DK150532B - THIN IN THE SIGNIFICANT NON-POROUS PLATE OF FOAMED RECONSTITUTED CIGAR TOBACCO AND PROCEDURE FOR MAKING SUCH A TOBACCO PLATE - Google Patents

Description

o 150532

The invention relates to a thin, substantially non-porous sheet of foamed reconstituted cigarette tobacco and to a method of making such a tobacco plate.

Methods for the manufacture of reconstituted 5 tobacco products were originally developed for economic reasons in view of the industrial need for a more complete use of the entire tobacco leaf in the manufacture of smoking articles, and such practices have been of commercial importance over the last 20 years. The first methods included the conversion of fine dust particles from cigarette tobacco leaves (produced during threshing and comminution) and led to reconstituted thin cigarette plates which can be finely cut and blended back with fine cut natural tobacco in the manufacture of cigarettes. In this way, with a cost of converting this waste material into usable material, one can 1.5-3 kr. kg of produce reconstituted material with an effective value corresponding to the value of natural tobacco, which constitutes approx. 12 kr. kg or more. The commercial use of these methods was later extended to 20 cigars. For use in cigar making, the incentive for using thin sheets of reconstituted tobacco consisted of a combination of material savings compared to the price of natural tobacco leaves replaced and labor savings, as rolls of thin sheets of reconstituted tobacco material could be automatically placed in the cigar machines thus replacing the manpower of the cigar machines which were previously used for manual introduction of natural tobacco leaves. First, reconstituted cigar blades were developed (the leaf under the cover leaf of a cigar), thereby replacing the natural blister of approx. 90% of the cigars manufactured in the United States of America. The taste properties of cigars with reconstituted cigaroma leaf are not equivalent to the taste characteristics of the same cigars with natural leaf, but the material savings and labor costs 35 made such a change at a time when

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2 job costs rose very sharply. Since that time, cigar sales in the United States of America have shown a downward trend, a situation that has some correlation with the use of reconstituted leaflets and the altered taste-5 nature of American cigars with reconstituted leaflets.

Reconstituted cigar cover blades were then developed and introduced commercially on cigars, replacing the natural cover blade. The financial incentive for using reconstituted cigar cover sheets was significantly greater than for re-10 constituted cigar cover sheets, as they replaced natural Connecticut or Florida cover sheets with a value of about 80-230 kr. kg, while natural cigars just cost approx.

SEK 23 per kg. In addition, a significant labor shortage for manual application of natural cover leaves was an additional factor necessitating the use of reconstituted cigar cover leaves. In spite of this, it has proved unfortunate on the market to use reconstituted cigar cover sheets instead of natural cigars on cigars, and this reflects that reconstituted cigar cover sheets made according to the prior art are not capable of meeting the taste characteristics of natural cover cigars. . Accordingly, commercial use of reconstituted cigar cover blades has mostly been limited to inexpensive mouthpiece cigarillo cigars that simply represent approx. 30% of the total cigar market in the United States in 25 America. In such cigars, the lowest quality of natural cover leaves is traditionally used, and these cigars have flavor properties that lie at the low end of the cigar flavor spectrum. On larger cigars without a mouthpiece, even possible savings for the manufacturer of more than 520 kr. 1000 cigars have not gained any significant commercial use, since all efforts to sell these products have led to a significant decline in sales resulting from the unacceptable modification of the taste.

It is interesting to note that cigar covers and covers, which are only approx. 8 and 12% by weight of a cigar, contributes significantly more to the taste of the cigar than one should.

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3 150532 le suppose based on their proportionate share. The cover sheet, the outermost part of the cigar, is of the utmost importance, despite its low weight. The leaflet contributes somewhat less. In the case of cigar fillers, significantly larger composition changes can be made before sensitive taste changes occur. As a result, conventional reconstituted tobacco material prepared according to the prior art is already used and accepted at levels up to approx. 20% in cigars. The same situation prevails with regard to tobacco filling for cigarettes. Hinge reconstituted cigarette tobacco plates can be used in cigarette filling mixtures at levels up to approx. 10-15% without being labeled, and at levels up to 20-25% without seriously changing the taste of the cigarette. In contrast, 15 for cigar cover leaves, where there is only a change of 8% of the weight of the cigar, but on the outside of the cigar, you get not only noticeable changes, but a drastic change in the taste and aroma character of the smoking article - and this to such an extent that the attitude of consumers is radically changed.

20 The production of foamed reconstituted tobacco products is relatively new. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,364,935, 3,404,690, 3,404,691, and 3,410,279 disclose methods for combining a foaming agent, a foam stabilizer, and tobacco, wherein at least one component of this mixture is adhesive. The mixture is treated to form a foamed tobacco slurry which is then formed and dried into a foamed tobacco product, e.g. a rod or plate. In the preferred embodiment of these methods, open cell structure products are prepared, probably as described below, due to the relative instability of the foamed tobacco slurry which leads to bubble bursting and coalescence during mechanical pumping and molding operations as well as channel formation through the structure. during water removal by drying the molded foamed products.

