Manufacturing line for manufacturing a compostable pod for brewing products and system for measuring and regulating the relative humidity of a biodegradable paper-based material

A manufacturing line for manufacturing a compostable pod for brewing products, the compostable pod being made of a half-shell and a lid membrane closing an opening of the half-shell, the half-shell and a lid membrane being respectively made from first and second sheets of biodegradable paper-based material, the manufacturing line comprising:

• a shaping line configured for shaping the half-shell and a lid forming line for forming the lid membrane, each of the shaping line and the lid forming line comprising:
• a pre-drying unit configured for drying, at least, and at least partially, the external side of the sheet of biodegradable paper-based material;
• a forming unit configured for shaping the sheet of biodegradable paper-based material into a half-shell or a lid membrane having an internal side corresponding to the internal side of the sheet of biodegradable paper-based material and an external side corresponding to the external side of the sheet of biodegradable paper-based material;
• and
• a drying unit configured for drying the external side and/or internal side of the half-shell;
• and
• the shaping line and/or the lid forming line comprise at least one humidity sensor for sensing the level of relative humidity of the biodegradable paper-based material forming the compostable pod at the external side of the compostable pod, the at least one humidity sensor being positioned before or after at least the one of the pre-drying unit, the forming unit, and the drying unit.

A method for manufacturing a compostable pod for brewing products made of biodegradable paper-based material having gas barrier properties, the method comprising the following steps:

• preparing a first sheet and a second sheet of biodegradable paper-based material;
• shaping the first sheet into at least a first half-shell;
• shaping the second sheet into a second half-shell or a lid membrane;
• filling the first half-shell with a predetermined quantity of brewing products;
• compacting the predetermined quantity of brewing product within the first half-shell;
• joining the first half-shell to the second half-shell or the lid membrane so as to form a compostable pod housing the brewing products;
• wherein the shaping steps of the first sheet and of the second sheet of paper-based biodegradable material into the first half-shell and second half-shell or the lid membrane comprises the steps of:
• moistening at least a first portion of the first sheet and a second portion of the second sheet;
• measuring the relative humidity of the first portion of the first sheet and the second portion of the second sheet;
• forming the first and second portions so as to make the first half-shell and the second half-shell or the lid membrane;
• drying the first half-shell and the second half-shell or the lid membrane;
• measuring the relative humidity of the first half-shell and of the second half-shell or the lid membrane;
• and
• regulating the moistening step and/or the forming step and/or the drying step according the relative humidity measured in one or more of the shaping steps.