US 6,158,440 A · Swollen tobacco material manufacturing method

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of producing an expanded tobacco material. According to the method, a tobacco material (TM) is fed into a pressure vessel (11), followed by pressurizing the interior of the pressure vessel (11) with a carbon dioxide gas to a predetermined impregnation pressure. Then, a liquid carbon dioxide (21) is supplied from above the tobacco material (TM) into the pressure vessel through a sintered metal plate (13), etc., while maintaining the impregnation pressure, thereby saturating the interior of the pressure vessel (11) with a carbon dioxide gas generated by vaporization of the supplied liquid carbon dioxide, and cooling the tobacco material by the latent heat of vaporization of the liquid carbon dioxide, so as to impregnate the tobacco material with carbon dioxide. The tobacco material impregnated with carbon dioxide is brought into contact with a hot gaseous stream within a gaseous stream dryer so as to expand the tobacco material.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A method of producing an expanded tobacco material, comprising the steps of:

(a) feeding a tobacco material into a pressure vessel;
(b) pressuring the interior of said pressure vessel with a carbon dioxide gas to an impregnation pressure of at least about 4.3 kg/cm.sup.2 in gage pressure;
(c) supplying a liquid carbon dioxide from above the tobacco material while maintaining said impregnation pressure so as to saturate interior of said pressure vessel with a carbon dioxide gas by the vaporization of said liquid carbon dioxide;
(d) decreasing the pressure within the pressure vessel to substantially atmospheric pressure after the state within the vessel is held for a predetermined time;
(e) taking the tobacco material out of said pressure vessel;
(f) supplying the tobacco material taken out of the pressure vessel into a gaseous stream dryer so as to expand the tobacco material by bringing the tobacco material into contact with a high temperature gaseous stream within said gaseous stream dryer;
and
(g) separating the expanded tobacco material from said high temperature gaseous stream.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Swollen tobacco material manufacturing method

Life of this patent

Swollen tobacco material manufacturing method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims27