A cigarette heat treatment process quality analysis device and analysis method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a quality analysis device for a heat treatment process of cigarettes, comprising: a gas sensor (1), a heater (2), a dehumidifier (3), a data acquisition memory (4), and a display (5); the dehumidifier (3) is located at the entrance of the gas sensor (1), and the heater (2), the dehumidifier (3) and the gas sensor (1) are encapsulated in a detection chamber (6), and the detection chamber (6) is gas-connected to an air intake pipe (7); the data acquisition memory (4) is connected to the gas sensor (1) and the display (5) respectively. The analysis device of the present invention detects volatile chemical substances emitted by tobacco after heat treatment, directly focuses on the influence of the tobacco heat treatment process on the intrinsic quality of the tobacco itself, effectively solves the problem of real-time monitoring of volatile chemical substances in tobacco during the heat treatment process, and realizes a comprehensive, objective and scientific evaluation of the process quality through the monitoring of volatile chemical substances.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the application field of tobacco industry, and in particular relates to a quality analysis device and an analysis method for a cigarette heat treatment process. Background Art

[0002] During the cigarette processing, tobacco undergoes a series of heating, humidification, drying and other treatments, which put it in an environment with constantly changing temperature and humidity, which will inevitably lead to a series of changes in the chemical substances inside the tobacco. Some volatile chemicals will gradually evaporate when the temperature changes. As far as cigarette processing is concerned, the early research objects are mainly focused on the tobacco itself after various processing steps, and less attention is paid to some substances that have already evaporated during the processing. After tobacco is processed, some substances have already evaporated during the processing. The volatile components contain many aroma substances, mainly aromatics, Maillard reaction products, cypermethrin-like degradation products and carotenoid degradation products. Excessive loss of such substances will have a great impact on the overall quality of cigarette products. Due to the complexity of the tobacco matrix, online monitoring of such substances is very difficult, and relevant methods have not yet been reported.

[0003] At present, the main indicators for judging the quality of the cigarette processing process are the moisture and temperature of the tobacco. This method of judgment is relatively intuitive and easy to detect, but it is also too simple. Although the moisture and temperature of some tobacco have reached the standard requirements during the processing process, especially the heat treatment process, due to the differences in grade, part and origin of the tobacco itself, the volatile aroma substances in the tobacco have been excessively volatilized due to the excessive processing intensity, which undoubtedly affects the quality of cigarette products. Only focusing on the physical indicators of tobacco after processing, while ignoring the changes in chemical substances in tobacco during the processing, it is impossible to comprehensively, objectively and scientifically reflect the quality of the process, and it is even more impossible to provide a scientific basis for the setting of parameters for each process and the reasonable matching of parameters between processes. The existing sensor application fields are mainly concentrated on conventional detection, and cannot adapt well to the high temperature and high humidity environment of the cigarette heat treatment process.

[0004] Therefore, it is particularly important to test the volatile chemicals in tobacco during the cigarette processing, especially the heat treatment process, to judge the quality of the process and provide a more scientific theoretical basis for the processing of each process.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention provides a cigarette heat treatment process quality analysis device and analysis method, which effectively solves the problem of real-time monitoring of tobacco volatile chemical substances in the heat treatment process, and realizes comprehensive, objective and scientific evaluation of process quality through monitoring of volatile chemical substances.

[0007] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0008] The first aspect of the present invention provides a cigarette heat treatment process quality analysis device, which includes: a gas sensor 1, a heater 2, a dehumidifier 3, a data acquisition memory 4, and a display 5;

[0009] The dehumidifier 3 is arranged at the entrance of the gas sensor 1, the heater 2 is located at one side of the gas sensor 1, and the heater 2, the dehumidifier 3 and the gas sensor 1 are packaged in a detection chamber 6, and the detection chamber 6 is in gas communication with the air intake pipe 7;

[0010] One end of the data acquisition memory 4 is connected to the gas sensor 1 , and the other end is connected to the display 5 .

[0011] The dehumidifier 3 has a gas-water separation device, which can effectively separate the water vapor and volatile chemicals emitted by the tobacco after the heat treatment process, so as to prevent the gas sensitive materials from being affected by the water vapor and becoming ineffective.

[0012] Preferably, the bottom of the detection chamber 6 has a detection window 61 with a diameter of 3-5 cm, the air intake pipe 7 is connected to the detection chamber 6 through the detection window 61, and the gas to be tested enters the detection chamber 6 through the detection window 61 via the air intake pipe 7.

