US 5,469,872 AGranted

Tobacco expansion processes and apparatus

AssigneeR. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

InventorsHoyt S. Beard, Lucas J. Conrad, J. Edward Crook, James E. Lovette, Robert C. Johnson, Donald A. Newton, Hamid Neshan

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Abstract

This invention provides tobacco expansion processes and apparatus that can be employed for expanding tobacco at rapid throughput rates employing high pressure tobacco impregnation conditions. The processes and apparatus of the invention are particularly useful in tobacco expansion processes employing cycle times of less than 20-30 seconds; the use of preheated, prepressurized expansion agent such as propane; preheating of tobacco batches; and/or compression of tobacco within a high pressure impregnation zone for greatly improving use of available space in a high pressure impregnation vessel.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A process for the expansion of tobacco comprising:

placing a tobacco charge having a pre-expansion moisture content of greater than about 13 percent by weight in an impregnation chamber;
impregnating said tobacco in said impregnation chamber with an expansion agent;
removing said impregnated tobacco from said impregnation chamber and subjecting the impregnated tobacco to conditions sufficient to expand the tobacco and provide expanded tobacco having moisture content of greater than 13 percent;
and
drying the expanded tobacco to a post-expansion moisture content of less than about 13 percent by weight and substantially maintaining the amount of expansion resulting from exposing the impregnated tobacco to expansion conditions.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.