This particular nature of foamed tobacco slurry is obviously desirable if it is intended to produce a product having an open cellular structure.

US Patent No. 3,613,693 discloses the use of a special foam stabilizing agent, a special grade of ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose which improves the stability of the foamed tobacco slurries of the type described above.

It is stated hereby improved control over the foam density of the slurry during manufacture with corresponding improvements in the uniformity of the products, including weight, strength and tensile strength.

The first described reconstituted foamed products and the foamed reconstituted products of increased stability described in the latter US patent are usually traceable in cigarette blends at levels up to 15%, but they are readily detectable and additionally become commercially unacceptable at levels of 10% or more. in a cigarette tobacco mixture. Subsequent improvements to such methods and products, including reductions in the amount of introduced air, increased uniformity of bubble size, and an increase in tobacco content have allowed the use of such products at levels up to 25% in cigarette tobacco, but above these levels the reconstituted tobacco product can be traced. without difficulty, and it disturbs the taste and aroma of the cigarette to such an extent that it becomes commercially unacceptable. From these data, it appears that foamed reconstituted thin tobacco sheets must have a limited capacity to replace natural tobacco, primarily due to the adverse taste effect at levels greater than 25% in a filler mixture. Even with the latest improvements in foamed tobacco sheets, it has not been possible to provide a 100% replacement of natural tobacco with foamed tobacco. Consequently, such products could not be expected to replace natural cover leaves on cigars without significant effect on the nature of taste and aroma, taking into account the extremely significant contribution made by the cover leaf 35

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5 150532 adds to the taste and aroma of a cigar.

The present invention relates to novel, reconstituted cigarette tobacco products which, in terms of taste and burning properties, are equivalent to the natural tobacco leaves to replace, and a process for producing these products.

The invention thus relates to a thin, substantially non-porous sheet of foamed reconstituted cigarette tobacco, which plate consists essentially of air-dried, fermented tobacco particles having a plate space weight of from 0.2 to approx. 0.45 g / ml, preferably from ca. 0.28 to approx. 0.45 g / ml, and according to the invention, this plate is characterized in that it is made from a stable foam having a room weight of from approx. 0.85 to approx. 1.0 g / ml, preferably from ca. 0.92 15 to approx. 0.99 g / ml, containing uniformly dispersed bubbles, with at least 80% of the bubbles being less than 100 µ and less than 2% greater than 150 µ.

In the manufacture of such a tobacco plate, one proceeds by preparing a tobacco slurry 20 containing a greater proportion of tobacco which results in plates containing at least 65 weight tobacco, and a cellulose ether on which the slurry is cast and dried to form a plate which is substantially non-porous, having a space weight of from ca. 0.2 to approx. 0.45 g / ml, preferably from ca. 0.28 to 25 approx. 0.45 g / ml and it is similar to mushroom or coral under magnification, and according to the invention, the slurry consists in treating the slurry before casting and drying with a gas-blocking gas and strong shear forces at a temperature below approx. 27 ° C to obtain a foam room weight of between approx. 0.85 and approx. 1.0 g / ml, preferably from ca. 0.92 to approx. 0.99 g / ml, and such foam bubbles in the slurry that at least 80% of the bubbles are less than 100 µ in diameter and less than 2% are greater than 150 µ.

The foam is prepared in a known manner, e.g. uses a foaming agent and a foam stabilizer and a suspension of the tobacco particles in water which, upon stirring, leads to the formation of foam. In order to provide the required bubble size, the foam mixture must be subjected to strong shear forces, e.g. is provided with high speed rotor / stator-5 mixers. The foam composition and formation of fine bubbles can advantageously be provided simultaneously in a rotor / stator mixer. Alternatively, the foam can be prepared and then subjected to excessive shear forces in a subsequent step. Thus, the foamable composition can be prepared in a conventional manner, e.g. in the manufacture of an aqueous dispersion of tobacco, foaming agent, a foam stabilizer and adhesive. Advantageously, the foaming agent and / or foam stabilizer can act as the adhesive necessary for the later formation of the thin tobacco plate. Usually, the foaming agent is also an adhesive and some foaming agents can also act as foam stabilizers. Generally, polysaccharide rubbers with thermal gelling properties such as methyl cellulose or derivatives thereof are particularly effective foaming agents, since the thermal gel formation provides increased stability of the foam during the subsequent treatment to sheet material, especially in the foam drying step. If the tobacco itself is treated as described in U.S. Patent No. 3,464,422 for the development of adhesive properties, the tobacco may act as a foaming agent and only a foam stabilizer 25 must be found in the foamable composition.