[0013] Preferably, the size of the detection chamber 6 is 15-20×15-20×10-15 cm, the outer wall of the detection chamber 6 is made of stainless steel, the outer wall thickness is 2-3 mm, and the inner wall surface has a polytetrafluoroethylene coating, the thickness of the polytetrafluoroethylene coating is 2-3 mm. The polytetrafluoroethylene coating on the inner wall surface of the detection chamber 6 can prevent the internal temperature of the detection chamber from being disturbed by the external environment temperature.

[0014] Preferably, the gas sensor 1 comprises a gas sensitive component 11, a base plate 12, a heating electrode 13 and a measuring electrode 14; the gas sensitive component 11 is printed on the base plate 12 and connected to the heating electrode 13 and the measuring electrode 14 respectively; the heater 2 is used to heat the heating electrode 13.

[0015] Preferably, the gas sensitive component 11 includes four gas sensitive materials, namely, nano zirconium oxide material with a particle size of 50-100nm, nano zirconium oxide material with a particle size of 100-150nm, nano magnesium oxide material with a particle size of 50-100nm, and nano magnesium oxide material with a particle size of 100-150nm. Due to the structural characteristics of nano metal oxide materials, they show different sensitivities and selectivities to different volatile gases, and the four gas sensitive materials are selectively sensitive to aromatics, Maillard reaction products, cypermethrin degradation products, and carotenoid degradation products in the thermal processing volatiles of cigarettes. In addition, the present invention specifically selects nano zirconium oxide materials with particle sizes of 50-100nm and 100-150nm and nano magnesium oxide materials with particle sizes of 50-100nm and 100-150nm as gas-sensitive materials, which have high selectivity for aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and esters in tobacco volatiles, and the obtained signal specificity is more obvious, the discrimination is higher, and the effect is better.

[0016] Preferably, the base plate 12 is made of ceramic or quartz, and the size of the base plate 12 is 30-50×30-50×3-6 mm.

[0017] Preferably, the nano zirconium oxide material and nano magnesium oxide material are prepared by common methods such as sol-gel method and hydrothermal method, and the size of the nano zirconium oxide material and nano magnesium oxide material is regulated by any method for regulating particle size in the prior art, such as controlling the calcination temperature to adjust the size of the material.

[0018] Preferably, the gas sensitive component 11 is printed on the base plate 12 by screen printing, and the four gas sensitive materials are symmetrically distributed on the base plate 12 .

[0019] Preferably, the material of the measuring electrode 14 may be gold, platinum, silver and nickel, and the material of the heating electrode 13 may be platinum.

[0020] The second aspect of the present invention provides a method for analyzing the quality of a cigarette heat treatment process, using the analysis device described in the first aspect of the present invention, and specifically comprising the following steps:

[0021] (1) Install the analysis device at the exit of the cigarette heat treatment process, with the installation height 20-30 cm from the tobacco surface;

[0022] (2) The dehumidifier 3 and the heater 2 of the device are started; the water vapor emitted by the tobacco after the heat treatment process of the cigarettes is mixed with the volatile chemicals and enters the detection chamber 6 through the air intake duct 7 and the detection window 61, the dehumidifier 3 separates the water vapor and the volatile chemicals, and then the volatile chemicals enter the gas sensor 1, the heater 2 heats the heating electrode 13, the gas sensitive component 11 contacts the volatile chemicals, and the electrical signal changes;

[0023] (3) The data acquisition memory 4 records and analyzes the signal, normalizes the acquired data, and displays the result on the display 5;

[0024] (4) taking a tobacco standard sample and subjecting it to a cigarette heat treatment process, and determining the optimal processing parameters by means of sensory evaluation, and monitoring the tobacco standard sample in accordance with steps (1) to (3) under the optimal processing parameters, obtaining a result A of the tobacco standard sample, and inputting A into a data acquisition memory 4 as a reference value;

[0025] (5) Taking a tobacco sample to be tested and subjecting it to a cigarette heat treatment process, and monitoring the tobacco sample to be tested according to steps (1) to (3), obtaining a result B of the tobacco sample to be tested. When the deviation between B and A is less than 0.5, the processing quality of the tobacco sample to be tested is good, and the volatile chemicals in the tobacco have not been excessively lost; when the deviation between B and A is greater than or equal to 0.5, the processing quality of the tobacco sample to be tested is poor, the processing is excessive, and the volatile chemicals in the tobacco have been excessively lost.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the cigarette heat treatment process refers to a process in which the tobacco temperature is increased during the cigarette processing, including the vacuum moisture restoration and loosening and moisturizing leaf processes in the re-roasting process, and the loosening and moisturizing, adding materials, and drying silk processes in the silk making process.

