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.

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.