Suitable foam stabilizers are adhesives with foam stabilizing properties in foamed tobacco systems, e.g. ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,613,693.

When the foams described herein are subjected to strong shear forces to form the necessary fine bubbles of the dispersed gas, i.e. when at least 80% of the bubbles are not larger than 100 µ in diameter, the size distribution of the other bubbles is not critical. Under the shear forces required to provide the above-mentioned required magnitude, it has usually been found that less than ca. 8% off

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7 The 150532 bubbles are larger than approx. 150 p, and within the required size is approx. 30% of the bubbles less than approx. Of course, the size distribution of the bubbles within the required size is not critical when only 80% of the bubbles 5 are not greater than 100p. The size will vary depending on the foamable composition being started with as well as its constituents, but also by the shear forces exerted on the foam, the dispersing gas, and other factors known to those skilled in the art.

As mentioned, the preparation of the foams and the required bubble size is carried out at a temperature below ca. 27 ° C to avoid thermal decomposition of the foam. When applying the strong shear forces to form fine bubbles, the frictional forces can lead to temperature rises, which can be easily controlled, e.g. by pre-cooling the foamable composition or by cooling the foam formed or by using a rotor / stator mixer with cooling jacket or combinations of these measures, if necessary. To provide the required bubble size with a rotor / stator mixer, tolerances between stator blades and rotor blades of the order of between 0.25 and 2.5 mm are used and the mixer is operated at a peripheral speed of the order of 3-60 m per second. SEC. The foam formed has the required fine bubble size and pronounced uniformity. The commonly used method consists in combining a stream of tobacco suspension in water with another stream of foaming agent, stabilizer and adhesive in water and introducing the combined streams into the rotor / stator mixer into which a dispersing gas is introduced. In order to promote the subdivision of gas bubbles to the appropriate size, auxiliary apparatus may be used to reduce the size of the bubbles of the gas being introduced, e.g. a syringe member in the form of a tube containing very fine pores located at the entrance to the mixing head through which the gas is introduced into the liquid stream to be foamed. This syringe head breaks

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150S32 8 the flow of fine bubbles, which are further made fine in the mixer. With a pore size in the spray head of 0.2--3.0 µl, more fine bubble sizes are formed at constant mixing and flow conditions, but the same bubble size can also be obtained with less vigorous mixing conditions or with a faster flow.

The novel foams of this invention, prepared as described above, have exceptionally high stability and exhibit little, if any, degradation - end-10 and after periods of up to 1 hour at room temperature under the influence of the atmosphere. Usually, the foam is further processed to produce a novel thin tobacco sheet according to the invention a few minutes after the manufacture of the foam, but the foam's unusually high stability allows storage prior to further processing, which may be necessary in the commercial manufacture of a thin tobacco plate.

In the manufacture of the thin tobacco plate, the foams are molded to the desired thin plate which has the width and thickness required by the known molding methods. The foams are suitably formed on a conveyor belt to which they are subjected to further necessary treatment, e.g. drying. The dimensions of the thin sheet can be varied within wide limits of total width and thickness as determined by the intended application. For example, if the plate. should be used as ci-25 garom leaf, the foam is molded to a thickness of approx. 0.40 to approx. 0.46 mm, while the thickness of cigar cover sheets is usually in the range of 0.63 to 0.76 mm, and the filler material is made up to a thickness of up to 0.91 mm. The thickness of the molded foam is controlled by an adjustable spatula using known methods.

Once molded, the foam is dried to any moisture content required for its intended use. Usually the cigar leaves of the cigar tobacco have a moisture content of approx. 30-35%, while blades usually contain 16-30% and the filler material 12-16%. The foam can be dried to these humidity levels or it can be dried to a practically dry plate which is then re-wetted to any desired moisture content. The alternate method of drying and re-wetting the plate is preferred when the produced plate 5 contains wet strengthening agents, e.g. crosslinking agents.

The manufactured thin cigarette baking sheet is characterized by a sheet space weight of from approx. 0.2 to approx. 0.45 g / ml, preferably 0.28-0.45 g / ml, and it is used as cigar cover sheet, wrap and / or filler in conventional cigar making apparatus.

In practice, it has been found in practice that the tobacco plate is made from a stable foam in which at least 50% of the bubbles are less than 50 µg. Also, according to the invention it is convenient that the sheet is made from a stable foam in which the foam structure is stabilized in the presence of up to approx.

1% ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose.

The tobacco to be used in making the foam compositions is preferably inexpensive tobacco when using whole leaves, or the usual finely divided or dusty tobacco materials usually used in the manufacture of reconstituted plates. This enables the economic advantages of the present invention to be achieved, in that the end products have a greatly improved taste and aroma character which is identical to the same properties of the expensive tobacco leaves commonly used as cigars for cigars.

