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

Definitions

• Stems so treated are incorporated into tobacco sheet and used as cigarette filllers.
• This invention relates to a tobacco product and method of preparing the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved tobacco product which is adapted to be included in reconstituted tobacco sheets and to a method for preparing the same.
• Pulled tobacco stems can exhibit a serious drawback which has not been appreciated in the prior art. It has been found that if puffed stems are allowed to stand for even a short period of time after treatment, they begin to revert to their normal size; that is, they shrink from the expanded or pulled dimensions and ultimately attain the dimensions of unpulled stems. Thus, if no further treatment is afforded these pulled stems, many of the advantages obtainable from pulling are negated. It is therefore an object of the invention disclosed herein to treat the stems soon after pulling to retain their desirable properties.
• mesophyllic cells which pull when the stems are treated by any of the processes outlined above.
• the mesophyllic cells are those bridging the space between the lignified xylem and the stern epidermis. In like manner, it is these cells of the mesophyll which contribute to the shrinkage of pulled stems if they are allowed to stand after pulling with no further treatment.
• stem shrinkage can be arrested in the mesophyllic cells by detaching the mesophyll from the epidermis and xylem and spreading the stem open.
• a flattened structure approximately 0.02 to 0.4 inch thick is obtained.
• This flattened structure may be converted into filler for tobacco products such as cigarettes and compare favorably with natural tobacco leaf.
• the process may be adapted to production line techniques.
• the present invention comprises the following steps.
• Tobacco stems of the bright or burley variety, but preferably of the bright variety are equilibrated to a moisture content of from about 8% to about 16%, preferably 12%. The stems are then expanded or pulled by any of the means named above.
• the stems are conditioned with water or steam to moisten the outer portion of the stem.
• the optimum conditioning occurs when the stems are exposed to steam for from about 2 seconds to about 60 seconds, preferably 20 seconds. Alternatively, they may be soaked in water at room temperature for about 30 seconds.
• the moistened stems are then passed through rollers or spreaders whose gaps are sufiicient to deform the epidermis and hence separate it from the mesophyll and xylem.
• the minimum usable gap width is determined by the distance at which air is forced out of the pulled stems and they collapse. It has been found that the minimum gap distance which will ellect separation without collapse of the expanded stern structure is .02 inch while the maximum gap distance is .05 inch. Greater gap widths will not separate the epidermis from the xylem and mesophyll in the normal pulled stem.
• Optimum gap width is a function of the size and type of stem being pulled and varies between the limits given.
• An alternate method for spreading the outer moistened pulled stems is to pass them through a set of cogged rollers or spreads, the stern axes being parallel to the roller axes.
• the gap distance between the outermost faces of the cogs is .02 to .05 inch.
• the cog faces pass into proximity with each other, they exert a pressure dillerential on the pulled stems and detach the mesophyll and epidermis from the l-ignin.
• the detached mesophyll easily slips through the cog faces without being subjected to a force which would flatten or crush the expanded cells while the dry lignified fractions are partly powderized.
• the spreaders cogged or smooth, must be heated, either by some internal heating means adapted to maintain a temperature of at least C. at the surface or by directing a jet of steam upon the spreader faces as they revolve. If moistened stems are passed through cold rollers, they shrink while dry stems are susceptible to excessive dusting or deterioration.
• the spreading serves to stabilize puffed stems by separating the expanded or pulled mesophyll and epidermis from the lignin which otherwise acts somewhat like a coiled spring to return the stem to its former unpulled dimensions.
• Example 1 Samples containing 2 lbs. each of bright stems were measured in a cylinder which has been graduated for this purpose. Triplicate samples were puffed by radiant heat, by low-heat vacuum, and by microwave energy. The radiant heat puffing was accomplished by exposing the stems to two 1000 watt G.E. Type T quartz lamps for 35 seconds at a distance of 3 inches. The low-heat vacuum pufiing was effected by treating the stems for 15 minutes at 150 C. in a Freas laboratory vacuum chamber at 25 mm. Hg. The microwave putting was achieved by exposing the stems in a Raytheon Mark V magnetron oven at a distance of 7 inches for 35 seconds.
