Method for producing microcrystalline cellulose from tobacco and related tobacco product

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10334874-B2
Application number	US-201615099971-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2016
Priority date	Apr 19, 2012
Publication date	Jul 2, 2019
Grant date	Jul 2, 2019

Abstract

Methods for producing dissolving grade pulp and microcrystalline cellulose from tobacco are provided. The methods include chemical pulping a tobacco input to form a tobacco pulp. Chemical pulping the tobacco input includes combining the tobacco input with a strong base defining a weight from about 5% to about 50% of the tobacco input, and heating the tobacco input and the strong base with an H-factor from about 500 to about 3,300. Further, the methods include bleaching the tobacco pulp to produce a dissolving grade pulp. Bleaching the tobacco pulp may include chlorination of the tobacco pulp with a chlorine dioxide solution, and caustic extraction of the tobacco pulp with a second strong base. A related tobacco-derived microcrystalline cellulose product is also provided, which can be used as a binder, a filler, and/or a texturizer in a tobacco product, such as a smokeless tobacco product.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dissolving grade pulp derived from tobacco, the dissolving grade pulp characterized by a brightness of at least about 83%, an alpha-cellulose concentration of at least about 88% by weight, a beta and a gamma cellulose content, and a degree of polymerization of about 100 to about 750, wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a kappa number between about 20 and about 30.

2. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is formed by subjecting a tobacco input to the following operations:
chemical pulping the tobacco input to form a tobacco pulp; and
bleaching the tobacco pulp.

3. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 2 , wherein chemical pulping the tobacco input comprises:
combining the tobacco input with a strong base; and
heating the tobacco input and the strong base.

4. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 2 , wherein bleaching the tobacco pulp comprises:
chlorination of the tobacco pulp with a chlorine dioxide solution; and
caustic extraction of the tobacco pulp with a second strong base.

5. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a quantity of hemicelluloses of about 0.5% to about 10% by weight of the dissolving grade pulp.

6. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a quantity of lignin of about 0% to about 0.2% by weight of the dissolving grade pulp.

7. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a quantity of pentosan of about 0% to about 5% by weight of the dissolving grade pulp.

8. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a quantity of ash of about 0% to about 0.15% by weight of the dissolving grade pulp.

9. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a quantity of alcohol-benzene extractives of about 0% to about 0.5% by weight of the dissolving grade pulp.

10. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a viscosity of about 2 centipoise to about 15 centipoise, the viscosity being measured by a capillary viscometer in a 0.5 wt-% cupriethylenediamine solution.

11. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by a copper number of about 0.1 to about 1.2.

12. The dissolving grade pulp of claim 1 , wherein the dissolving grade pulp is characterized by between about 5% and about 15% of the dissolving grade pulp having a particle size of less than about 10 μm, the particles of the dissolving grade pulp being sized to pass through a screen mesh.

Assignees

• Reynolds Tobacco Co R
• Univ North Carolina State

Inventors

• Byrd Jr Medwick Vaughan
• Chapman Paul Stuart
• Debusk Samuel Mark
• Dooly Grady Lance
• Gerardi Anthony Richard
• Mcclanahan David Neil

Classifications

• C08L1/04

  Oxycellulose; Hydrocellulose {, e.g. microcrystalline cellulose} · CPC title

• C08L97/02

  Lignocellulosic material, e.g. wood, straw or bagasse {(manufacture of articles made from lignocellulosic material by dry processes B27N)} · CPC title

• C08H8/00 Primary

  Macromolecular compounds derived from lignocellulosic materials {(pretreatment thereof B27N)} · CPC title

• A24B15/302 Primary

  by natural substances obtained from animals or plants · CPC title

• D21H11/02

  Chemical or chemomechanical {or chemothermomechanical} pulp · CPC title