GB913750A - Tobacco product - Google Patents

Abstract

A tobacco sheet or smoking mixture is formed from ground tobacco mixed with a water-insoluble adhesive and a plasticizer from a group consisting of polyesters, prepared by condensing a lower polyethylene glycol or glycerol with an aliphatic acid containing a straight chain of from six to ten carbon atoms, aminoethyl phenols, hydroxymethyl phenols, or similar bis-phenols. Adhesives mentioned include cellulose acetate and its esters, and cellulose ethers such as methylcellulose, and the adhesive is dissolved in an organic solvent, such as methanol, isopropyl alcohol, benzene, toluene, chloroform or methyl butynol, before mixing with the ground tobacco. A first class of plasticizer comprises a condensation product of a lower polyethylene glycol or glycerol with an aliphatic acid containing a straight chain of from six to ten carbon atoms. The lower polyethylene group includes ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, pentaethylene glycol and mixtures thereof, the preferred substance being tetraethylene glycol. These substances are reacted with acids such as adipic, pimelic, suberic, azelaic or selacic. In a specific example, a plasticizer solution was prepared from a mixture of adipic acid, azalaid acid and tetraethylene glycol dissolved in benzene, which was treated with concentrated sulphuric acid as catalyst and refluxed in a flask for 3.5 hours, after which the benzene solution of the polyester plasticizer was separated from the acid. This plasticizer was added to a mixture of fine ground tobacco containing cellulose acetate dissolved in acetone. The thick slurry after mixing was cast into sheets and the solvent evaporated; the resultant sheet was suitable to produce wrappers for cigars. The second class of plasticizer consists of phenolic compounds or bis-phenols which contain one or more substituents selected from the following groups: hydroxymethyl, dialkylaminomethyl, cyclic aminomethyl or alkyl. In one example the sheet was prepared as above with the plastcizer consisting of 2,4,6-tris-(dimethylaminomethyl)phenol. In a second example, phenol was mixed with morpholine, formaldehyde and methanol, cooled, and extracted with benzene to produce 2,4,6-tris-(morpholinomethyl)phenol. The ground tobacco was mixed with this plasticizer, dissolved in benzene, and with ethylcellulose dissolved in acetone and the slurry cast into a sheet. Alternatively, the plasticizer and adhesive are formed into a sheet which is subsequently coated with the fine tobacco. Other plasticizers mentioned are 4,41-isopropylidene-bis-phenol reacted with dimethylamine and formaldehyde and 2,4,6-trimethylolphenol.