Of course, in order to form the present stable foams, a foam stabilizer must be present. A preferred stabilizer is that described in U.S. Patent No. 3,613,693. This stabilizer is ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, cf. above, with an ethoxy1 degree of substitution (D.S.) of 1.2-1.6 and a hydroxyethyl molar substitution (M.S.) of 0.5-1.2. The amount of stabilizer incorporated in the foam can be varied considerably. Usually have less than approx. 1% stabilizer proved sufficient to provide the necessary stability, usually using amounts of 0.1-0.2%. Other foam stabilizers can be used and their effectiveness can be determined by simply foaming a selected tobacco slurry followed by determining the nature of the foam formed to assess its stability. Usually, a selected foam stabilizer may be considered suitable for the foams in question when the foam bubbles assume a practically perfect sphere shape.

Simple standard methods allow the selection of other suitable 10 foam stabilizers.

The preferred adhesives are adhesives usually referred to as high gelling, e.g. methyl hydroxypropyl celluloses which are particularly suitable in the foams herein. Ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, the preferred stabilizing agent, is also known for its strong gelling properties.

The tobacco used is preferably so-called cigar tobacco, and this includes air-treated and fermented varieties, as defined by the Cigar Research Council of the Cigar Manufacturer's Association.

When 60% or more of the tobacco used consists of one or more cigarette tobacco types, the remainder of the tobacco portion of the composition may consist of any type of tobacco or tobacco substitute, the last being e.g. is cellulose, corn dusting material, oxidized cellulose or cellulose derivatives - unmixed or mixed in any ratio.

The tobacco material comprises leaves, stems, waste materials, etc., and it is comminuted or ground to a relatively fine form so that it can pass through a 100-120 mesh (U.S. Standard Sieve) screen. Preferably, the material has dimensions 30 less than 140 mesh, the majority being in a range of less than ca. 140 mesh for more than approx. 325 mesh.

The tobacco material is worked up into a composition, usually comprising conventional additives for reconstituted tobacco, which may comprise up to 35% by weight of the material, but which is usually present only in a proportion of 10-30%. Diso additives include naturally occurring gums, such as galactose gum, e.g. carob gum and guar gum or derivatives thereof, in particular the ether derivatives. Other vegetable gums such as algae, carrageenins, lamarins, agar, starch, pectins, etc., cellulose may be used in the form of wood pulp, often with a high (90% or more) al-cellulose level or cellulose derivatives especially ethers, especially methyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, methyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, ethyl hydroxyl ethyl cellulose, etc., crosslinking or wet strengthening agents such as glyoxal, dialdehyde starch and melamine and urea-formaldehyde resins, wetting agents, e.g. glycerol, triethylene glycol and propylene glycol, various sugars, fungicides, dyes such as F.D. + C. Yellow No. 5, F.D. + C Blue No. 1, and inorganic stretch agents such as diatomaceous earth, calcium carbonate, various clay soils, and magnesium carbonate or sulfate. An additive can act as both adhesive and wet strength resin or as a colorant.

It is of great importance for the practice of the invention that the bubbles in the foam are carefully regulated within the limits described, and for this purpose a common inert gas is the most readily useful agent, though other common methods of introducing voids into the tobacco dispersion, f. eg. foaming agents can be used. The following are preferred gases: air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, Freon and similar gases. If necessary, the gas can be cooled or heated, e.g. with an electric band heater located in the supply line. It may be advantageous to supply gas in a feed line which contains only a portion of the components of the dispersion prior to introduction into the zone of strong shear forces. This provides at least part of the overall pore structure.

The amount of gas supplied depends on the desired room weight under standard conditions and can usually be controlled simply on this basis, but it has also been found that the drying rates are affected by the gas content. So it seems

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To obtain an optimal drying rate at a foam room weight of approx. 0.92 g / ml, obtaining a 15% greater rate than with the same foamless slurry with the bulk weight 1.03 g / ml. Foaming, on the other hand, of 0.92 g / ml is less advantageous as the insulating effect of the foam on the heat transfer begins to play a major role, thereby setting an effective limit for the room weight reduction which could otherwise be greater.

A particular feature of the invention is that it is possible to produce cigar products with remarkably good taste from the described thin sheets of reconstituted tobacco. Reconstituted plate materials, which have certainly been important in many smoking items, e.g. as fine-cut material in cigarettes, have never found acceptance in cigars, because their canned leaves and turnovers contribute significantly to the taste to an extent greater than expected, taking into account their quantity in terms of weight%. Previous attempts to manufacture thin plates of reconstituted cigar-type tobacco have not been successfully crowned, since the materials 20 have not been able to meet the critical taste requirements set in this area. Although organoleptic characteristics are necessarily subjective, a standardization has been provided that is relevant to conducting trials of market significance. These consist of repeated panel taste tests using standard blind or double blind tests.

