EP1369047A2 - Procédé et dispositif de réhumidification du tabac expansé - Google Patents

Procédé et dispositif de réhumidification du tabac expansé Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1369047A2
EP1369047A2 EP03253275A EP03253275A EP1369047A2 EP 1369047 A2 EP1369047 A2 EP 1369047A2 EP 03253275 A EP03253275 A EP 03253275A EP 03253275 A EP03253275 A EP 03253275A EP 1369047 A2 EP1369047 A2 EP 1369047A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
tobacco
temperature
expanded
air
reordering
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP03253275A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP1369047A3 (fr
Inventor
Joseph Casrell Douglas
Dale Alan Halverstadt
Dave Robertson Smart
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Lorillard Licensing Co LLC
Original Assignee
Lorillard Licensing Co LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Lorillard Licensing Co LLC filed Critical Lorillard Licensing Co LLC
Publication of EP1369047A2 publication Critical patent/EP1369047A2/fr
Publication of EP1369047A3 publication Critical patent/EP1369047A3/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
    • A24B3/18—Other treatment of leaves, e.g. puffing, crimpling, cleaning
    • A24B3/182—Puffing
    • A24B3/185—Puffing by impregnating with a liquid and subsequently freezing and evaporating this liquid
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
    • A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
    • A24B3/04—Humidifying or drying tobacco bunches or cut tobacco

