Method for plumping and moisture regulating cut tobacco
AssigneeJapan Tobacco Inc.
InventorsTakashi Ogawa, Masaru Sakuma, Masami Nakamura, Katsuhiko Kan, Mitsuru Chujo
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Abstract
A method of plumping cut tobacco includes impregnating the cut tobacco with an adjuvant plumping agent and forcing the adjuvant plumping agent to expand in order to inflate the tissues of cut tobacco (plumping step), idly storing the plumped tobacco with a low moisture content level (idle storage step) and remoisturizing the cut tobacco after the idle storage step by adding moisture to achieve a predetermined final moisture content level (moisture content regulating step). With such a method, cut tobacco can be remarkably plumped before it is used for cigarette production.
Claims5
A method of plumping cut tobacco comprising:
- a plumping step which includes exposing said cut tobacco to an adjuvant plumping agent to impregnate the tissues of the cut tobacco with the agent and forcing the adjuvant plumping agent to expand in order to inflate the tissues of said cut tobacco;
- an idle storage step which includes idly storing the plumped tobacco with a first moisture content of less than 10 wt % for at least 7 days after the plumping step which stabilizes the tissues of the inflated cut tobacco;
- and
- a moisture-content regulating step which includes remoisturizing the cut tobacco after the idle storage step by adding moisture to the cut tobacco to achieve a predetermined second moisture content level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.