TOBACCO JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 5/2011

products & trends

I n an exclusive interview, Riedel Fil-tertechnik of Germany, acknowl-edged experts in pneumatic cut filler

feeding and dedusting systems, gave TJI insights into their new and unique ap-proach to defining the hidden potential “slumbering” in the feeding systems, based on their track record of providing state-of-the-art feeding systems to in-crease efficiency, save energy and re-duce waste. Greenfield projects are few and far be-tween these days, but they do have the obvious advantage of being designed and built employing the most advanced machinery and equipment available. An entirely different kettle of fish are older plants undergoing various stages of up-date, which will be the majority of the business in future. For example, if you look at the typical

schematic layout of advanced cut filler transport in a cigarette manufacturing plant you can divide it into two distinct categories –machinery on the one hand and control systems on the other. The focus is usually on retrofitting, up-grading or replacing older machinery with new equipment, all aimed at im-

proving efficiency and productivity. Yet in many instances the feeding system has remained unchanged over the years.

Tobacco degradation

Tobacco is an expensive raw material, any damage and unnecessary waste needs to be avoided. It is well known throughout the industry that tobacco degradation takes place in the feeding system due to – often quite considerable – fluctuation in transport conditions and that air leakages at the cigarette maker hopper can lead to unstable transport conditions in feeding pipes with the risk of blocking if the transport speed is too slow. If the speed is too high, this increases shredding of tobacco to dust and re-duces tobacco fibre length with a cor-respondingly high rejection rate of ciga-rettes. These negative aspects are com-pounded if the mechanical design is not optimal and includes many and narrow bends and gaps inside the feeding pipes, as is often the case in existing systems. Quite a challenge, as best practice dic-tates keeping tobacco transport speeds to an absolute minimum to reduce de-

Making millions – a pipedream?

In days of squeezed profit margins and financial imponderabilities it pays to examine all elements

in the production chain in an effort to increase efficiency and reduce unnecessary wastage. Ciga-

rette making is no exception.

Riedel Feeding and Maker Dedusting Filter Plant

Schematic diagram of cut filler transport

Phot

os: c

i

5/2011 TOBACCO JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

products & trends

gradation to the lowest level possible, for example, in the case of expanded to-bacco with often significant differences in density and higher sensitivity to mechanical stress.

Hidden potential?

Before freeing investments for a new feeding system one needs to calculate the size of the problem and have a pretty good idea on the return of invest-ment, ROI. While, state-of-the-art tech-nology, as described here, is certainly available for pneumatic cut filler feed-ing, defining the potential savings or extra profit that can be generated to jus-tify investment has proved elusive, it was akin to asking “how long is a piece of string”. This could well be a thing of the past. Riedel’s FSA (Feeding System Analysis) is a thorough, systematic check of exist-ing systems based on video inspection inside the feeding pipe system, as well as measurement of process parameters such as air speeds, duration of feeding cycles, differential pressures etc., usually over a period of one week result-

ing in several million data sets, and gives a true picture of the potential for im-provement. Based on the FSA, plant owners have a decision-making tool on whether the feeding system requires only slight modifications, the inte-gration of new components, or whether

a completely new system may be the solution of choice.

Seeing is believing

Video inspection inside the feeding pipes can prove to be a most revealing exercise as shown in the above photo, which shows typical feeding pipe align-ments with gaps/corners leading to high degradation of cut filler during pneumatic transport and a contami-nation risk for the final product. The following figures show examples of real measurements using the Riedel FSA tool, together with a selection of rating benchmarks developed by the company based on best practice for pneumatic cut filler transport. These can be used as a tool for comparing existing instal-lations to show potential savings.

Riedel’s FPC (Feeding Pipe Connection)

Video inspection gives clear “inside” information about existing installations

Non-controlled transport speed inside feeding pipe compared with controlled conditions using patented Riedel SACU tobtronic

Air leakage of cigarette maker hopper

In essence

Riedel’s FSA and data base are unique

decision making tools for tapping

hidden potential in cut filler feeding sys-

tems

Upgrading to best practice amortised

within 2 years

Controlled, stable and gentle cut filler

transport is the key to more profit

TOBACCO JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL 5/2011

In addition to the individual measure-ments, one of the most impressive out-comes of the Riedel FSA tool is the pic-torial “at a glance” presentation of pro-cess ratings and mechanical conditions which gives both plant and senior man-agement an instant overview of their current plant status, pinpointing the po-tentials for greater efficiency, saving costs or extra profits, all depending on your point of view. According to Riedel, amortisation of a major refit is ~ 2 years.

Hard facts for decisions

Together with industry, Riedel have performed numerous tests on cut filler quality over the past few years, clearly demonstrating the influence of trans-port conditions and feeding system de-signs. The results gave accurate in-formation on degradation and reject le-vels comparing standard systems with what is possible when employing state-of-the-art technology. Riedel’s data base of cut filler quality, to-gether with the results of an FSA, gives a clear statement on yield improvements of existing pneumatic cut filler feeding systems – making it easy to calculate the return of investment. With efficiency and ROI in mind, Riedel have developed the relevant com-ponents and technology for the mod-ernisation of factories. These include the patented SACU tobtronic technol-ogy to run a stable cut filler transport at the lowest possible speed level, to-gether with feeding systems designed to reduce degradation and to maintain cut filler quality during pneumatic trans-port. William McEwen

products & trends

Benchmark for standard deviation per batch (transport speed)

Benchmark for standard deviation of mean values of batches

Benchmark for air leakage of cigarette maker hopper

Factory rating of process parameters

Factory rating of mechanical conditions