Tobacco processing
AssigneeR. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
InventorBarry S. Fagg
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Denicotinized tobacco cut filler is provided by (i) providing an aqueous denicotinized tobacco extract, (ii) providing tobacco cut filler which has been extracted with an aqueous liquid, (iii) contacting the aqueous extract with the extracted cut filler, (iv) deliquoring the mixture of aqueous extract and extracted cut filler such that a certain level of the tobacco extract remains in contact with the extracted cut filler, and (v) drying the deliquored cut filler to provide a processed cut filler. Greater than 90 percent of the nicotine present in tobacco cut filler can be removed therefrom using such process steps.
Claims41
A process for altering the character of tobacco material, the process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing extracted tobacco material by extracting tobacco material using a liquid extraction solvent and separating tobacco material not extracted by the solvent from the solvent and tobacco extract extracted by the solvent;
- (b) providing a tobacco extract by extracting tobacco material using a liquid extraction solvent, thereby providing a tobacco extract within the extraction solvent;
- (c) contacting the tobacco extract provided in step (b) within liquid extraction solvent with the extracted tobacco material provided in step (a) thereby providing a mixture of solvent, tobacco extract and extracted tobacco material;
- the mixture (i) including a weight of tobacco extractables greater than that weight of tobacco extract separated from the tobacco material in step (a), and (ii) including about 5 to about 40 percent extractables, based on the total weight of the solvent and tobacco extractables within the mixture;
- (d) separating the extracted tobacco material from a portion of the solvent and tobacco extract, thereby providing a mixture of solvent, tobacco extract and extracted tobacco material;
- the mixture thereby having a solvent content ranging from about 60 to about 90 weight percent, based on the total weight thereof;
- and
- (e) separating at least a portion of the solvent from the mixture provided in step (d).
A process for altering the character of tobacco material, the process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing extracted tobacco material by extracting tobacco material using a liquid extraction solvent and separating tobacco material not extracted by the solvent from the solvent and tobacco extract extracted by the solvent;
- (b) providing a tobacco extract by extracting tobacco material using a liquid extraction solvent, thereby providing a tobacco extract within the extraction solvent;
- (c) contacting the tobacco extract provided in step (b) within liquid extraction solvent with the extracted tobacco material provided in step (a) thereby providing a mixture of solvent, tobacco extract and extracted tobacco material;
- the weight of solvent within the mixture being more than 3 times that of the weight of the extracted tobacco material within the mixture;
- (d) separating the extracted tobacco material from a portion of the solvent and tobacco extract, thereby providing a mixture of solvent, tobacco extract and extracted tobacco material;
- the mixture thereby having a solvent content of at least about 60 percent based on the total weight thereof;
- and
- (e) separating at least a portion of the solvent from the mixture provided in step (d).
A process for removing at least one selected substance from tobacco material, the process comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing extracted tobacco material by extracting tobacco material using a liquid extraction solvent and separating tobacco material not extracted by the solvent from the solvent and tobacco extract extracted by the solvent;
- (b) providing a processed tobacco extract by (i) extracting tobacco material using a liquid extraction solvent, thereby providing a tobacco extract within the extraction solvent, and (ii) removing at least one selected substance from the tobacco extract;
- (c) contacting the processed tobacco extract within liquid extraction solvent with the extracted tobacco material provided in step (a) thereby providing a mixture of solvent, tobacco extract and extracted tobacco material;
- the mixture (i) including a weight of tobacco extractables greater than that weight of tobacco extract separated from the tobacco material in step (a), and (ii) including about 5 to about 40 percent tobacco extractables, based on the total weight of the solvent and tobacco extractables within the mixture;
- (d) separating the extracted tobacco material from a portion of the solvent and tobacco extract, thereby providing a mixture of solvent, tobacco extract and extracted tobacco material;
- the mixture having a solvent content of about 60 to about 90 weight percent, based on the total weight thereof;
- and
- (e) separating at least a portion of the solvent from the mixture provided in step (d).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.