• the increase in volume immediately after puffing was measured in the graduated cylinder and the stems were stored at 24 C. and 70% R.H. and at 24 C. and 60% R.H.
• the decrease in volume due to shrinkage of the expanded structure was again measured in the graduated cylinder at various intervals.
• Example 2 Ten pounds of -45 bright tobacco, stem-in-leaf was puffed by ultra high frequency microwave energy in a Mark V microwave oven as described in Example 1. The dried material was conditioned with steam for 15 seconds to moisten the outer surface of the stern and lamina. The whole leaf was then spread at different distances between the spreaders. The gap distances employed were from .020"-.050". The strip was then cut into filler at 35 cuts/inch. By the proper adjustment of the distance between the spreaders, leaf containing puffed stem was processed without damaging the leaf portion.
• Example 3 Seventy pounds of bright stems, puffed by radiant heat, low-heat vacuum, and ultra high frequency microwave energy as described in Example 1 were moistened in steam for 20 seconds and processed while hot through a 4 set of spreaders set .019" apart and .03" apart. The resulting pressed pufied stems were somewhat thicker than the distance between the spreaders. The moisturizing technique was critical since high moisture and temperatures below C. caused the stems to shrink. The puffed stems were moisturized immediately and spread before any appreciable shrinkage occurred. The volume changes are illustrated in Tables 3 and 4.
• Example 4 One hundred pounds of stems puffed by radiant heat, low-heat vacuum, and ultra high frequency microwave energy as described in Example 1 were conditioned to 6.7% moisture in a Guardite chamber. The stems were immediately spread to yield a flattened stem of approximately 0.030 inch thickness. The spread stems did not lose volume when conditioned to 24% moisture and could be cut into filler suitable for making cigarettes.
• Example 5 Twenty pounds of radiantly pufied stems were spread on large factory rollers used to crush stems in the conventional manner existing in the industry. The spreading equipment was adjusted to a gap distance of 0.020". The stems were steamed in polyethylene bags and immediately spread. The rollers themselves were steamed before the stems were put through, and were in eifect converted into spreaders, in accordance with the invention, by the application of heat and the correct setting of the gap width. The spread stems had a desirable appearance in that they were not crushed to the hard, shiny, nonabsorbent slime that usually results from the typical crushing of tobacco stems. The spread puffed stems still retained an absorbent spongy structure which retained the advantages resulting from puffing. These spread memefed stems were blended with tobacco leaf and cut into filler judged suitable for cigarette making.
• a method for producing a filler for a tobacco product which comprises puffing tobacco stems, moisturizing the outer portion of said stems, passing said stems between heated spreading means such that essentially opposing mechanical forces are applied about a gap of from about .02 inch to about .05 inch, so as to deform the stern and cause the epidermis to separate from the xylem and mesophyll.
• stems are mois turized by subjecting them to live steam for from about 5-60 seconds.
• stems are moisturized by immersing them in water at room temperature from 5-60 seconds.
• a filler for a tobacco product comprising puffed tobacco stems in which the epidermis has been separated from the mesophyll and xylem by moisturing the outer portion of said stems, passing said stems between heated spreading means such that essentially opposing forces are applied about a gap of from about .02 inch to about .05 inch.

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• Manufacture Of Tobacco Products (AREA)
• Formation And Processing Of Food Products (AREA)

Priority Applications (12)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=24048326

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (12)

Cited By (15)

Citations (2)

• 1965
  • 1965-12-17 US US514698A patent/US3409027A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1966
  • 1966-12-12 FR FR87007A patent/FR1506660A/fr not_active Expired
  • 1966-12-13 NL NL6617504A patent/NL135860C/xx active
  • 1966-12-14 GB GB56048/66A patent/GB1160770A/en not_active Expired
  • 1966-12-14 BE BE691215D patent/BE691215A/xx unknown
  • 1966-12-16 SE SE17315/66A patent/SE322155B/xx unknown
  • 1966-12-16 DE DE19661532083 patent/DE1532083A1/de active Pending
  • 1966-12-16 DK DK652066AA patent/DK121747B/da unknown
  • 1966-12-16 FI FI663352A patent/FI47714C/sv active
  • 1966-12-16 NO NO166022A patent/NO123830B/no unknown
  • 1966-12-16 ES ES0334578A patent/ES334578A1/es not_active Expired
  • 1966-12-16 CH CH1804466A patent/CH451782A/de unknown

Patent Citations (2)

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