[0027] In a preferred implementation scheme of the second aspect of the present invention, in step (3), the data acquisition memory 4 records and analyzes the signal, collects data from different gas sensitive components 11 respectively and performs normalization processing, adds up multiple groups of data, and finally displays the summed result on the display 5.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0029] 1. The device of the present invention adopts gas sensitive materials to construct an analysis and detection system suitable for the field of tobacco processing. The volatile chemical substances emitted by the tobacco after heat processing are detected, and the influence of the tobacco processing process on the intrinsic quality of the tobacco itself is directly focused on. The defect that the conventional process detection only focuses on the physical indicators such as moisture and temperature of the exported tobacco, and cannot truly and comprehensively reflect the processing quality, even some tobacco meets the export temperature and moisture requirements, but has actually been over-processed, the present invention fundamentally improves the accuracy and scientificity of the quality analysis of the heat treatment process.

[0030] 2. Aiming at the high temperature and high humidity environment in the cigarette processing process, the device of the present invention is equipped with a dehumidification system to effectively separate the water vapor and volatile chemicals emitted by tobacco, thereby preventing the sensor from being affected by water vapor and becoming ineffective. At the same time, the polytetrafluoroethylene coating on the inner wall surface of the detection chamber 6 is equipped with a heat insulation design to prevent the gas-sensitive material from being affected by the external temperature and interfering with the stability of the internal temperature control. The defect that conventional sensors cannot adapt well to the high temperature and high humidity environment of the cigarette heat treatment process is overcome.

[0031] 3. The method of the present invention uses the normalized raw data and then adds the results for analysis. The analysis results and the comparison results are directly displayed online on the display 5, which is intuitive and convenient, and is very helpful for guiding on-site production. Once excessive processing occurs in the production process, it can be adjusted in time, avoiding the damage to product quality caused by feedback lag. At the same time, the method of the present invention can provide the most direct feedback for processing technology design.

[0032] 4. The present invention specifically selects nano zirconium oxide materials with particle sizes of 50-100nm and 100-150nm and nano magnesium oxide materials with particle sizes of 50-100nm and 100-150nm as gas-sensitive materials, which have high selectivity for aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and esters in tobacco volatiles, and the obtained signal specificity is more obvious, the discrimination is higher, and the effect is better. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the device of the present invention

[0034] 1-gas sensor, 2-heater, 3-dehumidifier, 4-data acquisition memory, 5-display, 6-detection chamber, 7-air intake pipe, 11-gas sensitive component, 12-base plate, 13-heating electrode, 14-measuring electrode, 61-detection window. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited in any way. Any changes or substitutions made based on the teachings of the present invention belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

[0036] Comparative Example 1

[0037] According to the testing methods currently used in production, the moisture and temperature of tobacco standard sample 1 and tobacco samples 2 and 3 to be tested were tested at the outlet of the loosening and rehumidification process. The test results are shown in Table 1. At the same time, the sensory evaluation of the tobacco at the outlet of the process is performed, and the results are shown in Table 2. It can be seen from Table 1 that the moisture and temperature of the two samples to be tested are within the range required by the standard.

[0038] Example 1

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, the cigarette heat treatment process quality analysis device of the present invention comprises: a gas sensor 1, a heater 2, a dehumidifier 3, a data acquisition memory 4, and a display 5;

[0040] The dehumidifier 3 is arranged at the entrance of the gas sensor 1, and the dehumidifier 3 and the gas sensor 1 are packaged in a detection chamber 6, and the detection chamber 6 is in gas communication with the air intake pipe 7;

[0041] One end of the data acquisition memory 4 is connected to the gas sensor 1 , and the other end is connected to the display 5 .

[0042] The gas sensor 1 has a size of 5×5×2 cm.

[0043] The dehumidifier 3 has a gas-water separation device, which can effectively separate the water vapor and volatile chemicals emitted by the tobacco after the heat treatment process, so as to prevent the gas sensitive materials from being affected by the water vapor and becoming ineffective.

[0044] The bottom of the detection chamber 6 is provided with a detection window 61 with a diameter of 4 cm. The air intake pipe 7 is connected to the detection chamber 6 through the detection window 61 . The gas to be detected enters the detection chamber 6 through the detection window 61 via the air intake pipe 7 .