The test referred to here uses panels of 10 participants, each trained and tested for discriminating ability and ability to describe the taste and smell characteristics of smoking articles, and unlabeled samples comprising commonly used cigars and cigars containing the sheet material were assessed. according to the invention.

The results of the taste test show that foamed reconstituted material in the form of thin plates exhibits a significant adverse effect on the taste at a 25% level in

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In the case of the cigar cover blades and wrappers made from the material of the invention, the taste is not only acceptable in a 100% 1 second substitute, but such replacement can be made using conventional cig-5 tobacco (in contrast). for high quality tobacco leaves and consequently high price). This effect is noteworthy, as the results also show that the taste properties of cigars are most easily affected by change in leaf and cover leaf.

Although inhalation is not typical in cigar smoking, it is a potentially significant observation that cigars made with foamed tire and leaf by combustion in standard experiments emit 20-25% less tar than a cigar of equal weight and natural cover and leaf of reconstituted tobacco. The rate of combustion of preferred compositions 15 is increased up to 20%, and this may be related to both this phenomenon and the taste spectrum detected by panel testing.

The aesthetic effect of the material in terms of color, texture and overall appearance is also much better than that usually found in plate-shaped products of reconstituted tobacco. Thus, a regular grainy texture can be visually observed. This structural regularity seems to be related to the fire character and thus the taste. The texture also gives a lighter color effect and increases the opacity, and at least allows a reduction of the additives otherwise used to achieve these purposes.

A particular feature of the aesthetic advantages of the thin sheet material is the absence of staining in the 30 nozzle region as evidence of underlying adhesive which was previously an inherent problem in the use of thin sheets of reconstituted tobacco for cigar cover sheets.

However, the most advantageous feature of the invention for both the preparation and appearance of the final product is the flexibility and flexibility of the thin plate 14.

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150532 at an acceptable wet strength compared to conventional reconstituted tobacco. This is most evident in the percentage of discarding in the manufacture of cigars, in which the cover and cover are stretched and drawn in a spiral to provide the typical cigar shape. Typically, tobacco leaves or thin sheets of reconstituted tobacco lead to a cassage percentage that can be reduced by 50% or more when using the thin sheets of the invention.

The plate-shaped cigar material and the cigars themselves can be made using any conventional technique. The preferred smokers are cigars in which at least the cover sheet consists solely of the foamed tobacco material of the invention. The cover is advantageously constructed in the same way and, if desired, the entire cigar can be made from the thin plate according to the invention. It should be noted that reference to cigars and thin sheets for cigar making includes both large and small cigars and cigarillos using whole plates.

The cigar plates of the invention resemble natural sponge or coral viewed under magnification and contain numerous voids, air spaces, etc. with different geometric shapes separated by thin, often continuous, feathery or leafy walls. The appearance is similar to the structure of natural animal or vegetable material, and this may partly explain the remarkable success achieved by replacing high quality natural leaves.

Normal natural cigar tobacco leaves are generally non-porous and exhibit a space weight of approx. 0.59 g / ml. Typically, reconstituted cigar plate is prepared with a weight of 0.5 g / ml and a thickness of 0.069 mm. The foamed thin sheets according to the invention are usually made with a thickness of at least 0.076 mm for cover sheets and at least 0.18 mm for cover sheets having a sheet weight of approx. 33 g / m for cover and approx. 55 g / m to cover.

In the following, the invention is further illustrated by a number of examples. In these, parts are by weight unless otherwise specified and the terms and tests used are as defined below:

testing procedure

Foam compartment weight: a sample of the foam is transferred to fill a cup of calibrated volume. The weight of the foam is determined and the weight is divided by the volume of the cup, giving 10 the foam room weight.

Percent humidity in equilibrated plate: moisture percentage values are determined using a drying temperature of 95 ° C and a drying time of 2 hours. The percent moisture is calculated as follows: 15 percent moisture = wet weight - dry weight χ 1 (χ) wet weight

Plate Weight: Unless otherwise indicated, the term "plate weight" means the dry weight of the plate per unit weight. unit area.

The drying conditions used in determining the completely dry weight of a representative plate area are the same as those used in determining the moisture percentage described above. When drying less than 903 cm plate, the 2 weight is converted to the weight of 903 cm.

25 Plate porosity: the rate of air transmission through a plate sample is measured with a Gurley densometer (model no.

4110, Figure 12). The porosity is expressed as the time measured in seconds required for passage of 300 ml of air through a standard plate area. The smaller the number of seconds, the more porous the sample is. If the time is greater than 5 minutes, the sample is considered non-porous.

Plate Thickness: a "Federal gauge" (Model No. 573-1-Y - 7692, Figure 13) is used to measure the plate thickness. The procedure involves inserting the plate under the anvil on the "Fe-35 deral gauge" and reading the thickness in miles (thousandths of an inch).

