Pressurized tobacco drying process
AssigneeBrown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
InventorsWendy Stella Cooper, Paul Clive Chadwick, Helen Elizabeth Ruth Howitt
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Abstract
This invention describes a pressurized drying process particularly useful for changing the aroma of Burley tobacco, and the taste and flavor of cigarettes comprising such processed tobacco. Burley tobacco is treated in a pressurized dryer at temperatures of 120° C. or more in a pressure range of 0.25-7 Bar absolute to provide a processed Burley tobacco with a more toasted character. Other tobaccos may also be treated in a similar manner to effect a change in expansion
Claims28
A process of treating Burley tobacco only in a Burley processing line, said process comprising:
- heating Burley tobacco at ambient pressure to an input temperature of about 50° C. to 100° C.;
- introducing said Burley tobacco at said input temperature of about 50° C. to 100° C. with an input moisture content of 20% to 45% into a superheated steam flow of 200° C. to 300° C. in a pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer;
- heating said Burley tobacco in said pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer to a tobacco temperature of 120° C. or more at a pressure which is in a range of 0.25 to 7 Bar absolute;
- separating said Burley tobacco from said superheated steam flow;
- discharging said Burley tobacco from said pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer, the moisture content of Burley tobacco being maintained above 10% during the process, and the moisture content of the Burley tobacco exiting said pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer being greater than 10%;
- and
- cooling said Burley tobacco, the aroma and taste and flavour characteristics of thus treated Burley tobacco being altered to become more toasted.
A process of treating Burley tobacco only in a Burley processing line, said process comprising heating Burley tobacco at ambient pressure to a temperature in a range of 60° C. to 70° C. before said process, and heating said Burley tobacco in said Burley processing line in a pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loop drier to a tobacco temperature of 120° C. or more at a pressure which is in a range of 0.25 to 7 Bar absolute, a moisture content of said Burley tobacco being maintained above 10% during said process, and said moisture content of said Burley tobacco exiting said pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loon dryer being greater than 10%, the aroma and taste and flavour characteristics of thus treated Burley tobacco being altered to become more toasted.
A process for treating only tobacco stem or only flue-cured lamina tobacco in a pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer, said process comprising:
- introducing tobacco stem or flue-cured lamina tobacco having an input temperature of about 50° C. into a superheated steam flow of 150° C. to 300° C. in a pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer;
- heating said tobacco stem or flue-cured lamina tobacco to a tobacco temperature up to 120° C. at a pressure which is in the range of 1-4 Bar absolute;
- separating said tobacco stem or flue-cured lamina tobacco from said superheated steam flow;
- discharging said tobacco stem or flue-cured lamina tobacco from said pressurised pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer, the moisture content of said tobacco stem or flue-cured lamina tobacco being maintained above 10% during the process, and the moisture content of said tobacco stem or flue-cured lamina tobacco exiting said pneumatically conveyed closed loop dryer being greater than 10%;
- and
- cooling said tobacco stem or flue-cured lamina tobacco, in order to provide a filling power improvement compared with conventional stem or flue-cured lamina processes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.