Method for the production of homogenized tobacco material

• US 10,420,365 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2015
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Philip Morris Products SA (Philip Morris Limited)
• Original Assignee: Philip Morris Products SA (Philip Morris Limited)
• Inventors: Klipfel, Yorick, Pijnenburg, Johannes Petrus Maria, Doyle, Michael Elliott, Manzur Bedoya, Juan David, Rausis, Pascal
• Primary Examiner(s): Cordray, Dennis R
• Application Number:
  US15/503,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20170273346A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 15/14 made of tobacco and a binding agent not derived from tobacco
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 15/28 by chemical substances
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 3/08 Blending tobacco
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 3/14 Forming reconstituted tobacco products, e.g. wrapper materials, sheets, imitation leaves, rods, cakes; Forms of such products delustering A24C1/40
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 3/18 Other treatment of leaves, e.g. puffing, crimpling, cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A24C 5/01 Making cigarettes for simulated smoking devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to method for production of a slurry for homogenized tobacco material, said method comprising: —Selecting tobacco of one or more tobacco types; —Coarse grinding said tobacco; —Blending said tobacco of one or more tobacco types; and—Fine grinding said tobacco of one or more tobacco types.

Claims

1. A method for production of homogenized tobacco material, said method comprising:

selecting tobacco of two or more tobacco types;

coarse grinding the two or more tobacco types in parallel or in series to obtain tobacco particles of a mean size between about 0.25 millimeters and about 2.0 millimeters;

blending the two or more tobacco types, to form a blend of tobacco, wherein blending the two or more tobacco types takes place after coarse grinding the tobacco;

fine grinding the blend of tobacco, wherein the fine grinding forms a tobacco powder having a mean size up to about 0.12 millimeters.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the coarse grinding is performed before the blending.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein, before the coarse grinding, the method comprises:

shredding the tobacco to obtain tobacco strips having a mean size between about 2 millimeters and about 100 millimeters.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting tobacco of two or more tobacco types comprises selecting:

at least about 30 percent of bright tobacco on a dry weight basis of total amount of tobacco in the blend of tobacco;

between about 0 percent and about 40 percent of dark tobacco on a dry weight basis of total amount of tobacco in the blend of tobacco; and

between about 0 percent and about 40 percent of aromatic tobacco on a dry weight basis of total amount of tobacco in the blend of tobacco.

5. Method according to claim 1, further comprising:

adding a binder to the blend of tobacco in an amount comprised between about 1 percent and about 5 percent on a dry weight basis of the blend of tobacco.

6. Method according to claim 5, further comprising:

adding an aerosol-former to the blend of tobacco in an amount comprised between about 5 percent and about 30 percent on a dry weight basis of the blend of tobacco.

7. Method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

adding an aerosol-former to the blend of tobacco in an amount comprised between about 5 percent and about 30 percent on a dry weight basis of the homogenized tobacco material.

8. Method according to claim 7, further comprising:

Mixing a binder and the aerosol-former before adding the binder and the aerosol-former to the blend of tobacco.

9. Method according to claim 5, further comprising:

Mixing the binder and an aerosol-former before adding the binder and the aerosol-former to the blend of tobacco.

10. Method according to claim 1, wherein the blend of tobacco comprises between about 20 percent and about 93 percent on a dry weight basis of the homogenized tobacco material.

11. Method according to claim 1, further comprising:

adding a cellulose pulp to the blend of tobacco in an amount between about 1 and about 3 percent on a dry weight basis of the blend of tobacco.

12. Method according to claim 1, comprising:

forming a slurry including the tobacco powder; and

casting a continuous web of the slurry.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein the web at casting comprises between about 60 percent and 80 percent moisture on a total weight of the web.

14. Method according to claim 13, further comprising:

drying the cast web;

winding the cast web;

wherein the moisture of the web at winding is between about 7 percent and about 15 percent of the total weight of the cast web.

15. Method according to claim 12, further comprising:

drying the cast web;

winding the cast web;

wherein the moisture of the cast web at winding is between about 7 percent and about 15 percent of the total weight of the cast web.