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150532 16

Sheet space weight: the sheet space weight (weight / volume) is calculated 2 by a formula, using the dry weight in g per gram. 903 cm and the equilibrated (relative humidity 68%; 22 ° C) "Federalgauge" plate thickness in thousands of inches. The plate space weight is expressed g / ml. The plate space weight is calculated using a formula below:

Sheet space weight (g / ml) = o 10 sheet weight (g / ft) _ sheet thickness (cc / ft2) sheet weight (q / ft2) _ sheet thickness (ft) x Sheet Area (ft2) x 28,317 15 (cc / ft3) x jt2 2 plate weight (g / ft) _ plate thickness (mils) x lo-3 (in / mil) xt ^ · 9 o 12 m xl ft x 28,317 (cc / ftJ) x 1 / f 20 -

Viscosity: The viscosity is measured on a Brookfield R.VF viscometer, spindle # 4 at 20 rpm at a temperature of 16-25 ° C.

Bubble size determination: the foam is placed on a 25 microscope glass and under the microscope, after which parts of the foam are randomly photographed. Four photographed samples of such foam are then magnified and inspected, the bubbles are measured, and the bubble size distribution determined by counting.

Tensile Strength Determination: The tensile strength of the plates is measured on a standard "Scott" type specimen (Model No. IP-2).

With a razor blade samples with dimensions of 2.54 x 10.16 cm are cut, using a metal template with the same dimensions. The samples are cut from the plate in both longitudinal and transverse directions. The tensile strength denotes the weight per unit weight. cm sample which is required to override the sample strip and given in g / cm.

O

Example 1

A basic composition containing non-tobacco ingredients is prepared. 845 parts by weight of a 3.39% aqueous dispersion of highly refined sulfite pulp are placed in a vacuum tank equipped with a Cowles mixer and 160 parts by weight of water are added.

17.2 parts by weight of guar gum wetted with 30 parts by weight of isopropyl alcohol are added to the pulp, stirring under a vacuum of 71 cm for 45 minutes. Then 1.5 parts by weight of 85% H 2 PO 2 diluted with 10 parts by weight of water are added to the dissolution, then 6 parts by weight of an 80% solution of the trimethyl ether of trimethylol melamine, previously diluted with 20 parts by weight of water are added. . The mixture is continued under vacuum for 30 minutes. A dispersion of 3.7 parts by weight of diatomaceous earth, 13.5 parts by weight of triethylene glycol and 90 parts by weight of 15 H2O is then added and mixed for an additional 15 minutes under vacuum.

10.2 parts by weight of methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose (2% * solution has a viscosity of 15000 cps, gelation temperature at 90 ° C), 10.2 parts by weight of methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose (2% solution has viscosity at 4000 cps, gelation temperature at 90 And 0.5 parts by weight of ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (ethoxy1 DS of 1.2, hydroxyethyl MS of 0.5, viscosity of 2% solution = 15000 cps) are moistened separately with 200 parts by weight of hot water (temperature greater than 90 ° C). and the dispersion is sucked into the vacuum tank, maintaining the vacuum and stirring for a further 15 minutes.

Then 300 parts by weight of ice and 200 parts by weight of water are first added, after which an additional 1100 parts by weight of water are added, which are added so that the container side is washed. The total starting material has a weight of 2175 parts by weight (in a typical preparation this corresponds to about 1000 kg) and is deaerated for 45 minutes at a temperature below 18 ° C. The resulting dispersion has a solids content of 3.88% and a pH of 3.85.

35

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In another mixer container equipped with propeller stirrer, 194 parts by weight of Wisconsin leaf dust (more than 99% goes through a 100 mesh screen), 6 parts by weight Turkish tobacco leaf dust (same sieve size), 8 parts by weight CaCO2, 8 parts by weight 5 diatomaceous earth, 0.47 parts by weight of fungicide and 1.7 parts by weight of a 10% solution of FE&C Yellow No. 5 in 1025 parts by weight of H2 O and 100 parts by weight of ice with stirring. 9 parts by weight of a 28% NaOH solution (aqueous) is added to adjust the pH to 8.1. The final dispersion has a solids content 10 of 15.8%.

In a continuous mixing system controlled by variable speed pumps, the basic composition and the tobacco composition are continuously fed into a mixing tank having a ratio of 2.04 parts by weight of basic composition to 1.00 parts by weight two-back dispersion. The container size is such that the average residence time for mixing is 15 minutes before the material is transferred to a high displacement mixer with rotor and stator of the type "Oakes", where the tolerance between stator and rotor blades is 0.51 mm and the peripheral speed is 43 m. se-20 customer. The slurry is passed at a rate of approx. 7 kg per nitrogen is injected at the mixing head at a rate such that the outgoing foamed slurry has a foam weight of 0.98 g / ml.

