Seamed cellulosic materials using organometallic solvents
AssigneeKraft Foods, Inc.
InventorsDavid F. Kuethe, Vernon D. Karman, Norman C. Abler
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Abstract
An improved method is disclosed for the fusing, joining or seaming of cellulosic materials. The method utilizes a hydroxide solution of selected organometallic compounds or metal oxides to rapidly crosslink opposing, overlapping cellulosic surfaces to provide secure seams. In particular, the invention is directed to the production, either on-line or off-line, of tubular cellulosic casings for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-like products. The seams according to this invention have such high shear strength that extremely narrow bond widths are possible. The narrowness of the bond site eliminates or minimizes striping or discoloration of the finished product.
Claims31
A method for fusing, joining or seaming cellulosic materials, said method comprising:
- applying an organometallic solvent including a hydroxide containing solution of a selected organometallic compound or metal oxide compound to a first cellulosic surface and overlapping said first cellulosic surface with a second cellulosic surface so that the hydroxide containing solution is between the first and second surfaces, the first and second surfaces being fused, joined or seamed by a chemical reaction in which the metal contained in the selected organometallic or metal oxide compound crosslinks the first and second cellulosic surfaces to thereby fuse, join or seam the first and second cellulosic surfaces together, wherein the hydroxide concentration in the organometallic solvent is in the range of about 0.25 Normal up to its solubility limit at a given application temperature.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces, said organometallic solvent aqueous solution being between about 0.25 Normal in hydroxide up to its solubility limit at a given application temperature;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent.
A method for fusing, joining or seaming cellulosic materials, said method comprising:
- applying an organometallic solvent including a hydroxide containing solution of a selected organometallic compound or metal oxide compound to a first cellulosic surface and overlapping said first cellulosic surface with a second cellulosic surface so that the hydroxide containing solution is between the first and second surfaces, the first and second surfaces being fused, joined or seamed by a chemical reaction in which the metal contained in the selected organometallic or metal oxide compound crosslinks the first and second cellulosic surfaces to thereby fuse, join or seam the first and second cellulosic surfaces together, wherein the hydroxide concentration in the organometallic solvent is in the range of about 0.5 to about 10 Normal.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein both of opposing overlapping surfaces have the organometallic solvent applied thereto.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein said contacting of the overlapping surfaces follows a substantially linear longitudinal path, and the tubular casing formed by the method has a longitudinal seam.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein said contacting of the overlapping surfaces follows a substantially helical path, and the tubular casing formed by the method has a helical seam.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein said overlapping cellulosic material surfaces are opposite edges of a single cellulosic film.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein said overlapping cellulosic material surfaces are of a film sheet and of a film strip positioned along opposing edges of said sheet.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein said overlapping cellulosic material surfaces have an overlap width of between about 2 mm and about 10 mm.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein said overlapping cellulosic material surfaces have an overlap width of as great as about 80% of the width of said cellulosic material.
In a method for producing a cellulosic tubular casing suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, wherein the method comprises overlapping cellulosic material surfaces and applying a sealing agent to the area of overlap, the improvement comprising:
- (a) applying to the cellulosic material an organometallic solvent comprising an aqueous solution which contains a selected organometallic compound, the concentration of said organometallic compound being as great as about the solubility limit of the compound in the hydroxide solution at the temperature of the solution, the organometallic solvent being applied on the surface of at least one of the overlapping surfaces;
- and
- (b) contacting the opposing overlapping surfaces with each other to permit the organometallic solvent to react with the cellulosic material of the overlapping surfaces to thereby produce a seamed casing by crosslinking the cellulosic material with the metal present in the organometallic solvent, wherein the method provides a seamed casing having a bond width of between about 0.1 mm to about 3 mm.
A method for producing seamed tubular cellulosic casings suitable for the manufacture of sausages and sausage-shaped products, said method comprising:
- forming from rollstock cellulosic film a tubular casing, said casing being formed on a forming collar mandrel assembly;
- applying an organometallic solvent to at least one area of overlap of cellulosic film and placing the overlapping surfaces into contact with each other to thereby fuse same and form a seam by reaction of said organometallic solvent with said cellulosic film, wherein said organometallic solvent is selected from the group consisting of:
- aqueous 5-35% cupriethylenediamine hydroxide, aqueous cupriethylenediamine hydroxide diluted with alkali metal hydroxide, aqueous cupriethylenediamine hydroxide diluted in tetraalkylammonium hydroxide, iron sodium tartrate in aqueous alkali metal hydroxide, and iron sodium tartrate in tetraalkylammonium hydroxide;
- and said organometallic solvent is applied at a rate of between about 0.5 and about 10.0 ml per 1000 feet of cellulosic film.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.