Tobacco material and treatment thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10080383-B2
Application number	US-201415033199-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2014
Priority date	Oct 31, 2013
Publication date	Sep 25, 2018
Grant date	Sep 25, 2018

Abstract

A tobacco material and a process for the treatment of tobacco are provided. The process comprises securing the tobacco within a moisture-retaining material and exposing the tobacco material to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C., with the tobacco having a packing density of at least 200 kg/m 3 on a dry matter weight base at the start of the process and a moisture content of between about 10% and 23%. The TSNA content of the tobacco material is maintained at a relatively constant level during the process.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for treating tobacco material wherein the tobacco material has a relatively constant TSNA content during the process, the process comprising securing tobacco material within a moisture-retaining material and exposing the tobacco material to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. whilst secured within the moisture-retaining material, wherein the tobacco material has a packing density on a dry matter weight base between about 200 kg/m 3 and about 500 kg/m 3 at the start of the process and has a moisture content of between about 10% and 23% before and during treatment.

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the TSNA content of the treated tobacco material has not increased by more than about 0.25 μg/g from the TSNA content of untreated tobacco material.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material has a moisture content of between about 10% and 18% before and during the treatment.

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material is secured within the moisture-retaining material for between about 5 and 65 days.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material is exposed to an ambient processing temperature of above 55° C. whilst secured within the moisture-retaining material.

6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the treated tobacco material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. for between 10 days and 65 days.

7. The process according to claim 6 , wherein the treated tobacco material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. for between about 10 and 40 days whilst secured within the moisture-retaining material.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the tobacco material reaches the ambient processing temperature within about 4 to 10 days.

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the temperature of the tobacco material reaches a second temperature that is higher than the ambient processing temperature.

10. The process according to claim 9 , wherein the second temperature is at least 2° C. above the ambient processing temperature.

11. The process according to claim 9 , wherein the second temperature is reached within about 7 to 13 days.

12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the ambient processing humidity is between about 50-500 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around or above 100° C., about 50-340 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 90° C., about 50-230 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 80° C., about 50-160 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 70° C., about 50-110 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 60° C., about 40-80 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 55° C. or about 30-70 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 45° C.

13. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the moisture-retaining material is wrapped around the tobacco material.

14. The process according to claim 13 , wherein the moisture-retaining material comprises flexible polymeric material.

15. The process according to claim 14 , wherein the flexible polymeric material comprises polyethylene.

16. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material secured within the moisture-retaining material is placed in a chamber to control the ambient processing temperature and/or ambient processing humidity.

17. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the total TSNA content of the tobacco material is between about 0.4 and 0.95 μg/g.

18. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material comprises whole leaf tobacco.

19. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material does not comprise cut rag tobacco.

20. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material is post-curing tobacco.

21. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the microbial content of the treated tobacco material is lower than the microbial content of the untreated tobacco material, and/or wherein the tobacco material at the end of the process is further processed for incorporation into a smoking article.

22. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material at the end of the process is suitable for incorporation into a smoking article.

23. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises manufacturing a smoking article or a smokeless tobacco product, using the treated tobacco material.

24. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises manufacturing a tobacco extract manufactured from the treated tobacco material.

25. The process according to claim 24 , wherein the process further comprises manufacturing a nicotine-delivery system comprising the tobacco extract.

26. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material secured within the moisture retaining material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of above 55° C. for at least 10 days whilst secured within the moisture-retaining material.

27. A process according to claim 26 , wherein the tobacco material secured within the moisture retaining material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of above 55° C. for between about 10 and 40 days whilst secured within the moisture-retaining material.

28. A tobacco material secured within a moisture-retaining material, wherein the tobacco material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. whilst secured within the moisture retaining material, has a packing density on a dry matter weight base of between about 200 kg/m 3 and about 500 kg/m 3 and a moisture content of between about 10% and 23%, and wherein the TSNA content of the tobacco material has not increased from the TSNA content of tobacco material prior to being secured within a moisture-retaining material and exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C.

Assignees

• British American Tobacco Investments Ltd

Inventors

• Benjak Denis
• Field Pedro
• Glesse Alcindo
• Link Matthias

Classifications

• A24B15/18

  Treatment of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes · CPC title

• A24B3/18 Primary

  Other treatment of leaves, e.g. puffing, crimpling, cleaning · CPC title

• A24B9/00

  Control of the moisture content of tobacco products, e.g. cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco ({final drying of cigars A24C1/383, of cigarettes A24C5/603}; devices for use by the smoker for controlling the moisture content of tobacco products A24F25/00) · CPC title

• A24B15/245

  Nitrosamines · CPC title

• A24B15/24

  by extraction; Tobacco extracts · CPC title