[0045] The size of the detection chamber 6 is 15×15×10 cm. The outer wall of the detection chamber 6 is made of stainless steel with an outer wall thickness of 2 mm. The inner wall surface has a polytetrafluoroethylene coating with a thickness of 2 mm. The polytetrafluoroethylene coating on the inner wall surface of the detection chamber 6 can prevent the temperature inside the detection chamber from being disturbed by the external environment temperature.

[0046] The gas sensor 1 comprises a gas sensitive component 11, a base plate 12, a heating electrode 13 and a measuring electrode 14; the gas sensitive component 11 is printed on the base plate 12 and connected to the heating electrode 13 and the measuring electrode 14 respectively.

[0047] The gas sensitive component 11 includes four gas sensitive materials, namely, nano zirconium oxide material with a particle size of 50-70nm, nano zirconium oxide material with a particle size of 100-120nm, nano magnesium oxide material with a particle size of 50-70nm, and nano magnesium oxide material with a particle size of 100-120nm. Due to the structural characteristics of nano metal oxide materials, they show different sensitivities and selectivities to different volatile gases, and the four gas sensitive materials are selectively sensitive to aromatics, Maillard reaction products, cypermethrin degradation products and carotenoid degradation products in the thermal processing volatiles of cigarettes.

[0048] The base plate 12 is made of ceramic, and the size of the base plate 12 is 40×40×5 mm.

[0049] The nano zirconium oxide material and the nano magnesium oxide material are prepared by a sol-gel method, and the size of the material is adjusted by controlling the calcination temperature.

[0050] The gas sensitive component 11 is printed on the bottom plate 12 by screen printing, and the four gas sensitive materials are symmetrically distributed on the bottom plate 12 .

[0051] The material of the measuring electrode 14 can be gold.

[0052] The quality analysis method of the cigarette heat treatment process (loosening and rehumidification process) of this embodiment specifically includes the following steps:

[0053] (1) Install the analysis device at the exit of the loosening and rehumidification process, with the installation height of 25 cm from the surface of the tobacco;

[0054] (2) The dehumidifier 3 and the heater 2 of the device are started; the water vapor emitted by the tobacco after the loosening and rehumidification process is mixed with the volatile chemical substances and enters the detection chamber 6 through the air intake duct 7 and the detection window 61, and the dehumidifier 3 separates the water vapor and the volatile chemical substances, and then the volatile chemical substances enter the gas sensor 1, and the gas sensitive component 11 contacts the volatile chemical substances, and the electrical signal changes;

[0055] (3) The data acquisition memory 4 records and analyzes the signal, normalizes the acquired data, and displays the result on the display 5;

[0056] (4) The tobacco standard product 1 is subjected to a loosening and rehydration process, and the optimal processing parameters are determined by means of sensory evaluation. Under the optimal processing parameters, the tobacco standard product 1 is monitored according to steps (1) to (3) to obtain a result A of the tobacco standard product 1, and A is input into a data acquisition memory 4 as a reference value; wherein, 20 experts holding cigarette sensory evaluation certificates issued by the National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Inspection Center respectively perform sensory evaluation on the tobacco standard product 1 to determine the optimal processing parameters.

[0057] (5) Take tobacco samples 2 and 3 to be tested and perform drying. The processing parameters are set according to the process standards. The normalized data sum value B is calculated and compared with A. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0058] Table 1 Physical index test results of tobacco standard sample 1 and tobacco test samples 2-3

[0059]

[0060] Table 2 Results of standard sample 1 and tobacco samples 2-3 analyzed by the present invention

[0061]

[0062] As can be seen from Table 2, the device of the present invention is used to analyze tobacco sample 2 and tobacco sample 3. The normalized result of tobacco sample 2 is added and compared with tobacco standard product 1, which is less than 0.5. It is judged that for tobacco sample 2, the intensity of the process processing is suitable, and the tobacco quality after processing is good, while the tobacco sample 3 is compared with tobacco standard product 1, which is much greater than 0.5. It is judged that for tobacco sample 3, the intensity of the process processing is too large, and volatile aroma components have been lost. It can be seen from the sensory evaluation results that the evaluation results of tobacco sample 2 are not much different from those of tobacco standard product 1, while tobacco sample 3 is significantly different from tobacco standard product 1, which proves the above conclusion. And it can be seen from the results of Table 1 that, using the currently used physical index detection method, tobacco sample 2 and tobacco sample 3 are both in line with the standard requirements, but the volatile chemical substances after processing are detected by the present invention, but it can be found that the quality of the two has been significantly different, that is, the intensity of the process processing is too large for tobacco sample 3, and volatile aroma components have been lost. This shows that the accuracy and scientificity of the present invention in the quality analysis of the cigarette heat treatment process is very helpful in guiding on-site production and avoiding the damage to product quality caused by feedback lag.