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a process for reordering tobacco, and in particular to a process for reordering cut tobacco filler after carbon dioxide expansion.
  • the filling power of cut tobacco filler is frequently increased prior to incorporation into cigarettes. Often, this increase in filling power is achieved by impregnating the filler with an impregnant followed by subjecting the filler to conditions under which the impregnant is rapidly transformed into a gaseous state, thereby expanding or "puffing" the cellular structure of the filler.
  • tobacco cut filler is sealed in a pressure vessel, which is pressurized to from about 300 to about 500 psi.
  • Liquid carbon dioxide is introduced into the vessel to impregnate the cut filler.
  • the vessel is then depressurized to convert the liquid CO 2 to solid CO 2 resulting in a frozen mass of tobacco cut filler and solid CO 2 , or dry ice.
  • This mass which may be first subdivided into pieces, is introduced into a sublimator or expansion zone in which the mass is subjected to a high temperature of about 400°F to about 700°F, resulting in rapid conversion of the solid CO 2 to gaseous CO 2 and the expansion of the tobacco filler.
  • Tobacco discharged from the sublimator normally has a temperature of from about 180 °F to 250 °F and normally about 200 °F.
  • the moisture content of the expanded filler is about 2-6% wt., or less, making the tobacco filler very fragile and susceptible to shattering.
  • the moisture content of the filler is increased, normally to about 12-14%.
  • the dry filler is subjected to a high moisture content environment.
  • the tobacco can be tumbled in a rotating cylinder while being treated with steam or a fine spray of water.
  • Conventional expanded tobacco reordering processes have had two major disadvantages. First, in some processes, considerable time is required to increase the moisture content from the 2% or so level to the desired 12-14% level. In addition, reordering causes some collapse of the cellular structure of the expanded tobacco, resulting in a significant loss in the filling power that was initially achieved during the expansion stage. Conventionally reordered expanded tobacco typically has a filling value of from about 630 to about 680 cc/100gm.
  • U. S. Patent 5,383,479 to Winterson et al. describes a process for reordering dry ice expanded tobacco in which the expanded tobacco, after first being cooled to ambient temperature, is carried on a belt dryer through zones of increasing humidity ranging from an initial humidity of about 30% RH, increasing to about 60% RH.
  • the tobacco is conveyed along the belt dryer through the different humidity zones in which humidified air at a temperature of 75°F to 95°F is blown downwardly onto, or upwardly through, the tobacco.
  • Total time required to ramp the humidity is from 30 to 90 minutes.
  • Tobacco reordered in this manner is said to have no statistically significant loss of filling power as determined by standard analysis of variance procedure.
  • cut tobacco filler that has been expanded by the dry ice expansion process, or DIET process, under known conditions is humidified before significant cooling following the expansion process by blowing air having a temperature of 80-91°F and about 58 to about 83% RH through a tobacco bed for from about 2 up to about 15 minutes.
  • the tobacco bed has a thickness of from about 0.25 to about 4 inches.
  • the hot, expanded filler may be discharged directly from the sublimator onto a moving belt conveyor, which may be air permeable, or onto a vibrating conveyor, to carry the filler through a humidity zone in which air is blown down onto, or up through, the tobacco on the conveyor.
  • the operation of the conveyor are adjusted so that any given part of the tobacco remains within the humidity zone for from about 2 to about 15 minutes.
  • the tobacco stays in the humidity zone from about 6 to about 12 minutes.
  • uniform humidity of the air is maintained across the zone.
  • Air velocity is normally in the range of from about 15 CFM to about 30 CFM per sq. ft. of bed. As the invention is practiced with different volumes of tobacco, other air velocities may be desirable.
  • a preferred embodiment of the invention also provides an apparatus for expanding and reordering tobacco.
  • a tobacco expander has an expansion zone to exposee tobacco impregnated with an impregnant to heat to sublimate the impregnant from the tobacco to cause tobacco expansion, resulting in expanded, elevated tobacco.
  • a reordering zone downstream of the expansion zone is close enough to the discharge outlet of the expansion zone so that the expanded, elevated temperature tobacco remains at an elevated temperature when it reaches the reordering zone.
  • the reordering zone includes a blower to blow humidified air through the expanded, elevated temperature tobacco in the reordering zone.
  • a preferred embodiment of the invention provides reordered expanded tobacco with a filling value of about 750 cc/100gm, a 10-19% improvement over conventional processes.
  • filler tobacco having a cut-width of 32 cuts per inch is impregnated with liquid CO 2 in a pressurized vessel 10.
  • the CO 2 impregnated tobacco containing approximately 23% moisture and 11% carbon dioxide, is heated in a sublimator 12 using air and steam heated to a temperature of 343°C (640°F) to convert the CO 2 from its solid state to a gaseous state, thereby expanding the tobacco.
  • carbon dioxide is currently preferred by the tobacco industry as the change of state medium, other materials have been used and it is expected that the reordering process described herein is useful for them, as well.
  • the expanded tobacco having a temperature upon exiting sublimator 12 of from 180°F to 220°F, is then discharged through rotary lock 14 of sublimator 12 directly onto the feed end 18 of a 1X12 foot fluidized bed 16.
  • Other sizes can be used.
  • air having a relative humidity of 78% and a temperature ranging from 70 to 90°F is then blown upwardly through the screened bottom of vibratory conveyor 16 at a rate of 243 cubic feet per minute.
  • the tobacco is levitated and reordered by the warm moist air, with the mechanical action of fluidized bed 16 carrying the tobacco from the entrance end to the discharge end 20 of conveyor 16 over a period of from 2 to 15 minutes preferably about 6 to about 12 minutes.
  • the tobacco is caused to move to the discharge end at the bed by the fluidization of the bed, coupled with vibration.
  • gravity evens out the bed depth by moving the tobacco towards the discharge end 20. This may be aided by sloping the bed.
  • Retention time and bed depth can be varied and controlled using dams, wiers, and other devices on the bed surface.
  • a Model 5000 Specific Volume Electronic Readout Unit is used for the filling value measurements.
  • the procedure used is documented in SOP: QAS-MC-44 "Filling Value of Cut Tobacco-QA.” This machine requires 30-minutes to warm-up, and its accuracy is verified against a set of standards before each use.
  • the expanded tobacco samples were mixed to achieve a homogeneous mixture.
  • a Mettler P1200 balance was used to determine each sample's weight before its filling value was measured. The weight of each sample, and the filling value measurement were recorded.
  • the tobacco used for each filling value measurement was placed into two moisture-tins, and the tins were weighed. The moisture-tin weights and tobacco identifications were recorded.
  • the moisture tins were placed in a Lab-Line Ultra-Clean oven, Model # 3499M-3 for drying.
  • the oven temperature was set for 105° C, and the timer was set to maintain this temperature for eight hours (11:00 PM- 7:00 AM).
  • the moisture-tins were removed from the oven, the lids were replaced, and the tins were allowed to cool.
  • the moistures and the corrected filling values were calculated for each tobacco sample.
  • the Specific Volume Readout Unit used for this analysis was designed to measure the corrected filling value of tobacco when used in conjunction with the following Corrected Filling Value Formula: Corrected Filling Value Formula:
  • the 70.6g tobacco sample had an actual filling value of 653.646cc.
  • the Specific Volume Electronic Readout Unit divides (via instrument calibration) this sample (volume and weight) by a factor of 0.75 changing the volume to 820.40cc (Uncorrected Filling Value).
  • the result of multiplying the percentage of theoretical tobacco weight (1.0623229) by the uncorrected filling value is the filling value corrected to 100-grams (Weight Corrected Filling Value).
  • the weight corrected filling value was further adjusted based on the tobacco's moisture content.
  • a Moisture Correction Curve was generated from filling value analyses of the same tobaccos having various moisture contents. For example, filling value analyses of six to eight tobacco samples distributed across a moisture range of 10 to 16% would be sufficient to generate a Moisture Correction Curve. The two axes of this curve would consist of Moisture (%) plotted against the Corrected Filling Value (cc/100g). The slope of the Moisture Correction Curve would then be used in conjunction with the actual moisture content to calculate the Corrected Filling Value (weight and moisture corrected).
  • the relative humidity should be within the range of from about 73% to about 88% more preferably up to about 78%.
  • a lower relative humidity e.g., as low as about 58%, can be used, but with a corresponding increase in residence time being required, because the pickup of moisture into the tobacco is slower at lower relative humidity.
  • the present invention provides a process and related apparatus that is effective in rapidly reordering tobacco with a reduction in the loss of filling power normally associated with expanded tobacco reordering processes.
  • the advantages of the invention is the ability to have faster throughput, thereby reducing inventory costs and providing better control over the inventory, so that it can better suit just in time manufacturing schedules.
  • the apparatus is shown in Figure 1 with the feed end 18 the fluidized bed 16 situated to receive the expanded tobacco as it drops by gravity from the rotary lock 14, and this is preferred for its simplicity.
  • the feed end 18 the fluidized bed 16 situated to receive the expanded tobacco as it drops by gravity from the rotary lock 14, and this is preferred for its simplicity.
  • other configurations that keep the tobacco above about 80°F during transport from the lock to the source of humidifying air without causing its collapse may also be used.
  • a moving belt conveyor may also be used.
  • humidifying air refers to humidified air, but will be appreciated that other humidified gases such as humidified CO 2 or nitrogen may also work well in the practice of the invention, and should be considered as falling within the definition of "humidifying air” as used herein.
  • the invention provides a process for reordering expanded tobacco that has been heated to at least 82°C in an expansion zone, by discharging the expanded tobacco from the expansion zone and contacting it with humidifying air having a temperature of 26-33°C and a relative humidity of 68% to 88%.

