the binder is guar. Preferably, the aerosol former is glycerine. Preferably, no further fibres are added in the slurry.

[0105] Slurry 22 at the inlet has the following composition in total mass

[0106] Water: 30%-55%

[0107] Tobacco powder: 40%-70%

[0108] Binders: 0%-1%

[0109] Aerosol—former: 1%-5%

[0110] Added fibres: less than 0.5%

[0111] From the extruder 2, the slurry 22 reaches the tank 3. From the above composition, a 5% of water is removed from the slurry by the extrusion process.

[0112] The tank 3 comprises a plurality of outlets all indicated with 30. Tank 3 may have any geometrical shape, and in the depicted embodiment it is substantially a basin. Tank 3 includes lateral walls 32 and also further includes a bottom wall 33. A mixer 34 (indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1) can be present inside the tank 3 to stir and mix the slurry.

[0113] Further, a sensor 50 is present in the tank 3 to measure the vertical level of the slurry. Preferably, a feedback is present between the sensor 30 and the extruder 2 so that the slurry is kept in the tank 3 at a substantially constant level.

[0114] Below outlet 30, the moving drum 4 is located. Moving drum 4 is adapted to rotate around its axis 6 in a direction of rotation 5 indicated by an arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2. Moving drum 4 defines an external cylindrical surface 41.

[0115] Further, the apparatus 100 includes a plurality of bobbins 7. Each bobbin 7 of the plurality is made of coils of a substrate sheet 8, for example a cellulose fibres sheet. The bobbin is unwound and the free portion of the sheet 8 unwound from the bobbin 7 is positioned in contact with moving drum 4. The substrate sheet 8 includes a first and a second surface 11, 1, one opposite to the other. The second surface 1 is preferably in contact with cylindrical surface 41 of the moving drum 4. The first surface 11 faces at least one of the plurality of outlets 30. The rotation of the moving drum 4 causes a movement of the plurality of substrate sheets 8 along a common transport direction, indicated with arrow 12 in FIGS. 1 and 3. The bobbins 7 are thus continuously unwound by the rotation of drum 4.

[0116] Each substrate sheet 8 of the plurality is in contact with the surface 41 of the moving drum 4 and, downstream the drum 4 along the transport direction, is free standing, that is, the first and second surfaces 11, 1 are not supported by any element. A further drum or roller (not visible in the drawing) may further pull the plurality of sheets 8 in the transport direction 12.

[0117] From the outlets 30, the slurry 22 is supplied to the plurality of substrate sheets 8. Preferably, each outlet 30 of the plurality of outlets 8 supplies slurry 22 to a single substrate sheet 8 of the plurality of sheets, as visible in FIG. 2. The slurry is delivered from the outlets 30 by gravity or applying pressure, for example by means of pump 31. Slurry from tank 3 is transferred from tank 3 to the substrate sheets 8 through the plurality of outlets 30 by means of pump 31. Preferably pump 31 comprises a control (not visible in the drawing) of flow rate to control the amount of slurry delivered to the substrate sheet 8.

[0118] When the substrate sheet is supplied with slurry 22, it becomes a homogenized tobacco sheet 200. The slurry may be absorbed by the substrate sheet 8 partly or completely. Most of the slurry may coat the substrate sheet 8, in particular the second surface 11.

[0119] In an embodiment, in the bottom wall 33 of the tank 3 a plurality of apertures 35 is formed, each aperture connected to a pipe 36 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). A valve 37 regulates the flow of slurry through the pipe 36. Downstream the valve 37, in the direction of flow of the slurry, the pipe 36 ends into outlet 30.

[0120] In a different embodiment, not shown, a plurality of apertures is formed directly to the bottom wall 16 and a plurality of pipes is connected, each pipe to a different aperture, without the presence of valves.

[0121] Each pipe 37 terminates with a nozzle 38 where the outlet 30 is present, as visible in FIGS. 3 and 4. The nozzle 38 is a curved nozzle, having a horizontal inlet 39 and the outlet 30 from which the slurry exits forming a flow having a component along the transport direction 12.

[0122] As better visible in FIG. 2, the number of substrate sheets 8 is equal to the number of outlets 30. The substrate sheets are all in contact with surface 41 of drum 4 with their second surfaces 1. The width 42 of each substrate sheet 8 is preferably equal to the width of the standard “small bobbins” (for example preferably between about 10 millimetres and about 300 millimetres) used for further processing the sheets 200. The width 42 of all substrate sheets 8 is preferably the same.

[0123] Further, preferably additional sensors (not shown) are arranged at the substrate sheet 200 downstream the outlets 30 to measure the weight per square centimetre and the thickness of the homogenized tobacco sheets 200. The sensor may be for example a nucleonic measuring head. Additional sensors, snot shown in the drawings, are preferably present as well, such as a sensor to locate and determine the positions of defects in the sheet of homogenized tobacco, a sensor to determine the moisture of the sheets 200, a sensor to measure a thickness of the sheet, a sensor to check the alignment of the sheets in order to avoid misaligned and jammed sheets in case more than a sheet is formed.

[0124] The functioning of the apparatus 100 for forming the plurality of homogenized tobacco sheets 200 is as follows. Slurry 22, formed preferably mixing and combining tobacco powder, water and other ingredients, preferably with no or low content of added fibres, is transferred from a storing tank (not shown) using for example in line mixers (also not shown) to the extruder 2. The slurry reduces its water contents at the extruders 2 and it is extruded inside the tank 3. In tank 3, valves 36 are opened and the slurry reaches outlets 30, with or without the needs of pump 31. Nozzles 38 supplies slurry onto substrate sheet 8 including fibres which are positioned in contact to moving drum 4. Movements of drum 4 causes the shifts of substrate sheets 8 along transport direction 12. Each nozzle 38 deposits slurry on a different substrate sheet 8. A plurality of homogenized tobacco sheets 200 is thus formed.

[0125] The thickness of the sheets 200 and grammage controlled by nucleonic gauge immediately after slurry supply are preferably continuously monitored and feedback-controlled using slurry measuring device.