Claims

1. A cigarette heat treatment process quality analysis device, characterized in that: It comprises: a gas sensor (1), a heater (2), a dehumidifier (3), a data acquisition memory (4), and a display (5); The dehumidifier (3) is arranged at the entrance of the gas sensor (1), the heater (2) is located at one side of the gas sensor (1), and the heater (2), the dehumidifier (3) and the gas sensor (1) are encapsulated in a detection chamber (6), and the detection chamber (6) is in gas communication with an air intake pipe (7); a detection window (61) is provided at the bottom of the detection chamber (6), the air intake pipe (7) is in gas communication with the detection chamber (6) through the detection window (61), and the gas to be detected enters the detection chamber (6) through the detection window (61) via the air intake pipe (7); One end of the data acquisition memory (4) is connected to the gas sensor (1), and the other end is connected to the display (5); The gas sensor (1) comprises a gas sensitive component (11), a base plate (12), a heating electrode (13) and a measuring electrode (14); the gas sensitive component (11) is printed on the base plate (12) and connected to the heating electrode (13) and the measuring electrode (14) respectively; the heater (2) is used to heat the heating electrode (13); the gas sensitive component (11) comprises four gas sensitive materials, namely, a nano zirconium oxide material with a particle size of 50-100 nm, a nano zirconium oxide material with a particle size of 100-150 nm, a nano magnesium oxide material with a particle size of 50-100 nm, and a nano magnesium oxide material with a particle size of 100-150 nm.

2. The analysis device according to claim 1, characterized in that The outer wall of the detection chamber (6) is made of stainless steel with a thickness of 2-3 mm, and the inner wall surface has a polytetrafluoroethylene coating with a thickness of 2-3 mm.

3. The analysis device according to claim 1, characterized in that The nano zirconium oxide material and the nano magnesium oxide material are prepared by a sol-gel method and a hydrothermal method.

4. The analysis device according to claim 1, characterized in that The gas sensitive component (11) is printed on the base plate (12) by screen printing, and the four gas sensitive materials are symmetrically distributed on the base plate (12).

5. A method for analyzing the quality of a cigarette heat treatment process, characterized in that: Using the analysis device according to claim 1 specifically comprises the following steps: (1) Install the analysis device at the exit of the cigarette heat treatment process, with the installation height 20-30 cm from the tobacco surface; (2) The water vapor emitted by the tobacco after the cigarette heat treatment process is mixed with volatile chemicals and enters the detection chamber (6) through the air intake pipe (7) and the detection window (61). The dehumidifier (3) separates the water vapor and the volatile chemicals. Then, the volatile chemicals enter the gas sensor (1). The heater (2) heats the heating electrode (13). The gas sensitive component (11) contacts the volatile chemicals, and the electrical signal changes. (3) Data acquisition memory (4) records and analyzes the signal, normalizes the acquired data, and displays the result on the display (5); (4) taking a tobacco standard sample and subjecting it to a cigarette heat treatment process, and determining the optimal processing parameters by means of sensory evaluation, and monitoring the tobacco standard sample under the optimal processing parameters according to steps (1) to (3), obtaining a result A of the tobacco standard sample, and inputting A into a data acquisition memory (4) as a reference value; (5) Take the tobacco sample to be tested and carry out the cigarette heat treatment process, and monitor the tobacco sample to be tested according to steps (1) to (3) to obtain the result B of the tobacco sample to be tested. When the deviation between B and A is less than 0.5, the processing quality of the tobacco sample to be tested is good, and the volatile chemicals in the tobacco have not been excessively lost; when the deviation between B and A is greater than or equal to 0.5, the processing quality of the tobacco sample to be tested is poor, and the volatile chemicals in the tobacco have been excessively lost.

6. The analysis method according to claim 5, characterized in that The cigarette heat treatment process refers to the process in which the tobacco temperature is increased during the cigarette processing, including the vacuum moisture recovery and loosening and moisturizing leaf processes in the re-roasting process, and the loosening and moisturizing, adding materials, and drying silk processes in the silk making process.

7. The analysis method according to claim 5, characterized in that In step (3), the data acquisition memory (4) respectively acquires data from different gas sensitive components (11) and performs normalization processing, adds up the multiple sets of data, and finally displays the summed result on the display (5).

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