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  • Manufacture Of Tobacco Products (AREA)
EP03253275A 2002-06-04 2003-05-23 Procédé et dispositif de réhumidification du tabac expansé Withdrawn EP1369047A3 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US161793 2002-06-04
US10/161,793 US20030221698A1 (en) 2002-06-04 2002-06-04 Process and apparatus for reordering expanded tobacco

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1369047A2 true EP1369047A2 (fr) 2003-12-10
EP1369047A3 EP1369047A3 (fr) 2007-03-21

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EP03253275A Withdrawn EP1369047A3 (fr) 2002-06-04 2003-05-23 Procédé et dispositif de réhumidification du tabac expansé

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US (1) US20030221698A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP1369047A3 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1758472A2 (fr) * 2004-06-04 2007-03-07 Lorillard Licensing Company, LLC Procede et dispositif destines au reassouplissement du tabac gonfle
CN103598668A (zh) * 2013-12-05 2014-02-26 福建中烟工业有限责任公司 一种控制物料含水率的烟叶制丝加工方法

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN110623293B (zh) * 2019-10-08 2022-06-28 上海烟草集团有限责任公司 喷射管式加温加湿机

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5383479A (en) 1992-10-30 1995-01-24 Philip Morris Incorporated Process for adjusting the moisture content of tobacco

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4089666A (en) * 1976-06-25 1978-05-16 Philip Morris Incorporated Method for control of air relative humidity with reduced energy usage
GB1570270A (en) * 1977-08-08 1980-06-25 Philip Morris Inc Process for expanding tobacco
US4202357A (en) * 1978-10-27 1980-05-13 Philip Morris Incorporated Reordering expanded tobacco by water mist

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5383479A (en) 1992-10-30 1995-01-24 Philip Morris Incorporated Process for adjusting the moisture content of tobacco

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1758472A2 (fr) * 2004-06-04 2007-03-07 Lorillard Licensing Company, LLC Procede et dispositif destines au reassouplissement du tabac gonfle
EP1758472A4 (fr) * 2004-06-04 2008-03-26 Lorillard Licensing Company Ll Procede et dispositif destines au reassouplissement du tabac gonfle
CN103598668A (zh) * 2013-12-05 2014-02-26 福建中烟工业有限责任公司 一种控制物料含水率的烟叶制丝加工方法

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Publication number Publication date
US20030221698A1 (en) 2003-12-04
EP1369047A3 (fr) 2007-03-21

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