Microscopic analysis of the foam shows that 53.5% of the 25 bubbles have a diameter less than 50 µ, 98.6% have a diameter less than 100 µ, and 0% are greater than 150 µ, with the average dimension being 50 µ.

The foamed slurry is cast on a steel conveyor belt moving at a speed of 20 m / min, with a wet film thickness of 0.46 mm and dried by applying steam from below in connection with blowing dry, warm air over the foam surface. . The dried foam plate is coated with a 4% solution of ethyl cellulose in 91% isopropanol at a rate of 17 g of solution per ml. m plate and the solvent is evaporated. Then the plate is re-wetted to a moisture content of

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150532 19 32% and removed from the conveyor belt with a knife. The plate weighs 33 g per liter. m (dry weight) and has a thickness of 0.097 mm and a wet tensile strength of 60 g / m 2. can. The plate is rolled up.

The rolled up tobacco plate is cut into 5 cm wide pieces, 5 which corresponds to the width of the mold in a conventional cigar making machine. The 5 cm wide roll is placed on the applicator in a cigar machine and is used for automatic cover sheet application on cigars.

Cigars made with the cover sheet thus produced using a conventional (foamed) cover and standard cigar filling mixture are compared to otherwise identical cigars using natural Connecticut tobacco as cover sheets, assessed by taste expert panels using statistical procedures, to determine of the significance of the results. The results show that the cigars compared are identical in respect of all taste and aroma characteristics including cold flavor, cold flavor, combustion flavor and flavor and aftertaste.

Examination of the physical characteristics of cigars 20 with reconstituted cover leaves shows excellent cigar shape with no noticeable wrinkle, lack of visible stain at the end of the cigar from glue, and a color comparable to natural Connecticut cover leaves. The texture and appearance of the cover sheet is advantageous compared to the Connecticut cover sheet.

25 The smoke from the cigars with foamed reconstituted tire leaves is compared with the smoke from cigars with natural tire leaves using standard analytical procedures with the following result: 30 35 20 150532 tn (ΰ Μ S-ι (ΰ * ϋ tn • Η «a · r * η ο 04 CM Η ιΰ +> ·

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A comparison between cigars with cover sheets of non-foamed reconstituted tobacco plate and cigars with natural cover leaves usually shows an increase in the content of wet tar of approx. 25% and increases in carbon monoxide of approx. 60%.

5 During cigar manufacture with foam leaves of foamed constituted tobacco, it is found during long observation periods and during the manufacture of various cigar sizes that the total% of cigars for all reasons, including unsatisfactory cigar tendons, poor or broken layers, poor winding, improper winding and various defects , is reduced by 50% of the normal discard rate for natural tobacco cigars cigars. The reduction in rejections due to defects in the cover blade alone was significantly higher.

Example 2

A cigaroma leaf is prepared using the procedure described in Example 1. The combined basic component tobacco dispersions are foamed to a foam compartment weight of 0.92 g / ml using a peripheral speed of 20 9 m / sec, in a rotor / stator mixer where the distance between set the rotor and stator blades to 0.25 mm.

The foam is cast on a steel conveyor belt at a flow rate of 10 kg / minute to a thickness of 0.81 mm. The bubble size distribution in the foam is such that 25 43.2% of the bubbles are less than 50 µ, 88.8% less than 100 µ, and 4.8% are greater than 150 µ with an average of 65 µ. finished dried plate weighs 55 g / m and has a thickness of 0.18 mm.

This results in a wound leaf with a moisture content of 18%, which is cut to a roll width of 92 mm for use as a cigaroma leaf. Cigars made with this leaf and the cover leaf of Example 1 exhibit a slightly greater reduction in adverse taste and aroma character when judged by a panel of taste experts.

35 22 150532 o

Example 3

A reconstituted cigar cover sheet is prepared as described in Example 1, but using the following ingredients: 5% solids

Sulfite pulp (highly refined) 9,734

Guar gum 5.548 H3 PO4 0.442 Trimethylol melamine (trimethyl ether) 1.634

Celite (diatomaceous earth) 3,846

Triethylene glycol 4,595

Methylhydroxypropyl cellulose (2% solution: viscosity = 15000 cps, 15 gelling temperature: 90 ° C) 3,301

Methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose (2% solution: viscosity = 4000 cps, gelation temperature: 90 ° C) 3,301 ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (ethoxyl 20 D.S. of 1.2; hydroxyethyl M.S. of 0.5, 2% solution: viscosity: 15000 cps) 0.136

Tobacco (dust from Wisconsin leaves) 61,215

CaCO 3 2.652 NaOH 0.551

Thiabendazole (fungicide) 0.204 Egg albumin (water soluble) 2,836

The basic composition has a solids content of 4.03%, a viscosity of 29,500 cps, a pH of 3.84 and a temperature of 15 ° C.

