Device for manufacturing drinking straws from beet pulp
The device and process for manufacturing drinking straws from beet pulp address the challenge of managing temperature and odor issues by mixing beet pulp and polymers at different temperatures and viscosities, resulting in a homogeneous, odor-free, and durable straw production.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- STRAWS-BERRY FRANCE
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-03
AI Technical Summary
Existing technologies face challenges in manufacturing durable and environmentally friendly drinking straws from beet pulp due to the difficulty in managing working temperatures to prevent Maillard reactions and undesirable odors caused by sugar residues, which are exacerbated by high melting points.
A device and process that mixes beet pulp with polymers at different temperatures and viscosities using a mixer with alternating feed pipes and a quadruple helical helix to create a homogeneous mixture below the Maillard reaction threshold, ensuring the mixture is extruded without triggering odor-causing reactions.
The process achieves a homogeneous extrusion mixture that maintains beet pulp below the Maillard reaction point, producing odor-free, mechanically suitable drinking straws with a reduced environmental footprint.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Device for manufacturing drinking straws from beet pulp
[0001] The present invention relates to a device and its associated method for manufacturing drinking straws from beet pulp.
[0002] Drinking straws are used to sip liquid from the bottom of a glass. Recently, environmental legislation has been driving the development of a new material, which was previously plastic. Several attempts have been made with different materials, but these have proven unsatisfactory. The drawbacks encountered are either a lack of durability of the straw when immersed, as it tends to soften, or a disastrous environmental footprint due to materials that must be imported from the other side of the world. The invention therefore aims to manufacture, in Europe and particularly in France, a product with excellent performance and a minimal environmental footprint. To this end, extensive research has been conducted, resulting in a composition solution comprising a mixture of beet pulp and a polymer, which is itself the subject of a patent application. The present invention proposes the manufacturing device and its associated process.
[0003] Indeed, the major difficulty in using beetroot in a straw extrusion application lies in managing the working temperatures of the material throughout the process.
[0004] Indeed, beet pulp is an excellent product on paper but in practice is difficult to work with because it contains sugar residues which can give a bad smell to the final material if during the manufacturing process it is necessary to go too far above the melting point of the sugar which will caramelize and give this strong smell which disqualifies the product for general public use.
[0005] The device according to the invention is therefore designed to process beet pulp by mixing it with polymers without exceeding the sugar's melting point. The resulting mixture must be homogeneous and possess all the mechanical properties required for manufacturing a consumer straw.
[0006] The object of the invention is therefore to obtain a homogeneous extrusion mixture below the threshold for triggering so-called Maillard reactions, that is to say, amino-carbonyl glycation reactions between reducing sugars and compounds bearing an amine group. The main objective of the invention is thus to obtain this homogeneous mixture without this undesirable odor.
[0007] To achieve this result, the invention aims at a clever mixture, according to a well-developed process, of beet pulp with polymers.
[0008] The invention also provides the manufacturing device that enables this mixing.
[0009] In a principal aspect, the invention provides a mixer for the two materials, each of which is at a different temperature and viscosity. The mixer cleverly disperses the mixture to allow a complete mixing and extrusion process that can be carried out without triggering a Maillard reaction.
[0010] The invention will be better understood upon reading the accompanying figures, in which
[0011] [Fig. 1] represents a schematic diagram of the entire manufacturing chain and
[0012] [Fig. 2] represents a pre-extrusion mixing nozzle
[0013] [Fig.3] represents a pre-extrusion mixer
[0014] [Fig. 1] shows a schematic diagram of the entire manufacturing chain with a first polymer tank (11) containing a polymer chain material, and a second beet pulp tank (12) containing beet pulp flour that has previously undergone a drying phase by ventilation at the Maillard temperature. The distinguishing feature of these two tanks (11, 12) is that they are each heated to a different temperature. The first polymer tank is heated to its melting point, while the second tank is at ambient temperature. Both tanks (11, 12) each open into a respective hopper (13a, 13b) which guides the material contained in each tank by gravity, as it falls and is pushed towards the mixer (14).The mixer blends the two materials, one liquid and the other flour, at two different ambient temperatures. These are then directed to an oven (15) which heats the mixture. Since the polymer is warmer, by the time it reaches its drying temperature, the beet pulp flour will be heated while remaining below the glycation threshold. The mixture is then extruded through the extruder (16). Through the independent action of the viscosity of the materials and the temperature of each, the entire mixture is extruded while keeping the beet pulp below the Maillard temperature. This process thus constitutes a manufacturing method for the mixture that does not produce an odor, which was the desired objective.
[0015] The manufacturing process therefore comprises a first step (I) of heating each material; a second step (II) of mixing in an advanced mixer; and a third extrusion step (III) meeting specific extrusion criteria depending on the particular material being mixed and forced into the extruder.
[0016] [Fig. 2] and [Fig. 3] represent a pre-extrusion mixing nozzle (50) comprising four feed pipes, two of which are feed pipes for beet pulp flour (1412) and two feed pipes for polymer chain (1411). The respective feed pipes are alternated and arranged regularly at a 90° angle, creating a mixture that is then pushed onto a quadruple helical helix which will operate the mixing over a short distance to send this mixture to the oven (15) which raises the temperature to maintain the mixture in a liquid state but always below the Maillard reaction point in order to send it via the feed guide (17) into the extruder (16)
[0017] The present invention therefore relates to a device for manufacturing drinking straws comprising a material extruder (16) characterized in that the extruded material comes from two separate tanks (11, 12) each heated to a different temperature, the first tank (11) which contains a polymer is heated to its melting temperature, while the second tank (12) which contains beet pulp flour is at room temperature, the two tanks (11, 12) each open into a respective hopper (13a, 13b) which guides by gravity the material contained in each tank which is then pushed towards a mixer (14) which mixes the materials from the two tanks (11,12) before heating the mixture in an oven (15) and then pushing it into the extruder (16).
[0018] The present invention therefore relates to a drinking straw manufacturing process characterized in that the mixer (14) comprises four feed pipes, two feed pipes of beet pulp flour (1412) and two feed pipes of polymer chain (1411), the respective feed pipes are alternated and arranged regularly at 90° angles, which creates a mixture which will then be pushed onto a quadruple helical helix which will carry out the mixing.
[0019] It is understood that variants of the present wording are covered by equivalence or by substitution which are included in the scope of the invention.
Claims
Demands
1. Drinking straw manufacturing device comprising a material extruder (16) characterized in that the extruded material comes from two separate tanks (11, 12) each respectively heated to a different temperature, the first tank (11) which contains a polymer is heated to a melting temperature, while the second tank (12) which contains beet pulp flour is at room temperature, the two tanks (11, 12) each open into a respective hopper (13a, 13b) which guides by gravity the material contained in each tank which is pushed towards a mixer (14) which mixes the materials from the two tanks (11, 12) before heating the mixture in an oven (15) and then pushing it into the extruder (16).
2. Drinking straw manufacturing device according to claim 1 characterized in that the mixer (14) comprises four feed pipes, two feed pipes of beet pulp flour (1412) and two feed pipes of polymer chain (1411), the respective feed pipes are alternated and arranged regularly at 90°, which creates a mixture which will then be pushed onto a quadruple helical helix which will operate the mixing.