GB562786A - Improvements in or relating to the preparation of material in sheet, web, or filament form from tobacco - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of preparing tobacco in sheet, web, of filament form comprises subjecting the tobacco to a grinding or like reducing operation in water to reduce the tobacco to particles mainly of colloidal size and to form a colloidal dispersion of the particles in water, and subjecting the product to sheet, web, or filament forming and drying operations. The tobacco used may be in the form of whole leaves, fragments, stems, &c., or the waste from the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, &c. It is dried, broken up in a shredding or other device and ground in a ball mill to fine powder. This is mixed with water for wet grinding in the same or a separate mill to form a colloidal dispersion without destroying the taste, odour and colour of the tobacco. Instead of grinding first dry and then wet, the whole grinding may take place in the presence of water and may give a product containing some fibrous particles in the colloidal dispersion. These may be filtered out if desired. The product is extruded, spread or centrifugally applied to sheet-forming surfaces, for example, on an endless belt, the inner surface of a rotating cylinder, or iron or steel plates, which may be chromium-plated. The resulting film is dried by heat, a suction pump &c. in an atmosphere controlled as to humidity. p The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 mentions also the use of other vegetable leaf material instead of tobacco, and of fluids other than water, and the addition of peptizing agents, such as gluconic or tannic acid or dilute sodium hydroxide, or of organic or inorganic acid or a binder or filler, such as methyl or ethyl ether of cellulose gelatine or polyvinyl alcohol. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.ALSO:A method of preparing tobacco in sheet, web or filament form comprises subjecting the tobacco to a grinding or like reducing operation in water to reduce the tobacco to particles mainly of colloidal size and to form a colloidal dispersion of the particles in water, and subjecting the product to sheet, web or filament forming and drying operations. The tobacco used may be in the form of whole leaves, fragments, stems, &c., or the waste from the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, &c. It is dried, broken up in a shredding or other device, and ground in a ball mill to fine powder. This is mixed with water for wet grinding in the same or a separate mill to form a colloidal dispersion without destroying the taste, odour and colour of the tobacco. Instead of grinding first dry and then wet, the whole grinding may take place in the presence of water and may give a product containing some fibrous particles in the colloidal dispersion. These may be filtered out if desired. The product is extruded, spread or centrifugally applied to sheet-forming surfaces, for example on an endless belt, the inner surface of a rotating cylinder, or iron or steel plates, which may be chromium-plated. The resulting film is dried by heat, a suction pump, &c. in an atmosphere controlled as to humidity. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 mentions also the use of other vegetable leaf material instead of tobacco and of fluids other than water, and the addition of peptizing agents, such as glyconic or tannic acid or dilute sodium hydroxide, or of organic or inorganic acid or a binder or filler such as methyl or ethyl ether of cellulose, gelatine or polyvinyl alcohol. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.