The tobacco dispersion has a solids content of 16.84% and a pH of 7.85.

By combining the basic composition dispersion and the two-back dispersion, a slurry having a solids content of

ISLAND

7.95%, a viscosity of 12750 cps, a pH of 7.95 and a temperature of 17 ° C.

After foaming, the slurry exhibits practically the same bubble size and distribution as for the foam of Example 1.

The foam is then cast and further processed into a plate with the following characteristic data: Weight 33.1-33.9 g / m2 10 Moisture content 33-36.2% Cross-sectional wet strength 74 g / cm

Color (Gardner Rd + a + b

Colorimeter) 13.7 5.6 18.0 15

Cigars made with this material as cover leaves exhibit excellent flavor and aroma character, and judged by a panel of taste experts, these cigars advantageously fall out compared to otherwise identical cigars with natural cover leaves.

Example 4

A reconstituted cigaroma leaf is prepared as described in Example 2, but the following ingredients are used: 24%

Sulfite pulp (highly refined) 11,453

St. John's Wort 7,514 5 Carboxymethyl cellulose (good quality) 3,756

Celite (diatomaceous earth) 2,291

Triethylene Glycol 5.726

Methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose (2% 1s solution: viscosity = 50 cps) 2.624 Ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (ethoxyl D.S. of 1.2, hydroxyethyl M.S. of 0.5, 2% solution: viscosity = 15000 cps) 0.198

Glyoxal 3,438 15 Tobacco (Wisconsin dust) 63,000

The basic component mixture has a solids content of 7.67%, a viscosity of 40,000 cps (22 ° C) and pH value of 6,12.

The tobacco suspension has a solids content of 16.6%, a viscosity of 600 cps at 16 ° C and a pH of 6.58.

The total slurry of starting material and tobacco suspension has a solids content of 11.35%, a viscosity of 17000 cps at 20 ° C and a pH of 6.52. The two suspensions are combined in a ratio of 1.28 to give 65% tobacco in the finished dry plate.

The foamed slurry has practically the same bubble size and distribution as the foam of Example 2. The foam compartment weight is 0.921 g / ml, the molded foam plate 30 has a thickness of 0.81 mm, and the conveyor belt has a velocity of 13.7 m per minute. minute.

The completed cover pages have the following characteristics: 2 25

ISLAND

Weight 56.5-57.0 g / m

Humidity 18-20.5%

Strength Longitudinal (dry) 470 g / cm 5 Longitudinal (wet) 310 g / cm Crosswise (dry) 210 g / cm Crosswise (wet) 97 g / cm

Color (Gardner colorimeter)

Rd + a + b 10 14.3 5.9 17.3

Use of the magazine in the manufacture of cigars with the cover sheet of Example 3 gives practically the same results as with the magazine of Example 2.

15

Example 5 In the manner set forth in Example 1, foamed sheets can also be prepared using a dispersion which merely contains tobacco particles in water together with less than 20% ethylhydroxyethyl cellulose as foam stabilizer.

Saromenligningseksempel

In comparison, foams are prepared by the methods set forth in the aforementioned United States Patents, following the procedures described in Example 1 of these patents. The foams are then analyzed for comparison with foams made in accordance with the present invention.

The foamed materials according to US Patent No. 3,613,693 are more stable than the other known foam products.

Microscopic analysis of the different bubbles for bubble size and distribution yields the following results: 0 26 150532 <50 μ 50-100 μ 100-150 μ> 150 ρ> 300 μ average a) 15.87 39.68 23.02 16, 6 4.76 178 b) 5.88 14.71 26.47 52.94 17.65 199 5 a) According to United States Patent No. 3,613,693 b) According to the other United States Patents cited.

a) The foams prepared according to Example 1 of this patent (room weight = 0.535) underwent certain changes during the study so that larger bubbles were broken.

b) These foams (room weight = 0.065) are not as stable as the other foams and were extremely difficult to test.

When adding tobacco dust, the foam tends to break, which does not allow adequate time for analysis, and in these 15 cases the foam was examined without any tobacco dust present.

The bubbles in the foam according to US Pat.

3,613,693 are well-shaped spherical bubbles, but they do not have a very uniform size, as evident in 20 size distribution data. The other known foams did not exhibit well-defined bubbles, but very varied shapes where no regular geometric pattern could be noticed.

The value range for the bubble size (minimum to maximum detected size) for the foams of U.S. Patent No. 3,613,693 is 20-516 µ, while for the other foams it is 40-546 µi.

Tobacco boards made with the former foam do not have the fine texture and appearance, the excellent taste and aroma characteristics, and the suitability as a cover leaf for cigars characteristic of the novel products of the present invention. These known foam plates also exhibit a considerable number of holes, which are fine, but detectable by simple visual inspection.